Scott D

I'll try to make it too, driving up on thursday afternoon. An idea for 3rd group is to sprint at finish every lap (in case Stevie finds it too easy ) Scott

I'll be attempting to get round the Drummond course so will need to miss this one. Scott

Thanks for the pics.. they're great I've linked to 3 below... Trying to rip the legs off Mark Richards on one of the hairpin climbs http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... imbing.jpg The roads in Mallorca are fantastic for cycling http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... _roads.jpg The Peleton http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreemail/LePeleton.jpg ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stevie... your too strong man, everyone is scared of you Have you snapped any more chains recently ? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good result for Gordon Murdoch in Stage 6 of Tour of the North... just pipped on the line. http://www.cyclingulster.com/index.php? ... table=news http://www.cyclingulster.com/Races%2005 ... -break.htm Cant believe he's still wearing those red leggings from Mallorca ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I forgot to attach the group pic http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... up2005.jpg mallorca2005group Bill the chameleon Derek Walker Gordon Murdoch Alan Robertson Mark Richards Me ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction March 2004 had been my first training holiday in Mallorca. This camp followed on from a difficult winter for me, where I'd changed pedal system from Look to Speedplay to alleviate knee pain, lowered my saddle 5cm after a bikefit session with Brian Smith (best advice I've received, thx Brian), and had to relearn how to pedal properly. I remember getting dropped all over winter, and in January recovering from a virus struggling to hold 19mph back on the cycle path after a long reliability run with the club. By March that year I'd toughened my knees up to handle the pressures of pushing properly through with the heel and pulling back again. The camp that year had been brutal for me. I'd taken most of december off the bike (bad idea),then prepared for the trip with slow base miles. As a result every day I was just hanging on for dear life on the climbs. Sometimes so wasted on 2 days that I just had a recovery drink, bath, dinner and bed. March 2005 camp This year I'd managed to retain most of my fitness from the previous year. Training consistently over the winter trying to build a strong base for the next season. Trying some new training ideas (inc. power testing as a volunteer at Glasgow Uni, to see how I rated against my peers), and repeating the stuff that works. I've tried various dietary changes, including removing processed food from my diet, cutting down on bread, potatoes and pasta, and increasing the volume of rice, water, fruit and nuts. I've also broken some of Joe Friel's rules regarding periodisation training for overload purposes. There is becoming a cult of sorts surrounding him, but at the end of the day no one knows your body better than yourself. Here are some of the other cyclists who went on the trip, doing their second favourite hobby... eating ! http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... ca2005.jpg mallorca2005meal Alan Robertson (Glasgow Wheelers) Gordon Murdoch (Glengarnock Wheelers) Derek Walker (Glasgow Wheelers) Gareth Gates Bill the chameleon Wilson Kane (Royal Albert) Will Young Peter Collins (Glengarnock Wheelers) Judge Vinny (Royal Albert) Mark Richards (Glasgow Wheelers) And here is another pic. The happy faces say it all. Its raining in Glasgow, sunny in Mallorca ! mallorca2005group Bill the chameleon Derek Walker Gordon Murdoch Alan Robertson Mark Richards Me Some routes http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... e_maps.jpg We arrived about lunchtime on the friday, got the bikes built, went out for a few hours around the area of Calvia climb. This climb is the staple of training camps based on the south of the island. We were to race up it on every run of the holiday -- always saving the climb for the end of a long run to mimic most closely race conditions. On the first day I chased every move on the ascents and overheated each time. Its nice to open the lungs up for the days that follow. The next 2 days were hilly and flat respectively. Although you might not believe me when I say the second profile is the flat one. http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... rofile.jpg http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... rofile.jpg If you look at both profiles you'll see the distinctive bump of the Calvia climb at the end on each one. Ignore distances as I had the GPS switched off at times. On the hills, since I hadnt been able to prepare with intervals prior to the trip, I focused on threshold work and aerobic intervals (or "spiking"). http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... 