It is almost over, 2018 that is!

I'm sure some were quite excited by the first part of the title, sorry and all that. There is no let up with me.

As the countdown of days left in 2018 ticks down, and the mileage totals keep climbing, I can honestly say I am looking forward to Dec 31st a lot!
More time to be spent on the trainer in the pain cave, shorter commutes on the dark and damp roads, and hopefully a few more decent rides at the weekend with my bestie before the end of the year.

All primary goals met, secondary and mini goals remain, but as usual, I would love dearly to achieve them none the less.

So right now my attention is drawn to the right set up on the right bike for the commute.
Paolo with his 32c CX tyres and disc brakes is more than capable. 11 gears to choose from, wide tyres with a little tread to deal with the dampness under tyre. But the down side is weight, and rolling resistance.
Then there is Luigi, who has seen me through the start of the year, right up until recently. 25c roadie tyres, reduced contact with the ground, giving less rolling resistance. A bonus in most cases. Slightly deeper wheels, so less fun in cross winds however.

A few weeks back I ordered some lovely Schwable Marathon Plus tyres for Luigi, make him a bit more winter capable. But on trying to seat them, I found there were issues, and decided earlier in the week to ditch them, and get myself a new set of 25c's, nice slick road tyres.
Previously I have had concerns about road tyres and how capable they are at dealing with water and slippery surfaces. A ride in the Cotswolds the other weekend in torrential rain soon changed my mind on that.

So today, the new tyres arrived, so I got to it straight away and got them fitted. A quick once over for Luigi, and set up for the commute, and away we went.
Switching back to a single speed after spending a few weeks on only bikes with gears takes a bit of getting used to. No levers within the brake levers to flick while sitting in traffic, just bars and two brakes, along with a single crank, single rear cog, and a pair of pedals. All very different.

However, once you are moving, and you have remembered moving off takes a bit more effort, no cassette to flick your way through, all is well. Needless to say I did a better average speed to work today than I have for quite a while. I forget very quickly how much I love the simplicity of Luigi.

One thing that has changed is the saddle. Having swapped saddles around on a few of the bikes, Luigi has ended up with a Specialized Body Geometry Riva on there. He came with one, but this is a replacement, and it creaks !! Grrrr. Sadly finding a new replacement is a bit of a chore, but I am trying. Not sure if the Ronin replaced the Riva, but they look pretty similar. I am a believer in sticking with what you know (and were told worked for you in a bike fit). Decision on the replacement to be made soon, can't take that creaking for too long.

I also discovered at the weekend that the set up on Paolo needs some work. Just some small tweaks, but I am working on those, starting at the front with bar set up. It seems to be working.

I am really looking forward to less pressure on myself next year, less obsessing about distance of every ride contributing to goals far beyond anything I ever considered previously. I must NOT set a goal on Strava for next year!
More time on the yoga mat, more time spent doing casual runs, and not driving myself into the ground. All round wellness is the key.
A few decisions need to be made, like what regime to follow, if any, and how to divide my time between commuting, turbo trainer, and running. Not forgetting actual "get out there and ride" rides.
I think first up will be easing up on the commute, however I actually enjoy doing 2-3 times the required distance each way. Weird huh!

Well, lots to think about, lots of decisions to make... Let's see what happens.

My cycling goals for 2018.

I have been pondering for the last week now about how to verbalise my cycling goals for 2018, without sounding like they are some sort of resolution, or set in stone target. After much consideration, I thought I would put it all in a blog entry. One I can come back to this time next year and check how I did. As well as visiting throughout the year to check, and update.

This is my 3rd full year of cycling for leisure, and my first year of commuting. I started commuting around March 2017. Looking over last years results I was pleased to say the least. A huge jump in totals. Over 3,500 miles, 105,000ft of elevation, many hours and so on. In short, smashed it! 2,000 miles alone was commuting.

However it is worth noting that for 17 weeks of the year, through illness and laziness, no cycling happened. In total I rode for about 170 days out of the 365 available. So statistically I could have doubled my mileage. However I am not that naive! In reality I could have done more, that is the long and the short of it.

Before I get on to this years goals, I just wanted to add that after much back and forth at the hospital and specialists, I have also been given the green light to start running again. So some time and energy will be expelled getting back into shape, which in turn I hope will help with my riding. Fingers crossed, no injuries this time around, now I have learned that I need to take it a bit easier.
I have also added a Tacx Flux to my cycling equipment list, so during bad weather, or when the mood takes me, I can get some proper miles done indoors, rather than looking out of the window and saying sod that! Less excuses!

So, onto 2018. The goals...

Mileage of about 4,250 would be nice. Based on last years numbers and available ride time, it should be doable. As the year progresses, we will see, but I am hopeful.

Distance rides. I have never done a 100 mile ride, so I thought committing to doing 4 this year was the way to go. I don't think the mileage is really an issue, as long as the route is right. 76 miles with 4,500ft of elevation is my longest yet, so 100 with 1,000ft should be fine.

Gran Fondos. I hit a few last year, and one maybe two in 2016. This year, I want them ALL! One every month would be lovely. Although maybe a bit unrealistic, we shall see. I am aiming for one a month for now.

