Lisa - Fat Girl Fit

Category: Cycling, Fitness, Product Reviews

The Complete Guide to Cycling Psychology Book Review

I was very excited to be sent the new book from GCN written by Mark Beaumont and Dr Jim Taylor.

Mark Beaumont

Mark is an endurance cyclist (however there is so much more to Mark than this and I would describe him as an avid adventurer), but in relation to cycling he currently holds records for:

fastest cycle on Scotland’s North Coast 500
fastest cycle round the world covering a distance of 18,296 miles in 194 days and 17 hours
fastest cycle from Cairo to Cape Town covering a distance of 10,000 km in 41 days, 10 hours and 22 minutes
hour record on a penny farthing

Dr Jim Taylor

Dr Jim Taylor is a specialist in the psychology of performance sport and has worked with professional cyclists and athletes in many other sports. He is also an Ironman and world-championship age-group triathlete.

Basically we are in good hands with the authors!

Favourite Quotes From The Book

I am a sucker for a good quote and this book had loads but a few notable that resonated with me:

‘It is about knowing yourself better and using cycling as a means for personal growth and meaning.’

‘Understanding your ‘why’ is at the heart of this book.’

‘Contrary to popular belief, when you focus on the result, you are less likely to get the result you want.’

‘Putting the fun and social back into training made me feel more energised when I got back on the bike.’

‘Knowing you can ‘out-suffer’ the rest is good motivation when the going gets spicy.’

The quotes above are areas that I think are so important for us individually. We all have different goals, different reasons for doing anything we do and know what works best for us and this often gets lost and we need a reminder!

Cycling Psychology Assessment

This is referred to as the physical testing for the mind in this book and delves into 5 attitudes that affect performance. During this process you rate yourself against each attitude (ownership, process, challenge, long-term and balance).

This assessment is at the start of each stage within the book and each stage is a section that goes into further detail of each attitude mentioned earlier. Each talks about its individual importance and how this relates to your cycling performance and mental attitude towards it.

Main Takeaways From The Book (for me)

This book was so relatable. I cycle therefore I am a cyclist, of many disciplines and varying distances. I am my worst critic and the mental side is my biggest weakness – when my head goes, it is game over! I was surprised to read that Mark suffers from imposter syndrome – so easy to assume athletes do not worry about things like this – we are all human!

I think too often we forget to focus on what we can affect, there is no point in worrying about what we cannot after all. The book talks about grounding yourself in order to set yourself up to cycle to your capabilities.

We can use our motivators to bridge the gap between our goals and efforts to achieve those goals. Are we setting ourselves up for success? Do we know how to identify when we are suffering with low motivation and how to change that mindset? Is there a pattern? How can this be addressed for the better? Do you need a way of staying accountable?

It covers what constitutes quality training, consistency and dedication, and what you can have in your mental took kit to set yourself up for success. I often use my social media channels to voice my goals/objectives for public accountability – it may not work for everyone but I find it does for me. I keep a log of my training activities, how I felt, what worked and didn’t – I think it is the project manager in me treating it like a retrospective and identifying lessons learned so that I can turn negatives into positives.

This book covers it all with real life examples how Dr Taylor worked through this with Mark for his various challenges. I cannot recommend it enough and will be sure to add to my Christmas 2022 gift list!

Product was gifted but all opinions are my own.

Category: Cycling

Being An E-Racing Team Captain

The latest season of the Zwift Racing League just finished last night. As I am still recovering from my knee injury I withdrew myself from the race team, knowing I would not be able to race properly as I could do further damage to my knee. I was asked, however, by Aeonian if I wanted to captain the team I am in, the Diva’s.

You can read more about Aeonian Race Team here. I love being a part of this team and so I was very keen to contribute despite the fact that I could not race. I had never been captain to the team though so whilst I thought I knew what was involved I was keen to make sure I was doing all I could to help the other ladies in the team before, during and after the races in the schedule.

E-Racing Team Captain Responsibilities

As always Aeonian are super helpful and more than happy to share their knowledge so I was soon up to speed and knew what my role would entail.

Be aware of all the rules/regulations
Communication to team members on a regular basis
Facilitating training sessions
Ensuring all team members have up to date race category/height/weight on Zwift Power
Sharing race pass information from WTRL for those racing to sign up and making sure all are signed up in advance of the race date
Completing route recce’s every week for the route that is upcoming on the race schedule
Sharing notes from the above recce with the team, including route, distance, elevation, areas to note, where points could be gained, best bike choice
Acting as directeur sportif (DS) to the team
Encouragement – lots of it as motivation helps a lot!
Sharing of results
And repeat each week

Before I was captain I found a very funny article on Zwift Insider about the role that you can read here (the images with chat messages are hilarious).

