Alright, so things are becoming a little clearer and I am starting to do some research on what and where to cycle next. I am thinking adventurous and challenging. I am looking to do something fast without the pressure of racing, to the point where I think I will refer to this one as a training ride. It will of course be solo and fully self supported but calling it a training ride means I am free to do whatever I like with no commitment to a specific route or worry about underperforming against my expectations. I can just go out there and enjoy spending lots and lots of time in the saddle.
The first option and the only one I will talk about here is a perimeter ride of the US using the designated Adventure Cycling Association routes. Starting from Main in the top right hand corner, take the Northern Tier route across the country, then follow the Pacific Coast route and Southern Tier before finishing with the Atlantic Coast route. I think the only time of year that this may be possible is a September start on the Northern Tier so that you race across before snow and inclement weather stops you and then hope that it is a fraction cooler on the Southern Tier once you reach there.
It is likely to still be very cool on the Northern Tier in September and need to be ready for some horrible weather. From all that I have read, an East to West crossing on the Northern Tier can expect headwinds for much of the trip, particularly in the first half where by all reports it is quite flat as well. The Northern Tier will be the longest of the four designated routes and potentially the most challenging with weather, distance, winds and high peaks through the Continental Divide.
The Pacific Coastal route is well travelled by bicycle tourists and part of the trip I would be really looking forward to. I am guessing that weather again could be a significant factor with rain and cold in the top half of the route anyway.
The Southern Tier is the part that worries me most at this stage with the potential for very hot weather. It is also quite a long and challenging route through some remote areas, I guess nothing like the remoteness of the GDMBR and I was fine there.
I really have no idea what to expect with the Atlantic Coast route but from what I have read, it is very hilly with constant climbing and descending. I am sure I will enjoy it.
That is the start of my planning anyway. Much more to follow. Which bike? Navigation? How light weight can I go? Total timeframe? Training? Why on earth would I attempt this? Will all be fun.
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Saturday, 24 June 2017
The Weld Flyer
Unfortunately it is very difficult to make jokes nearly dying on a bicycle these days as too many of us are experiencing horrible situations at the hands of other road users but yesterday was my turn to nearly die. Fortunately it wasn't anybody fault but mine. Just unfit and didn't look after myself properly out there. To have gone from being super bike fit only 12 months ago to where I am now is a little disappointing but life has gotten in the way of doing the kind of riding that had me as healthy as I was.
The Inaugural Weld Flyer was the best ride I have done for quite some time. Started early, meeting many of the other riders out at Ranalagh's world famous Summer Kitchen Bakery. The day before I had indulged in the dried cherry danish so I moved it up a gear to go with the apricot danish this time. Good move I think to try something different but am pretty sure the cherry was a superior product. Without a doubt the best danish pastry you will be able to source in this part of the world.
Out at Judbury for the start, it is always great to check out all the different bikes. With close to 40 starters, there were some excellent bikes on show.
How did the day play out? Quite a late start to allow the Hobart riders to make it down to Judbury for the start. Anyone who drove down on the day will have been well aware of the conditions by the time they arrived as apparently there was a whole load of snow covering the saddle when they came through. Knowing that we were going to climb to a couple of hundred metres higher than the saddle would at the very least have been a fraction intimidating.
The ride out along the Denison River is a fantastic little jaunt on a quiet gravel road. Nice corners a good surface with virtually no traffic. The pain started once you turn off for the climb up Barnback. This really was the hill I had been fearing. I have ridden it perhaps four or five times in the past and not so much that it is a long climb or is steep but you can never find a good pace. The gradient is never steady, with pinch and then flat and then pinch and then flat. Happy to make it to the summit (and first check point) in pretty good condition. I think I had maybe surprised myself about how good I was going and smashed in a can of solo (light on the fizz so you can slam it down fast) and grabbed a banana and a bag of lollies.
After the cresting, you roll along the ridge line for maybe five kiometres and it is an awesome ride with spectacular views across into the Tasmanian wilderness. Or at least that would have been the case if it wasn't so overcast.
The descent is a scary one for me and I got passed by quite a number of riders on the way down. I am reaching a point in life where I guess I am never going to have the belief in my body and reflexes and the bike to descend with any great speed. I will happily just reach the bottom at my own speed safely, thank you very much.
After the descent, the ride down to the Airwalk is one that I do regularly and knew was not going to be an issue. It is a fantastic part of the course that I hope others appreciated. Most of it is gated off to car traffic so you could happily ride like you owned the road and conditions were good.
Only real issue was just a couple of hundred metres short of the Airwalk, ran into poor Matt Hart, who other than being truly one of life's gentlemen is a terrifically strong rider. He had a major mechanical that he was trying to fix. I stood there and watched and chatted for few minutes and once it was clear that I was not going to contribute anything had to pedal on and leave Matt to it. I did let him know that he could easily just roll down the hill to the Airwalk, which I suspect is exactly what he did shortly afterwards.
Next part of the course is along the Huon River on a reasonably flat and unchallenging link till the climb up Lidgerwood Rd. It was along here that I really started hurting. No real reason to, I certainly had not been riding fast or pushing very hard. I had a bad stomach virus only a couple of days previous and maybe still feeling the after effects or possibly I had not eaten enough during the day but very quickly I faded and just struggled to turn a pedal.
I had been telling other riders all day that the Barnback climb was the challenging one and if you clear that then all would be good. I knew the Lidgerwood climb was higher but it never seems as steep and you can settle in and just grind it out which is kind of my specialty. Not going fast but just able to keep moving up that hill.
The climb up Lidgerwood hurt from bottom to top and I hope I didn't mislead too many people about this one being easy. I did jump off and walk large sections of it which is just something that my fragile male pride does not usually allow. At first this was really frustrating and I went to a few dark places but once I started seeing the snow, I actually quite enjoyed going slowly up and was happy to stop and snap photos of the other riders and many more photos of the beautiful orange Warbird.
Monday, 9 January 2017
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
The Washup
This one is going to be difficult but probably has to be written.
Yes, I failed. Difficult to deal with and not very happy with how things panned out.
What can I write about? Training. I think my training was nearly spot on this year. I averaged about 1,500km a month for each month leading up to leaving the country for Banff. I had a quiet patch at the end of April as a result of a bit of illness but it was probably at the right time to stay fresh and excited about cycling. This time it was the right variety of training as well with lots of long climbs on Tour Divide style hills on fully loaded touring rig. I know that on the start line I was physically much better than last time and a much stronger rider.
There certainly were gaps in my training. I did a few long multi-day rides but not as many as I would have liked. Possibly only one or two more. Just one or two weekends devoted to riding. I had the opportunity I know but chose to do other things at the time. Probably things I had to do to keep some balance in my life but I know my body and mind would have been stronger on that start line if I had have had a couple more 4-500km off road weekends.
The bike. The bike was perfect. I had been really worried for months leading up that I was spending a lot of money and trust me, I spent a LOT of money on the bike this time for questionable return. Although I really was only able to cycle for a couple of days and limp along for the third, I am certain that the changes I made were the right decision. Go for a high end carbon wheel set with as ultra-light a set up as possible. Other than just saving a lot weight, it turned me into a more than adequate descender. I had been terrible in 2013, embarrassingly bad. This time I was able to either stay with or descend faster than those around me and the wheels were the only thing I can really think of that has made that difference. That and I have done a lot more descending now and maybe am a bit more confident in doing that.
Also, I didn't go with aero bars this time. Very few people didn't have either aero bars or the very popular Jones Loop Bars. My bars are just old fashioned flat bars with a really good sweep. I have ergon grips which I wrapped additional cork bar tape around for extra padding and to spread the contact point out even further. Certainly worked well for the part of the course I managed to negotiate and I suspect would have been sustainable down the balance of the course. I still felt much better physically than I did after three days in 2013. Lack of aero bars may have been slowed me down further down the course but I will never know.
Electronics will always be a downer for me unless I join the 21st century and start using them for all of my rides. Just more hassle than I need usually when I just want to be out cycling and enjoying the simplicity of my mates, I mean the simplicity of the bicycle. I had a cache battery in between the eWerk regulator and the GPS. This was a real winner this time keeping things going and definitely a good solution that meant I wasn't worried about blowing up another etrex. The USB ports/cables this time weren't good enough. I know there is a solution and I just need to find the time and energy to sort that and it was silly of me not to prior to going out on this ride. I stored the cache battery in my gas tank which meant I was getting crumbs and sand and all manner of stuff into the USB port. Bound to go wrong really.
1x11 was the right idea, weight savings were worth the effort and money. Definitely on day one I was stopped multiple times by gear jamming mud that would not have been an issue with the Rolhoff and seeing the other riders, this would have been an issue further down the course as well but I am still a believer in the efficiency of the rear derailleur I had.
My body, well it broke. It is hard to say when or why but by lunch time on day three I could progress no further really. I identified pain just underneath the knee cap late on day one. Not something I have ever really had issues with. When I do too much walking my knees ache but there is one simple stretch I do to fix that. Cycling on the other hand seems to help any ache or pain with the more riding that I do. My bad hips are awesome if I do a heap of cycling and it is only when I stop that they start bothering me.
