It's been a big year this year, and I am really happy to achieve some great goals I set myself at the beginning of it. I had always had my doubts of pulling it off till about half way through, and then some rain came and slowed up the racing and I was back to thinking maybe I would not get it. I wanted to race or have an event per week on average, which seemed a big task, but with joining the actvets, in the end it was not as hard as what I expected. The club has been great with weekly crits over the summer period and road racing about every second weekend, combined with mountain bike racing and various other events by the time 2012 comes around I should have 57 in the bag, (52 not including DNF's and charity rides).
Sometimes there is no better training than racing, and although some of these races would not be as hard as some of the training rides out there, they had a purpose. With many years of 24 solo racing I felt I needed something different in my training, I was always focused on hours in the saddle, below threshold efforts, and every time it seemed to come time for some intensity I'd either have a little break or become sick. I improved but it seemed like a 1/2 yearly groundhog. So after settling in C grade, and really knowing how my training should shape like, I decided on doing my own program. Fenner had been training me for over 2 years and he had been a great coach, but I just felt like I needed something different and not feel like those numbers or workouts were my sole goal. Instead my goal was to move through C grade and into B, and possible A (BTW A grade Vets is not a true A grade). My daily goals were still based on numbers but depending on what I felt like my weakness was, or what I wanted to improve on, or what I needed to do around my racing my efforts were logical and it seemed my improvements were coming and I was enjoying the training and racing.
Various MTB races came and went but it seemed I either had a load of fun or no luck, falling sick just before and during the National solo's was one race I wanted to do better in but luckily I only put in a small 10 day build for it. But the highlight was the Mont 24 in a fantastic team it was really good fun, and good to put all my effort into 1 lap at a time knowing I had time to recover, so much fun. Things went quite during winter but still some road racing to be had, but a load of work on the trainer, but thankfully Cadel kept me entertained for some of that :). But when the racing picked up again I moved to B grade on road and was pushing at another level, mentally I had some confidence to push hard and then go that bit more. I road not thinking about what efforts I had to do tomorrow, and just raced for today. I had established a solid quick build for the Garmin 24, and I was really happy where I was at and ready to enjoy it, and that is what I did. My year racing on the road has finished with being moved up to A grade (due to my racing tactics more that results I think), and with 1 A grade crit done and finishing mid pack my "grade goal" got smiley and star stamps all over it.
So I’m happy looking back, I have had some solid gains in area's that I have really needed. My riding has come a long way, which included allot of fun, somehow I just need to transform some of that to the dirt. 2012 will be another year and I think it is time to get dirty again and race more off road. At least riding off road I'm not being told to shave my legs or wash my bike ;). This year is not over, 1 more race to go on New Year’s Eve; it is going to be a load of fun pairing with Grantley for the wicked wombat. I can't think of a better way to finish it off, as I'm keen for more racing like this next year.
Race numbers:
Road Crits: 22
Super Crits: 4
Road Races: 10
Time trials: 2
Team 24's: 2
Solo 24's: 2 (1 DNF)
3-4 hour MTB races: 2
7-8 hour MTB races: 1 (DNF)
XC races: 2
Multiday races: 2
Marathon MTB: 1
Gravity XC: 1
XC Hill climb: 1
Dirt crits a shameful: 1
Charity events: 3
Still to come a pairing 8 hour with unlimited laps per person so essentially will be an 8 hour riding with a mate (apart for the first lap).
Definately lacking the 7-8 hour racing on offer, and marathons.
The most coolest and weird moment, is rocking up to Canberra Hospital checking out a mate and riding a full hot lap of the bike paths (from the hospital) of Lake BG within an hour.
So time for new goals, different training strategies again, and no doubt more improvements. I must admit the 3 hour and Gravity events on offer does sound great and maybe just what I need.
Merry Christmas everyone hope you are enjoying some time off work, to work off the eating season :).
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Garmin 24: back to the roots
I was very keen for this race it had all the right ingredients and just what I needed. Over the past few years solo 24's have become a serious thing, doing 2 Worlds put myself in the serious mindset, and I was keen to bring it back to basics.
The mindset was hard to escape, I had problems with my top fuel, wheel issues, tyre sealing issues, felt like every day I was setting up some tubeless wheels. We got to the event on Thursday night in time to put up the marquee and mark out a spot for Bellcha. Friday was filled with laps of the course, setting up the new wheels with tubeless again, and getting some great food in. Early Saturday morning and we were awake with a storm which continued till nearly race start.
It started with a loop around a grass paddock and a little of the usual chaos but as soon as we hit the newly cut in singletrack, the gaps formed between the riders and we were slipping and sliding on what was obviously going to be a deteriorating track. We looped around through a few rain showers just being a pilot and either trying to get grip with the rear tyre to climb a slight incline or have a fine balance of keeping the bike in the right direction or losing control. I knew chain suck was the order of the day so kept it in the mid ring. Some parts of this seemed madness and I kept coming in thinking they would put a stop to it for safety. But they kept us out, there were many bodies going nowhere on the track, some crying on rocks, and reports of broken bones. I remember my rear wheel overtaking my front, and digging mud from my stays and tyres, but when my lap time blew out to 2 hours for 17k's I felt like a shell. With the energy sapping mud, and food and liquids of about 80g of carbs per lap, I was shaking and needed more. I had only used the top fuel, as there was no way I could enjoy myself on the track knowing I was damaging 2 bikes including my new superfly. So the top fuel needed a good clean, and I needed food. It seemed like I was sitting for 10 minutes, but an hour went past and my mind was still in serious mode it wanted to go out, but then it clicked. I knew if I went out it would not be fun, I knew if I waited sorted myself out I'd be back and could hit up some fun laps as the course dried a little. So I showered, washed the bike, ate more, and had a little sleep.
I woke up and thought, I'm good to go, I should be out there. I got up checked it all out cheered Brett as he came through and got ready to hopefully see if I can catch him for a fun lap with a mate. It took me a couple of laps but came into transition and there he was, and out we went. It was great to chat, and catch up on what had happened, I think it was the most fun I've had in a lap of a 24 solo. 3/4 of the lap in we did get split with traffic so I decided to keep going, to transition, and a few more laps and I was done with a smile on my filthy face. I did not realise it at the time but I don't think I would have enjoyed it unless I got that break. As much as I hated the mud it did bring me back to why I do these things and it is not to race. I had meet some fantastic new mates, Kendra and I made the 24 into something we needed after the seriousness. It had everything the tough stage of the first 9.5 hours and the fun stage of the last 7.
Seems I was not the only rider in this mindset of it's got to be fun. Nice one Rhino: http://www.enduropulse.com.au/articles/event-wraps/479-slipping-n-sliding-at-the-garmin-24-hour
A huge thanks to Kendra she kept me out there when I wanted to be, but always knew everything I needed. She gave up an extra long weekend only to spend it around bikes, mud, and rain. Brett for being Brett always a great bloke to be around, and really good to see him tough it out and get a great result. All our neighbours at the race, they were such good company and always willing to lend a hand or spray bottle ;). Also Onya Bike Belconnen, I know they spent allot of time on the old trek to get it running perfect and I had no issues with it (after replacing rear wheel) they really do a top job prepping a bike to work flawlessly.
Some cool stats which I did not know till the results:
My 2nd fastest lap was the last lap.
Last 3 lap times were less than 20 seconds difference.
Bellcha and I were the fastest solo riders out there after sunrise, obviously having too much fun, and the rest definitely helped me.
Great work by Chris Hanson for the win, this guy definately has some skills and knows how to ride in the mud. It was great being pitted next to him, Gav and crew,impressive team.
I don't think I will ever believe a forecast again, 5-10mm yeah right.......
Some nice photo's by Sue Hanson
The mindset was hard to escape, I had problems with my top fuel, wheel issues, tyre sealing issues, felt like every day I was setting up some tubeless wheels. We got to the event on Thursday night in time to put up the marquee and mark out a spot for Bellcha. Friday was filled with laps of the course, setting up the new wheels with tubeless again, and getting some great food in. Early Saturday morning and we were awake with a storm which continued till nearly race start.
