In response to questions such as “Will it blend?“ I am asking “Is it stronger than a Ford Mondeo?”.
This morning, I turned my head too fast and my cycling glasses flew off my nose and landed in the road. A Mondeo came along and crushed them,
So the answer is no – cycling glasses are not stronger than a Ford Mondeo.
Today, my family and I cycled from Bristol to Bath and back to raise money for Marie Curie cancer care.
Thanks to all those who sponsored us – the final count was £326 which will be greatly appreciated by cancer sufferers and their families.
| On the 4th October I am taking part in a cycle ride from Bristol to Bath (and back!) with my family and Hana, to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
We would really appreciate it if you could sponsor us via my JustGiving page so we can reach our fundraising target. Thanks! |
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Recently I went on a Baltic cruise for a fortnight with my family. The ship boasted a fully-equipped gym so I decided to have a go.
I cycle almost daily, for commuting and for exercise so I have no concerns about my general fitness. But I thought I may as well have a go at something other than cycling while I had the opportunity.
I spent quite a lot of time on the treadmills. I used to run a lot at sixth form but hardly at all since I left in 2004. I found it came back to me quite naturally, and was delighted to find that these treadmills have built-in heart rate monitors. I could run fairly hard for 20+ minutes and keep my heart rate within 160-165 bpm. I don’t know if this is good/normal/etc but I don’t care. I just like statistics! 
When I got home, I was curious about how my heart performs when cycling, so I went to Tesco and bought their cheapest heart rate monitor. It doesn’t have that many features, but I don’t want any features except to know my current heart rate. Annoyingly, it beeps once per heartbeat and you can’t turn this off, but never mind.
Yesterday I cycled the 6 miles to work on my racing bike with the heart monitor rigged up. The first 3-4 miles are on the Bristol-Bath cycle path which is almost completely flat, and I cruised at a speed of around 22mph with a pulse of around 160bpm. So far so good.
Next my route takes me through Old Market and eventually Broadmead. Here it’s a bit hillier, and I have to deal with traffic and traffic lights, which means I keep accelerating and braking. My heart got up to 175bpm with the extra exertion.
Finally I have to get up St Michael’s Hill, and ascending this climb, working hard out of the saddle, I peaked at 197bpm.
According to Diet and and Fitness Resources, the maximum heart rate (MHR) for my age and gender should be 197bpm and recommended heart rates for different types of exercise are in the following table.
| Type of exercise | % of MHR | Heart rate |
| Recovery/Weight Loss | 60 – 70% | 118 – 138 |
| Aerobic | 70 – 80% | 138 – 158 |
| Anaerobic | 80 – 90% | 158 – 177 |
| Maximum | 90 – 100% | 177 – 197 |
Of course these type of statistics vary hugely from person to person, but I guess it means I do a lot of exercise broadly in the anaerobic range.
This evening, on my way home from work, I was knocked off my bike by a careless pedestrian. Again.
A family of 5 or 6 people walked out into the road without looking. I hit the brakes immediately and shouted to get their attention – cycling around Bristol this is practically an everyday occurrence for me, and the pedestrian almost always looks up and stops dead in their tracks – allowing me to pass them safely.
But on this occasion none of the group looked up, and they were spread across the road so there was no gap I could aim for.
Even though I was braking as hard as I could, my racing bike brakes aren’t really designed for stopping, and I ended up ploughing into the crowd of people. I shouldered a woman hard, which sent me veering off to the right, where I crashed up a steep kerb with both wheels. Having anticipated the crash, I managed to fall ‘nicely’ and avoided serious damage.
I immediately got back on the bike and rode away. The front wheel was a little buckled but ridable. After a bit I looked back over my shoulder and saw the woman lying in the road, crying. Perhaps a bit harsh of me not to stop, but I feel no guilt when the accident was entirely her fault. It’s what you get when you walk into the road without looking!
She was with her family who could look after her if necessary, and who might also have had a go at me for the accident (as is often the case with relatives).
Overall I’m just glad I didn’t end up with a dislocated shoulder, like I did last time. Not a pleasant experience.
As an aside, I was using my new heart rate monitor today. I didn’t check it immediately before the crash, but earlier on the same, flat stretch I had been doing about 130bpm. Immediately after the crash I was doing over 180bpm. That’s adrenaline for you!
This week I’ve been reading Lance Armstrong‘s autobiography – It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.
Yes, I know it was published in 2000. You’d think that a cycling fan such as myself would have read it by now, but I never got round to it.
However, I can strongly recommend the book. As the title suggests, it’s not about about cycling (although cycling is mentioned a lot, naturally). This book is about beating cancer and it really is an inspirational piece.
It’s also particularly important to me as I inherited it recently from my grandfather – a massive cycling fan and keen cyclist who died from cancer last year.
When I first started using the Bristol – Bath cycle path I was frustrated by the lack of decent maps. Most of the ones I’ve come across that show the exits of the bike path are schematics, like maps of the London tube. It can be pretty hard to figure out how that ties into a real map, for planning real-life journeys that use roads and off-road paths.
So I spent an hour using the schematic at the link above, Google aerial photos (which show the path), an Ordnance Survey map of Bristol and Bath, and a black pen. I marked in the route of the cycle path and all the exits from the path onto public roads. This map is now on my wall at home and it’s a great reference.
Unfortunately it’s a little too big for my scanner so I’ve had to settle with taking a photo. Unfortunately the problem with photos is that my head casts a shadow, but never mind. Hopefully this will prove useful to someone. Click for a bigger version of the map.
Map of the Bristol - Bath cycle path
They say carbon monoxide is the silent killer.
I disagree. I say Bristol’s hardened urban cyclists are the silent killers. I am one of these cyclists, and I’ve had a couple of spills over the last few years.
But last week I was walking through the University part of the city and I noticed several cyclists doing really crazy things. Some were endangering others – some were endangering themselves. It’s remarkable how there aren’t more accidents involving cyclists.
So next time you’re out and about in an urban areas, don’t forget to use your eyes before you step into a road!
