My Week in Training – Week 17

Date	Miles	Time	Type	Avg Speed (MPH)	Links
Tue, 26th Apr 2011	25	1:22:10	Road	17.9	Strava – Garmin
Fri, 29th Apr 2011	57	3:23:41	Road	16.9	Strava – Garmin
Sun, 1st May 2011	57	3:09:01	Road	18.2	Strava – Garmin

There was no riding for me on Easter Monday. This was due to family commitments and recovering from the efforts of the previous day’s Tour of the Weald.

Tuesday, after work, I did one of my usual 25 mile routes which takes in the climb of Beachy Head. I hadn’t done this ride recently but, even though the wind was quite blustery from the NE, I felt really quite strong, and ended up with a very reasonable time, considering the wind direction. This would suggest that the increased mileage in recent weeks have really improved my strength.

Friday (Bank Holiday/Royal Wedding) I had the roads to myself, as well as loads of other cyclists, who also took the opportunity of quiet roads to go out for a ride. I went around the top of Bewl Water for a 57 mile loop. The only problem with this ride was that there were loads of really big black flies which you just couldn’t get away from. Not only did you have to keep your mouth closed but they really did hurt when they hit you in the face at 30+ mph.

Sunday was quite a windy day, from the East. Decided to get the headwind over with first so went East, to Rye. Great ride on very quiet roads going out, returning via the coast road from Rye Harbour. This worked out quite well as the route out inland was quite sheltered and so, the effects of the headwind were limited. I did feel really strong for this ride, having eaten really well in the last few days.

This week, being week 14, is the halfway point to my training for my Tour de France trip. In all the time, throughout my Time Trialling 90s, have I ridden so many longer rides and such high mileage. Especially throughout April during #30daysofbiking when I rode a reasonable 750 miles. Within those 30 days, I had just 9 days off the bike, mainly through work commitments and recovery. The total mileage so far this years, since the Hernia Operation, is 1917 miles. Looking ahead, due to changes at work, I will be increasing my longer ride training with overnight stays away, in order to test out the equipment. More on that at a later date.