It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, mainly because I've had nothing of particular note to write about.

The winter training plan is going well, though somewhat tougher than I had expected and very different from the first 3 months of training. Here's how a week breaks down.

Yesterday's Computrainer workout was designed to understand the effect that cadence has on my heart rate. At an hour in duration with 3 x 10 minute sets at 90% of my threshold wattage, it was all good time in the saddle with 30km covered.

The first set was at 105 r.pm., the next at 90 and the last at 75. As can be seen, the impact on my heart rate of cadence was minimal. What I found most interesting was the cooldown period at the end of the workout. I naturally reverted to a cadence in the region of 85, where, for me, the perceived effort is less.

Still no riding partner!

I'm still only a team of 1. Whilst I have to have a team of two for the race, I remain confident that one will be found and I'll be putting effort into this come January 1st.

The motorhome is now booked. It's important to me that we have excellent support during the race to allow us to concentrate on the riding. Helen is the support team and will be driving the motorhome from stage to stage.

We'll be picking it up in Vancouver and taking a week to reach the race start location, which has yet to be confimed, though it will be near Calgary.

It has plenty of room for Helen and I, and for my yet to be found team mate, for the duration of the race.

I'm sure Helen will love driving it!

Inside it is pretty sumptuous as motorhomes go. It'll be great to have our own space at each stage with hot shower and comfy surroundings. Certainly better than the camping option.

My training schedule for Sunday called for a low intensity ride with heart rate no higher than 78% of LTH.

A couple of weeks ago, Neil suggested a charity race for the Rotary Club, riding around Lightwater Valley, in and out of the roller-coasters, swing boats and crazy golf. My father was a Rotarian and this was as good a reason as any to enter. It would also give me some experience of a race: the race environment, managing my pre-race state, managing my in-race performance and managing to not get sucked into actual racing, sticking to my plan.

On the above measures the day was a total success. On the results sheet the inverse is true!

The race was 3 laps of just under 10kms, nothing too technical and apart from a couple of short and steep climbs it was a fairly easy course. The weather was good and not too much mud. I've got nearly 2000kms out of my tyres and didn't feel that they disadvantaged me, despite being well worn and in need of some knobbles.

The start of the race took me by complete surprise. There were 83 entries and 82 of them seemed to be taking it really seriously with some elbow bashing as we waited for the off. And what an off it was. 82 racers sprinting like their life depended on it. I had a 'Tortoise and Hare' strategy and found myself at the back as the group rounded the first turn. Ahead of me was a complete log jam as everyone tried to fit through a small gap and onto a single track trail trough a wood. With my feet on the floor at the back of the group I was going nowhere and considered picking up my bike a carrying it passed the blockage, but wasn't sure of the etiquette. Lesson 1: Get away first!

Eventually I got moving and made my way passed several other riders, keeping a steady pace and my heart rate down. Most of the passing was on the inclines (they weren't steep enough to justify the word climb) which was great as my constant cadence workouts had made this easy.

I soon found myself riding alone, and for the first 2 laps could just concentrate on my pace, which was constant throughout the race - excellent.

On the final lap, having slowed to eat a banana (Note: the yellower ones are easier to peel while riding and digest quicker than the green!), I picked up a tail so I picked up the pace a touch to make a race of it, winning the sprint to the line - a minor victory. (It should be noted here that he was from the Bradford Cycling Club and clearly a seasoned racer - the all lycra garb being a bit of a give away).

So, a final finishing position of 61st with Neil finishing in 31st - a splendid effort.

All in all, an excellent day out and a great experience. And I could have gone on. I'm definitely designing myself for endurance - I'm no sprinter!

Back now to the training which is going great. My weight has dropped by another kilo and my body fat is now at 17%. I just read that cyclists are typically 6-9% body fat, so quite a way to go there!

With only 275 places available for the 2007 TransRockies I wanted to be sure my training was going to be put to use with a place in the race.

