Birmingham to Warwick Cycle Ride

Location: The West Midlands, UK

Day: Saturday

Duration: 5 Hours

Workout: Cycling from Birmingham to Warwick on the canals (29 miles)

Food: two pork chops, an hour later, then later, leftover chicken with veg:

Mrs M started to complain a little towards the end of this marathon session on the bikes. 29 miles does not sound like much but there is a lot of gate navigation, bike-carrying, tunnel dodging and rough terrain to contend with.

I had no breakfast, and had broken a fast the night before with a relatively modest chicken dinner, so by the time I got to our destination I was ready to destroy the two pork chops I had taken along to the BBQ. I was so ravenous, I forgot a photo. Needless to say, we took up the offer of a lift back in the truck of some friends.

Here's the GPS map:


...and here's the altitude - the light blue area.


As you can see, there was a general downhill trend. We went through a lot of locks. Birmingham sits on a plateau that's unusually high above sea level. I am glad it wasn't the other way round - those free-wheeling sections were a lot of fun but looked tedious in reverse. ... Read more

Weekend of Long, Easy

Saturday: 19-mile bike ride round the canals of the West Midlands, UK


Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Food: I fasted all day, then tucked into roast chicken & roast vegetables in the evening, several hours after the bike ride ended. I felt duly rewarded:




Sunday: long, easy hill/trail run around Ercall Wood and the Wrekin.

Total time: 2 hours 38.
Heart rate: monitor stopped working, but I am pretty sure I was 140 - 160 most of the time.
Altitude profile (in metres):

Food: fresh crab and salad:

This was eaten a couple of hours later than expected, thanks to my idiocy in locking my car keys in my own boot. My running partner Lightning had to drive me home to get the spare, a fine gesture considering this took a couple of hours out of his Sunday. Since I'd also had no breakfast, I was pretty hungry by the time I tucked into this.

Knee Problems

Recently increasing my running mileage appears to have aggravated my knee. At least I think that's what caused it. Hard to tell. Over the last month, the site of the surgery has grown steadily more sore. Fine in the normal plane of movement, but sensitive to twisting.

This is worrying, because those internal stitches are supposed to have totally healed. I have a meeting with my consultant next week. Clearly it can't be all bad, otherwise I would not be able to do these things. However, I need to know whether I should stop doing them and let it rest, or whether he is going to tell me I need more surgery. If he tells me this, I will think very carefully about whether it's something I am willing to do. ... Read more

Weekend of Cycling and a Mountain Race

Sunday: a long cycle ride (here), about 5 hours, of which 3 hours was actually pedalling. One the way, a packed lunch of crab and salad. It was easy pedalling (I was with Mrs M) so a good bit of long, low intensity exercise.

Along the way, some great photos of the scenery, some vivid orange/red flowers and a crane that landed in front of us:






Bank Holiday Monday: the Shultlinsloe fell race.

My time this year: 24.54. My time in 2008: 21.57.

It goes without saying that I am not happy about this. I have gained weight and lost fitness. This is the spur I needed to get lean and fit over the summer. There is a slew of big races in late summer and autumn, for which I plan to shed nearly a stone and become seriously fit. The year of living badly is over.

That said, it was an enjoyable race, as ever, as my running partner, Lightning's account indicates.

Since in his post he used a photo in which I have my eyes closed and he looks mean, I figured I'd use a photos in my post where he has his eyes closed. Unfortunately instead of looking mean I look like someone is controlling me from above with strings...

... Read more