Purbecks coast path - from Lullworth to Winspit

A while back, almost a month, I went with my housemate Robin to explore the coast path on the Jurassic Coast. I had already been there many times, but always hiking, or just to get to the many climbing spots that can be found on the sea cliffs. This time instead we wanted to cycle along, starting from Lullworth and proceeding eastwards to ideally get to Swanage.

We catch the train at 9am, directed to Wareham, while we wake up with a take away coffee and some brownies baked the previous evening. It is a lovely sunny day and we can't wait to get started. From Wareham we head south past the A351, and then right on Holme Lane where we take some layers off. The road is nice and quiet, the legs are warming up and we can't stop smiling. We get to West Lullworth quite quickly, but from there onwards it is all going to be a struggle. This section of the coast path, which I have never walked before, is much more hilly then the eastern bit (between Swanage and Winspit). From the beginning we already have to dismount and walk the bikes, both uphill and downhill. The view is gorgeous, and luckily we manage to find here and there ways to avoid the steepest bits. The only real fear is to end up in a closed road: a large shooting range for tanks occupies most of this areas and visitors are not allowed everywhere. It would not be nice to end this trip blown up into pieces.

By lunch time we are back on the path, but way behind where we were hoping to be, so now we know that we will not get all the way to Swanage. In a way it is a relief because now we know that we can take a left at any time and start heading back to Wareham. First though we want to get to Winspit: this is a nice little cove where a quarry used to be, and now the cligg is all bolted for sport climbing (even if the sign says that it is not allowed...). The idea for later on in the season is to come here for the whole weekend to enjoy camping, climbing, cycling and swimming.

From Winspit we head back north. First a big climb, then some tiny country lanes lead us back to the A351 which unfortunately we have to follow past Corfe Castle. From there we cycle on some lovely country roads and paths, through woods and fields. Overall these final kilometers are flat and allow us to quickly get back to the starting point in Wareham.

Here are some photos from the trip. Enjoy :)

Movescount

The road to ECMC: 1 - checklist

So in the end I decided to register  to the ECMC that will take place in Milan from the 28th to the 31st of May.

I am not a courier and this has already raised some complaints. Nevertheless I think that what matter most is the spirit with which everybody takes part. If the idea is to support the couriers, to learn from them, to share the subculture that makes us all urban cyclists, then I think that taking part is not a problem. More on this will follow later on, there is about 5 weeks to the event, plenty of time to discuss these issues.
In the meanwhile I just want to write down a quick check list of what I need and what I already have.

Bike-wise:
- re-build wheels
- fix the fork and change the steering set
- buy and fit front brake
- general checkup and tuning

Registration-wise:
- registration done
- housing done
- flights need to be dealt with soon

I will try to keep a short but frequent update on the ECMC front, like a short diary of this campaign. Stay tuned

Lodi - Lecco - Lodi 2015

UPDATE 21/04/15: Classifica ufficiale

Dovevano essere delle tranquille vacanze di Pasqua...e allora non c'era modo migliore per concluderle che mettersi a gareggiare sui 160 km di argini sterrati della terza edizione della Lodi-Lecco-Lodi.
Ho preso la decisione un po' cosi, perche' in Inghilterra mi mancano le sgambatelle fra amici, la fatica, la competizione sana, il sole, la folla di ciclisti sconosciuti ma amici. Ho deciso di partecipare pur non avendo una bici veramente adatta: a quanto pare nessun negozio di bici di Firenze vende copertoncini da 30 nella settimana dopo pasqua. E cosi, con la vecchia bici da corsa in acciaio, copertoncini da strada, leve del cambio al telaio, e reggisella in fin di vita son partito alla volta di Lodi. Alla partenza si dice fossimo in 115, affluenza record, e mi sono sentito a casa nonostante l'ansietta per quello che stavamo per affrontare.
I primi chilometri sono andati via abbastanza lisci, ma il reggisella ha subito perso colpi: il sellino non stava orizzontale, cosi dopo 20km mi sono fermato per provare a stringero. Inutile, tanto la vite si e' ri-allentata quasi subito ed ho fatto il resto della gara seduto piu indietro possibile, per cercare di stare sulla parte alta della sella.
A parte questo la bici non andava male. Il cambio era preciso (san Campangolo), la tenuta un po' incerta nelle curve con sabbia, ma tutto sommato sopportabile. Dopo la pausa meccanica ero rimasto solo, quindi ho iniziato una lunga cavalcata per riprendere il gruppo di testa. Per strada tanti attardati, Fanino che cercava di sistemarsi i raggi, pescatori, coppie con il cane. Si e' pero' ricerato un gruppetto di 6-8 ciclisti dalle parti di Cassano e ci siamo messi tutti all'opera.
Arrivati in cima al lago abbiamo finalmente avvistato il gruppetto di testa sulla sponda opposta, pensavamo di avercela ormai fatta, bastava spingere un po'. Solo che la stanchezza ha cominciato a farsi sentire, specialmente sulla mia precisione alla guida: capitombolo in una curva a sinistra con sabbia. Riprendo i miei compari dopo una decina di kilometri, stanno facendo una pausa birretta e non posso fare altro che accettare il loro invito (epic win).
Si riparte un po' piu lenti. Abbiamo ripreso alcuni attardati, e a mia volta perdo contatto dal gruppetto: va a finire che rimaniamo in 4, Niccolo', Sitton, Lupin ed io. Non resta che stringere i denti, bere e mangiare regolarmente e seguire la traccia GPS. Per non farmi mancare niente decido di stamparmi contro la ringhiere che separa la ciclabile dal naviglio mentre sto rimettendo la frutta secca in tasca. Ma a parte le ferite non c'e' nessun danno grave.
Cerco di fare la mia parte tirando sui pezzi di asfalto. Sullo sterrato non riesco a stare a ruota: penso che sia una questione di testa, per vedere in anticipo le buche che altrimenti arrivano inaspettate e dolorose. Santa pausa caffe' a Paullo, ormai manca poco.

