It's probably just me but whenever I ride a race bike it talks to me. Previous ones used to whisper 'Go faster, push harder' but ever since I've had this Litespeed it's different. When the going gets tough, the road steepens, you turn into the wind or you finish the descent, the Litespeed is like the Pepperami advert -shouting 'FASTER, HARDER, NOW!' It's difficult to ignore as whenever you do stamp on the pedals you can feel the extra speed immediately, like no other bike I've ridden, it's a buzz, makes you feel good. The bike never gives in but unfortunately the heart and legs aren't made out of titanium too so they give in. It used to be they gave in straight away 'No chance' they'd shout back 'sit down, slow down, it's uphill you monkey!' As I get a bit fitter I'm listening to the bike more, pushing what I think is the limit and finding I make it to the top of the climb without the body giving in. Today, I listened as long as I could. 70 miles it lasted.
Boy it was good :-)
First climb of the day starts by the Seine and is 10% gradient until it levels off for a while to then kick up at 14% towards the top. It's where I record my max heart rate on every ride I do that includes it. Normally I pedal the 39x21 (bottom gear) up the first bit otherwise I do 4mph when I get to the steep section. As I hit it this morning on 39x18 and it started to get difficult, I heard the voice 'STAY OUT THE SADDLE, STAY IN THAT GEAR!'. Go on then, I thought, I'll give it a try..... pounded up the first few hundred meters, then as it steepens to 10% round the bend, I'm still out the saddle pushing hard. Maybe I can make the flat bit, I catch a jogger reduced to walking up, I can hear 'Allez!' over the iPod, can't give in now, there made it, rest. Recovered enough to tackle the steepest section at the normal speed. That happened every time I went up something difficult today. I went up 2 climbs that had reduced me to 8mph in January on the big ring today. Like I say, it lasted 70 miles. As I was 1/4 of the way up the longest climb of the day, again on the 18 instead of the 21, I got serious cramp in the left calf, same as the other week. I selected bottom gear, pedaled a bit quicker and made it to the top no problem. Nursed the calf home but it didn't trouble me too much, I just had to stop listening to the Litespeed....
The 2 weeks off the bike hasn't hindered me too much. I did 102m and 1929m of climbing in 5hr 30. 15 mins quicker than last time and with a little more climbing. Very happy with that, I'm going to listen more often from now on......
The other voice is always there, he tells me jokes, sings badly to the iPod and gives me grief when I take it easy........it's the same voice who, when I came back from my accident in 2002 and sat on the start line of my first race said, 'A Year ago you couldn't walk, I'm proud of you'.......... I'm listening Terry!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198154
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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