How I Navigate Winter UK Training.

I dive into road training this winter after a pleasant 7 weeks in the sunshine of New Zealand. Talk you through my bike and kit choices.

The following companies (that you’ll see in my content) support me either financially or with free stuff, so huge thanks to these guys for helping the channel thrive:

https://c-ams.co.uk/
https://veloforte.com/
https://www.oakley.com/en-us
https://silca.cc/

📲 SOCIAL MEDIA

📷 https://www.instagram.com/alexdowsett/
🐦 https://twitter.com/alexdowsett
🚴‍♂️ https://www.strava.com/pros/505408reeees

🚴 Coaching
coaching@thighsclub.com

📞 Get in Touch
hello@thighsclub.com

🔴 Charity

Home

Good morning oh good morning welcome back quite a tired household it’s 7:26 in the morning and it’s tired because we got back from New Zealand 2 and 1 half days ago in the last three mornings we have all been up somewhere between 3: and 5:00 a.m. throwing in lots of

Presents a birthday a toddler’s birthday and we are now you want the light you’re on the batteries in this yeah to use for 3 minutes approximately we’ll sort that once we’ve gone and seen mommy so today I’m stepping back into Road training in New Zealand I was on a mountain bike

Until I hurt myself I put a hole in my knee l literally a hole I could see all the way through thankfully it has oh it needs to refocus thankfully that has all sealed up it’s still a little bit swollen but I think it’s rable didn’t

Put a stitch in it but in the words of a friend in New Zealand they said we would have put a stitch in it just to charge you for it um such as that world but I was on a mountain bik really enjoyed it really enjoyed it and I’m have no idea

Where I am Fitness wise cuz I have had now seven or 10 days off um with the knee putting itself back together just starting to feel fit when I hurt my knee uh and mountain bike I never really did more than 2 and 1 half 3 hours It’s Always A Hard 2 and

A half 3 hours so yeah interested to see where I’m at also was on the W bike whilst I was there one a wtrl zift race which was as much of a surprise as to me as it was anyone and I’m going on a long road ride today which I’ll take you

Along for the ride whilst Chanel is in a different training phase which I think is called a damage limitation phase Rehabilitation roide Rehabilitation yes doesn’t that happen after baby pops out I haven’t been all for a while very tired household anyway we’re going to go training I’m going to put a

Battery oh can I have it I’m going to put a battery in a unicorn light and we’re going to go by cing my coffee making skills have got worse I think not through time just think I’m overthinking it maybe I’m underthinking I don’t even know that someone needs to

Help me it’s like dialing in the the bean I struggle with even with scales and then problem is I also don’t like waste and I think getting coffee ready you waste a lot uh and then the milk that’s a in Dark Art so I’m getting

There I need coaching so today what I am thinking is when I’ve not ridden for a while and I’m not as fit as I used to be as a well tour Rider I think my body goes to carbs far more than fat so even

With a Zone 2 ride I find my heart rate is higher I just tear through carbs so I’m making sure that pretty much I’m pretty well stocked so as ever fellow Forte product I think I’m going to take more than what I’ve thought I three bars three different flavors some energy

Drink and take some chews as well I’m not going to take any caffeine on this ride because I’m still trying to get back on time zones and I think caffeine and The more I’ve had coffee so what I know I think excess caffeine is going to

Make me tireder later and I don’t want that so yeah then we got Israel team kit socks which are actually probably the best piece of Kit Israel gave us that wasn’t no pins kit um Premier take uh buff one Chanel’s headbands some spats over shoes today because it’s um it’s cold it’s

Particularly cold and I’m anticipating being extra cold because of being in New Zealand so I’m going to wrap up and I’ll show you top half right there you have it new no pins kit it’s very black it’s very yes look at this my oh you got a black outfit on as well

Haven’t you yes a yeah black kit it’s probably the most controversial kit cuz it’s like you know be seen on the road which I am fully on board with probably also the most popular kit because cycling kit is sometimes not flattering and black Black’s good for that anyway this

Is one of three new winter kits from opens bottom half’s just simply black the top half is black with a Twist we got these it’s just the BM shop got these pockets they got reflective piping on them and all sorts so yeah bit of bit

Of bit of bright in a dark kit and I got B I’ll show you my bike in a second when we just get out the door I need to get outside cuz I am sweating already right winter bike here we are doesn’t need to put bottles on it’s my

Gravel bike with road tires and mud guards and bags hello grow tires mud guards I need to make the mud guard longer at the back for any kind of group rides lots of Lights this company oh what was the company’s name magic shine I think it’s

