I haven't posted in a while as I haven't done too much worth writing about. This may not change that trend, but I'm doing it anyway! I have only run once or twice a fourtnight for the last six weeks, so I've really been slacking. Hardly any cycling either as the weather has been too foul for the good bike but the brakes on my winter bike are suicidally poor at the moment and I've just not made the time to sort them out. Canoeing would have been a better bet with the rain we've had recently. I did decide not to be so scrawny and finally put my chin-bar up seven years after moving into our house. Now I do chins, press-ups and sit-ups every day so I feel stronger even if no one can tell the difference.
I went for a short run last night and it was sooo sweeet, it felt like another step change in my progression to barefoot ultra-marathoning. I've been doing the odd lower leg strength exercises while not running and last night I felt as if I was bouncing down the road on the balls of my feet, and best of all it felt fast and effortless. I'm sure that having a straighter back also helped as I felt I was getting more air in too. I felt quite primal loping down the road at an easy spin that was faster than I've gone for ages.
Although it was slightly hazy, the moon was bright and I didn't need to put my head-torch on most of the time. I had a blast and came back mini-amped from the awesomeness that was an hour run feeling like I'm competative again - and this time running with a natural lope from running in VFF rather than fat foam.
Saturday, 28 November 2009
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Not Ready to Ride
Although I had planned cycling this morning I didn't make it to the Redhill CC Saturday ride today. It rained all night and was still showering this morning. I didn't want to use my good bike but although I had got my winter bike out of storage I haven't got it set up right. I gave it a test ride a few days ago and discovered that the brake levers nearly pulled to the bars before there was any action, which was none too reassuring. The gears aren't sharp and as I haven't put mudguards on yet I was looking to get soaked from above and sprayed below.
I decided to go for a run instead. The ground was going to be wet and I wanted to run off-road, but I figured that as it has been so dry recently the ground would not be too muddy. I ran in my trusty red VFF Sprints - they have become my trainers now. I hardly ever run in large foam shoes any more. My Mizuno waves seemed lightweight when I bought them, but they don't any more - I almost wore them to save the VFF from the wet, but they made me feel as if I was wearing high-heeled shoes. Which I was in a way. I feel quite adequate as a man, so why would I want heel-lifts to go out running?
Despite a constant drizzle it was not at all cold and as I'm currently uninjured the running was good. I finally feel as if I have completely made the transition to barefoot-style running. I say barefoot-style rather than barefoot on purpose though. I do tend to use VFFs when I run as many of the trails around me are maintained with sharp gravel and despite repeated attempts my feet have never quite adapted. I'll keep trying it on occasion, but I prefer to enjoy my runs rather than grimly endure them.
Anyway, it was fantastic. I started off feeling quite out of sorts and a bit grumpy for no reason, but within five minutes I knew that I was sorting myself out. I ran across a couple of stretches of wet grass to get my feet used to being damp. I didn't plan on running through puddles on purpose, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to avoid getting wet feet. I ran past the stables and up the steep path up the hillside on Gatton Park. At the top of the incline I turned right off the main path and took the winding single track that involves jumping and ducking - much more fun. There was a vague mist floating on the higher ground and it was all very atmospheric.
When I got onto the top of Reigate Hill I saw three women walking across the path, so rather than have to disturb, or wait for, them I ran through the grassy field alongside. It was much mistier on the top and I don't think that the even saw me. The top of the hill was great, it was like running in a warm but damp blanket. I don't think that the visibility was much greater than ten metres. Despite the VFF having no tread I have learned to avoid smooth chalky soil and kept to grass, leaf and stone covered trail, consequently I only rarely slipped.
Its hard to describe the rest of the run without being quite boring. I saw about six people in the entire hour that I was on the hill, and enjoyed one path so much that I turned round and ran it a second time before continuing my route. The slope that I was most worried about was fine as it was undercover and so was not too smooth or slippy. My only gripe with the run was what I was wearing - I had leggings and thermal top thinking that it would be cool, but although the breeze on the top was cool I spent most of the run feeling too hot. I did feel as if I have got the barefoot style nailed though and I had no trouble keeping a fast smooth cadence going. I say no trouble, it was easy at first, but after an hour and a half I was losing form. I was pleased to find that I could get up the side of my killer climb no trouble at all - short fast steps seems to be the thing, not big power steps that nearly kill you.
