Productivity at last.

Yahoo! The decorating is finally done, the pictures are back on the walls and the house is back to looking like its a home again. We've got two pictures bought in San Francisco to frame and hang, but wall spaces are allocated so its only a matter of time before we get that one done too. Its been raining on and off all day but we also got a load of stuff down the charity shop and the conservatory now looks suspiciously empty. I suppose its only a matter of time before it gets filled with toot again but it looks nice at the moment.
I've also changed the stem on my new Flying Gate touring bike about 4 times this afternoon but I think I've got it dialled in about right now. A bit of a shake down tomorrow will tell if its right and then I'll be planning a charity ride from Warwick to Home overnight on it some time before Roubaix to sort the legs out.
The first race of the year is next Monday, the club's Easter Egg 10. There's usually a big field for this one and I have got a few miles in during March so far and although I've only done about 45 miles at a time, some rides have been quite fast and I am starting to feel back to normal on the bike. It will be interesting to see how my time stacks up against previous years. In 2009 it was my 4th race and I managed a 27:59. In 2008 I'd done 4 races and clocked 26:48. I think this year I'll be lucky to get near either of those times but pride says I have to beat 29 mins - I could probably walk it quicker... Time will tell.

I don't believe it!

No I really don't believe it. February 2010 was the first month for at least 14 years that I have touched the bike for more than about 2 weeks and I've had a complete calendar month off! How did I manage it?
You could say that what with the weather this winter being the worst for 30 years or so (Official - The Met Office) and all of the other distractions involved in setting up a new consultancy business especially as I'm currently up to my eyes in Contract Law and desperately trying to remember stuff from Uni its not a surprise.
But today I rode to and from my Basildon office and boy I am soooooo unfit. Hopefully I'll get there in a couple of months.
Targets for the year, as stated in an earlier blog are fairly straightforward: Paris Roubaix Cyclo, two 100 mile TT's and the ECCA 12 hour. I ought to have started with 10 milers and hardrider events by now, moving up to 25's and 50's before the end of April but with training starting today a little readjustment may be necessary. I've decided that an early season based on 200 and 300 km randonees is probably a more logical approach, but its been a while since I rode a full 200k - 2 years to be precise (and that one was like last weekends KBK - Chapeau Ian Stannard!) and the 300k has always been a bogie distance for me as I've started loads but never finished one! A couple of 400k's would also be a good idea but time is seriously running out. Let the fun commence!

Liposuction?

There's a lively debate on the cycling forums at the moment about the so called linkage between food consumption and exercise, mostly about the "fact" that they are not directly related. I'm not sure there's any truth in this as every time I stop riding, running or going to the gym I put on weight big style. However, at my mum's 80th birthday party last September I couldn't help but notice that we Knowlers have a "body shape". Uncles Bubbles and Will had the "League of pear shaped men" body shape in spades and cousins Richard and Roger have the same "stylee" almost exactly. It now starts to look like I'm not far behind. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, or even if I suffer for it, I appear to be going down that road, a belly is starting to form. Mind you, this winter has allegedly been the harshest for 30 years and I really cannot, cannot, stand hours on the turbo. So what with starting up Crowstone Safety Ltd. and everything that entails I've been labouring under the inpression that my current total lack of fitness has been due to my lack of miles and that this has been directly related to my expanding waistline but maybe not so.
Maybe, just maybe, its all out of my control and all I should do is ride the dragon, get the miles in and relax in the knowledge that if I'm a bit porky it was all meant to be. Ed, Joe, take note.
In the meantime a serious lack of winter miles has meant a re-think of my usual early season strategy. For the first time in years I'm not going to ride either of the 2 traditional season openers, the Maldon and Hainault hillies. I must make a point of riding out to spectate though as I'm gonna be doing my winter training though the spring and hopefully I'll come into a bit of form and a lot of belly loss in the summer in time for Paris Roubaix (June 4th), the ECCA 12 hour (Early August) and a couple 100 mile TTs (Kent CA and ECCA?) in the summer. Why do I stress about this? After all don't I have enough to worry about in the real world?
Is there a real world that doesn't include bikes?

So what did you get for Christmas?

