Good karma paying back

I know yesterday I said I was going to mislead Powell about today's sprint at the Horton roundabouts (https://www.strava.com/activities/9543339973) but couldn't live with the guilt  so when we got to Epsom I told him the real number of roundabouts to count (8).

At some point I thought karma was paying me back for my good action of the year. I was fourth wheel, looked back and I saw a gap between me and the rest of the group. It was one of those gaps that form as you sprint out a roundabout. It was a considerable big gap. So big that I thought they wouldn't make it back. Perfect position for the sprint if you ask me.

There was only one problem. When I looked back I think I saw Bidders at the front of that group. 

That's not good. If you know Bidders you don't need any explanation. If you don't know him, be assured you don't want him chasing you. More often than not he will catch you.

I looked back again, in full panic, to confirm what I thought I had seen was correct. To my horror it was correct. Bidders was at the front of the group that was chasing us.

Just to give you all context at no point crossed my mind to move to the front and contribute to the pace of my group. What kind of sprinter do you think I am?

Besides, the gap was still big. Bidders had beaten me in the sprint for the KOM at Juniper. I was betting on him being too tired to catch us. 

It just happened next time I looked back, about two seconds later, he was on my wheel. I almost started to cry.

At the edge of a sprinting career depression the thought of him now being really tired after the sprint up Juniper and having to close that gap gave me comfort. 

Move to second wheel in the last roundabout, that will trigger him to start the sprint, jump on his wheel as soon as he passes you, wait for the right moment, start the sprint, beat him to the line. Don’t ever tell me I’m not fast at coming with plans. 

The plan had two steps and the first two went as planned. At the last roundabout I moved to second wheel and that triggered him to start the sprint.

The bit about jumping on his wheel as soon as he passed me didn’t quite go as planned.

It wasn’t my fault. He just sprinted too hard. 

It is impossible to execute a plan if the others don’t stick to it.

I didn’t blame Bidders though. 

What kind of karma payback is this? If I knew I would have told Powell there were only 6 roundabouts.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9549372255 

Take care

Javier Arias González

What makes a ride hard?

The first and obvious answer is distance and amount of climbing. 

But if you have cycled enough you know that doesn’t paint the whole picture. Circumstances are what make a ride hard.

And the first and most important circumstance is who are you riding with as it will determine the pace. Ride with a group that is riding at a high pace for you and very soon you’ll find the ride hard.

That’s what happened to me yesterday. Riding in a group of five and from the start feeling the pace was a touch too hard for me. It took no time for negative thoughts to visit my mind. I’m the weakest rider, I’m going to need to drop, this is too hard for me… That’s hard.

Another circumstance that makes a ride hard is weather conditions. Add low or high temperatures, rain or wind to a ride and it gets harder very quickly. Especially if you violate the principle of "There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong gear" like I did yesterday showing up for the ride in my summer kit. What an amateour!! 

Yesterday we had wind and rain.

I wasn’t conscious of the wind in the first 100km which means we probably had tail wind. But the moment we hitted the flat section of the ride I was very, very conscious of the wind. At that point I was riding with Bidders, a very good time trialist, and Richard L, who had aerobars on his bike. I struggled big time just to hold on to their wheel. That, for me, was the hardest part of the ride.

Now, let's add rain to the mixture and you are getting into a really hard ride. I waited a bit too long to put the rain jacket on when it started to rain, which meant that I was very cold in the last third of the ride. 

So there we were with 200km in the legs, riding on to a head wind, wet and cold heading into the last hills of the day. What could possibly make the ride harder?

A mechanical.

And mechanicals we had (and saw) plenty. A broken spoke, a rear wheel hub that didn’t engage when pedaling, a puncture when we were cold and wet.

But we also were lucky with the mechanicals. A bike shop in New Romney managed to repair the broken spoke and the rear hub. A Dynaplug sorted out the puncture with speed. Bad luck can also make rides hard.

