CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[CitroJim]

For once, my blog is all about a car today

Until today Bluebell has not had a parcel shelf fitted. Not because I didn't have one - I scored one for a tenner in Northampton months ago - but because her shelf brackets were missing...

I sourced some but it may be a while before I can collect them and as I was keen to have a parcel shelf in position before the show season starts I'm vastly indebted to Alasdair for loaning me Daffodil's until my own are with us Daffodil has no back seats fitted as Alasdair uses her as a small van as I do my Sally... Sally had her back seats whipped out as soon as I got her so she cold easily carry bikes..

These are the brackets...

And this is where they were missing from in Bluebell:

One fitted:

And the parcel shelf in place:

I pondered why they were missing and I think the scratches on the wheelarches give a big clue. I believe the brackets were removed to make the cargo area wide enough to admit something, likely a travel trunk, that would just and just fit. This ties in with the car being used to commute between the previous owner's homes in the UK and France.

They had been removed with care as the fixing studs were all in place. Also, it's not such an easy job as the seatbelt has to be partially unbolted to remove/refit the brackets.

Naturally, it being a lovely day, I had to road-test my work. I'm sure she's quieter with a parcel shelf in place

I know her cooling fan works And I was surprised at how little choke she needed today now the weather is warmer...

Huge thanks Alasdair and Daffodil I'm now a very, very happy bunny!

[CitroJim]

As part of my ultra marathon training this morning Not quite an ultra but not far off

Although an ultra is technically defined as anything beyond a full marathon, in practice 50K (32 miles) is seen as the beginning of true ultra distances..

Despite that, I'm looking happy about the success of my run

My legs were most unhappy ten minutes after I stopped running so I took them on a 16 mile bike ride to cheer them up... A post ultra recovery ride works wonders

[CitroJim]

With the cycling TT and summer duathlon season about to start it was time to dust off my skinsuit and see if it still fits me after a long winter stored in the sportswear cupboard...

Happily, it fits even better than it did last year

The lump on my lower chest near the zip is my HRM (Heart Rate Monitor)... That it's so visible shows just how skin-tight this suit is...

I've been out training in it today, both cycling and running, in readiness for the Cowman Duathlon on Sunday and the first TT race on my favourite hilly course on Monday evening

It performs very well indeed in both disciplines... That it fits so well give me confidence I'm nicely at race weight and condition...

The spots on the suit are raindrops... It's a bit stormy around here today...

[CitroJim]

It was the Cowman Duathlon today at Emberton Country Park, near Olney... As it is another bit of parkland that borders the River Great Ouse, it was a bit squidgy and muddy in places on the run course Happily, I love running in mud although today I had to do it in road shoes as the majority of the run course was on tarmac...

I enjoyed a superb event and it was one of my best Duathlons over the standard distance (10K run 1, 40K bike and 5K run 2) in a long while... Two hours and 47 minutes total aggregate time including transitions

The bike course was hilly with two ascents of one of our steepest hills in the locality, Chicheley Hill. I was delighted to average 18mph on it...

And taking a drink at the run course lap timing mat and hydration station...

The Cowman will always be special to me as it was the very first duathlon event I ever did... It was responsible for it becoming one of my very favourite disciplines. I love them

[Armidillo]

Hi Jim

Thought you might be interested in some outdoor news from downunder!

Over Easter I participated in the Australian 3-Days Orienteering event - over 800 entries aged from under 10 to 85+. It was held near Cooma, ie. close to the Snowy Mountains (could see snow on Day 3) - it was cold and windy, and for the first 2 days showery (fortunately not enough to seriously affect my glasses).

Here is a map of my course for Day 1 (Mens 70+ class):

Each black dot represents a large rock. White area is forest, yellow is clearings, and any form of green represents scrub (or ferns, or sometimes blackberry!!). Brown lines are of course contours! To complete the course you must visit all controls in order. The controls are quite visible, but you must use the map to locate each one - there's no streamers or any form of track marking. Also there are many other controls out there used by other courses, so it's essential to check the number before "punching" the control.

The distances we do wouldn't impress you, but that 2.7 km took me just under 58 min (courses are longer for younger chaps and chapesses). For the next two days the courses for my age class were about 4.5 km & I took about 93 and 66 minutes, finishing 19th overall for the 3 days out of 37 starters. By comparison, on Day 2 the elite men's course was 13.1 km of the same kind of terrain as shown in my sample (with several hundred meters of climb), and the winning time was 87 minutes.

Cheers
Alec

[CitroJim]

Now that looks like a great adventure Alec I'd really love to try doing something like that but would have to radically improve my map-reading and navigation skills as I'm far too used to following nicely marked trails with flashes and arrows...

Next year - just missed this year's - I intend to run an unmarked 50 mile ultra where I will need to navigate using maps so your post is timely - it's about time I started to learn the skill...

Luckily, I love maps so that part is OK, it's just the task of matching what I see around me to to what's on the map!

