Dinae Cast yer Cloot...

ava' this year.

The weather in Scotland is like living next to a wild but well meaning neighbour.  Occasionally they're good fun and they mean you no real harm, but there are times where you need to hide in the house and ignore the banging at the door, on the window, or shouting down the chimney.   And considering this is now September and officially Autumn', there has been a lot of banging at the door and shouting down the chimney. None the less I find myself in a typical British quandary over what to wear.  Despite it being very mild in temperature up here, no-one in their right mind would go out without a coat, or some form of outerwear.  If you cycle, this of course means that it's both too warm to wear a coat, but not dry enough to leave without one which leads me onto the first point of this post. What to wear.

The second one is I read an article last year in a broad sheet Sunday news paper that listed 10 essential items for commuting on the bike.  Not only was there a whole bunch of electronics listed but there was also a crap load of technical gear - and besides the bike, nothing there was essential.  Don't get me wrong.  There are longer commutes, I know folk that regularly do 15 - 20 miles out and then the same back, and yes, I doubt anyone could do that comfortably in jeans.  Those kind of folks are usually hard core gnarled saddle wankers who don't know that heals were originally worn by men for stirrups, and have long forgotten how to wear underwear.  But for the not so serious, for folk like myself, who neither want to wait or pay for a bus to take us 15 minutes down the road, and generally too lazy to walk the mile to the post office...  What do we need to consider, and what do we actually need?

Now you're ready!

1.  A Mac. Rain, whilst not the worst thing on the bike, can be uncomfortable,  A damp set of jeans or trousers can be chaffing. Wearing a mac won't stop you getting wet in random places but it will negate sticky dampness in the most particular of places. 

Bring the Rain!

 I think this one was £20 out of Millets (or somewhere like that) two years ago, and is technically a Jack in a Pack.  I lost my previous one on a bus to T in the Park and we ended up getting this one at New Year whilst in Edinburgh.  A word of warning -  make sure you are buying ones that say 'waterproof.'  There are a lot of cheaper nylon weave versions that aren't waterproof that look like they should be but aren't.  They even come with hoods though what for I'm not sure.... *shakes head disparagingly*.

 2. Gloves.

*Jazz Hands to Self*

 Being cold on the bike is far worse I find.  Numb chilled hands are dangerous, they can over compensate on the breaks, over or under click on gears and just be plain painful.  The rain with just a slight wind can chill your hands, on a cool summers evenings your hands can be surprisingly painful.  And yes, the weather proof ones are nice, but if you don't want or have the £30 quid to spend - or like me you're always loosing them - plain woolly ones are fine.  You can double them up if  you buy a couple of pairs for when it's particularly chilly,  they're light enough to make you comfortable during the cooler summer evenings, they're easily replaceable, and if you get into habit of having them with you at all times, you'll be the envy of all at Scone Rewind when it starts hail stoning in July.   Mine are from Primark, I buy about 6 packs of two for a pound when they show up in the shops.  I put them everywhere.

3. Scarfs are particularly handy.

I'm invisible, but naked, except for the scarf.

Do not use a woolly scarf. The scarf has to be thin enough to wear under your helmet and wrap around your neck without being constrictive to head movement, and to fold down into nothing, but also long enough to be useful.  I'd think you'd be stretching the usefulness of a buff so I wouldn't recommend those.   Even if you're a bloke, consider venturing into the ladies accessories bit of any of the bigger department stores and asking if they've got any large light wraps or jersey material scarves in plain colours (or bright ones if that's what you like). The kind of material  you want is the same kind that t-shirts are made of.  And there's absolutely nothing wrong cutting across an old t-shirt just under arms.  This would make an infinity scarf.  These are scarves sewed into an '8' shape, and very easy to wear loose on the neck but at the same time can be wrapped tight leaving no ends that bunch up uncomfortably, or dangle precariously at wheels or pedals.   It'll keep your ears, neck, and chest warm.  It will go aways to keeping you dry if you're out without your mac or it's not practical to put a hood up.  It will wipe the rain off your seat,  the sweat off your face, and keep you warm if you find yourself cold when you've got to your destination.  Hell you can even tie it round your neck and pretend your flying on your bike if you like!    The one pictured I made myself.  It's an infinity scarf.  I sewed it up using some very thin jersey material I found in John Lewis on sale.

What do you wear whilst on the short commute?  When do you not get all lycra'd up?  I myself refuse to put the lycra on for anything under 10 mile return... what's your magic number of miles? Let me know in the comments!

Jx

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Could'a would'a should'a...

...but didn't:

Instead we went into town and tried to spend the vouchers my da' gave us at Christmas. You'd think Christmas vouchers would be a good thing.  But they've been a burden.  We've been to John Lewis three times now with a look to getting a blender (but no, actually we don't need one), a bed cover thing (but no, I have a knitting machine, lets not spend money on something I could knock up myself), this week it was a cork screw - for people that don't drink wine. So we came back empty handed.

