First weekend of training… and it consisted of…..
2x gym sessions, a night out, 2 full days of work, 44 mile cycle followed by a 2 mile run to get the legs moving after a cycle and 2 x 10k runs…. oh.. and pancake balls. (Men you will know what I mean!)
First 44 miler……
Well… it’s safe to say cycling has lived up to the hype- it’s boring. I am sorry for all you cycling lovers and Wiggins Wannabes… but, it’s long and even with the views, I found it hard. After a long period of time, I thought we would be on the 25 mark for mileage… We were only on 12.. Says it all. It dragged, even on a sunny evening with temperature being lush, it is safe to say it is a boring discipline. But I have already made it my resolution to find something about it that I like so it can give me the motivation and passion to commit to the mileage and time- even if that does mean cycling too fast down the hills.
I went for my first cycle with the in-laws on Saturday Night and we completed the 44 mile “Angle Loop”. Now for those of you who don’t know what the Angle Loop is, it’s a route that forms part of the Ironman course so it’s good to get some experience on those roads and to get on first name terms with the famous Pembrokeshire Hills! I had no cleats on as I am still in the process of securing a bike! So I borrowed some cycling shorts, a helmet, stuck on my trainers and off we went.
It was “Pancake Ball City” i’m afraid, it was sore, and yes I am inexperienced and haven’t been on the saddle for that amount of time.. but a bit of warning would have been nice, “oh hey Moritz, make sure you get shorts that fit,” or “don’t sit in the saddle for too long,” but no, I learnt the hard way and I have already ordered some shorts to avoid the injuries (sorry mum!).
Cycling in groups though- game changer. It was lush having the experience of Neil and Billy, not even like majorly informative or elite level of athletes, but just giving little “heads ups” about certain bends, corners or when the hills are coming up and when to push on. And for supporting and laughing at me when my chain came off. Even just the social aspect as well, laughing and having the banter on the cycle and taking it in turns to lead and stuff like that, in future I definitely will be begging to go on group cycles to act as both a social session as well as share the experience and tips! I mean if you’re going for a 3-4 hour long cycle ride, I definitely need some conversation and interaction to help break down the journey, compare speeds and have some unspoken races both on the course and up the hills…. some in-house competition never hurt anybody anyway!!
When going downhill though, it’s hard for my shape to try and get so small! I desperately try and shrink and become as streamline as I can be. It is so hard, especially with my weight and size when I am already at a certain speed and still trying to move and get into a smaller and comfortable position on the bike. So definitely need to work on this! Anyone my size or bigger that has the solution to making a smaller frame of body on the hills please get in touch and let me know!
“Safety in Numbers”- when cycling I think this is paramount and should be tattooed on every steering wheel in the country.
There were so many sketchy over takes from passing cars it’s no wonder you see cyclists riding two a breast these days, some people seriously don’t care! Yeah you can form in single file but you end up shouting to your cycling buddies and laughing because you can’t even hear each other and then it just spoils it. All because some inconsiderate drivers fly past and are literally inches away! Now I have always been considerate as a car driver around cyclists…. but after that cycle it has made me even more concerned about the welfare of the cyclists and really, is a 1-2 minute wait until the road is clear that much of a struggle when it could save someones life?
But yes, in future… I need…. Some proper shorts, great company and some food! But for now, I am off to do a recovery run!
Moz
IronMoz 
Looking great! Keep up the amazing work!
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Thank you! Gotta make light of those situations!
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