2012 Week 18

Week 18 (w/e 6 May 2012)
Miles: 117.1

A week with weekend commitments meant that I could have been hard pressed to cobble together another ton. In the end, it was a smooth procession to the obligatory 100.

I got off to a good start on Monday. The weather was sunny, with a strong easterly wind blowing in to add a chill to the temperature. I got out in the late afternoon for 14.5 miles, taking that to 22 miles with an evening ride a few hours later. Tuesday afternoon was grey with occasional drizzle, with the easterly wind still blowing in. I got out for just under an hour in the afternoon, returning home with 35 miles. An evening supplementary ride pushed the total on to 43 miles. Wednesday's weather was very pleasant: warm, hazy sunshine for the afternoon at least. It clouded over in the evening but remained warm. I got out on my bike an hour or so early, armed with my camera on an admittedly largely unsuccessful mission to take some more snaps for use on this blog. The 25 minutes I spent moved me on to 49 miles. I then did my customary hour's pedalling, reaching 65.5 miles in the process. I wasn't finished for the day, of course. A third trundle in the evening meant that I'd reached 74 miles by Wednesday evening. A fine effort.

The weather on Thursday was overcast but fine. I got out there for a good hour in the afternoon, coming back with 92 miles in the bag. A trip around my usual loop in the evening saw me home with 100 miles with three full days to spare. Excellent work.

Friday was a zero cycling day as I had to go over to Yorkshire in mid-afternoon for another band rehearsal. I didn't get home until close to midnight anyway. Saturday's weather was excellent, warm and sunny conditions until it clouded over in the late afternoon. I had to be up and about early to get my car to the garage for its MoT. When I returned home I got the bike out at 3 for an hour and a bit, advancing to what became the final total of 117 miles. We had a gig to play in the evening, so after watching the FA Cup final we made our way there.

Sunday was the day of the annual pub fun run. I only decided to enter on the morning of the race. My knee had continued to feel iffy throughout the week, on and off. When I tested it on Sunday morning it felt fine, so I decided to do the run after all. The weather was dry and warm, which helped the decision making process. Despite my ropey preparation - I'd done no training for 12 days and had also downed a few pints the previous evening at the gig - I managed to shave 8 seconds off last year's time. The knee was absolutely fine. At least now my running season was over so I could concentrate solely on the cycling.

In celebration I spent the rest of the day in the pub.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 25 m.
Total for 2012: 2121.4
2012 average weekly mileage: 117.85
Consecutive 100s: 17
Miles needed for 6000: 3878.6
Percentage of target reached: 35.35%
With 34 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 114.08