Registration opened today at 07:00 GMT. I was sat at my PC from about 06:30 this morning, poised for the link to go live. And my internet connection went down!

Living where we do, we're lucky to have a phone line, never mind internet connection, which comes to us via satellite. Most of the time it's fine. Today it wasn't. Right at the crucial moment.

All I could do was wait for it to come back up. And it did. At 06:57. Three minutes to go until registration opened.

Now I have it. A confirmation of my place in the race next August.

So, it's all now coming together:

• My training program is going to plan
• My weight is moving in the right direction
• My registration has been accepted

All I need now is a partner for the race! A minor detail. I know I will find an excellent one. It's just a matter of time.

I am now into the second of my 12 week winter training program having taken a week off after the Cairngorm Epic.

Again, it is focused around the Computrainer and ERG (short for Ergometer) files that are provided Hunter Allen. These are loaded into the Computrainer PC and it sets the load for each workout, stressing and resting my neuromuscular system.

There's not as much 'on the bike' time with this phase of my training. There is, however, much more strength and flexibility work. A typical week consists of 3 days strength/flexibility, 2 days indoor Computrainer workouts and 2 days outside. So it's still pretty full on with only 5 rest days in the 12 weeks.

I spent last week organising my gym (the nearest club/municipal gym is 16 miles away) at home.

I now have a set of dumbbells, a weight bench, a multi gym, and elliptical cross trainer, my Computrainer and a large floor area for for stretching. And if I can get a Concept 2 rower in there as well I'll be sorted. It's nice to have it all to hand and certainly takes away any excuses.

Inspiration is really important and I have printed posters and quotes for the walls of the gym. They make such a difference when the going gets tough.

Mohammed Ali: Ali created futures for himself (and his opponents in his fight predictions!) and then lived them. 

Lance Armstrong: Tour de France legend. Overcame cancer to become a great champion. 

Aaron Ralston: Became trapped by a rock in a gully whilst mountain biking/hiking. Had to cut his own arm off to survive. Read Between A Rock And A Hard Place to understand what is achievable in the presence of sufficient motivation.

Valentino Rossi: 7 time World Champion

Steve Ilg: Wholistic Fitness founder and coach and multi-sport champion.

As we made our way home I began to give some thought to the week.

Firstly, many thanks to Neil for partnering me on the ride, taking the photos and being great company. Aside from the training aspect of the trip it was a great week away.

From a training point of view it was an excellent measure of my progress and fell a little short of expectation - which is a good thing. When planning the trip some months ago I had the expectation that it would take me to the limit of my fitness and I would have been very happy with that. As it turned out, I would judge that I was at about 75% of what I could have done. I could have done with more climbing. I could have ridden for longer each day. I could have ridden further each day. And on the non-technical stuff I could have ridden a little bit faster.

So, I have mixed feelings. I pleased with how I did and I don't know what I could have done. Suffice it to say it could have been more. As preparation for the TransRockies goes it has been a great week and given me confidence that I will finish it.

As I wrote in my first entry, Neil was on the ride where I made a decision to get fit. As we ended our adventure yesterday, Neil generously said "You whooped my ass the whole way round". Praise indeed and a great measure of how far I've come.

I'm taking a week off now, before beginning my winter training and I must also schedule in some altitude training. A trip to the Alps is called for I think!

Distance:       48.8 Km

Total Ascent: 551m

Riding Time:  3:51

Riding with:   Neil Gander

The final day.

Heading south from Braemar, back to our start at Blair Atholl. Today promised some gentle climbing and some great flowing single track.

It delivered a seemingly continuous climb (though the profile doesn't bear that out) and some technical, non-flowing single track with 38 stream and 2 substantial river crossings. The going was fairly slow, with some pushing, as the gaps between dismounts on the single track were too short to make it worthwhile getting back on.

The scenery, however, was the best yet, as we followed the stunning Glen Tilt with herd of deer adorning the hillside.

