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😂 it was never meant to be a competitive effort and Peter didn't think he was going to make it, it was a treat to see him a minute late!

It's ridiculous isn't it 😂 I guess that is from going hard up the Volcano? Makes sense why my score jumped more from that race than it did from anything else.

Cheers Chris! Yeah that's what I thought too. Just weird it hasn't impacted my score especially but I think I'm getting there now anyway

Haha catch it quick, never know when I'll get promoted and they'll stop forever 😂 yeah it's a great racing course that one! Need to stop picking courses with out the saddle efforts for a while at least though....

Weird that Chris! I'll have to check my settings. I think it doesn't help that I do these streams so impromptu I never schedule them, just suddenly click "live" which is not as good for TH-cam as planning in advance.

Cheers Phil! It's getting better every day really but it's still slow going. Struggling with over an hour on the bike at a time or too much walking but I'm almost healthy now :) slowly but surely, getting some fitness back and doing my rehab etc. Hope you're doing well mate

Thanks Mick. It's definitely progress! As of this morning I'm still a C so at least another race or two before I feel completely out of my depth, hopefully that'll ease the transition in to the next level as I gain fitness

Cheers Chris, curry and beers is a way better prospect than watching me sweat in real time, hope you had a good evening!

Thanks Phill! It's coming back slowly, but progress is good. Nice to have racing to motivate me :)

Thanks Mick! It was great to be back racing, my ankle is really unhappy today after so long out of the saddle though 😂 hopefully that'll keep improving with time

No problem at all mate, was great to see your name pop up while I was riding for the encouragement! Hopefully it'll be soon we're riding together again 😍

Thank you! Wish I'd had Chris Hoy's insights to train me for this effort, what an inspiration.

Thank you Tom - very kind of you to say. I'm very slow at the moment with a broken leg 😂 but hopefully I'll be back to these sort of "okay" performances by next summer. That's awesome to hear mate, it's such a fantastic hobby to have imo. However you prefer to ride bikes I just think they can add lots of positive things to life so it's always nice to hear of someone joining us

@@nickbrownbill3413 ahh nightmare, hope the broken leg wasn't from cycling?! I go up the Cat and Fiddle a fair bit ( I live in Macc) and you're right about the road being a bit rough once you get past Bull Hill. So many lovely climbs around this part of the world

Sadly it was, absolute rookie error on my gravel bike combined with some bad luck... in 15 years of riding though this is my first bad injury so I won't let it put me off :) Yeah even the rough road is better than most surfaces in north Wales that I ride to be fair 😅 I've got a new appreciation for the area just east of Macc now since doing the hill climb races there this year

Thanks for watching and thanks for the reply! I am glad to hear it. Hear in the North West UK we're having a bit of push back against cycle lanes as during covid local councils hastily put them up replacing existing lanes of road, but not necessarily linking up two places people want to travel by bike. So now they sit unused and motorists get the rage about it, so they're removing them. When really they should've considered what they link and where cyclists need to get to etc. I hope we do get back to sensible design and building paths that open up non-motor vehicle transport for more people!

Thanks for watching and I'm glad to hear you found it useful! It's genuinely a great area for this sort of thing, I hope you are able to get out and explore :)

That is not a great way to introduce a friend to cycling at all! But I love stories like this that people have about hills and how they've shaped the cyclists people become. What great motivation for you, and what a great climb to have around the corner from you. I've cycled in this area a lot more this year at the Macclesfield Wheelers hill climb races and it's an awesome training ground

I bet you'd love it if you find the time one year mate, but I totally feel you - so much exciting stuff to see in the world, that costs money and takes time! The climbs and descents are brilliant, unfortunately (or fortunately...) there's absolutely zero flat. The "flat" routes just undulate rather than having long climbs, but I'm not sure there's any 0% gradient road on the island! I think almost the USP of the Canary Islands is probably that you can go in winter and still ride in tshirt and shorts. Even when I went to Mallorca in late March I needed arm and leg warmers most days. So maybe they're both ideal destinations just at slightly different times of year! Thanks, yeah the plan is for all my metalwork to stay in. If in a few years it's bothering me they'll remove it, but only at my request. Apparently because I'm skinny it's more likely to irritate me as it'll poke out around my ankle 🤮 but for now I'm in the "I never want unnecessary surgery" camp!

The ferry does sound great, a different way to get around the bottom and island and see things a little differently! 7 euros is not bad at all, definitely sounds better than the motorway. Thanks!

Thanks so much for the kind words! Always reassuring to hear people have been here, done it and come through the other side in a decent state. I'm now 17 days post surgery and although I can't put any weight on the leg for another 4 weeks to protect to pins/plates as they heal in, I am feeling way better already so feeling positive even though it's still a long road ahead of rehab/physio once I can walk etc!

@@nickbrownbill3413 Yes, one of mine 7 years ago was quite serious, 5 fractured vertibrae - it happened coming down from Bwlch-y-Groes when a lamb ran in front of me with no warning when I was doing about 43kph. Fortunately, when I came to, there were people who'd already found me. Three months wearing a brace, and I was back on my bike. The following year, I had a silly crash on an easy drop at Coed-y-Brenin, which I'd done several times before, and broke my shoulder - before long I was using my indoor trainer and then got back on the road, one handed, on a ladies Dutch bike (!) when I was in Holland after about 3 months. I'm still doing road and MTB at 74 and no more serious crashes. So you'll be fine! - John

Thanks for the kind words! I'm so glad to hear you found it useful :) personal experimentation will definitely be the best thing, armed with some background facts. I hope you find a fuelling strategy that works for you!

