Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling | Tags: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling, Great Yarmouth, Norwich
And the end was in sight…
Route:
Out of Norwich on minor roads through Little Plumstead and Panxworth; then onto the noisy A47 at Acle and into Great Yarmouth for a paddle.
23 miles
Fuel:
A more filling, if lukewarm, Travelodge breakfast – bowl of muesli, scrambled eggs and beans on toast. Celebratory fish and chips on the beach.
Other lessons learnt from the Barmouth-Yarmouth trip:
Barmouth-Yarmouth is a jolly long way.
Jude and Paul are mega fit. They arrived three hours ahead of us on the first day, and actually look like they belong on bikes.
Mat and Anna aren’t far behind.
Dave is quietly determined and always prepared for any eventuality.
Tricky, Charlie and Stav seem to be happy to go it alone, whereas I threatened to cry if anyone left me on my tod. Oooh, and Stav always has a nicely stocked tuck box in his bar bag.
Elaine and Caroline are fascinated by the ladies of Llangollen and pudding. Though not necessarily together.
Emma is relentlessly upbeat, even about cycling the A50.
Helen does actually have a third lung.
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling | Tags: Alwalton, Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, Bodney, cycling, Downham Market, March, Northwold, Norwich, Peterborough, Watton, Whittington, Whittlesea
Another crap night’s sleep, but a much heartier breakfast at the Peterborough Alwalton Premier Inn set us up nicely for the next leg of our adventure.
Route:
Out of Peterborough on the A605 to Whittlesea; a wiggle down minor roads (and a peculiar cycle path that took us randomly around a field on bone-shaking rocky, mucky tracks) to March; across the Fens into a headwind to Downham Market; south-west out of the wind a bit to Whittington and Northwold; another minor road wiggle to Bodney; picked up the B1108 to Watton; and on the same road into Norwich.
81 miles
Fuel:
Much better today. A FAB breakfast at the Beefeater next to the Premier Inn consisting of a bowl of granola, seeds, nuts, fresh fruit and yoghurt, plus scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast, and most importantly Lots of Tea; an enormous jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn mayo and more tea at the Downham Cafe; a Tracker and a Snickers bar around about Watton; then a Calzone pizza and Creme Egg (thanks to support crew Elaine and Caroline) for dinner.
Lessons learnt:
Flatter isn’t necessarily faster. Especially when you’re cycling into the wind across the (boring) Fens. I was surprised to find I was missing the rolling hills of the previous day, which provide a much more interesting ride.
How to cross railway tracks on a bike. Or how not to in Dave’s case. Ouch.
Always go for a number two before departure. I was approaching a desperate state by the time we reached Norwich, what with all that extra food I’d been eating and no loo stops since departing Downham Market…
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling | Tags: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling, Donington Park, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Peterborough, Rutland Water, Stoke on Trent, Uttoxeter
After an average night’s sleep in the Stoke Talke Travelodge – not so much a symptom of a lumpy bed as the start of a sore throat – we were off on day two…and it was a biggie.
Route:
A lengthy crossing of Stoke from the north-west out south-east to Uttoxeter; minor roads through Tutbury, Willington and Swarkestone; past Donington Park racetrack where we had to share the road with lots of chavs and a dangerous Vauxhaul Zafira who overtook us on the outside as we were turning right, but on the plus side caught up with Emma and Helen (aka Girls on Cogs); down to Diseworth and Hathern; then along the interminably long A6006 to Melton Mowbray. From there, south-east again to Oakham; around the top of Rutland Water to Stamford; and onto Alwalton, west of Peterborough (I’m not even sure of the route of the last bit, I was so tired. I was also quite ratty by that point; sorry everyone). Arrived at the Premier Inn at 8.20pm.
110 miles
Fuel:
Paltry Travelodge packed-lunch-stylee breakfast consisting of a handful of dry flakes, some off-tasting UHT milk, a biscuit and some coffee (no tea) – really not enough to sustain a ride around the block, let alone a gargantuan trip to Peterborough; half a Galaxy bar while trying to get out of Stoke; a Greggs cheese and onion pasty in Uttoxeter (home of lovely loos); a hot cross bun and a banana in Willington; various bits of flapjack along the A6006 in a vain quest for energy; a 4pm “lunch” in Cafe Nero in Melton consisting of a BLT sandwich, packet of crisps, Double Decker and a nice cup of tea; jelly babies; then a salmon pasta dinner and banoffee pie at the Beefeater next door to the Premier Inn. So tired I couldn’t actually string a sentence together – sorry again everyone.
Lessons learnt:
Stoke-on-Trent revision class. Don’t go there, just don’t. It took us an hour and a half to get out, and would have taken longer without GPS/Google Maps on Phil’s Blackberry (though I was a bit worried when he led us all down the slip road onto the A50. I think Em was too). Put us waaaaay behind schedule for getting to Melton at anything like lunchtime, and thus stopped me from getting my pork pie because Costa was the only place open. Boo.
