Left behind on the hills!

I love being out on my bike and especially riding with friends.

The problem is that I am almost 15 years older than some of the friends I ride with and even more than that for a few others. The result, I get left behind when ever the road starts to climb. So a year ago I decided I needed to do some proper training and on 26th April 2015 I joined Cadence Performance at Crystal Palace. The aim was to stay up with the group but that has turned into the higher goal of being able to ride from London to Paris to raise money for Bloodwise, the blood cancer charity.  (I am the one with the beard!)

Proper training now includes WattBike sessions early in the morning (7am) twice a week. WattBikes are indoor instruments of torture designed to help you understand how well you cycle. You can monitor the power output of your legs, the relative balance of pressure on each pedal and your pedal stroke; not to mention heart rate. they also enable you to be tested. I have been introduced to the mysteries of FTP, MMP and training zones; none of which I knew existed before last year. 

This is a bit technical but the cyclists will understand I hope! I did a Functional Threshold Power test this morning at 7am at Cadence Perfomance Cycling and survived. My Maximum Minute Power has increased from 244W last August (based on a ramp test) to 262 W in Nov (from an FTP test) to 288W from today's FTP test. I am pleased with the improvement. Thanks must go to Jack Lynch the coach who has lead the Tuesday morning sessions so well; even if he did take us through sprint intervals before the test today. It's on Strava so it did happen, you can check it out

Why does the power increase matter you ask (or not as the case may be)? The first part of answer is that hopefully I can ride up hills faster because I can put more power on my pedals. The second and more important part is being fitter and getting to Paris. My aim is to raise £2000 for Bloodwise who support people with blood cancer and fund research into cures and treatments.

I need your help to reach my fundraising goal. Please will you help beat blood cancer and support my ride. Thank you.