Sunday 23 December 2012

Pre-Christmas Richmond Park Spin

Yesterday my partner in crime iCrazyBee couldn't venture to Richmond Park and I threw out another invite for today. Luckily he accepted and this morning we met up for a pre-Christmas spin.

The weather was much better today. Cloudy but quite mild for this time of year and thankfully rain, which fell in abundance yesterday, stayed away.

My cycling outfit has been formed and moulded by several friends and colleagues. The general trend has been go lightweight, close fitting and try where possible to wear items that reduce drag. Most of the time I have viewed this with suspicion and often my body language - a raised eyebrow - has betrayed my thoughts on such matters. However, there is some merit to all this and anything that helps one to go slightly faster, longer while expending less effort can only be welcomed. Wearing suitable cycling attire for the discerning Bromptonian I headed off to Richmond. (You will see why I mention this when you read further).





The ride was earlier than normal but despite this there were more cyclists out than I had ever seen - including summer. Perhaps like me they wanted that last cycling fix before Christmas really starts.








There was a very strong south easterly wind resulting a harder slog up the hills. I found it demanding but pressed on. My riding partner iCrazyBee was tenacious but had to get off a few times. I put it down partly to him wearing 'normal clothing' and not the aerodynamic items I mention above.

While waiting I could not but help to notice all the nature around us. Large numbers of red deer grazed near the roadside, uninhibited by the presence of cyclists, dog walkers and cars. I also spotted two types of woodpecker - Green and Great Spotted, Ring-necked Parakeets, a Tree Creeper and Nuthatch.




With one full circuit done we called it a day. Retiring to a coffee establishment we chewed the fat for a while. For our next training session we plan to do circuits of Hyde Park for a number of reasons. Firstly, its location is much easier to get to for both of us. Secondly, Richmond and its hills are quite demanding and we both feel that the gentler incline of Hyde Park will allow us to focus on cycling more miles in s shorter space of time.





So, this will almost certainly be my last training run at Richmond for 2012 but I am sure that it will feature in training at some point in 2013. Below you can press the link to se the ride data. I did just over 8 miles.

Garmin ride data

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