I didn’t have much time to ride this morning but after 3 days was keen to get out on my mountain bike. After a few days with heavy rain the trails would inevitably be muddy which would mean more time was required to clean the bike afterwards. A fairly short blast on the canal bankContinue reading “Adding spice to a ride.”
No pain, no gain?
To improve or even to maintain fitness, do you have to hurt yourself whilst training? I’m not training for any other reason than to enable me to continue to enjoy sport, especially mountain biking. Since, due to my age, I’m past my athletic peak it’s more about stopping the decline in my ability being tooContinue reading “No pain, no gain?”
Electrolytes and water.
I’ve always pursued athletic disciplines but have rarely given nutrition much thought. In my early 20s I can remember running in the mountains of the English Lake District for over 5 hours with no carbohydrate loading, no food along the way and water provided only by the mountain streams. I have occasionally made sure I’mContinue reading “Electrolytes and water.”
Training and enjoying it.
I have found that I have inadvertently allowed my fitness to slip this year so am now determined to reverse the decline. I’m now at an age when I should be playing bowls or ruining a perfectly good walk by enduring a game of golf, but mountain biking is still my greatest sporting passion. TodayContinue reading “Training and enjoying it.”
Full steam ahead.
I’m trying to train harder since I realised that I’ve allowed my fitness to decrease since last year. Due to the funeral of Her Majesty the Queen and a rainy day yesterday I’ve had a 4 day break but got back to training today in my pedal powered dinghy. The problem with working hard inContinue reading “Full steam ahead.”
Flower of the Week, 20th September.
Michealmas is a Christian festival which falls on the 29th September. Our Michealmas Daisies have reached their peak a week in advance. They bring a splash of delightful colour when so much else in the garden is past it’s zenith. Having said that the view from the back of our house is still good.
Proper training.
I’ve identified that I’ve lost some mountain biking fitness this year and am determined to reverse this trend. I’m trying to get out more often and make sure that when I’m out I’m working harder. I think I’ve got into a habit of spinning the pedals quickly but often with insufficient torque or turning force.Continue reading “Proper training.”
A boat trip and thoughts for the future.
Since realising that I’ve allowed my fitness to fall, I now want to make sure I get some real training value from every exercise session. 2 days after a high energy mountain bike ride I took my pedal powered dinghy down to the Leeds/Liverpool canal to sail for an hour. The sun came out asContinue reading “A boat trip and thoughts for the future.”
Work rate or fitness?
A while ago I questioned whether my fitness had fallen and tested myself by applying more effort during my next ride. I looked at the app. Strava after my ride and could see a distinct improvement in my performance. I concluded that my fitness was good and only my work rate had lagged. More recentlyContinue reading “Work rate or fitness?”
Flower of the Week, 12th September.
A hot, dry summer is causing an early onset of autumn but we still have some new colour in the garden. Our sunflowers self seed from bird food but next year I will nurture some seedlings to plant where I want them. It’s strange how far from our bird feeders the sunflowers have grown.
Mountainbiker 