Holiday 2016

 

03/07/2016 Wadebridge to Bodmin

Along Camel trail Approx 4 miles each way

Quite easy and flat riding and it is safe to let the dog off the lead.
04/07/2016 Bodmin to Merry Meeting

Should have ridden on to Wenfordbridge but I was too tired. 6 miles each way good ride My right thigh, effected by brain injury, ached after I slept for an hour upon getting home. The amazing thing is that our dog, a working cocker spaniel called Fleck, ran and kept up with us over the full distance! 06/07/2016 Cycle ride around Eden project St. Austell on rocky tracks up and down very steep climbs. I fell off five times or so mainly because the climbs were steep and the surface loose and, of course, I am bad at climbing, I always have been! Fell off always on my weaker right side that has less balance. Obviously I want to improve the balance on my right side but I don’t know how to do it.
07/07/2016 Wadebridge towards Plymouth to river Camel bridge and back 9.25 miles. Again Fleck ran in front whole way at speeds of 10 to 12mph, she even sprinted away after a pigeon! We all loved the ride

08/07/2016 Didn’t cycle today however we did go to Rick Stein’s restaurant in Plymouth. It cost us a fortune to go there but it was well worth it as the food was so fantastic. For example, the fish I had for sashimi, course 1, had clearly been caught that day and not frozen. It tasted as good as when we caught tuna in Thailand and ate them straight away. The food was as fresh and delicious as the lovely food we had in Italy!

09/10/2016 Today we continued our slide down the Peleton, as they reach Pau on day 11 of the Tour de France we take another day off, they are in the Pyranees and as has been written previously I am not a good climber!  We did go to the Eden project, which has fantastically  outside gardens leading down to the stage where we saw the excellent Manic Street Preachers 😉

12/07/2016 We didn’t have time to cycle today . We travelled all day to Lands End and back. We did drop into St Ives on the way back and that was really ni

13/07/2016 We actually rode our bikes again today!

Again we cycled along the Camel Trail from Wadebridge toward Plymouth only this time we actually kept going to Plymouth which was the 5.02 miles away, according to my handlebar mounted computer! Fleck ran next to us all the way at speeds up to 15mph or faster, sprinting away after birds, she could then turn around so quickly! Running for 10 miles did wear her out though. My record for 10 miles is 26.04 minutes, today I took over 1 hour 10 minutes to do 10.04 miles, I hope I get faster! 14/07/2017 We rode along an old railway line like the Camel Trail from Hellandbridge along to this fantastic outdoor cafè at Wentfordbridge that was just closing for the day so we couldn’t have tea or coffee but they did have this fantastically tasty, and presumably healthy, organic cola.

30/05/2016

Tried and Succeeded!

Today I managed to complete the Dornet Lakes, Eton, Super-Sprint Triathlon alone!

I was the race slowest on the swim 28.54 but the lake was too cold for my face, so I completed most of the swim on my back with my head held out of the water.

There was quite a strong headwind for half the cycle course, that’s my excuse, the 6 miles-ish bike ride was alright however on the course I was down to 8mph in places, I did it in 33.17.

I walked most of the 1.5 mile run course however I ran in intervals every 50 metres or so, completed in 56.19.

I am super pleased that I did all of it on my own and crossed the finish line in 2 hours 17 minutes 28 seconds! I may have been the slowest competitor but I have taught myself to swim, cycle again, and run, due to being so DETERMINED

Mountain Climbing… Slight Hill Really!

Today I cycled from home along to St Marys Church , along the cycle path a few times, I carried along to the far end to the Oxford Road where I turned left and went onto Hampton Poyle then up the very high mountainside to Bletchingdon, yes I am being ironic but this is the rather deadpan Oxfordshire. I just did a U-turn in the road and rode home via Gosford.

This maybe a very short ride, 10 miles or so, compared to what I used to do and I am much slower but this ride has given me a huge leap of confidence and last time I tried this ride I fell off!

 

 

Turbocharged…

I cycle trained on my Tacx turbo trainer today. Usual issues with the turbo’s are the Tacx ones that firmly fix the bike upright, apart from the front forks which are allowed to rotate, the bike is not  allowed to move in any other direction apart from the pedals and rear wheel obviously.

