Having been worried about not getting enough bike miles under my belt recently, over the last week I have managed to rectify this.
Invited by Bath law firm Mogers to take part in its Isle of Wight two day cycle challenge saw me watch the weather forecast like a hawk at the start of the week. Setting off in the rain early doors on Thursday to catch the 8.30am ferry across the Solent I was met by 12 other cyclists, all local guys of various professions and cycling experience.
We set off under a grey sky and into the drizzle for a round the Isle 64 mile cycle.
Having seen the route I knew there were three reasonable hill challenges of the day and the rest, I was assured by our revered leader were just a little undulating.
Conquering hills is hard physically and mentally. If you think you can't do it then you probably won't or you will simply battle with the demons inside your head all the way to the top.
My trick of trying to look around and focus on something else does not always work so throughout the day I found myself expending energy by groaning and moaning up the tougher hills.
Saying that it turned out to be a beautiful and sunny day cycling with very little wind to speak of and the group all had a laugh and a joke along the way.
I was also pleased to mainly avoid my granny crank but even more pleased that I made it up without having to get off and push.
Day 2 was a gentler 18 miles back to the ferry, which was just as well as we had celebrated pretty hard the night before.
The headwind was shocking at times and I enjoyed the benefit of tucking in behind other members of the group at times to shelter from it – (a special thanks to @steventreharne for leading the peloton)
A weekend of recovery set me up for a hill training session last night and boy what a session it was.
Met by two of the chaperone cyclists (@robcyclist @gingerbloke) for the Jogle at the bottom of Bathwick Hill we set off up it, me with a grimace and sinking feeling that this was going to be hard.
Having mastered the hill I was all ready for a break but it was short lived.
We turned left at the Uni and then freewheeled down Claverton Down, the thought of going back up it put me near to tears and I started to doubt I could do it big time.
However, the encouragement and advice was good. "Get in your lowest gear, relax and you can do it."
So after taking an age to clip my pedals in and start off I went and I did it!
Reaching the top the guys had hardly worked up a sweat while I was breathing hard. Mind my recovery time felt better than expected.
Off we headed again this time down to the bottom of North Road and yes you have guessed it, back up again.
Actually, while it is a long hill it's not as steep and out of the four hills we did that one felt the easiest.
While I toiled steadily up the hill the boys larked around sprinting off, racing each other like they had engines on their bicycles before returning to see if I was still alive with big grins on their faces - leaving me wondering if these guys were half-human half-android!
Reaching the top of North Road we turned right, flew down Bathwick Hill and headed for the bottom of Widcombe Hill.
Now having been up it before I knew it was steep at the bottom and tough at the top but my legs were feeling tired and my head really not in the right place.
But off we went again. This time I was praying for it to be over before I begun and swore like a trooper all the way up, shouting at my legs to push and basically sounding like a right idiot.
Thanks to my chaperones continued encouragement I did make it, albeit slowly, to the top. In total we completed 12 miles and 2,095m of climbing in our session.
Some useful tips of wisdom from the guys like look up so you don't shut your lungs down, occasionally get out of the saddle to rest your legs and how to stop the lactose acid building up where all good stuff. And the assurance that none of the hills on the JOGLE are harder than Bathwick really gave me heart. (I just hope they are not lying)
So while I was shattered after the session I was pleased with the achievement and even more so that my legs actually feel good today, with the exception of a tight left hamstring.
Maybe I am getting fitter than I thought, but one thing is for sure I am in a better place to conquer the hill demons now than I was before.
Lindax
On the 8th of June I will be cycling from John O'Groats to Lands End in aid of the Bath Rugby Foundation.
This ride will involve cycling more than 100 miles per day for nine days. If you are able I would be grateful for any donations www.virginmoneygiving.com/LindaDonaldson1
