mooleur

I wasn't originally planning to do another post about food so close to the last one. However, after my big ride this weekend I thought it an important task to share my experiences with (and without) fuel this weekend. So this Sunday just gone was the second HotChillee training run of the year. Last time, I rode group 3 which is already an improvement on last year for me. I spent a lot of the time on that last run at the front of the pack and so I decided to take the plunge, I decided to finally leap to group 2. This has been a specific goal for me so I was thrilled that, for the first half of the 116km ride, I rode with the bunch. Chatting, sharing stories, keeping myself snugly amongst the big boys I've looked up to for so long. The ride was a little lumpier than expected, but after the first couple of gradients I felt confident and steamed on with gusto. I just forgot one key thing - this was not "my ride", nor was it last weeks 80km. I had eaten breakfast at 6...

Just as a quick side-note. I'm typing this from my cute little new iPad mini. On the train. Amazing. New Years treat. Anyway, back to the blog. This week (yes, it's a little late) I'd like to discuss the process of fear, that goblin in the cupboard that is every cyclists mind. It plagues us from the very beginning to the 100th time trial, to the nervousness behind every ride we embark on. For the newbie cyclist, this fear can be an unknown emotion not welcomed by the fresh enthusiasm that grips our newly discovered sport. What I would like to do in this post is perhaps help my fellow beginners to understand and even embrace these oddly uncomfortable butterflies. As a sufferer of anxiety, I can empathise all too well with the jitters that come with undertaking new, unknown experiences. I was at an opening night last week for the HotChillee 2013 Global Event Series. Whilst it's great to see the 'family' back together, what's more awesome is the fresh faces...

Dietary Control? Who dreamt up such a phrase! Anyway, today I'm going to talk about one of my most favourite things in the world ever - FOOD. We need it, cyclists especially need it, loads of it. It's brilliant. So why do we always punish ourselves with "superfoods", crash diets and a really false love for mixed seeds (come on, pull yourself out of the tofu-yoga-land of pain and get yourself back on your sofa with some chocolate, no one really likes that shit, face it). Up until the age of around 21, I was convinced I was invincible. I ate a lot of crap, drank a lot of crap, and didn't seem to retain any of the negative aspects of such an amount of crap anywhere on my tiny little body. I've met other young'uns who, unfortunately, feel just the same. Let's face it kids, hit 22 and you're gonna be sorry! But hey (yeah I started a sentence with 'but' - I'm feeling sassy), why not enjoy it while it lasts? I did, it was great fun, but the...