I probably made the mistake on day one of thinking it was normal knee pain and if I kept riding things would all be sweet as everything came together. When things were still sore in the knee on day day two I tried lowering my seat but probably didn't lower it enough quickly enough. I did think it was coming good on the morning of day three and cycled strongly from Eureka through to the top of the pass at Red Meadow Lake. The descent from the top there to Whitefish is a whole load of fun. Long and cruisy and I was feeling great. The ride out of Whitefish for me was super hard. It was all on pavement and predominantly gentle downhill but into a reasonable head wind but every turn of the peddle was agony. At this stage I had lowered the seat again and by now was only able to continue pedaling by having the right leg unclipped and having only the very end of my toe resting on the pedal on the right hand side whilst allowing the left leg to do all the work. Again I was still hoping that things would come good but was not the case.
By this stage my ankle was also very sore and swollen as well. At the time I was thinking that this was fluid or somehow related to the knee that was injured. Now I am wondering if the ankle may not have been the original injury and the knee became sore as a result of compensating for the ankle? I don't really know just speculating. I did slip over several times in tough chunking mud on day one and may have hurt my ankle then. Over a week later, the ankle is still sore and swollen. The knee is sore to the touch but feels alright. I would be happy to cycle with the amount of pain there at the moment but would probably be hurting myself again.
I did not experience any neck or shoulder issues this time which is what really slowed me down in 2013. Maybe that would have all played out later down the course but at no stage did I need to carry a back pack this time which I did for every moment of 2013.
How it all played out. Back in 2013, it was too easy to get swept up in everything that was happening. I burnt a lot of emotional energy before the start worrying and thinking about things. I purposely did the opposite this time and think succeeded in that. I was really keen to catch up with people that I knew before the race and it was good to speak to Dave Rooney and Liam in particular.
The start is really frustrating with standing around forever up at the Y in Banff while nothing seems to happen. I was trying to hide around the corner and stay away from all the nonsense when everyone started milling around exactly where I was. Apparently they have changed the route up to the trail head and instead of being out of the way, I am in the middle of the guys who I know are going to be fast. I didn't want anyone to know what an imposter I felt like standing there so just kind of smiled and made chatted with my mate Dave and wished him well quite aware that I wasn't going to see any of these guys again as they smoked off ahead of me.
Only a kilometre or two into the ride and I was fiddling with my GPS to try and zoom in a fraction closer to the line that I was to follow to get me to Antelope Wells and I managed to press a couple of incorrect buttons and hide the line altogether. I had no idea what I had pressed or how to rectify things. Not a problem I thought, I'll just follow all these people around me for a while and fix things when I stop a little further down the trail. Big mistake. Once I did stop and work on things it took me maybe 30 seconds to identify the problem and correct permanently. In the interim however I took numerous wrong turns and cost myself much energy in feeling stupid etc.
It wasn't raining at the start but very soon afterwards it did get very wet and very cold. I definitely took too long to put on my wet weather gear and lost all feeling in my fingers whatsoever from the cold. Once I had the proper kit on, it was ll love light and peace but really silly of me to allow myself to get as cold and wet as I got. Spend a minute or two getting things right and save yourself a lot of pain later on.
The afternoon was really difficult cycling with steady rain and gear jamming mud. My chain would not stay on the front cog as the mud was too thick. I was having to stop regularly to clean things off in puddles, streams or ummmm, when no other alternative existed, the well aimed call of nature. Really frustrating to constantly be on and off the bike for this and I knew the Rohloff would not have had this issue.
Was I cycling okay at this stage? It is difficult to tell. I couldn't really find any momentum with everything that I had done wrong and had happen. It felt like I was just making mistake after mistake and it was really worrying me, completely pointlessly of course that I was blowing my opportunity. I think I ended up getting through to Sparwood and Elkford at roughly the same time as I did back in 2013 but I know it was a much tougher day of riding with the prevailing conditions. This time however I felt like I had ridden well within my capabilities for the entire day and had plenty of gas still in the tank. Maybe didn't feel like that in 2013 when I had ridden and well exceeded my own expectations. I don't know how much of that is purely psychological.
I probably made the incorrect call to call it quits in Sparwood. I was a bit worried about finding a spot under cover further down the track as it was still raining lightly but there was plenty of day light left and I could have easily done the ride out to Corbin where there were lots of places to quietly lay the head down and the would have been miles under the belt. Why did I stop? I knew I had done a good days ride and I didn't want to blow myself up too early. The knee was already hurting and I was a little concerned about bears out past Corbin. Silly to stop. I bivvied next to one of the buildings in the middle of Sparwood and slept okay once the fireworks stopped. I was plenty warm enough and although it is no where near as comfortable as a mattress, if you cycle far enough it is never a problem to sleep in a bivvy.
The other bonus to bivvying is the ability to get an early start. I was up and about early with a four o'clock alarm and once moving made reasonable time I think. My knee was really bad early on day two but silly enough to wait until the top of the initial climb out of Sparwood to do something about it. Now day two on the Tour Divide is hard. Really hard. If you stop in Sparwood, there are three monster big climbs on really crap roads as well as many creek crossings where you will get icy cold soaked and then there is the hike a bike sections pushing your fully loaded bike up a cliff for several hundred metres not to mention some silly technical single track. Day two just sucks. Things were hurting.
I did most of the riding on my own this time as I didn't really find anyone riding at my pace. I did however do some riding with a couple of really good people on days one and two. Mainly it was a lanky American called Corey. He was a monster on the bike. A big strong rider who was much faster than I was. Corey had some health issues and ideas on what he wanted to achieve out there that meant that he was happy to ride fast but take longer rests and stay in hotel rooms as much as possible to help him nurse his body through this event. I really enjoyed Corey's company, he was such a relaxed chap.
The other was a young kid called Luke. Luke is only 17 but is already a veteran having completed the course a couple of times already, once touring with his family and then last year in the race format. Luke really had things sorted. He knew what he was doing out there. All over the course knowledge and how he was progressing along the route. Distances, average speeds, refuel points, he had it covered and a seriously clever head for the race. I cycled away from Luke a couple of times on the big climbs and I thought that I had him covered in a very non competitive kind of way cyclists relate to each other but there was one time on the flat where another cyclist came along that Luke knew and they took off into distance very easily without me having any chance to keep up. I think Luke just knew when to go hard and when to ride within himself.
I had some issues coming through the border this time. Last time blew through pretty quickly and then wasted time waiting for a hot meal at the pub. I wasn't going to repeat that mistake this time but had problems with my visa waiver having expired. Just bizarre. I tried to renew my visa waiver a couple of months ago to make sure everything ran smooth but the system wouldn't let me as I already had a valid visa waiver. It just meant that I spent half an hour chatting with some dud ewhile he sorted everything online in Montana time rather than cycling towards Eureka.
Eureka was where I made the first big mistake of my ride. I was well aware that I was making pretty good time and my knee was really sore by this stage. Corey offered to share a hotel in Eureka if I wanted even though there was plenty of light and in 2013 Walter and I had pushed on and found the shelter at Birches Creek Recreational area another 23 very easy paved miles down the course. I really should have done that on the Saturday evening but was easily seduced by the idea of a hot shower and soft bed.
I did sleep really well and the chance to stay on top of saddle soreness was probably a good thing and I know I wouldn't have felt quite so good on day three if I had pumped out the extra on day two but it would have been very easy to knock those off in the evening and be feeling super good about what was happening next.
Also spent a bit of time on day two in Eureka chatting with Jackie Bernardi about some of the mechanical issues she was up against. Really good strong rider. Much faster than me but her chain ring was held together by zip ties at this stage and panicking a bit. Thankfully she made it through to Whitefish and setting a blazing pace down the rest of the map.
Day three. Again, I did get up early and out that hotel room door early. I wasn't feeling great on the bike knowing that I was doing miles that I should have done the night before but they did pass really quickly and when I passed where I should have camped I think everyone was still sitting around there so that made me feel better. Back in 2013 I really struggled with the climb up Red Meadow Lake and had been dreading it a bit. This time. Kind of really flew up there. The knew was coming good and I made excellent time. Finally finding some flow. At the top I thought I was finally getting myself together. The body was much better and even if I was only running at the same speed that I had in 2013 I knew my body was a lot stronger and I had a lot more in the tank than last time. The descent from there down to Whitefish was fantastic and felt ready to go.
Whitefish everything came undone. I do not know what is wrong with my leg but as soon as I started cycling again after lunch just crippling pain and it was a real effort to nurse myself along. Lowered the seat again and cycled along unclipped for as far as I could. I managed only another 30 or 40 miles after that mostly downhill and all on pavement certainly no challenge whatsoever but too sore to ride bikes. I am pretty good with pain and in may ways was wanting to reach that point in the race where everything hurts. I didn't get the chance. My knee was just too sore to continue. If I had have pushed on, I may have ridden another day or so but there is no way I would have been able to go much further and I would have been doing much more damage to myself. Canada was hard and difficult. I love Montana. Montana is such a relief after Canada but I had to call it quits. It was difficult and yet really easy to stop.
