Snazzy new bike and training complete!

It’s been a month since I last blogged and in that time I’ve done some serious road miles and have upgraded from my old faithful bike to an all singing, all dancing Scott Team CR1 road bike!

For all those concerned after seeing the photograph of me with my mountain bike, fear not, that was never going to be the bike I was intending to use for the ride. For training it’s been brilliant though. Being on a heavy bike with fat tyres has meant that I’ve had to work that much harder for every mile. While I was over in France I was borrowing a friends bike (thank you Mark!) and we spent a lot of time in the saddle riding up and down cols, many part of the route in the tour de France. This too has been excellent training, the UK may have hills but after doing rides with 25km at 11% incline I’m thinking that no hill is going to be that tough!

Switching to the new bike has been a dream. I love it, LOVE it! It weighs just under 8kgs – you can actually pick it up with one finger!

It’s light yet stiff frame still manages to allow it to be both sporty and comfortable – which is massively important considering the number of miles we’re intending to cover. (Just over 100miles per day for 10days!).

I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to do some very long training days of 100miles+ and then go out on the bike the next day too. This kind of distance on a road bike day after day should not be underestimated, it’s pretty hard going.

I’m not so happy to say that all my jeans are tight in the thigh and bottom area! I’m certainly getting muscles where I didn’t have muscles before.

With just over two weeks to go until the ride begins it’s time to slow right down on the training, rest my legs and eat plenty. I’m really looking forward to the trip. I’ve developed a real passion for road cycling – it’s fantastic. If you don’t already do it, get out there and try it!