Jonathan Tullett

This morning had me up early and out on the bike shortly after 6am. It was the first time I’d done any cycling of any kind since April 30th: the bike had an extended visit to Halfords to get tuned up, and then I was hit with a bout of viral gastroenteritis.

I’ll be honest, it was hard going. My legs weren’t used to the strain and I was out of breath more than I had been previously on similar distances. I read in one of my long distance cycling books that even taken one week off can cost you up to 25% of your fitness, so this didn’t surprise me.

I started the same route I’d take to London and then cut through Grove Park to Bromley, along Bromley Common and then back home to Orpington. It turns out the distance is exactly the same (to within a couple of hundred metres) as my ride to work.

Details, if the iframe above doesn’t display, can be seen at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/32814309.

It feels good to be back.

I’m getting so close to the magical one hour or under commute to work (by bike) I can practically taste it

Details of the ride, should the iframe above not display, can be seen at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31615124.

I haven’t been cycling as much in the last fortnight as I had previously, but I’m still aiming for/achieving at least 160km (100 miles)/week. It’s a good base mileage which I can start improving my fitness base. I intend to start interval training on the ride in, that should tire me appropriately!

My bike’s scheduled for a service this coming weekend, which is good at it coincides with Zachary coming to stay so I wouldn’t be cycling anyway. It needs good adjustments on the brakes, gears, seat and the chain can probably do with oiling too. When I have it back, I will be repositioning the parts of the cadence meter as it’s been slipping down the pedal crank and providing very spotty information.

I spend a few hours this morning pootling around the London/Surrey/Kent countryside. On route I saw one of my ex-bosses, so stopped to chat with him and his wife for a short while. I also, unfortunately, failed in my attempt at a long 16% gradient hill in Titsley.

Details, if the iframe doesn’t display are at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31049950.

This ride is the same total distance as I cover on my rides to work (in+out), but required far more energy and time due to the sheer number of hills involved. I’m not (yet) a hill climber.

Following Tuesday’s monumental effort on the journey home (previously), my goal is to manage the commute in an hour or less.

Today I nearly hit that, taking 1:04:27. The four minutes over can easily be accounted for by the traffic, traffic lights and my stopping to tuck my right trouser leg into my sock (yes, until I’ve proper long cycling trousers, I’m one of those).

Correlated with the new fastest time comes my new highest average speed: 25.5kph (15.8mph). Only accounting for ‘moving time’ brings this up to 26.1kph (16.2mph).

I’m delighted.

Details, if the iframe above doesn’t display on syndicated blogs, can be found at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30853902.

I cut a full nine minutes off my previous best (back home is mostly up hill too!), making it from Covent Garden to Orpington in 1:11:49.

I pushed myself hard, powering up hills and maintaining a higher heart rate than usual, proving to myself in the process that I am improving and I can sustain greater effort for longer periods.

Had a near accident while traveling through Lewisham though, with a stupid driver watching her right hand side intently to ensure she didn’t hit a motorcyclist and meanwhile edging towards the curb and cutting into me. She got a thump on her door for that.

My goal on the commute is to make it in an hour. If I can cut out all the stopping and starting for traffic lights, I feel I can make it.

Details, for those who are interested and if it didn’t load the iframe above, at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30679837.

This morning’s trip in was my first ride since Friday. It felt good to be back on the bike, though I know my body’s thanking me for allowing it some recovery time after the punishing 205km (128miles) I put it through last week.

I shaved a few seconds off my best to pull in at 1:13:54. The traffic was fairly heavy so a few minutes more would be off if that, and the lights, were in my favour.

It’s clear to me I need to work on my leg strength (larger gears) and endurance (working near the lactate threshold) in order to greatly improve my time; Averaging 14.1mph is at the low end of where I’d like to be riding within the next couple of months.

Activity details can be seen at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30649902.

Cycled home from work today. The journey was far more enjoyable than yesterday’s as I knew the lanes and thus was prepared for right hand turns. Most (but not all) of the drivers were considerate – leaving enough space for me to glide past, and no-one clipped me today.

Details can be seen at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30216086.

Tonight’s ride makes the total distance covered this week 205km (128 miles). Not shabby at all.

Another ride to the office. Wasn’t sure how comfortable it would be after yesterday’s 25 miler (I’ve not done multiple days of long distances in a row) but I was fine.

Details at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/30186141.