Saturday, November 26, 2011
100 MILES
Sorry the tweets and facebook updates didnt show on the website!!!! But yes the Roswell crew have had a wonderful day in Georgia and completed the century in approx 8 1/2 hours. Just waiting to hear from Paul that he too has finished in Colorado - where he not only had hills to contend with (ie mountains) but also temperatures of 28 degrees!!! So proud of him and his support as ever, Miriam
Friday, November 25, 2011
Paul's 100 Mile Challenge
First group in Roswell are setting out early tomorrow morning on the Silver Comet Trail. Hopefully we will be able to follow their progress on twitter/facebook. Good luck to mum, dad, Julie, John and Janice - take care out on the trail!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Hammer Nutrition
Something all of you attempting the 100 mile Challenge might want to consider - the correct fuel and nutrition for training as well as the event! I am now using Hammer Nutrition - good products and good information. Follow the link if you are interested!
Hammer Discount Referral
Hammer Discount Referral
Monday, November 7, 2011
Training Ride - October 3, 2011
Disappointingly I found out that my Guinness World Record would not appear in print in the book after all - so I decided I had better go set another one! Having a look at some options there was one possible one that took my notice - riding across Australia from Perth to Sydney. This will be a difficult one to beat as it has been hard fought several times in recent years - the current one sets an average speed of about 320 miles per day! I thought it might be a good idea to go for a test ride and see just how many miles I was capable of in a single day - I had a spare day in the UK and Dean was available to help. Time to put myself to the test!
There were a couple of factors that I didn't really give enough consideration to. One being the bike I was using - not really the best one for road distances. I had my cyclocross which I had used for the Scotland Coast to Coast the previous week. In Australia I would probably use something more like a time trail bike with disc wheels etc. - a lot more aerodynamic and quicker! But I wanted to give it a test anyway!
I started at midnight and rode for about 7 hours in the dark. During this first part of the ride my GPS bike computer just didn't seem to be working properly however eg I would be pedalling pretty hard but looking at the monitor it was only recording about 14 mph - I don't think so!! My aim was to keep at a constant 16 mph so this was all very off putting. I would look at the dial,and think I had better pedal faster and then the speed would drop! I ride enough to know the approximate speed I am going and the readings just didn't seem correct! However when the sun came up it seemed to settle down and work a lot better??
Dean slept for a few extra hours ( we didn't want him to be driving tired) and so met me after about 4 hours as I knew I had enough food and water with me for about that time! The route was basically along the south coast via Brighton traveling east initially - I didn't want anything with too many hills although there were a few sections past Brighton where it was a lot hillier than I had expected but back towards Eastbourne and it was lovely! Looking at the flags on the coast there I could see that there was a slight tailwind blowing - not much - all very pleasant!
When it started to get quite hilly again I decided to turn around and head back - it seemed as soon as I changed direction the wind really started to pick up - in fact when I got back to those same flags they were now blowing around violently - a headwind now of course! So we decided to change the route and headed inland - bad decision as this was a dreadful,road - and very hilly! I felt pretty good in myself at this stage but was annoyed at the conditions - not quite what I had planned. I was fed up and decided I didn't really want to drag this on any more for no real reason. I also realized it was probably still,too soon after my illness to push myself so much so maybe better to stop,while I was still feeling good! It would be silly to continue - according to my GPS I had covered at least 215 miles though with the earlier problems I think it was probably a little more! Not bad all things considered - I was pleased enough with my performance. Obviously in Australia I would have to cope with hills and bad weather but I still have a lot of training to do before then!! But no more for today. We will of course try again later!
There were a couple of factors that I didn't really give enough consideration to. One being the bike I was using - not really the best one for road distances. I had my cyclocross which I had used for the Scotland Coast to Coast the previous week. In Australia I would probably use something more like a time trail bike with disc wheels etc. - a lot more aerodynamic and quicker! But I wanted to give it a test anyway!
I started at midnight and rode for about 7 hours in the dark. During this first part of the ride my GPS bike computer just didn't seem to be working properly however eg I would be pedalling pretty hard but looking at the monitor it was only recording about 14 mph - I don't think so!! My aim was to keep at a constant 16 mph so this was all very off putting. I would look at the dial,and think I had better pedal faster and then the speed would drop! I ride enough to know the approximate speed I am going and the readings just didn't seem correct! However when the sun came up it seemed to settle down and work a lot better??