I wanted to be out there, I wanted to be just cycling. I wanted to find that spot where the rest of the world disappears and it is just me and my bicycle heading down that course. I didn't reach there this time. Still all kinds of stuff happening in my head. I missed out on the euphoric highs and some of the terrible lows as I pulled up stumps too early in the ride. Clearly this will not happen again. I will never get this opportunity again. I could not justify it. I spent way way too much money that I just do not have to go and ride my bike for a few days and fail so spectacularly. I will stick to riding my bike with mates and enjoying that. 2013 was amazing and probably a bit life defining. We don't get the opportunity as adults to reach the kind of places that I did in 2013 and I hope that this experience does not subtract too much from that.
Thank you everyone for reading and everyone who supported or encouraged me.
Yes, I failed. Difficult to deal with and not very happy with how things panned out.
What can I write about? Training. I think my training was nearly spot on this year. I averaged about 1,500km a month for each month leading up to leaving the country for Banff. I had a quiet patch at the end of April as a result of a bit of illness but it was probably at the right time to stay fresh and excited about cycling. This time it was the right variety of training as well with lots of long climbs on Tour Divide style hills on fully loaded touring rig. I know that on the start line I was physically much better than last time and a much stronger rider.
There certainly were gaps in my training. I did a few long multi-day rides but not as many as I would have liked. Possibly only one or two more. Just one or two weekends devoted to riding. I had the opportunity I know but chose to do other things at the time. Probably things I had to do to keep some balance in my life but I know my body and mind would have been stronger on that start line if I had have had a couple more 4-500km off road weekends.
The bike. The bike was perfect. I had been really worried for months leading up that I was spending a lot of money and trust me, I spent a LOT of money on the bike this time for questionable return. Although I really was only able to cycle for a couple of days and limp along for the third, I am certain that the changes I made were the right decision. Go for a high end carbon wheel set with as ultra-light a set up as possible. Other than just saving a lot weight, it turned me into a more than adequate descender. I had been terrible in 2013, embarrassingly bad. This time I was able to either stay with or descend faster than those around me and the wheels were the only thing I can really think of that has made that difference. That and I have done a lot more descending now and maybe am a bit more confident in doing that.
Also, I didn't go with aero bars this time. Very few people didn't have either aero bars or the very popular Jones Loop Bars. My bars are just old fashioned flat bars with a really good sweep. I have ergon grips which I wrapped additional cork bar tape around for extra padding and to spread the contact point out even further. Certainly worked well for the part of the course I managed to negotiate and I suspect would have been sustainable down the balance of the course. I still felt much better physically than I did after three days in 2013. Lack of aero bars may have been slowed me down further down the course but I will never know.
Electronics will always be a downer for me unless I join the 21st century and start using them for all of my rides. Just more hassle than I need usually when I just want to be out cycling and enjoying the simplicity of my mates, I mean the simplicity of the bicycle. I had a cache battery in between the eWerk regulator and the GPS. This was a real winner this time keeping things going and definitely a good solution that meant I wasn't worried about blowing up another etrex. The USB ports/cables this time weren't good enough. I know there is a solution and I just need to find the time and energy to sort that and it was silly of me not to prior to going out on this ride. I stored the cache battery in my gas tank which meant I was getting crumbs and sand and all manner of stuff into the USB port. Bound to go wrong really.
1x11 was the right idea, weight savings were worth the effort and money. Definitely on day one I was stopped multiple times by gear jamming mud that would not have been an issue with the Rolhoff and seeing the other riders, this would have been an issue further down the course as well but I am still a believer in the efficiency of the rear derailleur I had.
My body, well it broke. It is hard to say when or why but by lunch time on day three I could progress no further really. I identified pain just underneath the knee cap late on day one. Not something I have ever really had issues with. When I do too much walking my knees ache but there is one simple stretch I do to fix that. Cycling on the other hand seems to help any ache or pain with the more riding that I do. My bad hips are awesome if I do a heap of cycling and it is only when I stop that they start bothering me.
I probably made the mistake on day one of thinking it was normal knee pain and if I kept riding things would all be sweet as everything came together. When things were still sore in the knee on day day two I tried lowering my seat but probably didn't lower it enough quickly enough. I did think it was coming good on the morning of day three and cycled strongly from Eureka through to the top of the pass at Red Meadow Lake. The descent from the top there to Whitefish is a whole load of fun. Long and cruisy and I was feeling great. The ride out of Whitefish for me was super hard. It was all on pavement and predominantly gentle downhill but into a reasonable head wind but every turn of the peddle was agony. At this stage I had lowered the seat again and by now was only able to continue pedaling by having the right leg unclipped and having only the very end of my toe resting on the pedal on the right hand side whilst allowing the left leg to do all the work. Again I was still hoping that things would come good but was not the case.
By this stage my ankle was also very sore and swollen as well. At the time I was thinking that this was fluid or somehow related to the knee that was injured. Now I am wondering if the ankle may not have been the original injury and the knee became sore as a result of compensating for the ankle? I don't really know just speculating. I did slip over several times in tough chunking mud on day one and may have hurt my ankle then. Over a week later, the ankle is still sore and swollen. The knee is sore to the touch but feels alright. I would be happy to cycle with the amount of pain there at the moment but would probably be hurting myself again.
I did not experience any neck or shoulder issues this time which is what really slowed me down in 2013. Maybe that would have all played out later down the course but at no stage did I need to carry a back pack this time which I did for every moment of 2013.
How it all played out. Back in 2013, it was too easy to get swept up in everything that was happening. I burnt a lot of emotional energy before the start worrying and thinking about things. I purposely did the opposite this time and think succeeded in that. I was really keen to catch up with people that I knew before the race and it was good to speak to Dave Rooney and Liam in particular.
The start is really frustrating with standing around forever up at the Y in Banff while nothing seems to happen. I was trying to hide around the corner and stay away from all the nonsense when everyone started milling around exactly where I was. Apparently they have changed the route up to the trail head and instead of being out of the way, I am in the middle of the guys who I know are going to be fast. I didn't want anyone to know what an imposter I felt like standing there so just kind of smiled and made chatted with my mate Dave and wished him well quite aware that I wasn't going to see any of these guys again as they smoked off ahead of me.
Only a kilometre or two into the ride and I was fiddling with my GPS to try and zoom in a fraction closer to the line that I was to follow to get me to Antelope Wells and I managed to press a couple of incorrect buttons and hide the line altogether. I had no idea what I had pressed or how to rectify things. Not a problem I thought, I'll just follow all these people around me for a while and fix things when I stop a little further down the trail. Big mistake. Once I did stop and work on things it took me maybe 30 seconds to identify the problem and correct permanently. In the interim however I took numerous wrong turns and cost myself much energy in feeling stupid etc.
It wasn't raining at the start but very soon afterwards it did get very wet and very cold. I definitely took too long to put on my wet weather gear and lost all feeling in my fingers whatsoever from the cold. Once I had the proper kit on, it was ll love light and peace but really silly of me to allow myself to get as cold and wet as I got. Spend a minute or two getting things right and save yourself a lot of pain later on.
The afternoon was really difficult cycling with steady rain and gear jamming mud. My chain would not stay on the front cog as the mud was too thick. I was having to stop regularly to clean things off in puddles, streams or ummmm, when no other alternative existed, the well aimed call of nature. Really frustrating to constantly be on and off the bike for this and I knew the Rohloff would not have had this issue.
Was I cycling okay at this stage? It is difficult to tell. I couldn't really find any momentum with everything that I had done wrong and had happen. It felt like I was just making mistake after mistake and it was really worrying me, completely pointlessly of course that I was blowing my opportunity. I think I ended up getting through to Sparwood and Elkford at roughly the same time as I did back in 2013 but I know it was a much tougher day of riding with the prevailing conditions. This time however I felt like I had ridden well within my capabilities for the entire day and had plenty of gas still in the tank. Maybe didn't feel like that in 2013 when I had ridden and well exceeded my own expectations. I don't know how much of that is purely psychological.
I probably made the incorrect call to call it quits in Sparwood. I was a bit worried about finding a spot under cover further down the track as it was still raining lightly but there was plenty of day light left and I could have easily done the ride out to Corbin where there were lots of places to quietly lay the head down and the would have been miles under the belt. Why did I stop? I knew I had done a good days ride and I didn't want to blow myself up too early. The knee was already hurting and I was a little concerned about bears out past Corbin. Silly to stop. I bivvied next to one of the buildings in the middle of Sparwood and slept okay once the fireworks stopped. I was plenty warm enough and although it is no where near as comfortable as a mattress, if you cycle far enough it is never a problem to sleep in a bivvy.
The other bonus to bivvying is the ability to get an early start. I was up and about early with a four o'clock alarm and once moving made reasonable time I think. My knee was really bad early on day two but silly enough to wait until the top of the initial climb out of Sparwood to do something about it. Now day two on the Tour Divide is hard. Really hard. If you stop in Sparwood, there are three monster big climbs on really crap roads as well as many creek crossings where you will get icy cold soaked and then there is the hike a bike sections pushing your fully loaded bike up a cliff for several hundred metres not to mention some silly technical single track. Day two just sucks. Things were hurting.
I did most of the riding on my own this time as I didn't really find anyone riding at my pace. I did however do some riding with a couple of really good people on days one and two. Mainly it was a lanky American called Corey. He was a monster on the bike. A big strong rider who was much faster than I was. Corey had some health issues and ideas on what he wanted to achieve out there that meant that he was happy to ride fast but take longer rests and stay in hotel rooms as much as possible to help him nurse his body through this event. I really enjoyed Corey's company, he was such a relaxed chap.