After yesterday's downpour, we were determined to keep our feet dry. I had developed a river crossing system that would ensure no water entered my boots. With all of the rain yesterday the rivers were in full flow and proved too much for my patent pending bin liners!

I felt great throughout the ride and could have done more. Even after 5 days my appetite for pushing on was still there.

Distance:       38.33 Km

Total Ascent: 739m

Riding Time:  3:12

Riding with:   Neil Gander

The journey today headed south towards Braemar.

Unfortunately, the prevailing gale was coming from the south, making the riding hard and pressing rain into our face. Although the temperature was warm we were soon soaked through and the wind soon chilled us if we were stationary.

Steep, rocky and slippery climbs, river crossings (again) and the harsh wind and rain made the going difficult, and as we climbed towards the summit of the ride the low cloud had us riding in fog. It was both challenging and exhilarating.

I was particularly pleased at my mental strength in dealing with the conditions. My fitness is holding up well. I do feel tired tonight, though I think this a cumulative effect from the week's rides and disturbed sleep last night, rather than today's ride.

Distance:       43.07 Km

Total Ascent: 743m

Riding Time:  3:30

Riding with:   Neil Gander

This ride is summed up in three words: variety, sunshine and outstanding scenery. The The route had everything from road to climbs to river crossings (7!) to single track and bogs. Again, I felt great with no exercise hangover from the previous two days riding. This is fantastic.

The first river crossing was too deep to cross using stepping stones so it was off with boots and socks for a wade.

The dry feet didn't last long, however, as I missed a jump across a bog by a gnats and landed in it up to my ankle. As Neil pointed out, I was lucky not to twist it. Lesson learned!

Distance:       50.03 Km

Total Ascent: 551m

Riding Time:  3:03

Riding with:   Neil Gander

Today's ride was a planned 44 km. The Forestry Commission had other ideas and their closing of a forest section for tree felling extended our route. The alternative route we chose was also closed due to red deer rutting. This left us with some road work today and I took the opportunity to really push my speed, paying attention to my body position to minimise my 'into the wind' profile.

Yet again, the scenery was stunning, although very different from yesterday: a lot of forest riding and trails around lochs (lakes). Thankfully there were no river crossings today, apart from by bridge, so we both have dry boots for tomorrow. 

As rides go, this was lengthy, and at the same time fairly easy, with just 551m of climb.  I felt really good throughout the whole ride: no soreness or stiffness and could have gone on. This is just what I needed to confirm and a large part of the motivation behind this trip is to find out how my body copes with long rides on consecutive days. When I feel this good at the end of the fifth day of riding I'll be delighted. 3 more days to go. 

Distance:       66.8 Km

Total Ascent: 1093m

Riding Time:  4:21

Riding with:   Neil Gander

Well, the Epic is finally underway. Five days riding through the Cairngorm National Park, Scotland.

My partner for the ride is Neil Gander. Neil and I have ridden together many times and when the original guided trip was cancelled, Neil stepped in to ensure I could get in this vital part of training for the TransRockies.

Neil is a seasoned mountain biker. Being really excellent with maps, I know that any periods of getting lost will be just temporary.

He also has a great knowledge of flora and fauna and geography, the formation of mountains and flow of rivers being a speciality. In the rugged and wild Cairngorm landscape this all adds to the experience.

The first day's riding began in Blair Atholl, the most southerly point of our circular route, and soon headed north towards Kingussie on the west.

This is the longest ride of the four days, the last third being mostly downhill, which was a welcome relief after the climbing and searching through bog to find trails. 

Physically, I felt really good throughout the ride, making sure I refueled regularly and the timer on my Garmin Edge ensured I was hydrating regularly. As I write this the following morning, I do feel tired though not at all stiff, having performed some quality stretching exercises before a very welcomed shower when we returned.

