Ditchling Beacon, Steyning Bostal and Confidence

Confidence is all about state of mind and perception.... Mine has taken a bit of a dent recently as I seem to be lacking my usual power and I am reaching for smaller gears when normally I can power through....

With Amanda meeting some of her friends for coffee and a night out, I thought it was an ideal time for me to do some more hill training, and the fact that she did not need the car meant that I could go a bit further afield from my usual training areas.
Ditchling Beacon had been on my mind as a significant climb within a distance that I could get to. Not only that but, after consulting my 100 greatest cycling climbs book, there was another, Steyning Bostal that I could do in the same ride.
I poured over the maps the night before and tried to make sense of a route which was becoming increasingly awkward to plot due the fact that both the climbs, once completed, descended to the (very) main A27 which is a dual carriageway and not a road that I wanted to take on.
It meant plotting a route that, once over this first climb, meant going over what I thought was going to be a bridge to get across - wrong! - I had to navigate the central barriers and then take a rather convoluted route through Shoreham-on-Sea in order to get back the other side of the South Downs for the climb of Ditchling Beacon which is from the north side, beginning in the lovely town of Ditchling.
So, Saturday morning I set off early for Storrington which I thought would be an ideal starting point, and so it proved with a nice little spot on a side street easy to find.
As I started to get changed, I felt cold - not that surprising since in the last few days the weather has turned much more winter-like, but still, not the best start.
I loaded myself up to the hilt with all the necessary tackle and some jelly babies, 4 snickers, 3 energy gels and a banana ( I was determined to make sure that I had enough to not suffer - or so I thought). After donning my rain jacket I set off for Steyning, which is a charming town at the northern base of the South Downs. A right turn later and I was at the bottom of the first climb - Steyning Bostal.

You pass a sign saying something like "narrow road with passing points" - all climbs seem to have this - and then you rise gradually until you meet a road coming in from the right. You then swing left and the gradient increases markedly as you pass a sheer chalk face and as the road then sweeps steeply around to the right you reach the summit and a long flat stretch before a fast descent interupted sharply by the A27.



Some 20 miles later I was beginning to wonder if I would ever arrive at Ditchling. Yet again I was beginning to feel tired and despite taking regular food and water, my feet and hands had only just warmed up.
I finally did reach the town and was a little disappointed that I did not have time to hang around longer as it really is a picture. I was also surprised at how busy it was but I definately had a sense of expectation building in me.
As I turned onto Beacon Road the road was flat enough but full of traffic. This clearly was a little different from the previous climb and the reason is that this is a major route into Brighton - I wasn't quite prepared for that.
The road continues for some time at a gentle pitch before you come across a left hand bend and this is where the climb begins in earnest as the gradient increases sharply and you head into a heavily wooded area. This steep section is sustained and the road snakes as it clings to the side of the Downs, emerging from the woods briefly, before becoming even more steep, whilst affording incredible views of the surounding area to the North.

The view quickly disappears again though as the still weaving tarmac, heads back into the trees and one last notch up in gradient sees the road swing to the right and the summit.
I really found this hill tough. At no point was I out of breath and my heart rate was not too high, but my legs just did not want to know. I did of course get up but I really did have to slow right down and just concentrate on getting to the top - not what I am used to at all. I certainly seem to have lost my climbing "bounce"

I am not used to struggling up hills and it is certainly starting to play on my mind a little  - don't get me wrong - Ditchling Beacon is a testing climb but I have done far harder and with better form.

Am I over trained or under nourished, or both?

Well, this week I am dispensing with careful intake and calories and fuelling for a big weekend. A few days off the bike should help with the recovery and a large plate off liver and onions (One of Amanda's many specialities which I have just polished off), should help rebuild the muscles.