Yes. You wouldn’t say it looking at the distance and the amount of climbing but yesterday's ride was a very hard one.

And because of that I’m very happy now. Because I managed to survive the first two thirds of the ride. Because endurance showed up and I felt strong in the last third. Because I loved the solidarity we showed with each other while riding. Because it was a well organized event and a nice route. Because it feels great when you finish a hard ride.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9501990031/ 

Take care

Javier Arias González

JO.CO

Circumstances meant I ended up leading a ride following a route that despite having ridden it several times I couldn’t remember any of it, with a new coffee stop.

For some reason when Dai said Beeches Tea Rooms I thought of Seale Tea Rooms (🤷‍♂️). Even when he explained where the alternative coffee stop, JO.CO, was, in my mind, I was thinking of Seale Tea Rooms and his explanations made sense to me (kind of).

No wonder I was totally confused during the first part of the ride. I was constantly wondering how on earth were we going to make it to Seale. I probably should have checked the route at home.

I didn’t tell my riding mates I was completely lost though. My road captain skills don’t have the best reputation at the moment, I didn't want to unfairly damage it further. Also, having the route loaded in my Garmin allowed me to follow this “fake it until you make it” strategy. A sensible approach if you ask me.

By the time we passed by Beeches Tea Rooms I realized where I was and, somehow, I remembered Dai’s instructions (that is as close as a miracle as you can get) and managed to give the group the only navigation instruction the Garmin wasn’t going to give us. That was 20 road captain points there and then.

20 points that I lost when you have in mind the ride was announced as K2 and, in all honesty, we would have to rate it as K1.5. I, of course, don’t take any responsibility for that. It is Robbie and Seán’s fault (obviously) for being strong riders and pushing me into the dark side. I’m at the edge of submitting a formal complaint.

The way I see it, I could get them disqualified. They would lose all the KOMs they have taken during the ride and, crucially, the sprint at Horton roundabouts that Robbie took. All those wins and the huge reputation that goes with them would go to me. The only sensible rider of the trio.

I’ll talk to my legal team.

btw. JO.CO cafe is a great coffee stop. Great (strong) coffee, fantastic Portuguese cake.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9461337940

Take care

Javier Arias González

Road to Paris-Brest-Paris 2023

Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), I’d argue it is the biggest cycling event in the world when you combine how old the event is (older than the Tour of France), amount of riders (around 8,000), how international it is (more than 70 nationalities represented), the distance to ride (1,200km to be ridden in 90 hours) and the support riders get from spectators alongside the road. In my mind, PBP is like the Olympics of long distance cycling. 

I have two objectives for Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) 2023. The first one is to finish it. 

Arriving to Brest in PBP 2011

I rode my first PBP in 2011. It took me 87h 45m. That was the 86th time in my whole life I had ridden a road bike. I loved the experience so much I set myself the goal of riding PBP ten times. 

Now, PBP only happens every four years so a simple math exercise told me that I’ll ride my 10th one in 2047 and I’ll be 78 by then. I can’t afford to miss any edition as I’m not sure I’d be able to finish PBP being 82 years old. Hence my first objective for 2023 is to ride those 1200 km within 80 hours.

My second objective, though, is to set a personal fastest time at PBP. That means finishing in less than the 59 hours and 31 minutes that was my official time for PBP 2019 (https://www.strava.com/activities/2723782617).

At the finish of PBP 2019

I want to have the experience of riding as fast as I can and setting a personal record so in future editions I can focus on other ways of enjoying PBP. I have set my eyes on a stand that offers free sausages to cyclists. I’ll eat two of them in 2027.

As with the Olympics, everyone has to qualify to be able to enter PBP. That means any rider aspiring to ride PBP has to finish a 200km, a 300km, a 400km and a 600km Audax event.

We are very lucky, Kingston Wheelers Audax Chapter organizes a whole series of rides that can be used to qualify for PBP. A luxury at our doorstep.