Directeur Sportif (DS) Role

I know from racing that having a DS is so useful for the racers. The DS can see overall where everyone is in the race and provide advice, especially in the TTT where they can inform if gaps are forming or you are approaching teams to overtake.

The DS can provide encouragement and push riders to perform their best. When you are head down, teeth gritted, sweat pouring and giving it your all, it is easy not to know who is around you. Knowing someone is just ahead or just behind can motivate a rider to push more and can ultimately make a big difference in points for the team, whether that be finishing points or on a segment.

The DS is essential for the team time trial (TTT) but equally as valuable for the individual points races too. For the TTT, as all races, you are looking to finish as high as possible and whilst you start with 6 riders you only need to finish with 4 and so you also need to be the one to make the tough call to cut riders if needed for the good of the team.

Although I was not racing I still kept every Tuesday evening free so that I was logged on for the team as they were racing.

Is Being Captain Enjoyable?

I won’t lie, I was nervous taking on this role. I am always happy to ask the stupid question though, although hopefully I didn’t have too many. I didn’t want to let any of the ladies down but by being captain I did feel that I was still contributing even though I couldn’t race and I actually really enjoyed it. This is mostly in part to the ladies in the team who make it so easy!

Thank you Aeonian Diva’s!

Lastly I want to thank the Aeonian Diva’s who were an absolute dream to captain and who were consistently awesome week on week. Where did they finish you ask? Oh they won…..

Category: Fitness, Hiking

Hiking The Wainwright Fells

I’ve said before to surround yourself with like minded individuals. I’ve been injured recently and to keep my knee mobile I have been walking a lot and so when a friend and I discussed doing more of that and the subject of walking the Wainwrights came up we both said yes without needing to think about it.

We soon got to planning how and when we would start and I am writing this as we have had our first trip to the Lake District and ticked off 11!

What Are The Wainwrights?

Alfred Wainwright MBE was a fell walker and published author of a volume of books relating to the Lakeland Fells.

There are 214 fells in the Lake District that are named after Alfred Wainwright. There are lots of websites with information a plenty about how to go about these, lists to tick each fell off, distances, elevation and much more!

When people aim to complete the Wainwrights they may refer to it as hill bagging and the objective is to climb/tick off as many as you can.

What Is A Crag/Fell/Pike/Pass/Knott?

There are various names to the climbs but the majority fall into the following:

Crag – a steep rugged rock or cliff
Fell – a mountain or a very big hill
Pike – a peak
Pass – a gap in a mountain or ridge
Knott – hill
Rigg – ridge

Reference Material

Excited for a new challenge I got on Amazon straight away to find some books and ordered one to tick off the fells as we complete them. I will be honest I thought it was a pocket sized book and it is A4, quite large and I got one for each of us – we joked that they were similar to a colouring book.

When wandering around Keswick we actually found these in a local shop, which are much more convenient.

I also ordered the Lake District map set from Ordnance Survey.

How To Tick Off The Wainwrights

We found a great website by The Walking Englishman who had information on how you complete the Wainwrights in the fewest number of walks (that number is 36 walks by the way). The journey to the Lake District for us is around 5/6 hours in the car each way so not something we can easily do every weekend and so there was an appeal to finding out how we could complete as many as possible per walk.

This website has the fells listed, grouped into the 36 walks with further information per walk that includes distance, elevation and how many fells are ticked off per walk.

It also provides GPX files per walk and references the Ordnance Survey maps that I had already purchased. My friend also has the Ordnance Survey app on her phone.

How We Started

We agreed that a long weekend would be most ideal, both because it would be less holiday days to take from work and makes most sense given the time the round trip to and from the Lake District would take us.

We looked at the routes and how we could tick off the most on our first trip and decided to start with The Newlands Watershed, which includes 10 of the fells. This turned out to be a little ambitious for our first walk and we met others along the way who were doing 1 or 2 and we realised we were perhaps trying to go from zero to hero. We ended up completing 7 the first day, 3 the following day and then a final 1 before heading home. Those 11 completed include:

Dale Head
Hindscarth
Robinson
Knott Rigg
Ard Crags
Scar Crags
Causey Pike
High Spy
Maiden Moor
Cat Bells
Castle Crag

We created a spreadsheet (love a spreadsheet – don’t judge me) to include a list of all the individual fells and also the 36 walks so we could easily track our progress.

