Had an excellent Audax ride yesterday on the Triton. It was a 200km ride with a couple of really serious climbs and at a reasonable pace early on. Whilst I was on the Triton, the other two guys were on much faster rando bikes. The ride was out of Campbell Town in the middle of the state up into the Central Highlands past the Great Lakes. Very beautiful part of the world.
The amount of roadkill I am seeing at the moment is heartbreaking. Another two level devils yesterday, one of them a juvenile.
I wasn't feeling particularly good in the second half of yesterday's ride. Maybe just not eating enough of the right foods at the right time? Or maybe am still a little crook. I had also been stressing a bit about this ride in the lead up. Desperately wanting to go and do it but needing to balance riding with life. It was not a fun second half of the ride either, with a very strong head wind and persistent rain. I did go to some very dark places in the second half of the ride which made it a tough grind. It was good to be with the other guys who I suspect both suffered a fair bit more than I did. Really good guys too.
Not a crisis of confidence, maybe more a crisis of resolve. I definitely suffered from this in 2013 as well and back then it just passed. Some weeks were harder than others. A bit down now but in a weeks time I maybe flying. I am very much on track to be a lot stronger on the bike and with a bit of good fortune I will have a much smarter setup on the bike. It was more a case of when I was out there in the wind and rain not enjoying it, I was questioning why I would spend so much time effort and energy not to mention money to go out there and hurt so much. It brought back the wrong memories from 2013 and I know I could have been riding stronger, harder and faster yesterday.
Last time it was a guts ride from a very long way out. Too, tired, poor nutrition, etc. Just like every other rider out there, resolve was the only thing pushing me on, keeping me in the race. That will happen again next time, it just does. Do I want to embrace and love all that pain? It must surely be better than all the alternatives. Mind numbing monotony, boredom, slide into alcoholism and the willing choice of an early grave.
1,360km for the month? It is a very good amount given the poor base that I had but maybe disappointing given the strong start to the month. I am really aware that available sunlight and weather conditions deteriorate sharply from the end of Feb. I need to make February count and have a huge month. I hope it isn't too ambitious to aim for 2,000km for the month? If I get the opportunity to do the Bronte weekend will give me 400km, 4 lots of 4 commutes a week will give me 1,280, so I would only need to find another 320km in the other three weekends.
Am happy just to be accumulating kilometres at the moment. They are all good kilometres with a lot of climbing. I really need to sort the bike out very shortly as well. Am a fraction happier with the electronics and will run a cache battery in between the ewerk and the GPS. The big investment is going to be wheels and need to get this right.
Saturday 30 January 2016
Thursday 21 January 2016
First 1,000km done.
Yeah, it feels pretty good to smash through 1,000km for the year. It is probably more than I had imagined was going to happen within the first 20 days of the year.
I did not have a great commute home last night. Although it was a reasonably fast ride and the body was feeling as good as it has for a while, I had too much stuff in my head. Bad things from the past and worries about the future. Somewhere in there I forgot to enjoy just being out there on the bicycle. I don't usually make that mistake, even if it can sometimes be a process to reach that cycling serenity.
I know that I should be ecstatic, that is a great number and I am making proper progress and doing it in the right way and allow me to assure you, I usually really enjoy the commute and rarely if ever get down like I did on the ride or for the entire day really.
The way forward? For the rest of January I suspect that I am happy to keep things at the pace that I am right now and will reach about 1,500km for the month. I know that I am feeling good enough and have the wherewithal to really ramp it up and could easily ramp it up and probably crack 2,000km for the month but I am wary about such an increase from nothing and then sustaining things for four more months maybe difficult. I probably could physically but mentally it would be challenging and I do actually really enjoy spending time with Michelle and my mad mutt.
I will be keen to get out for my longer ride on 30 January with Audax unless the bushfires down here put a line through that. My plan at this stage is to make February big after the solid January. Really listen to the body and aim big and make sure it happens. There is a really fun Bronte Lagoon Ride in the middle of Feb that will give me 400km and a St Mary's Loop 600km ride in very early March. So a big Feb and the 600, I will then have a quieter week to recover and then solidly ride from there with possibly some revision in training and more specifically tailored to the race in June.
