Eddie Vernon - by way of introduction Eddie is one of my closest friends and one of the fittest guys around irrespective of age. He runs his own businesses in Thailand and Laos and combines them with a competitive cycling career. Here's his profile:
I'm British, born in England in 1958 but have been living in Thailand since 1990. I've been cycling since I was a small kid. There were just a few years around my mid- to late-20s where I didn't cycle much. I used to cycle just for fun and to get around (e.g. commuting to university and to work). It was a year or two after I turned 40 that I entered into a bike race for the first time in my life. It was a cross country mountain bike race in Thailand. I was lucky to escape a big pile-up less than a kilometer after the start, but it was great fun. I can't remember now what position I finished but I won a cup. Entrants are usually categorized into different age groups (of 5 or 10 years spread) so that we're all competing against people of similar age.
Since that first race I have been racing whenever I have a chance. Generally I race in Thailand about 2 – 5 times per year. I often come in the top five finishers and have finished first a few times. I now have about 15 trophies on my shelf. On the other hand I have sometimes failed to finish due to mechanical problems such as a flat tyre but I have gradually gained experience and learned how to better prepare my bike properly to reduce the risk of such problems happening.
In mid-2006 I decided I see if hiring a professional coach would help me improve as I had never followed a structured training programme. I will write about that experience in another post about coaching.
Typically I train between 8 – 11 hours per week. On average I probably cover 30 - 33km per hour so this time equates to a distance of about 1,000 km/month. I rest one or two days a week (usually Monday and sometimes Friday too). Weekend rides are longer than the weekday rides.
Since that first race I have been racing whenever I have a chance. Generally I race in Thailand about 2 – 5 times per year. I often come in the top five finishers and have finished first a few times. I now have about 15 trophies on my shelf. On the other hand I have sometimes failed to finish due to mechanical problems such as a flat tyre but I have gradually gained experience and learned how to better prepare my bike properly to reduce the risk of such problems happening.
In mid-2006 I decided I see if hiring a professional coach would help me improve as I had never followed a structured training programme. I will write about that experience in another post about coaching.
Typically I train between 8 – 11 hours per week. On average I probably cover 30 - 33km per hour so this time equates to a distance of about 1,000 km/month. I rest one or two days a week (usually Monday and sometimes Friday too). Weekend rides are longer than the weekday rides.
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