Dean slept for a few extra hours ( we didn't want him to be driving tired) and so met me after about 4 hours as I knew I had enough food and water with me for about that time! The route was basically along the south coast via Brighton traveling east initially - I didn't want anything with too many hills although there were a few sections past Brighton where it was a lot hillier than I had expected but back towards Eastbourne and it was lovely! Looking at the flags on the coast there I could see that there was a slight tailwind blowing - not much - all very pleasant!
When it started to get quite hilly again I decided to turn around and head back - it seemed as soon as I changed direction the wind really started to pick up - in fact when I got back to those same flags they were now blowing around violently - a headwind now of course! So we decided to change the route and headed inland - bad decision as this was a dreadful,road - and very hilly! I felt pretty good in myself at this stage but was annoyed at the conditions - not quite what I had planned. I was fed up and decided I didn't really want to drag this on any more for no real reason. I also realized it was probably still,too soon after my illness to push myself so much so maybe better to stop,while I was still feeling good! It would be silly to continue - according to my GPS I had covered at least 215 miles though with the earlier problems I think it was probably a little more! Not bad all things considered - I was pleased enough with my performance. Obviously in Australia I would have to cope with hills and bad weather but I still have a lot of training to do before then!! But no more for today. We will of course try again later!
Lupus Butterfly Gala - October 11, 2011
Just playing 'catch up' with my blogs!
I was very pleased and honored to be invited to the Lupus Butterfly Gala in New York in recognition of my support for the Lupus Foundation. I flew to New York from Denver on the Monday to meet my mum who was also invited and we enjoyed dinner with Morgan that evening. I had first met Morgan when I completed my Guinness World record and it was good to catch up. Tuesday morning was spent buying a suit for the occasion ( not something I owned) and then we spent a fun day sightseeing - I loved the New York Public Library - what a fantastic building and we accidentally crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on the metro giving us a view of the statue of Liberty - and some happy memories of my ride into New York to set my world record last year! We even found a great Italian restaurant with a gluten free menu!!
The Gala was held in The Pierre Hotel near Central Park - very nice! There were a lot of people there including Julian Lennon and the CEO of Sa
ks Fifth Avenue - it was really great to hear all the speeches - very inspirational. As always with all the lupus sufferers I have met since I started supporting the Lupus Foundation they are all really brave and all really fighting this disease - just like my sister! Great! It was a really fun night - I met lots of really nice people and it was especially good to meet some of the Lupus staff we have been communicating with over the last few years - and to be able to put faces to the names ( and have our photos taken!) Great people! Made my mum smile to hear me introduced as Paul - you know - the cyclist!!!
It was a really good evening with wonderful people working for a great cause - and I look forward to continuing to support them more in the future!
I was very pleased and honored to be invited to the Lupus Butterfly Gala in New York in recognition of my support for the Lupus Foundation. I flew to New York from Denver on the Monday to meet my mum who was also invited and we enjoyed dinner with Morgan that evening. I had first met Morgan when I completed my Guinness World record and it was good to catch up. Tuesday morning was spent buying a suit for the occasion ( not something I owned) and then we spent a fun day sightseeing - I loved the New York Public Library - what a fantastic building and we accidentally crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on the metro giving us a view of the statue of Liberty - and some happy memories of my ride into New York to set my world record last year! We even found a great Italian restaurant with a gluten free menu!!
The Gala was held in The Pierre Hotel near Central Park - very nice! There were a lot of people there including Julian Lennon and the CEO of Sa
ks Fifth Avenue - it was really great to hear all the speeches - very inspirational. As always with all the lupus sufferers I have met since I started supporting the Lupus Foundation they are all really brave and all really fighting this disease - just like my sister! Great! It was a really fun night - I met lots of really nice people and it was especially good to meet some of the Lupus staff we have been communicating with over the last few years - and to be able to put faces to the names ( and have our photos taken!) Great people! Made my mum smile to hear me introduced as Paul - you know - the cyclist!!!
It was a really good evening with wonderful people working for a great cause - and I look forward to continuing to support them more in the future!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Frog Hollow in the Snow?
25 hour race starts today at 10 am local time - that's 4 pm UK time and 12 midday there in Roswell. Am still trying to get the SPOT up and running - will twitter if it works!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
25 Hour Race at Frog Hollow, Utah
Ski season has started in Beaver Creek for me but I am taking a few day off to compete in the 25 hour race in Utah on Saturday. The clocks go back at the weekend so what better way to use that extra hour?? Its a 12.8 mile mountain bike lap and the aim is to do as many laps as possible during the longest day! I am really looking forward to the race and seeing how well I am able to stand up to such a test!! Follow my progress on twitter and facebook via my website!!
Frog Hollow
Frog Hollow
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