Asthma UK Loch to Loch Day 1

I cant believe it's over! I know it is a funny way to start a blog post but it feels like an awfully long time ago that I signed up for the ride, and now it is done! 140 miles through some of the most stunning scenery in the country. but more of that later. All I will ask is that once you have read the blog, please remember that this was a CHARITY RIDE and I am trying to raise as much as I can for this great charity which could really make a difference to my sons life, and also maybe to mine! http://www.justgiving.com/palefishbikes

If you know me you will know that I work well under pressure, so having to decide what to take, pack it, after finding the bag I wanted to pack it in, fit new tyres to the bike, go and pay for the tyres and pick up spare inner tubes from The Bike Shop, all before 12 o'clock. I didn't do too bad and finally left at one to go and pick up Ken.

To say we were like a couple of excited school kids is an understatement. Ken rode the London to Paris last year, so he is used to consecutive day riding but I have never taken part in a two day event before, although I did go out for two consecutive rides a couple of weeks ago. The thing we were looking forward to was riding new roads, and facing new challenging climbs. (neither of us are natural climbers!)

The drive up to Balloch was uneventful, except for hitting the rush hour round Glasgow, which to be honest only held us up for half an hour. The weather was the only thing to literally dampen our spirits. It did not bode well for the weekend as it got wetter the further into Scotland we drove.

The base for the weekend was the Palombos of Balloch B&B. The staff were great, very welcoming and obviously used to cyclists and their weird habits! They even started early for us on Saturday so we could have Breakfast before the check in time for the ride.












As the rooms are above a chipy, I decided that my carb loading had to include Chips, and settled on Battered Haggis and Chips. I have to say, it was a great meal, but not the best pre ride fuel!!

Check in was just round the corner from the B&B. As expected it was raining, but that didn't seem to be affecting the sense of excitement buzzing around the car park as people checked in their luggage for the overnight stop, picked up their ride numbers and did some last minute bike checks.

Asthma UK gave a quick welcome message to the 65 riders and then handed over to the event organisers Wild Fox Events who gave us a safety briefing and an outline of the type of terrain we would be up against. Sarah Perry from Tour De Force, who organise rides that follow the Tour de France route was riding with us and gave us some good tips and advice for achieving our target.

At 8.30 we set off from Balloch and headed towards the shores of Loch Lomond. We rode around the west side of the Loch to Duck Bay where we turned left to head west towards Garelochhead. We met our first climb of the ride, a 7 mile gradual incline that was made a little nastier with a head wind and rain! But to my surprise, I found a good gear and span up, no way the fastest, but much more comfortable than usual. Things were looking good for the dreaded "rest and be thankful"!

We were treated to a fast descent and then another Loch side ride to the first water stop at Arrochar. We were greeted by some local musical talent, which was fantastic, and as water stops go this was up among the best I have seen in many sportives. There was Tea and Coffee, and most importantly, CAKE! As well as water and energy drinks. The organisers had put a lot of thought into the stops, and what people really want to keep them going.

After refuelling we set off round the Loch to the start of the Climb up to "Rest and be thankful"

To be fair, The Horseshoe Pass at 4 miles with an average incline of 4.8% and an elevation gain of 1022ft is tougher than the "Rest" which was 5 miles at an average of 3% and an elevation gain of 814ft (all figures are approx and based on Strava data) but I was still glad to be at the top, and welcomed by David from Wild Fox to what he called a "Gucci" stop! Once again the organisers had got it right and rewarded riders with a little treat at the top of the climb, including a great cheese board and range of chocolate goodness. 

The weather had also cleared up, well it wasn't raining any more, so I was able to shed the Sportful Hot Pack and loose the arm warmers. I did however manage to undo all the good work my new Mavic overshoes had done to keep the rain out of my shoes. As I stood at the feed stop, a managed to find a particularly spongy bit of grass that seemed to be holding enough water to completely fill both my shoes via the venting on the bottom of the sole! If there is one thing that makes cycling uncomfortable, it is wet shoes.

The road we took is the one on the far left (as you look at the picture)

The start of the fun bit!

From the "Gucci" stop we descended, fast, and then rode round the coast line to Inveraray for the lunch stop.