In those events I normally volunteer in the morning. I love having the opportunity to welcome the riders, to help answer their questions. The atmosphere is fantastic, a combination of excitement and expectation for the ride to come. I always wear Kingston Wheelers kit, I’m proud of the quality of our events and want to show our colors. Once we send off the riders I normally help tidying up the venue and then I’ll start my ride.

For me these year’s qualifiers are opportunities to test the kit I’ll be using and to train the pace I’ll aim to be riding at PBP.

In the second half of the Gently Bentley (200km) (https://www.strava.com/activities/8742677677) I tested for the first time my “steady” pace. I was very happy managing to finish the event and not feeling that tired.

Amesbury Amble (300km) (https://www.strava.com/activities/8879816927) was my opportunity to test my rain kit. This ride is where I decided the long sleeve Gabba (Castelli Perfetto RoS) will be the jacket I’ll take to PBP.

At the Dauntsey Dawdle (400km) (https://www.strava.com/activities/9066147594) I rode with aero wheels and aero bars and I decided I was going to use both at PBP. I also tested in the first 10 hours / 250km the strategy of riding “steady” and stopping only the essential. Tiring but manageable.

Bryan Chapman (600km) (https://www.strava.com/activities/9110165742) was my dress rehearsal. Carrying all the kit I plan to take to PBP, riding “steady”, minimizing time in stops and riding through the night. Although the main learning I got from this ride is that I’ll be 100% sure I’ll start PBP with my di2 fully charged.

Since Bryan Chapman, 20th of May, I switched my training focus. June and July is all about intensity. Those 2 hills rides on Thursday evening are excellent for that, even if I always end up dropped.

In August I’ll be in Asturias (Spain). Two weeks of proper tapering to make sure I get to the start as fresh and as relaxed as possible. I’m pretty good at that.

Minutes before starting PBP 2015

I’ll be starting on the first wave, Sunday 18th of August at 16:00 (CET), rider A076 (I believe there'll be some way of following the riders at https://www.paris-brest-paris.org/). 

That will be around the 3000th time I ride a road bike in my life. I’ll be able to give you the exact number on the day.

Take care

Javier Arias González

How to use cycling to feel great about yourself

Yesterday I had a look at the profile and the result of my analysis was “A short ride (131km). Only one hill, Green Dene, at Km 25. The rest all flat” (Send me your route if you want this type of in-depth analysis).

Today, while having breakfast, I finalized my plan. “Have a coffee at breakfast. Sit at the back of the group the first 25km. Then, at Green Dene, ride at 350w for five minutes and get a PB” (I’m also available if you need help coming up with a winning strategy for your ride).

Then, at LW, as soon as the group started to ride, I hit the front and my first turn was pretty much all the way from LW to Esher. My execution didn’t exactly follow my plan.

Worse than that, in that first turn I realized my legs were still tired from Thursday’s ride (https://www.strava.com/activities/9315615637). The idea of 5 minutes at 350w going up Green Dene didn’t look that feasible.

Even worse than that, as soon as Green Dene started I started to pray for someone (not me obviously) to lead us up the climb at a steady pace. A pace below 350w I added in my prayers. 

From there I sat at the back of the group for the rest of the ride. Only to see GC Denis, The Pope and Richard L. taking town sign sprints left and right. 

My completely destroyed ego rebuilt itself as soon as I took the final sprint at Esher. To do so I very conveniently ignored all the wheelsucking I had been practicing all day, including all the approach to the sprint. 

Rebuilding my ego is more important than the fairness of the sprint. 

Follow me for more tips on how to feel great about yourself.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9325208700/

Take care

Javier Arias González

Chasing The Pope around Kent

I hope that by now you know that you are going to have a hard day out if The Pope came to you with this proposal: Heading down to Seaford via Ashdown Forest - just over 200k and c. 2400m elevation to be taken at a decent pace.(av speed c. 30 - 31kph).

