Swinley Forest

Had some fun at Swinley today. Weather was great for January.

Did I get lost or did I get lost? For some reason the course was closed along the road 2 /3 and I couldnt for the life of me work out where I was constantly.

Firstly, I got the train so had to enter from Bagshot train station. Its literally only 5/10 mins cycle into the forest. Great I thought until I realised how much single track there is.




I spent the bestpart of 3 hours there, while I was meant to be doing dissertation work. Great fun though. I can’t wait to get back there again. Also enjoyed the m&s garage right outside the train station perfect for after ride food. Shame it takes South West Trains an hour to get back to Guildford, otherwise this would be a regular I’m sure.

Leith Hill and Holumbury

I’ve been busy lately so haven’t had much time to write anything on here.

Here is some pics from a ride up to Holmbury/Leith Hill:

More Pics

First time I’ve done Summer Lightening and Regurgitator etc. Should really pop to Westcott Cycles to pick up a map. This is the second time i’ve been, first time I got dreadfully lost.

StMartha Hill

Started early this morning did some training for Merida 100 by doing some hill training up St Marthas Hill and then Newlands Corner.

Glad it was dry, tried going up there when it was raining its a no no on a bike. It was like being on quick sand!

Base Training Week 1

Phase:

Base training (Start Week) - this involves me basically trying to get fit. The aim of the week was to put in 3 hrs 40 mins.

Training

Monday - None

Tuesday - None

Wednesday - None

Thursday - 2 Hours cycling approx 22km on mixed roads and off roads.

Friday - None

Saturday - 3 Hours cycling approx 25 km on mixed roads and off roads.

Afterthoughts

Not a bad week really, I'm happy that I have achieved the time required. Endurance is getting better, and I feel that I can cycle a lot longer than previously. Hopefully, speed will increase during the next couple of months.

Llandegla

Decided to get out there early today. Been a few times before and done the black route etc.

It was cold!

Was very slow today, really need to work on fitness. I was lapped a fair few times. I think blaming the bike was my justification. Llandegla is great when it isn’t too busy, I had a great time there though, especially anything remotely pointing down hill.

Training Plan

I've decided to try and get fit and do a few races this year on my MTB. I have the Merida 100 on my mind as its in Ruthin (close to my house).

I'm going to try and stick to their training advice for the 25km marathon.

Here is the training info:

http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/training/training.php

Some background:

I've been riding on and off for the past 15 years. Last year I purchased a Kona Scrap (a dirt jump bike as this was what I mostly did), however I do more XC type riding and with lack of funds carry on riding the Kona Scrap.

Over the past year I have riden a few different courses including Penmachno and Llandegla and a few others around North Wales.

Targets

Here are my targets for the year:


Merida 100 - try and complete the 100km task
Llandegla - in 1 hour
Compete in atleast 2 other races possibly a 24 hour depending on how Merida goes.


General
Increase endurance
Increase slow speed
Increase performance up hill