Ran for 1:49:57, tired and happy. Tight calves and achillies tendons, but no niggles and still running well. Been ravenous for the rest of the day.
I decided to go for a run instead. The ground was going to be wet and I wanted to run off-road, but I figured that as it has been so dry recently the ground would not be too muddy. I ran in my trusty red VFF Sprints - they have become my trainers now. I hardly ever run in large foam shoes any more. My Mizuno waves seemed lightweight when I bought them, but they don't any more - I almost wore them to save the VFF from the wet, but they made me feel as if I was wearing high-heeled shoes. Which I was in a way. I feel quite adequate as a man, so why would I want heel-lifts to go out running?
Despite a constant drizzle it was not at all cold and as I'm currently uninjured the running was good. I finally feel as if I have completely made the transition to barefoot-style running. I say barefoot-style rather than barefoot on purpose though. I do tend to use VFFs when I run as many of the trails around me are maintained with sharp gravel and despite repeated attempts my feet have never quite adapted. I'll keep trying it on occasion, but I prefer to enjoy my runs rather than grimly endure them.
Anyway, it was fantastic. I started off feeling quite out of sorts and a bit grumpy for no reason, but within five minutes I knew that I was sorting myself out. I ran across a couple of stretches of wet grass to get my feet used to being damp. I didn't plan on running through puddles on purpose, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to avoid getting wet feet. I ran past the stables and up the steep path up the hillside on Gatton Park. At the top of the incline I turned right off the main path and took the winding single track that involves jumping and ducking - much more fun. There was a vague mist floating on the higher ground and it was all very atmospheric.
When I got onto the top of Reigate Hill I saw three women walking across the path, so rather than have to disturb, or wait for, them I ran through the grassy field alongside. It was much mistier on the top and I don't think that the even saw me. The top of the hill was great, it was like running in a warm but damp blanket. I don't think that the visibility was much greater than ten metres. Despite the VFF having no tread I have learned to avoid smooth chalky soil and kept to grass, leaf and stone covered trail, consequently I only rarely slipped.
Its hard to describe the rest of the run without being quite boring. I saw about six people in the entire hour that I was on the hill, and enjoyed one path so much that I turned round and ran it a second time before continuing my route. The slope that I was most worried about was fine as it was undercover and so was not too smooth or slippy. My only gripe with the run was what I was wearing - I had leggings and thermal top thinking that it would be cool, but although the breeze on the top was cool I spent most of the run feeling too hot. I did feel as if I have got the barefoot style nailed though and I had no trouble keeping a fast smooth cadence going. I say no trouble, it was easy at first, but after an hour and a half I was losing form. I was pleased to find that I could get up the side of my killer climb no trouble at all - short fast steps seems to be the thing, not big power steps that nearly kill you.
Ran for 1:49:57, tired and happy. Tight calves and achillies tendons, but no niggles and still running well. Been ravenous for the rest of the day.
Monday, 12 October 2009
Dunsfold Sportive Completed
I had a great time in my first bike event this weekend. I entered the Dunsfold Sportive mid-distance, 58 miles of hilly fun. Having almost joined Redhill cycle Club (application form would have been in the post if I hadn't left it in the office last Friday)I planned to ride out with a club team. In the event I joined two others, Gary and Sean to form a break away, more by accident than by design.
The day started well, up early to load the car and eat breakfast in plenty of time. I was disappointed by the threat of rain but got to the venue at 7:50 and had plenty of time to load pockets with food and provisions and lose my phone - which I then found in another pocket I hadn't checked! The ride started well, riding in the pack with all the Redhill CC from the off. A nice comfortable pace, cruising at 20mph had me very optimistic that a gold finish was virtually in the bag. After a few miles I joined Gary at the front for a share of the pace setting, but after a couple of short climbs we found that we'd strung the group out a bit. Being impetuous we didn't back off to allow the others to regroup, but pushed on. On a short sharp hill we picked up Sean and dropped everyone else. These guys taught me a lesson in self-inflicted pain!