Accommodation

There is so much accommodation in the Lake District and it varies massively! It can vary from a tent up to luxury holiday rentals and price varies from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Knowing this would be the first of many trips we had a budget in mind and were open to any options aside from tent camping. We found a lot of holiday rentals had check in and out on Friday and Monday’s only and this was not negotiable to add a day either side, which we wanted, with a Thursday to Monday stay so that ruled out some options. We were also looking for accommodation where dogs are allowed.

We ended up booking a yurt at Inside Out Camping in Keswick. This was a site with yurts in their own private field, located next to a stream and close by to the walking trails.

Kit

Both of us have dogs and appropriate clothes etc for hiking so to all intents and purposes we were good to go. But you can always have more stuff!

The weather in the Lake District can be temperamental so we knew we needed a kit list for the hikes and this included the following:

clothing layers so we can remove/add as needed (I find some of my MTB tops great for hiking as the material wicks sweat really well)
hat, buff, gloves, socks
hiking boots (I also took a spare pair of trail shoes too)
backpack/bag to carry essentials
water bottle
jet boil
travel mug/flask
battery pack/charger cables
headtorch (just in case – plus spare batteries)
rubbish bag (always leave no trace and take litter home with you)
first aid kit plus foil blanket
tissues/wet wipes
snacks (obviously)

Following our first weekend we covered over 35 miles hiking and are now 11 fells ticked off and will update you more as our adventures continue!

Also huge shout out to the third furry member of our little hiking group – Max, who was an absolute trooper!

Have you done the Wainwrights? Any hints and tips you want to share feel free!

Category: Cycling, Product Reviews

New Bike – Specialized Aethos Comp

If you have been under a rock you may have missed that I sold my beloved ‘pink princess’ bike recently and I purchased a new bike!

The new bike is a Specialized Aethos Comp and I got it from the lovely people at Cycle Evolution in Colchester, Essex.

Why Was I Looking For A New Bike?

I’ve been asked this a lot and I added a video to my socials showing the new bike in the shop but the sound is muted. Why is it muted? My friend Karen was in the shop and you can hear her saying to me ‘Lisa, why did you want a new bike?’ and then my replying ‘Karen, what a stupid question’. Meant entirely in a nice way but also serious – who wouldn’t want a new bike?!

I loved my Tarmac and was really sad to see it go, but I have loads of great memories with it and it went to a lovely new home. I was injured and off the bike and figured I would take a look and see a) if I could get a bike I wanted in my size (as they are not as easy to source these days) and b) if I could sell mine for what I wanted to help fund the upgrade.

My Tarmac was rim brake and I had no issue with it at all but as my gravel and MTB are both disc brake bikes, I knew I eventually wanted to upgrade my road to be the same.

I had looked (drooled) over the Aethos for a long time and so this was what I was looking at. I did also look at other options but kept going back to the Aethos. I had test ridden it, knew the geometry was almost identical to the Tarmac so it would be a comfortable ride for me and also spoken to others who had ridden both the Tarmac and the Aethos to get some feedback and everything seemed to confirm my choice so Aethos was it!

The Technical Bits

Frame – Aethos FACT 10r Carbon
Fork – FACT Carbon
Handlebars – Specialized Shallow Drop
Stem – Specialized Pro SL
Tape – Supacaz Super Sticky Kush
Saddle – Body Geometry Power Sport
Seatpost – Roval Alpinist Carbon Seatpost
Brakes – SRAM Rival 1, hydraulic disc
Shift Levers – SRAM Rival eTap AXS, hydraulic
Front Derailleur – SRAM Rival eTAP AXS
Rear Derailleur – SRAM Rival eTap AXS, 12-speed
Cassette – SRAM Rival, 12-speed, 10-36t
Crankset – SRAM Rival
Chainrings – 48/35T
Bottom Bracket – SRAM DUB BSA 68
Chain – SRAM Rival 12-speed
Wheelset – DT Swiss R470 rim, 20mm internal width, tubeless ready, 24h, Specialized full sealed bearing thru axle hub, centerlock disc, DT Swiss Champion 14G stainless steel spokes, DT Swiss brass nipples
Tyres – Turbo Pro, 60 TPI, folding bead, BlackBelt protection, 700x26mm
Inner Tubes – Presta, 48mm valve