Thanks Phill. The only minor positive I am taking from how badly I've broken it is that I am definitely not doing any more racing in 2024, so no reason to rush my recovery and potentially push myself too soon etc. It'd be a bad choice but the sort of thing I used to do. This is so bad I'm not rushing anything! Fortunately had my meeting with the consultant yesterday and she was very clear that surgery is my best option and she will do it next Friday. It's a scary thing to have looking but the best outcome I believe :)

@@nickbrownbill3413 that’s very positive news Nick. And for sure don’t rush the recovery . I made that mistake with my own accident - the immune system is compromised for longer than I had realised as it deals with the stress of the repair and recovery . Here’s to a smooth operation 🤞❤️‍🩹

@@nickbrownbill3413 that’s a very positive development . And sending good karma for a smooth operation and successful outcome ❤️‍🩹

Cheers Lee, that's what I'm trying to focus on! Bleak in the short term but it will be over before I know it. Glad it's not just me, well done for not breaking your ankle when it happened to you 😂

Thanks Marco! Had my consultation with the senior doc yesterday and she was really clear that surgery is the best option for my long term quality of life, cycling and so on so I'm relieved about that even if surgery is scary! Thankfully I'm basically completely immobile so Rhiannon has no time to get on Zwift she's too busy bringing me stuff!

Thanks Ian!

Good call mate. I'm hoping my mobility should be okay, or only affected in the up/down way but definitely want to give myself plenty of leeway at first.

Yeah that's definitely true, something about all the momentum being downwards not forwards, most cyclists I know who've had bad breaks did them in very slow accidents.

😂 Either that or look at my pictures from lakes entrance looking for the dolphins that were definitely there.

@@nickbrownbill3413 😆

Haha definitely, got to look on the bright side of these things. Thanks!

Thank you mate!

I'm sorry I missed this comment when you left it, and I wish I'd been able to read this comment before I went to Bilbao. It's great to know the local insight of more suitable options for great cycling in such a beautiful area and I'm glad you survived your brush with the motorway 😂 I've got a very similar story where I ended up on the autobahn near frankfurt with my dad when I was 16... If you did a "how to ride Bilbao" video that'd be great, I'd love to see it!

That is very much my experience too! Glad to hear it's not just me. Haha I think for me it's because I normally like the sensation of speed, so the shallower climbs where you can stay seated just feel like flats but slower. The steeper they are you have to ride them so differently, it's the sense of accomplishment every time! But I definitely agree that a 5-10% smooth tarmac flowing descent is endlessly better than a -20% pothole riddled gravelly surface British descent. I am meeting up with Ben assuming all goes well! No bikes will be involved though, Rhiannon wasn't keen on the idea of me leaving her alone for the day, and Ben's got a newborn to focus on so coffee or dinner is much better for both of us.

Congratulations Martin! Not giving up must be a great feeling. That front wheel lift is always terrifying, definitely a sign of how steep it is. Lucky with gradients like this I'm never sat down to notice it. No need to worry about where the strava segment ends, riding up to that point for the view is clearly the main climb. I don't know Waunfawr I don't think, will have to check it out!

@@nickbrownbill3413 Diolch Nick👍The climb from Waunfawr is brutal!Starts near to the village pub.Once you reach the top great views.Small car park.Lovely bendy road towards Rhosgadfan.2 cattle grids if I recall correctly.

Cheers man, I wanted to give it a real chance 😂

Thanks Illi, glad it was a bit informative! I had been told what to expect and was still a bit surprised. It is definitely cow country and they were so liberal with the lack of containment! they all wear bells though so going up the hills does feel disconcertingly like a UK hill climb.

That's what I find Chris. They can be a huge faff to install depending on the wheel/tyre combo but at least it's a faff on my own house rather than the side of the road changing a tube. It's very rare that I've had something that won't seal (unless it's my own fault riding a full worn tyre too long) and if I do, it'd destroy a tube all the same. I definitely think it's a big step up in terms of lower maintenance

That is so cool! Is that the switchback road toward the end? Yeah the mountain biking options particularly around the second climb I did seemed fantastic, much better than the road cycling

They're intimidating in a big group aren't they? I think they don't mean any harm but getting trampled by accident doesn't appeal to me.

​@nickbrownbill3413 it's the side eye looks they give like they are about to kill u 😂

😂 Yeah no storms just a flashing light to hope cars could see me through the miserable weather!

Haha I suspect I wouldn't even have to steal it, he probably wants rid of the thing at this point! Unfortunately its not availability of bikes that is stopping me ride, I've been given a fairly strict (and understandable) instruction that I am not to make this holiday about bikes. I am hoping to meet up with Ben though!

Glad to hear it's not just me being negative! I generally enjoy them but since I don't want to race seems like more hassle than it's worth to spend my Thursday evening with one whopper riding everyone off his wheel and everyone else complaining about each other but not taking it up with him. In hillclimbs the only annoyance I have to deal with is myself 😂 thank you mate!

Cheers Marco! Probably 6.3w/kg at my current (estimated) weight, so definitely a good legs day! Haha and most importantly... Stop running the 800g of camera equipment? 😂

Its been a few years since I did Winnats but I definitely think this is harder! I remember Winnats being a much more consistent grind, but this one because of the flat/descent in the middle means the start and finish gradients are just crazy, in a great way. If I ever figure out a way to get the video to actually give a good perception of gradients I'll be all over it 😂

Cheers Stu!