Today's lunchtime excursion – Knowle, 27/05/05, Steve's blog

May 27, 2005

Today's lunchtime excursion – Knowle

Last summer I cycled out to Balsall Common, not with any particular destination in mind – just to see how far I could get. I got halfway between Balsall Common and Knowle in 30 minutes, turned around and came back, for a total journey of 13.6 miles. Since then I've been wondering how possible it would be to get to Knowle and back in a lunchtime ride. Not because Knowle is a place worth getting to, specifically, but just because it is a few miles further than I'd managed before. Today I decided to find out!

It is 8.28 miles from here to the "Welcome to Knowle" sign:

which is actually at Knowle locks. It took me 33 minutes for an average of 15mph. I was hoping the journey back would be quicker, because that's what happened last time. Unfortunately my right knee started playing up on the way back so I had to slow down. The whole journey was 16.6 miles and took 1h 9m, for an average of 14.2 mph. Considering I was in the granny ring plodding along at 12–14mph on stretches of road I was expecting to be doing a steady 18–19mph, that's not too bad. I'm just going to have to do it again, when my knee has recovered, to see how long it should really take.

For the record, the route was this:

(Map courtesy of Google Maps )

Steve Rumsby : 27 May 2005 14:23 | Tags: Cycle Route Cycling Knowle | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (1) | Report a problem

2 comments by 2 or more people

Strecthing the various leg muscles is said to prevent knee pain.

See last paragraph of link

A pre- and postworkout stretching routine is important for continuous pain-free riding.

Flexibility focusing on the quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, and ITB is important and should be a regular part of a cyclist's training regimen.

For cyclists like you or me a minute or two stretching before and after a longish ride might be enough.

28 May 2005, 10:14
Steve Rumsby

When I first started cycling, a little under 4 years ago, I used to stretch after every ride, but that was primarily for the benefit of my leg muscles. If I didn't stretch, I'd seize up and not be able to walk! Of course, that was just because they weren't used to the exercise, and as soon as seizing up ceased to be a problem, I stoppe dthe stretching. Perhaps I'll have to get back into it. Thanks for the tip.

02 Jun 2005, 09:54

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May 27, 2005