There were only a couple of 'off track' excursions and these were fairly short, though the pushing and carrying through a bog whilst searching was energy sapping. 

The effort was certainly worth it though, once back on track. 

The second day will be a real test as we make our way to Aviemore. 48km following this 67km ride will certainly test my fitness. All being well our boots, soaking wet from a river crossing, will be dried out, having spent the night on the B&Bs warm Aga cooker. Breakfast awaits!

With my Cairngorm epic ride just 6 days away, this week is very much a tapering week: staying active and not overdoing it.

I needed to give the bike a good service in preparation for the Cairngorms and the rear wheel bearings needed changing. Whilst the bike is excellent, nothing on it is ordinary and the rear hub assembly is no different. I had 8 very tight bolts to remove which required tools I just didn't have. Thanks must go to Marie Brown here. Marie is an excellent mountain biker and a great mechanic, working in Halfords, Darlington. She kindly helped me with this today, putting the full resources of Halfords bike department at my disposal. Two hours later we were done and the new rear end deserved a shakedown ride in the forest.

20 kilometers later, with a well proven rear, I returned to the carpark to be greeted with an offer of sponsorship for my TransRockies endeavor!

Wood N Wheels run the bike sales, hire and repair facility in Hamsterley Forest and owner Martin kindly offered his support. This is fantastic as not only does Wood N Wheels supply a great range of product and service it also means that other people see value in what I'm doing.

The BBC also expressed and interest this week. Having been reading this blog, they have decided to follow my progress thought the BBC Sport website, with me writing regular updates, during training and stage by stage during the race. There's no backing out now!

As soon as the BBC stuff goes live I'll be sure to post a link to it here. It's likely to be nearer to the race next August and will more than likely be 'bumped' to regional coverage, however, all publicity is good publicity.

Distance:       101.5 Km

Total Ascent: 928m

Riding Time:  5:29

Riding with:   All alone (and Steve Cram and Daley Thompson!)

After last Sunday's challenge with a total loss of energy, the rest of the week didn't go as planned either.

Monday was a day off, and this went really well!

Tuesday was a scheduled 2 hour outdoor ride. All I managed was a really slow 45 minute cycle around the forest with my dogs. My energy was still low. I had thoughts that all of my fitness, that I had built up since starting my training nearly 3 months ago, had somehow drained away and I was back at square one.

Wednesday was a Computrainer workout, ERG 47.

A tough one that I have done before. I only manged half of it. I just couldn't move the pedals as soon as the load got over my LT.

Thursday, another day off, and again I completed this easily!

Friday, Computrainer ERG39, a tune-up workout ready for the weekend's riding outside. Again, half way through and I was completely finished.

I decided the best sourse of action was another day of rest, skipping my outdoor ride on Saturday. It's the first time I've missed a training session since I began.

I had planned to meet Rifty at 10 a.m. for a ride in Hamsterley Forest. As usual, I checked my emails before leaving and and found a message saying that because of the rain the ride was off.

My approach to weather is simple: There's no such thing as bad weather, just innappropriate clothing.

I needed to get out and ride. Even if it was for just half an hour I had to know how my fitness was doing. So, off I went, no particular plan, just following the trail from my house.

Sometimes I'll see as many as 7 other riders on the first climb of the trail. Today there were 39! As I learned form one of them, who kindly held open a gate, Steve Cram has a charity and the ride they were on was supporting it. I'm pleased to say that on the initial rocky climb I rode passed everyone, reaching the top with energy to spare. Things were looking up. Steve Cram looked as fit as I remembered him from his running days. Daley Thompson had definitely missed a few training sessions!

With no particular route in mind, this was going to be an 'out and back' ride. After about 20 km I saw 2 riders ahead of me, their bright Yellow rain jackets giving me something to aim for. I set a goal of turning back as soon as I caught them. I was feeling great. 20 kms further on I did catch them - when they stopped for a snack. They were somewhat faster than I thought!

