Who coming Rog don't want to be caught out might need to put the carbon tubs on if it's looking like a kicking over Penderin

...a couple of members of the Academy...but don't tell anyone I said so...

say bring it on :D hoping to be out just waiting on a call from the boss fingers crossed

Nothing quite like the thought of getting an absolute kicking to make you want to ride AJ...your masochistic side is clearly coming through once again what with this and also doing the mammoth Monday ride...barking ;)

Now I really want to come on thursday....unfortunately, I have lectures.....hmmm.....they can always be caught up on though =P

got the day off :D bring on the pain ;)

Pain was the prescription for today!

And jolly nice it was too! Just goes to show you...cyclists are clearly insane! :P

Now I need 2 days off to recover...

It was fantastic to see my two old mates stay in to the end of Penderin today Banana Man and Rog the 'cat' . Great big turn from Mr 'C' who was looking good and thanks to Tom and Luke for not breaking a sweat.
Seriously it gave me a great smile to see those two stay in today. let's hope next time Vidal Sassoon (Tom) stays puncture free and James 'H' gets a better lead in as well.

Great ride |Oh and respect to Lauren for getting round today not easy for the first one.

Cheers Pez...it was pretty cool to stay in the "express train"...Luke and Tom C were clearly cruising and having a laugh, Courtney, your good self and Ieuan were going great guns and me, well I just hung on for dear life!!!

It was a cracker...agree - big respect to Lauren who was 100% determined to get around and never moaned just got on with it!!

Oh...and great to see AJ back out with his head bandaged on - full on "The Mummy" style...if that's what you got to do, that's what you got to do!!!

Made me laugh anyway :)

You can'y buy what 'JIF' has on a Thursday no matter how much money you have. Good laughs, good mates, good training and finally the ugliest bunch of misfits you could wish to set eyes upon. Cheers all

I've said it once and I'll say it again: The Thursday ride is quality and I get loads out of it. A fitting thing, considering the route, that we all looked like a bunch of miners finishing a shift by the end - I still have crap in my ears even after a shower.

Hats off to Lauren too, quite a few experienced riders come along and drop off at some point. This was her first long ride and she was still there at the end. Good effort.

I nearly fell off my bike when Courtney said that the Evesham RR would be like going over Penderyn only over 3 hours and 60 miles!!! Hmmm...what do you reckon? Could you keep that pace for that long...???

Still going to do Evesham RR though...even if just for a bit of an experience...

A couple of cans of a well known caffeine/taurine drink before the off and I'll give all those Elite's a right kicking!!! :P - in my dreams!!!

I couldn't keep that up for much more than what we did. I'm hoping it's only that hard in the last few miles. If it's like that in the first few then i'm bringing my bible so some one can read me the last rites.

Cheers for today fellas

Good ride, the Rhigos was cold and lonely when I left you, especially the descent!! Knobbling. Good to put some faces to names today as well, should see you all next week if not at Track League on Tuesday night - go on Pez U knows you wants to! Well done to Mrs Rowe for spotting Laurens undone quick release levers - probably cos no-one else was watching her wheels.

....Andy your spot on!!!

16 on the ride
3 girlies
13 guys
and it took a girlie to spot the quick release lever whilst 13 guys follow a cute little bottom!!!!!

there was more than one cute bottom out Al xx

.....mine! =P

fastest thursday today. 21.? mph average.

average HR 133. up from 129 on the 75.

I got a kicking.

Ieuan, james, Pez and Tom were on fire. (but they did not drop me, but close)

can say i was glad to be in work then :D

Average HR 124, max 167. And before you say anything, that was quite high for me! Average speed 21.8MPH, measured from/to McD's.

My apologies again to all those I dropped when I went race pace for some unbeknown reason. I reckon I'm getting senile, what with moving up a masters category this year;-) It shall not happen again!

i supose if you got it flaunt it. It just hurts when you got so much of it.

You will worry a few of the established boys in the masters in 2010.