We rode in a three man mini-chain gang through Cranleigh and Walliswood and up Leith Hill. We were overtaken at the top of Leith Hill by a rider who looked unstoppable so I jumped on his wheel and we screamed down the hill getting up to 37 mph on my computer. Not so fast as to be amazing, but fast enough on a damp, leafy and stony road. I had so much fun that I didn't even notice my pump jumping out of my back pocket. Gary reckoned it went so far he nearly caught it. I only learned about my loss as the boys caught me just before the first timing checkpoint, and I wasn't going back up!
After a quick half-banana it was back on the bike and chain ganging again but after the short stretch of A25 at Wotton the boys had made me dip well into my reserves and I couldn't stay with them on the ups. I hung on the back until the second A25 stretch outside Shere where I retired from the attack. We were all totally aiming for a Gold standard finish, but I didn't want to hold them back as I was clearly toiling and they were going strong. Gary kindly lent me his pump as I'd lost mine, a kindness that cost him some time later on as it transpired.
From there I effectively rode on my own, just doing everything I could to keep my average speed up at 17 or higher. Although I was tired on the hills my love of downhills saw my speed range regularly from 7mph up hill to 25+ on the downs, just keeping me around the 17 average mark. I did discover that Eccles cakes are hard to digest when you're trying to pedal hard. By Shere I was struggling riding on my own and resigned myself to missing gold standard, but every time I came across others on the hills I managed to overtake them. Even though I wasn't a match for Gary and Sean I was clearly strong enough to hold my own. Things were looking more promising again after I drafted a couple of guys going at pace from the Chilworth railway crossing, but I lost touch with them at Shalford as I couldn't hold the speed any longer.
Then I made the route mistake that cost me my gold finish - not that I'm competitive or anything but I was furious with myself. I missed the right turn at the mini-roundabout before Bramley as I was head down and cranking. I was two miles down the A281 before I realised I'd lost all markers and riders. I turned around and found the turning with no problem, the sign being quite visible when you were looking. I rode the rest half depressed and half angry but pushing myself, using the discomfort as a punishment for such a stupid mistake. I entered the Dunsfold entry road with an average of 17.1 mph and determined to give it one last ditch attempt - the up slope saw me dropping to 15mph but with a final effort through the gate I crossed the line with exactly 17.0mph average. I ended up getting a Silver standard time.
Post race fatigue saw me sitting gently propped in the corner of the living room for the rest of the day. Apart from slightly tender ITBs I'm totally fine today, no quad tiredness at all. As a runner I'm used to going for 1.5 hours max on 99% of runs, so this 4 hour cycle thing is making me use up all my muscle glycogen in a way I'm not used to. My new book on bike racing says that I'll adapt as I train so I'm looking forward to finding my feet in the 2010 race season after a winter of training rides.
The day started well, up early to load the car and eat breakfast in plenty of time. I was disappointed by the threat of rain but got to the venue at 7:50 and had plenty of time to load pockets with food and provisions and lose my phone - which I then found in another pocket I hadn't checked! The ride started well, riding in the pack with all the Redhill CC from the off. A nice comfortable pace, cruising at 20mph had me very optimistic that a gold finish was virtually in the bag. After a few miles I joined Gary at the front for a share of the pace setting, but after a couple of short climbs we found that we'd strung the group out a bit. Being impetuous we didn't back off to allow the others to regroup, but pushed on. On a short sharp hill we picked up Sean and dropped everyone else. These guys taught me a lesson in self-inflicted pain!
We rode in a three man mini-chain gang through Cranleigh and Walliswood and up Leith Hill. We were overtaken at the top of Leith Hill by a rider who looked unstoppable so I jumped on his wheel and we screamed down the hill getting up to 37 mph on my computer. Not so fast as to be amazing, but fast enough on a damp, leafy and stony road. I had so much fun that I didn't even notice my pump jumping out of my back pocket. Gary reckoned it went so far he nearly caught it. I only learned about my loss as the boys caught me just before the first timing checkpoint, and I wasn't going back up!
