My mileage is creeping up now and, having already completed 230 midweek training miles, I set out early Saturday on a two-day 260 mile return trip to/from Scarborough. The first day was pretty uneventful, I managed the ride with a decent speed and time, but I couldn’t help notice my tailwind was picking up a little towards the end. I checked the weather forecast before bed and you couldn’t have placed the wind direction any worse for the next day. It was pointing in the exact direction I was cycling towards and I knew I was in for a rough ride.

“At the worst point it took me 1h 20 mins to complete a 9 mile climb”

There are a few climbs out of Scarborough, then it’s mostly flat past York and Leeds before roughly 20 miles of hills start at Wakefield and end after Huddersfield. These climbs weren’t particularly difficult, but the wind is so much worse when you’re higher and more exposed. Strava tells me that at the worst point it took me 1h 20 mins to complete a 9 mile climb.

Think this sums up today quite well! This particular climb – the highest and hilliest point of the whole ride – took me 1h 20 mins to cover 9 miles. Absolutely f%ck*d

A video posted by Shane Prendergast (@rideforthechild) on Jul 10, 2016 at 11:02am PDT

The wind is not only tough uphill but the descents can be really problematic too. At the highest point I was having to actually pedal downhill, as the wind was pushing me backwards. Also, when I do actually pick some speed up, I have to be careful of side winds. They can easily blow you off the road or even worse into the path of traffic overtaking you. When it’s particularly difficult I position myself in the center of the road (only my side of the road of course) so that I have an allowance either side. Drivers are usually pissed off behind but I would rather do this than risk an accident.

I have to admit I was in a bad way at some points. I knew I had it in me to complete the ride, but it wasn’t pretty and I knew I would be hurting after! I had to stop far more times that I normally would to get food and I was desperate for sugar boosters towards the end. Mentally it took me to a place I have never been before and I’m glad for that as I can deal with it better next time, character building at its finest!

I’m currently riding longer distances/higher average elevations than I will encounter in America so on paper this ride should be tougher than most. However I’m not factoring the heat and multiple days, but then again I can counter that with support vehicle and team. I’m getting stronger but I am praying for the winds to be kind to me in America!

#sixweekstogo

First and foremost my back pain has GONE. I did my first 100 mile last month and, although it was hurting a little throughout that ride, it has now magically disappeared. Well not entirely magically. I’ve been working on putting things right for a while but that ride seems to shock it into adapting, if anyone has an explanation as to why it stopped hurting so quickly after that 100 mile I would love to know.

“My legs and core, two fundamental muscles groups for cycling, were not in good shape at all”

I am by no means an athlete now, but looking back to when I first started 8 months ago I was really, really weak. My legs and core, two fundamental muscles groups for cycling, were not in good shape at all. While my legs just ended up being tired, my back ended up being sore for multiple days. I told my trainer and we got straight to work on core and back strengthening exercises. When they didn’t improve things we made the decision to come off the bike for a month and focus on swimming, a sport that would keep my endurance levels up while strengthening key muscles.

While I could see the logic in this, it completely filled me with dread given that I only had 7 months left to train for America. However, this was probably the best thing I have done since I started the process, I ended up really enjoying swimming and it played a huge part in strengthening my core. It’s also worth mentioning that I was still hammering the core and strength exercises. I was squatting, planking and stretching multiple times every day religiously.

In addition I was also seeing a Chiropractic, he did various procedures including some spine alignment as this was encouraging pressure on one side of my body when i was in the saddle. He did a lot of pushing and shoving my muscles and I always felt better after his sessions. He provided lots of expert advice and answered any questions I had (I had many). Many people have asked me if it’s a waste of money? I guess it depends on your circumstance but I spent perhaps £200-£300 on the sessions and, while that’s a reasonable amount of money, I followed his advice and I’m now cured. That, to me, is worth it.

