I've just spent the weekend in the northern alps and I can tell you that august 3rd is going to be twice as hard as you think it is. yesterday I did 5 hours in the non stop rain, 82 miles at just over 16 mph average. I only did 1 steep mountain and an "easy one". after the first steep one I'd ridden an hour and a half and my legs were shot. it was a super hard day, even when you weren't going up hill it felt like you had glue on your tyres - Wayne randle once told me that was called "grippy".
today I did one hard and one medium mountains and 51 miles in 3 hours. it wasn't raining but I still had wet feet from my shoes :-( I did the ride on 39/25 but there were times when I needed another gear. even the hardest mountain I did can't be more than a third the length/altitude of those we will tackle in august- I'm beginning to think fat sprinter has the right idea with the 34/27 ;-) no garmin data as Ginge has broken the computer (doing this on my iPod) but will do it when it is fixed. it's going to be painful boys.
Nathan Evington
28/02/77 - 03/11/07
About Nathan
Nathan, was a big chap in more ways than one. He was always to be found at the centre of the action, telling it exactly as it was – loudly!
In fact, Nathan was in such a hurry to make his impact on the world, he arrived on a cold February morning 8 weeks early. He was so premature that he spent his first month in hospital, and at the time was one of the youngest babies in Hedon Road hospital to survive!
Cycling played a huge part in Nathan’s life. He loved the film American Flyers and watched it many times. In it, there is a scene where the main character does the "torture test" which involved running on a treadmill for as long as possible before ending the test by hitting the "chicken" switch. After Nathan’s diagnosis of cardiomyopathy in 2004, he was actually quite excited to discover that he would be required to do his own "torture test" and spent a good deal of time psyching himself up for a good performance. In fact, he was so determined that it was ultimately the doctor, his Mum and the technician who had to drag him off, as Nathan refused to give in himself.
Cycling also revealed Nathan’s talent for remembering facts and figures. He was our very own walking cycling encyclopaedia. He loved to test his friends and show off his knowledge, and he was always the person you would want on your pub quiz team.
Nathan was determined to live life to the full, and unbeknown to his Mum he began playing in a football team a few years ago. The cat was out of the bag when a new football trophy took pride of place on the mantelpiece one evening. Nathan was very proud of himself and his team-mates, although I am reliably informed that Nathan was valued more for his enthusiastic participation, rather than his football talents – which led to his shots on goal just missing the target – 100% of the time!
Nathan was the life and soul of any party and loved to dance. He would always take to the dance floor first, and was quite happy to dance alone. However, his infectious enthusiasm always encouraged others to join him.
Nathan was a kind man, and always generous to a fault – on the benefit of his Mum and brother. He had a very special sense of humour – one he shared with his brother – and left his mark on everyone he met.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hey - where you the only one of us niave enough to think it wasn't going to be painful without having to go to the Alps to find out??? I've even been thinking of taking up transdentential meditation to see if I can metaphysically float up...
Post a Comment