Of Course I Changed Some Bits

When you purchase a bike the bulk of the cost is the frameset. I already knew I wanted to change some parts on it and so after buying I left in the shop with some parts on order to upgrade as follows:

Roval Alpinist CLX II front and rear wheels – I had deeper rim wheels on the Tarmac but had been looking at these for the Aethos and they are the ones recommended
S-Works Carbon Hover handlebars (40cm) – on my Tarmac I had the handlebars rolled up slightly for a more comfortable fit and initially was looking at the Alpinist bars but was recommended these, which also meant it raised 15mm)
Shimano Ultegra R8000 SPD-SL pedals – again what I have used before so tried and tested
Specialized Turbo Cotton tyres (700 x 28) – I am general a Continental girl so this is new for me, partly following recommendations but also those tan walls are just lush
Latex inner tubes – recommended and is a little bit of a learning curve for me with the lower PSI and having to remember to pump up every ride (which I forgot to do on my very first ride)
Custom Fat Girl Fit stem cap cover – I had this on my Tarmac and like to add a bit of pink where I can so always planned to swap this over to any new bike I got
Mimic Pro saddle – my go to saddle that is tried and tested and works for me (I also have this on my turbo bike)

Where Did I Get The Aethos?

Full disclosure I work with the guys at Cycle Revolution but I will always give an honest opinion and I can hands down say they could not have done enough to help me. I can talk! And I spent several hours in the store asking questions and discussing options and they were nothing but patient and super helpful.

I also met a friend in their Colchester Evolution store who was struggling to source a bike suitable for her needs and in her size and they were equally as great helping her and she has a bike on order from them too.

Most Importantly What Do I Think So Far?

I will admit it is early days (I have only had it for just over 2 weeks) but so far I am seriously impressed! She rides like an absolute dream and is just as comfortable as the Tarmac.

I was sceptical about SRAM as I have only ever known mechanical and Di2 but after a few ‘oops that’s the wrong gear change’ I picked it up.

Naturally I look to see how I can pink up my bikes but not sure I can with this one. My Tarmac was fairly in your face and I loved it but part of what attracted me to the Aethos was the simplicity of it. I liked that it stripped it back to being a bike I would just love to ride – less is more was something a friend said when she saw it last weekend and I couldn’t agree more!

Category: Cycling, Fitness, Product Reviews

Beeline Velo 2 Cycling Computer Review

I am always up for trying new cycling gadgets and kit, so when I was asked to try the new Beeline Velo2, of course my answer was yes!

This is the second iteration of the Velo cycling computer from the computer and follows a hugely successful kick-starter campaign.

The Techy Bit

Here are the main details:

Cost – The unit itself costs £79.99 and for that you get the bike computer, charging cable, handlebar mount (two different sized rubber bands to allow for different sized handlebars) and instructions. I was also sent to the carry case, which easily holds the bike computer, has a net to hold the charging cable too and a carabiner to secure when transporting.
Battery – battery life is over 11 hours ride time so less when comparing with other major brands offering competing products but still more than a respectable battery life. When I complete in rides longer than this I would carry a battery pack so I can charge on the go/at rest stops as a fall back and could do this for this unit too.
Display – 32mm LCD screen, with rocker top buttons rather than touch screen so great if you are riding with gloves as you don’t have to take them off! It has ambient lighting and back lighting, which is great for rides not in daylight but also if off road and in heavily shaded areas too. You can adjust the brightness as well.
Shock and water resistant (including dust for the off road riding)
Weighs just 25 grams!

Getting Started

Initial set up was super simple and complete very quickly. The bike computer works with an app and once downloaded and device paired you are good to go. I have an iPhone but this is available on android too. I would note that you need software of iOS 13.0 and above to run the app on an iPhone. This does mean you need your smart phone with you when riding although for me I always carry my phone so this is not an issue and it’s not super heavy draining the battery either, which is good, although I have not tested on any endurance riding.

Route Planning

You have the following two options:

Route mode – this uses the most commonly used route and best for road riding and you can add points to go via by simply dragging the route on the screen in the app
Compass mode – this is best for off road riding and is an ‘as the crow flies’ navigation, so you are given an arrow in the direction you need to go and can pick the path to follow to get there

In addition to the above you can also choose from the route mode out of:

Fast route – will select a route to get you to your destination as quickly as possible
Quiet route – will select a route that uses more quiet roads
Balanced route – a blend of the two options mentioned above

The routes are feedback led too and so you can see those that have been rated good and not good by others and amend your route if you wish. You can do this too when riding using the red and green rocker buttons on each side – reminds me of the Waze navigation system I use in the car and helps other users.