You would still be out there.




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Avg speed: 20mph (door to door)
Avg HR: 143
Max HR: 179

Full details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/25504694

Indeed, twas a very good ride today....some good solid training. I think some people need training on the simple things though....such as going round a roundabout...instead of heading straight for the kerb =P

on that James. Trackies ay. They don't do turning.

We need Roger back. Is it Romania he's gone?

sounds like another staedy long road training session, do i need to remind people we start racing in two week's time and hav'nt heard interval's, hill rep's speed work or any "race" type training being done yet? i can assure you that no race we will be doing will be 3 - 4 hrs long and averaging 20-21 mph? but then what do i know? sure you'll all be fine.

over penderyn moor. two blocks of through and off with lead out to finish.

greggs shares up 0.2 i hear?

not worried bout you know you'll be fine just worried about the other's and would'nt know about gregg's hardly go in there now

That's what the track's been about on Monday's, intervals galore and plenty of eyeballs out speed at the end of the first hour for as long as you can hold it. I think we'll all do well!

and speculators hear.

They will be down .04 tomorrrow?

Ieuan. You will do well.

but nobody that's racing are going down or only a small minority

...Intervals are best done in one's own time surely.....everyone has their little bit of secret training...

best done in small groups of like minded people.

So on yr own realy.

Just been messing with some analysis software, thought some of you would like to know the following:

1. The average speed over Penderyn today was 30.4mph for 16 mins.
2. The average of Penderyn plus all the way back to McD's was 23.2mph for 1 hour 18 mins.

Because I'm a sad technology lover, I download all my training (what little there is) from my Garmin onto Garmin Connect - although it is all password protected etc it's easy to share this info - like minded geeks could see each others' rides/training. As for intervals - as long as you turbo train on a mopable floor - train until you puke! 6 watts/kg ave followed by 10 to 15 second sprints at 12 to 14 watts per kilo should have the desired affect - just don't try it on rollers - not without the front door open & the hall clear of household pets, coats and the wife's boots.
ps none of this info is intented for anyone but the clinically insane! Now - Aberlour, Ardbeg or Bowmore 12yr old - naa lets do them all...

Ieuans stats were achieved with the wind coming onto our left shoulder on Penderyn and into our face on the way home.

Most pleasing stat for me.
3 RIDERS TURNED SHORT AS PLANNED. WE RE-GROUPED AFTER PENDERYN AND STAYED TOGETHER ALL THE WAY BACK.

Yestarday was fast or faster than normal. Penderyn was a toughy but I seemed to get both hills on my turn which put me in a box. The two mountain goats tried to then give us 3 buffalo's the slip but wind is a wonderful thing and we quickly pulled them back in.
Heading back through and off with everyone doing there bit got us around a lot quicker.

Note the Meelster is out on thursday not this but the next and that means 4 not 3 buffalo's.

You can include me in the "Buffalo" category for the week after next!!! ;)

Though I will be making significant effort over the next month or so to transform into a "Mountain Goat" or should that be "Mounting Goat"???

Go on...say it! You've never heard that one before...but this time I REALLY mean it...ha ha...right! Whatever Trevor...takes me all the way back to the 70s...

That is that.......The Mountain/Mounting Goats versus the Buffalo Soldiers. Very apt.

...Bring it!

Strange happenings on the moor.......hilarious story to follow.....

mmeky dropped for dead but some how get back to the front group. Not once but 3 times.

HOW DOES THE MAN DO IT???

u had to be there to see it.

meeky comes and comea again

...we were all well and truly put in our place! :)

Good fun today...if you like that sort that of thing!

Disappointed, it has to be said, by the distinct lack of foam or soap suds :(

Pez didn't perform ?!! Damn, need to sort him out before Sunday...

well what can i say form is up and down but class is always there! pez struggled when we got the 53x12 going i think his was covered in dust causing him to be off it a bit? mark was bouncing so much he was in the air more than on the tarmac so he struggled over the moor and i didnt see him untill the bus stop when i awoke from my nap, anyway was a good day and am quite tired now but the sun was shining

sorry del pez struggled with it all a bit? pressure you put on him maybe?