Another fruitless aspect of my day involved the Giddy blonde mocking me for all the other (2) cyclists out, in this 20 mph snow blizzard - and not one of them adequately dressed for the occasion (the Giddy blond thinks they were students but I think they might just have been glaekit).  One was wearing basket ball shorts and had the reddest legs I've seen in a very long time, curled so far in on himself heading into the head wind, it'd be easier if he just looked behind him.  The other cyclist, was going down Union Street with no gloves on.  The point is they were doing something I wasn't.  CYCLING. So they get more points as human beings than me, or something.  I could pretend to care but that would be disingenuous of me, and I'm only really that when it's in my favour.  And I'm crap at it.  It comes off insidious and creepy which are the same thing so it's extra creepy.

So a TT again. Incidentally, one of my mates - Everyone's favourite Geordie - has got a new bike so we'll have to ride out on that sometime soon!


Mx 

You only Board when it's snowing...

...you only board when it's SSnnnowwiiinnnggg!

We (me and the Giddy Blonde) went to Glenshee this weekend and it was ACE.  Like proper snow and everything. I can say, after 3 years of beginner lessons I have not only mastered the turn, but also the Poma's and am down on the ski lifts too. So very pleased with myself as I know think I can say 'I'm a boarder.'  Not a very fast boarder but I'm going for style not speed.

We stayed in Braemar Lodge Hotel ran by what I can describe as very attentive but long suffering man and wife, and their Slovakian 'man-who-does'.  The decoration was very 'Highland Retreat' with a herd of dead animals adorning the bar and hallway.   Right on the edge of the village Braemar, 200 yards away from the snow gate so we had a prime view when they opened the Snow Gate - which isn't half as impressive as it sounds, more of a mud covered cattle gate - and convoyed the folk in the cars waiting by means of council gritter.

Once on the slopes I was amazing!  Astounding! Magical!  I was shooting pixies and unicorns out of my snowboarding wake (not really).  And I only had a face full of snow once!  And unlike the first time I went snowboarding, I didn't come back covered in gaffa tape!

That assides, on the way back the cyclist were out en masse.  We ended up following (by accident, we're not psychos) a couple of guys, who judging by the way they kept rising from the saddle, and doing that odd little half wiggle that you do when your @rse nips and there's only so many places you can park your bum, hadn't been on their bikes in  some time.  I expect that will be me this weekend.

I am going forth with the turbo training and trying to do the whole heart rate zone thing.  I've found it a bit complicated, and a bit tiresome to be honest.  I was trying to do intervals in zone 5 (or 100%) then go down to zone 2.  But it takes me ages to get down to zone 2.  Like, aaggeeesss.  And the purpose of the Heart Rate zone thing was to make it targeted and mibbies cut some time out so I wasn't thumping away needlessly.   I've asked for some advice from some lovely forum people in how I can continue, so the plan is to re-group and include that at some point.

Mx

You only Spin when it's snowing...

..spin when it's SSSNNNNOOOOWWWIIINNNGG!!!!

I really don't know what's happened to me. I used to go out in all kinds of stupid weather conditions and am still rather enamoured with that idea. Though currently I'm all like, Oooooo... It's a bit icy, lets just stay in...' or '..the wind's horrendous lets not bother.'  Something's changed... I think it's because I'm feeling older - and I definitely have been feeling older these past couple of weeks.  My 34th birthday is looming.  There's so many things I didn't expect to be at this age, like still allergic to chocolate, eczema prone, and still having to work for a living.  I wanted to live in a commune where writing was my part time task for the day, and other people did sh!t in fields that made stuff grow that we could all eat.

Really didn't expect to do this cycling lark - but that's a good thing.  A house near the beach is another, and a nice wee dug to walk.  I'm in two minds on whether to count the Giddy Blonde as a good thing - he's having some kind of silent man tantrum because he's decided to put up those sodding shelves I've been passively aggressively raging about, and I've not helped him. I instead have sat on my arse and worked out how to use the 'Advanced Workout' function on Garry Garmin, made the tin whistle screech and dossed about. He seems to have forgotten the 2 days I spent getting the house ready for his family for Christmas while he melched on the couch, his clean towels and bed linen aren't achieved through the medium of pixies, and his whole 'I'm not going to put shelves up today, what I'll do is I'll unwrap the parts and then leave them out on the couch for 2 weeks so that no one can sit on it and then complain when I loose the screws,' as well as 'My size 13 shoes don't live in the cupboard, they live under the coffee table in the living room, like, all of them, together.'