It is also compatible with Strava and again super simple to pair and claims worldwide navigational coverage but I have only used in the UK so cannot comment on that.

You can also import routes from other planners, so once I paired with my Strava the app showed immediately routes I had from there that I could select and use.

Like other bike computers the route planning uses turn by turn navigation, easy re-routing when off the planned route and although it uses the app on the smartphone it will still work if you do not have any service on your phone.

Recording Data

The unit itself tracks all the usual/expected things you would expect from a bike computer including speed, average speed, distance covered, distance remaining and estimated time left on the route with your ETA. Personally I prefer not to have data overload and just enjoy the ride and if possible would remove some metrics from the display. I did reach out to Beeline support to ask if this was possible and they confirmed and got the following response:

Unfortunately at the minute, it’s not a feature we have. But, it is a very popular request, I will make note of your email, and who knows what the future may bring!

Not so long ago we launched our largest ever single update that was almost entirely made up of user-based ideas and feedback, we made a brand new UI to go along side major improvements done to our route planner. So it is how we as a company like to work, so stay tuned, and do share any further ideas you may have!

I did reach out to Beeline support to see if it was possible to pair heart rate and cadence and got the following response:

At the moment, Velo 2 is unable to connect with heart rate or cadence trackers.

I would say they were super quick in getting back to me and offered further help with anything else so was impressed on that front.

My Thoughts

I love the simplicity of this and the price point is far more accessible than competitor units.

Part of what I love about being on the mountain bike is exploring and making up routes so I love that I can use this unit to do just that and think it will live on my MTB. The mountain bike I also find goes back to just loving being on the bike and that simplicity is matched with the unit.

I was really impressed with the customer service and that developments are very much driven by customer feedback.

I also loved that the brand have intentionally designed this unit to be carbon and plastic negative with sustainability in mind.

I will probably stick with my current bike computer for my road bike as I use that for training and require access to some functionality that is not available on this unit but for MTB and casual riding (as in not specific training sessions) it is perfect.

Product was gifted but all opinions are my own.

Category: Van Life

Camper Van Trip To Sweden

Sweden is a country that my husband and I love. The people are lovely, as is the way of life with it being mainly centred around family and being outside, from our experience, and this is mainly why we are planning to move there at some point in the future.

When we got our camper van we had planned to do a long trip heading over to Sweden in it to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and my 40th birthday. But this was in the early months of Covid, postponed until the following year and then again until this year. Because of the unknown we had got a little lazy with the planning but once we knew it was going to happen we were straight on the case!

Booking three weeks off work was approved, bank holidays were announced and as they are later than usual meant we had even more time off and so planning began.

What Route To Sweden

There are a few options but we chose the following both out and back:

Ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland (6.5 hours) with Stena Line
Hook of Holland drive to Rostock, Germany (7 hours)
Ferry from Rostock to Trelleborg, Sweden (5.5 hours) with TT Line

We had cabins on both ferry trips and unfortunately suffered theft of components of my husbands bike (on a bike rack, locked with multiple locks, whilst in the hold) whilst on the TT Line. Their customer service was quite honestly non-existent and over 3 weeks on we are still awaiting responses. The experience with Stena Line was the polar opposite and for this reason we would not travel with TT Line again nor recommend them to others.

What Do You Need For Travel?

When travelling through multiple countries you need to check both entry requirements and rules that need to be followed in each as they can differ. We had to do the following:

Passports
Download our Covid Passports
UK sticker for our campervan
Headlamp convertors (stickers for headlights)
Carry a red warning triangle in case of emergency
Reflective jackets
First aid kit
Breathalyser
Spare bulbs
Insurance certificate
V5 registration document

You can purchase a European Driving Kit, which contains most of the above, that we did.