I decided to give my FES another try on this set up just so that I was only worried about pedalling not balance, traffic, or road hazards like I encounter on my Mountain Bike. Therefore I taped my FES heelswitch on the left side cycling shoe insole, foot side not under the insole, then sliced one of the vents in the side of the shoe allowing me to tape the transponding ariel to the top of the shoe.

Unfortunately it seemed in a easy gear ratio, 42 x 17, my technique was not good enough to make the FES work consistently I thought all hope was lost and would never be able to train my muscles to work effectively.  Once I had warmed up for five minutes in the easy gear, I then remembered that I had been told through VC Venta, Winchester cycling club, that to increase leg power, which I obviously want to do, I should try using a big gear. I changed up to 52 x 14 and tried pedalling 10 intervals of 6 seconds with a 54 second recovery. My FES worked really well even when I then changed back to the easier gear to warm down.

 

Cycling

Today I cycled 8 miles and it was very stop/start due to most of it being around Kidlington. I had to give way to oncoming traffic that was passing parked cars frequently also I had numerous junctions to stop at yet I didn’t fall off my bike. This was particularly good because I removed the stuck on car wheel weights from my wheels, making my mountain bike more nimble and lots easier to pedal up hills! I can’t wait to go out on it again.

21/03/2016 I’m Still Not A Good Hillclimber!

Yesterday I cycled along the cycle path by St Mary’s Church in Kidlington, along to the end where I turned left and rode along to Hampton Poyle then up to Bletchingdon. On the way to Bletchingdon it is uphill, about 1:15 so not steep like some of the the hills I have ridden in Hampshire and Dorset, but I could not see the top, I committed a sin and WALKED! When I tried to start again I was going so slow because it was uphill and I have heavy wheels so I fell off, I know I should have ridden downhill first! Beaten by a hill, never happened before and in Oxfordshire which is pretty flat. I rode back home after reaching Bletchingdon.

Total distance: 18.57 km = 11.54 miles

08/03/2016 Cycling Still

Today I didn’t run or swim, I concentrated on cycling because I can at last ride a two wheel bicycle since my injury and I of course had lunch at the local café, which included two cups of coffee!

I managed to cycle a distance of about five and a half miles in total on the roads around Kidlington, including cycling along the A4260.

I did not fall off once and my confidence grows with every successful bike ride  it was all fantastic.

I am sure that the improvements that I am currently experiencing are also due to weighting the rims of the wheels with stick on car wheel weights as well as other more well known techniques.

Anyone who has balance issues and wants to ride a two wheeled cycle please contact me and I will do my best to advise you upon how to ride a BIcycle, email me on: simon_head_email@yahoo.co.uk. I will not charge you for my time but my travel and lodgings will be at your expense + a mocchiachino per day!

 

 

Assistance

Now I can run about 25 metres or so I think, swim 25 metres without any extra flotation devices, yes I do know that bodyfat floats but I only weigh 74/75kg and am about 180cm high, and cycle unaided 4 miles. None of this is due to some wonder drugs or therapy a few tips have been picked up from Physioterrorists but mainly my progress has been due to a stable home life due to by wife Helen and the DETERMINATION I have had to improve the condition I was in!

I may be able to help you or anybody you know, using email or maybe some coaching if it is needed. I will have to cover any costs I incur but other than that my services are free! Please be aware that I have no qualifications or insurance but I am quite sensible so I feel I can really help people progress physically.

Let’s Go Off Road!

I managed my first bit of off road cycling today!

This afternoon I rode my mountain bike from our house near Brasenose drive onto A4260, main road in Kidlington, I then turned down Lyne Road along to Partridge Place over the level crossing at the end upon which a train started coming when l was 3/4 way over (scary), along the restricted byway to Begbroke, mostly an easy gravel track but still off-road, then the opposite way back home. About 4 miles in total with some easy off road stuff.

Every time I go out on my bike things seem to get easier and I am sure people say that off road cycling helps your balance and road riding.

Tracks Like Dorset Please!

Whereabouts in Oxfordshire can I ride my mountain bike on a gravel track or tarmac track with no vehicles? Are there suitable tracks at Shotover or Stratfield Brake?  Down in Dorset I can remember them having a tarmac cycle track that runs where an old railway track used to be, genius idea.

I am just learning how to cycle again and even the quiet residential roads in Kidlington are still very busy with lazy people in cars, also they have lots of parked cars that obstruct two way traffic, invariably I have to give way to oncominers even if technically I have right of way!