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| SCOTT SENSIBLY WALKING OFF THE FERRY |
It was a local charity sportive raising money for the Lewis-Manning Hospice which is based in Poole and looks after people who are affected by cancer and other life threatening diseases. It is the twenty year anniversary of this really good cause and the event seemed to be a good one for Scott to start off with, as the mileage was a reasonable 42 miles.
Those of you who are regular visitors to this blog will remember that Scott acquired his road bike towards the end of last year having previously ridden mostly mountain bikes.
I managed to get him to accompany me on one of my training rides during January.
That ride was his first real experience of riding any distance on a road bike and if the truth be told he did struggle a bit toward the end of the ride having burnt himself out a bit on some of the hills.
Since then, Scott's training programme has been patchy bordering on non-existent.
Like a lot of young guys he suffers with a lack of available time due to the pressures of a young family and a full time job.
One or two short rides on the road and a similar number of sessions on a static bike indoors and that appears to have been his total training over the three and a half months since that ride we had together.
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| NOTE THE BORROWED HELMET.... |
I had asked him to text me just as he was about to start the event as that would give me some idea when I could expect him to come across.
I received the promised text as follows.. "Will start in 5 mins...Have fallen off already".
Apparently he managed to have a 'cleat fall' while riding to the start. He only started using clipless pedals a couple of months ago and as I have told him before..."you will fall off at some point and it will be when you least expect it".
Later on he had the good sense to walk off the ferry....unless you ride off with some power it can be a bit tricky getting up the ramp....
Indeed I saw a couple of riders fall because they started to walk off and then decided to mount the bike when only half way up the ramp.
What usually happens is they clip one foot in... try to get going and clip the other foot in....lack of power and speed...start to fall and fail to get a foot out quick enough. Ouch!!
A bit dangerous with cars alighting from the ferry as well.
Luckily the guys I saw taking a fall today didn't appear hurt....their pride was the only casualty I think.
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| CHECKING THE COMPUTER BEFORE THE LAST FEW MILES |
He told me that he had got himself a bit flustered trying to remember everything he needed but luckily managed to borrow a helmet with which to complete the ride.....
A couple of weeks ago I rode the general route that today's event covered in order to come up with a time that would give Scott some idea of a time to aim for.
I managed 2hrs 28mins (excluding ferry time) over a 45 mile loop so Scott said he would be going for a time of 3hrs 30mins for the 42 miles that he would be doing.
As it turned out he finished in a time of 3hrs 07mins.
Considering that Scott had been using the 'No Training' training plan I think that he managed a pretty good time.
He admitted to me that when he got to Kingston hill (a popular local hillclimb venue) he did only manage to get half way up before he had to dismount and walk the rest of the way to the top. When he came out with me back in January he managed to get up this hill, but he say's that today, the previous hills he had ridden had sapped him of the required energy.
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| HEADING OFF AGAIN FOR THE LAST FEW MILES |
The great thing from my perspective is that none of today has put him off and if anything it has increased his enthusiasm for road riding.
A good event and you did... Great...Scott!
Well done to Scott!
ReplyDeleteMy husband suffered the indignity of a cleat fall when he first started using them. I think his fall was quite near to home, at the traffic lights, so it didn't do much for his dignity.
I've suffered a couple of cleat falls. Luckily the only thing bruised was my ego. He's one of us now. ;)
ReplyDeleteChapeauness to Scott!
ReplyDelete*Gail* *jeff*
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments.
I managed to have a cleat fall within the first three minutes when I started out with them..I then had a further two falls before I mastered them.
As you both say it's a bit of a dent to the ego and dignity. It's almost a right of passage......
*Limom*
ReplyDeleteMy mate JD almost forgot his helmet before our last ride....Perhaps it's a 'catching' kind of thing....
As you said, Great Scott! I wonder if a cleat fall is the same in the US as in Britain. I think of a cleat fall as that awkward situation where one foot gets unclipped, but the bike is falling in the opposite direction. In such an interval, it is almost impossible to get that second foot out.
ReplyDelete*Steve A*
ReplyDeleteExactly Steve...When that bike is falling it's as you say - almost impossible to get that second foot out.......
Well done Scott! He and the Giddy Blonde should get together to exchange plans on the 'No-training training plan'. Bet Scott comes back next year and makes it his road!
ReplyDeleteMx
Congratulations to Scott! If it makes him feel any better, I too took a nice slow-motion fall on my first ride with clipless pedals. I was stopped at a traffic light, so I unclipped one foot ... but then I leaned a little too far in the opposite direction. Whoops, down I went! The driver stopped with me must have been a cyclist, because he was laughing away!
ReplyDelete*Muffintop*
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment...You are probably right about his ride next year.......
*Anonymous*
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment....As I said in an earlier comment reply, it seems to be almost a rite of passage....Hope you didn't do any damage to yourself or the bike.