This is Blog 1 so I will set the scene, I’m Blaine Hunt, a C5 para cyclist, things move pretty quickly with me, I'm impulsive and as my fiancé describes it i'm hyper focused when I want to do something. Covid started hitting Europe early this year and it's now early October so it's been dragging on for some time with varying restrictions. I managed to escape the UK for warmer climates on a mini adventure through France to Mallorca and back again. We had bikes with us for the trip and managed to get some super cool cycles done. We ended up coming back from our trip with a Dog, (part of my hyper focused personality trait) he's great and I'm flattered to hear people saying 'he's so good looking' whilst i'm out on walks, I'm just trying to work out if it's Perro or me they are talking about! Below is a video of Perro enjoying the bike life!
The trip mentioned above is captured in a short film I made and can be seen HERE along with some other cycling videos I put together for Zero Neuf and some of the rides we did in Mallorca and the Pyrenees. Or you can see more content on my YouTube channel via the social links on this page.
The trip was amazing and I am very fortunate to have been able to visit the places we did on the trip as you’ll see in the video. But the trip as amazing as it was didn’t come without it’s downsides. My asthma was triggered by the hot weather in Mallorca and I’ve been struggling since then. I love Mallorca and it is one of the best training grounds in the world for cyclists. I’m able to get my efforts done whilst enjoying the scenery, mountains, culture and sunshine, the roads are buttery smooth, but in the middle of summer it’s just too hot to do anything unfortunately. I was one of those crazies out when everyone else was in the pool or sweating in to their linen shirts and straw hats.
Things are looking better with the asthma now as I have been given some meds that seem to be improving my breathing. The only problem is I’m no longer in Mallorca! I’m back in the UK with the dog ‘🐕 Perro’. Yesterday evening I started back on the bike with some harder turbo efforts, my breathing felt good, not quite where it was but it is still improving. The turbo is great for training in London and especially when it’s wet outside. You can concentrate on your effort without risking it all amongst the cars out on the streets. I use a Lemond direct drive turbo trainer which seem to be hard to come by these days as they are no longer made. It sounds like whilst you are cycling a jet engine is about to take off. If you are after a quieter option, the Wahoo Kickr direct drive is probably what I would go for so i've linked that on my Resources page.
As the weather is turning and Autumn 🍂🍁 is setting in, I’m looking forward to getting out there in the real world with the mountain bike and I’m eagerly awaiting my Open Cycles WI.DE which I will put together a review on. Wet and muddy times await! It’s refreshing to get off the road and cycle on some more technically demanding off road environments, in my opinion it makes you a more well rounded athlete having those fine motor adaptions in different environments, as I always say, multi sport wins. So if you’re considering it….Get out on your bike and go ride in the mud!
Podcasts - A very good friend of mine pointed me in the direction of a podcast on Vincent Luis. It's a very insightful look in to his history and training. Check it out on my Resources and let me know what you think. How fast are your training partners? Thanks to Elliot Birkbeck for the heads up on this one!
Thanks for reading, if there’s anything you would like to ask or hear about then feel free to reach out. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have wether it be training, racing, para cycling, disability sport, Covid-19, Track Cycling etc etc…just reach out and I’ll get back you.