It started with a loop around a grass paddock and a little of the usual chaos but as soon as we hit the newly cut in singletrack, the gaps formed between the riders and we were slipping and sliding on what was obviously going to be a deteriorating track. We looped around through a few rain showers just being a pilot and either trying to get grip with the rear tyre to climb a slight incline or have a fine balance of keeping the bike in the right direction or losing control. I knew chain suck was the order of the day so kept it in the mid ring. Some parts of this seemed madness and I kept coming in thinking they would put a stop to it for safety. But they kept us out, there were many bodies going nowhere on the track, some crying on rocks, and reports of broken bones. I remember my rear wheel overtaking my front, and digging mud from my stays and tyres, but when my lap time blew out to 2 hours for 17k's I felt like a shell. With the energy sapping mud, and food and liquids of about 80g of carbs per lap, I was shaking and needed more. I had only used the top fuel, as there was no way I could enjoy myself on the track knowing I was damaging 2 bikes including my new superfly. So the top fuel needed a good clean, and I needed food. It seemed like I was sitting for 10 minutes, but an hour went past and my mind was still in serious mode it wanted to go out, but then it clicked. I knew if I went out it would not be fun, I knew if I waited sorted myself out I'd be back and could hit up some fun laps as the course dried a little. So I showered, washed the bike, ate more, and had a little sleep.
I woke up and thought, I'm good to go, I should be out there. I got up checked it all out cheered Brett as he came through and got ready to hopefully see if I can catch him for a fun lap with a mate. It took me a couple of laps but came into transition and there he was, and out we went. It was great to chat, and catch up on what had happened, I think it was the most fun I've had in a lap of a 24 solo. 3/4 of the lap in we did get split with traffic so I decided to keep going, to transition, and a few more laps and I was done with a smile on my filthy face. I did not realise it at the time but I don't think I would have enjoyed it unless I got that break. As much as I hated the mud it did bring me back to why I do these things and it is not to race. I had meet some fantastic new mates, Kendra and I made the 24 into something we needed after the seriousness. It had everything the tough stage of the first 9.5 hours and the fun stage of the last 7.
Seems I was not the only rider in this mindset of it's got to be fun. Nice one Rhino: http://www.enduropulse.com.au/articles/event-wraps/479-slipping-n-sliding-at-the-garmin-24-hour
A huge thanks to Kendra she kept me out there when I wanted to be, but always knew everything I needed. She gave up an extra long weekend only to spend it around bikes, mud, and rain. Brett for being Brett always a great bloke to be around, and really good to see him tough it out and get a great result. All our neighbours at the race, they were such good company and always willing to lend a hand or spray bottle ;). Also Onya Bike Belconnen, I know they spent allot of time on the old trek to get it running perfect and I had no issues with it (after replacing rear wheel) they really do a top job prepping a bike to work flawlessly.
Some cool stats which I did not know till the results:
My 2nd fastest lap was the last lap.
Last 3 lap times were less than 20 seconds difference.
Bellcha and I were the fastest solo riders out there after sunrise, obviously having too much fun, and the rest definitely helped me.
Great work by Chris Hanson for the win, this guy definately has some skills and knows how to ride in the mud. It was great being pitted next to him, Gav and crew,impressive team.
I don't think I will ever believe a forecast again, 5-10mm yeah right.......
 |
| Look out for Charlie (Gav and Jacci's son) 24 minute race winner, I don't think I saw him off the bike |
Monday, November 21, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Flinging it.
My previous fling was back in 2009, suffering mechanicals and instead of doing the long 160k leg I opted to cut to the shorter 110k. This year I went straight to the 110k, I knew it was going to be a big toll and the century was enough. This race finished me off for a build to the garmin 24 hour, and I really did not know how the legs or body would hold on. I have tried to have a pretty rapid build over the last 1-2 months after being forced to ease back on training early on.
The race started at great pace, I was keen to do a solid 1st stage. I was happy things were looking good and comfortable. Kylie and Robyn filled by hydropak super quick (love ya work!) and I was out for the 2nd stage. I was really enjoying the singletrack sections with some cool drifting (something I have never been comfortable to do on a 29er before) and it was all going well. The ups and downs were going great time was passing quickly and then, 50k in and time to jump the little crossing and bang. My semi mended thumb into the bars and it hurt! I carried on my thumb did not like shifting now and all of a sudden with some climbing to do my mojo was gone. I was a little lost but pushed on, tried a pick me up gel, rolled up the KOM and kept moving. I was pretty happy to get to the open fireroad and tried to push on hard to Wingello but my mojo did not return when a car overtook me and sat about 20m in front, so I rode in a dirty dust cloud for a few k's grrrrrr.
I was keen for stage 3 thinking how good is the fire road finish going to be this is going to be super quick! It started well moving along quick, I passed Kendra and Erica and had a little chat. Then hit the singletrack wow this slowed me up, over brokeback, and into more singletrack thinking that these half flingers are starting to struggle with the amount of full flingers coming through....I hope Kendra is all good. I came across a guy with what looked like a broken collarbone, it was a bit of a war zone. I battled through just wanting to finish. It was not long before I was over the line and keen to get a coke and food.
Mixed emotions this year, I had some tough times but also a load of fun. So proud of Kendra making it through, that 2nd half was tough on her, and very glad she had a fantastic friend to do it with.
Now the build is over looking forward to recovery time :).
Well done to those that had a great race, it is good to see you reach the goal/results you were after. Definately the training is paying off, keep up the good work!
The race started at great pace, I was keen to do a solid 1st stage. I was happy things were looking good and comfortable. Kylie and Robyn filled by hydropak super quick (love ya work!) and I was out for the 2nd stage. I was really enjoying the singletrack sections with some cool drifting (something I have never been comfortable to do on a 29er before) and it was all going well. The ups and downs were going great time was passing quickly and then, 50k in and time to jump the little crossing and bang. My semi mended thumb into the bars and it hurt! I carried on my thumb did not like shifting now and all of a sudden with some climbing to do my mojo was gone. I was a little lost but pushed on, tried a pick me up gel, rolled up the KOM and kept moving. I was pretty happy to get to the open fireroad and tried to push on hard to Wingello but my mojo did not return when a car overtook me and sat about 20m in front, so I rode in a dirty dust cloud for a few k's grrrrrr.
I was keen for stage 3 thinking how good is the fire road finish going to be this is going to be super quick! It started well moving along quick, I passed Kendra and Erica and had a little chat. Then hit the singletrack wow this slowed me up, over brokeback, and into more singletrack thinking that these half flingers are starting to struggle with the amount of full flingers coming through....I hope Kendra is all good. I came across a guy with what looked like a broken collarbone, it was a bit of a war zone. I battled through just wanting to finish. It was not long before I was over the line and keen to get a coke and food.
Mixed emotions this year, I had some tough times but also a load of fun. So proud of Kendra making it through, that 2nd half was tough on her, and very glad she had a fantastic friend to do it with.
Now the build is over looking forward to recovery time :).
Well done to those that had a great race, it is good to see you reach the goal/results you were after. Definately the training is paying off, keep up the good work!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Very Exciting
Some bikes I get more excited about than others, and I get the feeling this one will be special.
Trek Superfly 100 Al Pro
Why??
I wanted to limit my stable to 2 mountain bikes, but still do 24 solo's on both and also be able to have a good weapon of choice depending on terrain. So my top fuel paired with the superfly seemed the logical choice. 26er for tight, tech, hilly rides and 29er for flatter less technical rides. I have always loved the design of the top fuel, it seems apart of me whenever I ride it. So with almost the same design I really feel like I am going to be right at home on this machine. I hope that the interchange between the 29 and 26 will be easier to adjust to due to the similair design's. Trek come up with what seems like loads of acronyms like E2, ABP, FCC, APA, G2, and while some are more important than others all of these do make sense, and some are not just limited to Trek (but most are). G2 seems to be a big key with the Trek 29er's and why it works so well in tight single track, now I'm not going into details about it but I'm glad this has it. I wanted a stiff bike, as with all 29ers longer stay's, longer forks can add more flex, so the E2, 15mm front end and 142 by 12 rear end should stiffen it up quite a bit. The suspension design (ABP) just works it has no quarks, under braking, stiff under pedalling, and in the gnarlyist moment it just works and takes everything I throw at it. As you can see the bike looks fantastic, but not carbon, I just could not justify that model, it has beef in all the right places, but simple and finished nicely, I love the black/blue/white look :). The spec of XT, Bontrager, Fox should be solid but light enough. So really how could I knock this logic in thinking, it just seemed the obvious decision. This model is selling out quickly with a waiting list that is getting very long.
Can't wait to test it out this morning and I'm expecting this to fly over fast rough decents. Should be a good choice for the Fling this weekend, hopefully my thumb will be up for the task.
Trek Superfly 100 Al Pro
Why??