What To See

When planning a road trip and researching, asking friends and trying to draw up some semblance of an itinerary it is difficult to narrow it down as there is always so much to see and do. So on the list was:

Tiveden National Park – we wild camped at Sorangs Bergsjo fishing lake. It was a beautiful spot with a little jetty, fire pit, firewood, shelter and picnic table. We hiked the Trehorningsrundan trail, which was a 9.5km loop around the lake and stunning.
Ekopark Omberg – we wild camped at Bokskogens, which was a small area for 5 campervans that overlooked Lake Vattern. It was stunning with a short stairway to access the lake for swimming, fire pits, firewood, shelter and several picnic tables. We have cycled up Omberg on the Tjejvattern and Halvvattern events so had seen the stunning views from the top and the hiking and off road bike trails. We hiked from where we camped on the trails to Omberg Touristhotell, that we cycled past on the previously mentioned bike rides. We then hiked back into the park to the viewing station at the highest point of the park, Hjassan.
Kvarntorpshogen stairs – 427 steps up one of Europe’s longest wooden staircase. At the top there is a sculpture park to look around.
Vatternrundan bike week.
Tisarstrand campsite – we decided to stay on this campsite by Lake Tisaren for a night. We hiked from here around the local trails and woodland and once again found many rest stops with picnic areas, fire wood and shelters. This campsite was great and right on the water, with all facilities you would need and many BBQ areas.
Linkoping – we stayed on a campsite by Lake Roxen for two nights called Sandvik’s. It was right on the lake with all facilities, however, you did have to pay for hot water but it was only 5 SEK for 5 minutes. We hiked from here around the local trails and my husband used the paddle board on the lake also. We then spent a day in the town exploring.
Motala – our friends live in Motala and this is where the Vatternrundan events start and finish. We spent weekends with them and love this little town. There may also have been some house hunting whilst we were there to see what we would be looking to buy when we eventually move there.
Amsterdam – my husband has been but I have not and was excited for this! We stayed at Camp Zeeburg, which was fab! Excellent facilities, on site restaurant, shop, bakery and goats! This is situated on the canal and the staff were great too! I would note that this is situated in an environmental zone and so if you have a vehicle that runs on diesel you need to check the emission class here and apply for a temporary exemption. The reality was that it is beautiful city in parts and some areas (as expected) not so much!

Swedish Wild Camping Rules

One of the main things we love about Sweden is the outdoor lifestyle, which is even better with Allemansratten (the freedom to roam) that is enshrined in Swedish law.

You are also permitted to stay overnight in a campervan providing you are off the road/parked safely.

Of course you should always leave no trace, no litter and not disturb the land/wildlife around.

Cannot wait to return!

Category: Cycling, Events, Fitness

When Ride London Came to Essex

Having done Ride London, when it went out to Surrey, four times before, I will admit that the event had gotten so busy with lots of accidents etc that I had said I wouldn’t do it again. Then I signed myself up (insert face palm) and here is why:

it is basically on my doorstep
there is something about closed roads that is hugely appealing
there was no ballot to start and you could just sign up without having to wait for an acceptance of rejection letter/magazine to drop on your doorstep
I got massive FOMO when friends were signing up and didn’t want to miss out
it is a cycling event and there is a medal

I am training for The Vatternrundan event again and so the timing and distance having a 100 mile ride in my schedule seemed perfect. With a lot of events cancelled/postponed/rescheduled due to Covid it has been exciting having events start again that it is easy to get caught up in the buzz.

As the event drew closer I will admit I was less and less excited about it. There had been lots of wet and windy weather in the run up. But more because living in Essex meant I could see the backlash/comments from lots of local residents about road closures for the event(s). I say event(s) because there were stages locally from the Friday through to the Sunday for the pro women’s Classique, and so different closures across the three days. It definitely put a grey cloud over the run up to the event.

Event Changes

There were some other aspects of the event that was different, aside from the Surrey to Essex aspect, as follows:

the start had moved from QEOP to Embankment
the finish had moved from The Mall to Tower Bridge
there was no bag drop available to any participants

Would I Do It Again?

Now there is the question! And the answer is probably no BUT never say never as I may change my mind when it rolls around next year! Regardless, here is my reasoning:

it is largely on roads I regularly ride on and so now that I have done it once I do not really feel the need to pay £90 for that luxury again
the finish was disappointing as there was such a lack of green space (or any space really) to stop, wait and relax – the previous finish meant having the huge expanse of Green Park and St James Park close to the finish line and waiting there with friends really added to the atmosphere
in the run up there were reports of local roads having tacks/pins strewn across them, that I know a couple of people who suffered punctures as a result. I did not experience this although we were funnelled to one side of the road twice on the ride as the marshals were picking up said tacks that were across sections of the roads
the negative reaction from locals was quite a lot across social media
logistically arranging your day can differ depending on your start time – mine was 6:25am and I needed to be in my loading pen from 5:45-6am – as the trains do not run that early my option was to ride almost 20 miles to the start only to find the start funnel was actually a free for all with no organisation at all
I didn’t rate the route, although I think I am in the minority with this, but I would say the Essex part was great but the London part was super main roads, hair pin switch backs and lots of flyovers – I actually titled my strava ride Tour de Flyovers!
as always with a mass event the ability and etiquette of riders on the roads varies hugely! There were massive pelotons passing very quick, which is fine, but so unbelievably close especially considering it was closed roads with two sides to utilise so they could have moved back to the left without being shoulder to shoulder!
there were a lot of accidents – we were stopped for about 25 minutes for one, that thankfully we could not see, where a man was receiving CPR and a helicopter was called and multiple ambulances and this was just one of many. I sincerely hope that gentleman is ok!
there were also so many punctures – although my bike had new Continental GP 5000 tyres put on the day before and they are amazing so I did not experience this
this was a course that should have played to all my strengths and yet it didn’t feel like the easiest day in the saddle, there were no hills to speak of just lots of undulations but these took a toll on my legs and when I got home my left knee was very swollen

The Positives

On the plus side:

I had a day out on my bike with friends, which I can never regret
I rode with my friends Colin and Lucy and this was Lucy’s first 100 mile ride, which she made look easy!
I got a new medal, which I quite like, although there seems to be a difference in opinion for this one
the marshals who gave up their day were awesome
the people out in Essex who were outside their houses or on the roads cheering were amazing
I got multiple complimentary comments about my Foher kit and bike, which is always nice!

Did you take part in any of the Ride London events? What did you think of them?

Category: Fitness

Increasing Your Training Load Whilst Listening To Your Body

I’ve mentioned before that I, like many others, had numerous events cancelled/postponed/rescheduled during Covid. It meant that my training during that time looked very different and I was staying active but the emphasis was on the fun and enjoyment – and I won’t lie, I loved it! I am a firm believer that you have to enjoy what you are doing and so remembering why I cycled in the first place, enjoying the trails, taking my time and having a more relaxed approach was good!

That being said I do have some longer rides planned for this year and so I switched tactic again in order to increasing the training load in a sensible way.

How To Increase Your Training Load?

This can look different to everyone depending on what your goal is or what events you are training for. It is also important that you keep this in mind because whilst advice from others may be great, if they are training for something totally different to you then that advice may not be applicable to you.

This is the approach that I took:

took time to work on my base fitness during the winter months
built in shorter, more intense workouts by committing to racing with a team once per week
when racing ensured I allowed time to warm up to raise my temperature and increase blood flow to the muscles
allow time to cool down to regulate blood flow and slowly reduce heart rate
gradually increased mileage on my rides
gradually increased the number of rides I completed per week
planned for differing rides including endurance, tempo and recovery rides
if you need to scale it back then do so
added in yoga for mobility

Why You Should Not Ignore Recovery

I have previously written a post about the benefits of a recovery ride that you can read here.

Rest is essential! Your muscles need this time to repair from activity and it leaves you stronger.

Over training is not good and you will not perform or get the results you want with sore/swollen muscles so it really is counter productive.

Remember To Listen To Your Body

We all react to training and sessions of varying intensity in different ways and in order to limit injury it is important to listen to your body. If you need to skip sessions or adapt it is good to do so and wise to remember that one session you may not be able to do will not make or break your event/goal.

My Product Recommendations

I am an ambassador for Premax and highly recommend their products. They are genuinely part of my routine and I can really notice the difference when I do not use them. Two of the products to note in relation to this topic, that are my go to, are:

Premax Warm Up cream – depending on the type of ride I am doing I will often use this cream. You can actually feel this cream working and the muscles warming.
Premax Recovery cream – I use this after almost every ride. As noted on their website it includes evidence based ingredients (sour cherry, omega 3 and arnica) that help both the body and skin recover from the rigours of exercise and sport.

There is also a huge amount of information available on the Premax website on many topics including this. Plus founder Randall Cooper regularly hosts live sessions, which are also recorded, providing professional advice and information on how to get the best from their performance skincare range.

