Tough Week

Last week has been tough! I did a 70km ride on Friday with 1250 climbing meters. What made it hard was not so much the climbing but the weather, fearce winds and hail - not funny. Anyway, made the crossing from Oxenhope to Hebden Bridge over the moors - with these winds there was no chance of recovery during the descend. Did a clubride the Sunday after, 120 km on the flats towards Castleford - but quite speedy. I had 2 punctures during this ride, just as they were increasing the speed I felt my front tyre getting softer - sh*t! Anyway, made it home - but I didn't feel too comfortable, which resulted in having quite a heavy cold for the rest of the week. Still did around 110 km during that week, the Monday and Tuesday were not too bad. I actually managed to do a TT try-out on Tuesday 2 minutes faster than my PB (38 minutes over 21 kilometers with 230 meters ascend). My cold got worse over the week, so no cycling on Friday and Saturday.
Changed my tires - I was using Schwalbe Ultremo's - and I quite liked them, they were smooth and I could put a lot of pressure on them. But I didn't like my new set too much and certainly after my two punctures on Sunday I was far less than happy with them. Now changed to Continental Grand Prix 4000S - they look good and the feel is quite good. They have a bit more grip, but I guess that's OK in the UK.
If I feel better, I'm doing the club run tomorrow, which is a 100miles hilly ride. Good to do as a try-out for the Etappe de Dales - which is within 6 weeks!