I wanted to limit my stable to 2 mountain bikes, but still do 24 solo's on both and also be able to have a good weapon of choice depending on terrain. So my top fuel paired with the superfly seemed the logical choice. 26er for tight, tech, hilly rides and 29er for flatter less technical rides. I have always loved the design of the top fuel, it seems apart of me whenever I ride it. So with almost the same design I really feel like I am going to be right at home on this machine. I hope that the interchange between the 29 and 26 will be easier to adjust to due to the similair design's. Trek come up with what seems like loads of acronyms like E2, ABP, FCC, APA, G2, and while some are more important than others all of these do make sense, and some are not just limited to Trek (but most are). G2 seems to be a big key with the Trek 29er's and why it works so well in tight single track, now I'm not going into details about it but I'm glad this has it. I wanted a stiff bike, as with all 29ers longer stay's, longer forks can add more flex, so the E2, 15mm front end and 142 by 12 rear end should stiffen it up quite a bit. The suspension design (ABP) just works it has no quarks, under braking, stiff under pedalling, and in the gnarlyist moment it just works and takes everything I throw at it. As you can see the bike looks fantastic, but not carbon, I just could not justify that model, it has beef in all the right places, but simple and finished nicely, I love the black/blue/white look :). The spec of XT, Bontrager, Fox should be solid but light enough. So really how could I knock this logic in thinking, it just seemed the obvious decision. This model is selling out quickly with a waiting list that is getting very long.
Can't wait to test it out this morning and I'm expecting this to fly over fast rough decents. Should be a good choice for the Fling this weekend, hopefully my thumb will be up for the task.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
October: Summing it up
Allot has been happening and I think it is about time for a quick summary.
The Scott: My team of Hagen Ganahl, Andrew Murrell, Grantley Butterfield, and myself was a good solid team that had fun. We had 2 new riders to the Scott so we gave them the fun of hitting up the first 2 laps. Each of us mixed it up acorss both red and blue, and although I tried I just could not match Grantley's times. Andy did well on the first lap keeping out of trouble, then keeping timing consistent and always seemed to be up for a bluey where everyone else declined. Hagen surprised me with his 8 laps and over 7 hours of riding, definately pulled his weight and proved although he is a roadie he can mix it up on the MTB. I just had little personal goals for this race and meet most, I think the not falling off on the blue lap was a major fail. Great to have a fun social one, where I did not have to think about too much, sometimes it is good to just go relax and be apart of it without any pressure or performance required. So thanks KAHG it was a teams race that my mind needed. One big highlight of the weekend was listening to D-Mac on the mic, great to hear he got out to be apart of the fun. But CORC did a fantastic job bringing it back to a really enjoyable race, great track, and a good spread of riders.
A few weeks ago we went to a little retreat north of Sydney and it was a great little get away for a few days. We went to Ku-ring-ai bike park and it was a load of fun. The track's has really 4 aspects which I will go through. The mini downhill single track this was a tricky little course with tight corners with loose over hardpack and very easy to slid out. Loads of humps and some berms. Fire roads, these lead into the national park we did not really ride them but looked pretty challenging. Mini north shore, this is where I came unstuck and broke my thumb, I was lucky it was not a collarbone, but these structure's were good if your into it. I just wish they were not so temping to try and that they had a softer landing around the edges. The middle section of craters, this was really cool and kept me busy for an hour. It was a mini pump track with so many lines to roll around pumping with no pedaling very cool. Check out some of Kath's pic's: Kath Bicknell I did take some of my own which I should upload.
The fun has been continuing with road crits, it has been really challenging keeping on the rivet without digging too deep, just in case an attack comes. This week was tough backing up from the 205 Fitz's and cross winds. But it worked in my favour and pullled in a 2nd place, I love it when it does not come down to a true sprint ;).
Fitz's epic, I really like this ride it is a great fundraiser, and a fun event. Some people race it, some push themselves to make the longer distances, some do it because they love hills. The distance you select gives a great selection of climbs, the longer the distance the harder the climbs you should expect. I went with the 205k which took me just over 8 hours ride time. The weather was perfect and a huge turnout for the 250/205 cat's. By the end I needed a compact crank as the 3500m or something caught up with me, but managed without it. I was glad I skipped the 250, I did not want to dig that big hole ;).
Training has been coming along well, starting to look forward to the Garmin 24. It will be a real unknown race as they are building the track at the moment and I have no idea what to expect or how much climbing. But I should be ready for almost anything, I just hope I don't have to ride the hardtail ;).
Other than that the Highland Fling 100k is coming up quick, and I hope my thumb will be up for some shifting. It has been a good thing I have been able to ride the roadie, looking forward to getting back on the mountain bike.
Bring on an exciting November!!
The Scott: My team of Hagen Ganahl, Andrew Murrell, Grantley Butterfield, and myself was a good solid team that had fun. We had 2 new riders to the Scott so we gave them the fun of hitting up the first 2 laps. Each of us mixed it up acorss both red and blue, and although I tried I just could not match Grantley's times. Andy did well on the first lap keeping out of trouble, then keeping timing consistent and always seemed to be up for a bluey where everyone else declined. Hagen surprised me with his 8 laps and over 7 hours of riding, definately pulled his weight and proved although he is a roadie he can mix it up on the MTB. I just had little personal goals for this race and meet most, I think the not falling off on the blue lap was a major fail. Great to have a fun social one, where I did not have to think about too much, sometimes it is good to just go relax and be apart of it without any pressure or performance required. So thanks KAHG it was a teams race that my mind needed. One big highlight of the weekend was listening to D-Mac on the mic, great to hear he got out to be apart of the fun. But CORC did a fantastic job bringing it back to a really enjoyable race, great track, and a good spread of riders.
A few weeks ago we went to a little retreat north of Sydney and it was a great little get away for a few days. We went to Ku-ring-ai bike park and it was a load of fun. The track's has really 4 aspects which I will go through. The mini downhill single track this was a tricky little course with tight corners with loose over hardpack and very easy to slid out. Loads of humps and some berms. Fire roads, these lead into the national park we did not really ride them but looked pretty challenging. Mini north shore, this is where I came unstuck and broke my thumb, I was lucky it was not a collarbone, but these structure's were good if your into it. I just wish they were not so temping to try and that they had a softer landing around the edges. The middle section of craters, this was really cool and kept me busy for an hour. It was a mini pump track with so many lines to roll around pumping with no pedaling very cool. Check out some of Kath's pic's: Kath Bicknell I did take some of my own which I should upload.
The fun has been continuing with road crits, it has been really challenging keeping on the rivet without digging too deep, just in case an attack comes. This week was tough backing up from the 205 Fitz's and cross winds. But it worked in my favour and pullled in a 2nd place, I love it when it does not come down to a true sprint ;).
Fitz's epic, I really like this ride it is a great fundraiser, and a fun event. Some people race it, some push themselves to make the longer distances, some do it because they love hills. The distance you select gives a great selection of climbs, the longer the distance the harder the climbs you should expect. I went with the 205k which took me just over 8 hours ride time. The weather was perfect and a huge turnout for the 250/205 cat's. By the end I needed a compact crank as the 3500m or something caught up with me, but managed without it. I was glad I skipped the 250, I did not want to dig that big hole ;).
Training has been coming along well, starting to look forward to the Garmin 24. It will be a real unknown race as they are building the track at the moment and I have no idea what to expect or how much climbing. But I should be ready for almost anything, I just hope I don't have to ride the hardtail ;).
Other than that the Highland Fling 100k is coming up quick, and I hope my thumb will be up for some shifting. It has been a good thing I have been able to ride the roadie, looking forward to getting back on the mountain bike.
Bring on an exciting November!!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Chewing Bars
It is time again, time to hit the rev limiter and go that bit more. Time to bite on the handlebars as the head is buried, try to kick away when there is just no jump in the legs.
I think it is good to get some riding in at the other end of the spectrum. I have been keen to hit up the ACT Vets crits again, and now it has started.
I like the format at Stromlo, with about 35 minutes of racing on a less than 2 min a lap road circuit, the effort will always be pushing my threshold.
First crit back and decided to start where I finished earlier this year with B grade. With my legs into a build and no recovery I could only hope that the short sharp efforts would not be as intense as at the end of the season. This racing definitely works on my weakness's.
Well my power data showed my efforts were the same (if not a touch stronger) as my last crit but seems everyone else has dropped the pace a little. I did quite a bit of work at the front chasing breaks and leading the group and really enjoyed it. A load of riders, and no idea where I finished but around mid pack. Looking forward to next week!
Some power geek stat's
Average speed 40km/h
20min NP 336W
20min Average power 305W
Peak 10s 817W
Hopefully during the season I'll get these up ;).
I think it is good to get some riding in at the other end of the spectrum. I have been keen to hit up the ACT Vets crits again, and now it has started.
I like the format at Stromlo, with about 35 minutes of racing on a less than 2 min a lap road circuit, the effort will always be pushing my threshold.