Ach well, if he wants to spend his weekend in a silent rage I might as well give him something to rage about... which will be a session on the turbo trainer.  I've done three of these now.  I want to make them more structured, so I've learned how to program the Garmin on the heart rate zones.  I'm doing 2 mins sessions in zone 5 which is 90-100% of my heart rate with trying to get my heart rate in zone 2 for the 'resting sessions'.  I've also managed to get the wheel pedometer to work so I should see how far I go.  It doesn't exactly match road miles but I like being able to see how many miles I've covered.  I might set one up with cadence because, as you know, I want to work on that element as well, but I'll see if it works with the heart rate first.

Or I might go for a nap.  What would make him angrier..?


Mx

Lets Ride, or lie in, or Ride!... Or lie in....

So… First 30 miles of the year!  Really didn’t think I’d make it when I stepped out.  And whilst I was trying to think, having not been on the bike for the past 2 months really – except for that 1 tt session, and the odd glide to work I really have done nothing – I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself but, you know what it’s like when you’re away for while, the brain gets to thinking, ‘wouldn’t it be fab if my average milage went up 3 miles… wouldn’t it be fab if this was stupidly easy…’ which of course it never is.

I set off from our new digs just after 11 but then foolishly went up the back of old town and through Aberdeen Uni (one of the oldest Uni’s in the world – with the cobbled streets that go with it).  The shake on my arms was soo bad I ended up getting off the bike and walking for more than half of it, and then p!ssing off the Students trying to use the tiny pavements as I salmoned up them.   After some reflection (and been sworn at by a posh man in a scarf) I decided trying to find a better route through town would be much better and ended up picking my way through the Sunday traffic on the more usual route, along King Street and through Union Street.  

It was at that point I noticed my Bike Computer wasn’t working so I stopped at Alpine Bikes (this bit's worth it, trust me!).  Normally I don’t go to these guys – they have a really good selection of ‘quality’ bike clothes (Endura etc, expensive stuff generally) but their folk aren’t brilliant at customer service – I ordered gloves once and never got the promised call back to go and get them, - and because they have a workshop they really don’t have encourage buying bits for yourself.  Never the less, I went in for one of those little magnets that make your bike computer work.  They don’t sell them so the guy suggested I check through in the workshop.  the guy behind the counter was all like ‘No we found this one the other day… just take it!’ They GAVE ME ONE FOR FREE!  I was expecting about £2 possibly. And then coming out of the bikeshop I saw someone going in and I was like ‘OOooo, I feel guilty… what if this was from his bike…’.  But that soon worn off. 

Eventually I hit the Deeside Railway Line.  Perfect day for it – the cloud cover was enough to project shadows across farm land and hills caressed by a gentle mist that took enough shine off the road for perfect visuals.   The Railway line did look like it’d taken a bit of a hit from the flooding though.  A couple of the banks where they’d built new buildings had collapsed and I ended up walking over a couple of rubble mounds.  A few of the areas where the tarmac ends and starts – where they’d put a sort of cement asphalt that get compacted – that had all been kicked up and was like cycling on chuckies (does every one know what I’m talking about there?).  I had noticed a couple of better established trails leading off down into the country side, where instead of broken fencing they’d put proper breaks and gateways with signs so that’s really good. Just hope they don’t stop there. 

The first 3^rd of the journey up the railway – with the 3% rise for about 3 miles,  I’m sure I’ve complained about it before, so I’m going to again – was pretty horrendous. And I did have a crisis of confidence, and considered just turning back more than once or twice, or three times, especially at the end of the railway line.  When coming off the railway line you go down a really steep road into a hair pin bend, which is under a bridge, so you can’t see round it.  Then it’s a mile or two of slow increasingly upward rolling hills which are just murder.  I knew they were waiting for me and I really wasn’t arsed, but I stuck with it and kept my head down and I’m very glad I did.  After the food of athletes (Cullen Skink), I zoomed back hitting the beach at dusk.  

I really don’t know why going out’s so miserable.  Is it that I’m not warmed up? Haven’t eaten enough? The lack of company seems to suit me but I wonder I’d be more intune to it if someone else was there today… hrmmm…

The route:

The Stats:

Distance:	29.4 mi
Elevation:	+ 1482 / - 1226 ft
Max Grade	15.0 %
Avg. Grade	0.6 %
Ascent time	01:34:48
Descent time	00:59:45
Moving Time:	02:34:33
Max Speed:	27.3 mph
Avg. Speed:	11.4 mph
Pace:	00:08:51
Moving Pace:	00:05:15
Max Heartrate:	195 bpm
Min Heartrate:	105 bpm
Avg. Heartrate:	170.4 bpm
Heartrate zones:
Zone 1:	43 min
Zone 2:	59 min
Zone 3:	32 min
Zone 4:	1 hour 2 min
Zone 5:	53 min

As to my performance – I think I’ve gotten a smidgen faster.  Not much, but considering I spent 20 odd minutes faffing over cobble stones in Old Town, then another 5 picking my way across the rubble on the Deeside line, I recon I’m on the wrong side of two hours and back.  Which considering that it’s 30 miles – not bad.   Much better than the 10 miles per hour I usually do.  But, yes, there is work to do!