I am getting a bit apprehensive about the race itself as well. I just had an awesome time last time and enjoyed things beyond possible imagination. I know it will be a totally different experience and I will want to go much faster with the training and knowledge that I will have. They will be different people out there this time and it is all such a big investment in time effort and money. I know there is big risk involved in most things that provide big reward but need to find the right headspace.
One of the best things from last time was the not having to think and worry about the things that got me down last night on the ride. The whole elegance in the simplicity thing. You just can't force it I guess.
I did not have a great commute home last night. Although it was a reasonably fast ride and the body was feeling as good as it has for a while, I had too much stuff in my head. Bad things from the past and worries about the future. Somewhere in there I forgot to enjoy just being out there on the bicycle. I don't usually make that mistake, even if it can sometimes be a process to reach that cycling serenity.
I know that I should be ecstatic, that is a great number and I am making proper progress and doing it in the right way and allow me to assure you, I usually really enjoy the commute and rarely if ever get down like I did on the ride or for the entire day really.
The way forward? For the rest of January I suspect that I am happy to keep things at the pace that I am right now and will reach about 1,500km for the month. I know that I am feeling good enough and have the wherewithal to really ramp it up and could easily ramp it up and probably crack 2,000km for the month but I am wary about such an increase from nothing and then sustaining things for four more months maybe difficult. I probably could physically but mentally it would be challenging and I do actually really enjoy spending time with Michelle and my mad mutt.
I will be keen to get out for my longer ride on 30 January with Audax unless the bushfires down here put a line through that. My plan at this stage is to make February big after the solid January. Really listen to the body and aim big and make sure it happens. There is a really fun Bronte Lagoon Ride in the middle of Feb that will give me 400km and a St Mary's Loop 600km ride in very early March. So a big Feb and the 600, I will then have a quieter week to recover and then solidly ride from there with possibly some revision in training and more specifically tailored to the race in June.
I am getting a bit apprehensive about the race itself as well. I just had an awesome time last time and enjoyed things beyond possible imagination. I know it will be a totally different experience and I will want to go much faster with the training and knowledge that I will have. They will be different people out there this time and it is all such a big investment in time effort and money. I know there is big risk involved in most things that provide big reward but need to find the right headspace.
One of the best things from last time was the not having to think and worry about the things that got me down last night on the ride. The whole elegance in the simplicity thing. You just can't force it I guess.
Sunday 17 January 2016
Tour Divide 2016
First an update on the training. 17 days in, I have tapped out 840km on the bike so far. I am very happy with this but need to make sure I stay on top of things. In 2013, I managed to ride 1,000km a month for the five months in the lead up so I at the moment I am well ahead of that. I probably could be riding more but am a little concerned about ramping up too fast with not being on the bike at all in November and December. February will be the important one with fewer days but the big base that I will have set in January.
A fantastic long hard and reasonably fast ride up some big hills today with Benny. It was great to ride with Benny, it always is. I like to pretend that we are reasonably evenly matched but he is much stronger than me at the moment and I am sure I was slowing him down if anything. I think he really enjoyed the longer ride as well. It is great that we didn't really have a plan at all when we started but knew we had the time and motivation to go for something a bit serious. Lots of gravel and lots of climbing.
I like to think the kilometres I am doing this time are better than the kilometres done in preparation for 2013. There are very few easy rides down here, always lots of climbing. I am not really sure. I did a couple of long rides in 2013 where you earned every metre with no coasting at any stage where as down here once you climb the hill there is descending. I can definitely see where 8 hours in the saddle pushing hard on the flat has real benefit as well. So long as I am doing the kilometres, my legs will get much stronger and hopefully build a bit of belief.
I do need to take advantage of the daylight hours when I have them down here as well, it will not be long before the days are noticeably shorter which slows things down a fraction and makes it a little cooler and a whole load less pleasant. Weekend rides are good at the moment as a change from the normal commute. I am very lucky to have the commute I do with 80km per day but it is awesome to go and see some other places on the weekend.
Definitely in for the Audax 200 mixed terrain ride on 30 Jan. The remoteness had worried me and the amount of climbing is insane but sounds like perfect training for the Divide in June.