After a quick half-banana it was back on the bike and chain ganging again but after the short stretch of A25 at Wotton the boys had made me dip well into my reserves and I couldn't stay with them on the ups. I hung on the back until the second A25 stretch outside Shere where I retired from the attack. We were all totally aiming for a Gold standard finish, but I didn't want to hold them back as I was clearly toiling and they were going strong. Gary kindly lent me his pump as I'd lost mine, a kindness that cost him some time later on as it transpired.
From there I effectively rode on my own, just doing everything I could to keep my average speed up at 17 or higher. Although I was tired on the hills my love of downhills saw my speed range regularly from 7mph up hill to 25+ on the downs, just keeping me around the 17 average mark. I did discover that Eccles cakes are hard to digest when you're trying to pedal hard. By Shere I was struggling riding on my own and resigned myself to missing gold standard, but every time I came across others on the hills I managed to overtake them. Even though I wasn't a match for Gary and Sean I was clearly strong enough to hold my own. Things were looking more promising again after I drafted a couple of guys going at pace from the Chilworth railway crossing, but I lost touch with them at Shalford as I couldn't hold the speed any longer.
Then I made the route mistake that cost me my gold finish - not that I'm competitive or anything but I was furious with myself. I missed the right turn at the mini-roundabout before Bramley as I was head down and cranking. I was two miles down the A281 before I realised I'd lost all markers and riders. I turned around and found the turning with no problem, the sign being quite visible when you were looking. I rode the rest half depressed and half angry but pushing myself, using the discomfort as a punishment for such a stupid mistake. I entered the Dunsfold entry road with an average of 17.1 mph and determined to give it one last ditch attempt - the up slope saw me dropping to 15mph but with a final effort through the gate I crossed the line with exactly 17.0mph average. I ended up getting a Silver standard time.
Post race fatigue saw me sitting gently propped in the corner of the living room for the rest of the day. Apart from slightly tender ITBs I'm totally fine today, no quad tiredness at all. As a runner I'm used to going for 1.5 hours max on 99% of runs, so this 4 hour cycle thing is making me use up all my muscle glycogen in a way I'm not used to. My new book on bike racing says that I'll adapt as I train so I'm looking forward to finding my feet in the 2010 race season after a winter of training rides.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Dunsfold Sportive Coming
I have continued my cycle craze and entered my first Sportive. Despite having ridden on and off road since I was ickle, this will be my first organised cycling event other than the London to Brighton ride for the British Heart Foundation (where I met my wife). I've now ridden with the Redhill Cycle Club twice, and found them to be very friendly and welcoming. I'm only an application in the post away from joining properly. I have found that the cycling and running complement each other really well, at least to the extent that running keeps the cardio fitness up and enables me to keep on pushing when my calves and achilles are tender after another ten mile barefoot (VFF) run.
As a runner I normally run for around one and a half hours, up to two. I do plan on getting fit to run an ultra marathon, but so far I haven't put the time in. By the end of a two hour run I'm normally physically tired, unable to hold really good form and gently hurting all over, some places more than others. The bike is tiring in a completely different way. I start out with strength and pace from all the running that I do, and being lower impact I don't get sore in the same way. What happens instead is that I drain all the energy out of my muscles - legs mainly. I ride hard until I just get to the point where I can't push hard any more. No pain, just no strength. I need to work on my endurance.
I've entered the Dunsfold Sportive mid-distance, covering 58 miles and going up and down the North Downs a couple of times. Not particularly fearsome but tiring enough. I'm going to be riding with a group of Redhill CC riders and hope that I acquit myself adequately. My main fear is bonking mid-ride and having a road-based epic. I will just pace myself and see how I get on. I'm used to pacing myself on a run but on the bike I keep cranking until I basically can't. The question is whether I can get the stopping point to happen after 58 miles!
As a runner I normally run for around one and a half hours, up to two. I do plan on getting fit to run an ultra marathon, but so far I haven't put the time in. By the end of a two hour run I'm normally physically tired, unable to hold really good form and gently hurting all over, some places more than others. The bike is tiring in a completely different way. I start out with strength and pace from all the running that I do, and being lower impact I don't get sore in the same way. What happens instead is that I drain all the energy out of my muscles - legs mainly. I ride hard until I just get to the point where I can't push hard any more. No pain, just no strength. I need to work on my endurance.