Eat a proper breakfast. I was weak as hell by the time we got to the wretched A6006. I put that down to not eating quite enough during the course of the morning.
How to use my gears. Melton to Stamford includes some fairly mega rolling hills and, by this point, we’d already done 80 miles. Thanks to a combination of Em’s positive mental attitude (“attack the hills, attack, attack!”) and Phil’s nagging (“faster faster!”) I worked out how to use my high gears to launch myself down the descents, peddling like fury so I hit the bottom of the ascents at 26-30mph, which gave me enough momentum to get part-way uphill where I dropped down through the gears until I reached the top.
What my limits are. About 75 miles in one day. That is all.
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling | Tags: Bala, Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling, Icebreaker, Llangollen, Stoke on Trent, Talke Travelodge, what to wear cycling, Whitchurch
Route:
From Dolgellau along the A494 to Bala; A5 to Llangollen for lunch; A539 to Whitchurch; A525 to outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent then a wiggle through Alsagers Bank and Audley to Talke (north-west of Stoke).
Undulating from Dolgellau to Llangollen, a bit hilly from Llangollen to Whitchurch, and bloody hilly around Stoke.
89 miles
Lake Bala - wet and cold, and only an hour into the trip
Fuel:
Bowl of porridge at the hostel; Boost bar at Bala; jacket potato with cheese and beans and a pot of tea at Llangollen; Snickers bar at Whitchurch; Hobnob flapjack a little further along; jelly babies; cashew nuts; and steak and chips at a steakhouse down the road from the Stoke Talke Travelodge.
Lessons learnt:
Food is fuel. Like I didn’t know how important food was already… But I was surprised at how hungry I was throughout the day.
Take regular breaks. We scheduled our stops at the beginning of the day, and stuck to them, spending a good hour in Llangollen getting warm.
Wear lots of clothes (a lot more than you would run in). Despite worrying in advance about what to wear, I managed to get it about right. I wore padded tights, a long-sleeved Icebreaker base layer, fleece insulating layer and lightweight shell with some windproofing (which I switched to a proper waterproof Gore-Tex jacket when the rain started hammering down). The only bits of me that were cold were my toes – which were absolutely freezing within minutes of leaving Dolgellau in the pissing rain. We bought Icebreaker hiking socks in Llangollen, and felt instantly better for putting those on.
Don’t cycle into Stoke if you’re not fond of hills. Those last few ups and downs were tough on the old legs after 80 miles.
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling | Tags: Barmouth, Barmouth-Yarmouth, Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling, Dolgellau accommodation, Plas Isa
Booking bikes onto trains isn’t easy. Most of them are only able to transport two or three bikes at a time, and there were 12 of us trying to get into Barmouth last Thursday – not counting anyone else outside of our group. As a consequence, Phil and I had to leave London at 6am to catch a train from Euston to Birmingham International, onto Machynlleth and from there to Barmouth. By the time we reached Wales, it was raining. Great.
We stopped for lunch at the Goodies coffee shop – I had a very nice coronation chicken ciabatta with a pot of tea, which set me up nicely for the first part of the ride into Dolgellau. The route took us along a cycle path next to the estuary, very pretty scenery but a bit mucky for the bikes after the rain. I was convinced my little road tyres would get a puncture almost immediately, but the ride passed without incident and we made it ahead of everyone else to the Plas Isa hostel in Dolgellau – basic facilities but spotlessly clean and spacious. Perfect for the first night.
After a meal at a nearby Italian restaurant and a discussion of the route (I made next to no contribution to this discussion, as I was still steadfastly refusing to look at a map before the ride for fear of quitting before I even started), it was time for bed.
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling | Tags: Barmouth, Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, Great Yarmouth
The Barmouth to Yarmouth bike ride:
313.11 miles
in 3 and a bit days
fuelled by enough chocolate to keep the Easter bunny in business during a recession
and no need to hitch a lift in the support vehicle (aka “the van of shame”)
Woo-hoo!!!
Day-by-day account to follow…
Somewhere in Wales with a good 300 miles to go
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, British Military Fitness, cycling | Tags: Barmouth, Dolgellau, Google Maps, Great Yarmouth, Peterborough, Stoke on Trent
So since my last post, I’ve managed very little in the way of physical exercise – one more British Military Fitness class and a bit of dancing at my Mum’s 60th birthday party. I considered a spinning class this morning, then swiftly decided that was a daft idea.
Reactions to the next challenge range from the confused (“why do you want to do that?” say most people) to the incredulous (“mentalist”, said one friend). It reminds me of preparing for the triathlon two years ago, and in a sort-of bizarre way gives me the courage to go on and achieve something that most people wouldn’t consider trying. I may live to regret these words if I end up being bundled into the support vehicle by my fellow cyclists for complaining too much about having a sore bottom. I reckon Sunday will be the worst day – day three of cycling proper, when my bum is likely to be so sore I can barely bear to sit on a rubber ring, let along a small pointy saddle. And they’ll still be 100 miles to go.
