2
A Weekend in The Sun

Firstly my apologies that it has taken me so long to update my bloggle, I have no excuse but can offer a promise of more this season.

Well now to get you up to speed on the past year. I started last year as a novice to cycle racing and as a BC 4th cat. After a pretty good season and some reasonable results in local races I managed to get myself up to the dizzy heights of 2nd cat and am now in the process of fighting to prepare myself physically for the rigours of racing against the big boys as the vast majority of races in the South are mixed in with both 1st cats and Elites which has included of late former Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Backstedt.

To help with this I have enlisted the help of a cycling specific fitness coach and will update you shortly on how things are progressing with this. My plan is to start my racing season with a circuit race at the local Mountbatten circuit and then move through the season incorporating a little bit more road racing to gain some further experience. My only foray into racing on open roads last season was a trip to Wales to take part in the Ras de Cymru which for me was a true suffer fest and a real eye opener about where I need to be to compete in any way at this level.

As part of our season build up Wiggle staff rider Ben Jeffrey and I recently had the opportunity to travel to a cycling specific training camp at the five-star www.lamangaclub.com in Murcia, Spain. The La Manga club is world-famous for its sporting facilities, luxury accommodation and great array of restaurants. The fact you can now stay here and be pampered and enjoy great cycling on the doorstep is a massive bonus for those of us with families not overly keen on pushing the pedals. The four day intensive camp is operated by http://www.fitness12retreats.com/cycle_retreats.html and offers a real taste of the pro life.

As usual I left packing to the last minutes and finally had everything ready just as Ben and his Dad arrived to take us to the airport. We arrived complete with our Scicon bike boxes and zipp gear bag packed to the gunnels with cycle gear and the odd piece of “normal” clothing for dinners out.

Arriving at the airport we are greeted by the rep for fitness12.com and the rest of our peleton for the week, our seats are pre booked and with extra leg room provided by Monarch airlines for the cycling guns to stretch, touch! On the plane and we’re off to sunny Spain.

We arrived at the truly huge La manga club sports resort and checked into our pucka accommodation. We had a meet and greet on the first evening at which we met our guides Steve and Jack who would be taking us through the Murcia countryside.

Up early and down for breakfast at the local cafe raring to get out on the bike. For our first dabble on the bike we roll out from La Manga on the smoothest road I’ve ever seen not a pothole in site! Murcia is not renowned for its cycling terrain but truth is it could be one of the best kept secrets around. The rolling hills, stunning views and ultra smooth tarmac were worth the excitement. The temperature is reaching 30 degrees and keeping ourselves fed and hydrated is the order of the day so we gorge on some Zipvit yoghurt coated energy bars and Zipvit energy drink as supplements go they taste pretty good. We rock out 47miles on day one and with some pretty decent climbs and some fast through and off drills thrown in we arrive back at the resort well and true buzzing. A carefully balanced recovery lunch is prepared for us when we arrive by fitness12′s director and fitness instructor to the stars Steve consisting of fresh fruit, zipvit recovery drink and various other high protein foods.

Suitably refueled it’s time for our next session “dynamic stretching”. Those that know me well will know that I am as flexible as a house brick so this was never going to be fun. The session however turned out to be a good one and highlighted some key areas that I need to work on such as my hamstring’s and calves. Just when we thought it was safe we’re into the Ice bath, the theory behind this is that 4×4 minute periods with your muscles submerged is designed to aid the body in recovery personally I think its just for the amusement of onlookers. With the stretch session and recovery treatments done and dusted we’re free to chill and reflect on our first day.

Day two See’s us on a longer ride of around 70 miles and a the challenge of the speed record for a descent near Cartagena which starts off at a 10% gradient and swoops down through some fast hairpins and into the port. We all meet for breakfast and after a little chat with Steve I manage to convince him to motor pace us out slowly increasing the speed down the long straight out from La Manga, we hit 45 mph before a roundabout approaches and spoils the fun. We climb out from La manga for around 17km at an average gradient of around 3% not steep by any stretch but enough to wake the legs.

After rolling through some stunning views and great countryside we finally arrive at the top of the infamous decent. I have been informed by previous record holder Jack that the current record stands at 54mph and I turn to Ben with a glint in my eye and he knows the plan. We open up down the first section and hammer as hard as we can down to the first hairpin, the gradient of the decent fortunately allows you to view the road below and to my delight its clear I hit the apex of the hairpin and am out of the saddle accelerating as hard as I can to the next bend. head up I can see that I have a clear path on this one too so same drill apex, accelerate this it record time! I ride as hard as I can then drop down on to the top tube hoping the magic number will come up on my Garmin 705.

The numbers tick by 52,53 come on come on 54, yes! 55, 56, 57, 57.4mph Get in!! The record belongs to the wiggle boys! We complete the ride with a total of 70 miles covered and 5000ft of climbing and did I mention a top speed of 57.4mph? What follows is very similar to the previous day a good recovery lunch and stretch session followed by the dreaded ice bath. After chilling and maybe a little bit of gloating about maximum speeds etc we head out for some tasty tapas and a good natter about the riding experience.

I can only imagine what it’s like to be a professional cyclist but the whole set up of the training camp is pretty close to what I have in my minds eye and is as close as us mere mortals will probably ever get to the pro life. After slogging it out in the UK winter I think both Ben and I will certainly be considering a trip to sunnier climbs next winter for some well earned sunshine and smooth roads.

All that’s left to say is get yourself down to Murcia and see if you can beat the Wiggle descending record, be sure to let me know if you do though so I can get back out there and have another crack ;)

You can also follow my season progress and events on twitter@PeteK84