My diet is coming on in fits and spurts. I seem to do well for a few days and then slip up badly, which is what happened on Friday. Consumed more calories of poor nutrition than it should be possible to put in your mouth without getting ill. Then had probably too much to drink on Saturday night which again is a whole load of calories with no nutritional value. I have dropped a couple of kilograms but do need to lose many more. I think it will all come together and maybe it is good to do it over several months but I know I would be a much better cyclist if I was pushing 10 less kgs up those hills.
I have had reason over the last week or so to ponder some of the more selfish things that I think. I know I have written about it in the past with my contribution to The Cordillera. It does worry me and it is important that no matter what happens there are things much bigger in my life than riding my bicycle or this race. At the end of the day, I don't want to hurt anyone through any of this.
Why do this? Why do this again. Really it is unfinished business. Yes, I do love being out there. I enjoy being on my own out there and being able to forget about all of the mundane things in life for three weeks as I just cycle. I think I have accrued much knowledge best applied to being on the Divide route and I do surprise myself with how competitive a person I can periodically be on the bicycle. Things happened last time and I didn't start with the right expectations probably because I didn't know what the right expectations were. This time I can get fit and ride hard. There are so many reasons to be out there seeing, doing, thinking, feeling and experiencing. I cannot wait.
Where to from here? It is still early in my preparation and whilst I am kind of making it up as I go, I am happy where I am. Probably get around 1,600km for the month, which will be a good start. Ramp it up from there. If I take it in monthly instalments, I know that I will need to have an easier week at some stage, probably early March, to let the body recover and build from there but at the moment riding big. Should I get Jaime on board as a coach? I do need someone to be absolutely honest with me about things. I know that I can get things wrong in my own head, particularly when I am tired or maybe not as focussed as I should be. I will know more about the cycling and the race but someone to keep me honest and independently assess would be really helpful. Jaime has expressed an interest and I also think he would have a natural aptitude as he is a deep thinker about things.
A fantastic long hard and reasonably fast ride up some big hills today with Benny. It was great to ride with Benny, it always is. I like to pretend that we are reasonably evenly matched but he is much stronger than me at the moment and I am sure I was slowing him down if anything. I think he really enjoyed the longer ride as well. It is great that we didn't really have a plan at all when we started but knew we had the time and motivation to go for something a bit serious. Lots of gravel and lots of climbing.
I like to think the kilometres I am doing this time are better than the kilometres done in preparation for 2013. There are very few easy rides down here, always lots of climbing. I am not really sure. I did a couple of long rides in 2013 where you earned every metre with no coasting at any stage where as down here once you climb the hill there is descending. I can definitely see where 8 hours in the saddle pushing hard on the flat has real benefit as well. So long as I am doing the kilometres, my legs will get much stronger and hopefully build a bit of belief.
I do need to take advantage of the daylight hours when I have them down here as well, it will not be long before the days are noticeably shorter which slows things down a fraction and makes it a little cooler and a whole load less pleasant. Weekend rides are good at the moment as a change from the normal commute. I am very lucky to have the commute I do with 80km per day but it is awesome to go and see some other places on the weekend.
Definitely in for the Audax 200 mixed terrain ride on 30 Jan. The remoteness had worried me and the amount of climbing is insane but sounds like perfect training for the Divide in June.
My diet is coming on in fits and spurts. I seem to do well for a few days and then slip up badly, which is what happened on Friday. Consumed more calories of poor nutrition than it should be possible to put in your mouth without getting ill. Then had probably too much to drink on Saturday night which again is a whole load of calories with no nutritional value. I have dropped a couple of kilograms but do need to lose many more. I think it will all come together and maybe it is good to do it over several months but I know I would be a much better cyclist if I was pushing 10 less kgs up those hills.
I have had reason over the last week or so to ponder some of the more selfish things that I think. I know I have written about it in the past with my contribution to The Cordillera. It does worry me and it is important that no matter what happens there are things much bigger in my life than riding my bicycle or this race. At the end of the day, I don't want to hurt anyone through any of this.