The other was a young kid called Luke. Luke is only 17 but is already a veteran having completed the course a couple of times already, once touring with his family and then last year in the race format. Luke really had things sorted. He knew what he was doing out there. All over the course knowledge and how he was progressing along the route. Distances, average speeds, refuel points, he had it covered and a seriously clever head for the race. I cycled away from Luke a couple of times on the big climbs and I thought that I had him covered in a very non competitive kind of way cyclists relate to each other but there was one time on the flat where another cyclist came along that Luke knew and they took off into distance very easily without me having any chance to keep up. I think Luke just knew when to go hard and when to ride within himself.
I had some issues coming through the border this time. Last time blew through pretty quickly and then wasted time waiting for a hot meal at the pub. I wasn't going to repeat that mistake this time but had problems with my visa waiver having expired. Just bizarre. I tried to renew my visa waiver a couple of months ago to make sure everything ran smooth but the system wouldn't let me as I already had a valid visa waiver. It just meant that I spent half an hour chatting with some dud ewhile he sorted everything online in Montana time rather than cycling towards Eureka.
Eureka was where I made the first big mistake of my ride. I was well aware that I was making pretty good time and my knee was really sore by this stage. Corey offered to share a hotel in Eureka if I wanted even though there was plenty of light and in 2013 Walter and I had pushed on and found the shelter at Birches Creek Recreational area another 23 very easy paved miles down the course. I really should have done that on the Saturday evening but was easily seduced by the idea of a hot shower and soft bed.
I did sleep really well and the chance to stay on top of saddle soreness was probably a good thing and I know I wouldn't have felt quite so good on day three if I had pumped out the extra on day two but it would have been very easy to knock those off in the evening and be feeling super good about what was happening next.
Also spent a bit of time on day two in Eureka chatting with Jackie Bernardi about some of the mechanical issues she was up against. Really good strong rider. Much faster than me but her chain ring was held together by zip ties at this stage and panicking a bit. Thankfully she made it through to Whitefish and setting a blazing pace down the rest of the map.
Day three. Again, I did get up early and out that hotel room door early. I wasn't feeling great on the bike knowing that I was doing miles that I should have done the night before but they did pass really quickly and when I passed where I should have camped I think everyone was still sitting around there so that made me feel better. Back in 2013 I really struggled with the climb up Red Meadow Lake and had been dreading it a bit. This time. Kind of really flew up there. The knew was coming good and I made excellent time. Finally finding some flow. At the top I thought I was finally getting myself together. The body was much better and even if I was only running at the same speed that I had in 2013 I knew my body was a lot stronger and I had a lot more in the tank than last time. The descent from there down to Whitefish was fantastic and felt ready to go.
Whitefish everything came undone. I do not know what is wrong with my leg but as soon as I started cycling again after lunch just crippling pain and it was a real effort to nurse myself along. Lowered the seat again and cycled along unclipped for as far as I could. I managed only another 30 or 40 miles after that mostly downhill and all on pavement certainly no challenge whatsoever but too sore to ride bikes. I am pretty good with pain and in may ways was wanting to reach that point in the race where everything hurts. I didn't get the chance. My knee was just too sore to continue. If I had have pushed on, I may have ridden another day or so but there is no way I would have been able to go much further and I would have been doing much more damage to myself. Canada was hard and difficult. I love Montana. Montana is such a relief after Canada but I had to call it quits. It was difficult and yet really easy to stop.
I wanted to be out there, I wanted to be just cycling. I wanted to find that spot where the rest of the world disappears and it is just me and my bicycle heading down that course. I didn't reach there this time. Still all kinds of stuff happening in my head. I missed out on the euphoric highs and some of the terrible lows as I pulled up stumps too early in the ride. Clearly this will not happen again. I will never get this opportunity again. I could not justify it. I spent way way too much money that I just do not have to go and ride my bike for a few days and fail so spectacularly. I will stick to riding my bike with mates and enjoying that. 2013 was amazing and probably a bit life defining. We don't get the opportunity as adults to reach the kind of places that I did in 2013 and I hope that this experience does not subtract too much from that.
Thank you everyone for reading and everyone who supported or encouraged me.
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
End of February Update
Am quite upbeat at the moment. The numbers are probably modest at best but I have indeed built a pretty reasonable base upon which to really build in the next couple of months and then fine tune over the final month.
The raw numbers say February saw me punch out pretty much exactly 1,400km. This on top of January's 1,360km. In reality it has been only a consistent month rather than anything super impressive. I really enjoyed the 400km weekend with the Audax guys and I do really need to incorporate much more of that style of cycling into my training. It is a case of making the time available.
The rest of the kilometres have been just doing the commute with very little weekend riding. I do really miss riding with Dave and Benny who aren't just good blokes who ride bikes but also very entertaining and give me hope that not all Tasmanians are narrow minded puissant bigots.
I can comfortably do the commute into work over pretty reasonable hills and be just as strong at the end of the week as I was at the start. Punching out 80km a day will build a very good base. I feel better when it is really consistent and able to happen days a week but well understand the need to help and be around for Michelle as well.
I am really feeling the need to do bigger rides from about now. Time to step into the lions den so to speak. One of the best parts of the Bronte Park and return ride was feeling so much better on day two than day one. I think you have to go and experience the pain every now and again. Dip much deeper into the far reaches of your own endurance. I haven't done anywhere near enough of that yet. Have to let the body and brain know what they are in for. I do worry a fraction about how I do that if I am cycling on my own. I have a couple of ideas but nothing firm at this stage.
I did have a couple of dizzy spells last week which worried me a fraction. I have never had anything like that at all before. The first one was at work and I had been staring at the computer screen for too long maybe. Very sedentary. Quite a severe episode where I thought I was going to fall off the chair I was sitting on and queasy enough to worry I would throw up. It passed quickly but did worry me for a bit. The second episode was right at the end of Monday's ride and may have been a bit of over exertion or possibly under-hydrated? I did not have a great ride on Monday evening despite excellent conditions and a very happy day at work. Just wasn't a good day on the bike, happens sometimes. A bit like sometimes without reason you have a very good day. I will keep an eye on things.
My diet has been much better the last few weeks and certainly less alcohol. Am guessing that is a good thing. My weight is right down to 74kg. I don't want or need to lose too much more before the start of the race. It is good to be back to a much healthier weight range and need to consume much better nutrients than I probably have in the past.
Course research is going much better and think I have the top half of the course much better researched. It is one of those areas that you can spend a lot of time and it is probably all well spent in that the more you know, the more flexible you can be. It is all about options and cause and effect. I was hyper aware when I was out there last time how bad my course knowledge was, need to avoid the same mistakes next time. I probably should write things down much better this time as well rather than just attempting to commit things to memory although a lot of it is pretty ingrained now.
I do not have any longer rides or weekends blocked out in the calendar but really need to. I am trying to be a fraction opportunistic and fit in with weekends that Michelle has other things planned. Will work well this month and early April but will have to bite the bullet and force the issue a bit more after that.
Am I fast enough. I don't know if I am going to be able to get much faster. I have noticed that I can have a reasonable commute where I just sit at a comfortable speed and pedal easy until I get home or if I feel great and really push it I only arrive home maybe 10 minutes faster. When I am out on the course, I may well be better suited to never try and push it hard but make sure I just don't have that extra 10 minutes off the bike.
Unfortunately it looks like Robin isn't going to be a starter this year. I had been really looking forward to catching up again but doesn't look like he will be ready. Lots of Australians amongst the starting list. Looking forward to meeting them. The pure number of riders worries me a bit. I am not really interested in a big mass participation ride but after the first couple of days it doesn't feel like that anyway. From what I know of some of the other riders, it is going to be fast up at the front and there are going to be a lot of guys thinking that they are a chance to win this. I will just ride my race but I do want to go much faster than last time. I want to surprise myself.
One thing I have been obsessing a bit about lately was how much I slowed down last time. There were guys passing me who I had been much faster than earlier in the ride that I just couldn't keep with later on. I don't know whether that was a lack of strength on my part or poor nutrition before and during the race or maybe I became ill? I had always pushed it aside n the past and attempted to believe that once Walter got hit, I kind of switched to touring mode. I suspect that all falls into the kidding myself category. I did not have it in me to go faster in the second half of the race, it wasn't psychological, just purely physical. I am hoping to be stronger and healthier this time.
The raw numbers say February saw me punch out pretty much exactly 1,400km. This on top of January's 1,360km. In reality it has been only a consistent month rather than anything super impressive. I really enjoyed the 400km weekend with the Audax guys and I do really need to incorporate much more of that style of cycling into my training. It is a case of making the time available.
The rest of the kilometres have been just doing the commute with very little weekend riding. I do really miss riding with Dave and Benny who aren't just good blokes who ride bikes but also very entertaining and give me hope that not all Tasmanians are narrow minded puissant bigots.
I can comfortably do the commute into work over pretty reasonable hills and be just as strong at the end of the week as I was at the start. Punching out 80km a day will build a very good base. I feel better when it is really consistent and able to happen days a week but well understand the need to help and be around for Michelle as well.
