Duncton Sportive.

The weather for todays Sportive was just right for cycling. Sunny but not hot. I managed to avoid the pot holes and keep my wheels intact. There were a couple of crashes and at least one of these seems to have been caused by bad road surface. I came in at 4hrs 07mins on the mid distance of 95kms putting me in a bronze position. Jason came in at 4 hrs 43mins for the same distance. Tonight it was back up the pub but this time we had earned it.

The local pub.

After todays ride Jason and I visited the local hostelry this evening. Drinking the devils potion I hear you say- but no it was pasta and ginger beer for us.

Pot holes.

I went out on a training ride this morning around the Graffham area and some of the roads are lethal. Have a look at the shot of some pot holes less than a mile from the camp site and on the route of tomorrows sportive. I will certainly be looking out for my wheels!

Graffham C and CC Site.

I have now pitched up at the Graffham site. This is the first time that i have camped here. As you can see from the photo it is almost like being on a wild pitch. All the tent pitches are in amongst the woods and its quiet too with no brats around and no teenage noise makers. This could be heaven with all the feeling of camping wild but all the benefits of a site. Tomorrow i have a training ride and Jason should arrive in the afternoon.

Duncton Sportive.

Tomorrow I am off to Sussex as Jason Boynton-Lee and I have entered the Duncton Sportive this weekend. The plan is to camp at the C&CC site at Graffham and to use that as our base for a training ride on Saturday and for the event itself on Sunday. After the event we will camp over till Monday before returning home. I hope to make postings to this blog reporting back on the site and the event itself.

An uncomfortable ride?

Take a look at this. I saw this bike on a train yesterday and could not fathom out how the rider would manage to stay connected with the saddle. The angle of the saddle is so extreme that anyone riding the bike must be constantly sliding down towards the top tube. Accepted practice is for the saddle to be close to level with a few degrees either up or down to suit the individual rider. My experience has been that even a few degrees alteration to the saddle angle can make a huge difference to riding comfort. If the owner of this bike is comfortable whilst riding I can't even begin to imagine what his anatomy must be like!!

New Team Name.

Last year when our long distance cycling team completed their 10 day LEJOG the team was known as the RevPro Cycling Team. This name reflected the fact that all the team members were part of SWT Revenue Protection Team based here at Bournemouth. Time moves on and situations change and now (in some part due to the 'credit crunch') all team members have either been displaced or been made redundant. As far as I am concerned my last day of employment will be on Friday 15th May. Due to this change in our fortunes (or misfortunes) we felt that a new team name was required. From today we are now known as TEAM 219 . The number 219 represents the combined ages of the four team members. Our major ride this year will be a trip down through France and into Spain in June. Further details concerning this ride can be found by following the Team 219 link on this page.