Each week I try to review and reflect on my previous week on the bike. This allows me to see how my fitness and ability is progressing on a wider timescale than day to day. For previous weekly reviews please click here.
I had a family holiday this week so took that as an opportunity to have a week largely off the bike.
There are a lot of little activities, though unlike last time we went away and rented bikes, this time around it was far too cold, wet, and worst of all, windy to be out and about much at all. When I got back I did a couple of rides over the weekend but fully expected this to be a “down” week.
Here are last week’s rides:
- Saturday – Almost Achterbahn (Indoors / Zwift)
- Sunday – Endure It (Indoors / Zwift)
Even though I did very little during the week, there was a small amount of cycling involved. We went for a family holiday to Centre Parcs, only this time heading to the Lake District rather than Nottingham. Also this time we went in winter, whereas the last time we went it was blazing hot summer.
Much like last time, we rented bikes. My bike being an off road 10 ton weight, and that was before the kiddie cart was attached to the back end.
Cycling round in my jeans, jacket, wooly hat, shirt, and base layer t-shirt, I was still freezing. The only exception being when I put both kids in the trailer and pulled them up the biggest hill I could find. Mercy. The biting wind froze the fingers making things entirely unenjoyable, and even with a mudguard the rain and mucky paths meant I got filthy.
All in all, far less fun than summer in the forest.
During my time away I have to say I kinda regretted not having brought my bike. There’s a variety of reasons I didn’t, chief amongst which are the idea of having a rest week, and the lack of a way to sanely transport it.
In order to address the second issue, it looks like I first need a tow ball adding to my car, and then some kind of expensive bike carrying accessory. I feel it’s a worthwhile investment though, so I’m definitely going to get the tow ball fitted in the first instance.
But yeah, it was supposed to be a rest week. And I do feel refreshed from taking ~5 days off the bike.
Strangely I found my body craving the exercise. Being a kind of active holiday, each morning I’d see a small handful of people who had brought their road bikes going off for a spin. Jelly. But far more I saw lots of runners. Or joggers. I’m not sure what they call themselves.
I must admit I wanted to join them. My issue was a lack of correct footwear. In fact I think that’s my biggest issue with running. I don’t have the right shoes. I have a pair of knackered old trainers I wear when I don’t want to get my other, fancier white ones all mucky. Neither pair are functional for real activity though. Poser shoes, basically.
So I’m thinking I’m going to splurge ~£100 on a pair of runners, and see what my wife’s treadmill has to offer. I’m sure I will regret it almost immediately.
The two rides I did that I properly count this week were good ones.
I love the Innsbruck map on Zwift and enjoyed the Achterbahn route. Hitting the first climb I was so fresh I definitely over estimated my abilities. By half way up the hill I was suffering. In fact I think I was suffering more than I might have otherwise done, purely because I had rested for so long. My body was suddenly in shock when I had to start working hard, paying off the pancakes and burgers, and way too many beers.
Mentally I felt like I needed to punish myself for a week of slacking and over indulging. Maybe that’s a stupid mindset. All I know is I definitely felt like I’d dropped off a bit in terms of fitness and that made me all the more determined to push hard on that first climb.
The downside to that was that when I ultimately did make the top I found myself with terrible stomach cramp. I thought I’d pulled a muscle, but fortunately it was just stupid over exertion. On the second climb I was considerably more measured.
Even so, no real complaints. It felt good to drag my sorry body back on to the bike which was crucial in getting some manner of routine back under way after a prolonged break.
So performance and stats wise, it’s not been a good week.
The key for the week ahead is to build the routine back up. It’s looking like a week of indoor only, unless by some miracle the storms stop and the sun comes out. I’m not holding my breath.
I’d like to get in an RGT Cycling ride this week if at all possible. The one drawback here is my internet connection is on its knees at the moment. My download rate is atrocious. This all stems from when we had the electrician in, a long story, but as my internet is done via ethernet over powerline, and the plugs currently are all hanging off the walls, I’m sure I’m shorting out somewhere. Weirdly though, uploads are totally unaffected.
I will aim to get in at least two harder sessions. Maybe a race. Who knows. But I’d love to get a solid climb in the legs, not to mention the calorie burn such a ride entails. Other than that, it’s just about getting my legs used to spinning again. Lazy legs. You must work harder!