Power. This is a tough one for me. Breaking a lot, and hurting myself by pushing too hard has become a common occurrence for me, so I have slowly started to learn my limits. However I DO like numbers, so hitting a few power figures is never a bad thing. Now I can do this indoors, in the comfort of a controlled environment, I am happier pushing a bit here and there. So have set myself some power goals which are within reach of current achievements. But when it comes to FTP , I am less interested. I like to see what I do on rides. When I feel like pushing, I like to be able to.

Climbing. One of my weakenesses, and something I am slowly addressing. With the last ride of the year being on a single speed 48/18 Langster, and being 40 miles, with 2,250ft of elevation, I am happy with my progress for sure. But I want to improve here. Having downloaded the two Top 100 Climb lists on my phone, I have already started on them, and hope to tick off as many as I can this year. So getting my climbing legs on is key. Obviously being almost 250lbs, climbs are a battle against gravity. So hopefully the small life style changes will drop maybe 10% off that number during the year.

Sportives. A few events this year will make me happy, with some official recognition of my commitment to the sport. Just enough to keep me grinning. London to Brighton, Cotswolds, Ride London 100, and Hayward Howler are all lined up for now.

So that is about it for now.
Improve power to assist with climbs. Cover more miles, including more elevation. Longer rides, some being sportives.

Oh one final thing.
My aim is to ride (any distance) for as many days as I can this year. My Veloviewer and Strava infographics look a bit lacking from last year, so this year, I will fill in more spaces !

Watch this space!

Me vs Bromley Parking, part two

Given that my appeal to Bromley council regarding my parking ticket was rejected on the basis that there IS adequate signage for their CPZ in Bromley Town Centre, I have finally, some 2 months later received the 'Notice to Keeper' which entitles me to officially challenge the ticket and their decision.

So here is the letter I am about to submit to Bromley, to again try and make my point.
I am somewhat entertained that in the same week that I decided to make the formal challenge, that a story would appear on the BBC website, stating that some councils, inc Bromley appear to be setting targets, therefore acting illegally with regards to parking enforcement notices issued.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25865055

So, here is the letter which will be completed and sent off via email, the appeals website, and of course in paper form too. I will in the meantime be speaking to other media outlets to highlight the behaviour of Bromley Parking, and in an effort to get the area re-signed in a more open and fair manner.

Dear Sir / Madam
I am writing to you in relation to parking ticket #******** issued on *********.
I have contacted you on a previous occasion relating to this matter, and already pointed out by email, and open letter, the flaws regarding the signage of the suppose Bromley CPZ.
I shall again make my point, in the hope that it is better understood, taking your original response into consideration.
I approached Bromley town centre from Bromley Hill, coming in from Downham. To be precise, up Bromley Hill, onto London Road, left onto Tweedy Road, along Kentish Way, right onto Masons Hill, straight on onto High St, and right onto Elmfield Road. At no point along this trip was any form of CPZ sign seen. On parking and walking the route in the opposite direction, I finally found a sign. Just after the bus stop on Masons Hill. Please see the attached image from Google Maps of the sign, turned sideways, tiny in size, and ridiculous to believe that Bromley Parking consider this 'visible' and 'adequate' to notify drivers entering the area that it is indeed a CPZ.

Furthermore, I should add that on standing in as near as I could to a driving position in the road, when a bus is at the bus stop, or just pulling away, the sign is completely obscured.
From my understanding of the requirements to establish a legitimate and lawful CPZ, one of the requirements is for the signage to be clear and visible, maybe even adequate. Given that the distance travelled from entering the borough of Bromley, to the point of the ticket being issues is some 2 miles, and that the area apparently covered by the CPZ is just after an area of slower moving traffic, with traffic lights, and open roads with many opportunities for better signs to be erected, I am left only with the belief that the sign has been carefully placed to ensure there IS indeed a sign, but it is of absolutely no use to motorists entering the area. There is no other logical explanation as to why a sign of such importance would be put in such a hard to see place. I should also point out that after turning from Kentish Way to Masons Hill, the number of pedestrians and hazards for motorists increases astronomically, so concentrating to hunt out a hidden sign is rather dangerous from this point on.
Unfortunately on reading recent articles such as this one on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25865055 , I am led to the only logical conclusion, and that is that this is an attempt to gain as much revenue from parking enforcement as possible, while skirting what Bromley believe to be just within the legal requirements of a CPZ.
Therefore, on this occasion I completely reject the argument that Bromley make,  that there are 'a number of signs from London Road, all the way into Elmfield Road' where the ticket was issued. I can honestly state that I observed NO clearly visible signs on my way to the point of parking. And upon finding a single yellow line with no hours of enforcement close by, I parked in good faith believing I was entitled to do so. Obviously now I know the centre of Bromley is a CPZ I would not do this again, and would choose to park in one of the many VERY well signed pay on exit car parks.
It seems that Bromley are happy to point people in the right direction of a pay to use car park, but not so keen to warn people that yellow lines fall under a badly signed CPZ. Seemingly a win win situation for Bromley.
At this time, I feel I am well within my rights to appeal this ticket, and the decision made by Bromley the first time I appealed, on the following grounds.
CPZ is not adequately signed.
Appeal decision states signs are in a place where they are not.
I look forwards to hearing back from yourselves on this matter in the near future.
Please note, as before, this letter will be shared openly on my blog, as well as Twitter, as will any reply received unless explicitly requested otherwise.
Regards
Michael Snasdell