I must agree with Stu.

What impressed me was Meekys ability to attack and look prity much gone but 1/2 mile up the road and he was back for more.

Powers of recovery that Tom and Pez could not match.

He road like he had a motor behind him.

Your on form Stu, thats for sure.

We rode under a blue sky and clear air with Mark and Pez working hard all the way from Cefn Coed to Penderyn, into the energy sapping north wind which was funnelling down the valley. Well done lads !
Once on Penderyn the normal race developed, although it wasn’t quite the same without Courtney. At least we thought we were without him until the peace and tranquillity were shattered by the sound of an angry hornet on a pizza delivery bike and our spiritual leader revealed Himself. Meeky seized the opportunity to make up some lost ground and with his hand clamped firmly to the pizza box at the rear of Courtney’s machine he sailed past those of us still using the old fashioned pedalling technique.
We rocketed home with the angry hornet making only an occasional appearance and all arrived back at MacDonalds together, “helped” by Mark’s powerful chainganging.

My motor was flat out and restricted to 30mph. With out the push from Stu I would have been dropped for sure.

Thanks Stu. I owe you one.

It did make me giggle when stu held his empty drinks bottle up for me to change. A hasty dash into the local barbers with a plea of "water please". enabled our leaders thirst to be quenched.

was just sombody that looked like me! mark was going well mind he just kept lifting it

in Wonderland with all the fantasy you could wish for right on our doorstep !! I think there is some fiction authors in the making for sure. You Welsh geezers know how to lay it on thick that's foe sure.

When Meeky put his hands in the air as first back to macdonald and said "thats it Llandow's in the bag for sure".

There were a few at the back with tiers rolling down their checks. i guess its just the realisation that all our training has been in vain.

to landow now as daz eds rog pez tom etc all going as good if not better than me!

because he wanted to be 1st in the queue for his burger

modest. What a leader we have for sunday.

and all the training in world was not going to keep me on meeky's wheel today just thankful he isn't out that often. Class absolute class. i'm now looking for races outside of wales as I know poits at home ain't happening now. Be warned spread your race calenders far and wide cause there's only gona be scraps around here.

Meeky got all the BC one for sure.

Question "Stu would you like to predict by how much you will win".

Will you be in the burger que when we are coming into view?

to attack sunday will win ;)

i'll have enough to share round mate how many u want?

...today's performances all the more remarkable was that everyone was riding on heavy winter bikes!

Awesome! The question is...is South Wales ready for the force that is "JIFies on summer bikes..." ;)

One trend I'm not sure will catch on is the consumption of double cheese burgers prior to the ride...lovely! Hmmmm...

Mr C got it down him this morning, syrup and sausage is just not right unless it's bedtime gymnastics of course

Put that image in my head?!?!

Syrup and sausage is just plain wrong - it must be a southern thing...

All Northerners know it has to be squeezy honey...with their oats...or maybe peanut butter (although only crunchy!)

2 for his chain and one for his foam..............

...so Pez was talking about something completely different than I thought when we was going on about his jelly doughnuts...

It's those damn Specialized saddles apparantly...

=)

You guys and girls...

I tell you, you'd have fallen off your bike laughing...talk about the
Lazerus brothers...Meeky was just another level to that yesterday and
we just couldn't work it out!

Pez, Tom and I are nailing it...flying and away by about 50/75 metres...next
thing...here comes Meeky...we all just thought WTF!!!

The 2nd time the game was up!!!

Fun!!! :)

Stu is on another level to us mortals, or at least another planet.

He is third to the end of 9.6 mile effort after hunging on to a scooter for 2 miles and says he's got us covered.

Only if he can hang on for 3 miles? then it would be close??

so he must be from the planet Uranus !!!