Why do this? Why do this again. Really it is unfinished business. Yes, I do love being out there. I enjoy being on my own out there and being able to forget about all of the mundane things in life for three weeks as I just cycle. I think I have accrued much knowledge best applied to being on the Divide route and I do surprise myself with how competitive a person I can periodically be on the bicycle. Things happened last time and I didn't start with the right expectations probably because I didn't know what the right expectations were. This time I can get fit and ride hard. There are so many reasons to be out there seeing, doing, thinking, feeling and experiencing. I cannot wait.
Where to from here? It is still early in my preparation and whilst I am kind of making it up as I go, I am happy where I am. Probably get around 1,600km for the month, which will be a good start. Ramp it up from there. If I take it in monthly instalments, I know that I will need to have an easier week at some stage, probably early March, to let the body recover and build from there but at the moment riding big. Should I get Jaime on board as a coach? I do need someone to be absolutely honest with me about things. I know that I can get things wrong in my own head, particularly when I am tired or maybe not as focussed as I should be. I will know more about the cycling and the race but someone to keep me honest and independently assess would be really helpful. Jaime has expressed an interest and I also think he would have a natural aptitude as he is a deep thinker about things.
Tuesday 12 January 2016
11 days in,149 to go.
A bit scary that it is only 149 days until June 10, 2016. There is a lot of things to be done prior to then.
I am feeling really good about the cycling at the moment, having achieved a few of the things that have been worrying me. I have strung together a number of longer rides on consecutive days as well as having gotten out there for a reasonably fast 120km ride with the good Audax guys. COB Monday I was up above 530km for the year including 300km in the previous four days. There was riding on all four of those four days and even though some of the rides were a bit shorter, the climbing has been intense on all of those days.
I am feeling much stronger on the bike and happy that I am making some progress with that. Big ride planned for the final weekend in January, with either a mixed terrain 200km with a huge amount of climbing in remote parts of the state or a road 400km ride. Not certain which one yet but will do one or the other. I prefer to do the 200 as a much better training ride for the Tour Divide but not keen to head out there on my own without proper navigation and limited mobile coverage.
The commuting has been good and starting to realise just how good the hills I climb every single day are for gaining strength. Pretty happy with that. I am certainly learning to descend a bit better as well. It is all about cornering properly and getting the right line. I am never going to be a great descender.
Rest day today and legs feel good. I am hoping to feel good on the bike again tomorrow. It is going to be hot here tomorrow with strong winds and probably one of those days that I would normally avoided the commute on as winds coming over the saddle and down the highway can get a bit scary but keeping up the miles is pretty important at this stage.
I have done no route recon or research. That will niggle in the back of my mind until I do something. The bits I still need to sort for the bicycle are also going to nag away at me until I do something. I need a GPS unit. Very disappointed to have blown up two etrex Units. I am hoping it is as simple me having flicked an incorrect switch on the regulator unit so I can fix it easy. That would be a bummer as well as it means I have blown a stack of money on GPS units that I am ruining through my own stupidity. I need to check this out before investing again.
My Spot tracker is registered I should figure out how to use that functionality properly, then I would probably feel better about riding out into the hills on my own.
The more cycling I do, the more I am really attracted to investing every last penny I have in a good set of carbon rims with a 1x setup. Absolute light weight wheels. A guy riding on my Bruny ride on Sunday had that on a brand new 27.5 and really talked it up. I know the Rohloff is a big part of the weight and inefficiency on my bike. I can't take inefficiencies with me this time. The question is how I come up with the cash? I could even go really old school and use batteries for everything and ditch the SON generator up front.
Enjoying it, that is important. Need a lot more riding. Rest will happen when it is important.
I am feeling really good about the cycling at the moment, having achieved a few of the things that have been worrying me. I have strung together a number of longer rides on consecutive days as well as having gotten out there for a reasonably fast 120km ride with the good Audax guys. COB Monday I was up above 530km for the year including 300km in the previous four days. There was riding on all four of those four days and even though some of the rides were a bit shorter, the climbing has been intense on all of those days.
I am feeling much stronger on the bike and happy that I am making some progress with that. Big ride planned for the final weekend in January, with either a mixed terrain 200km with a huge amount of climbing in remote parts of the state or a road 400km ride. Not certain which one yet but will do one or the other. I prefer to do the 200 as a much better training ride for the Tour Divide but not keen to head out there on my own without proper navigation and limited mobile coverage.
