no its not an obscure maths problem I have encountered at school; but the time it took me (and Arjuna) to do the 57 mile short course of the Cumberland Challenge on Sunday gone.
The return from Garrigill to Brampton (largely on the A589) was about as good as I have ever ridden. With good tarmac for the wheels to run (the roads in North Cumbria can be pretty awful) and short; steep climbs into which you could carry speed and power over the terrain definetly suited me and the bike. With the gearing on Arjuna I either prefer long gentle climbs such as the ascent to Tan Hill on the Etape du Dales and the climb up Hartside or very short climbs I can attack at speed.
The actual route itself was really good and I would hope to go under 3:30 next year. The descent of Hartside towards Alston was a nightmare in a strong cross-wind (which was behind us for the section on the way back) and I would reckon to gain 3-4 mins on this alone. It was interesting though that, despite being a poor descender, no-one went past on that descent - only a total idiot would have rushed down that.
So, tight legs on Sunday night and no Claire to massage them as she is on holiday in Ireland for a week......am taking it easy this week with it being the first week back before starting to crank the autumn training into gear.....
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