End of Tour Report

As I enter my last week here I think I should complete my own End of Tour Report. Without doubt, the summary would be "Could have done better" but there are mitigating circumstances. Based on the knowledge of those who had been here and my previous OOA tours, I reckoned this would be a great opportunity for some winter fitness and it certainly started off on the right foot. I decided to spend the first 8 - 10 weeks doing general conditioning and strength work rather than specific swim, bike, run stuff and I really enjoyed the change of emphasis and was logging some impressive (for me!) training hours per week. However, just before Christmas my workload changed significantly and for a few weeks training was very much on the back burner, so to speak. A week of doing nothing on R&R and I've tried picking it up again but found it reall hard. An average of 9 hours a week is not great but there you go; Que Sera Sera.

I brought my turbo trainer out with me but to be honest I needn't have bothered. The facilities here are really first class and I've done most of my cycling on a spin bike in an aero tuck using a HRM to assess effort, or out-and-about on a very heavy MTB. I'm certainly looking forward to getting back and riding my Litespeed again. I'm also looking forward to stripping down my Dolan TT bike and adding the latest bike bling bits - ceramic bearing bottom bracket, ceramic bearing jockey wheels for the new Ultegra SL rear mech and new 82mm deep front wheel. I've been banned from spending any more money on cycling related stuff by the CinC so I may take a hacksaw to the handlebars and aero bars for a bit of modification there as well! I do, though, have my eye on a new saddle for the sub 5 hour 180km TT effort later in the year. I'm really looking forward to that. 5 hours of averaging 36kmh - on a flat road on a windless day I know I can do that for 1 hour; I know I can do that for 2 hours; I'm pretty sure I can do that for 3 hours; I might be able to do that for 4 hours; but 5 hours??? There's only one way to find out and I will be putting the bike miles in over the next few months. I'm hoping there will be a decent bike commute from my new house to work when I get to Gosport, a minimum of 10 miles each way would be an excellent way of racking up 100 miles a week, even before adding in 2 turbo sessions, a midweek TT and a long, steady weekend ride.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone when I get back to Dear Old Blighty.