The commuting has been good and starting to realise just how good the hills I climb every single day are for gaining strength. Pretty happy with that. I am certainly learning to descend a bit better as well. It is all about cornering properly and getting the right line. I am never going to be a great descender.
Rest day today and legs feel good. I am hoping to feel good on the bike again tomorrow. It is going to be hot here tomorrow with strong winds and probably one of those days that I would normally avoided the commute on as winds coming over the saddle and down the highway can get a bit scary but keeping up the miles is pretty important at this stage.
I have done no route recon or research. That will niggle in the back of my mind until I do something. The bits I still need to sort for the bicycle are also going to nag away at me until I do something. I need a GPS unit. Very disappointed to have blown up two etrex Units. I am hoping it is as simple me having flicked an incorrect switch on the regulator unit so I can fix it easy. That would be a bummer as well as it means I have blown a stack of money on GPS units that I am ruining through my own stupidity. I need to check this out before investing again.
My Spot tracker is registered I should figure out how to use that functionality properly, then I would probably feel better about riding out into the hills on my own.
The more cycling I do, the more I am really attracted to investing every last penny I have in a good set of carbon rims with a 1x setup. Absolute light weight wheels. A guy riding on my Bruny ride on Sunday had that on a brand new 27.5 and really talked it up. I know the Rohloff is a big part of the weight and inefficiency on my bike. I can't take inefficiencies with me this time. The question is how I come up with the cash? I could even go really old school and use batteries for everything and ditch the SON generator up front.
Enjoying it, that is important. Need a lot more riding. Rest will happen when it is important.
Tuesday 5 January 2016
Off to a good start
3 nice rides to start the year and feeling good about the cycling. The cyclical nature of motivation is a bit interesting. When I am not very fit and not doing the cycling, it kind of nags in the back of the mind but doesn't necessarily happen. Once you are on that upwards curve where you can recognise that you may be getting a bit stronger and there is progress it is much easier to get out there.
I really enjoy the commute at the moment and just the commute is going to be a big part of the plan. I think I need to take advantage of good weather when I get it as it gets much more difficult with light and precipitation as summer recedes. I need some much longer rides in there as well but that will happen.
The commute today was on the Warbird instead of the Triton as when I wandered out at 5 this morning, the Triton had a flat and I couldn't be bothered fiddling around at that time of day. I have been hesitant about the Warbird for a commute as I have some really long tricky descending and I always thought the Triton handled that better. I suspect that I have been wrong on that as I was nearly half an hour faster on the Warbird and I suspect most of that time was descending much faster. I have always been a terrible descender but I am hoping that with the amount of descending I am doing just on the commutes, I am improving. I suspect I am getting better technically but the other thing I am aware of is my techniques disintegrates completely when fatigued which can periodically be an issue on the Divide.
Fantastic ride on the weekend up Ben Lomond. Shamelessly stealing my mates photos as they are much better than mine. Big climbing and good training for what I am going to do,, just a pity that I am as unfit at the moment as I am. I did enjoy the ride. The photo on the right is pretty much how I felt for much of the ride but just three rides and a couple of hundred pretty good kilometres on the bike later, I am feeling like I could enjoy things much more. I think a bit of an infection has been holding me back. I am very swollen and tender in the glands on the right hand side of the neck.
I am pretty happy that the other guys in the photo look nearly as beaten as I do.
This one is Johnny's photo. He is the maddest descender I have ever seen. Mountain biker and good guy.
I may have to be a bit careful about ramping up the kilometres too quickly. Maybe I will be okay with it with the base that I have over the last 5 or so years but there has just been no cycling at all for two months.
I should take some photos and write a bit of a summary of the commute for next time.
I really enjoy the commute at the moment and just the commute is going to be a big part of the plan. I think I need to take advantage of good weather when I get it as it gets much more difficult with light and precipitation as summer recedes. I need some much longer rides in there as well but that will happen.