I am really feeling the need to do bigger rides from about now. Time to step into the lions den so to speak. One of the best parts of the Bronte Park and return ride was feeling so much better on day two than day one. I think you have to go and experience the pain every now and again. Dip much deeper into the far reaches of your own endurance. I haven't done anywhere near enough of that yet. Have to let the body and brain know what they are in for. I do worry a fraction about how I do that if I am cycling on my own. I have a couple of ideas but nothing firm at this stage.
I did have a couple of dizzy spells last week which worried me a fraction. I have never had anything like that at all before. The first one was at work and I had been staring at the computer screen for too long maybe. Very sedentary. Quite a severe episode where I thought I was going to fall off the chair I was sitting on and queasy enough to worry I would throw up. It passed quickly but did worry me for a bit. The second episode was right at the end of Monday's ride and may have been a bit of over exertion or possibly under-hydrated? I did not have a great ride on Monday evening despite excellent conditions and a very happy day at work. Just wasn't a good day on the bike, happens sometimes. A bit like sometimes without reason you have a very good day. I will keep an eye on things.
My diet has been much better the last few weeks and certainly less alcohol. Am guessing that is a good thing. My weight is right down to 74kg. I don't want or need to lose too much more before the start of the race. It is good to be back to a much healthier weight range and need to consume much better nutrients than I probably have in the past.
Course research is going much better and think I have the top half of the course much better researched. It is one of those areas that you can spend a lot of time and it is probably all well spent in that the more you know, the more flexible you can be. It is all about options and cause and effect. I was hyper aware when I was out there last time how bad my course knowledge was, need to avoid the same mistakes next time. I probably should write things down much better this time as well rather than just attempting to commit things to memory although a lot of it is pretty ingrained now.
I do not have any longer rides or weekends blocked out in the calendar but really need to. I am trying to be a fraction opportunistic and fit in with weekends that Michelle has other things planned. Will work well this month and early April but will have to bite the bullet and force the issue a bit more after that.
Am I fast enough. I don't know if I am going to be able to get much faster. I have noticed that I can have a reasonable commute where I just sit at a comfortable speed and pedal easy until I get home or if I feel great and really push it I only arrive home maybe 10 minutes faster. When I am out on the course, I may well be better suited to never try and push it hard but make sure I just don't have that extra 10 minutes off the bike.
Unfortunately it looks like Robin isn't going to be a starter this year. I had been really looking forward to catching up again but doesn't look like he will be ready. Lots of Australians amongst the starting list. Looking forward to meeting them. The pure number of riders worries me a bit. I am not really interested in a big mass participation ride but after the first couple of days it doesn't feel like that anyway. From what I know of some of the other riders, it is going to be fast up at the front and there are going to be a lot of guys thinking that they are a chance to win this. I will just ride my race but I do want to go much faster than last time. I want to surprise myself.
One thing I have been obsessing a bit about lately was how much I slowed down last time. There were guys passing me who I had been much faster than earlier in the ride that I just couldn't keep with later on. I don't know whether that was a lack of strength on my part or poor nutrition before and during the race or maybe I became ill? I had always pushed it aside n the past and attempted to believe that once Walter got hit, I kind of switched to touring mode. I suspect that all falls into the kidding myself category. I did not have it in me to go faster in the second half of the race, it wasn't psychological, just purely physical. I am hoping to be stronger and healthier this time.
Sunday, 21 February 2016
Next update - Tour Divide 2016 - Training and preparation
Three weeks into February and have clocked over the 1,000km for the month and s touch over 2,300 for the year. Still manage to feel guilty about the days I am not out there or when I am actually feeling alright on the bicycle. I have had a very slack week after last weekends tremendous Wuthering Heights and return ride.
I am not really certain how useful it is to look back at 2013 at the moment. I didn't manage 1,000km for the month of Feb in 2013 and it was the first week in March before I ticked over the 2,000km for the year, so I am comfortably ahead of that schedule. I didn't do enough riding then and the body was not strong enough. I am trying to be better this time but am still well behind the eight ball. In 2013 I only did one 200+km ride in the prior to the race, that was my memorable ride out to Yea. This time I have done 3 200+km rides already including a couple back to back. I think that the long days in the saddle are very beneficial, not just for the body but learning how to do this stuff.
The learning is a bit double edged. Clearly I was very underprepared last time and it just made it a guts ride from a very long way out (like from the US/Canada border). This time however I know exactly how much it is going to hurt. It does just hurt, there are all kinds of twee motivational quotes for cycling and I hope they work for some people but really the pain of being out there riding has got to be a million times better than the numbness of sitting on the couch all day. I know it is going to hurt, embrace it and ride far and fast as much as possible. Hands, wrists, arse and legs are okay, they are good pain. The neck and shoulders worry me more. Not having the strength to hold the chin off the chest last time did slow me down, I need to be a lot more committed to the strengthening exercises.
I am not really one to panic or make rash decisions but I do worry about things for longer and harder than I should. The more long rides you do in preparation, the more of the issues that happen are going to have already been addressed. You can't be worrying about things if you already know that you can handle things. No point. I suspect I would just find something else to worry about.
Speed, actual straight line bike speed. This is a tricky one. On the Divide last time I only reallyhad one speed. I could not have cycled any faster. Maybe I will be faster this time with the extra training. I see other cyclists much faster than me on the Audax rides who are well in front of me when I am riding to my absolute limit. I suspect that I was faster in the first week but because I wasn't fit enough dropped off much more than anyone else over the second half of the race. My terrible diet and all manner of other things may also have contributed but I need to do better this time.
I think it is okay to nominate Lael Wilcox as one of my TD heroes. She embraced the whole no stopped time philosophy and allegedly didn't even take her helmet off for the final week of the race. This will need to be my chosen strategy given my lack of straight line speed. It will be the best method for me to cover as many miles as possible every single day. Don't get sucked out of race mode. It will take discipline, a discipline I sadly lacked last time. A discipline I only kind of have in my training at the moment but make it count when you are out there. I know that I can start like that but will need to maintain focus and not allow myself to be discouraged when I have a bad day or make one of the mistakes that I will.
My commutes are going much better. I am feeling stronger and faster every time which is a very good sign. I can peel off the 80km per day with little effort and enjoy every turn of the pedals. I have lost a lot of weight, was down to 74kg on Friday but having had a fat weekend am probably back to 76kg. I just need to keep cycling far.
Michelle has been desperately supportive in a way that I had not expected. She knows that I am committed this time and is letting me go ride bikes. There are a couple of weekends coming up where I will have the opportunity to ride big but will need to amp up my own motivation. Get a couple of back to back 250km days in. When I have the time I need to make the most of the opportunity.
I hope I am doing the right things with my bicycle. I am just so out of my depth with anything technical. I can fix things that go wrong but I am having to ask a lot of questions on the bike where people probably look at me side ways for not knowing simple stuff. It just has never interested me.
I am not really certain how useful it is to look back at 2013 at the moment. I didn't manage 1,000km for the month of Feb in 2013 and it was the first week in March before I ticked over the 2,000km for the year, so I am comfortably ahead of that schedule. I didn't do enough riding then and the body was not strong enough. I am trying to be better this time but am still well behind the eight ball. In 2013 I only did one 200+km ride in the prior to the race, that was my memorable ride out to Yea. This time I have done 3 200+km rides already including a couple back to back. I think that the long days in the saddle are very beneficial, not just for the body but learning how to do this stuff.
The learning is a bit double edged. Clearly I was very underprepared last time and it just made it a guts ride from a very long way out (like from the US/Canada border). This time however I know exactly how much it is going to hurt. It does just hurt, there are all kinds of twee motivational quotes for cycling and I hope they work for some people but really the pain of being out there riding has got to be a million times better than the numbness of sitting on the couch all day. I know it is going to hurt, embrace it and ride far and fast as much as possible. Hands, wrists, arse and legs are okay, they are good pain. The neck and shoulders worry me more. Not having the strength to hold the chin off the chest last time did slow me down, I need to be a lot more committed to the strengthening exercises.
I am not really one to panic or make rash decisions but I do worry about things for longer and harder than I should. The more long rides you do in preparation, the more of the issues that happen are going to have already been addressed. You can't be worrying about things if you already know that you can handle things. No point. I suspect I would just find something else to worry about.
Speed, actual straight line bike speed. This is a tricky one. On the Divide last time I only reallyhad one speed. I could not have cycled any faster. Maybe I will be faster this time with the extra training. I see other cyclists much faster than me on the Audax rides who are well in front of me when I am riding to my absolute limit. I suspect that I was faster in the first week but because I wasn't fit enough dropped off much more than anyone else over the second half of the race. My terrible diet and all manner of other things may also have contributed but I need to do better this time.
I think it is okay to nominate Lael Wilcox as one of my TD heroes. She embraced the whole no stopped time philosophy and allegedly didn't even take her helmet off for the final week of the race. This will need to be my chosen strategy given my lack of straight line speed. It will be the best method for me to cover as many miles as possible every single day. Don't get sucked out of race mode. It will take discipline, a discipline I sadly lacked last time. A discipline I only kind of have in my training at the moment but make it count when you are out there. I know that I can start like that but will need to maintain focus and not allow myself to be discouraged when I have a bad day or make one of the mistakes that I will.
