Exercise routine for cyclists - Day 1

Today I started my 3 day exercise routine in preparation for the cyclocross race on 22nd January in Abingdon.

With just over a week to go, I need a sure fire way of getting my fitness back after the joys of Christmas and new year took a toll on me.

About a couple of years ago I invested in a set of exercise equipment called ViPR (

official page here). I bought the 4Kg, 8Kg and 16Kg models, second hand on eBay. 

Here is what the Day 1 routine looks like using an App called VT ViPR:

 

Slave to the weather forecast

Today I looked at the weather forecast for the next few days.

As you can see from the pictures below, the weather this week seemed a lot milder then the past two weeks.

 

Rain forecast for most of the week, and temperatures well above zero until Friday.

This made me think that maybe I was better off swapping back my old commuter tyres, a set of Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, in place of the Ice Spiker.

So I started the process of changing tyres which I am not very fond of, especially considering I am still running innertubes on my commuter.

The process was quite laborious but eventually the Supreme are back on, and the Ice Spiker back in the cupboard.

I took this opportunity to assess wear and tear on the studs in the Ice Spiker. 

As you can see from the pictures below, the wear is fairly consistent front and rear, with the centre studs obviously quite worn out yet still able to provide some bite in the ice, and the studs on the side knobs instead still looking pretty good.

I 

 

 

Now I was quite happy to return to a more comfortable and smoother ride thanks to the slicker tyres.

And then this happens!

 

So now I booked some time in the diary to swap the Ice Spiker tyres back on the commuter on Tuesday, ready for the commute on Thursday!!

Sometimes I hate the weather forecast!

The Ice Spiker are back for 2017

The temperatures here in the South East of England have again dipped below zero, and I decided the time had come to prepare my commuter for the imminent snow.

I dug out my old set of Schwalbe Ice Spiker from the shed, and fitted them just before the the first commute to work of the year 2017.

The first time I used the Ice Spiker was in 2010.

Since then, I have only used them a handful of times in 2012 before investing in a set of Schwalbe Marathon Winter tyres for my folding bike, which I reviewed.
As the winters are getting colder again, I suspect we might see snow this year.
It normally snows around February in the South East of England, but a few days ago the ground was so slippery I could not ride down my driveway without sliding on black ice.

Fortunately I remembered to set the tyre pressure correctly and these tyres only add about 5 minutes to my 20 minute commute, which I personally think is perfectly acceptable.