The all singing, all dancing blog of Alex Guite

Monday, May 07, 2007

Island Cycle

Yesterday I cycled around the Isle of Wight in four and a bit hours on the Isle of Wight Randonnee 2007. In doing so I learnt a few things: firstly, despite what Google Earth might suggest, the Isle of Wight is hilly.

Secondly, some totally ironic student was responsible for naming places on the island. They're probably wearing a Transformers t-shirt right now. About the only place on the island without cows was, er, called Cowes. I saw plenty of people walking and driving about in Ryde. In Newtown, which was easily one of the oldest places I cycled through, you could pay to visit the Newtown Old Town hall. For a thirsty cyclist, the name Freshwater was particularly cruel in a place with no naturally potable water.

Geography lessons aside, the ride was excellent. The route was well marked and the cars were pretty well behaved, perhaps helped by some "Cycle race in progress - Please drive carefully" signs. If you're thinking of doing the ride next year my top tip is to take a touring bike, or at least stick some decent tyres on your racer. Some parts of the ride are pretty rough, with plenty of potholes and some really messy roads. I still can't adequatley explain how I didn't get a puncture.

When you do a lot of cycling, you end up thinking a lot about what you eat. For instance, the night before a big ride I like to carbo load, which translated literally from sports science speak means "eating a bucket load of pasta". After a bit of trial and much error, I've also found the kind of foods which work best for me during a ride and afterwards for recovery. But I'm still trying to find a breakfast food which can give me a whole load of energy and fill me up without making me feel bloated for early morning cycle starts.

I recently remembered that Shreddies claim to keep "hunger locked up untill lunch". According to the science part, this is because they are made from whole grain wheat. So, igonoring natural justice questions about whether hunger deserves to be locked up without trial (personally I think jail is a bit harsh, I'd suggest an ASBO for being a nuisance), I bought some of the malted square cereals.

I duly tried some Shreddies last weekend before a London to Cambridge ride in the hope that these whole grain vigalantes of the digestive system would keep hunger under lock and key. Or at least throw some bricks through its windows. But despite all the hype, it turns out that Shreddies are about as tough on hunger as the Lib Dems are on crime (not very).

The search continues.

2 Comments:

At Tuesday, May 08, 2007 9:41:00 AM, Blogger Tim said...

Sounds like you had a decent ride. Perhaps you should have borrowed my tourer!

In terms of high energy morning foodstuffs, what about porridge? I think it's pretty good stuff. Rather than attempting to lock hunger up, it instead tries to smother it.

 
At Sunday, June 15, 2008 10:40:00 PM, Blogger GEROLSTEIN said...

Hi!
I was at Newtown Old Town Hall today..
Great place..
But I had a wee car (at my age you have to) so I didnt have saddlesores or porridge

you can check out my version if you like at

http://kurtofgerolstein.blogspot.com

happy randonner

Kurt Gänzl

 

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