A busy day allround today which kicked off early with a visit to DDWT Junior’s Nana and Grampa. Having left there – complete with some toy cars – as is the norm, we headed home for some lunch.
Our next stop was the Liberty stadium for some tickets for the Swans v Rovers of Tranmere and some Ospreys v Australia tickets. Both a quite special as they will be Mrs DDWT’s first visit to the stadium for both a football and rugby match.
After that we headed into town and straight to the Early Learning Centre to pick up DDWT Junior’s ‘Brachiosaurus’ dinosaur (below) – something which in fairness we’ve been promising him for weeks (and he’s been nagging for for weeks as well!).
Last but certainly not least we ventured around the latter stages of the BikeWales West silver route – just for me to mentally prepare myself for what lay ahead tomorrow. It came as a bit of a shock to me to find at least 3 major climbs, which having already done about 30 miles before I get to them is going to be hard work and I know it’s going to hurt.
Oh well I suppose I’d better get myself off to bed in readiness for tomorrow – wish me luck, ‘cos I think I’m going to need it.
Well today was our final bike ride prior to Sunday, so a gentle 10 and a half mile run down to Forte’s ice cream parlour and back was our final bit of preparation. We’ve averaged 14.2 mph, so it was a steady pace but even more importantly it had the desired effect in that our our legs felt ‘loose’ and supple.
My box of High Five bars and energy drink duly arrived from Wiggle, so I’ve even got the nutritional aspect of the 52 mile ride covered – hopefully. It’s been quite noticeable (not just from writing my blog) how much emphasis I have placed on Sunday’s bike ride during the last few weeks, perhaps overly so.
Anyway I have my objectives in mind – (a) to finish the race (b) to do it in under 4 hours and (c) to try and be within 10 minutes of my training partner (who is a more experienced road racer than I). We’re both very competitive, so it’ll no doubt make for an interesting morning.
A most bizarre day having spent some 2 hours (over lunch) driving around the BikeWales West Silver route and getting lost on Betws mountain. Our intention was to get a mental picture of the 52 mile course – instead all we got was lost and frustrated at the baffling (and mis-leading) route plan (as provided by the race organisers).
In fact – and I’m embaressed to say this – we only got half way around the route before we had to come back for work (or risk a ‘core time violation’). So if it takes us that long in a BMW Compact 318 then gawd help me on my trusty old Specialized HardRock mountain bike on Sunday.
As I love my food so much (despite my weight watching tendancies), Mrs DDWT made a cracking homemade beef curry tonight. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a beef curry (I’m usually a korma or tikka masala man) – it must be years.
Off to bed early tonight in preparation for Sunday, as the way I feel at the moment I need all the rest I can get. Especially having now seen the monumental 5 mile climb up Betws mountain that awaits me on Sunday morning!
Biking was high on the agenda once again today (I’m not obsessed honest) with a 20 mile ‘take it easy’ ride down to Gowerton, Dunvant and Mumbles. It was a preparation ride in readiness for the big one on Sunday and it proved very worthwhile.
It also gave me the opportunity to try out some nutritional supplements for the race, such as the very nice (and chocolate coated) High Five Sports bar. These high carbohydrate bars are meant to provide a long lasting energy source and therefore is ideal for long bike races. I have to say it seemed to do the trick for me today – so I’ll be munching a few of them come Sunday!
Talking of Sunday and the BikeWales West ride, my race pack finally came through today – much to my relief! The pack came complete with micro-chip timing device and my race number – so if you are out and about on the race route on Sunday, do please offer your support to me and all of the other riders.
The Swans entertained the Railwaymen of Crewe at the Liberty tonight and I made certain that I wasn’t going to miss this game – especially as it was being billed as a ‘make or break’ game for Kenny Jackett.
I obviously can’t comment on Saturday as I wasn’t there, but tonights performance was a lot lot better and perhaps more importantly saw the Swans return to playing football not hoofball as they have been of late.
Some 5 changes were made – perhaps the biggest one being Willy Gueret being dropped in favour of Andy Oakes, but for most of us fans this was long overdue anyway. The Swans controlled the game from the start and really should have won by more than the 2-1 scoreline suggested. Goals from the recalled Rory Fallon and Leon Knight, either side of the Crewe penalty were enough to see the Swans home – much to the relief of the 10,031 present.
My man of the match was Darren Way, whom having had a torrid start to his Swans career certainly showed he has a lot to offer with a gutsy and energetic marauding display in the midfield engine room. Little Leon Britton was also a handful. For the first time in quite a few games, I left the stadium a happy bunny and it certainly helped raise my spirits. You can read a full match report on the Swans official website.
As Tuesday’s are not mother & toddler group day for DDWT Junior, he spent the best part of the morning painting and generally making a mess as only 2 and a half year olds can do.
I’m sure he won’t thank me in years to come for sharing his artisitc efforts with you! Having said that, you never know he might become a well known artist.
Last but certainly not least we ventured around the latter stages of the BikeWales West silver route – just for me to mentally prepare myself for what lay ahead tomorrow. It came as a bit of a shock to me to find at least 3 major climbs, which having already done about 30 miles before I get to them is going to be hard work and I know it’s going to hurt.
