Close passes, a South London hazard!

As a regular cyclist on the road of South London and the borders of Kent, I thought I would add some of my experiences to the examples available on social media.

What I am sharing in this post, about close passes, is all too common an experience. I know that not all cyclists behave as well as they should and I am all too aware that some of my compatriates on two wheels 'go through' red lights. I would not want to defend such behaviour but I also see many drivers of motorised vehicles accelerate towards traffic lights they see, from a distance, changing to amber and as a consequence often end up going through a red light 'at speed'.

The highway code is clear about the meaning of an amber light and says "AMBER means ‘Stop’ at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident" https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/light-signals-controlling-traffic.html

I live a major junction on the South Circular and 'light jumping' by cars, van and lorries is something I see almost every day.

In addition to light jumping by cars, I suffer the close passes of drivers doing excessive speeds on residential roads.

This picture gives an idea of how close the car was and the video the speed at which the car was being driven.

I aim to add more examples of 'close passes and light jumping by drivers of motorised vehicles over the coming days and weeks. 

Every road user needs to take care and be considerate of others whether they are on a bicycle, motorbike, in a car or in the cab of a larger vehicle.

The 5000 mile journey continues

Update Friday 19th October 2018

My cycle tracking app tells me that as of this morning I have cycled 3718 miles this year. The aim is 5000! I managed almost 4500 miles in 2016 before I fell off my bike and broke my leg. I want to break the 5000-mile barrier to support Bloodwise as they work hard to find effective treatments for blood cancers and also support suffers and their families.

My JustGiving page says, that so far, I have raised £1506, the target is £5000.

That means I have another 1282 miles to cycle and £3494 to raise this year. Please, will you help me complete the journey? Bloodwise is doing so much to help people with blood cancer. I can cycle, will you give and ask your friends to join you? Just click on the link below. You can give in your prefered currency. Thank you.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephenmaxted2018

Close pass yesterday Saturday 13th October 2018

I decided to take advantage of the fact that my wife needed to work yesterday, and ride my bike. Normally we try to keep Saturday as a family day but yesterday was different. It also had the advantage for me of being sunny and warm (October in England - whatever next!). So I went off for a 30-mile ride in the Kent countryside but before I had gone 4 miles I was - well watch and see what happened.

Video removed at the request of the police who have now sent a notice of intended prosecution

The video should give you some idea of the speed of the car and the picture below some idea of how close.

Video removed at the request of the police who have now sent a notice of intended prosecution

It will be interesting to see how the police respond to the report I have made.

The torture continues

Training to ride, and be successful (read complete the course) in events such as L'Etape du Tour or the Fred Whitton Challenge takes a degree of commitment. At least that's what I am finding. So, courtesy of Cadence Performance and the really great team there, I am being put through my paces in the hope that I will make it up all (most) of those hills!

Don't misunderstand me, I like cycling and I like a challenge but when one of the FAQ's for the Fred Whitton is "What is the maximum gradient we encounter? - the answer - 30%" I think I will be

Something discovered in Strava

I confess to being a Strava novice but I hope this short article of help. I am near the beginning of a long, and concerted programme of cycle training. I am training 5 days a week, most weeks, and plan to participate in an average of one endurance event a month throughout 2018.

The motivation for this level of engagement is to support Bloodwise in their work to beat blood cancers and support patients with this evil disease. I hope to ride 5000 miles in 2018 to raise £5000 for Bloodwise

My coach at Cadence Performance (Crystal Palace) provides me with a

I must be bonkers

That I am bonkers or possibly obsessed by cycling is one possible interpretation of my behaviour. I would prefer to see it as a commitment to do something to beat the evil of blood cancers.

Down through history members of various religious movements have engaged in assorted types of self-denial and self-punishment. Self-flagellation in any form is peculiar, to say the least, but what about 'interval training' or hill repeats. In an introduction to a GCN video called 'Race Winning Intervals Indoor Cycling Session On The Passo Falzarego'  Simon Richardson describes the work out he is about to lead as, 'straight out of Matt Stevens book of pain'! Clearly, not self-flagellation but still self-inflicted pain because somehow it will do us good.

This morning I was out of the house and on my bike in the pouring rain (see the video from my helmet cam as proof). 

 My destination – Cadence Performance WattBike studio for a 40-minute interval session under the watchful eye of Rob Baldi. Why did I subject myself to Rob's instruction and undertake 10 zone 6 intervals each of one minute each with two minutes recovery in between?

The answer – to be a better hill climber; the Fred Whitton and L'Etape are not far off. Those hilly events are part of my 2018 challenge to ride 5000 miles and raise £5000 to help beat blood cancer.

Please will you sponsor me? Just go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephenmaxted2018

You can also find me on Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/4647248

The journey continues

Up the Passo Giau

Yesterday¹ I began my 'journey' of 5000 miles in 2018 for Bloodwise by taking two friends for a gentle ride from Forest Hill in South London to the Thames barrier via the Cutty Sark and the riverside path. Neither of them had cycled in London for some years and they were concerned about the traffic in our busy city. The plan had been to set off at about 10:30am but the rain intervened and we had our coffee stop before the ride even started. However, by 12:15pm the water had stopped falling from the sky and after adjusting saddle heights for my two companions we were off.

At just over 15 miles it was long enough for my friends to get the feel of riding again but not so far as to get too cold or wet. The rain started again on the way back but we had been out and that felt good.

Please join me on my journey at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephenmaxted2018 and follow me on Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/4647248

Today² was a very different story. I was up early because my wife was back at school for a training day. So, it was time to set up the turbo trainer again -fancy having to put it away just because the back bedroom was needed for family staying over the New Year - but sadly, with winds gusting at 40mph plus, it was no time to be on the open road. So, once set up, my Elite Turbo Muin became the means (by video) of climbing the Passo Giau under the guidance of GCN's Simon Richardson.

Strava logged my ride this morning as 10.2 miles, that was the climb plus some cooling down afterwards. https://www.strava.com/activities/1338514739/analysis

In the real world the stats are

Passo Giau Profile:

• Starting elevation: 1314 m
• Final elevation: 2236 m
• Length of ascent: 9.9 km
• Elevation gain: 922 m
• Average gradient: 9.3 %
• Max. gradient: 15 %

It was a great workout. Sweet Spot and sprint intervals for just over 40 minutes. The term 'sweet spot' refers to an intensity of training that is hard enough to elicit substantial physiological benefit but not so hard as to be unsustainable. It lies at around 90 percent of threshold power.

My FTP³ when I last did a test in November was 230 watts. That is relatively low but I am pleased to be back at that level after my accident a year ago.

Simon's guided ride meant riding for blocks of 4 minutes at 80 to 90% of FTP with each block followed by a 30 second sprint. In my case, the sprints this morning, meant reaching around 400 watts by increasing the speed at which I was pedalling from approx 80 rpm to just over 100 rpm.

I am committed to riding to raise money for the important work undertaken by Bloodwise to support patients with blood cancers and medical research to find cures and treatments.

Please will you support me in my efforts by making a gift at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephenmaxted2018

During 2018 I will be riding in some of the most challenging one-day cycle events including L'Etape du Tour and hopefully the Fred Whitton Challenge. This morning's turbo trainer session was part of my preparation for events such as these.

1 Tuesday 2^nd January

2 Wednesday 3^rd January

3Functional Threshold Power, or FTP, is the maximum average power you can hold for one hour.