Diary

Longest Ride

| Richard

Many people – OK, nobody, actually – ask me what my longest ride was, either in real life or virtually.

The answer is 162.89km virtually, and I rode this back on 25 February 2024 on FulGaz.  They say:

“Are you up for the challenge? Located in the stunning California Alps, the “Tour of the California Alps – Death Ride®” course crosses three Sierra Nevada mountain passes, for a total of six highly categorized climbs. Included are both sides of Monitor Pass, both sides of Ebbetts Pass, and both sides of the Pacific Grade. For the first time ever, FulGaz is excited to have the complete 2024 route available to ride.”

The main difference between riding it virtually with my setup and riding it in real life is coasting. On my trainer, if I stop pedalling, I stop. Completely. So unlike real life you have to pedal up hills and then pedal down the other side, which makes it really hard work.

But at least I could stay in the Pain Cave all day avoiding family who’d come to stay.

So the stats: 162.89km, 3,973m of climbing, an average speed of 25.1km/h, taking 6 hours, 31 minutes and 40 seconds, and burning 5,880 calories.  Garmin Connect thought I was overreaching…

FulGaz/adidas/Strava Graphic
FulGaz/adidas/Strava Graphic

October 2025 Stats

| Richard

Much later than usual as I forgot to do the stats and only realised when we were on holiday last week, so my apologies.

October was much of the same as September whilst trying to clear the decks at work for our imminent holidays.

So I was doing more virtual rides on ROUVY, and I’ve even enjoyed a Group Ride with Wout van Aert (from the pro cycling Team Visma Lease a Bike).

I’ve been doing my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz as well.

Running is now stopped after some more consultations and an MRI: I need a partial knee replacement but I’ve decided to grin and bear it for a bit and try some injections later this year.

Alos in health issues, I came down with some manflu which stopped my exercising, and the symptoms were very reminiscent of when I had COVID, so that was fun.

So, here are October’s stats:

October 2025 Statistics

October 2025 Statistics

Activities: 25 Distance: 443.62 km Time: 16:05:36 Calories: 15,224

Turning to my weight, at the end of September I weighed 89.4kg and at the end of October I weighed 90.4kg, which is up by 1kg; not good with a holiday coming up.

Body fat percentage was down slightly from 26.8% to 26.2%.

Another Year, Another MoT and Service

| Richard

…and at 42,188 miles on the clock it’s only done 1,800 miles in the year.

Now that we have the Focus ST for family visits and longer distance stuff (like our trip to the Champagne region in June) we only use the Abarth when it’s local journeys and especially when we want to go topless, so to speak.

So now it leads a rather pampered life as a “future classic”…

September 2025 Stats

| Richard

I mentioned earlier this month that I was finally taking the plunge and trying out ROUVY, so I have, and I’ve been enjoying some of the group rides with a group calling themselves the Crazy Catz who are on both FulGaz and ROUVY and Strava as well.

Running though has taken a back seat after some more consultations and an MRI: I need a partial knee replacement but I’ve decided to grin and bear it for a bit and try some injections later this year to out a plaster on it…

I’ve been doing my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges on FulGaz as well – it’s still my platform of choice – but the ROUVY rides aren’t as bad as I feared they would be.

So, here are September’s stats:

September 2025 Statistics

September 2025 Statistics

Activities: 30Distance: 569.27 kmTime: 17:54:35Calories: 18,110

Turning to my weight, at the end of August I weighed 88.9kg and at the end of September I weighed 89.4kg, which is up by 0.5kg, coincidentally the same gain as I had over my last weigh-in a couple of days ago.

Body fat percentage was up from 25.7% to 26.8%. I put that down to all the banana bread Mrs Me is making just now, that she can’t eat due to her bodybuilding competitions (did I mention Alison is awesome?).

All The Gear…

| Richard

Nearly all of my riding is virtual: the UK’s roads aren’t up to road riding and the UK drivers even less so, seemingly filled with frothing, enraged gammon motorists hating all those “woke” cyclists, blah, blah.

So the only time I actually ride on the road is when I’m away on holiday in Fuerteventura, when I hire a road bike from the guys at Easy Riders Bike Centre.

I tend to wear just regular gym/running tops in the pain cave, but I do wear my ‘monkey pants’: a couple of pairs of Giro padded cycling shorts (Giro Chrono Sports Shorts).