I was now only about 10km from Helen's parents home, who she was visiting. I figured if I did the additional 10 km I could leave the bike with them and get a lift home. By the time the 50 km ticked over on my Garmin, the sun was out, my rain jacket was off and I reasoned that if I turned around now I would complete my first metric century ride.

As can be seen from the graph, the return is all uphill, and whilst not particularly steep, it is draining. The fast pedalling on the out leg to catch the other riders was just as tiring as the return and when I hit the 80 km mark I felt like calling Helen to come and pick me up. Which was when I realised I hadn't packed my phone! The 100 km had to be done.

The final 10 km was tough going. As is always the way, a headwind had developed and the muddy ruts made the riding harder. All through this last leg I was watching my Garmin count up the distance, not wanting to miss the digits as they changed to 100. Which they finally did, just as I reached the village school, only another few kms to go.

When I arrived home and dismounted I immediately knew some serious stretching was required if I was going to be able to walk tomorrow. I made sure to drink plently to flush out the lactic acid and get some carbs and protein inside me to begin refuelling and repairing my tired muscles.

Now, I know that 100 kms is not much in cycling terms. It is, however, a great deal in terms of my training. The longest leg of the TransRockies in just over 100 km so I now know I can do the distance and as I'm unlikely to do a ride that is further than 100 km, every ride form here on in is a short one!

My fitness is definitely back!

Distance:       29.55 Km

Total Ascent: 634m

Riding Time:  2:09

Riding with:   Neil Gander (and 100 others!)

All in a good cause, Macmillan Cancer Relief, and a planned 30km route. Having spent yesterday marking out the route I knew I had ridden pretty much all of it before and had notions of doing 2 laps.

Thirty minutes into the ride it hit me. Marathon runners call it 'the wall', cyclists call it 'bonking', either way, it's a seemingly complete lack of available energy. It's the first time I had experienced this and it's very unlike exhaustion. When exhausted, in my experience, there's usually some pain from the applied effort that resulted in the exhausted state. This is very different. No pain, no shortage of breath, just a feeling of having run out of fuel and grinding to a halt.

Riding with Neil is always full of sensibility and his sensible question "When did you last eat?" provided one of the clues to my sorry condition.

That morning I had got up at 03:30, the GP was in Australia, and eaten my usual breakfast of milky porridge with maple syrup at around 04:30. When I had 'bonked' it was almost 8 hours later, having eaten nothing. Additionally, this was my 3rd very early morning in succession.

I got a banana inside me and we were soon on our way, making 2 more brief stops for refuel as the ride progressed.

What a learning experience and what a time to experience my first 'bonk'. At least is wasn't during the upcoming Cairngorm epic or the TransRockies. And now I know how to deal with it: ensure I'm rested and eat frequently. Now, that's not going to be too difficult to do is it? Resting and eating. Excellent!

With over 100 riders, the event itself went really well and the course marking was perfect - no-one got lost. And I'm sure a great deal of cash was raised for a great cause.

Distance:         41.2 Km

Total calories: 962

Riding Time:    88 minutes

Described as a 'classic tune up' workout to prepare for the weekend's outdoor riding, this session had me really notice my improvement. Averaging out at 80& of Lactate Threshold, it was a hard ride, with peaks up to 200% of LT, for some of which I had to stand.

A new book arrived today: Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100.

Living to 100 would be a result, still riding a bike would be incredible. When I've read it I'll add it to my books list, if it's worth your time reading it.

I have certainly noticed a general feeling of well being since taking up cycling, whether it can prolong life, or indeed, turn back the clock remains to be seen. Certaily won't do any harm!

Distance:         31.4 Km

Total calories: 674

Riding Time:    60 minutes

I was expecting this to be an easy 1 hour ride. On checking the wattages it was soon apparent that this was going to be a tough hour.