First crit back and decided to start where I finished earlier this year with B grade. With my legs into a build and no recovery I could only hope that the short sharp efforts would not be as intense as at the end of the season. This racing definitely works on my weakness's.
Well my power data showed my efforts were the same (if not a touch stronger) as my last crit but seems everyone else has dropped the pace a little. I did quite a bit of work at the front chasing breaks and leading the group and really enjoyed it. A load of riders, and no idea where I finished but around mid pack. Looking forward to next week!
Some power geek stat's
Average speed 40km/h
20min NP 336W
20min Average power 305W
Peak 10s 817W
Hopefully during the season I'll get these up ;).
Sunday, September 18, 2011
I don't want to be cool!
At the moment the hospital just seems the place to be, not that anyone likes it, it is just something that happens unfortunately.
So as planned I got away and headed to the twilight CORC 3 hour, and test my legs and see how my first race back would go, no expectations just go out and enjoy. The course was a straight up the usual switchbacks and down the fun skyline, luge, and back, a load of climbing but some fun. 1st lap was fun, but hard I knew I dug a little too deep but Grantley made me ;), 2nd lap hurt a little more, 3rd lap a struggle, 4th lap felt like I was piloting a horse and all I did was pedal, 5th lap came good and made up some positions, 6th did not happen I did not want to be cool.
The 4th lap (and allot of the race), I just felt like I was missing something, and most of it I just wanted to stay on the bike. I nearly pulled the pin after that lap as I lost control of what was happening with the bike, glad I didn't as the 5th went OK. I could not help but think about what would happen on the 6th lap if I went out again, as I come in with 5 min to 3 hours. I just did not want to follow the cool people to hospital. I could feel myself just not care, I was flying down the skyline, luge, just over anything and everything, fast but not good. I think I just wanted it done, but it was not right.
After the sausage sandwich dinner and a chat with the boys, I headed off to the car to hear Kev...Kev. It was Anne she was in some pain with what looked like a broken wrist about to jump into the cool car, to head to the cool place with all the cool drugs, and cool people. I feel like the lucky one. I really hope Anne has a speeding recovery, and just remember 24's can come and go, but your health is the most important thing.
So I think the week caught up with me, but this ride was my longest in a while and it was a race. Maybe not the wisest move but I did have some fun. It was great to be pushing the efforts just that little bit higher into the box, and after all the racing earlier in the year it was fantastic to be back there. I know we all go though the odd bad lap, but most of the time we can pull it off and come out the other side smiling, and that is allot of what racing (and training) is about, pushing the limits, and knowing the limit.
So bring on the next race ;).
So as planned I got away and headed to the twilight CORC 3 hour, and test my legs and see how my first race back would go, no expectations just go out and enjoy. The course was a straight up the usual switchbacks and down the fun skyline, luge, and back, a load of climbing but some fun. 1st lap was fun, but hard I knew I dug a little too deep but Grantley made me ;), 2nd lap hurt a little more, 3rd lap a struggle, 4th lap felt like I was piloting a horse and all I did was pedal, 5th lap came good and made up some positions, 6th did not happen I did not want to be cool.
The 4th lap (and allot of the race), I just felt like I was missing something, and most of it I just wanted to stay on the bike. I nearly pulled the pin after that lap as I lost control of what was happening with the bike, glad I didn't as the 5th went OK. I could not help but think about what would happen on the 6th lap if I went out again, as I come in with 5 min to 3 hours. I just did not want to follow the cool people to hospital. I could feel myself just not care, I was flying down the skyline, luge, just over anything and everything, fast but not good. I think I just wanted it done, but it was not right.
After the sausage sandwich dinner and a chat with the boys, I headed off to the car to hear Kev...Kev. It was Anne she was in some pain with what looked like a broken wrist about to jump into the cool car, to head to the cool place with all the cool drugs, and cool people. I feel like the lucky one. I really hope Anne has a speeding recovery, and just remember 24's can come and go, but your health is the most important thing.
So I think the week caught up with me, but this ride was my longest in a while and it was a race. Maybe not the wisest move but I did have some fun. It was great to be pushing the efforts just that little bit higher into the box, and after all the racing earlier in the year it was fantastic to be back there. I know we all go though the odd bad lap, but most of the time we can pull it off and come out the other side smiling, and that is allot of what racing (and training) is about, pushing the limits, and knowing the limit.
So bring on the next race ;).
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Good News
I have had an annoying 6 or so weeks, not really knowing how my body will wake up, if I could ride, how long I could/should go for etc etc. Everything has really been unplanned depending how I was on the day, mostly 2-4 hour riding weeks. With a combination of medication, sleep, and generally looking after myself the past week+ I have been ramping up the efforts again, but hopefully the further tests will be good news. I have had a few solid sessions with some intensity and hopefully in the next month I'll be back in a position of doing the longer sustained efforts.
So let some racing begin again, looking forward to the CORC 3 hour, and maybe the RT GP 4 hour (depending on how the 3 hour goes). The Scott team of 4 is looking great, so it is all starting to happen. Especially considering Crits are starting again in October, so bring on some faster stronger legs for the good weather. The mind has been so keen to ride this past month sometimes it has been hard to hold it back, so it is happy to be back in the saddle.
So let some racing begin again, looking forward to the CORC 3 hour, and maybe the RT GP 4 hour (depending on how the 3 hour goes). The Scott team of 4 is looking great, so it is all starting to happen. Especially considering Crits are starting again in October, so bring on some faster stronger legs for the good weather. The mind has been so keen to ride this past month sometimes it has been hard to hold it back, so it is happy to be back in the saddle.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Fibromyalgia...maybe?
The last 2 weekends I have been totally off the bike with aching joints. This has sucked and yes I am getting old. The first weekend the aching eased at night only to return the following morning. 2nd weekend has been worse and it has not subsided. My 2nd visit to the doc today to reveal some blood tests which all came back good apart from a reduced vit D level. More sun I thought means more riding, but when I told him how much riding I did, now it means less riding. So reduced riding when my CTL (training load) had been pretty consistent the last few months (bad I know). So now armed with anti-inflammatory, and multi-vits including D's, omega-3's I'm keen to knock this thing over.
I suspect it maybe this fibromyalgia which seems to be right (Even though there is no test that can prove it) and is brought on by cold/damp weather. I have been riding to and from work the last few weeks in the cold frosty morning's. plus I have not been taking my usual multi V's (due to lack of build). So I'm really hoping that reduced exposure to the cold, more multi's, reduced hours this thing is going to be gone. Now another doc visit next Sunday.
So a reminder keep doing all the little things to keep your health up, I think it comes back to bite you and you may not even realise it, till it is too late. We do put stress and strain upon ourselves and more than we know. But now I really want those warm nice mornings. I think I will be OK as long as it does not go below 0 again. I did riding in the -9 (on the garmin) 2 weeks ago which maybe started a snowball. Just go away....frustrating.
I suspect it maybe this fibromyalgia which seems to be right (Even though there is no test that can prove it) and is brought on by cold/damp weather. I have been riding to and from work the last few weeks in the cold frosty morning's. plus I have not been taking my usual multi V's (due to lack of build). So I'm really hoping that reduced exposure to the cold, more multi's, reduced hours this thing is going to be gone. Now another doc visit next Sunday.
So a reminder keep doing all the little things to keep your health up, I think it comes back to bite you and you may not even realise it, till it is too late. We do put stress and strain upon ourselves and more than we know. But now I really want those warm nice mornings. I think I will be OK as long as it does not go below 0 again. I did riding in the -9 (on the garmin) 2 weeks ago which maybe started a snowball. Just go away....frustrating.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Ouch, back to the Club
Club Lime that is. Lately I have been a little slack in the GYM department, on the rare occasion that I went I opted for a steam room to clear the winter bugs. But since the Canberra 2 Coast, and twisting in the middle of the night only to strain my back after carrying a full camelback the day before I figure it is time to strengthen it (and other parts) again. Usually in the months leading into a solo 24 I do an all round condition which works a treat. So I'm back getting my body into lime and I am feeling it today, I think I got smashed by the rower, I'll make sure I will win next time.
Also if your keen to test the GYM out sometime every few months I'll be getting some free day pass's for you test it out, send me an email (k76wells@gmail.com) if your keen and I'll send you an email back when I get some in.
Also if your keen to test the GYM out sometime every few months I'll be getting some free day pass's for you test it out, send me an email (k76wells@gmail.com) if your keen and I'll send you an email back when I get some in.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
3 Ring Circus OK maybe 7
I've been a little slack lately. The 7 hour (which seems months ago now) I pulled the pin due to a bad sidewall tear and a long walk. Another puncture the last weeks 3 ring 50k but all was not lost this time (I was not going to let that happen).