Some one said at the evening meal that they had never been on a ride that had so many ups, followed by pointless downs, which sort of sums up the roads in Scotland. I don't think we did any actual flat riding all weekend! Anyway, after a rolling ride to the grounds of Inveraray Castle we were treated to some Gourmet Sandwiches and Soup and probably the Best Caramel shortbread I have ever tasted (sorry Eureka Cafe)
If you get the chance, I would recommend a visit to Inveraray and why not call in to Brambles  and see for yourself?

After lunch we carried on along the coast road,taking in another climb or two before finally heading North through Lochgilphead and on to our over night stop. I don't think I have ever been as happy as I was to see the white peaks of the tents, and the promise of some warm, dry socks.

Loch2Loch Campsite

Once checked in I headed to our tent, locked the bikes up, had a shower and put some dry socks on! Surprising what a difference it made. The weather turned nasty again not long after we arrived and it didn't stop all night. The big tent became a hive of activity as riders arrived and sat listening to the band, but one thing was missing. The one thing, apart from dry socks, you want when you get in from a long ride is some food to replace what you have used up. This was one area the organisation was a little off the mark. For all the right reasons the meal was planned for 7pm, once all the riders had arrived. what this didn't take into account was the faster hungrier riders who had to wait 4 hours for something to eat! Maybe just a plate of beans on toast on arrival would have helped, but there were a few hungry, tired riders by 7 and it was quite funny as the lids were lifted from the serving dishes to watch the sprinters find some energy from somewhere to get to the front of the line! The food was great, and there was certainly enough to fill us up, and prepare us for the next days riding. There was even a Bar, which I avoided, but was well used by the rest of the group. I decided to get an early night, and make sure I had plenty of sleep before Day 2 presented it's challenges. 

Day 1 Route: http://app.strava.com/rides/20694182

Day 2 to follow. 

Where has the last year gone?

It is hard to believe that a year has passed since I wrote these words.


"I'm not sure what will become of this blog, or what direction it will go in? I hope to capture all the exploits of the new Vita Cycles Team, the training, bikes, kit, Sportives and races, and also my personal challenge of loosing the extra pounds, and raising my overall fitness level.
So here goes, buckle up it could be a bumpy road."

136 posts, over 20,000 page views and a New cycling Club named after the Blog and here we are! 

I won't go on about the past though, time to talk about the present.

After last weeks disappointing lack of miles due to illness, I was looking forward to a better week back up to the target mileage of 100miles per week. Once again, things didn't go quite to plan!

My daughter came to stay this week, and as a homecoming gift she brought with her a very nasty cold bug! I woke up Tuesday morning with a sore throat and streaming nose, Thanks love!!! There was no way I could manage the ride that night so already my miles were in a negative position to the plan. 

By Thursday I felt well enough to get out, and enjoyed the ride with the crew, which ended up a good pace and we managed to get a few loops of the West Kirby Hill in too, but I don't want to hear any calls of "Man Flu" from the wings please, I'm not moaning, just saying!!! 

I picked up my wheel from The Bike Shop in Moreton on Friday. I was like a kid with a new toy as I rolled the bike out this morning. I haven't ridden the Kuota for two weeks, so I was looking forward to putting some miles into the new spokes! 

It wasn't a promising start though. Although quite warm, even at 7am, it was raining! I dithered about whether to put my rain coat on, and decided that it would probably be for the best as the aforementioned cold is still here and I would really quite like it to go away as soon a possible. 

Anyway, 6 of us headed out into the rain and off to meet the others joining us in Birkenhead. As we descended into the Town the sky cleared and the sun came out. At the meeting point there were 5 lads waiting, all in short sleeves with frowns on their faces as to why we were in rain capes and overshoes!!

I had decided to try a new route today, riding up from Birkenhead and zig zagging through the lanes that cross the M53, then out to Stanlow and round the back of Chester and up the Dee Path to Eureka Cafe. I managed to navigate, with the help of my Garmin 500, and we didn't get lost once!! 

We also had an incident free ride, the only mechanical's were Paul N's chain dropping a couple of times. 

A bit warmer and dryer than the last time we were in Chester!

After we had refuelled at Eureka, Alan, Mark and Scott headed back to the East side of the Wirral and the rest of us headed back via the lanes to Neston and Lower Heswall, where Richard, Paul, Steve and Carla left us and we then dropped down to Caldy and round to West Kirby, Hoylake and then through Pump Lane back to Greasby. And to welcome the remaining 4 of us back, just as we reached Greasby Road the heavens opened and within seconds were soaked to the skin! At least home and a warm shower were not far away!