When I got on the bike again some five weeks later I immediately felt stronger, not only in my back but also in my legs and upper body. My trainer started upping my mileage carefully to avoid any re-injury and I was soon hitting 50 miles with no pain after. Fast forward to after this 100 mile ride and I’m now banging out 4/5 hours in relative comfort compared to before. Of course it still gets tired and achy but it’s 10x better with no pain.

I’ve broke many limbs and had tons of injuries but this back episode was possibly the most frustrating. It affects all aspects of life, sitting or standing, work or in bed, you really can’t avoid it. And with no plausible explanation and getting progressively worse, it’s incredibly disheartening as well as painful.

You tend to forget the bad times quite quickly when things are good, but I’m so grateful that this pain has now gone. It’s a massive massive, massive relief. For anyone reading this with back pain I would suggest you get checked out by a recommended professional and follow their advice on how to fix it. I can’t speak for all cases but I think, like many other scenarios, the key to making things better is to persist with what’s required however boring or laborious it might be.

16 weeks to go and I’m back to normal.

This weekend that all changed as I entered and completed my first century. It was the Lionheart Sportive, a 100 mile hilly course (6600ft elevation) which starts and finishes at Longleat. I was representing one of my chosen charities CLIC Sargent.

Despite the fact I have been training hard for 6 months I was really, really anxious the night before and I couldn’t sleep until about 3am. My legs were aching from a 2 hour ride that day and I was really concerned that I might not complete the 100. One thing I have learnt since I started this process is that the mental battle is the toughest.

I was up at 6am and rode to Longleat at 6-40. It’s really hilly here and even the 8 miles to the start line took me 45 mins. I was due to start at 8:12 but I jumped in with the first group at 8am instead. It was immediately apparent that most cyclists were of a good level, if this was the first group then the last group must be super fast. I had decided beforehand that I was going to stick to my own ride and not get drawn into a race, something that’s easier said than done. From the start line we proceeded around the grounds, past the safari entrance and then climbed out of Longleat. It’s not an ideal warm up and I had to constantly remind myself to take it easy.

Coming out of Longleat I got excited and dropped a group to catch up with the next. Five mins later and they overtook me on the next climb, giving me a smirk as they went past. I had learnt my lesson – pointless showing off here as 99% of people are better than me.

The first 18 miles until the food station went really quickly. I hadn’t had much breakfast because of nerves so I was looking forward to getting some food down me. There would be 4 food stations along the way (18 mile, 32, 50 and 71). There was tons of food and drink on offer in addition to bike and medical assistance should you need it.

The course was pretty hilly but things got interesting after the 2nd food station where there was a timed climb named King Alfred’s Tower. I had been freaking out about this climb but in all honesty it wasn’t all that bad. It was about 1.5 mile with an average gradient of 7% – the max gradient was 20% at the end. I was blowing a little but it’s no bigger than many climbs around the peak district.

At the 50 mile mark you have to decide if you want to turn off for the 100km route. I have done 50 miles many times before so naturally I was feeling really good. I set out and despite a few aches I was doing well. At the start of the day I really wanted to achieve a 15mph average – something that would have been brilliant for me on such a hilly course – but in reality I expected to ride around 13-14mph. To my amazement I was at 15.5mph, something I don’t always achieve on the flat.

Everything was going swimmingly, but I knew that after 70 mile I was going to places I haven’t been before. When I stopped at the feed station at 71 mile I felt really tired. I stocked up on food quickly and set out, wanting it over and done with… At 80 miles I was fucked.
The sugar gels and energy bars – which had done their job so well the last few miles – were now not working, I was just exhausted.
It’s a huge mental battle at this point and even though I knew I would never stop, my brain is screaming at me to pull over. Miles seem to take hours and each climb feels like 20% with your legs feeling like lead. I remember looking at my Garmin and I knew there was a sneaky 500ft of elevation somewhere. Coming into Longleat grounds there were people applauding you and the adrenaline is going, but with only a few miles left this elevation still hasn’t come. BAM, and then it comes, right before the finish. It was really, really tough on my chicken legs.