I've entered the Dunsfold Sportive mid-distance, covering 58 miles and going up and down the North Downs a couple of times. Not particularly fearsome but tiring enough. I'm going to be riding with a group of Redhill CC riders and hope that I acquit myself adequately. My main fear is bonking mid-ride and having a road-based epic. I will just pace myself and see how I get on. I'm used to pacing myself on a run but on the bike I keep cranking until I basically can't. The question is whether I can get the stopping point to happen after 58 miles!
Monday, 21 September 2009
Miles of Fun on wheels and foot
I've managed another week of training and I'm still not ill or injured, so I'm pretty pleased. I'm having a recovery day today. I am enjoying the ache in my quads that mark a few days of proper brutal speed and hill work and not feeling guilty about putting my feet up.
I rode my Scott Addict to work in London last Friday, 22 miles each way. I got there in an hour and ten minutes, and back in an hour and some more. The return journey was slowed by heavier traffic and more up hill than the route in, but I completely caned it at every opportunity. In the past I've had some scrapes with blind car drivers and psychotic bus drivers but this time the greatest source of ill-vented rage went to some other cycle riding numpties. Upright bikes and helmets pushed to the back of head, slow as a snail but they just ride straight through red traffic lights. Its shameful that they are allowed to ride, which they barely seem able to anyway - maybe they didn't stop because if they did they wouldn't have the strength to get going again? It makes me want to swear again just thinking of them. The real surprise of the ride home was being waved on through gaps twice by drivers, once by a car driver - pleasant treat - and once by a bus - nothing short of a miracle.
On Saturday I went on an open ride with Redhill CC. This was great fun, it was so good to be able to ride with a set of fellow cyclists rather than setting a lone trail. We went all over the back roads of Surrey and despite having lived in the area for a good 25 of my 40 years I frequently found myself merrily following back roads I don't think that I've ever seen before. If I'd been out on my own I'd have probably have done a dull route on A roads. Instead we slogged up and ragged down some beautiful country lanes. The group were a really friendly set of people too, I'm looking forward to joining the club and getting some good hard training in. We covered 42 miles over the morning and pushed some of the hills pretty hard. I know that I worked hard because my legs tell me so.
On Sunday I decided that I probably ought not overdo the cycling, so I went out for a run in the evening. It took my legs 15 or 20 minutes to loosen up, but once they did I was flying. I went out in the VFF again, trainers suck. I nearly got in trouble as I said that I'd be out for an hour to an hour and a half but was nearly two! I just wanted to keep on running and running. I even managed to run up some of the slopes on the North Downs above Reigate that I've had to walk in the past. The running and cycling training is definately paying dividends.
I haven't found an even to enter yet, but I can feel a race coming on. Running I'm very familiar with, but I've never competatively raced any of my bikes, so maybe a bike race needs to feature soon. I'm going to get hill blasting to build leg strength.
I rode my Scott Addict to work in London last Friday, 22 miles each way. I got there in an hour and ten minutes, and back in an hour and some more. The return journey was slowed by heavier traffic and more up hill than the route in, but I completely caned it at every opportunity. In the past I've had some scrapes with blind car drivers and psychotic bus drivers but this time the greatest source of ill-vented rage went to some other cycle riding numpties. Upright bikes and helmets pushed to the back of head, slow as a snail but they just ride straight through red traffic lights. Its shameful that they are allowed to ride, which they barely seem able to anyway - maybe they didn't stop because if they did they wouldn't have the strength to get going again? It makes me want to swear again just thinking of them. The real surprise of the ride home was being waved on through gaps twice by drivers, once by a car driver - pleasant treat - and once by a bus - nothing short of a miracle.
On Saturday I went on an open ride with Redhill CC. This was great fun, it was so good to be able to ride with a set of fellow cyclists rather than setting a lone trail. We went all over the back roads of Surrey and despite having lived in the area for a good 25 of my 40 years I frequently found myself merrily following back roads I don't think that I've ever seen before. If I'd been out on my own I'd have probably have done a dull route on A roads. Instead we slogged up and ragged down some beautiful country lanes. The group were a really friendly set of people too, I'm looking forward to joining the club and getting some good hard training in. We covered 42 miles over the morning and pushed some of the hills pretty hard. I know that I worked hard because my legs tell me so.
