I’m in The Alps this week having a ski holiday. I’m in Courchevel, France for the forth time  and luckily the weather is fantstic and snow conditions very good. I’ve not been here for a couple of years and I’ve been looking forward to seeing how much my cycling has helped. I feel fitter now than I’ve  ever been so was looking forward to coming out to see just how much my training had made a difference.

After my first day I’m feeling a bit sore, but on the whole  pretty fantastic. I skied for  4 or 5 hours today and felt strong and good.  The snow was very good up high but lower done the snow is getting a bit soft in the afternoon.  Looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.

Last last few days have been really mild but unfortunately the winds have been very story, too strong for me to cycle.The wind off course makes things more difficult unless it is constantly behind you pushing you on.

I read an interesting piece by the pro rider Micheal Barry who rides for Sky. I have written after being on the Tout of Qatar for a couple of days, a tour that is renowned for it bumpy roads and strong desert winds. I’d never really thought about how the winds affect a ride like that and have a big influence on the peloton.

He said that the race is always full of crashes and it always important to think about positioning. There is a constant battle among riders for the front because, if the peloton is split, it is really difficult to regroup when it is sliced into echelons unless there is a change in the wind.

I found it really interesting and thought I would share the link with you.  http://www. michaelbarry.ca/

Hopefully these wind will ease soon and I Will be out on the bike again soon.

I attended the Edinburgh Road Club annual dinner last week which I really enjoyed and, as well as good food and chat,  we were treated to a presentation from Graeme Obree.  Known as the ‘Flying Scotsman’, Graeme Obree broke the world hour record and had a sparkling career in cycling. Despite his huge success on the track however, Graeme has experienced significant mental health issues over the years and had a couple of suicide attempts.

Graeme spoke about his achievements and how he got to where we did which was very inspiring, but the thing that really struck a chord with me and really got me fired up, was his absolute determination that drove him and still does. He told himself that he would break the hour record, in his words he said, taking a drink, ‘as sure as lifting this glass to my mouth’ he would do it, and so he did. It made me think about how that attitude could be applied to all aspects of your life and not just in sport, and what determination I had used in the past.

I had a difficult schooling career and was written off as a slow learner before my adult life had even begun. I left school at 16 with nothing then, after years of remedial teaching and very hard work, completed my MSc at medical school at the age of 25. It was a similar determination and conviction that drove me to complete my education and show the world I could. I has something to prove to the world and nothing was going to prevent me for doing that.  Now I want to turn that determination to other things and sports and cycling are right there at the top of my priorities.

There is a lesson in Graeme’s story for all of us about determination and how much you want to achieve something, not just in sport, in any area of our lives. I have not achieved in my career or some other ways, but am really hoping to make up for it in sport now and make up for lost time.  I don’t have a list of sporting milestones or markers that I want to achieve, but have an overwhelming desire to be better and fitter than even I ever imagined I could be. Whenever I get there and whatever shape and form that takes will only be borne out in the futer, but I know I will, as sure as typing this blog post now.

I’ve been attending spin classes from the beginning of December now and I am not only feeling fantastic but am beginning to notice signs of improvement out on the roads. I did 30 miles  on my own and, although it was really cold, I felt strong and good.

Initially I was doing RPM classes once a week but in the last month have upped it to 2 and what a difference has made. When I’m out on the road I feel much stronger and a number of my friends who I cycle with have commented how strong I am.

I still have things that I really need to work on. My cadence is still very low and, in last weeks class, was struggling to get it up past 110-115 rpm which is not great. I need to try and find specific exercises for improving RPM.  I suspect some spinning reps on my turbo would help. On the turbo trainer I do several 20 or 30 second intervals going as fast as I can, followed be a minute between them to recover. Reps of any kind are usually a useful training routine.

Another thing that I do is to concentrate on one leg at a time. When I am sometimes out on the road, I will concentrate one one leg for a while then the other, although keeping both legs going together obviously. Sometimes just focusing in your mind of one leg at a time can help you improve your efficiency. If I am cycling along for example, I will think about my left let for 10 or 20 strokes, then change over and do the same with the other leg. This gives me a chance to think about my legs position and the effectiveness of my stroke. I try and think about the whole pedal stroke, pulling up as well as pushing. Just the mental shift in focus has got me over a few hills.

I have a tendency to pedal with my toes, as many people with CP do, so I need to try to concentrate at keeping my heal down. Again it would be interesting to know how a person with cerebral palsy can improve pedaling efficiency but I hope I am on the right path.