It’s about time I got back into regular ‘big’ rides after a couple of months of short(ish) rides, turbo training, running and sometime quite frustrating levels of inconsistency. What I need right now are regular doses of several hours off road, more than a couple of smaller loops linked together requiring a bit more planning, plenty of hills, a good deal more effort and spare batteries for the lights. Last night was quite large, getting on for 4 hours, 3 regular rides spliced together to form one big endurance training extravaganza. For the full Strathpuffer training effect it was also cold, damp and quite foggy (foggy on the moors anyway).

To give me an extra kick up the arse I rode the ‘maybe-to-tall-gear’ Uber-Niche Ghetto 96er Singlespeed and set off along the road and then onto the cobbled tracks to Birtle. I knew the climb was going to be horrible but luckily I managed to reach the top of the hill without pulling a back muscle despite the need for some brutal bar-wrenching and weight shifting to maintain traction. The mud-fest that used to be Scotland Road needed to be walked along in parts, which was a shame as in the summer this is a pretty good descent but I was eventually on the moorland track above Nangreaves and heading up towards Edenfield. Down into Irwell Vale, across the road to climb Robin Hood’s Well to Holcombe Moor then along the rocky track to the Maggot Farm. The persistent rain this week has turned the little streams that run across this trail into raging torrents of water – ankle-deep (No way was I riding across them) and with a current. Awesome.

By now my brakes really were non-existent, the organic pads in the front brake were being worn away at an alarming rate (I’d forgot I had organics in there to be honest), after braking more than twice I was having to stop to adjust the calliper. Eventually I just gave up on this and instead got my foot ready to do an emergency unclip to brake with that instead. Just as worrying were the funny noises emanating from my freehub….

Just as I got to the road to start the final leg of the ride, my main lights packed in, leaving me with just the helmet lamp to guide me through the late night traffic. My spare battery for the HID lamp seems to have a loose connection again. That was handy. Grrr.

I arrived home just before midnight, drank a pint of chocolate milk and went to bed…but not before I’d watched a video clip of me at the Manx End to End that was broadcast on Sky Sports 3 the other night. Amy very kindly posted it on the Internet, Brant then put it on the Ragley site. 6 seconds of fame at last.  I’ll get to see the whole programme eventually, with any luck 😉

30 miles on the Rodwell yesterday – one of my regular routes, climb up the hill through Radcliffe, Affetside to Crowthorn then up the track past the Maggot Farm, through the military firing range to Holcombe Hill then down to Ramsbottom. Then blast along the road back home, late as usual.

It’s the first proper ride on the Rodwell since the 3 Peaks. During that race I didn’t really have the time to think about how good (or bad) the bike rides, how it felt on my shoulder, what it looked like…I just had to give it a thrashing. It was good then that a few things occurred to me yesterday at various points during the ride.

First of all, it feels very light. My Planet X has got disc brakes and MTB hubs, so there’s a weight penalty there. The Rodwell is at least a couple of pounds lighter than the Planet X and that becomes obvious when climbing and also when shouldering the bike. The Froggleg brakes are nowhere near as good as the Avid discs, especially when they’re wet, but I can (just about) cope with that.

The shape of the top tube is extremely shoulder-friendly. I’ve got an old shoulder injury after a car accident several years ago so if something carried on it isn’t comfortable I get punished. I can carry this bike on my shoulder for hours I reckon – the flat and wider shape of the top tube, near to the junction of the down tube is really well thought-out.

The horizontal top tube makes it easier to get on your shoulder quickly whilst moving. I wasn’t expecting a horizontal top tube to make much difference, but it does. It’s definitely easier to get on the shoulder whilst running towards an obstacle and I have to assume it’s because there’s more room to do so.

It’s comfortable to ride – apparently alloy frames are supposed to be harsh and unforgiving… this one isn’t. Perhaps that’s more a combination of tyres/wheels as well as the compliance of the frame, but there’s none of the smashing over rocks and bad roads that I had with the PX.

Next weekend I’m going to have a go at racing on this bike again, hopefully not ill this time.

At the beginning of September, my racing calendar became quite congested. At times I seemed to be unpacking and recovering from one race then immediately having to get ready for the next. This was without enough time to actually train for each one as when I was able to train hard, I should have been tapering so that I wasn’t screwed up on the start line…and so on. The Isle of Man, The 3 Peaks then Dusk til Dawn left me feeling quite uncharacteristically battered and only this week have I finally started to get back on top of things training-wise.

I’m now happily building, focussing and preparing for the Strathpuffer with no intention of doing any big races in between now and then. I know other ‘Puffer competitors are too so motivation isn’t in short supply either 😉

The relatively relaxed approach with some good solid training might have me back in the condition I was in earlier in the year, plus into the bargain I get to have a lot of fun riding bikes – big rides, short rides, turbo sufferfests (ok, that’s not fun), regular cyclocross racing and an utterly awesome Daft Ride with Dave.

In future I’ll be more careful with the schedule. September, whilst I raced a lot, left me less fit than I was. I can feel that lack of fitness (and a bit of extra weight) right now but gradually I’m clawing it back…