050313.jpg The graph (of half of a days effort) above shows a good example of hill threshold work around 30minutes on the timeline. While the timeline around 1:40 shows aerobic intervals (the HR spikes of effort+ recovery). Aerobic intervals are a soft introduction for the anaerobic intervals that follow in the weeks ahead. The bunch split into groups of similar ability, so everyone could push themselves as hard as they wanted. Low pulse readings on the graph above usually mean waiting for people -- its nice to be sociable. 4 of us formed a natural group, Mark Richards, Jamie Drever, Gordon Murdoch and myself. We were joined by other people including Peter Collins or Graham Walsh (before he unfortunately became ill), but generally we knocked lumps out of each other each day. On the S bends up the mountains a favourite was to speed up on the flats, and slow down on the corneras, to change pace repeatedly to try and wear out the others. It was amazing to watch Gordon's pedalstroke. On one early climb I remember Graham driving the pace on, and Gordon spinning away in a really low gear. I was keeping everyone informed on how I was feeling. "I'm uncomfortable. I'm really uncomfortable. See you guys at the top!". Gordon just replied, "aye its hard". By the end of the holiday, I could really feel the benefit of quality miles in a warm climate.. on one of the last day I was racing guys from Stockport Clarion up the Calvia climb in the big ring !Hopefully some of this will carry over to my racing in the weeks ahead. If you get a chance to go cycling in Mallorca I recommend it thoroughly. After a few days hard training, it was fab to go out in Magaluf to let off steam as we had a recovery day after. Great bunch of guys. Already looking forward to next year Happy pic http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... ca2005.jpg Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Stevie The nice old lady who sideswiped me at the roundabout came out with the classic line "I never saw you son". I visited her today with my repair list fresh from Alastair Gow, and almost immediately she talked about "oh that cant be right.. £100 for wheels. I will be contesting this in court". Heres a question for the audience... At this point do you think I said A) I will pursue you in court until you pay every last penny or Thats ok grandma. How about we call it £2.50 and a packet of your Werther's Originals I've got the Gold license from the BCF, so I will be calling their lawyers tomorrow. I've already been told that I could wait over a year to get my money Do you think there is any point contacting the police to investigate a claim for driving without due care and attention? I was going straight ahead at a roundabout (with right of way) when she took me out from the side. Police have already taken a report. There are no witnesses other than me and the other driver. Apart from strain to my calf (might be off for a few weeks, but will still attend the D2 race as a spectator if necessary next saturday) just cuts and bad bruising. Always wear a helmet ! Mine is trashed, but better that than my skull. Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would love to go, but intend doing all the Div 2 RR series this year (there is a race on the sunday near Perth). Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good to hear from you Kelly Congratulations! Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was reminded of that by one of the fresh content links at the top of the website front page... but its not fresh content, that was published october last year ! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_s ... 958427.stm "Despite a tough stage to Courchevel, in which the peloton will tackle the Cornet de Roselend climb that ended Miguel Indurain's reign in 1996, the Alps stages look less gruelling with two valley finishes, in Briancon and Digne. The Briancon stage will, however, include the famous Galibier and Madeleines passes. " Brings back happy memories of the cafe above the Roselend dam 2 years ago and the trip up the Galibier last year, eh Stevie? Something to smile about while out in freezing cold this weekend Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I received a note that the consistency of power / hr across tests indicated that my VO2 max hadn't changed. While my ability to maintain higher pulse levels for longer indicated my lactate threshold had increased. The poster also suggested that the best way to affect my VO2 max was through maximum effort training (either max power or pulse interval training). This is an interesting area, as improving VO2 max in a trained athlete is quite difficult to achieve. VO2 max is a bit like engine size -- if you have a big engine you can go faster for longer. Much of this is genetic. Most improvement in VO2 max seems to be in the first few years of hard training. For most of us with good fitness the biggest improvement is through increasing our lactate thresholds (typically through above threshold interval training), as our VO2 max doesnt really change from season to season. I'll post results from future lab tests (probably april/ may time) hopefully showing that interval training has improved my hr / power relationship. Exciting stuff Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dougie, I misheard and thought the ballet was about men on bikes, not men in tights Tickets sold ! Theres kulture in JWCC !! Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watching the pedalling technique of a pro cyclist is like watching a dancer they say. Poise, control, rhythm. Other people prefer to watch paint dry. I have 2 tickets to see Swan Lake at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, for valentines night (monday 730pm). Best seats available, bought 3 months ago, cover value £20something pounds each. Treat the lady/ lad in your life to a memorable evening. But first take them to the ballet. This gift could buy you more time on the bike at the weekend !!!! Quick sale £30 the pair Scott D 07973 282927 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New job is fine guys. Was out last night for an hour on the bike, going along unlit country roads etc testing my new light out (cateye EL-500 LED front light -- RRP £40). This must be the best LED front light available and is *just* ok in total darkness. Not a patch on the more expensive / heavy duty lighting systems (eg. the cateye ABS range etc), but very light and ideal for training in twilight. Not so good in pitch darkness -- I'm sticking to dual carriageways in future ! Battery use is up to 5hours on normal batteries, less on rechargables. Trying to get track time at Manchester velodrome. Before you can book time there with bunch sessions (eg. Derny paced sprint sessions) you need to go through taster, track skills and an accreditation process (to make sure your not a danger to others). Looking forward to trying this out. If I cant get track time I'll go and spectate anyway. Like I said before, I dont have many gadgets in the house.. I thought broadband was Doogies waistline !!! Over to you Doooogie Cheers for keeping a copy of the programme for me Craig. Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stevie, Craig, Dougie. Thanks for letting me have a spell to slag you all back !! I dont have many gadgets in my house. Recently I bought a new Pacific cd /radio micro system for the bedroom -- £18.50 from Asda. Highly recommended. The speakers are really cute. Although some folk might think its embarassing to own up to such cheap habits ! Stevie, thanks for the encouragement. But like I said you'll be the man to beat this year. I think there will be so much pressure on you to perform, and everyone will be watching so closely to see how you do. Best of luck Dougie man. You need to stick wi the Mark Young programme to get stronger. You cant dodge Glengarnock again to stay in and watch Corrie Seek some help for your soap addiction ! Craig. I'm looking forward to taking you out on that run around the Trossachs soon cheers for now guys Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If anyone records this programme, could you let me know as I'd love to see it . Will miss it tonight. I dont have a video recorder either, but I can borrow one if needed. Many thanks Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think a lot of cyclists have a funny psychology where they spend 1000s on equipment, but pretend the sport is free, so grudge paying 25 quid or so on a power test. I would say if your serious about competing, to the extent that you get training guilt and sometimes miserable when your not doing well, then get power tested. Dont beat yourself up all the time because someone else is training more, or because you dont feel like training for a few days -- have a few tests, then plan an improvement programme, the numbers dont lie. What I expected to see from these tests was an improvement in power output at the same pulse reading. In fact the pulse/ power output was almost identical (although this is complicated by the fatiguing effects of the climate chamber). What did change was my ability to maintain higher power outputs/ pulse readings for longer (inc. 11minutes averaging above 96% max hr). Which combined with weight loss means my power to weight ratio has gone up by above 8%. So what good are these figures? Well the difference between a reasonable 3rd cat rider and a GP rider is about 50 sustainable watts. 1 minute off a 10TT is somewhere around 33watts (I think.. maybe someone else can comment here). With the numbers from regular power testing it becomes much easier to set SMART targets and monitor progress. Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere on this group Mark Young has talked about the benefits of power testing. I would just like to reiterate this comment, and if your serious about TTing or racing it could be very useful to measure your progress. See here for my heartrate graph from a recent power test in a climate chamber at Glasgow Uni. Power stats available privately to curious club members on request http://www.hometown.aol.com/scottfreema ... 