My commutes are going much better. I am feeling stronger and faster every time which is a very good sign. I can peel off the 80km per day with little effort and enjoy every turn of the pedals. I have lost a lot of weight, was down to 74kg on Friday but having had a fat weekend am probably back to 76kg. I just need to keep cycling far.
Michelle has been desperately supportive in a way that I had not expected. She knows that I am committed this time and is letting me go ride bikes. There are a couple of weekends coming up where I will have the opportunity to ride big but will need to amp up my own motivation. Get a couple of back to back 250km days in. When I have the time I need to make the most of the opportunity.
I hope I am doing the right things with my bicycle. I am just so out of my depth with anything technical. I can fix things that go wrong but I am having to ask a lot of questions on the bike where people probably look at me side ways for not knowing simple stuff. It just has never interested me.
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Some good and some bad
Just a quick update as there has been nothing very exciting in the last week.
Did the commute 4 times this work week which has given me a pretty cool 320km and makes 520km in the last seven days. Not huge numbers but clearly the biggest week so far and have come out the other side feeling really very fit and strong. I have finished each day feeling good and like I can indeed keep cycling for many more kilometres. I am pretty happy to be making good progress.
The flip side is that it is going to be a very limited week coming up in terms of time on the bike. Long weekend at the moment and have commitments that will keep me off the bike. Which maybe a good thing anyway. I will get a commute in on Tuesday but that is it until the weekend when I will do the Audax 400. Being a bit positive, maybe it is good to change things a bit, allow the body to recover for a few days and get a good 400 in this weekend.
I know I have to do the training for my own head, my own body and my own level and health and fitness and to meet my goals but I see guys posting to facebook etc. about doing huge rides and the amount of kilometres they are clocking up. It does get me down a fraction, when I am not out there and they are. Mostly jealousy on my part perhaps but some of it certainly is questioning my own commitment. I had previously talked about my own ability to not be honest to myself, there may be some of that in there. If I am serious about this I need to get out there and do big big rides. I have deliberately held myself back in January as I did not want to ramp up too much too quickly but this has to be fair dinkum February now. I am certain I am on a much better trajectory than last time and will be well placed.
You have to do the right amount of training to meet ambitious goals. It is getting the head there as well. You need to believe that you are capable of doing these truly extraordinary things. I didn't believe last time and found it very easy to slow down when it really hurt. I think everyone hurts out there and this time I just want to be able to keep going.
Need to sit down again and do some better planning for the next two months as well. The January and February plans worked well and have allowed me to do a lot of riding because it was communicated well in advance to Michelle and she made alternate plans. Very important to keep her on board and I have been very lucky and a bit surprised even maybe about how much support I have received this time on such an indulgent exercise. I know she worries about things as many people do and I know that there is no quid pro quo on this one. I just don't believe in keeping score or counting points. This is purely about my need to escape and ride my bike for a couple of weeks.
Also looking at the people that are putting their hand up. There are going to be a lot of very fast guys out there this year. It is going to be a fast year this year with lots of very strong cyclists. It is going to be great to be a part of that even if it is all happening way out in front of me. I do want to go very fast. I think if I keep going with the training and I have no reason to believe that I won't then if I am clever and strong and cop some good breaks when I am out there then I can get down into the 18day range.
Last time I wanted to be fast and thought sub 21 was a fast time. The goal posts are moving rapidly with the training I am doing and how light weight I may be able to go with the bike and kit. Whilst still dithering over wheels, I am certain I will invest in some good carbon rims and a 1 x 11 conversion to lose the rolhoff. Big weight and efficiency gains. I took way too many clothes last time and will just be much smarter with all of that.
The weight training is not going to plan. I have not gotten to the gym at all and having suffered badly from weight loss related neck issues last time, I should be doing a lot more. Just remember the Idaho rail trail. I could not lift my chin off my chest from there onwards. With some luck I am a day or more ahead of the schedule I set last time and may be a bit fitter when I reach there. Get into Wyoming faster than last time and the body can recover a bit more.
Also dithering a little on the flights into Canada. I am pretty keen to fly to Vancouver and have a fast ride out to Banff. If I fly out of here on Thursday 2nd June, out to Vernon by probably mid Saturday and then a couple more days out to Banff. Really enjoyed the ride out to Banff from Vernon last time but that was because I had Gavin with me and I always enjoy cycling with Gavin. He is just the right amount of interaction and amazing knowledge for me when we go riding. Bit different riding on my own but think I would really enjoy it.
The other option I have is to fly out of Australia and into Calgary. That would make only a one day ride out to Banff and I could leave Australia probably 3 or 4 days later. Would I still be jet lagged? It costs more to fly to Calgary but I would save that money by being here in Australia for longer and Canada isn't cheap. I do need to sort flights very shortly.
Am liking the place I am in at the moment when I stop and properly rationalise. Just need to stop comparing myself to others and ride my race and do my training. Take it seriously and sort stuff out.
Did the commute 4 times this work week which has given me a pretty cool 320km and makes 520km in the last seven days. Not huge numbers but clearly the biggest week so far and have come out the other side feeling really very fit and strong. I have finished each day feeling good and like I can indeed keep cycling for many more kilometres. I am pretty happy to be making good progress.
The flip side is that it is going to be a very limited week coming up in terms of time on the bike. Long weekend at the moment and have commitments that will keep me off the bike. Which maybe a good thing anyway. I will get a commute in on Tuesday but that is it until the weekend when I will do the Audax 400. Being a bit positive, maybe it is good to change things a bit, allow the body to recover for a few days and get a good 400 in this weekend.
I know I have to do the training for my own head, my own body and my own level and health and fitness and to meet my goals but I see guys posting to facebook etc. about doing huge rides and the amount of kilometres they are clocking up. It does get me down a fraction, when I am not out there and they are. Mostly jealousy on my part perhaps but some of it certainly is questioning my own commitment. I had previously talked about my own ability to not be honest to myself, there may be some of that in there. If I am serious about this I need to get out there and do big big rides. I have deliberately held myself back in January as I did not want to ramp up too much too quickly but this has to be fair dinkum February now. I am certain I am on a much better trajectory than last time and will be well placed.
You have to do the right amount of training to meet ambitious goals. It is getting the head there as well. You need to believe that you are capable of doing these truly extraordinary things. I didn't believe last time and found it very easy to slow down when it really hurt. I think everyone hurts out there and this time I just want to be able to keep going.
Need to sit down again and do some better planning for the next two months as well. The January and February plans worked well and have allowed me to do a lot of riding because it was communicated well in advance to Michelle and she made alternate plans. Very important to keep her on board and I have been very lucky and a bit surprised even maybe about how much support I have received this time on such an indulgent exercise. I know she worries about things as many people do and I know that there is no quid pro quo on this one. I just don't believe in keeping score or counting points. This is purely about my need to escape and ride my bike for a couple of weeks.
Also looking at the people that are putting their hand up. There are going to be a lot of very fast guys out there this year. It is going to be a fast year this year with lots of very strong cyclists. It is going to be great to be a part of that even if it is all happening way out in front of me. I do want to go very fast. I think if I keep going with the training and I have no reason to believe that I won't then if I am clever and strong and cop some good breaks when I am out there then I can get down into the 18day range.
Last time I wanted to be fast and thought sub 21 was a fast time. The goal posts are moving rapidly with the training I am doing and how light weight I may be able to go with the bike and kit. Whilst still dithering over wheels, I am certain I will invest in some good carbon rims and a 1 x 11 conversion to lose the rolhoff. Big weight and efficiency gains. I took way too many clothes last time and will just be much smarter with all of that.
The weight training is not going to plan. I have not gotten to the gym at all and having suffered badly from weight loss related neck issues last time, I should be doing a lot more. Just remember the Idaho rail trail. I could not lift my chin off my chest from there onwards. With some luck I am a day or more ahead of the schedule I set last time and may be a bit fitter when I reach there. Get into Wyoming faster than last time and the body can recover a bit more.
Also dithering a little on the flights into Canada. I am pretty keen to fly to Vancouver and have a fast ride out to Banff. If I fly out of here on Thursday 2nd June, out to Vernon by probably mid Saturday and then a couple more days out to Banff. Really enjoyed the ride out to Banff from Vernon last time but that was because I had Gavin with me and I always enjoy cycling with Gavin. He is just the right amount of interaction and amazing knowledge for me when we go riding. Bit different riding on my own but think I would really enjoy it.
The other option I have is to fly out of Australia and into Calgary. That would make only a one day ride out to Banff and I could leave Australia probably 3 or 4 days later. Would I still be jet lagged? It costs more to fly to Calgary but I would save that money by being here in Australia for longer and Canada isn't cheap. I do need to sort flights very shortly.
Am liking the place I am in at the moment when I stop and properly rationalise. Just need to stop comparing myself to others and ride my race and do my training. Take it seriously and sort stuff out.
Saturday, 30 January 2016
Audax update and January Summary
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.
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.
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.
Monday, 13 April 2015
Monaro Cloudride. Maybe next year.
Well I finally made it out of Canberra and back to civilisation where I can access a computer. I have had lots and lots of thoughts and scribbled many of them down using old fashioned pen and paper in the time that I have had. I should start by saying that I did have an awesome time out there and enjoyed it much more than I had either anticipated or what follows may indicate.
Some random thoughts to start with because I don't really know where they fit.