On Sunday I decided that I probably ought not overdo the cycling, so I went out for a run in the evening. It took my legs 15 or 20 minutes to loosen up, but once they did I was flying. I went out in the VFF again, trainers suck. I nearly got in trouble as I said that I'd be out for an hour to an hour and a half but was nearly two! I just wanted to keep on running and running. I even managed to run up some of the slopes on the North Downs above Reigate that I've had to walk in the past. The running and cycling training is definately paying dividends.
I haven't found an even to enter yet, but I can feel a race coming on. Running I'm very familiar with, but I've never competatively raced any of my bikes, so maybe a bike race needs to feature soon. I'm going to get hill blasting to build leg strength.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Training Hard, Fast and Fit
I'm now training fit for a second whole week without niggles and feeling really strong. Which is nice. The picture illustrates how I feel about life, but it isn't me. If it was I'd have won five stages of the Tour de France. But I didn't.
All the time that I spent barefoot, or VFF, running I was improving and strengthening, but I never managed to get rid of those final niggles in my heals. My calves are getting nicely cut and my feet have a shape and strength that I'm not sure they've ever had before. Stuff I used to whine to my karate sensei I couldn't do with my feet I can now do easily - shame its 15 years later! Despite that, and improved cardio-vascular fitness, I could never quite get my ankles and heals to properly stop hurting. Even after relatively short runs (only 3 or 4 miles) I'd have niggly heals. On waking and getting up in the morning I'd have stiff ankles that would take a few minutes to loosen off.
Then I got my Scott Addict (R3 - I'm not completely minted, or pro) and my training life is complete. I have a Bianchi L470 Mega Pro hard-tail mountain bike for trail time, but that is for fun blasting and ragging round the hills. Sometimes when riding on the road over to the trails I get overtaken by roadies and it makes me sad when the buzz of rubber stops me catching them up. Its an odd bike to have - not in a bad way, but it has made me a bike outcast - roadies ignore me 'cos I'm on a mountain bike and mountain bikers look at it and ask about the "road bike with fat tyres". Whatever.
Anyway, the Scott is like a missile and it makes me want to ride hard. Probably quite slowly by clubman standards, but still hard for me. I've managed to slip out on it a few times, in addition to my Brighton trip (mentioned last entry), and it just makes me smile every time. I do need a speedometer on it though so I can try to be more consistent with my pace. At the moment I crank until my legs and lungs can take no more, then slow terribly, and start again once I've recovered. It's so light and direct that you just have to put the hammer down at every opportunity. Bizarely climbing is my favourite. I just drop the gears, get the cadence up and go for it - my old Claud Butler used to feel as if it was being twisted in the middle but the Scott just shoots forward.
Going up isn't the only fun that you can have though. Cruising down the A23 from Redhill to Horley its possible pretty much to keep pace with the cars (except in Salfords, I haven't cracked 50 mph on the flat yet) - especially if you slipstream them, a bit of fun in a Russian Roulette kind of way. Its some kind of fun to feel a car coming up on your shoulder before standing on the pedals and riding off in front again. Keeps drivers on their toes to be out accelerated by a bike. The only time I had trouble was with a short-sighted t*ss*r pulling out who despite looking me in the eyes seemed unable to believe that I was really there. A very loud and inventive tourette's outburst seemed to get his brakes back on.
The point of the waxing lyrical, or maybe just prosaically, about the Scott is that it seems to have melted the rubbish out of my ankles. Ten hours of medium to hard effort on the bike seems to have got the ankles flexing, but in a less/not really very load bearing way. So now I'm smiling as I walk down the road not only from the endorphins from yesterdays workout, but also 'cos the perma-pain has gone gone gone.
Until I next do something stupid like tray-surf the stairs. Now there's an idea.
