[HAMR] Interview with Steve at the Mersey Roads 24 Hour.

[Exit Stage Left]

I chatted to Steve before the 24 Hour TT. 10 minutes uncut. It might feature in a film about the 24.

https://youtu.be/dJES8l1YwoI

[MikeH]

Fantastic little feature.  Great insight into Steve's world.

(great to see you on the start line BTW  ).

[Sio2111]

Interesting to see Steve. However he seemed a little flat to me. Is it worth trying to organise some sort of morale boost for Steve? Don't know what shape this may take but wonder if the YACF community could bring a smile to his face?

[Shreds]

Not sure how we could give him the extra miles he would dearly love to have, although no doubt more people riding alongside at the same or slightly fast pace would be the only morale booster that would be effective?

[mattc]

Some decent sleep,  some VERY low miles day,.  and a ride to a caff with some mates is probably what he needs right now. He's f**king earned it.


Once he gets back into proper riding we can look at riding/eating with him out on the road

[Basil]

Just watched this. 

It occurs to me.  Re his concern over lack of return to fitness.  Is anyone advising Steve on diet?
I know nothing about diet at all, but I'm sure it's most important for this effort.

[Peter]

I hope I'm wrong, but he looks depressed to me, though I know he's quite a reticent, quiet chap.  I'm a bit worried, actually.

[Arry-R]

He looked dreadful during 24 hour.  Eyes nearly closed and struggled to sustain any pace.
I hope someone is advising (and he listens) regarding diet. (his daily cwt of sausages are not on the banned list of course)

GO STEVE
 
 

[toontra]

Let's hope the weight of expectation (his own as well as others) isn't pushing Steve to attempt more than he is able to handle, mentally and physically.  I hope there someone in the team that Steve trusts that would be able to call a halt if (heaven forbid) things start looking risky?

[Arry-R]

Troontra. very well worded posting.  let us hope team takes it on board.
 

[danridesbikes]

Interesting to see Steve. However he seemed a little flat to me.

not sure the interview technique was the best, seemed to pressure him for answers, and asked him some questions early on he couldn't answer, which could have made it come across how it did

he does pick up towards the end of the interview i thought, but then dropped that thing in about being isolated and not having a conversation for weeks, Kurt has Alicia, must make a huge difference

[Butterfly]

Maybe having some stopovers at hosts again would help? Someone else doing the catering and stuff might take some pressure off as well as giving him someone to talk to.

[TimC]

What's the situation with Steve's support team? Is it still at full strength? It's been commented on that there's been a dearth of PR; is Steve getting as much support as he needs in other ways?

[Arry-R]

Does he not speak to home help?  or do they replenish food stocks whilst he's out?  I miss those reports and also photos of his feasts at cafes.
when he did his 400+ points year he did say he didn't look for conversations and did become quite withdrawn.

Steve keep those peddles turning at as greater speed as you can manage.  We are all willing you on

hopefully his Ferry plans for PBP will be known to enable plenty of banter
 

[Exit Stage Left]

I left that interview uncut so that you can judge my questions. My main concern was to find out if he was being assessed medically. I knew that Andy Wilkinson might be around. He's the 24 hour record holder, and has the End to End HPV record. His wife Jill, is a nutritionist who is currently trying to beat Beryl Burton's 12 hour record.

I did some more filming. When I left, Steve and Andy were having a chat about Steve's fatigue problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pViF5OXHS0

[Pedal Castro]

Just watched that second video. I reckon he needs to see a doctor and get his blood checked first, then rest totally and start again, not just plod on.

[teethgrinder]

I'm OK
Just overcooked it a bit and run myself down.
It seems that the toughest bit of this for me is to take things a bit easier.
I pretty much had this chat with Wilko at the Mersey 24
Even Wilko couldn't think of any advice and agreed that the only way for me is to recover.
I am a bit down but that's only because I am frustrated. I know I can do a lot more than I am. That makes it harder to ease back. I also feel a bit of a fraud getting so much support while I am doing so badly.
I did start recovering last week but sped up too early then went slower.
So now I am going the full Wowbagger minus beer and riding very slowly.
I'll know when I can hit it hard again and am looking forward to that. But in the meantime it's a world of frustration riding few miles very slowly.
If I get it right the speed and distance should increase.
Just need to try not to go too soon like I did last week.
The being alone for a long time doesn't bother
me. I spend most of my life alone not talking to anyone.
I know I'll bounce back again if I am smart enough to take things easy for a while. And I still reckon getting Tommy's record in 2015 still could be possible.