On that note – I went out on Luella yesterday, having taken the back carrier and basket off.  Now I didn’t feel any difference at all yesterday, but this morning I absolutely flew up a hill I normally struggle on.  Me and the Gids commuted this morning and he usually drops me at this low bowl like hill before we even warmed up and I was in his slipstream all the way up!  I was really chuffed with that.  It may be I’m still warm from yesterday (is that possible?) but taking the extra bits off and just carrying a back pack made a heck of a difference.

Have a pretty picture from my ride:

Mx

It's still raining....

I'm not sure, but I hear the sky is blue, and the sun is bright yellow and is put there by a man holding a pole too far away to see.  Is that true?

Anyhoo... I went to spin class on Monday.  I couldn't sleep on Sunday night and it was dawn before I decided to do something about it. So I was still pretty much 'chemically induced' at noon the next day.  I didn't fall asleep at the wheel or anything but I did sweat profusely.  I'm a bit of a sweaty betty as it is but I wasn't even trying due to deciding to wear my feet (which was a lot like taking spin class in my bare feet, surprisingly enough) and I actually sweated through the little air holes that they say are to ensure you can put and pull them off with ease. How many people can say they've sweated through little plastic feet.  I've bought toe socks to try and stop the leaking as they were quite slippy but I won't be wearing them spinning (not enough support for the pedals to be comfortable). I intend to wear them in my first group run tomorrow with my local gym.  I hope they don't intend to go longer than the rough mile I manage but we shall see.

On the cycling front there's good news! Luella has a new front derailler! And it's attached.  Might try her out tomorrow.  The Diva's are meeting again tomorrow though it is blowing a hoolie oot there just now and they're doing intervals.  Which I could do with the way they're doing them.  So I might go.  I don't know.  

Mx
from the land that Summer forgot
(which sounds like a porn film).

Inverness in The Rain...

...which is supposed to be a rip off of a Deacon Blue song but it's not.  Even though Inverness was very rainy. And cold.  June! It's Midsummer as I write this, and it has rained since 2pm today.  And it's so windy that the Giddy Blonde TV isn't working, and the dog is in hiding in the bathroom, trying to wrap herself round the U-bend as much as possible.  I wouldn't mind so much but she seems to want me there with her.  And we're at Giddys flat and he's a very stinky boy - as was testament last weekend in Inverness - lets just say the things ensuring his toilet doesn't walk away isn't the rusty bolts through the floor!  Any way, last time it rained this much there was the Black Death, which is one of the four horsemen of the Apocolypse, the others were War, Famine and Archie.

Anyhoo.  We were in Inverness in for the mighty Shinty, for the MacTavish Cup Final.  And what a final it was.  There was blood, sweat (cos lets face it Lochaber did do an awful lot of running around)  and a wee boy behind one of the goals busting a joyous move every time Newtonmore scored - which was quite a lot.  It was a bit of a shame really.  All of Lochaber and their dog were there in magnificent support, but it was all to naught as Newtonmore - who seemed to have recruited the towns joiner and woodworking profession, so you and your shelves were scuppered that weekend - gubbed Lochaber 5-1.

And it was cold, 7 degrees at the most, in June.  I could see my breath in the air. It wasn't too bad in our little tent.  We camped out as a test for going to Benicassim soon, and I've decided there is no way I am sharing a two man tent with a 6'5" trumpet arse in 30 degree heat.  No way suree.

We then decamped to Scary Blondes flat (GB brother) for Chinese food where they watched football and I fell asleep.  I'm not one to drop off of an evening, it could have been the cold, the Chinese food, or the 4 pints of red kite we had watching the Shinty.  More than likely it was the lack of oxygen from spending a night in that tent with GB's phfaarrffy bot-bot.

We did do some cycling, quite small but glorious all the same.  Inverness has a brilliant pathway which goes straight through the City from one side out to the other, running along side the river.  It was perfectly safe and a little sheltered from the worst of the weather.  We cycled from Bught Caravan Park to the city centre in what must have been 10 minutes, across little suspension bridges with leafy pathway on either side framed by glorious sandstone houses.  In the city centre there were loads of places to park your bike and we had lunch in a place called Leakey's which is definitely the place to go on a rainy cold day.

Other than that my exercise these past couple of weeks has been minimal - I did do a spin class this week and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I didn't go to Deeside Divas this week as they were doing threshold work and I'm a bit funny about doing intervals on the road - I feel much safer going a bit grey around the temples in doors - but I'll see what they're up to next week.  Also this weekends pretty quiet so I might go out for a longish ride too.  Perhaps do 30 miles or something reasonable.

Mx