Crossing the line was a bit weird. I was that tired I didn’t really know what was going on. Some young lad but a medal around my neck and I refueled with a bean hot-pot and some bread. Naturally I was chuffed, but it was a brutal demonstration of how hard America will be.

However I felt pretty good, I had a bit of a pain in my knees and naturally I was tired bit overall I’m very happy with how it went. I’ve now got 100 miles under my belt – I know I can do it! Many of these cyclists will be resting tomorrow but I will be out again, slogging away. It was the longest distance and highest elevation I have ever ridden and I was really chuffed with my 14.9mph average. I wasn’t so chuffed with the 8 mile ride home, that was really really hard.

A massive thanks to the organisers Human Race and all of the volunteers/staff. That was my first ever cycle event and I wasn’t sure what to expect but it far exceeded my expectations.

I’m just in the local pub now and, in addition to walking a bit funny, I’ve eaten two main meals. The girl behind the bar thinks I’m mental!

Will stick the video online soon, thanks for reading!

If you have been reading my blogs you will be aware that I have been experiencing some back pain. For those of you who haven’t – my lower back is causing me problems at around the 3 hour mark. It’s like a cramping pain that gradually gets worse as time goes on.

I only started cycling in September so I knew there was a good chance I would pick up some problems throughout the process of preparing my body for my ride. However this back pain has got worse to the point where I’m struggling to increase my milage, and therefore unable to progress further on he bike.

Two key points to mention

• It’s not a medical condition having had two professionals check it out.
• It’s not my bike fit having had two people – including one injury specialist at the velodrome – set my bike up

Physically I’m feeling really relatively fit, although I am still a long way off the required levels to ride 120 miles for 28 consecutive days. The problems appears to be with my flexibility and my core strength, both of which are lacking.

Each ride was getting worse and worse so my trainer took the decision to take me off the bike for a while. Throughout that time I will be performing a lot of daily stretching and core exercises to help enable my body to endure longer activity in the saddle. My biggest concern was maintaining my fitness levels and my trainer’s answer to that was swimming! I’m now swimming 4/5 times a week, it’s fantastic and really tough (more on that in my next post)!

Naturally this new training plan had me extremely worried and anxious. However I’m saying really positive and keeping in mind I’ve still over seven months left to train and prepare myself.

I have had my fair share of injuries over the years but this back is by far the most frustrating. My legs – and body in general – feel great when I’m riding, but the lower back ache gets progressively worse to the point where I just have to stop to allow it to subside. I feel really sorry for those people who are experiencing back pain in everyday life, it’s an awful and very frustrating experience.

“It depends how much you want it. But one thing’s for sure it’s going to hurt”

Yesterday I went to see a Chiropractor and towards the end of my session I asked him how does he foresee the rest of my training and the actual ride going? His reply was “It depends how much you want it. But one thing’s for sure it’s going to hurt”.

Most people would feel quite disheartened at that statement, but it has just completely spurred me on to train even harder in order to make it easier. Nothing will stop me completing this ride and I’ve seven months left to sort it……

The ride over to Wigan presented no real issues other than traffic lights! If you thought traffic lights were annoying in a car then they’re 10 times worse on a bike, especially uphill as it’s hard to get your foot into the pedal. I cycled the 36 miles from Macclesfield to Hindley with a respectable 16.5mph average (considering I was going very steady). My chicken legs felt wonderful and it’s apparent that my weight training is paying off!

Here’s some photos of my team members (niece and nephew) Paddy the Sprinter and Lyla the domestique.

New cycling partner.

A photo posted by @rideforthechild on Oct 10, 2015 at 5:29am PDT

Another cycling partner. Domestique this one

A photo posted by @rideforthechild on Oct 10, 2015 at 11:25am PDT

I stayed at my brother’s house for around an hour, refueled with some beans on toast and set off on an alternate route home.

noun
noun: wild goose chase; plural noun: wild goose chases
a foolish and hopeless pursuit of something unattainable.