[Armidillo]

50 miles! Wow, you really wouldn't want to make navigation mistakes - which inevitably add distance...

It actually sounds a bit like the Australian invention, Rogaining, which is usually run over 12 or 24 hours, with less detailed maps than Orienteering. The difference is that there's no set course in Rogaining - the aim is to visit as many controls as possible within the time limit.

I definitely would recommend squeezing in a few orienteering events before launching into the ultra - there's no better way of getting practice at "matching what I see around me to to what's on the map" while trying to keep the legs moving. Remember - Oxygen debt leads to reduced mental efficiency (brain fog), which leads to navigational mistakes - so the trick is to balance your speed (and O2 saturation) with the need to keep map contact (ie. to know where you are ).

Luckily it looks like there's an active club in your area: http://www.smoc.info/

[CitroJim]

That's excellent Alec and that club is very local... Thank you I know the locations of the latest results and the next event very well indeed I'm keen to get involved in that...

You're right, when doing 50 miles you definitely don't want to add any distance due to navigation errors. That can be very disheartening...

A couple of the official photos from Sunday's Duathon... I particularly like the bike one

[Armidillo]

You look lean as a whippet, and fit as a fiddle!

Just a couple of hints while on the navigation topic:

1) don't try and do the hardest course at your first event - take the advice of the organisers (I expect they'll suggest you start with a Moderate course)
2) don't assume that the course will be part of your normal training - while you are getting the hang of the map reading you will need to go slower, so go for a training run before (or after) the orienteering
3) if you are losing map contact you are running too fast - slow down

Of course if the map (area) is basically a park then none of the above may apply - but it will when you get into unfamiliar forest!

Lastly - look after your ankles! I see from your photos that you already run on soft uneven surfaces, but trying to read a map while on the move will increase the risk of rolling an ankle (rocky ground is the worst of course - although rabbit burrows are pretty dangerous). I used to strap mine (with non-stretching strapping tape), and for a while had a pair of light-weight boots (with small metal studs for grip on all surfaces) which were designed to prevent ankle sprains - but I go so slowly now that I don't bother with all that. Also your proprioreception improves with practice...

[CitroJim]

That's some great advice Alec I run on both road and trail and try to take great care of my ankles and indeed, all of me The only times I've hurt my ankles is whilst slowly walking in company, not concentrating on what I'm doing and rolling my ankle by stepping in a rabbit holes!

[Armidillo]

I hope you do make it to at least one or two O events - look forward to reading the reports!

[xantia_v6]

One more hint for a beginning orienteer is that the maps are large scale and it is easy to over-estimate the distance to features shown on the map, so you run past the feature then need to relocate your position on the map and run back to where you thought you were. It helps if you know how many paces you run per 100m, so you can then estimate how many paces there are to get to the next feature that you are looking for.

[CitroJim]

That's a good tip Mike I find I tend to do that on the rare occasions I use a satnav!

Before I get cracking on that, I have these two events to run...

Interesting to see the bibs now feature outlines of a number of significant Milton Keynes landmarks...

I collected them today on the way to see James and Mick in Bluebell...

To Chesham and back was a good run for her and she purred. I'm increasingly confident she's good for a potential trip to the CCC Northern Rally at Wetherby now...

[CitroJim]

After a rather lovely Club ride up to Salcey Forest today with friends for coffee and flapjack and it being a nice, albeit cold day, I elected to ride on a bit further at the end of the club ride..

As I was on the 'right' side of Milton Keynes I went to check on the progress of the East West Rail link being built between Bicester and Bletchley. This was once part of the Oxford-Cambridge 'Varsity' line which closed to passengers in 1968'ish and to freight in 1993. It was then left to rot.

Interestingly, it was used to transport most of the stone required to build Milton Keynes from the Merehead Quarry near Frome in Somerset (a location I know very, very well and still visit regularly to see friends) and big sidings near Wolverton. The locality is now called Stonebridge although all the sidings are long gone...

The EWR is planned to once again link Oxford and Cambridge via Bedford and St. Neots. The track from Bletchley to Bedford is still in regular use so that bit's easy but the trackbed from Bedford to Cambridge is no longer fully extant and a new route is needed, provoking much local angst..

I've been watching the rebuild of the Bicester to Bletchley section for a while now and it's been fascinating watching what was a totally derelict railway being rebuilt from scratch.

Today I see the stretch from Bletchley to Mursley is just about done and signalling is now in place

A brand-new station is being built at Winslow and that's coming along nicely but there's still a bit to do...

Photography is difficult as all the old bridges now have high parapets and the railway is securely fenced... Both, I suspect, to keep trespassers and metal thieves out. The latter love to steal signalling cable and anything metal, including rails! It's been secured like a fortress...

It was a good 50 miles in total, all on my faithful old steed. A bike I truly love - we have had many, many adventures together

[Armidillo]

Could this be Jim's secret? Sounds like Bluebell would be ideal for the job...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/ ... ar-in-race