Different
I rode the wooden Newport track last year in a 3 hour session under the watchful eyes of @booseythebarn aka Martyn Frank.
FYI - it was a really good session and great coaching that I really enjoyed, just annoying Newport is 3hrs drive away!
Anyways...
I thought I would finally go down to Herne Hill track. I'm pretty much there the whole time during the winter for CX but never actually ridden there for the purpose it was built for... track racing.
Everyone must do an induction, it is mainly to ensure everyone will ride safely.
The induction teaches you to look before you move. The banking isn't as steep as at Newport or Manchester so it is not as critical you understand about pressing on in the banking.
Inductions are every Saturday
12.00-13.00.
Register before 11.30
Cost - £8
You can borrow a track bike (bring trainers) or take your own and the coaches will check it.
You must take gloves.
It's pretty simple and the session was basic and didn't require having any kind of racing fitness.
About 20 people showed up under an over cast sky.
Next week there are training sessions £6 for me to try out and progress to Intermediate training.
I just can't believe for all the years I've lived next to Herne Hill I've not gone down there.
Phil, Clive and all the yellow bibbed coaches are friendly and helpful.
Channel 4's London Nocturne Coverage (available on 4OD)
This is screen grab was taken just after I told the presenter I'd done a poo.
Only kidding...
I did however pick the race winner but there were plenty of errors in the delivery... Oops.
This is screen grab was taken just after I told the presenter I'd done a poo.
Only kidding...
I did however pick the race winner but there were plenty of errors in the delivery... Oops.
Instead of riding into the centre of Brighton like most London to Brighton weekend club runs. Turn left after descending Ditchling Beacon onto the Lewis road (fairly fast) near to Sussex Uni.
At the mini round about outside the uni turn right onto The Drove and you'll then pass Brighton uni on your right.
You'll have to ride one more final climb, it had a constant gradient and easy to find a rhythmn.
It is absolutely worth it, firstly you don't end up weaving into Brighton through all the traffic, dodging people from Crawley who has gone to the 'seaside' for some slot machines.
Secondly, more importantly, you get an amazing view that if you aren't puffing already, will take your breathaway.
Descend on the Falmer road through Woodingdean and into Rottingdean. A cute little village along the coast from Brighton, complete with 17th century pubs and buildings, village duckpond and stonewalls.
When you arrive, find a place called JaJu Beans & Leaves. They mostly sell coffee beans and loose leaves for tea you home brews rather than bee a full scale cake stop. That said you can still pick up an espresso before you head back to the capital.
I've been (no pun intended) sampling their ground coffee selection in my Moka Pot recently and in the latest batch a small packet was slipped into the bag, ethnically named 'Ethiopian Yergacheffe'.
So, if you are looking for new coffee or a reason to ride to Brighton. There you go
(if you take the train back to London from Brighton, there is a bike bath back along the cliffs into town)
Web: http://www.jajubeansandleaves.co.uk/?page_id=2
Twitter: @jajucoffeetea
Yes it is. Long time no speak, eh?
Right so started cycling to work a bit need to put the base miles back in somewhere but a cycle rides over 1hr 30 minutes doesn't really go down well with the shoulder.
In addition seeing as its raining, alot. Then I thought I'd hit up some intervals on the rollers.
I've started using a new app called 'IntervalTimer'.
It is free, but has ads. However they really get in the way.
Getting to grips with the app was alittle slow as the app doesn't offer you any tutorials or a help section , but once I played about and figured it out.
Firstly hit 'i' in the bottom corner. You'll open up the settings screen.
Scroll to timers intervals and you'll get some options.
Countdown time is just the no. of minutes or seconds you want to give youself to prepare to start the workout. If you do a 5 minute warm up then put in 5 minutes. If, like me you've ridden home from work, I hit 10 seconds.
For a tabata style session.
Your 'set time' is the time you are cycling your hardest - 20 seconds
Hit the time in seconds to adjust this and hit the 'Bell' to change the sound.
For tabata just skip Low Interval Time and get straight into putting 20seconds in High Interval.
Your rest time is however long you get between intervals and for tabata its 10 seconds.
I repeat the 20seconds on and 10 seconds off method - 7 times, so I scroll to number of sets and hit 7.
Now it DONE and then the PLAY action to begin the workout.
Green screen will show you when you should be working and red screen is when you are resting.
Other stuff
'Low interval time' and 'high interval time' as well as 'set time' is confusing. You must enter 'set time' otherwise you'll just do all your rest intervals in a row.
I don't use the low interval time in tabata. You'd use low interval is you were doing stepped splits or practising breakaways. You'd hit maybe 40 seconds in the high interval (zone 5 type effort) and then 1 minute in the low interval for something a bit more measured (zone 4 effort) then perhaps have a 1 minute rest.
Sounds.
I've found that the easiest sounds to here and work with are the Bell and the Airhorn. Anything more than that and it gets difficult to know where you are.
The Bell is a nice little tinkle letting you know to being and the Airhorn is strong, clear and loud so through all your spluttering and panting you know when to stop.
You can have music playback with the interval sounds over the top, there are options further down the settings screen.
Right so started cycling to work a bit need to put the base miles back in somewhere but a cycle rides over 1hr 30 minutes doesn't really go down well with the shoulder.
In addition seeing as its raining, alot. Then I thought I'd hit up some intervals on the rollers.
I've started using a new app called 'IntervalTimer'.
It is free, but has ads. However they really get in the way.
Getting to grips with the app was alittle slow as the app doesn't offer you any tutorials or a help section , but once I played about and figured it out.
Firstly hit 'i' in the bottom corner. You'll open up the settings screen.
Scroll to timers intervals and you'll get some options.
Countdown time is just the no. of minutes or seconds you want to give youself to prepare to start the workout. If you do a 5 minute warm up then put in 5 minutes. If, like me you've ridden home from work, I hit 10 seconds.
For a tabata style session.
Your 'set time' is the time you are cycling your hardest - 20 seconds
Hit the time in seconds to adjust this and hit the 'Bell' to change the sound.
For tabata just skip Low Interval Time and get straight into putting 20seconds in High Interval.
Your rest time is however long you get between intervals and for tabata its 10 seconds.
I repeat the 20seconds on and 10 seconds off method - 7 times, so I scroll to number of sets and hit 7.
Now it DONE and then the PLAY action to begin the workout.
Green screen will show you when you should be working and red screen is when you are resting.
Other stuff
'Low interval time' and 'high interval time' as well as 'set time' is confusing. You must enter 'set time' otherwise you'll just do all your rest intervals in a row.
I don't use the low interval time in tabata. You'd use low interval is you were doing stepped splits or practising breakaways. You'd hit maybe 40 seconds in the high interval (zone 5 type effort) and then 1 minute in the low interval for something a bit more measured (zone 4 effort) then perhaps have a 1 minute rest.
Sounds.
I've found that the easiest sounds to here and work with are the Bell and the Airhorn. Anything more than that and it gets difficult to know where you are.
The Bell is a nice little tinkle letting you know to being and the Airhorn is strong, clear and loud so through all your spluttering and panting you know when to stop.
You can have music playback with the interval sounds over the top, there are options further down the settings screen.