I was pleased to get a longer ride in, although the last 15 miles were tough as my chest tightened and getting the air in became tough, which led to the first leg ache I have had since I started drinking Beetroot Juice!

I need to ramp up the training now as the Asthma UK Loch to Loch ride is only 3 weekends away! I am half way to my Sponsorship target, and if you would like to donate you can HERE or via the link at the top of the page. (thanks)

Next weekend the Club is travelling across the water for its Sunday ride! The plan is to do a loop around the lanes of Sefton and Lancashire, starting in Formby, with a stop at Costa Coffee in Ormskirk. ( I am reliably informed that there is a treat awaiting us at the brew stop) HERE are first draft details of the route, Ken is kindly going to ride it for us this week so there may be some tweaks to the final one.   

If you would like to join us, the details of timings and travel arrangements will be posted on the Club Facebook group page. We hope to see you there.

It has also been a Fantastic week at the Olympics for the Team GB cyclists. First Bradley Wiggins wins Gold in the TT, then the Track team have dominated and broken world records along the way. 

One of my son's even wants to change his middle name to Wiggins?!?!?

It is certainly a good time for Cycling in the UK and I have noticed more people out and about on their bikes, more potential Palefish Club members perhaps??

A great "lumpy" loop of Cheshire!

Today was the first time in 6 weeks that the club riders joined the Team lads for a Saturday morning ride. The group was impressive with 20 of us blocking the pavement outside the shop before the off. It was great to have a chance to catch up with everyone after last weeks Ten Minutes of Hell. The agreement of everybody there was that it was a great event, and next year the field will be much bigger, and some of us may try some Ten mile TT's this season!

Before we left Dave, the coach, explained that as there were lots of abilities in the group, we would ride in pairs and take turns on the front, riding at the pace of the lead pair. This way everybody would have a chance to set the pace, but also have to put some effort in to keep up if the pace got faster. It was also agreed that we would not leave anyone stranded in Cheshire somewhere!

We headed out along familiar lanes, chatting and spinning the legs to get them warm, We were riding towards Elsmere Port through Little Sutton when the only incident of the day happened.
Riding in a big group is great, as you put in less effort when in the middle of the Peloton (the name used to describe a group of cyclists in a bunch!) and the miles seem to fly by. But there are some down sides, one is when you get dropped it is hard to get back on as you are on your own in no man's land, and secondly, you can not see any obstacles in the road. If you are following behind a peloton and see the riders frantically gesturing, pointing to the road, waving at the tarmac, or putting their hand behind their back they are telling each other what the road conditions are like. You may also hear shouts of  "HOLE" or "GRAVEL" or "S**T" if you are in a country lane near a stable.
Today one of the riders came upon a raised grid in the road which he tried to avoid, by bunny hopping, lifting both wheels off the ground and jumping over the obstacle. Unfortunately he landed awkwardly and fell, sliding along the road as we were at quite a pace. He decided that his ride for today was over and headed home, with another rider for support. I can report that he got home safely, a little battered and bruised, but should be ready to race next week.

The remaining 18 continued to the Shell Oil road, and managed to get all the way down it without seeing the infamous security guard! We continued on to Helsby, then Delemere, Tarporley, Beeston, Tattenhall, Waverton, Christleton and the outskirts of Chester, finding every hill along the way! We split from the Team riders here as one of the lads had to be back for work and they could ride fast together to drag each other home at pace.The remaining Club riders rode on to Eureka for a well deserved Coffee, and a Banana for me, and cake for every one else!  After the pit stop we headed up the Chester High road and back to the shop.

Regrouping at Beeston Castle

We didn't hang around at the shop today, as the ride took a bit longer than expected, and I had an excited son at home waiting to go and get his new Cycling Helmet!

It was great to ride with the whole group today, and also good to see that we are not that far off the Team pace, kind of!!

Dave gave us some great quotes today:
"Bunny Hops.....Just don't do them" discussing Alex's incident
"Loads of pot holes, this road is bad. Deal with it!" when he got fed up pointing out the obstacles

If I can get enough I may start a new "Zel says" page!

Today's ride details

As you can see from the widget at the top of the side bar, I am taking part in another charity bike ride this year. This time it is a  longer Challenge, From Loch Lomond to Loch Leven, 150 miles in 2 days. The ride is in aid of Asthma UK.
Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the 5.4 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma. Please support us in our vision of "Control over asthma today, freedom from asthma tomorrow". www.asthma.org.uk