After a 15 minute warm-up I had to do 5 minutes at Lactate Threshold, followed by a 'rest', followed by 3  x 2 minute intervals at 135% of threshold and then 3 intervals at 150% of threshold. All this was finished of with 3 x 30 second intervals at 350% of threshold!

What a sweat. I did it -  and my pain/lightness visualisation technique worked a treat. When the going gets tough I don't feel the pain of the effort, just the exhaustion, and the lightness makes the pedalling easier and more efficient. The power of the mind!

It's a day off tomorrow and then out riding in the forest at the weekend, helping out with a race.

Distance:       31.5 Km

Total Ascent: 407m

Riding Time:  1:34

Riding with:   Lonesome

I had planned to ride with Neil today. Unfortunately, my replacement seatpost didn't arrive in time so I was out on my own. Riding alone means several things:

• There's no-one to wait for me at the top of the climbs.
• I have no-one to wait for at the top of the climbs.
• There's no-one to pace against.
• I'm alone with my thoughts

All of these present their own mental challenges when riding with a partner, and different ones when riding alone. I'll not expand on that now, suffice it to say my pursuit of racing in the TransRockies is teaching me about myself, helping me develop techniques for others and providing some great material for the future.

The route is more or less an 'out and back', the back being mostly up hill and today's return leg had a strong headwind. I was particularly pleased with my pace on the return, maintaining a high cadence to the final descent. 

The data from my Garmin Edge clearly shows the consistency of cadence and pace throughout the ride (apart from the initial climb - work in progress!). This is excellent. 

I really feel that I am understanding my body more now and am managing it's performance well through training, rest and diet. The word 'it's' says a lot about my relationship to my body. My body is not me. It's my means of getting around and physically interacting with the world. And as it's the only one I have it deserves the best of maintenance. The human body is a truly wonderful machine!

When I first decided to buy a bike to regain some fitness, I went to my local bike shop for a look. To my amazement, apart from some different materials and design changes, bikes were just the same as they were when I last took an interest some 20 years earlier.

I'm referring here to the derailleur gear change. It was still the same finicky, delicate, high maintenance piece of kit it had always been. Needing a bike, I bought a Giant NSR2, along with it's derailleur!

After a couple of rides I had endured a twisted link, stretched and twisted chain, frequent chain suck and chain jumps. There had to be a better way.

My internet searches led to to Rohloff Hubs. Now, while that video may look complex, the Rohloff gearbox is a very reliable work of art, engineered in Germany and built to last. What I needed was a mountain bike that had one of these.

This led me to the radical Nicolai Nucleon TFR. Out of curiosity I had to test one.

The only demo available was at iBike, in Crowthorne, UK, so I paid them a visit. Within 50 metres of the test ride I knew it had to be mine and I asked iBike to build me one. Nicolai only build frames, the rest of the bike you specify yourself.

The Nucleon has the gearbox mounted right where you need the weight to be: in the centre.

It's a 14 speed gearbox which gives the same range as a 27 speed derailleur and all of the gears are evenly spaced.

It requires very little maintenance and delivers nice, smooth shifting.

For mountain biking, one of the big advantages is being able to instantly select any gear at any time without needing to either pedal or be moving. The more I use it the more I like this benefit. It really makes a difference when making transitions from downhill to climbs and changes in surface grip.

Unlike a 'normal' bike, the gear changes are made using a grip shifter.

Many people don't like grip shifters, however, I suspect that this is when used with a normal derailleur drive-train. When used with the gearbox, the gripshift is perfect.

It's also really neat, making for uncluttered bars and a nice 'clean' look.

The frame of the bike is another work of art with superb design and fabrication. The welding belongs in an art gallery.

The attention to detail is excellent, and being anodised, there's no paint to chip or scratch.

The rear wheel assembly allows removal of the wheel, leaving the sprocket, chain and disc attached to the frame. Very neat, if a little over engineered.

