It was always going to take a while…..
Recovering from my week away on my cycle tour. On a diet of 12 mile commutes and a bit of Zwift racing, I somehow managed 26.5 hrs of cycling and 40,000ft of climbing that week over 6 consecutive days.
Now I have recovered its easy to look back on it now and digest what I did. To be honest, I’m quite chuffed. In hindsight, it was a bit of an epic ride which I didn’t really think it was going to be through all the planning or think it was, while I was riding it or even straight after. Its only now, I look back and privately say…wow to myself.
Recovery
This took just over a week. I finished on the Friday. I was a bit lost and bored on the Saturday as I didn’t ride. Sunday I just had to ride my bike again so I did a Zwift race. It went better than I expected. The power was there but I was just off and my legs ached. I had Monday off. Rode to work Tuesday and felt good going in but I was drained and really tired on the way home. I needed to go to bed early I was so shattered. I decided to skip Wednesday and rode in again Thursday and Friday. I was feeling better but Friday nights ride home I was quite tired again so I took the weekend and Monday off. I rode in Tuesday this week and the legs felt normal again. Recovered.
Whats next
I have no immediate plans for another tour but I wanted to plan something to aim for later this Summer. Without taking time off, I’m limited to weekends as most people are and every other weekend I have my son. My girlfriend works rotating shifts so its relatively rare I get a weekend to myself without my son or my girlfriend. Well, at the end of June one of these weekends has dropped so I’ve decided to plan a relatively ‘big’ one day ride.
I’ve decided to ride around the outside of Birmingham through all the lanes. It doesn’t sound far but to stay away from the city and go around the outside, its 112 miles!
I’ve been meaning to do a good old century ride for a couple of seasons now but I’ve either been too unfit, too lazy or just unable to plan a ride or enter an event to do one. My last chance was the Mad Summer Hare Sportive last September. I’d been ill and my training curtailed in the run up so I played safe on the day and just rode the 72 mile base route but I was actually fine and could have done the full distance.
Tour of Birmingham
I’ve called my ride a Tour of Birmingham. It goes in a clockwise direction skirting Hagley and heads up towards Telford through quiet lanes before crossing the M54 and then heading around the top of Brum, over Cannock Chase before passing through Rugeley, skirting Lichfield and Tamworth. I’ve planned a stop at 60 miles near Fradley before continuing south through Kingsbury, crossing the M6 and then heading through more lanes towards Solihull and then working my way back home west via Dorridge, Hockley Heath and a final kicker over the Lickey Hills.
https://cycle.travel/map/journey/64147
My plan is to do it in 6-6.5hrs. If anyone wants to join me they can. I think there will be a few of us riding on the day. If you’re faster or slower, just start before or after us and we’ll meet up later in the ride.
Message me for details.