Hammer Discount Referral
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
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Coast to Coast, Scotland, 17th September, 2011
That was a good race - very, very hard but great fun!! I kind of planned for the race but forgot about the other stuff like somewhere to sleep the night before so ended up sleeping on the floor in Ruth And Alice's room - not the best sleep and a little late in the morning running down to the start in Nairn. I did quickly go dip my toes in the ocean though before setting off at 6.30 am for the first 7 mile run. The run was actually quite cool - alongside a river and then zig zagging through the woods - surprisingly I felt really good considering I am terrible at running - but I did run pretty well - slightly slower than i wanted to but that turned out to be quite good - I was at the back of one group for a while then skipped ahead to the back of another! Anyway I did pretty good and made it to the Cawdor Castle OK where all our bikes were ready for the first transition. I was a bit slow making the transition but as soon as I hopped on my bike I felt really good and started overtaking other riders. I was flying by and felt awesome - finally (been a while since I have been able to say that!) Surprisingly the route was pretty flat - not a great road (thought it would be more hilly) - but it was actually pretty easy and I was having a great time!! 48 mile road ride in two and a bit hours - so was doing really well! Then the next transition was to the kayaks (Loch Ness) - after leaving my bike there was a little run which was rather difficult/painful in bike shoes - about a mile or so! I was then a little surprised to discover the kayaks were all doubles - you just jumped in with whoever was ready - kind of cool as we were able to have a little chat along the way and it was nice to have some help - not as difficult as being solo! Enjoyed that! This brought us to Fort Augustus, which would be the end of the first day for those taking the two day challenge (Alice and Ruth)
But for us it was back to our bikes for the off road section - though it wasn't really off road initially. However there was soon some single track through the woods where it was bumpy, sloppy and muddy - also some very steep hills which I had to hike up. My calf muscles had started hurting about 30 miles in and now they really hurt - but I tried to ignore it. I did go through a bit of a bad patch here - maybe paying the price for trying to go too fast earlier.
When we started that morning the weather had been pretty miserable and it was raining - however as soon as we really got underway the weather just got better and better - of course that meant I soon had too many clothes on and as I stripped off I had to find somewhere to put them - shoved in pockets and sticking out of my top - so that was a bit of a pain! Also I had had the brilliant idea of zip tieing my running shoes to my bike as I didn't have any space in my backpack - however it turned out to be not such a good idea as they were continually in my way, especially when I had to stand for the steep parts where they just bashed in to my knees!! A good idea that didnt really work and made the single track section annoying!! After some time on a gravel road we were back on the single track and the bolt fell out of my water bottle holder making my bottle rattle all over the place - quite funny really! Back on the road again and I realised I had overtaken quite a few people by now as I couldn't really see anyone off in the distance any more. Felt good though. I had ridden as hard as I could on the first ride but took it a bit easier on the second as I knew I had a hike up a mountain ahead of me! At the end of this bike ride we had our times recorded - the clock was stopped to give you a chance to get organised for the last section. So I left my bike at Glen Nevis and was surprised to see only 5 others there before me - I was in a really good position. So I was now able to get changed and get rid of all the extra clothes ready to head off up the mountain - Ben Nevis. I tried running for about 5 minutes but decided that hurt too much and that I would fast hike instead!
I felt pretty good the whole time except for one bad patch - I decided my goal was to finish and still feel good rather than try to run to gain a few places and then collapse half way up the hill. So a few people overtook me on this section but as we got into it a bit more I could see others in front of me also struggling to run too so I didnt feel so bad. Wasn't just my complete lack of running training - everyone was feeling the same. We hiked up a gravel road for a while, then a path and then up the mountain side - we zig zagged around and got all bundled up at one stage - and approached a steep rockside which I managed to scramble up faster than some of the others in the group - however they then overtook me going down!! The down was awful - wet grass - I fell over a few times as did others ahead of me - in fact you could see the marks of where they had fallen! That section was pretty hard! By now my ankles, calves and knees were all burning and I was ready to be done. You could see Loch Leven at the bottom - but it was really difficult to get to it down a very steep and awkward hill - but eventually we did with another very painful 1 mile run along the road to reach the final kayak. Once again we paired up with the closest person - I was with a guy from the RAF - was quite cool chatting with him. When we reached the other side of the Loch we ran for the Finish line and I was told I was in 16th place! So I was very happy about that!!
I felt good that I had done so well despite not having been able to put in the training I should have - especially with the running. Today was the longest run/hike I have ever tried and the longest bike ride I have been able to attempt for quite a while, having been feeling so ill since Africa. So yes - pretty pleased with myself. The scenery was very cool - breathtaking, and the weather has been awesome - a glorious day, which really helped! Absolutely shattered when I finished! Great fun!!