All'arrivo, c'e' il fan club di cuginetti e sorella che mi aspetta :) Sono esausto ma l'euforia e' alle stelle mentre mi godo la compagnia di questo fantastico gruppo di Atleti (si, con la A maiuscola). Ogni evento, anche se scelto a caso nel fittissimo calendario, vale tanto quanto una coppa del mondo. Si da sempre il massimo per l'onore e alla fine ci sono una stretta di mano e una birra per tutti.
Davvero non c'e' modo migliore per finire le vacanze.

Un grazie a Dens per l'organizzazione
all'Ura d'Aria per la calda accoglienza e il lauto pranzo
a Sitton, Niccolo' e Lupin per il supporto reciproco negli ultimi 60km
a Max Bigandrews e Emanuele Barbaro per le foto
Un saluto a Fanino e Joanfran, Riccardo, Michele e tutti gli altri che non vedevo da secoli. Spero di rivedervi presto

STATS
dst: 163.2 km
moving time: 6h15'
total time: 6h28'
speed: 26 km/h
HR: 170bpm (!!!!!)


movescount

Around the IOW

It is nice to ride a bicycle. It is even niceer to do it on a sunny day. Even better is to do it with a friend. If on top of this you also add the sense of achievement, than you really have the recipe for an amazing Sunday ride!

Next time we will do more off road though :)

Southampton Alleycat

On Tuesday (10th of February) there has been an alleycat in Southampton. After my last races, all in London, finally I could race in a city that I know quite well. I was super excited, but also not super confident. It is hard to race when you don't know your opponents.

At the Guild Hall at 19:30 there was 10 of us, mostly form Southampton, but with a big group from Bournemouth (http://www.thehubcycleworks.co.uk/). Paul, the organizer, had done a good job at keeping the race simple but exciting. The checkpoints were to be done in sequence, as we got the address of the second one only once we reached the first one, and so on. On one hand this removed the issue of having to decide the order ourselves (one less variable). On the other hand maybe it made it a bit more easy for the outoftowners, who could easily follow the leader.

The list of checkpoints was the following:
1-Big black anchor on High st.
2-Saint Mary's stadium
3-N4 Cafe on Canute road 4-Red Funnel pier
5-Eastgate st. Car Park
6-Starbucks at Marlands shopping Ctr.
7-Central Train Station

8-The Hub cycleworks (http://www.thehubcycleworks.co.uk/)

9-Court of Justice
10-Skate ramp in Hoglands Park
11-FINISH @ Guild Hall

The beginning was quite fast, but smooth. No major problems finding the route, nor the check points. Unfortunately though, at the 5th checkpoint I looked for a car park on East st, instead of Eastgate st! I probably lost about 5 minutes asking around and ended up calling Paul. By the time I found the parking lot I was well behind everybody else! Inside me I knew that there where not many chances anymore, but I did my best. I was alone so I was more free in choosing the trajectories and I think I did a pretty good job: when I arrived at the 10th checkpoint the leading group was just sprinting off towards the finish line! Just a couple more checkpoints and I would have reached them!In the end I arrived 5th, first of the Southampton people, but behind the crew from Bournemouth: they managed to follow Rich, who would have arrived 2nd if he did not have to go back to the first checkpoint, which he missed the first time around.

