Back to normal........

Well now that we are well and truly into September things are getting back to normal here at Purple Towers....
As I have mentioned before on this blog..the summer months are not really my favourite time of year, mainly because of how busy it seems to get on the local roads with the influx of visitors to the area. 

Looking back on the year, the winter seemed to hang on for ever...however we were lucky when we had our training camp back in early May. 
The weather up till then had been very cold, but for that week the temperature shot up and we had nice sunny days for our rides.. 
Following that week the weather went back to being cold again...indeed I remember the day we set off on the #10in10 ride it was bitterly cold and the ride through the Netherlands the next day wasn't much better either. 
Since then the summer weather finally arrived and we have had some absolutely stunning weather down here on the Dorset coast. 
Just checkout this picture taken from the end of our road only nine days ago........

Bournemouth beach close to Alum Chine

A beautiful sunny day and a busy beach.....Just a few days later and most of the visitors had gone, the children had gone back to school and the weather had taken on a really autumnal feel.

As I look out of my window as I type this I can see a very grey looking sea and it has started to rain. It is almost as if when August was finished and September started, a switch was thrown and nature just changed gear.....

Talking about changing gear....that is what I have done.
I have been getting back to more riding again.....

Throughout August I started back with regular use of the static bike.....I found that this bit of equipment had been a real boon for my training earlier in the year when the weather wasn't good and I was well pleased with the results that I got by using it for my preparation for the #10in10 ride.
It enabled me to focus my training on various aspects of my cycling in a way that 'going out for a ride' doesn't really allow you to do. I certainly intend to continue to factor it in to my training  programme over the coming winter.

Unfortunately at the end of August I was using the static bike and had programmed it for a very 'hilly' route. As the resistance increased as it racked up the gradient, there was a 'bang' and all the resistance disappeared. 
After investigation I found that the cable that runs from a servo motor to the resistance magnet had snapped...... I contacted the suppliers and I must say that they were first class.....within a few days the cable had been replaced and I was back training again... The suppliers told me that they had not had that happen before, so hopefully it's something that I won't experience again.

Since then I have also managed to get out on the Tifosi and the Felt as well, so hopefully everything will now get back to normal.
I hope to see some of you out on the roads around the Purbecks over the coming months......