1. I really struggled for motivation before this ride. I had put my hand up and paid for airfares a long time ago and that was as committed as I got. Have been really enjoying the riding I have been doing down here with the Audax and Hobart Gravel Grinders crews but I haven't done any training or ramp up in kilometres or anything serious like that. I suspect I really should have shown this race far more respect.
2. My body was really great for the two days I was out there which hasn't always been the case. Looked after my tender bits early instead of waiting to feel the pain. Didn't push myself at all when I was out there. There was no sprinting or racing or pushing harder up the hills. It was real old man cycling where you pick the right gear and the right tempo everytime and ride patiently but with an ever present sense of urgency.
3. I didn't take a sleeping bag or tent. Probably controversial but would consider doing exactly the same thing again for this race. Watch the weather forecast and take calculated risks. I had my bivy bag and an emergency blanket as well as all of my cycling clothing, down vest and beanie. I was certainly warm enough both nights I was out there. I don't know how sustainable such a strategy may be in the long term but it worked for a couple of nights. I did rip the emergency blanket on the second night getting out of my bivvy but I carried electrical tape as part of my emergency bike repair kit which would have fixed that.
4. I was more light weight than anyone which makes a big difference, particularly on this course with the cruel amount of climbing and hike a bike. The bike itself is the only place to sensibly lose more weight. I would love some uber light weight carbon rims and my Rohloff hub weighs much more than a 1x setup.
5. This really is an eating competition and eat early and eat often. You need to take a huge amount of food with you from the start line. There is no where to resupply prior to Nimitabel which I didn't reach until 1PM on day two. That is a lot of food to carry. I avoided sugar and lollies this time and what a revelation. I never had the darkness descend. I did have a bag of dried pineapple which is probably just pure sugar and a good handful of dried figs. Wish I had taken more salad rolls with me as proper food.
Keep going, keep going, keep going. I did want to finish quickly, mainly because I did not want to be out there for 8 or 9 days hurting myself. Better to get it over with in 5 or 6 and get down to dads to recover. Most people were better cyclists than me, particularly on the downhills where I am ultra cautious. Get your tempo right and try not to stop. Just keep moving forward, progress happens. There was lots of hike a bike in this which I was concerned about before hand. Just do it. Accept it and do it. It was more fun than I had anticipated, just know that hike a bike eats everyone's time and not just yours. Maybe the huge amount of hike a bike was why my legs and arse were still feeling so good after two big days. Make sure your cycling shoes and socks are suitable for hike a bike.
My race experience. Fell behind early as I always seem to. The first couple of kilometres Calvin and Patrick set a cracking pace up front and maybe half the field tried to hang on, I was not one of them. I understand why they race like that but I never know if it would be the right thing for me or not. If bikepacking was a boxing match, trying to keep up with these guys in the early kilometres would be like letting the other guy punch you in the head half a dozen times before the opening bell.
I didn't push myself at any stage, maybe I should have. Acutely aware that most of these guys would have more straight line speed but a week is a long time to ride your bike. However you like doing it, maximise your strengths. I was passing everyone for the rest of the day, with the exception of the two Americans who were in a different league.
It did rain for most of the first day and when the rain stopped we were still enveloped in a really thick fog. Others have complained about nothing getting a chance to dry because of the fog but wear good wet weather kit and you are usually a bit wet due to perspiration. Build a bridge people, kind of what happens out there.
There is no where to resupply on day one. If you want to eat it, you have to take it with you. Hot Cross Buns compact really well, are tasty and calorie dense. I did have a can of coke handed to me by the wife of one of the riders out there on course for him. Wish I had a support crew out there to bring me salad rolls but always kind of thought it was contrary to most of the point of this race. The heavily introverted like getting away from everyone and you don't achieve that introspective Zen state if your other half shows up every 100km.
With the rain there was thick gear jamming mud. Glad I had the Rohloff and it's single speed chain line. Carry chain lube and a rag. I didn't have a rag but used my long pants which was probably not the optimal situation. I am not sponsored or anything like that but Pro-link chain lube is excellent for bikepacking purposes with no fuss application.
On one of the crazy steep descents, a rock or stick slammed into my front brake, pushing it out of alignment so that the housing was preventing the rotor from moving freely, causing a mighty racket. In my addled and frustrated state, I couldn't see what the problem was or how to fix it. About 10 minutes later Nijat as the next rider pulled up and had a look and immediately spotted the problem. It took me maybe 15 more minutes to fiddle with things and get things aligned properly.
Then there was some very conservative riding with me not trusting the front brakes. The real consequence of this was with all the mud and grime, I totally used up the rear brakes by the end of the day so only had the front brakes which I didn't really trust on the vicious downhills. I spent about 10 minutes in the good light and clear head space at Numarella tennis courts early on day 2 and sorted both front and rear brakes out properly. Made a huge difference and felt a huge buzz of achievement about having fixed something that went wrong. I probably did it quickly and at the right time. Feel the positives, take your wins.
Did I stop too early on day 1? At the time there is no answer for this. I wanted to reach Numarella on day 1, which really should be achievable if everything goes right. As it was, I was in outright third position and no one passed me overnight as I slept. I would have been happy to ride through the night to reach Numarella but my GPS was playing up and I was lost in a guys paddock unable to find the track I was supposed to be riding on. The path was very indistinct and hard to follow and I kept running into huge swathes of bracken and downed trees completely blocking my path.
It was only 11PM when I pulled up stumps and with daylight savings finishing that evening, I was going to get an extra hour overnight. I was maybe a little frustrated and not thinking straight so very quickly made the call to get some sleep and have a better look in the morning hopefully a bit more rested. I fell asleep really quickly but was woken up about 3AM by noise, there was no wind and heavy fog. I thought it was another rider but was instead just a wombat. Noisy bastard.
I couldn't fall back asleep so packed up my stuff and was moving again by 3.30AM. I was feeling really good and found the path I was supposed to be on reasonably quickly. Once I was cycling again it was a very quick ride into Numarella and wish I had done that on the first night. Reality is that you can't fix that.
In one of the best cycling books that I have read (The Rider), Tim Krabbe writes, "On a bike your consciousness is small, the harder you work, the smaller it gets. Every thought that arises is immediately and utterly true, every unexpected event is something you'd known all along but had only forgotten for a moment." It does get very like that. I know that Tim Krabbe is writing about being limited or propelled by your thoughts and understandings. Did I stop too soon? The truth is in that I did stop in that guys paddock, the rest is in how I adapt and evolve around that situation.
You spend a lot of time with your own thoughts and your own version of the truth out there and that is probably pretty much what I write about. The guys up the front and those way behind experienced a different truth. I suspect big training rides help prepare for this. Learn a bit about your mind and whether to allow a thought pattern to continue to evolve or whether it is time to find that circuit breaker. I do a lot of maths, always very simple, times tables learnt in early primary school by rote instead of understanding.
Also counting in an OCD way in tempo with my cadence. I sometimes get stuck on numbers, Having started at one and reached eighty but skipping back to seventy until I reach eighty again. Back to seventy and through to eighty. Sometimes it is just two numbers, 97-98, 97-98, 97-98, never reaching 99. Then you realise and start obsessing about 99 and it's quirks. 99 symmetry. 99 Luft ballons. Barbara Weldon. You need to find a way to skip past the skip in the vinyl. Reset at 1 or 12 or 142, doesn't matter, it is like breathing again after holding your breath for a short time.
I left Numarella prior to 7AM and was feeling great even though I missed a turn and powered down a big hill that I then needed to ride back up. I had fixed the bike and refilled water bottles and found the tennis club house to make myself a couple of cups of coffee. I knew I was in outright third, making good process and suspected everyone behind me was only just rising from slumber. Numarella is a beautiful little town and I was feeling very appreciative of the tennis club for opening up for us smelly cyclists. Very trusting. They could probably make some money if they stocked the fridge with wagon wheels or mint patties.
Following Tyre Tracks. During the Tour Divide, the tyre tracks weren't always obvious, maybe roads were much better over there, or there was thicker mud due to the rain over here? I was following Calvin and Patricks tyres for the whole of my ride. I was very aware of my own progress and pace but these other tyre tracks told of aggressive downhill lines and mad skills to just make the cornering at speeds I could only dream of and on the steep uphill where I was either grinding away in my lowest gear or valiantly pushing the steed, the preceding tracks told of supreme athletes dancing nimbly on pedals as they floated up hill quickly with very little effort. I started thinking it was important that I made my tracks as obvious as those tormenting me. Time to play some games with the slow fuckers behind me.
I hadn't seen anyone since about lunchtime on day one when Nijat drifted slowly off my back wheel up one of the climbs. I am very happy and it is probably a bit easier to ride like that. Nijat is a great guy and it would have been a pleasure to ride with him but I would have had to converse and that takes mental energy. I only saw a couple of dogs in Numarella, no commerce so there was no body out and about.
Then the pain starts with a very tough ride from Numarella to Nimitabel. About half way up the climb, (I had broken my glasses early on day one and more or less riding blind.) out in the middle of no where on some god forsaken goat track a stunningly attractive athletic goddess in her Gucci/Lorna Jane running kit is out trail running. I pulled off the track to let her pass/strike up a conversation , because I was feeling so pretty myself and she says that she is out trail running with her daughter who is behind her riding a horse. I immediately think of the horse v bicycle thread on the BN forums and make a note to pull over and let the horse pass appropriately. I make some lame joke about not having seen the Easter bunny out there that morning and she laughs and says something about the Easter bunny being evil before we both get moving again.