The night performance:
I thought I'd line up for the night race (got to show those riders how good the radical lights are) a fast 20k circuit with 120 odd riders on the start line. It was a great atmosphere with fires going, clowns, and a good sized crowd. It was a great track swapping wheels on the fireroads and keeping on the pace was a must. It was nice to have a volunteer counting us through at one point, I heard 9th as I was sitting 2nd wheel in our little group. I was keen to keep this spot into the sniggle and it payed off, as gaps started to form the combination of single track and night usually splits riders. So my position was unchanged as I came into the finish line, but to my surprise I managed 1st in Vets, and a bigger bonus a Shimano Wheelset waiting for me on the podium, great stuff Thanks Shimano!
But I got to say the Radicals really helped, the singletrack was all new to me and the light really kept the confidence high, the tracks were in great condition so it was so much fun hitting them up with no limitations.
50K Matinee performance:
The race started like the night performance very quick, but with 600 odd riders on track it was a perfect way to start on a quick fireroad, my main goal was to keep in front of the cyclecross bike before we hit the ST. The 2nd ring and all was good till after I exited, the short cut of a fire road with a little hop over a water crossing got me, without the usual bounce of the dually my rear wheel hit hard on the other side and it was not long before it was down. So 7 minutes later with a new tube I was away again, yeah not the fastest fix but with 40k to go I needed to make sure it was a good one. The next long sections of ST I was stuck in traffic no one letting me past I rested up ready for the wall. The wall was great everyone was walking it which meant overtaking to me and made my way through. Before I knew it I was onto the 3rd ring, great all fire road :). This ring had some good hills in there which tested the legs trying to finish it off. It was not till the open farmland till I knew most of the steep one's were over and then it was just trying to finish it off.
I finished 30+min off the pace of the leaders but managed to get back to 2nd in Vets for the combined race.
The 4th ring:
Kendra had paired up with Robyn and I had managed to come in just in time to go back out with Kendra. We set off and before I knew it Garry James was joining us and enjoying the roll down to the plateau. On the start of the climb out Gaz and I pushed a little too hard and waited around a corner and little did we know Kendra with her head down missed the turn and it was a hard chase for us to catch up and it was all uphill. So unfortunately Kendra had to do some extra uphill once we came down and got on track. This was the tough section of hills that seemed to never end. Gaz had to go to meet his driver and Kendra's Asthma was getting on top of her. She pushed on through and a little check from the medic near the top and it gave just enough time to recover. It then opened up to the farm land and she was pushing strongly again on the rolling hills to the finish. She did an great job to keep pushing through. Plus well done to Kylie and Anne who did a great job in there pairs too taking it out.
I really enjoyed this type of racing and having 2 stages, it really added another dimension to the usual single race on the weekend. The entertainment was great and food fantastic, yep 3 serves of lasagna for me.
The night performance:
I thought I'd line up for the night race (got to show those riders how good the radical lights are) a fast 20k circuit with 120 odd riders on the start line. It was a great atmosphere with fires going, clowns, and a good sized crowd. It was a great track swapping wheels on the fireroads and keeping on the pace was a must. It was nice to have a volunteer counting us through at one point, I heard 9th as I was sitting 2nd wheel in our little group. I was keen to keep this spot into the sniggle and it payed off, as gaps started to form the combination of single track and night usually splits riders. So my position was unchanged as I came into the finish line, but to my surprise I managed 1st in Vets, and a bigger bonus a Shimano Wheelset waiting for me on the podium, great stuff Thanks Shimano!
But I got to say the Radicals really helped, the singletrack was all new to me and the light really kept the confidence high, the tracks were in great condition so it was so much fun hitting them up with no limitations.
50K Matinee performance:
The race started like the night performance very quick, but with 600 odd riders on track it was a perfect way to start on a quick fireroad, my main goal was to keep in front of the cyclecross bike before we hit the ST. The 2nd ring and all was good till after I exited, the short cut of a fire road with a little hop over a water crossing got me, without the usual bounce of the dually my rear wheel hit hard on the other side and it was not long before it was down. So 7 minutes later with a new tube I was away again, yeah not the fastest fix but with 40k to go I needed to make sure it was a good one. The next long sections of ST I was stuck in traffic no one letting me past I rested up ready for the wall. The wall was great everyone was walking it which meant overtaking to me and made my way through. Before I knew it I was onto the 3rd ring, great all fire road :). This ring had some good hills in there which tested the legs trying to finish it off. It was not till the open farmland till I knew most of the steep one's were over and then it was just trying to finish it off.
I finished 30+min off the pace of the leaders but managed to get back to 2nd in Vets for the combined race.
The 4th ring:
Kendra had paired up with Robyn and I had managed to come in just in time to go back out with Kendra. We set off and before I knew it Garry James was joining us and enjoying the roll down to the plateau. On the start of the climb out Gaz and I pushed a little too hard and waited around a corner and little did we know Kendra with her head down missed the turn and it was a hard chase for us to catch up and it was all uphill. So unfortunately Kendra had to do some extra uphill once we came down and got on track. This was the tough section of hills that seemed to never end. Gaz had to go to meet his driver and Kendra's Asthma was getting on top of her. She pushed on through and a little check from the medic near the top and it gave just enough time to recover. It then opened up to the farm land and she was pushing strongly again on the rolling hills to the finish. She did an great job to keep pushing through. Plus well done to Kylie and Anne who did a great job in there pairs too taking it out.
I really enjoyed this type of racing and having 2 stages, it really added another dimension to the usual single race on the weekend. The entertainment was great and food fantastic, yep 3 serves of lasagna for me.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
MTB Skills
Back in 2005 CORC were running some great skills sessions in Majura. Willo, Dylan, Lewy, Hendo and a few others running them. These were awesome, we were split into groups and focused on specific areas and really honed some skills (what I needed just getting back into the MTB after many years off it). Since, there have been a few efforts from CORC and other companies (cycle ed etc)who have put in a good effort to help riders improve.
6 years later and I'm still working at mastering the skills. It seems like enduro racing is teaching me to be a little lazy half the time. But I'm not going to give up, it is time to include more MTB skills sessions in my program and really try to nail the skills that let me down. So tomorrow will be a 7 hour skills session, if you see me being lazy on the bike yell at me ;).
Last year in prep for worlds I did a skills session with Dylan Cooper before he went O/S. It was fantastic but with the load I found it hard to focus on building, skills, recovering, etc, etc. I think sometimes we focus on too much and it can get to much and complicated so keeping things simple usually works better (stupid) me thinks. So being a lazy enduro boy I have tried to change a little this past 6 months including more intensity.
Now the next phase, today I did another skills session with Dylan, it was great. I got allot to work at tomorrow, and I won't be able to let my mind go to sleep like I usually do. So time to have some fun out there and try to master the track.
Oh and by the way it looks like it does not include double disillusion, seems to be the same track as 24 nationals.
6 years later and I'm still working at mastering the skills. It seems like enduro racing is teaching me to be a little lazy half the time. But I'm not going to give up, it is time to include more MTB skills sessions in my program and really try to nail the skills that let me down. So tomorrow will be a 7 hour skills session, if you see me being lazy on the bike yell at me ;).
Last year in prep for worlds I did a skills session with Dylan Cooper before he went O/S. It was fantastic but with the load I found it hard to focus on building, skills, recovering, etc, etc. I think sometimes we focus on too much and it can get to much and complicated so keeping things simple usually works better (stupid) me thinks. So being a lazy enduro boy I have tried to change a little this past 6 months including more intensity.
Now the next phase, today I did another skills session with Dylan, it was great. I got allot to work at tomorrow, and I won't be able to let my mind go to sleep like I usually do. So time to have some fun out there and try to master the track.
Oh and by the way it looks like it does not include double disillusion, seems to be the same track as 24 nationals.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Another shot!
The Unknown National 24 hour Solo's
Leading into this race I had allot of unknowns, I had trained completely different, I had a slightly different nutrition plan that I wanted to try, and it was basically a chance to try out some areas that I did not want to test at Worlds. Well a week out I had another unknown with a sore throat and a head cold. It was nothing that never seemed that bad it was just there and race day came it was only just there and thought it should be OK.
Photo's by Jason Heddle nice work, so next Jase is riding 6+6 nice one ;).
