Interval Training Begins Today

After having nearly paid off the bus driver's mortgage for a return ticket into Banbury, I completed the morning's task of heading to a local recruitment agency in search of a temporary job for the summer. That done, the afternoon was free to lycra up and complete the first ride of my rigorous (for me) new road cycling interval training programme.

19.61 miles: Bloxham to Chipping Norton to Bloxham

As you can see on the map, I picked a dead easy there-and-back route to start off the training; one which I already knew was almost entirely very smooth in terms of road surface. Today's entry on the training schedule wanted me to ride at a moderate to high intensity and sprint all out for 30 seconds seven times along the way. I'm pretty much thrilled to say I managed it and survived to write this! In fact, I got an average speed of 18.80 mph and I noticed 29.3 mph on the cycle computer during one of the sprints, which leads to a nice target of 30 mph for the next try.

Now, that's the second time I've mentioned a bike ride on this blog, so I think that means that it's time for me to do one of my favourite things and natter a bit about my bikes! 

Solsbury Court, Block C, Flat 4, Room 1, a.k.a. Tom's workshop

First up is the hardtail mountain bike. It's a 2005 Marin B-17 with Hope Mono Mini brakes front and rear (along with Goodridge hosing), a beautifully smooth Cane Creek headset, beefy Crank Brothers bottom bracket and equally beefy N-17 cranks. Despite being a fantastic machine, it's not without its mechanical issues! Time spent with this bike is almost equally split between riding it and fixing it. There are prettier photos of it than the one here, but I like that one...

Next is my road bike, a 2010 Viking Roma. The photo shows it mid way through construction on the day it arrived. In the background you can see the house, which I'm pointing out because it weighs marginally less than the bike does! But a road bike with dropped handlbars, 23 mm tyres, Shimano integrated brakes/shifters and those awesome looking deep rims all for £250 - I can't really complain about a bit of extra weight. In total contrast to the Marin, this cheapo roadie has now done about 1000 miles with no more serious issues than a couple of punctures and the grip tape unravelling. And that is in spite of a two-day torture trip from Paris to Luxembourg (donations to the Prostate Cancer Charity are still very welcome) and me routinely bunny-hopping it like a bit of an idiot!

I've saved the sexiest for last: a 2011 Orange Five frame with a Fox Float RP23 rear shock, waiting (begging) to be built up into a brightly coloured trail monster. Expect to see more of this one as it gradually acquires components...

Tastier than any satsuma