Anyway with the Beacon out the way I promptly puntured on the descent and while repairing the hole I became aware of just how many cyclists were going past me. The hill is clearly used as a training run by a large number of locals - I saw one guy complete the hill three times!!
At the bottom, a lack of options meant the only way to go was to turn around and go back up and down the same hill - the other ascent is far longer and therefore nothing like as steep. Enjoyable in its' own way though.
After a couple of wrong turns on the way back to the car I finally arrived having done 68 miles (more than I intended), but was greeted with the hot coffee and sandwiches that Amanda had made for me that morning - What a Star!

Return to the New Forest

I didn't write an update last week as there didn't seem too much to talk about.
Myself and Amanda did a 60 mile run based on the Southern Sportive route that I did a few weeks before, but since she had not done any of that route before, it was all new to her.
She meet up with Duncton Hill and did well - the only bad spot was that she had three!! punctures on the route.

This week though Amanda was tied up taking her recently formed ladies only cycling club, out on their maiden trip from Lepe on Saturday.
I fancied a long run but did not want to go too far from home, so I set out into the New Forest, to complete one of the training rides that I used for the London to Paris.
The added miles from home to the start of the ride at Half Moon Common would take the ride to over 85miles, although most of the ride would be flat.

The one real exception to that is Blissford Hill which although very short, has a really steep section (the sign says 25%, but my Garmin Edge 705 indicated a max of 21% - either way it is steep enough to create a grunt or six).
Fortunately enough, I missed most of the rain, and again, really struggled in the second third of the ride, only to get better towards the end -  a nutritional rethink is on the cards.
Still, on the positive side, I did the whole ride without a stop (other than for nature) and did all the eating and even put on my rain jacket while on the move - a useful skill I could do with working on with the Lake District in mind.
Got back in time to listen to the football on the radio as well.

The Sunday weather forecast was not good - nice start but but by Midday, rain would be in control. Neither myself or Amanda wanted to get wet so we set off early and were ready at the Marchwood Enclosure by 8.30am for a (hopefully) brisk 30 miles. A few technical faults later, we were done and home just in time for the heavens to open - almost exactly on 12pm.
Although the ride was not hard, by the time I had washed the bikes down and sat down, my legs were toast - completely wrecked....
and so the Sunday ended with me watching the football and eating vitually everything that we had left in the house.
Amanda got up early to give me a lift to work on Monday - seriously in debtted to her for that!

The Outlaws Cometh

Saturday morning and the prospect of of Mum and Dad coming down for the weekend meant that the only chance to get a ride in was to do an extended route home from work. Both myself and Amanda had given blood the night before, so this really limited us to a fairly short, non-taxing route home.
So I went in and while I was working, Amanda rode in to met me (my Trek 1.2 was already at work), and we set off through the south side of Winchester and did an extended route along various stretches of the beautiful River Itchen.

This is a route that we have done a few times but today was beautiful - a (insert appropriate collective noun here) of Long Tailed Tits escorted us along the hedgerow as we set off...

The ride itself was fairly uneventful except for the the huge number of snowdrops on the bank of the River Itchen as it passes through Ovington.

We were so taken that Amanda insisted on a photo....

A lovely stretch this.
28 miles later and we arrived home to find Mum and Dad already arrived, in the house, drinking tea and tucking into the cake that was made for me!!!........ We knocked on the door only to get no answer......Honestly, you couldn't make it up.