Overall classification:
1st-Felix Speller 2nd-Jacob Smith
3rd-Ben Ramshaw
4th-Dan Armstrong
5th-Me
6th-Rich Le-Vallee
7th-Jack Buckley
8th-Ashley Robertson
9th-
DNF-Ben Hames ... unlucky man! He got a puncture almost at the start of the race!

Thanks to Paul and Leyton for organizing the event, to the Bournemotuh Crew for coming and racing so well, to everybody for the good spirit, and to The Hub for the sponsorship!

See you all next time!

Here is my track through the race. Unfortunately I started the recording only after the first checkpoint, so the track misses the super fast first part of the race.

Coming back

Coming back from a trip. Coming back from a coma. Coming back rejuvenated. Coming back home. You never know when it is the right time, it is not a resolution that makes it happen. But it is not by chance and it is not easy. You have to be ready, strong, crazy. You need to believe in it and make it real.

Soton -> Dorchester -> Soton

"Woo! Lovley morning! Cya in 15" It's 4.45am and I am getting ready. I just had a quick shower and an energetic breakfast and I am about to meet Jamie. He is cycling to Plymouth and I would love to follow him, but I can't stay away the whole day, so I will ride with him for the first few miles. I think I will go as far as Bournemouth and come back. The air is cold but the sky is clear and the Sun is rising so we take off with no delay. Jamie is riding his road bike while I am on my brakeless Gelatina. I just changed her tyres and chain, so she is really happy! We cycle to the west. The trafic is still inexistent and in no time we already are cycling through New Forest. The only problem is the gusty head wind that will blow the whole day. The forest is amazing, still dark but with the top of the trees that are starting to catch the Sun and, as I say to Jamie, it is exacly how I imagine Canada. I don't now why buth this was my thought. I am riding in front most of the time: I will cycle just a few miles, so it is my duty to fight the wind! Sometimes we ride side by side and chat a little bit, while the leggs start warming up and we find oureselves out of the Forest and into the houses of Christchurch. Everything is amazing and it is too early to turn around, so I decide to go ahead until 9 am. Then I will wish my good luck to Jamie and turn around. We slow down a little bit through Bournemouth and Poole, while we look for the signs that lead us to route A35. It is a big road but at this time of the day it shouldn't be too much of a problem to follow it for some miles until we reach A351! Just before reaching the big road we have a "wee and energy" pit-stop and then we take off again. Remembering what happened last year I have with me two sandwiches with honey, so I eat the first half: I will need most of the energy on my way back! Our second stop is at Wareham for a cappuccino and a water refill. Then we catch route A352 and we follow it all the way to Dorchester with just two other strategic pit-stops. Dorset is amazing! Now the Sun is high and lits up the hills covered with crops. It looks like we are in Maremma (Italy)...what is it today with this geografic digressions? The last few miles to Dorchester are really hilly. I have to stend up on the pedals while we climb, and spin my leggs really fast as we fly down, we are therefore relieved when we get to the town, just in front of a sandwich bar! It is 9.30 and we deserve a second beakfast! My beacon cheese burger is amazing, and I really have to thank It if I got home! 10.00- It is time to go back! I wish Jamie a good ride, tell him to take it easy, and hit the road. At fist the burger makes me feel a little heavy: the leggs don't spin as well as before. But after warming up everything falls into place again! Now the wind is on my back and the Sun in my face, better than this is impossible. And in fact I zoom back through "Maremma" without stopping, I fly across Wareham and I start to fight with the cars on A35. The road is much more busy now and I don't like it. I just look the white line and push as hard as I can to get out soon. As a consequence when I get to Christchurch I am a bit exausted and I decide that it is time to stop. I drink, I stretch, I eat a whole honey sandwich and rest a little bit. I have now to ride 20 miles to Lyndhurst and 10 more to Southampton, the sky is getting cloudy and I am starting to feel some pain on my back...I guess that Gelatina is not exactly of my size. Fortunately the leggs are still behaving well, apart from my right ankle which I hurted last week playing football. As I cycle through the New Forest it starts raining, and it doesn't look like Canada anymore. I have another brake at Lyndhurst and then cover the last 10 miles doing my best to keep a high rithm: it is just 1.30pm when I walk into the University!. At the end of the day I cycled 196km (122 miles) and climbed 812m. It took me 4h30' to get to Dorchester and, thanks to the wind, just 3h30' to head back (overall time, not ride time). The ride has been amazing, both for the landscape, the physical feelings and for the company. By the way, I last heard from Jamie at 2pm when he was in Sidemouth...now it is 5 and I think he is facing the steep hills of Dartmoor! Good luck to him! I hope he survives, since I am looking forward to other amazing rides!