Front suspension

For the front I went with the excellent Cannondale Lefty Max. It's a design you love or hate, the performance, however, is great. Traditional twin leg forks are an evolution from the original rigid fork bikes of many years ago. If we were today designing from scratch and had the engineering capability and materials we would undoubtedly come up with a Lefty in pursuit of performance and lightness. It's great to ride and complements the radical frame superbly.

Rear suspension

A Fox DHX Air fills the requirement. To be honest, it has more adjustments than I'm ever likely to play with or need and Dave at iBike did a great job of setting up initially. All I've done is add or remove air.

Bike Computer

I really like collecting data on my performance improvement and when out on the bike I use a Garmin Edge 305, which records where I've been, my heart rate, cadence ride time, elevation and can also be used for following tracks. With each release of firmware update it gets better and is a valuable tool on my training rides.

Distance:       10.2 Km

Total Ascent: 291m

Riding Time:  0:45

Riding with:   The crowd below

Today's ride is the monthly Hamsterley Trailblazers group ride. A fairly leisurely affair, more social than training, however, there are some pretty fit climbers in there (one step forward Neil and Matt, one step backwards Rifty) to drag me along.

It turned out to be a somewhat shorter ride than planned. My seat came off due to bent seatpost mounts. The is the second time this has happened to my Maverick Speedball seatpost, and whilst iBike have been great about replacing the parts it is somewhat inconvenient.

I have a Thomson Elite ordered, and as tomorrow is a day off, provided it arrives early Tuesday morning my training can remain on track.

As a result of this I had to ride the 6 km back to the car park without a saddle. And what excellent training that is. Standing uses a very different set of muscles. Maybe I'll remove the seat more often to ensure I get some 'standing' miles under my belt!

Distance:         26 Km

Total calories: 524

Riding Time:    51 minutes

Well, news of my endeavours is spreading. I checked the statistics for this blog today and there was a referral from Google California. I checked, and if you search Google for 'training for the TransRockies', of the 9910 results my blog comes up Numere Uno!

Yesterday was a 'rest' day, which was a shame because the weather changed and it was a great day to be outside. So, outside I was, though not riding. The bike got a good strip. clean and lube in preparation for Sunday.

The goal of today's workout was to push the Lactate Threshold limits and all was going really well until...I got a puncture! One moment I'm pedaling along developing some good watts and the next there's a loud bang, half way through the first of the major sets.

As Helen and I had plans for this afternoon, repairing the puncture and riding again wasn't an option. What I did learn today was the importance of lunch. I skipped it, and about 1.5 hours later felt really, really tired.

Whenever I'm feeling tired on the bike, I remind myself of Brett Wolfe, the one legged mountain biker.

Brett has completed the Grand Slam of mountain biking: doing all four of the world's ultra-tough, ultra-long, multi-day mountain bike events: Costa Rica's La Ruta de la Conquistadors, the TransAlp, the TransRockies and South Africa's Cape Epic.

Now, after I've done the TransRockies...

I'm not sure if I want Brett to be doing the TransRockies in 2007 though. Would being passed by a one-legged mountain biker be motivational I wonder?

A good rest now and then tomorrow it's out with the Hamsterley Trailblazers for our monthly forest ride!

Distance:         40.62 Km

Total calories: 562

Riding Time:    75 minutes

I went onto the Singletrack forum this morning and a researcher from Lancaster University was looking for subjects to test. The last time I sought a fitness test, Newcaslte Uni wouldn't do it in case I had a heart attack! I sent him the link to this blog and he replied saying I would be an ideal candidate. A free fitness test. Great.

He'll be testing Onset of Lactate Threshold, VO2 Max, Body Composition, Haemoglobin levels, Haematocrit Level and Lung Function. I'll post the results here when it's done.

On it's own, the data won't mean anything, however, I'll get tested again in a few months and I'll be able to see the difference the training makes physiologically.

Today's workout wass a real toughy. Not because of the wattage, it barely gets to 50% of threshold, because it's so boring.