Sunday, 6 September 2009
More blog change and more sport
I've changed this blog title again, and widened the topics that I plan to talk about. I still run and plan on running in VFF over a trail ultra in 2010, but I've just had another of my periodic sports flips and have just got a new bike. Not just any old bike though - a Scott Addict R3. The picture is nice but cannot do justice to the pure lightness, majesty and shocking power of this bike. I read the reviews of this and other bikes on BikeRadar, and saw things like "rides like its on rails" and "absorbs road shock" and "very stiff and very quick" and thought why not give it a go? I got the bike shop near my office to get one in for me with plans to test it against the Trek Madone 5.2 Pro. I also read reviews of Cervelo, Pinarello, Felt, Bianchi, Kona, Cannondale, Quintana Roo amongst others, but decided to go for whole package value rather than the exotic just for the sake of it. I didn't want a bike with anything less than Ultegra from Shimano.
As it happened the Madone test didn't work out because the carbon saddle post kept jamming on the carbon downtube extension that it sits on so I couldn't get the height right for a test-ride. I test rode an aluminium framed Trek to get the height set and then the Scott integrated seat post was cut to height. It didn't really matter that I had to commit to purchase the frame/bike before it was cut as I knew that I had to have the Scott from the moment that I picked it up (it weights about 17lbs all up - with pedals added). I only managed a quick ride around the block before getting on the train for home (I ran out of time to ride home), but once on the Scott but I knew that it was the right decision and it made me smile insanely.
I didn't get the use it the next day, because life happens and I had other commitments - taking my daughter and several of her friends to a restaurant for her 12th birthday seemed more important than going for a ride.
But over the weekend I've spent over 7 hours on the Scott. I just want to keep riding it is so pleasurable. The only thing that makes me stop is my own weakness. On Saturday I rode from home over Box Hill to Bookham where I picked up 4.5kg of cake materials for my wife. Then I cycled back with them in my rucksack. I might have made it OK except that I'd not had lunch and took no food, so coming back up the Box Hill zig-zags I bonked badly and rode like one of those old people with a steel upright frame and a big wicker basket. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but it doesn't seem right on a carbon-race frame.
I limped to the sweet shop next to Cycles Dauphin and was so tired I didn't even do more than look through their window. Though to be honest there wasn't anything other than carbon lust to draw me in, I've just bought all the bike that I need for the moment. A Redbull and a Mars bar saw my blood sugar rise to an acceptable level and I managed the rest of the ride home with a little more pace and pride - 30 miles and empty tank. I've not ridden that hard in a while. I do have a beautiful Bianchi hard-tail mountain bike but my hill top bimbles over the summer have never been so draining - on the trails I'm happy to potter along until I hit a tempting singletrack section, but on the roads I just get the blood up and try to crank it all the time. I slept well last night.
Today, however, rather than feel pleased with myself and relaxing I had planned to cycle to Brighton - a 35 miles each way and Ditchling Beacon as my point of crossing the South Downs. What an awesome ride, and what an awesome bike. I really pushed myself, but was more considered and took food today. In times gone past they said that a good sword was not only beautiful but that it had a personality of its own and made a special connection with its owner. I reckon that my Scott is the modern bike equivalent of a really excellent sword. It's incredible, feeling almost 'invisible' it is so steady, stable and light, but responds to increased power with a hum and a grace - you can feel the immediate and complete power transfer whenever you step on the pedals (Look Keo Carbons I chose to complement the bike).
I've not ridden on a road bike for over 5 years since my old bike's gears started slipping badly and I put it in the shed without getting it looked over - I just couldn't get the gears to stop skipping and I'm not normally rubbish at maintenance so figured new chain or new chainrings were required. I also found that I could get a very annoying amount of flex out of the frame and was forever cursing the grinding of chain on front mech as the bottom bracket moved out of line. However, the Scott has no such structural weakness and seems immune to twisting no matter what - which adds to the power straight into the road feeling. You'd think that a bike so stiff would offer a harsh ride, but no once more; its as plush as they come and I've just ridden around 100 miles over the weekend and feel just fine - if anything it is a smoother ride than my old flexi frame, its all in the design I suppose.
All in all the Scott Addict R3 rules and I'll be mainly riding it lots.
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