2 rides this weekend. First was the fast spin round the park, 47 miles in less than 2 hours! Faster than last time and I included the amble there too (16.7 ave for the first 4 miles). I saw the fast group go past as I arrived but by the time I got on the route they were 100m away. You can see from the pulse that I tried to catch them for 3 miles at 180 bpm but then they got past some stragglers before the narrow section whereas I caught them in it. Had to wait for them to come round again. When they did, boy was it fast ;-) I've done slower races. After about an hour I got myself near the front just as 2 nutters decided to crank it up. I was 3rd wheel and as we got halfway up the false flat I thought, I best take it out the 53x14 otherwise I'll die - that only lasted 10 seconds as I realised I couldn't keep up on the 15!! Suffice to say, it was a group of 15 at the bottom and a group of 3 at the top, they kept looking at me to help out but I was still waiting for my pulse to get below 175 so there was no chance of that. They took it 'easy' for a while but it still took the group 2 laps to catch us. Very very fast, think I did over 35mph at one point and it's flat!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/111975
Today, spurred on by all you madmen riding 100+ miles I thought I best get a long one in as so far I've done a few 80's. Last Saturday in the Alps has helped as it hurt. I like to stretch myself every now and again as I feel it helps me move to the next level. So, high on the prospect of Premiership football next year and 3 pints (so I was very drunk for me!) I set off. I adjusted my cleats as my left leg and right knee hurt yesterday and it did the trick. I averaged 17.8mph - a similar average to what I normally manage around here for 60/70 miles but today I did over 1800m climbing and 102 miles in 5hr 40. I deliberately went up every climb I knew and they all felt that bit easier after last weekend. On one, I'd actually just cycled down it and saw lots of cyclists come up it on their bottom gear on some sort of organised ride so when I got to the bottom I turned round and saw how many I could catch. I caned it up on 39x16/17, breathing out of my ears and most of them that I caught were on expensive bikes and shaved legs so they weren't messing about. Stopped and had popcorn for lunch and 1.5 lt of water to top up the bottles. Did a climb immediately after lunch that was 15%!! that hurt the legs. Felt strong all the way round today, no flagging and but for all the traffic lights and stopping near the end, I might've averaged 18mph. I'm very pleased with this one especially as I had debated avoiding the hills after lunch but I kept to the route and still did some tough climbs in the latter half. More rest this week......
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117061
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.
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