The commute today was on the Warbird instead of the Triton as when I wandered out at 5 this morning, the Triton had a flat and I couldn't be bothered fiddling around at that time of day. I have been hesitant about the Warbird for a commute as I have some really long tricky descending and I always thought the Triton handled that better. I suspect that I have been wrong on that as I was nearly half an hour faster on the Warbird and I suspect most of that time was descending much faster. I have always been a terrible descender but I am hoping that with the amount of descending I am doing just on the commutes, I am improving. I suspect I am getting better technically but the other thing I am aware of is my techniques disintegrates completely when fatigued which can periodically be an issue on the Divide.
Fantastic ride on the weekend up Ben Lomond. Shamelessly stealing my mates photos as they are much better than mine. Big climbing and good training for what I am going to do,, just a pity that I am as unfit at the moment as I am. I did enjoy the ride. The photo on the right is pretty much how I felt for much of the ride but just three rides and a couple of hundred pretty good kilometres on the bike later, I am feeling like I could enjoy things much more. I think a bit of an infection has been holding me back. I am very swollen and tender in the glands on the right hand side of the neck.
I am pretty happy that the other guys in the photo look nearly as beaten as I do.
How good are Benny's photos from the ride. I picked these two not just because they are of me but they best show what we were doing. I was in total self preservation mode by this stage. Somewhere in between getting the job done and hanging on grimly. About the only strength I have as a cyclist is being able to keep going at that steady pace for a reasonable amount of time.
This one is Johnny's photo. He is the maddest descender I have ever seen. Mountain biker and good guy.
I may have to be a bit careful about ramping up the kilometres too quickly. Maybe I will be okay with it with the base that I have over the last 5 or so years but there has just been no cycling at all for two months.
I should take some photos and write a bit of a summary of the commute for next time.
Friday 1 January 2016
Welcome to 2016
Clearly it is time that I posted something again. Not exactly new years resolutions but certainly some very big plans.
I am committed to getting back to the US in June for another attempt at riding the Divide. Keen to capture some of my progress on the way, how I get there all that kind of thing.
I a lucky enough to have some buy in from Michelle on this one which has worried me a lot for quite some time and although I know she is not going to enjoy it and probably isn't ever going to understand why I go and do these crazy things at least she is across where I am at and will support me as much as I expect she ever will on my cycling adventures.
It is going to be a bit of a journey just getting to the starting line this time. In 2013 I had significantly more money at my disposal, primarily thanks to some sponsorship and a job that paid well. Whilst I don't ever need to worry about money, it is definitely a lot tighter now than three years ago and this will drive much of my approach. I know a lot more about things and if I had the money would go with a much lighter weight set up but that probably just isn't going to happen.
My current health and fitness is going to be another part of the journey. I have been reasonably fit and doing a fair bit of cycling until the start of November but for several reasons have barely been on the bike for the last two months. That changes right now. Current plan is to commute on the bicycle at least three days a week and do as much riding as life will allow on the weekends. Audax seems like the best option there but I have several other plans in train. My worries about the commute are that I will be doing 80km per day on the bike, 40 km of that climbing on quite steep hills and the other 40 descending. I don't want to be training myself to just be able to ride that distance, I need some much longer distances in my schedule. I will not get stale on the commute, I only need to be in the car one morning to realise how lucky I am to be able to ride to work in the peace and calm of the morning on the quiet roads down here rather than on that busy highway in a car.
I didn't do the kilometres in training last time, averaging only 1,000km a month in the six months leading up. I would like to double that to have a much bigger base. I have a bit of a plan for this but maybe in a different post.
I know a lot of guys have coaches for this kind of thing. It would probably help me, mainly because I tend to not be as honest with myself as I can be. I would hope a good coach would know when things are going well and perhaps give me some of the frank and fearless advice when I haven't done the right thing. Clearly I won't have a coach and will be coming up with all of the plans myself and motivating myself to get out there a often as possible. I think being out there on as many days as is possible is just as important as doing to big rides when you are building a base.