050202.jpg Look at that scary HR graph!!! Maxing out at 191bpm, but suffering in the 180s for what seemed ages. The interesting thing for me has been an improvement of 21watts output, and a loss of 7 pounds in weight, over a 10 week period. Measurement like this confirms that training is going well, and encourages me to keep going. Doesnt mean I'm any good of course.. just getting better I recommend others consider taking Mark Young up on his offer for regular power testing. Alternately you could use the Cateye CS-1000 in the clubroom for primitive testing. I used mine at home, and it suggested a 25 watts improvement. Totally inaccurate power meter of course, but useful as a simplistic marker of whether your progressing. Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've just got a dialup connection.. I thing I managed to download about 8 photos before my computer gave up ! If I can get a lone of the CD, I'm happy to split the work on writing comments. Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Count me in too. Cheque also being sent off today Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was hoping I could keep this training a secret stevie So at the first race of the season when someone asks if I've been training, I can say "och a wee bit on the turbo. and a jar of pickled gherkins a day" When I arrived Steven McGregor (Stuart's brother) gave me a warm welcome and got me settled into a youth hostel in the centre of Girona. Steven was to spend 3 days guiding me over some cracking routes around Girona. The next day though, I was to spend by myself. I missed the diary sections on his website where Steven details his strong credentials in Duathlon Let me just say that Steven will give any visitors as long and hard / or easy a training session as they want. Not knowing this I went out on a long solo run the next day. Heading west from Girona, then north to Olot. Very cold in the morning, and as I headed north frost appeared on the road. By the time I approached Olot I could see the Pyrenese mountains to the north. The 3rd pic in Steven's list is of the village of Besalu further east on the way back. There are many pretty villages like this around Girona, where the weary cyclist can stop to savour good coffee and the mild spanish weather. The next day I rose early and went out for just over an hour to stretch my legs. Steven arrived later for a 3hr session, and we went out on one of Lance's training runs - a climb to Montnegre. Pulse responded well, and I stayed at threshold for the duration of the climb. We were both feeling the pace, giving me a chance to tell my duck joke one more time, pretending it wisnae that hard The following day was a longer run (4hrs) climbing east out of Girona into the mountains, then onto the stunning coastal areas around Tossa de Mar. Picture 7 gives an idea of the scenery around there. The last day was a 4hr run southwest to tackle the climb to Sant Hilari Sacalm (900M elevation). About 25 miles southwest, the 9 mile climb began. I could feel accumulated fatigue in my legs, and pushed to breaking point several times. Steven stayed just ahead of me shouting encouragement and counting off the distance until the next km sign. The guy is a beast on the climbs. The simplest way to get stronger is to push until your body fails, recover, than push again. Repeat until you get stronger. The risks of this approach are illness and injury, but these are minimised if the individual has a strong exercise base, a good diet, and uses good form. Each of these items are addressed in Joe Friel's periodization approach to training ( Mark Young).. base preceding intensity, emphasis on learning good form through speed drills, the importance of diet and recovery. At the top I was glad of my coffee and looking forward to the cycle back. Some mountain bikers came into the cafe beside us and they were soon drinking large beers ! For us the quality continued with some wheeling about on the return and we were shortly back in Girona again. I've not mentioned that beautiful architecture in Girona (imagine a prettier version of Bath). Theres lots to do when your not cycling, and lots of exclusive shops to visit (take your partner with you ) Trip details: Flights: £40 for return. £34 Ryanair surcharge for bike carriage. £55 B&B at youth hostel. Guide fees + airport pickup from Steven Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My vitus came apart a few months ago. Have you heard about carbon glue worms stevie? They eat the glue holding the frame together. Terrible beasties. I visited Alastair @ Wheelcraft thinking it was maybe just my bottom bracket causing my gear indexing problems. Turned out my downtube was loose in its housing. Al had my dream Airborne Ti frame hanging up (from China not netherlands ), and persuaded me to move all my components from the vitus over. If you've got a spare hour some time I'll tell you about the quality of the welds man. The welds the welds ! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Send my regards to big C stevie. Stem snapping.. hope he wasnt sprinting at the time.. I remember him practicing his sprinting with Dougie in France.. and Dougie winning by half a wheel. Look forward to seeing Christian again this season Scott ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For all your computer needs, spares & repairs - PC Express, Love Street, Paisley 0141-561-0323 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------