Kell, Bell, and Bikes

#11 was filled with work and an ear infection, nothing exciting to report there. So I’m gonna jump straight into #12

Here I am jumping. So to add to the already busy weeks I create for myself, I am also now trying to squeeze in a good amount of gym time to run alongside my Track Journey. Monday, I met with Darren the gym man who I have my beginners strength and endurance program with, along with PT sessions where we focus on specific strength exercises geared towards cycling. My favourite exercise; box jumps. Least favourite; watt bikes! I just can’t get my head around those things, too many numbers and things to work on.Tuesday was Bell’s 2nd Birthday! Time does fly when you’re having fun, and I do feel like I’ve had her forever. To celebrate the big day Daniela and I took her on her first official Peaks ride. The day began with a play date with Otto and Holly at Cotic HQ whilst the Rocket had its wheels looked at.We then went to the Lady Bower Inn pub, parked up and headed up and around Lady Bower for some epic views, a good amount of elevation and some fun descents. Lady Bower is a great place to ride because you can link it in with so many other peaks, making the ride an epic or just a quick pedal. We cut back down after 15k (being the good dog mother I am) for some food at Ladybower Inn. It was raining, but that did not dampen our spirits as it was Bells b-day, we were on our bikes, and the views were just delightful!Wednesday Daniela, Char and I headed to Grenoside Woods in Sheffield. After riding Wharncliffe during Sheffield Outdoor weekender and not having time to head over to Greno I thought I’d make some time to head over as I haven’t been there for years! Wednesdays ride led me to the conclusion that it’s not a bad place to ride by all means, but it did help me remember why I ride where I ride. Not only do I appreciate great trails, but I’m all about the views. Climbs without views just don’t do it for me, and ‘push up tracks’ on enduro bikes are meant to be ridden, but that was challenging at times. Greno doesnt have the views, so if like me you love a good viewage, popping over to Wharncliffe to get the best of both worlds is probably a good shout. That aside we did a few laps, we do have fun, and fun we did have.Thursday, bloody Thursday. After doing my daughter duties in the day, the evening I headed to Derby Arena for my Stage 2 Accreditation. Bank holiday weekend traffic was a nightmare and meant that I just sat in my car and looked at the Arena from the A52 rather than step foot into it. In all honesty though, I was slightly relieved? I’d been nervous all day about riding the Track due to having a week out from an ear infection. My fears of falling down the track, or crashing into someone and dying were pretty legit, so not going wasn’t the end of the world!

Friday- Ok, I’ll try again. With Thursdays nightmare drive, I made the wise decision to set off with plenty of time before my track session, the Women’s Novice. SO much time that I could spend an hour in the gym before, which was one of the best ideas I’ve had. I spent some time on the Watt bike and then onto the rowing machine before heading straight down to the track, completely warmed up- it was great! My nerves of getting onto the track again were very present before I pushed off for the first lap, I could feel the evil butterflies in my stomach and my subconscious saying “Sainsbury’s is just around the corner, go get some donuts and go home”. But as I sat and looked around at the smiling faces of the women’s group I was joining, those fears quickly disappeared. After some warm up laps and some practice riding in a line close up to each other we then went onto some bike control. Carl the coach set up some cones where we had to work our way up the track, through and around. This was done on our own at first, then in pairs and THEN in pairs one handed! Lots of laughs, lots of smiles and lots of fun! I do like Track.Saturday is FERDA GIRLS, the girls being me and Bell. It’s spring, so the weather forecast is obviously rain. After staring out the window for the majority of the morning trying to decide whether or not to brave the wet and cold, I finally gave up hoping for the big yellow thing in the sky to make an appearance and just got outside! After the initial shock of getting out of the car into the cold, like always, it wasn’t so bad after all (and I’m not made of sugar). With the local hills current conditions ,I got to try out my new Julbo goggles. I can confirm, with all the water and mud being sprayed about they didn’t half do the trick! Climbs were tricky and slippy but with every bit of elevation gained I was just pretty stoked to be outside on my bike with my dog. My vision on the descents was clear and eyes mud-free thanks to the combination of my new Mudhugger and goggles. Bell and I found a lovely little den and stopped for some lunch before getting completely soaked in the woods by all the puddles that had filled up from all the spring weather we’ve been having.

Sunday, recovery day, or whatever that means.