‘Its with immense gratitude and appreciation that I provide write this Review and Article for James.
I first met James at Factor Bikes in September 2020 … James, a qualified Retul Technician, fitted me for my Factor One … I then met James again at a Factor Owners Ride Out event at Café Ventoux on June 10 2023. I follow James on Instagram and we were discussing his 5th Mallorca 312 ( 312 ) … And I eagerly told James that I was now riding up to circa 5 hours on a Saturday, thinking James would be impressed … James then asked me why I was riding 5 hours, my response was ‘I want to improve my overall ability to ride long distances and maybe one day attempt the 312 … James then smiled at me with his big smile and said politely ‘that won’t work Andy, If you are serious about participating in the 312, you really need to undertake a structured and well proven Training plan’ … To which I replied nervously, ‘could you help me ?’
James sent me an Email a couple of days later saying that if I wanted to talk more about the 312 and an associated training plan, then I was to let him know, to which I replied, yes ! – We then had a Zoom Meeting, a Consultation / Discovery phase on Monday June 26, where James asked me various questions about my riding, my overall health and my goals. James also explained his coaching methodology, together with the various different coaching packages – I commenced my Training with James four days later, on Saturday July 1
It is important to state that James brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to coaching per se, but having completed the 312 6 times himself, now 6 … James knows all there is to know about the Event, the preparation, the route, what to expect, the feed stations, the fueling / nutrition and of course, the training required to complete the event.
James provides an extremely calm and structured approach to Training … Using Trainingpeaks, James uploads a weekly bespoke training plan, which for me was delivered to Zwift for indoor turbo sessions and to Garmin for on the road sessions. James gives comprehensive feedback via Trainingpeaks on each session completed, together with handy snippets and articles to read, including pre and post ride exercises. As you would expect, the intensity of the training increases overtime, for me I started with 4 sessions per week initially, then to 5 sessions week from September … Then to 6 sessions per week from mid January … Then 7 sessions per in April … Tapering off from mid April, until the 312 Event itself. Over that period I had ridden circa 10,000K’s but It is important to note that the furthest I had ridden was 144k in 5.5 hours cycling, just a few weeks prior.
On Saturday April 27 2024, I completed the full 312 in 13 hours, 18 minutes and 58 seconds ( Minus circa 10 minutes for stops ) … I can categorically state that this ride would not have been achievable without the professional coaching that James offers and delivers.
The value that James brings to Coaching and Training is unquestionable … My development over the 10 months has simply been astonishing, I would never have thought it possible for me to ride the distances and hours that I did, every week. Furthermore, post the 312, I had no aches or pains what so ever, it was as though I had never ridden 312k’s over 13.5 hours … Unbelievable !
Lastly and not least … I continue my training with James … And I’m now searching for my next Gran Fondo !’
Andy Prophet