[red marley]

I'm OK
Just overcooked it a bit and run myself down.
It seems that the toughest bit of this for me is to take things a bit easier.
I pretty much had this chat with Wilko at the Mersey 24
Even Wilko couldn't think of any advice and agreed that the only way for me is to recover.
I am a bit down but that's only because I am frustrated. I know I can do a lot more than I am. That makes it harder to ease back. I also feel a bit of a fraud getting so much support while I am doing so badly.
I did start recovering last week but sped up too early then went slower.
So now I am going the full Wowbagger minus beer and riding very slowly.
I'll know when I can hit it hard again and am looking forward to that. But in the meantime it's a world of frustration riding few miles very slowly.
If I get it right the speed and distance should increase.
Just need to try not to go too soon like I did last week.
The being alone for a long time doesn't bother
me. I spend most of my life alone not talking to anyone.
I know I'll bounce back again if I am smart enough to take things easy for a while. And I still reckon getting Tommy's record in 2015 still could be possible.

Good to hear from you. That sounds like a sensible approach and analysis other than the bit I've highlighted. There's nothing 'bad' about the distances you've been covering recently, it's just that they are not what you had anticipated. And certainly absolutely nothing fraudulent about it. We're still all behind you whatever you decide to do.

[RichForrest]

If you want company on the outward journey for a couple of hours sometime let me know. I could join you before riding back home to go to work at 14.00.
I should hopefully be able to keep up with you 

[CrinklyLion]

I also feel a bit of a fraud getting so much support while I am doing so badly.

Don't.  If people thought you were taking the piss then they could stop direct debits, cease donating or withdraw the accommodation offers.  Do what you need to do, keep us posted when you sensibly can and let the benefactors decide if their support is warranted. 

And let us know if you need a bed for the night or some caik in York

[Justin(e)]

All the best at recovering back to your peak.

This exercise was always about pushing both body and mind to the limit.  It appears that the mind game you need to play is going easy.  Maybe that's the hardest test of the whole year.

[Polar Bear]

Blimey Steve.   How could you ever consider yourself a bit of a fraud?

The sheer magnitude of what you are attempting remains totally staggering to the rest of us.   I raise my hat to you for even giving it a go and for standing a realistic chance of achieving it.

Roll on and stay healthy.   

[SoreTween]

Roll on and stay healthy.   

Hear, hear 

Thanks for the update Steve.  If you have time and could use a laugh read Miles post on Faceache yesterday.  He's not your biggest fan (tongue firmly in cheek) for choosing this particular year to revive Tommy's record.

[Exit Stage Left]

I'm wondering what effect blood dilution and red cell loss have a bearing on what Steve is going through, based on the Tour de France experience. The three weeks of the Tour diminish the oxygen capacity of the blood by 10%.
That would be consistent with a lower speed for the same heart-rate. That's purely speculation on my part, the intensities Steve is experiencing might not generate those effects. But it would be interesting to get some figures.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xZDqAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT177&lpg=PT177&dq=Blood+dilution+Tour+de+France&source=bl&ots=LLc_f3F8YW&sig=9FWMJKW8qcygVJ-h1kM8Y5sCUYY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCAQ6AEwADgKahUKEwiqkbSwwuzGAhUL1hQKHRkDACQ#v=onepage&q=Blood%20dilution%20Tour%20de%20France&f=false

[TimC]

Steve, thanks for the update. First and most important thing is look after your health! Second, ESL may well be on to something - it may well be that a look at your diet might be worth doing; it would be worth seeng if some simple changes would mean you felt better able to get the speed you need.