I started off the first lap I settled into a good position dropping riders off my wheel and being dropped off the back of a few others, it was only about 30 sec gap both way's. It was strange to have that 6k's in and for the next 27k's I seemed alone, getting into my own rhythm. By the 4th lap I started to feel something was not quite right, I was on the wrong lines, trying to stay focused and looking ahead. During the 5th lap I knew something was bad I could not ride some of the rocks and my head could only take in what was happening 2 meters in front of me I could not process the track in front and nearly had a huge off. I went off line, off the track and before I knew it my seat was hitting me in the back and riding the front wheel, I somehow managed to hold it together. This was after I slowed the pace down, and dropped 8 minutes from my start lap over the 11k's. With 21 hours to go, 5 laps done, I was done my head just could not focus on a thing, usually what I'm like a 3am not pm.
But like all Easter 24 races there was allot of top efforts out there and the character of the race lives on. Great to see the Mal Adjusted girls having so much fun and even having a little sprint with me made me chuckle. Roz Edmunds 61 years young, out there for the whole race top effort, Dianne Perry worked consistently through with a strong finish. It was great to see the riders having a good go, some just having fun and others at their limits. It was a tough course for the long haul but one worthy for a nationals. Well done all who pushed it through and did it, and great to see Ed up in the top 3 overall freaks with his SS. Kendra was awesome as usual, always keen for the fast transitions. The volunteers were awesome as usual Sarah and Russ quietly behind it all doing a great job. I always love the photographers too getting out amongst it for the fun and posting pictures up.
Photo's by Jason Heddle nice work, so next Jase is riding 6+6 nice one ;).
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Mont 24 hour: Radical lights 6 mixed
Leading into this race I was really looking forward to it, but I did have some feelings like, I've only been doing road k's I hope my skills come back, Wow I'm in a great team of riders I hope I don't hold them back, and I got to somehow fit this into training for 24 solo nationals. I should not have been worried at all, it was sooooo much fun.
I arrived early Saturday to the Radical lights cave. This setup would turn out to be the best yet. We had about 12m by 3m with radical lights and frameskins on show, behind was the hammock race prep and general lazing/chatting area, complete with heater. My mixed 6 team was, Brad Morton, Paul Traynor, Kath Bicknell, Dan Mackay, Jason McAvoy and I have to include the Radical man himself as without him this team would not have happened and the support he gave was fantastic. I decided I'd head out for a lap of the course beforehand, scope the track, and find my skills, I really enjoyed it there was a nice pre mont buzz in the air and it was all feeling good and ready to race.
Morto really set the tone of the race with his first lap, I was sitting in the forest eating pizza with Kendra waiting for the first riders come through, Hendo then 2nd was Morto, we were off on a flyer. This effort did not stop we all put in great splits in a fun relaxed kind of way, the team had a great buzz, do your best and hit it hard, but have a load of fun at the same time. We were all super motivated, and everything just worked. We had a team that allowed the flexibility to adapt to each others preferences and needs. We split the night into 2 shifts of 3 riders allowing for some shut eye (although I got no sleep anyway), we all gave notice allowing plenty of time for the other riders to get ready. The radical lights just blew through the dust allowing plenty of sight, it was sooo cool to hit out the night laps just as hard as the day laps. I remember Kath coming in just so stocked having an awesome time, and it was not till I hit the night lap that I knew why she was so excited, it was too much fun to take in. After my 2 night laps I knew I had a good break so it was definitely time to get some more shut eye and I even got so sleep (maybe 15 minutes).
Sunday morning and I was up for my 4th lap, we had some light rain and I was very happy to go out on what I thought was going to be a grippy lap, which it was till all of a sudden I had no grip. It was quite different track conditions really I went from nailing each corner to tip toeing the corner waiting for the slide. Once prepared for this I could pick the surface and know what to look for and really started to enjoy it. Half way though the rain came hard, and more and more of the sideways action was happening but I must admit it was getting kinda cool. I finished my lap on yet another high but happy to hand over for a nice little clean up, and try to get some warmth back into my body. I started getting the shivers after that lap so it was warm clothes time and so happy to see Kath with a hot chocolate in her hand just for me, exactly what I needed.
Last lap and last for the team I was so happy when I saw Dan come in with a great lap time, I knew we had a 10-15 min buffer to 3rd so it was so good knowing I can play it safe and go hard when I can. In the ST my aim was to keep to the sides of the track for maximum grip but there was no side of the track left, it was all mud surfing. This was so hard to hold any speed or know which line to take, but half way through I got to enjoy the drifts and went with it. The down hill switchbacks had developed an A line down the middle, but I sticked it to the original corners and stayed on track (somehow), and then the track seemed to get slightly better and I was pinning it with caution. No time to look at the time I just hooked in as hard as I could and stuck it to the finish to find out I was the first rider to officially finish after 24 hours. How cool was that, I could not believe the fun I was having when normally conditions like these just sap the fun factor.
Thanks so much to the organisers, volunteer's, and everyone who was apart of the event I'd find it hard to think of any way of making it any better (other than more spaced out toilets ;)). Huge thanks to the radical team, definitely give me a yell if you need a team mate for another event :).
It was great to also chat to a load of other riders about the radical lights, telling them all the great things about the lights. I soon realised that the radicals are a step up in every way, simple, smart, sexy, performance, reliable, beam pattern, spread every detail is leading the way. Radical has a never ending drive for technology and performance to keep perfecting there fantastic product. They are a long term investment that will not let you down. Until I saw the new units in real life I did not know how cool they look they definitely have the bling status and not just a load of a perfectly spread beam.
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| Awesome work Robyn and Mumnuts |
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| Robbie riding with style, love it! |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Stepping up....well trying to
Well Last Tuesday I stepped up to B grade road crits, and it seemed to be a bit of a step up. The first thing I noticed was were were on it from the first corner, and pushing harder through the corner. Things were going OK definitely in no position to make a move but I was holding my own, the wind did not help either. 10mins in OK now I'm starting to struggle near the back sitting on Lee's wheel, we come around the corner and I noticed the group jumped away a bit. Lee is onto it pushing hard down the straight then I think OK Lee will struggle with a 2nd effort so I'll pass through the corners which I did and made my effort on the uphill straight and 3 of us latched back on, just. So Time to just hold on and see what happens for the last 10. Well Lee eventually dropped off and I hung on till the last corner where the group jumped and my legs would not, there only had tempo left so I rolled to the finish thinking that was a really good effort.
Data, well the data does not really show it straight away. I had averaged the same watts in some the C grade crits, the average speed was about 1.5km/h higher as we were pedaling though the corners more (and I'm glad I switched to road pedals for the extra lean angle). So why was it so hard? I had a look at the power profile/s and noticed there was more efforts above 350 wattts. Thinking back I remember working it out of each corner then easing off as the group dropped the pace. So B grade was sapping all my matches during the race leaving me with nothing at the end, where C grade I was right on Threshold not peaking enough to burn all those matches. I have noticed in C grade and one of the little tricks I have been using is to make up positions in corners so I don't sit at the back of the pack usually in the corners there is someone that struggle to hold a wheel or moves off line, allowing for me to jump in and snag it. Hopefully when I am able to move positions I'll still be able to use this trick although it seems more of a challenge with the jump out of each corner. Anyway last crit tonight so I guess I won't get that chance just yet.
Over the weekend I had planned a solid enduro ride on Sunday with a 3.5 hour ride on Saturday. I headed out on Saturday to Honeysuckle keeping a good effort out there I was feeling pretty good. I started climbing, I lacked a little power but that's OK I thought see what happens. Well I struggled eventually crept to the top about 15 minutes slower than my fastest time. I was not in a good way, I sucked down my liquids got some food in, had a lay down and I needed that 10min off the bike. I got back on cruised down the hill noticing I had nothing on the flat sections so I just rolled them. Then came a few hills on the way back, they hurt, it was a huge effort to climb, my legs were completely gone. I contemplated doing the ring for help as they hurt that much. My power levels just peaking at 200W, (I usually average easily 200+ for a 3 hour+ ride) something was not good. Anyway after allot of pain I made it home and it was time to recover. Looking at the data it seems like I have been -20 TSB (Training Stress Balance) or worse for a little too long. During the build for Worlds I adapted to be able to cope with that TSB for training, and now I was trying to replicate it in the final build for nationals without allowing myself to adapt. My body is saying nope that is it no more. So 48 hours off the bike and a tempo ride for an hour yesterday I seem OK but I'm not out of the woods just yet. Tonight is crits and I'm hoping my TSB will be back positive for a few little efforts before a fun little memorial race on the weekend.
Seems I'm not going to get the chance on a long ride before Nat's. So far 3.5 hours has been my longest ride leading in. Plus I'm only doing about 70% of the hours that I usually do. That's the way it goes though, I planned to ride differently this year so lets see what happens. If I have a worried look at the start line it's because the teacher is about to find out I did not do my homework, and I'm about to be spanked, oh and yes I am old enough to remember those days ;).