Alex v The Elements

No pictures this week, just me grumbling about how hard cycling is when the conditions are bad.
With Amanda visiting her parents this weekend I had planned to really test myself, both in terms of the mileage and circumstances that would test my mental resolve - and so it proved.
Planning the route on Friday night I decide that I would do the major part of the Southern Sportive route that I completed in September. A few adjustments we needed but the main idea was to try and complete 100 miles - It would be the first time that I had tried to complete so many miles on my own.
Glancing at the weather forecast the signs were not good - a strong southwesterly wind was forecast which meant that the whole of the second (and home leg) would be straight into the wind. No worries I thought, I am quite a strong wind rider and this will give me the test I need.
Waking up Saturday morning I was greeted by the sound of howling winds outside - still, I downed my porridge, got the bike ready, had some muesli, packed two water bottles, 5 snickers bars, a banana and a tub of mixed nuts into my various pockets and headed out at 7.20am towards West Meon, where I would meet the Southern Sportive route.
This route is a delight really - nice roads, including some main ones, but at no point were they too busy, and I plugged on towards Petersfield with the wind at my back. I was determined though, not to go too fast as I knew that I would need to keep all the energy I had for the return part of the ride.
It began to drizzle, which meant the drops were coming in sideways on the back of the wind, and it almost felt as though mother nature was throwing drawing pins at me. It wasn't that cold though and this led to my first mistake - as it wasn't raining hard, I decided not to put on my rain jacket as I thought I would overheat. I had now turned and the wind and rain was coming in diagonally from the left hand side - horrible. Turning left and heading up towards the climb of Harting Down my legs turned to lead and it felt as though I had put the bike in reverse. It was only once I got home that I realised that the top of this hill is the second highest point of the route.
I finally arrived at the top and had to stop to eat my banana - five minutes later and now starting to feel cold, I put the rain jacket on and headed off again, downwind towards Goodwood.
Once over the fifty mile mark, it seemed the best idea was to find somewhere for a coffee and hopefully something warm to eat, so a sign for "The Pheasant" was just what the doctor ordered. Once inside a nice spot next to a large radiator beckoned, and so the process of de-robing began.
As I took off my jacket I started to realised just how wet I was. My Alzheimer's jersey was soaked through, and so was the jacket below. I duly hung them over the radiator and looked down at my base layer which was also soaked - no wonder I was starting to struggle with all that extra weight.
Forty five minutes, two coffees, a coke, a bowl of soup and numerous trips to the hand dryer later, most of the gear was OK to put back on - I couldn't really have had any complaint if the Landlord had been waiting at the door to charge me for all the extra power that I had used.
Once back on the road, and heading back into the wind I was feeling much better and around 12 miles further on I met a main road with enough cars coming past to make me stop and take a drink - Nooooooo!!
I had left both my water bottles in the pub after I had filled them up - too far to go back - not feeling quite so chirpy now - silly sod - never mind, no point worrying about it now, SUMO (shut up and move on).
And so it continued.... into the wind.
I think I am quite a good rider in the wind - you make yourself as small as you can, and just try and keep a rhythm and keep your cadence sensible. At least that's what you try and do, and then the elements slap you down and throw in a gust - all momentum lost and your legs get sapped just trying to regain your ground.
This is where your mind is tested, you want to give up, your mind plays tricks.
Arriving in Clanfield, popping into a shop, and stocking up on water (I couldn't take it with me as the bottle was too big), gave me a sense of revitalisation and having popped my lights on the bike, I was finally on the last stretch and eventually turned onto our drive at 4.20pm (ish).
A fib about no pictures - here's the screeenshot from the Garmin.

Until next week. (Wow 47.6 MPH - that's fast :-) )

Chapeau! Amanda

The last two weekends have hardly been the sort to make you jump on your bike and train, but needs must I'm afraid.

Last Sunday was not too bad to be fair.... At Amanda's request we did the top section of the Hampshire Hilly Hundred route which covers around sixty miles and takes in a few decent climbs. What she didn't realise was that it was sixty miles if the ride begins where we usually start it (at Pitt, near Winchester). Doing the ride from home added an extra 7.5 miles on at each end ..... Suddenly a 75 mile ride!!
Still, to make up for it the weather was cold, overcast and generally doing its' level best to not help the mindset at all. We rode together throughout though in a valiant mind-over-matter display of winter cycling.
Amanda did really well, tackling the hills and descending more courageously than usual and finishing strongly and in good spirits, and just for the record, when she got a puncture in Overton - her support vehicle (i.e. me) was on hand to lend help in the roadside repair.
This weekend, I worked the mornings  and got home frozen (it really was very cold this Sat and Sun), so we decided to a little 19 mile route in the New Forest that we use as a time trial.
It is not a tough route since, as many of you will know, the New Forest not hilly but there are a couple of short, nasty hills. What is is testing though is the wind.... two sections of this route, Janesmoor Plain

