The things i do for cycling

At what point does cycling stop being your hobby and start being your life?? What defining moment determines this thin line??

For me i don't remember what the defining moment was or when it occured but i have definately crossed the line... so much so that an action a normal person would question i perform without hesitation in the pursuit of being a better rider.

Today saw one of those actions.. what normal person in their right mind would ride a bike for 7 hours closely followed by a cold bath!!

The 7 hour ride was meant to be a 6 hour ride but unfortunately some minor miscalculations left me with a 2 hour headwind at the end of the ride and after 5 hours going was tough.. coupled with me trying to hold a heart rate approximating something close to zone 2 going was slow at best.
This extra hours riding also mean't i was in some serious calorie deficite was addressed imediately upon entering the house with half a packet of jaffa cakes:)
The cold bath was a new introduction by Mark (Forgy), the man i am entrusting my whole season to.. as the training hours go up i need to be able to recover quickly to give each training session the intensity it deserves.. cold baths = less sore legs after long rides. The cold bath i my legs could handle but my feet protested painfully so i came up with the above solution... getting out of the bath and getting my overshoes back on and getting back in.. job done.

The rest of the training as always is going well... i am at the end of my 3 weeks on now so next week is a rest week.

I have also heard that my race bike for this year, Gary Fisher Superfly, is on its way:) very much looking forward to next week and getting out for a ride on it.

On the Gary Fisher front our XC Racer 29ers team boss Charlie Wigfall forwarded me an article from the latest Trek Magazine.. i managed to make in in with some dodgy 'go fast' bike posture:)



On a non cycling front ( well sort of) i have secured employment for when i have finished my Msc.. i will be working for a local consultancy only 13 miles from my house with good access to the peak district:) Only downside and it is a large one is that i cannot take more than 10 days holiday at a time which messes with my Crocodile Trophy plans as although i physically could fit the race into the time scale it would leave me only a few days prior to the race to get over the long flight and adjust to both the time zone and heat.. i don't think i would competitive enough to warrant the estimated £5k it is realistically costs to do it.. so unless a major sponsor offers to pay for the croc in full and i can barter with my new employment offering to take holiday unpaid i am switching to plan b and the only other race of note i could find at that time of year.. LA RUTA.

Heard alot of things about La Ruta, nearly all saying how tough this race is which is really why i want to go... if someone tells you how to an extreme something is human nature dictates that you want to experience it for yourself and especially as a seperate sub species to normal people cyclists just love to suffer and i'm no exception. Barton ( Matthew) is already entered and paid up so at least there will be one friendly face there.. well a face anyway:)

Hopefully the next post will be the Superfly's arrival and subsequent test ride.. already have a few products in mind i want for it:)