Giro Chrono Sports Shorts

Giro Chrono Sports Shorts

At least that way I can have a modicum of comfort in the saddle.

But I’ve had a change of heart and decided that when I am out on the roads in Fuerteventura, I could probably use some actual cycling gear, so I’ve gone out and used a load of those promotional links you get from completing various challenges on Strava and bought some gear.

Specifically, these: a Le Col club bib and jersey from their club essentials range with some cycling socks and a Castelli jersey in Soudal Quick Step colours.

Le Col CC Pro Jersey Le Col CC Pro Bib Shorts Castelli Soudal Quick Step Aero Race 8S Jersey

 

August 2025 Stats

| Richard

August was back to normal after a busy July being was mainly spent in Bangkok so it was back into the Pain Cave with less running and more cycling. The reduction in running is entirely due to my knee being super-painful having aggravated something in it in Thailand, due to overuse.

So I also made an appointment with a consultant who has now recommended and MRI before deciding what course of treatment it will need, surgical or non-surgical.

And the end of August saw us saying goodbye to my Mum when we scattered her ashes into the sea at Cromer yesterday.

In terms of the cycling, we’ve been watching La Vuelta and I’ve been doing my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges and the FulGaz Vineyards and Valleys Tour 2025 that runs until the end of September, but which I finished today…

Anyway, here are August’s stats:

August 2025 Statistics

August 2025 Statistics

Activities: 33 Distance: 516.11km Time: 22:30:12 Calories:  20,719

Turning to my weight, at the end of July I weighed 88.7kg and at the end of July I weighed 88.9kg, which is up by 0.2kg.

Body fat percentage was down from 26.3% to 25.7%.

July 2025 Stats

| Richard

July was mainly spent in Bangkok and my hotel apartment although great overall was a disappointment in terms of the gym: both the treadmills and the cycling machines were previous generation: no Bluetooth connectivity, just the little LED dots on the screen.

This meant that my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges and the FulGaz French Tour 2025 that I started couldn’t be completed in time.  Running on the treadmill also exacerbated my existing knee problem (necrosis and no cartilage) meaning I stopped exercising at all, only starting again when I got home.

So here are July’s stats:

July 2025 Statistics

July 2025 Statistics

Activities: 18 Distance: 230.32km Time: 10:07:13 Calories:  10,766

Turning to my weight, at the end of June I weighed 87.9kg and at the end of July I weighed 88.7kg, which is up by 0.8kg; all those beers and Thai food! Body fat percentage was up from 25.6% to 26.3% no doubt due to all those meals.

So August needs to step things up and I need to knuckle down.

June 2025 Stats

| Richard

June was busy, busy, busy but we managed to get away for a few days in the champagne region of France, staying in a couple of fabulous hotels, and visiting some of our favourite champagne houses.

Most of my time other than that was spent in the Pain Cave for more FulGaz rides, mainly my usual  John Hallas’ Weekly Challenges, but also the FulGaz Winter Escape Tour 2025, which they put out for the riders in the Southern Hemisphere (remember that FulGaz was started in Australia).

I also managed to cram both mountain bikes into the ST and take them to Windsor Great Park for some real life cycling too!

Anyway, here are June’s stats:

June 2025 Statistics

June 2025 Statistics

Activities: 30 Distance: 368.75km Time: 19:36:58 Calories:  17,971

Turning to my weight, at the end of May I weighed 87.0kg and at the end of June I weighed 87.9kg, which is up by 0.9kg; all those croissants and champagne! Body fat percentage was up from 24.8% to 25.6% which wasn’t bad considering the fine dining.

I’m not sure what July is going to be like, as I’m off to Thailand for three works on business.

FulGaz Coastal Explorer Tour

| Richard

An email from FulGaz today prompted me to go and have a look at their Coastal Explorer Tour that ended at the end of May 2025:

FulGaz Coastal Explorer Tour

FulGaz Coastal Explorer Tour

More specifically, I took a look at the results for Stage 7, the final stage, and hence the overall General Classification. Yes, I ended up the overall quickest time for the Tour. Quite chuffed…

FulGaz Coastal Explorer Tour General Classification Result

FulGaz Coastal Explorer Tour General Classification Result