I should have known from the start that I can’t always trust the Garmin, as it sent me in a direction that I knew was opposite to where I should be going. However I’m not familiar with the roads around there and presumed it would take me to an alternate route in order to avoid the motorways.

After around 30 minutes of unfamiliar roads I found myself back at the start of my brother’s town. I had looped 5-10 miles around instead of just cycling 2 miles through it.
I wasn’t really fazed by this as it was lovely day and I was really enjoying my cycling. It was around 2pm and I was looking forward to the ride home and having some spare time to go food shopping before the rugby starts at 6pm.

Two hours later and I was lost. I had placed far too much faith in my Garmin. Not only did I not have a clue where I was, but it seemed my Garmin didn’t either. It was constantly trying to navigate me onto “cyclepaths” which were mainly alleyways full of litter and broken glass or canal routes littered with stones and no tarmac. I tried to navigate out of this huge industrial estate multiple times but in my confusion I kept ending up at these bloody “cyclepaths”. At one point I was riding a canal route and I was very close to falling into the water as I skidded on the pebbles. I also crossed an encolsed tram line which led to a dead-end grass area meaning I had to do a u turn, much to the enjoyment of those waiting for the tram watching a cyclist in full kit so badly lost. I looked a right plonker. I’m laughing about it now but I certainly wasn’t at the time, I was livid.

I looked down at my stats and I had done 65 miles. I was down to my last energy gel and it was getting late. The streets were now littered with rugby fans attending the rugby match I was supposed to be watching in a few hours (I actually passed the stadium which, by about 4-30pm, was absolutely packed with fans). I decided to ignore the navigation and just try to find my own way home. I knew the names of some towns but I didn’t know the roads I needed to follow. I needed to find Wythenshawe/Manchester Airport as I knew the way from there. I tried the Garmin one last time on automobile mode, but set to avoid motorways in the hope of avoiding these dreaded “cyclepaths”. You can probably guess what happened next? Directed me straight towards the motorway! Switched back to bike mode and it sends me to an underground bypass which looked like a crack den.
I was absolutely fuming, felt so helpless and was close to crying. My ass was bleeding with saddle-sores, I was hungry and thirsty and – most importantly – I was going to miss the rugby.

One hour later I had found Wythenshawe and luckily I was back on familiar roads. I was around 11 miles from home and I felt surprisingly good. I had completed 86 miles and I knew I was going to be very close to a century ( I had far surpassed the 80 mile target I set myself this month).

I have both “hit the wall” and also ended up in hospital with dehydration previously and they’re not nice feelings. I was around 8 miles from home and all of a sudden I felt dangerously low on energy levels. I started to become disorientated and, although my legs didn’t feel massively tired, I was struggling to get them moving. I’d had no food or water in over 2 hours and I knew I was in a bad place.
I had to get off the bike and sit down for a few minutes while I regained my composure. I was literally 3 flat miles from home and then I could roll the last mile downhill to my house.
The best thing about this situation was experiencing it before. I didn’t panic and I just focused on the protein milkshakes which would soon be flowing into my body. Although I don’t remember much of it, I was impressed with my determination to get home.

When I finally got into the house I immediately ate some fruit and washed it down with a few protein milkshakes (things taste so good when you’re that hungry and thirsty). I was a little bit delirious and it took around 40 mins for me to come around. It was 7pm, the match was on the halftime break and I had left the house some 9 hours and 98 miles earlier. If I hadn’t eaten a decent meal at my brothers I would have been in a serious predicament.

This ride taught me a few things

• Plan routes beforehand and download to the device to ensure there are no cyclepaths or dodgy routes
• Do not rely on Garmin 100%, have a backup plan
• Always eat before feeling hungry and ensure I have spare food
• Take money on all rides
• Get some cream to prevent sore ass
• I can do 100 miles!