In addition to the above I also use FlexiSEQ and have done since I got my knee injury a few years back. This gel is drug free, targets joint pain and again has become part of my regular routine. As described on their website:

The joint lubricating ingredients in Flexiseq are small enough to penetrate the skin but too big to enter the bloodstream. Over time Flexiseq lubricates the joint you are applying it to and in doing so targets joint damage thereby reducing pain.

There are two gels which include FlexiSEQ and FlexiSEQ Max Strength. I have used FlexiSEQ for several years now and honestly I don’t even think about using them any more, I just reach for them and can really notice a difference when I don’t, and not in a good way!

There is a lot of expert advice on the FlexiSEQ website including the following:

I should note that my mum, who has osteoporosis and my grandfather who has rheumatoid arthritis, use this following my recommendation and much like me highly recommend it (my grandfather would bathe in the gel if he could!).

Want to be in with a chance to win yourself some FlexiSEQ and Premax product? Head over to my Instagram where I am giving some away.

Category: Fitness, Product Reviews

The Importance Of A Good Sports Bra

Let’s talk boobs! How many of us ladies get fitted for our bras? Most of us. But how many of us ladies get fitted for our sports bras? The reality is that very few do.

I spoke to a handful of ladies I know who are active and was surprised to learn that almost all of them had never been fitted for a sports bra or in fact a normal bra. Being a woman with an ample sized chest (I think that is the most polite way to say I have big boobs), I have always had to get measured to make sure I am securing those bad boys in and ensuring I am not injured through any activities.

When it comes to women and fitness there are certain barriers that cause obstruction and a good sports bra is one of them, and yet is essential.

Why Is A Properly Fitting Sports Bra Important?

Wearing a properly sized sports bra:

will ensure that you are comfortable during activities
will reduce movement of your boobs during activities
absorbs sweat
reduces shoulder/back tension
can help prevent sagging
increases confidence during activities

What Sports Bra Is The Right One For Me?

How do you know which bra is right for you? Sometimes women may look, see the vast selection on offer and decide to stick with a good old faithful, which in many cases is a regular every day bra. When selecting a sports bra think about the following:

What sport/activities are you doing? Think about the impact, for example yoga is much less than running.
How much/little support is required? This can vary based on the above, and also the boob size, however, don’t assume smaller chest sizes do not require a good sports bra – comfort and support is key for all size boobs.
Comfort – there are so many designs available now from crop tops to multi strap bras and there is nothing wrong with trying them on and having a move around in the fitting room (don’t worry no one will see you) so you can test the comfort and support during movement.
Breathability – when I say this I mean it two fold both in terms of the material but also the sizing. Sports bras are snug but you need to be able to breath in them! This may sound silly but I know that I have struggled both in and out of sports bras and sometimes think yeah this fits – providing I don’t move or don’t need to breathe at any point, ever!

Some Interesting Boob Related Facts

Who doesn’t like a boob fact? Here are some things to consider alongside the above:

During activity your boobs move ie when running they move in a motion that is similar to a figure 8 and depending on size can be as much as up to 14cm according to Shock Absorber – that is a lot of movement!
The first sports bra was not invented until 1975, called the Free Swing Tennis Bra, and offered no support.
Following the above Polly Smith and Lisa Landahl, following comments from Lisa’s husband, wanted to create a sports bra with support and used two jockstraps stitched together. They then teamed up with Hinda Miller to create the Jog bra.
The average boob weighs between 200-300g, which to add some perspective, is the same as 2 medium oranges, 8-10 slices of bread, 2 cricket balls, a large hamster, 80 pennies. Imagine running around with that strapped to your chest!

Why I Recommend KnockerLocker

I was lucky enough recently to talk with Rachel who is the founder of KnockerLocker.

Rachel teaches Les Mills group exercise classes each week and is passionate about all things boobs! We managed to talk about sport, sports bras, what I do, what she does, what Knocker Locker is about and of course boobs with ease! I would recommend taking a look at their site not only for a huge selection of sports bras but also the following:

KnockerLocker are all about women empowering women
they are a Pink Ribbon partner with 5% of all sales going to the charity
they try and test every bra they have on their site
every bra on the site has a power rating, which helps you find the right bra by coupling your breast size with your chosen sport and directs you to bras that will give you the right support level
there is information on the different boob shapes us women have and advice on which bra would be best for each
they have a super useful step by step guide for measuring
all packaging is sustainable

My Favourite Sports Bra?

I was sent a sports bra by KnockerLocker to try, and I did say I am a girl who has a brand that is a firm favourite so I was sceptical. BUT this bra is amazing!