My time was 10 hours 40 minutes - not too bad all in all. Average heart rate was about 170 - very high in the morning but I slowed down a little in the afternoon! Great fun!! Did I say that already?
Only trouble is I originally thought Dean was coming so didn't really organise the transport very well. So looks like I will have to get up in the morning and cycle coast to coast again to pick up my car. Then I will drive back here again to see Ruth and Alice finish tomorrow.
PS.
I did indeeed cycle back the next morning - 98 miles! And got back just in time to see the girls finish. I was absolutely exhausted!!
But for us it was back to our bikes for the off road section - though it wasn't really off road initially. However there was soon some single track through the woods where it was bumpy, sloppy and muddy - also some very steep hills which I had to hike up. My calf muscles had started hurting about 30 miles in and now they really hurt - but I tried to ignore it. I did go through a bit of a bad patch here - maybe paying the price for trying to go too fast earlier.
When we started that morning the weather had been pretty miserable and it was raining - however as soon as we really got underway the weather just got better and better - of course that meant I soon had too many clothes on and as I stripped off I had to find somewhere to put them - shoved in pockets and sticking out of my top - so that was a bit of a pain! Also I had had the brilliant idea of zip tieing my running shoes to my bike as I didn't have any space in my backpack - however it turned out to be not such a good idea as they were continually in my way, especially when I had to stand for the steep parts where they just bashed in to my knees!! A good idea that didnt really work and made the single track section annoying!! After some time on a gravel road we were back on the single track and the bolt fell out of my water bottle holder making my bottle rattle all over the place - quite funny really! Back on the road again and I realised I had overtaken quite a few people by now as I couldn't really see anyone off in the distance any more. Felt good though. I had ridden as hard as I could on the first ride but took it a bit easier on the second as I knew I had a hike up a mountain ahead of me! At the end of this bike ride we had our times recorded - the clock was stopped to give you a chance to get organised for the last section. So I left my bike at Glen Nevis and was surprised to see only 5 others there before me - I was in a really good position. So I was now able to get changed and get rid of all the extra clothes ready to head off up the mountain - Ben Nevis. I tried running for about 5 minutes but decided that hurt too much and that I would fast hike instead!
I felt pretty good the whole time except for one bad patch - I decided my goal was to finish and still feel good rather than try to run to gain a few places and then collapse half way up the hill. So a few people overtook me on this section but as we got into it a bit more I could see others in front of me also struggling to run too so I didnt feel so bad. Wasn't just my complete lack of running training - everyone was feeling the same. We hiked up a gravel road for a while, then a path and then up the mountain side - we zig zagged around and got all bundled up at one stage - and approached a steep rockside which I managed to scramble up faster than some of the others in the group - however they then overtook me going down!! The down was awful - wet grass - I fell over a few times as did others ahead of me - in fact you could see the marks of where they had fallen! That section was pretty hard! By now my ankles, calves and knees were all burning and I was ready to be done. You could see Loch Leven at the bottom - but it was really difficult to get to it down a very steep and awkward hill - but eventually we did with another very painful 1 mile run along the road to reach the final kayak. Once again we paired up with the closest person - I was with a guy from the RAF - was quite cool chatting with him. When we reached the other side of the Loch we ran for the Finish line and I was told I was in 16th place! So I was very happy about that!!
I felt good that I had done so well despite not having been able to put in the training I should have - especially with the running. Today was the longest run/hike I have ever tried and the longest bike ride I have been able to attempt for quite a while, having been feeling so ill since Africa. So yes - pretty pleased with myself. The scenery was very cool - breathtaking, and the weather has been awesome - a glorious day, which really helped! Absolutely shattered when I finished! Great fun!!
My time was 10 hours 40 minutes - not too bad all in all. Average heart rate was about 170 - very high in the morning but I slowed down a little in the afternoon! Great fun!! Did I say that already?
Only trouble is I originally thought Dean was coming so didn't really organise the transport very well. So looks like I will have to get up in the morning and cycle coast to coast again to pick up my car. Then I will drive back here again to see Ruth and Alice finish tomorrow.
PS.
I did indeeed cycle back the next morning - 98 miles! And got back just in time to see the girls finish. I was absolutely exhausted!!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Coast to Coast, Scotland 2011
Still waiting for Paul's official blog of the day to arrive - but just to report briefly on his behalf that he finished in 16th place - a fantastic effort considering he had only just been diagnosed with Tropical Sprue and had just begun treatment. The gluten free diet obviously has had immediate positive effects - great to see Paul getting his energy back after all this time!!
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