and Deadman's Hill

(Roger Penney Way) are really exposed and because you we do them in opposite directions, you always get a headwind on one or the other.
On this occasion, with a North-Easterly wind blowing, it was Deadman's Hill that would be straight into the teeth of the icy wind. This is great training, there is no doubt about that, but talk about demoralising, it just doesn't let up.
Amanda could not hold my wheel on this section and we finished separately, but she averaged 16.7 mph over 18.9 miles which is exceptional and something for her to be very pleased with.
She is away visiting her family next weekend so I will no doubt end up nearly killing myself on club ride with the fast boys from Sotonia.
'Till then.......

The Isle of Wight - January 2011

A weeks break in the Isle of Wight may not be everybody's idea of a great destination in January, but we know a lovely spot that is great at all times of the year.
The weather was never likely to be that good so I took the Trek 1.2 and Amanda took her 1.5 WSD and on the Sunday morning we planned a ride so that we could meet my parents in the tea shop at Osbourne House to give them a key and then ride home.
We have done the "Round the Island" route a few times but generally in an anit-clockwise direction so we decided on the clockwise route heading off from Ventnor towards Freshwater, which takes in a couple of nice climbs as the road traces the southern costline.

The second climb is a personal favourite of Amandas as the views are tremendous and the decent is safe and fast.

You can just see the road going over the chalk cliff in the distance.












The top part of the island is fairly flat and a tail-wind meant that we made good time, handed over the keys and headed off to finish the 48 mile ride in good time.

On the following morning (Monday) I decided to get up early to tackle a specific climb - St Lawrence Shute. It probably won't be a surprise to know that my support vehicle chose to stay in bed, but it did not matter as I was only planning a short ride.

This is the view from the main road looking up the first section which leads past the little church on the hillside and the postbox.

This first section is over 8% in parts and represents a good challenge.

Every hill of note has "that bend" and this is no different. A sharp right hand hairpin and the road goes left and over a small bridge, and then turns sharp right and upto the final very steep section to the top.

This final run to the top is steep but not that long and one thing to bear in mind is that road can be quite slippery as it is under the trees - so rear wheel traction can be an issue.

Once over the top I turned right and back to Ventnor via the top route and a short 20 minute ride was complete.

A nice little climb to try if you are in the area.

I returned back to base camp to join the gang and we all prepared for a walk over Ventnor Down to landslip.

During the walk I noticed that there was a road leading up Ventnor Down to a radar station at the top. It was very steep and windswept but looked like a good challenge.

So myself and Amanda plotted a route to take in the climb as part of short sharp 28 mile run that would take us back through Shanklin and Sandown.

The climb in total from where we were staying is just over 4miles but the last half a mile is virtually flat, as the work is all done by then.

There are a couple of very steep sections of around the 15% mark and the wind on this exposed bit of road makes for an added complication. Amanda did herself proud by making to the top with just one short stop to catch her breath.

Definately worth a go if you are in the area.

This is the steepest section

It has its' own "that Bend" too.

One of the spectacular views looking back over Ventnor

Happy New Year - Fred Whitton and The Dragon Ride

A very happy new year to everyone reading this blog.

We had a quiet night of a couple of beers and a curry - hardly great cycling food but an early trip to work on New Year's morning made it a necessity.
As it's been so dry I decided to take the Madone out today and Amanda ditched the support car to join me on her Trek WSD 1.5.
We only did 30 odd miles around the Farley Mount and Kings Sombourne area but it was a lovely ride.
Amanda has booked us both in for the Dragon Ride in Wales in June as prep for the Etape. She is doing the 120km run and has booked me in for the 200km one - ouch!!
For Christmas my dear wife has also enrolled me on the Fred Whitton Four Season Challenge. 112 miles with Hardknott Pass coming at 99 miles in.
If I should meet my maker on any of these insane rides that she has booked me on - then please let the judge know that she'd been planning my demise for months in advance.