I had a call from my 15 year old nephew during the week to ask if I wanted to go out on a ride. He has recently sold his mountain bike and bought a road bike and was keen to do some riding.
I met him at his house in Keston with Ed on Sunday morning and set off on a 30 mile route I had mapped out and given to Ed for his Garmin.
Samuel had never done more than 24 miles before so this 30 would be a challenge. It also turned out to be a very hilly route. Just south of Keston is the edge of the North Downs and Toys Hill, Ide Hill, Star Hill and Hogtrough Hill are all a challenge.
Samuel did really well. His gears need a tweak, his breaks need tightening and he had a puncture but despite all that, we got up all the hills and needed very little rest. It was around 4,000 feet of climbing which is excellent. He could be a really good cyclist and it won't be long before he's waiting for me.
It was a reasonably sunny day and apart from feeling a little tired, it was a good ride. It was nice to ride on some new hills and I'm sure we'll come back for training as a change to the Surrey Hills. I did 60.5 miles in total.
12 weeks to go
6 days ago
4000ft of climbing in just 30miles sounds like a huge amount.
ReplyDeleteSimon - now you are in my training area. You should add Titsey Hill to your route the next time you are out this way, if you haven't been up it before.
ReplyDeleteBy the way with the cycling and the running have you not been tempted to do a duathlon at some point ?
Blimey! The kid did bloody fantastic! Even I struggle with that amount of climbing, although having said that where you are is miles hillier than where I am,so you're all probably used to it.
ReplyDeleteDuathlon is a good way in to triathlon, and there are usually a few in the autumn and winter when open water swimming is no longer an option. They are tough, though: make sure you practice run/bike/run sessions in training!
ReplyDelete