Magic shine sent me a bunch of lights they are phenomenal and their whole ecosystem is great just very easy Twist Off sort of like a tiny Garmin Mount um yeah magic shine there you go uh like a Garmin Mount system I got one with a camera on it we got these tiny little

Ones which would be great for TTS and arrow they’ I’ve got a mount that fits with the specialized saddle it’s my group set there a 42 tooth chain ring I am never in these gears on the road generally always in the 11 12 13 sprockets which isn’t ideal but it is

Okay no power meter get another light the specialized light some bags I’ve got a rain jacket in here I got some spare gloves uh and clothing in there there’s some CO2 canisters in the little pocket that exists under here yeah some CO2 canisters in there and also a I have an

Electric inflation device where is it which I show you which is genus this thing this thing is great this thing pumps up a couple of tires on one charge the USBC Port is also where it sucks the air in to blast it out you know pumps are a pain in the ass

CO2 canisters are they’re good but they’re finicky and when they don’t work they really don’t work and when they work they’re just a little bit frightening at times and that is also best possible scenario for the environment as well I think other than a hand pump yeah and a saddle bag Silka

Saddle bag it’s weighty she’s heavy positionally not ideal but you know all my life I’ve used a race bike during the winter and my SLA I really like it I don’t want to use it in a winter so I looked at this and I was like this will

Do so here we are um anyway I’m going to go going to get Going 3 hours I had to get ready and somehow I’m still late getting out the door but we’re going to be on time I at Andy lions is coming which is good so it’s 100 and 100 somewhere between 100 and 120k loop organized by the Aon CC

Yeah very organized Club ride you have to sign on on straa the night before and uh they show you the route I don’t know how many people are total there like five or six different groups different levels speeds distances yeah they all split from the Riverside Ice and Leisure

Car park we make it if I had a penny for every time I was had all the Time in the World to get to the start of a bike ride yet somehow was rushing I would have well a fair few pounds it’s a lot of

Runners out on their way to the parkr I reckon bit of fomo there but yeah 4 hours on the bike versus a 20 minute threshold run that’s going to do me better On good yeah all right we are halfway around here’s the group everyone’s got some wonderful mud guards you apart from me I do have a mud guys it’s just not not quite long enough so there’s a few muddy faces that have been my fault yeah 100K ride 50k in 50 to go my

Heart rate is high all the time and just really having to eat on this this ride and yeah back to it with a bang that’s for sure it’s good fun good chats good group good speed got 21 mph average 33 and 1/2 so I will take

That and it’s not raining but it’s been little showers it’s not raining but it’s wet every s you get that like wet rain you know only cyclists will really understand that wet rain where it doesn’t matter if you put a jacket on or not you’re getting wet inside and out

All it’s like hazy that hazy rain yeah we’re moving and warm really warm just dressed just right happy days there a little Lan yeah but the biggest trest is that we’ve ridden past The Blue Egg and not stopped at it I reckon this is only one

Of five times I’ve ever done that it hurt hurt my Soul all right we got about 15K to go and I am begins with f ends with d and rhymes with duck ducked heart rates through the roof and uh these boys are strong and I am unfit I think or it’s my bike or it’s a gravel

Bike on the road let’s play him that let’s play him that at least two on the front yeah end of the rooted ride and I rooted spelled two different ways a lot bake house pretty uh like The Blue Egg it’s pretty good spot cuz you

Catch a lot of London Riders make this a destination and then we make it it’s a bit close to it’s quite close to home so UK Riders and or Essex Riders come here a lot as well yeah part the bikes around the back which is good it was really

Difficult my heart rate was like 170 it as expected and that was a particularly hard ride I don’t know how much is me how much is bike obviously 4211 is not ideal for chain efficiency and uh I think GP gr Conti four season tires very old ones giving away a few Watts there

As well and a lot of bags I might take some bags off a lot of bags put the bags on to make sure I have hard rides but that was too hard yeah I wasn’t going to stop but I need It right that is that that was much more difficult than I was anticipating I didn’t think it would be easy that was much more difficult than I thought it would be 3 hours 20 34 average uh oh 33.2 yeah so 21 mph that’s it’s moving it’s moving my heart

Rate is just Sky High just riding at 170 mixture of being I think a winter bike not being super fit not riding my road bike bit jet lagged yeah there’s a lot of excuses and I’m going to use all of them so but 110k and thankful to have a

Group to get me around I certainly would not have done that by myself not that hard probably not that long so happy with that anyway thanks for watching see you [Applause] soon Hold