Last Friday after having an entire week of commuting too and from work by bike, my luck ran out... so to speak.
The fact is I got a minibus in the face! As it goes, I was hit on a roundabout by a driver that was cutting across traffic and by his own admission was in the wrong lane to be turning left.
The only left I had at this point was the gravel rash to my right knee, elbow, shoulder and hand plus a very sorry looking bike. I wasn't too happy at all as I would have to repair my bike over the weekend and in the run up to Christmas money is tight!!
I had a very badly damaged rear derailleur a good knock to my handlebars and gear/brake levers, a huge gash out of my saddle and now my wheels don't feel right either. Not happy at all and considering I wear a high-vis jacket and have more lights than Blackpool the bloke actually said "Sorry Mate I Didn't See You". Makes me angry!!
After a good knock and a bit of a bruise I was back on the bike on Monday for the usual commute to work etc. Plus tonight I was back at the velodrome!!!
Hurrah Hurrah! Great fun to be had smashing myself around the track!
This time however after a good thrashing for a warm-up, high pace for about 10-15 minutes to get a bit of a sweat on. I had to pull my eyes back in as there were a few riders all wanting to ride for the fabled Blue slip.
As I previously mentioned in an earlier post this allows a rider to progress to the next level. I have a feeling it may just be a whole different level of suffering to enjoy :)
We rode around in a tight line like formation. It does make it so much easier if you ride in a line as the person in front shelters you from the wind as you travel through the air. You actually end up doing around 30% less work to maintain the same speed. Great fun and is a very good thing to practice.
At the end of it all after many laps, changing over from the front position and dropping to the back. heart stopping moments when we all went to exit the track and didn't quite manage it in formation. Turned into a bit of a cluster really, but we handled it safely and recovered well.
The Coach for the session finally uttered the magic words "You are all passed for your Blue slips, See me at reception afterwards to collect them". Great stuff exactly what I wanted from tonight and time to take it up a knotch.
So the Blue slip!
I know what you are thinking!!! Yes it doesn't look much, but this is the the first step towards getting accreditation as a rider. If you want to know more about what it involves just have a look at the link here. This is the National cycling centre website and gives an outline of what you have to do.
I am now going to be on level 2 and ready to really push myself to improve my cycling speed stamina and overall fitness. I know I am far fitter than I was 12 months ago but that is what doing so much fitness (if only just cycling to work and back) does for you.
Tomorrow however I think my legs will need to be told what to do as they where jelly when I left the velodrome and are starting to ache a bit now. My Sergeant Major Matt was loving it tonight and at the end when we got asked if we just wanted to go around fast he kicked me in the arse and just went "I'll be doing some fast laps please!!!" in my voice then got all shouty in my head demanding I go fast enough to make my eyes bleed and anyone watching feel tired! It's like the good old saying that I remember Sergeants of old saying "You'll be doing press-ups* until I'm tired" (*substitute for required exercise e.g. star-jumps, hill runs, sit-ups etc. all the greats that make you hurt like buggery).
Anyway I did some fast laps and rode right up until the last minute. In all I rode for about 50 out of the 60 minutes. I then got changed back into my outdoor kit and after booking my next session cycled the 8 miles home, wibbly wobbly style. However I must have still been on a adrenaline high as I even managed to get a cup on my Strava ride on the way back, I must be mental!
So in other news!
I am now registered on the Tameside Closed Circuit Cycling Racing league, I am going to start entering events in the new year however the first event isn't until April.
I have entered the first sportive of the year too. The Evans Ride-it Rochdale road ride that is about 70 miles but takes in a few good lumps including Crag Vale which is part of the Yorkshire leg of the 2014 Tour De France (Stage 1 I think). Anyway it will be a good ride and my second attempt at doing it as I missed it last year due to coming down with plueracy!! (not an experience I want to repeat any day).
After that I am looking at doing a mixture of races and sportives all running up towards doing a really good challenging ride later on in the year.
Looking forward to it all already!
Happy cycling :)
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