Data, well the data does not really show it straight away. I had averaged the same watts in some the C grade crits, the average speed was about 1.5km/h higher as we were pedaling though the corners more (and I'm glad I switched to road pedals for the extra lean angle). So why was it so hard? I had a look at the power profile/s and noticed there was more efforts above 350 wattts. Thinking back I remember working it out of each corner then easing off as the group dropped the pace. So B grade was sapping all my matches during the race leaving me with nothing at the end, where C grade I was right on Threshold not peaking enough to burn all those matches. I have noticed in C grade and one of the little tricks I have been using is to make up positions in corners so I don't sit at the back of the pack usually in the corners there is someone that struggle to hold a wheel or moves off line, allowing for me to jump in and snag it. Hopefully when I am able to move positions I'll still be able to use this trick although it seems more of a challenge with the jump out of each corner. Anyway last crit tonight so I guess I won't get that chance just yet.
Over the weekend I had planned a solid enduro ride on Sunday with a 3.5 hour ride on Saturday. I headed out on Saturday to Honeysuckle keeping a good effort out there I was feeling pretty good. I started climbing, I lacked a little power but that's OK I thought see what happens. Well I struggled eventually crept to the top about 15 minutes slower than my fastest time. I was not in a good way, I sucked down my liquids got some food in, had a lay down and I needed that 10min off the bike. I got back on cruised down the hill noticing I had nothing on the flat sections so I just rolled them. Then came a few hills on the way back, they hurt, it was a huge effort to climb, my legs were completely gone. I contemplated doing the ring for help as they hurt that much. My power levels just peaking at 200W, (I usually average easily 200+ for a 3 hour+ ride) something was not good. Anyway after allot of pain I made it home and it was time to recover. Looking at the data it seems like I have been -20 TSB (Training Stress Balance) or worse for a little too long. During the build for Worlds I adapted to be able to cope with that TSB for training, and now I was trying to replicate it in the final build for nationals without allowing myself to adapt. My body is saying nope that is it no more. So 48 hours off the bike and a tempo ride for an hour yesterday I seem OK but I'm not out of the woods just yet. Tonight is crits and I'm hoping my TSB will be back positive for a few little efforts before a fun little memorial race on the weekend.
Seems I'm not going to get the chance on a long ride before Nat's. So far 3.5 hours has been my longest ride leading in. Plus I'm only doing about 70% of the hours that I usually do. That's the way it goes though, I planned to ride differently this year so lets see what happens. If I have a worried look at the start line it's because the teacher is about to find out I did not do my homework, and I'm about to be spanked, oh and yes I am old enough to remember those days ;).
Monday, March 21, 2011
3 days of solid efforts
2 days of racing and 1 day charity ride in the middle.
OK maybe a little late, but the Canberra weekend now over a week ago was awesome riding here is a little wrap up.
Sunday saw me at my first TT, a 19k effort. I rode out to lookout hill and coming through Tharwa I started to see the riders warming up, first 2 I saw were on the full TT kit, including bikes, one piece suits, tear drops the works. So I rock up pretty standard, repair kits still on board ready for a bit of fun. Now I find out that is is an age handicap, being under 35 (just) saw me with about a 10min handicap on the oldest other rider (which I did not know at the time). So all was good, starting 30sec apart I went chasing after anyone I could. I actually enjoyed it, and was happy really happy with my effort and time. So results......2nd last, pretty funny really I had so much going against me I did not have a chance to make the 42+km/h average needed. But without the handicap I made the top ten, and not too far off.
Monday I went to the Amy's ride. I really like this event and saw alot of riders out to enjoy themselves. I opted for the 100k from Old Parliament house, through coppins crossing, 2 Uriarra, Cottor, Stromlo loops and back to the start. I meet up with Tommo at the start, had a good chat and we rolled away in the 2nd bunch. Well until Tommo could see the first bunch, then he decided to make the jump and dragged most of us across. The hill out of Uriarra split up the group and saw me ride with the 2nd group of 6, which worked out perfect a great pace, and a good group of blokes that worked well together. It was just over 3 hours till I got back and into the BBQ.
Tuesday night saw the usual crits, feeling a little tired I had no idea how I would go. The pace was a little on and off with some riders making short efforts waiting for others to bite and then slowing not wanting to work on the front. After a few more of there efforts I thought I would continue and kept on the pace on and see if they would bite, no one did. So I went out alone with about 3.5 laps remaining, putting in the efforts and trying to sustain or build the break, knowing my chances were not too high. Slowly my efforts took it's toll and in the final sprint to the line I was caught and finished up 2nd.
So some solid efforts in there for sure, and feeling a little smashed. I think it is time to step it up a grade in crits. I am always looking for moves and wanting some action in the middle of the crits, so if I'm looking for more action it is time to move up.
OK maybe a little late, but the Canberra weekend now over a week ago was awesome riding here is a little wrap up.
Sunday saw me at my first TT, a 19k effort. I rode out to lookout hill and coming through Tharwa I started to see the riders warming up, first 2 I saw were on the full TT kit, including bikes, one piece suits, tear drops the works. So I rock up pretty standard, repair kits still on board ready for a bit of fun. Now I find out that is is an age handicap, being under 35 (just) saw me with about a 10min handicap on the oldest other rider (which I did not know at the time). So all was good, starting 30sec apart I went chasing after anyone I could. I actually enjoyed it, and was happy really happy with my effort and time. So results......2nd last, pretty funny really I had so much going against me I did not have a chance to make the 42+km/h average needed. But without the handicap I made the top ten, and not too far off.
Monday I went to the Amy's ride. I really like this event and saw alot of riders out to enjoy themselves. I opted for the 100k from Old Parliament house, through coppins crossing, 2 Uriarra, Cottor, Stromlo loops and back to the start. I meet up with Tommo at the start, had a good chat and we rolled away in the 2nd bunch. Well until Tommo could see the first bunch, then he decided to make the jump and dragged most of us across. The hill out of Uriarra split up the group and saw me ride with the 2nd group of 6, which worked out perfect a great pace, and a good group of blokes that worked well together. It was just over 3 hours till I got back and into the BBQ.
Tuesday night saw the usual crits, feeling a little tired I had no idea how I would go. The pace was a little on and off with some riders making short efforts waiting for others to bite and then slowing not wanting to work on the front. After a few more of there efforts I thought I would continue and kept on the pace on and see if they would bite, no one did. So I went out alone with about 3.5 laps remaining, putting in the efforts and trying to sustain or build the break, knowing my chances were not too high. Slowly my efforts took it's toll and in the final sprint to the line I was caught and finished up 2nd.
So some solid efforts in there for sure, and feeling a little smashed. I think it is time to step it up a grade in crits. I am always looking for moves and wanting some action in the middle of the crits, so if I'm looking for more action it is time to move up.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Has he turned?
Nah, my legs are still hairy ;). But I must admit I'm really starting to enjoy the close racing, being pushed to the limit, and being able to work at the front. Mountain bike racing I seem to get in my own world, where I have found I have to step it up in the road races and leave nothing in the bank. So far racing this year I have done:
1 scum XC race
1 CORC crit
1 road race
2 super crits
and 7 road crits.
And Tuesday it was about time we had a break away :). Here is the Bleat from Tuesdays crits:
C grade consisted of 13 riders. On the second lap Steve Duffy made a successful break away and after a couple of laps he was joined by James Balogh then a lap later Kevin Wells joined the party. Soon you could hear reminder messages, in fact shouts, from within the trailing pack to work together, take turns, etc to close the gap to the escapees, but the distance was maintained. About 15 minutes into the race, Hagen Ganhal and Bryan Holloway attempted to charge across to the leaders, but soon returned to the pack. The leaders maintained their gap and in the sprint to the finish, Steve Duffy beat Kevin Wells followed by James Balogh.
There is something very satisfying about escaping from the pack and working in a small group till the end. It is great to ride with riders at a simialer level. It seems in MTB racing there are always the riders that don't back themselves or just ride in a lower grade for the win, plus there is more of a lean towards age groups now because of this. Road racing is different show too much form and you get moved up (alot easier to do in a club where racing is every week), this makes a good playing field where anyone could win depending on where they excel and the day. I suck at sprinting so I'm always looking for that break away that will work to give me that better chance. I could also ride in B's, but to be honest I'm enjoying the competition and the close finishes, with a few top 3's I like to see what works and what does not. I like learning my limit's and how far I can push before I go bang. I like it, if I do have a bad day, I can still hang off the back. B's might be after the winter break.
