Been thinking long and hard about giving up the road racing.
Just getting too hard now, and the main thing keeping me hanging on is the kudos of being able to call myself a racer.
With that in mind I set off today and trotted out over a ton with no worries, I just set my HRM alarm between 125 and 155 slapped it in 39 and tempo'd away.
I didn't have to think one jot about training, I even got overtaken TWICE! I can't recall the last time someone went past me.
I must say however to protect my ego, one was a Marmotte rider and was pretty okay and we rode together for a bit. The other was a Triathlete that died when he went past and was left for dead in the trail of my 39/25 🙁
And the big surprise was I wasn't much slower overall.
What now for a over fifty bloke to do? Staying with the cross though.

I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum, a clueless beginner whose bike flatters him.

I met two others on racers at the top of the Duke's Pass above Aberfoyle. Very expensive looking Colnagos, and the guys were in team kit. Nonetheless, I kept up with them easily on the downhill and had the audacity to ask if i could 'tag along' on the way back to stirling.

At which point they ripped my legs off. 😳

At which point they ripped my legs off

😆

Christ, how the other half live. I was patting myself on the back today for putting in ten miles down the towpath.

did that yesterday – me n the missus took an easy ride for a pub lunch …

fixed wheel century just for the hell of it ….

rear tire blew an inch hole in the tread at alyth so patched it from the inside put some air in and limped to crightons of blairgowrie where i bought a new tire and tube , fitted it and got gone , got to dunkeld for lunch at the taybank – epic food.

had a snooze on the river bank then rode home.

10 hours out , no pressure no time limits and no panning my chunt in ….

Surely it's now time for beard growing single speed nichness 😆

Did a nice 100 up here as well. Lovely, even paced. Not too hot.

You'll miss the buzz if you cut it off completely. Finally got a replacement for the stolen Defy 4, another Defy 4 but this time with 08 Ultegra SL group, great ride. Fancying one of these pretty care free centuries myself next weekend, stuck a quick 20 in today but it's all i could do because of lack of time. Trying to do any big mileage on the "renta bike" 60cm Trek i've had for the past two weeks has been pretty hard work. Where do you ride og, don't suppose you're anywhere near South Yorks are you? Going to sit and plan a new route this evening I think, something to look forward too seen as though the weather is an effin joke as of late.

nickc I'm not that far from you – Chilterns? – other end.

steve did the singlespeed thing for years, though I'm eying up a Traitor S/S crosser for later this year.

Not keen on the idea of Sportives, like the idea of Audax and possibly having a proper go at stuff like Meridas.

Oldie, I do my off road in the chilts. But I live up near silverstone. You should come up it's no pain cycling up here, all rolling hills

Romster, I'm not that far away from you, although on the other side of the Pennines, and I'd be up for a meet and a ride at some point..

It's nice riding around there, but I can't for the life of me recall why I ever rode up there? not exactly on my doorstep in Leighton Buzzard.
I like the road race circuit in Towcester, do well there.

Romster, I would miss the buzz, but you always stay in touch with the riders. Don't forget I've been at since it was all black and white.

Let's do it Crikey sounds good. I'm looking at riding over to Manchester from Rotherham in a few weeks, where exactly are you? Could meet you en route somewhere maybe? Either that or me and the boys will be up in the peaks at the back end of next month? Probably about 6 of us.

I hear you. I knocked out a 120+ ride the other week and really wanted to just carry on riding, wish I had more time.

No 100 a few weeks back.
Just that years ago the height of modern training techniques was to knock out a ton before Sunday dinner. I think all the clubs I was with did.
Not got tons of time, work five days now instead of six and the kids have almost left home.
I would like to ride longer, perhaps once every two months?

OI!! Roadbikes! NO!

Get thee to Road.cc to talk about it.

200k today. Earned my lunch I thought.

85k on cx bike out to Leith Hill/ Holmbury Hill, Peaslake for coffee then back in over Ranmore. First of my 3PCX training rides. Apart from a slow group on Leith Hill and hundreds of armoured warriors at Peaslake there were very few people out. Just got to get an 11spd cableset in Condor on Tuesday and maybe something lower than 34/25 for the climb back up Ranmore which had a couple of sections of 28% apparently.

My CX bikes still stripped down, got a 35 miler training route for my 3 Peaks prep sorted though.

No pressure rides are the only ones worth doing 🙂 I don't really enjoy riding in groups any more as I feel some kind of pressure to keep up and also have to go last on singletrack otherwise I feel like I'm holding others back. Doesn't bode well for the CRC marathon I'm doing in September 😆