I’m trying not to think too hard about the route, but courtesy of Phil, here is the planned itinerary (assuming we don’t get lost):
Thursday – get up at the crack of dawn for the first train to Barmouth, arrive at lunchtime, think about eating fish and chips, take a gentle 10 mile ride to the hostel in Dolgellau.
Friday – ride through the Welsh mountains to Stoke on Trent – 92 miles according to Google Maps, so maybe more avoiding the main roads. At least it’s (cheap) hotel accommodation from here.
Saturday – ride from Stoke on Trent to Peterborough – 95 miles, although don’t think I’ll be hacking across the A50.
Sunday - ride from Peterborough to Norwich – just 81.7 miles this time.
Monday – little pootle from Norwich to Great Yarmouth – 21 miles, easy.
Wish us luck…
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Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, Reading Half Marathon, nike+ sportband, running | Tags: Reading Half Marathon, running
If I was running a 10k race on Sunday, I wouldn’t be worried; I’ve done a fair few six and seven-milers over the past few weeks.
Today, I was on a top secret mission which I can’t talk about here in case my Mum is reading my blog. However, top secret mission complete, I was able to squeeze in another (nearly) seven-mile run – the old Nike+ Sportband registered 6.83 miles, completed in one hour and seven minutes.
Once again, I didn’t feel much like running that distance all over again afterwards – but I’m committed to running the Reading Half on Sunday, so I’m just going to have to get on with it.
Spinning tomorrow so I can keep up the pretence of training for the Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride.
Filed under: Barmouth-Yarmouth bike ride, cycling, running, running gear | Tags: Barmouth-Yarmouth, cycling, running
Saturday was a beautiful morning, so I set off from my flat at 8.30am and added around six and a half miles to the six that I’d done at the gym the previous evening. That total is not far off the distance I need to do next weekend, but unfortunately I won’t be able to get eight hours’ kip halfway round the Reading Half Marathon course.
Despite the pressure of next weekend’s race, I really enjoyed my run along the River Loddon, around Dinton Pastures and back home via Stanlake. The area around the river in particular is looking very different to just a few weeks ago, with the first bursts of spring blossom and green buds to make the landscape look more interesting. I even spotted a heron, serenely watching the river – no doubt looking for his breakfast.
After running various errands, seeing some friends and loading the bike onto the back of my car – must do a review of the spectacularly well designed Saris Bones bike rack at some point – I travelled up to my folks in time for a gin and tonic, a few glasses of wine and a curry. Ideal preparation for a bike ride the following day… 
So on Sunday, Dad and I deserted Mum on Mother’s Day and met three of Dad’s old git friends in Harpenden and rode to the Ashridge Estate. In my honour, they selected a particularly hilly route – up and down all the way. I’m actually less of a fan of the downhills (particularly those that end at the T-junction of a busy road) than the uphills. After beans on toast and a big mug of tea for the bargainous price of £3 at the cafe on the estate, we rode back again – along a more sedate route. Total mileage: 41 miles; average speed: 14.5mph.
On the way, the veteran cyclists gave me some advice on the Barmouth-Yarmouth ride. I’m still not entirely sure what cadence is, but I get the idea that – on a day-long ride – you should maintain a lower gear (or “twiddle”) to avoid your legs being knackered by lunchtime. They also suggested riding at an average speed of 12 or 13mph, rather than trying to do 14 or 15. As for food and drink, the general consensus seems to be “eat little and often” and drink loads of energy drink.
I have to say, I felt ok after the 40 miles – ready for another little break, but able to continue if required. I think if we break down the days into 20-30 mile chunks with decent breaks between them, I can handle the idea of doing 75-100 miles in a day.
What I haven’t got the hang of is what to wear… In the past, I’ve had a tendency to wear roughly the same amount of clothing as on a run, and found myself getting very cold on the bike. Sunday was also a few degrees cooler and much windier than the previous day. As such, I piled on the layers on Sunday morning, putting a pair of running tights under my padded cycle shorts; and a windproof softshell jacket over the top of a wicking running-type top.
I was boiling in no time, but seriously cooled down when we stopped at Ashridge for breakfast and was freezing for a good portion of the ride back home again. In addition – and not to put too finer point on it – the seams on my running tights caused a bit of a rash in my nether regions. Quite obviously, they weren’t designed for sitting on a saddle.
So, top of my shopping list is a pair of long padded tights – I can’t imagine it being warm enough for shorts in North Wales at Easter. Still none the wiser as to what to wear on my top half – maybe a thin thermal layer (GREAT opportunity to go Icebreaker shopping – yippee) and some kind of a windproof jacket that’s not quite as thick as my North Face softshell one. Then what if it rains? It’s been chucking it down here this afternoon despite the warm and sunny spring day on Saturday. Any tips gratefully received.