Two weeks of almost total hibernation have yielded some unexpected results. As noted earlier, both self and Mrs. Kipper have spent the last fortnight in slob mode (copyright Dan Hutson). However, Christmas yielded a new MP3 player - 8 Gb with radio and tiny as whatsit as well as several Cds. So far I'm so totally stuck on Sex and Gasoline by Rodney Crowell and Sigh no More by Mumford and Sons that I haven't even got as far as properly listening to Now Again by The Flatlanders which also landed under the tree this year.
We saw Rodney Crowell supporting the Flatlanders at the Barbican earlier this year and I am still undecided who gave the best performance. I'd seen Joe Ely leading the Joe Ely Band over 20 years ago in support of Robert Cray (who we also saw this year) and kind of knew what to expect but The Flatlanders were superb. Rodney Crowell was altogether more low key than The Flatlanders (if such a thing can happen) but I was blown away by the quality of his songs and his confidently assured set. The CD does not dissapoint.
We've both been getting into Mumford and Sons since their EP was released in the summer. Now they have an LP length CD out and believe me it's a cracker! I can't wait to see them in March, especially as its at the Shepherds Bush Empire, a venue close to a really nice Italian restaurant and at which we have seen some seriously class acts including Stphen Stills in the last couple of years. I'm stating to think 2010 will be better than the calamity that passed as the end of 2009. Cheers Dears, as Glen Tilbrook would say.

Mr Blobby talking

As previously mentioned, the Common Cold has intervened over Christmas. It feels like we've spent the entire holiday in hibernation. That's not an entirely bad thing as I feel a lot better for it even though large amounts of snot are still making their way down my nose on an hour to hour basis. I've managed a few runs and actually been out on the bike once. (see previous post).
So the plan is to get fit again and lose a stone over the next year. (Yeah. Right.)
I don't normally do well on New Year resolutions but this year "something must be done".
Over the holiday, following an unexpected an very illegal redundancy (and yes they paid for it) I've set up a new Consulting Company and start my first contract on Monday. I only have one client so far, but full time employment for 6 months, so now I have to find a way to: a) Get more clients & b) Get race fit by March.
a) I have a cunning plan, Lord Blackadder.
b)We have a gym membership which we need to start using - like urgently - and I have to get some miles in my legs as well as more than a bit of speed, so here's the target.
Last March I rode the Maldon Hilly 20 followed by the Hainault Hardriders 50km. Times for the Maldon event in recent years have been:
2009 - 1hr 4m 35.
2008 - 1hr 2m 39s
2007 - 1hr 5m 54s
2006 - 1hr 2m 54s

And for the Hainault:
2009 - 1hr 38 31s
2008 - 1hr 32 41s
2007 - 1hr 34 5s
2006 - DNS

So 2008 is the year to beat. I'll keep you posted.

A few weeks ago I may have mentioned a near death brush with man flu. Well, over Christmas both Mrs. kipper and self have been down with the Common Cold - its much worse!
Apart from the holiday break its been a fortuitous time to get this particular ailment. Its been snowing, blowing a gale and generally unpleasant outside for nearly 2 weeks and now the snow has all melted my running routes are totally waterlogged so I guess I've not missed anything. I went out today for the first time in 3 1/2 weeks for a little ride around the Dengie peninsula road. I'm always stunned how only a week or two away from the bike can make you feel like a slug, but after 3 1/2 weeks I'm surprised I got round all 50 miles on one energy bar and a gel, even through a couple of squally little showers although I feel all stiff now. A weee dram anyone?

The lure of the open road

Over the last few years my cycling has mostly been of the racing variety, ranging from short distance time trials and track through cyclo cross to 100 milers, 12 hour TT's, Paris Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders but maybe its time for a bit of a change for a year. (I know the last two aren't exactly races, but I dare you to try riding them in a leisurely manner.) Don't get me wrong, I love racing, well actually I just love being on the bike and its been a while since I did much Audax or touring. Until last year Mrs. Kipper and I started the year on the tandem with 4 or 5 100 or 150 km Audaxes locally but in 2009 we didn't do any. We did a few amiless rides just going out on touring bikes in France in August - rough stuff, not really knowing where we were going to go, finding cafes en route etc. etc. Perhaps its time we had a change in emphasis and just go out for a ride a bit more in 2010.
What with starting a new Company, a six month contract requiring every Tuesday in Warwick and not knowing where the money will come from as the year progresses, planning a racing season is going to be more problematic than it has been in the past so a more relaxed approch is called for.
So.... Despite the fact that I've already entered the Paris Roubaix Cyclo next June and entered the South East SPOCO competition, I think there will be more days just going for a ride. Hopefully I'll be able to carry on the club Wednesday 10's and defend my Classic bike 25 crown but with Christmas coming, snow and slush on the ground and a stinking cold making its way through my sinuses, its time to get the maps out....