First ride was yesterday a tip over 70km on the Triton. Didn't feel very fit and healthy but it was good to be out there. Felt very fat and slow, am on the wrong side of 80kg at the moment and it will be interesting to see how quickly that changes with the amount of riding planned. I ran into Mobbsy out there yesterday and he was looking very fit and tanned. As he always tells us, he is in his 70s and is still fit fast and strong on the bicycle. He spends all his time cycling but his wife hates him so I don't think that is a good outcome. Felt much worse at the end of the ride than I should have, I could have cycled all day and maybe I would have started feeling good again but I was ready for carbs. Cycled into Huonville, out through Ranelagh and Judbury to the top of Denison Ridge to give me some climbing. Then it was back down and out along Lonavale Road. I really like that Lonavale road normally but it is terrible this time of year with every dog and his man chasing the same peace and serenity out in the bush that I am. Unfortunately they are looking for it from the cab of their Land Cruiser at 90km/h on my quiet dirt roads. Some really bad road kill out there at the moment and I think I will just avoid that road until February.
I need to be a lot more disciplined in many aspects of my life. Save lots of money, eat far better, ride more, don't waste time with silly television, study what I need to study. Do much more for and with those that I love dearly. Make sure I have plans to make things happen.
I will try and blog far more often with progress on training, course knowledge etc.
I am committed to getting back to the US in June for another attempt at riding the Divide. Keen to capture some of my progress on the way, how I get there all that kind of thing.
I a lucky enough to have some buy in from Michelle on this one which has worried me a lot for quite some time and although I know she is not going to enjoy it and probably isn't ever going to understand why I go and do these crazy things at least she is across where I am at and will support me as much as I expect she ever will on my cycling adventures.
It is going to be a bit of a journey just getting to the starting line this time. In 2013 I had significantly more money at my disposal, primarily thanks to some sponsorship and a job that paid well. Whilst I don't ever need to worry about money, it is definitely a lot tighter now than three years ago and this will drive much of my approach. I know a lot more about things and if I had the money would go with a much lighter weight set up but that probably just isn't going to happen.
My current health and fitness is going to be another part of the journey. I have been reasonably fit and doing a fair bit of cycling until the start of November but for several reasons have barely been on the bike for the last two months. That changes right now. Current plan is to commute on the bicycle at least three days a week and do as much riding as life will allow on the weekends. Audax seems like the best option there but I have several other plans in train. My worries about the commute are that I will be doing 80km per day on the bike, 40 km of that climbing on quite steep hills and the other 40 descending. I don't want to be training myself to just be able to ride that distance, I need some much longer distances in my schedule. I will not get stale on the commute, I only need to be in the car one morning to realise how lucky I am to be able to ride to work in the peace and calm of the morning on the quiet roads down here rather than on that busy highway in a car.
I didn't do the kilometres in training last time, averaging only 1,000km a month in the six months leading up. I would like to double that to have a much bigger base. I have a bit of a plan for this but maybe in a different post.
I know a lot of guys have coaches for this kind of thing. It would probably help me, mainly because I tend to not be as honest with myself as I can be. I would hope a good coach would know when things are going well and perhaps give me some of the frank and fearless advice when I haven't done the right thing. Clearly I won't have a coach and will be coming up with all of the plans myself and motivating myself to get out there a often as possible. I think being out there on as many days as is possible is just as important as doing to big rides when you are building a base.
First ride was yesterday a tip over 70km on the Triton. Didn't feel very fit and healthy but it was good to be out there. Felt very fat and slow, am on the wrong side of 80kg at the moment and it will be interesting to see how quickly that changes with the amount of riding planned. I ran into Mobbsy out there yesterday and he was looking very fit and tanned. As he always tells us, he is in his 70s and is still fit fast and strong on the bicycle. He spends all his time cycling but his wife hates him so I don't think that is a good outcome. Felt much worse at the end of the ride than I should have, I could have cycled all day and maybe I would have started feeling good again but I was ready for carbs. Cycled into Huonville, out through Ranelagh and Judbury to the top of Denison Ridge to give me some climbing. Then it was back down and out along Lonavale Road. I really like that Lonavale road normally but it is terrible this time of year with every dog and his man chasing the same peace and serenity out in the bush that I am. Unfortunately they are looking for it from the cab of their Land Cruiser at 90km/h on my quiet dirt roads. Some really bad road kill out there at the moment and I think I will just avoid that road until February.
I need to be a lot more disciplined in many aspects of my life. Save lots of money, eat far better, ride more, don't waste time with silly television, study what I need to study. Do much more for and with those that I love dearly. Make sure I have plans to make things happen.
I will try and blog far more often with progress on training, course knowledge etc.
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