I've noticed a new max HR that I have ever logged of 188 (previously 184). It has taken a few months to adapt to this different style of riding and it is great to feel and see the results. It has increased my FTP (functional threshold power) from where it had sat for quite some time, I'll just hope that by Easter Nationals I would have got some of that base back in the legs to go the distance. It is the first time I have done this type of training leading into a 24 solo so it will be interesting to see how I go. I have been wanting to work on a different aspect of my riding after worlds and I feel I am doing that really well.
Tomorrow I have another road race, where it seems from the last race the top 3 grades are all very similair in pace (comparing mine with A, and B grade times). So I'm expecting another tough one, I'm not expecting to be up there but see what happens. I originally was keen to enter the Rocky trail cruise, but I've started to be picky with the racing with the expense of off-road. All my main goals are the same, just more racing for the forced higher repeated effort, and I have been feeling it.
1 scum XC race
1 CORC crit
1 road race
2 super crits
and 7 road crits.
And Tuesday it was about time we had a break away :). Here is the Bleat from Tuesdays crits:
C grade consisted of 13 riders. On the second lap Steve Duffy made a successful break away and after a couple of laps he was joined by James Balogh then a lap later Kevin Wells joined the party. Soon you could hear reminder messages, in fact shouts, from within the trailing pack to work together, take turns, etc to close the gap to the escapees, but the distance was maintained. About 15 minutes into the race, Hagen Ganhal and Bryan Holloway attempted to charge across to the leaders, but soon returned to the pack. The leaders maintained their gap and in the sprint to the finish, Steve Duffy beat Kevin Wells followed by James Balogh.
There is something very satisfying about escaping from the pack and working in a small group till the end. It is great to ride with riders at a simialer level. It seems in MTB racing there are always the riders that don't back themselves or just ride in a lower grade for the win, plus there is more of a lean towards age groups now because of this. Road racing is different show too much form and you get moved up (alot easier to do in a club where racing is every week), this makes a good playing field where anyone could win depending on where they excel and the day. I suck at sprinting so I'm always looking for that break away that will work to give me that better chance. I could also ride in B's, but to be honest I'm enjoying the competition and the close finishes, with a few top 3's I like to see what works and what does not. I like learning my limit's and how far I can push before I go bang. I like it, if I do have a bad day, I can still hang off the back. B's might be after the winter break.
I've noticed a new max HR that I have ever logged of 188 (previously 184). It has taken a few months to adapt to this different style of riding and it is great to feel and see the results. It has increased my FTP (functional threshold power) from where it had sat for quite some time, I'll just hope that by Easter Nationals I would have got some of that base back in the legs to go the distance. It is the first time I have done this type of training leading into a 24 solo so it will be interesting to see how I go. I have been wanting to work on a different aspect of my riding after worlds and I feel I am doing that really well.
Tomorrow I have another road race, where it seems from the last race the top 3 grades are all very similair in pace (comparing mine with A, and B grade times). So I'm expecting another tough one, I'm not expecting to be up there but see what happens. I originally was keen to enter the Rocky trail cruise, but I've started to be picky with the racing with the expense of off-road. All my main goals are the same, just more racing for the forced higher repeated effort, and I have been feeling it.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
So much happening......
It has been a week full of everything happening. Last week I was getting the fibro in for the tiling for the renovation and nailing in 3000 odd nails by hand (nail guns break through the fibro). So I got that ready then I set about getting organised for the C2C III. Packed my gear got the bike perped including swapping to SPD pedals from my time's (all my pedals and cleats are starting to fail) and I was ready to roll. Then the tiler rang "Can I start on Monday" eager to move back into out house I said yes, then thought crap so much to do beforehand. So I pulled the pin on the ride and got ready for painting the skirts, and everything else that needed doing. Really dissapointed I missed this one, I did the first 2 and really enjoy the ride.
So I re-planned and thought I'd do the bakery ride, all good enjoying the ride then my gears started to slip, I dropped to the back of the bunch, and they went again. So I backed off and finished off the ride at a pace where the drivetrain was not going to fail on me. So new parts are ordered and just waiting, hopefully I'll have new running gear very soon.
The reno's are coming along well with some hours going in, and at the moment I'm keen to get some more painting done but with the tile's still wet and still going in, it will have to wait.
So with road crits on tonight I had to find another option if I wanted to ride. So Kendra had been interested in trying a curly bared bike, her Giant CRX is fantastic on the road but she was wondering what the difference is. About 18 months ago I had brought an Avanti Monza specifically so we could have a dedicated bike on the trainer, the bike is on the small side for me and on the large size for her so just fits us both. I paid $400 for it 2nd hand, it had with 100k's on it, bargain. So today I got it back on the road taking the trainer specific tyre off, I put on a new front tyre an older rear tyre. new bar tape, a clean, a slight gear adjustment and it should be ready to go (even put the mount for the garmin on it. I'll plan a nice little cruise with some efforts before crits to get the feel for it, but I'm right to go. It will be ready for Kendra to test out too.
So that is where I'm at, I have not got the training in as I would like but really happy with how the reno's are going. Plenty of work to keep me busy but at least we will be in the house by the time I go back to work. the 6 weeks has gone way too fast but I have got alot done, and alot has happened. Hopefully I'll be back on track with my riding very soon.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Get your entry in Willo Enduro Challenge
James Williamson Enduro Challenge
It has nearly been a year since we lost such a great bloke of our sport. This event will be a great one so get your entry in. I like this video!
It has nearly been a year since we lost such a great bloke of our sport. This event will be a great one so get your entry in. I like this video!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Nearly the end of Jan....Already
Since the Rocky Trail 8 hour allot has happened. I did a ride to the coast and back (well not quite back the rain was getting too heavy so we piked at Captains Flat). Kendra and I did the Urban Polaris which was great fun as usual and finished up with a good 7 hours of riding. Plus allot of unstructured training to really wind out the feeling of training, training, training that I had leading into October.
This year has so far been all about short efforts really. I have finally been able to join the ACT Vets cycling Club as I turn 35 this year and have been getting into the different type of road riding. I have been wanting to join for a while now as I was keen to try crits and road racing at a more relaxed and less emphasis on racing than the other clubs in Canberra. It is really good to have a change and I think it can only improve my riding, as it really works on all my weakness's.
So far I don't know how this will translate to the mountain bike, but it is great to get loads of club racing in so far with 5 races I may just build a good tally throughout the year. But with a few 24 solo's to be planned for the year, and a different structure in training it is going to be interesting to see how it all pans out and I'm really looking forward to it. I love the fact that cycling offers so much variation that there is always something that will grab my interest to keep the passion going. I also have some sights in the future at looknig at adding some extra different types of efforts that may include something like this:
But more on that another day :).
So what is happening for the first half of the year, well at the moment renovations and as I type this our new kitchen is going in, and I can't wait to have all the work done. I have had a load of work to do and getting allot done after delaying the work for the World solo efforts. I'm back at work on the 22nd of Feb so no doubt the place will look great by then. I also have a fun social weekend at Nowra, C2C 200 the return of the wandera, Wagga 6 hour, Rocky trail MTB cruise, Escape Cobra mountain 100mile, Mont, Easter 24, and OHV 24. So a fair bit of fun right there. Hopefully these races will give me a good natural build, and with the Vets road racing going to late march no doubt there will be loads of fun and games.
This year has so far been all about short efforts really. I have finally been able to join the ACT Vets cycling Club as I turn 35 this year and have been getting into the different type of road riding. I have been wanting to join for a while now as I was keen to try crits and road racing at a more relaxed and less emphasis on racing than the other clubs in Canberra. It is really good to have a change and I think it can only improve my riding, as it really works on all my weakness's.
So far I don't know how this will translate to the mountain bike, but it is great to get loads of club racing in so far with 5 races I may just build a good tally throughout the year. But with a few 24 solo's to be planned for the year, and a different structure in training it is going to be interesting to see how it all pans out and I'm really looking forward to it. I love the fact that cycling offers so much variation that there is always something that will grab my interest to keep the passion going. I also have some sights in the future at looknig at adding some extra different types of efforts that may include something like this:
So what is happening for the first half of the year, well at the moment renovations and as I type this our new kitchen is going in, and I can't wait to have all the work done. I have had a load of work to do and getting allot done after delaying the work for the World solo efforts. I'm back at work on the 22nd of Feb so no doubt the place will look great by then. I also have a fun social weekend at Nowra, C2C 200 the return of the wandera, Wagga 6 hour, Rocky trail MTB cruise, Escape Cobra mountain 100mile, Mont, Easter 24, and OHV 24. So a fair bit of fun right there. Hopefully these races will give me a good natural build, and with the Vets road racing going to late march no doubt there will be loads of fun and games.
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