Waller pain hillclimb Caterham nearly finished |
The day finally arrived, but how did I get here?
I saw the posters for the hill climb last year but it was too late for me to sign up. I kept an eye out and a few months ago I saw the event on Facebook. The hill climb is a very old event, (here is a bit more info about it) dating back to the 1890's. Back then it was run by Catford Cycle Club, nowadays it's the Caterham Round Table.
The confirmed booking meant the training had to begin. During my weekend rides I attacked hills harder than normal. It surprised me how quickly this extra effort improved my pace and stamina. White Hill Lane, Gangers Hill, Tandridge Hill Lane, any hill in fact is still not easy but is less of a strain.
Yesterday, it was time to prepare the bike. This is where every gram counts, so I took off the lights, and the pump. I also decided I would be leaving the backpack that normally carries food, tools and my camera at home. And lastly I inflated the tyres to max PSI. It's all about speed, not comfort.
This morning it was cereal, coffee and some chocolate. I hoped the coffee and chocolate wouldn't be considered performance enhancing substances. When I signed on, there were no awkward questions, so all good.
I accepted the extra weight of the GoPro was worth it to have a video of my climb. I was thinking about the start so much, I forgot to press record before the off, only remembering after a few peddle revolutions. If you listen carefully you can hear my breathing getting more laboured.
So what was it like?
It was raining hard as I left my garage, but within minutes it stopped and the weather was perfect after that.
Waining at the start |
My time was 2:57, definitely the fastest I had climbed the lane, but still a little disappointing. Next time I'll do better.
Please add your address to my mailing list, or click the follow button to be kept informed about future posts. Follow me on twitter.
Please checkout my website and Facebook page. And leave a comment about this post. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this or any blog post.
For more of my work, go to my Facebook page.
and
Excellent report and it sounds like a pretty gruelling experience. Loved the video too. Not a bad time either, it would have taken me double that on the old Specialized. And talking of my bike, I didn't go cycling at all: Saturday Natalie had plans and Sunday rain stopped play, although, foolishly, it stopped so I should have gone out. However, I did jet clean the bike, it's spotless!!! See you next Sunday. Matt.
ReplyDeleteI guess Barry White and Marvin Gaye were playing then??
Delete