Kent is his playground. The climbers didn’t have a chance in heaven today. He amassed so many mountain points today you could accuse him of gluttony, but being The Pope I guess he has a pass on that.

Nor the sprinters for that matter. He knew the route by heart, he even knew where all the town sign sprints were. 

Riding with The Pope and GC Denis I had high hopes today at the sprinter game but when Declan, a real sprinter, decided to join us, unannounced, I very quickly switched role. 

I kind of was forced to play the role of “this ride is too hard, I’m struggling a lot, sure there is something wrong with the bike that is slowing me down”. And I played that role to perfection the first 50 kilometers. Not once they saw me at the front.

Funny enough two of the hardest climbs of the day came at kilometer 50 and from there I started to feel a bit better. Enough to move to the front a couple of times so my riding mates knew I was still there.

A stop with a coffee AND a coke. A slow start after the coffee stop so we could visit the cliffs. And a few kilometers to warm up again transformed me.

I was now in the weird role of “the last 50k feel better than the first ones”. 

Still chasing The Pope, still beaten in every climb, still missing all sprints but, somehow, inexplicably, feeling better. 

 

So much so that I moved to the front as soon as Juniper, the last climb of the day, started. Something I don't think has ever happened. 

As always happens in these cases, I was a bit overoptimistic and I started a bit too strong. I, obviously, very quickly, slowed down And slowed down. And slowed down even more. Until The Pope, with his infinite mercy, moved to the front and allowed me to take a rest before attacking him to take the last KOM of the day. I don’t have a chance to make it to heaven.

Less so when you add the way I took the final sprint of the day (I knew very well where that was). 

The Pope attacked and opened a gap. 

I took advantage of the traffic, the work that GC Denis did and the fact that The Pope didn’t sprint to make it first to the line.

Does anyone know how I can book a place with air conditioning in hell?

ps. Follow me for more tips on how to save your soul.

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9283596253

Take care

Javier Arias González

Spanish Cycling Jargon 101 (Part 3) - Cuñao

Look at them, bunch of losers; Only 180km and they are already wasted!

What's wrong with daddy?

Nothing, that today he ‘climbs’ the Aubisque at The Tour.

**********************************************************************

Cuñao’s literal translation is brother in law.

But Cuñao is also used to describe someone (usually men) in your family or group of friends that thinks and acts as if he knows more than you about everything, even if he usually doesn’t know what he is talking about. He knows everything; he has the solution and the right course of action for every situation but lacks the skills or experience to back his words.

I have three sisters so I’m a (triple) cuñao in the literal meaning and after today’s ride the slang meaning of “cuñao” seems accurate for me too.

Picture this. Last meters of Juniper “hill”, Dai at the front, me on his wheel. 

As difficult to believe as it sounds I had done my fair share of work at the front so I was free to sprint, take the KOM and claim it a fair sprint (some believe that detail never bothered me at the time of sprinting but that’s just gossip).

At a given moment I saw Dai giving up. He was done. 

I knew that was the right moment to move up. I knew that moving in parallel to him would demoralize him. He would give up completely, slow down and I would take the KOM without even sprinting.

I “knew” what to do. What did I do? That’s where the cuñao in me manifested itself. 

I too gave up. I was done.

He felt me giving up, that gave him a morale boost. He kept riding. I slowed down. Dai took the KOM without sprinting.

Now you know, don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions about how to take a KOM or win a sprint. You’ll definitely get the right answer.

Btw. The rest of the ride was fantastic, great route, great company, great weather. 

Spanish Cycling Jargon 101 (Part 1) - Me llevaron todo el día con el ganchu is at: https://www.unbiciorejon.com/2019/10/spanish-cycling-jargon-101.html

Spanish Cycling Jargon 101 (Part 2) - Rompepiernas is at: https://www.unbiciorejon.com/2020/09/spanish-cycling-jargon-101-part-2.html

The ride in Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9245226307/

Take care

Javier Arias González