Heaps and heaps of hike a bike between Numarella and Nimitabel. Took me almost exactly 6 hours to go the 40km. Steve as the organiser had told us to budget for 5-7 hours which is probably about right. If I hadn't had navigation issues I might have knocked half an hour off and a stronger rider could take at least another half an hour off that again.
Really spectacular views and interesting countryside. No fog or rain on day two, just heavy cloud keeping the sun away and temperatures moderate. Just really good riding on tough terrain. Happy to reach Nimitabel and the much talked of Bakery as the first resupply opportunity. Was a fraction disappointed when the girl in the bakery told me that day light savings had finished the night before. Meant that I had slept for an hour longer than I had given myself credit for. I had been thinking, "gee, I only had like 3-4 hours sleep and was feeling great, I can replicate that again at least a couple of times in the race." Suddenly you find out that you may have had 5 hours sleep and you will need at least one night with more hours shut eye than that to keep feeling human.
The sleep and sleep patterns is something that I have spent a lot of time thinking about to help me finish this one faster, a bit about pushing some limits. I think I am learning more all the time on this and didn't feel anywhere near as crappy as I had anticipated. The Audax Oppy was good training for this. It may be that in the past the only time I have had to rely on such silly small amounts of sleep there was probably copious amounts of alcohol involved whereas this time, I was out alone on my bicycle in some amazing country in good weather and riding much better than I had predicted. Why not feel good?
Nimitabel. I probably made some mistakes at the bakery. I wanted to be fast and not get caught wasting time at the resupply points. I ordered a pie, two sausage rolls and a custard tart so there would be no waiting. I should have ordered four or five big salad roils with double cheese. I then got stuck talking to people that I didn't want to. I had course notes to look at but wasn't able to. Then my resupply at the general store was not good enough. I bought a couple of boxes of muesli bars that were way too sweet for my liking and a packet of mint slice biscuits which were awesome but started me in that slippery slope of sugar and chocolate consumption that I had avoided. I didn't need the sweet stuff and suspect that more salad rolls, hot cross buns and a big bag of salt and vinegar chips would have been better.
My push out of Nimitabel was very slow and I stopped and read the course notes once I got away from human contact so I could focus on the moment. It is a bit like getting drunk at this stage of the race. You can focus very well if you choose but only on one thing at a time and not the multitude of things that are required. Still an awesome place to ride.
A couple of river crossings went really well. Don't think about it, just wade right through quickly. You will be across before you realise how cold and wet your feet are. Start riding again. I have wasted a lot of time in the past trying to do this differently, just get across.
In comparison to the rest of the ride, it was actually a fast and fun ride through to Cathcart from Nimitabel. You do go through a National Park on Easter long weekend so I did have to contend with car traffic for the first time in the ride. Most of the drivers were very good and slowed down, gave me plenty of space but I did have one complete fucking idiot happy to drive his Chevvy Ignoramus straight at me at speed. I mean you are on a dirt track in a National Park, enjoy the serenity you fool instead of feeling the need to be so angry at the cyclist you read about in the Daily Telegraph. Just because you haven't been healthy enough to see your own tiny penis let alone sustain the kind of erection that may provide some kind of pleasure no matter how fleeting to yourself let alone a mutually agreeable partner. Hmmmm, maybe I was getting a bit grumpy at this stage myself.
It was a good place to ride none the less. The climbs and descents were less steep and to prevent erosion they have these ski jump mounds at regular intervals all the way. I was thinking that this really plays into my hands as the profile would prevent others from cycling that much faster and more aggressively than me. For once I would be competitive on the road.
As always pride does truly cometh before a fall. Just when you think that you have things under control is when things are most likely to turn pear shaped. I had some problems with the GPS on Saturday turning it back on after it timed itself out when I was lost in the guys paddock late in the night. I suspect that water on the pins at the dyno end is an issue and I should have had electrical tape covering all this to keep the moisture out. This is the second etrex that I have blown up and that gets very expensive very quickly. I have always like my setup, certainly in preference to any others I have seen with the SON28 hub, ewerk regulator, etrex 30 and Exposure Revo light.
Anyway, about half way between Nimitabel and Cathcart I was feeling good, making some progress and planning a much later push into the night to keep resupply options open when my GPS just stopped. Unfortunately the GPS was my only source of navigation and I was well out of mobile range. The panic about being lost was surprisingly quickly replace with acceptance that my ride was over and I can just kind of make my way back to civilisation with plenty of food and warm clothes with me on a busier trail I was never in any real danger.
Unfortunately in my desperate attempts to get things working again, I had changed the batteries in the GPS (no difference) and did not clip the etrex back into the mount properly. I have read negative reviews about the mount and needing to tether the unit as well but I have never had a problem and know that it was an error on my part that I lost my GPS when I hit a bump at speed and it rattled loose. The unit even in it's broken state was worth a significant amount of money to me and I was very down about things when I realised it was missing.
As soon as I got back in mobile range at the top of one of the ridges, I made a phone call to Steve as the race organiser with my tail of woe. I had had an hour or so to ponder things prior to making the call and was pretty reconciled with my situation at this point. Steve did all the right things about getting me to Bombala and seeing if I could come up with a solution but it had been a very expensive trip for me already and I probably would have been putting myself in quite some danger progressing through some of Australia's most rugged countryside without GPS or any previous knowledge or experience of the area.
Cathcart was another really nice looking little town even if it was well after dark when I arrived and everything was closed. Easter Sunday, probably fair enough. A very impressive Art Deco Memorial Hall had public toilets and showers which I would have loved but had no towel. Anyway, that was my race. Looks like there won't be too many finishers. Tough race but well worth the attempt and if you come with the right setup, attitude and levels of fitness, should be achievable.
Post race speculation. All academic really. I know I will speculate in my own little mind but need to keep that to myself. I cannot allow this to be a pattern. It appears I finish any race wondering "what if?" I am guessing that is probably pretty normal for everyone but I am not certain it is healthy or good or not. I know that I have a lot to learn and I continue to make errors, many errors. The guys up front, much younger than me are not making these errors, I know they are still learning as well.
Was it right to come in with such low expectations and levels of motivation? I wasn't trained or prepared properly which made me very uncommitted to finishing. I was so no nervous before the ride that I even had a great nights sleep before hand which never happens. I couldn't get excited or motivated so why go and rac? I enjoy touring and will go and do that again next. Anyone else up for a Helsinki to Moscow ride?
I enjoy the racing because I am out there cycling and my competitive nature pushes you further for longer. I kind of think I could be pretty good at racing in this format if I ever got organised. If I am good at it, what is holding me back? How is this for screwed in the head. I was clearly outright 3rd and like to think pushing on strongly for well over a day prior to losing my GPS. Whilst out there I was pushing hard and did want to ride harder for longer than I had in the past. I was well aware that I was third and that probably scared me a bit never having done that well in the past.
Why be scared of doing well? I was thinking third - podium. You beauty and then third, that is nearly the best place. First is too much pressure and expectation for every and any other time that I jump on the bike. Second is just the guy who didn't win but third is podium. You rode hard, lifted and extended to claim a coveted spot up there with the guys who really know how to ride. Something to be proud of. All of this fits in the speculation basket. I was a DNF.
Get out there and enjoy, really happy to have supported this ride and I hope it succeeds in a very similar format from here on in.
Some random thoughts to start with because I don't really know where they fit.
1. I really struggled for motivation before this ride. I had put my hand up and paid for airfares a long time ago and that was as committed as I got. Have been really enjoying the riding I have been doing down here with the Audax and Hobart Gravel Grinders crews but I haven't done any training or ramp up in kilometres or anything serious like that. I suspect I really should have shown this race far more respect.
2. My body was really great for the two days I was out there which hasn't always been the case. Looked after my tender bits early instead of waiting to feel the pain. Didn't push myself at all when I was out there. There was no sprinting or racing or pushing harder up the hills. It was real old man cycling where you pick the right gear and the right tempo everytime and ride patiently but with an ever present sense of urgency.
3. I didn't take a sleeping bag or tent. Probably controversial but would consider doing exactly the same thing again for this race. Watch the weather forecast and take calculated risks. I had my bivy bag and an emergency blanket as well as all of my cycling clothing, down vest and beanie. I was certainly warm enough both nights I was out there. I don't know how sustainable such a strategy may be in the long term but it worked for a couple of nights. I did rip the emergency blanket on the second night getting out of my bivvy but I carried electrical tape as part of my emergency bike repair kit which would have fixed that.
4. I was more light weight than anyone which makes a big difference, particularly on this course with the cruel amount of climbing and hike a bike. The bike itself is the only place to sensibly lose more weight. I would love some uber light weight carbon rims and my Rohloff hub weighs much more than a 1x setup.
5. This really is an eating competition and eat early and eat often. You need to take a huge amount of food with you from the start line. There is no where to resupply prior to Nimitabel which I didn't reach until 1PM on day two. That is a lot of food to carry. I avoided sugar and lollies this time and what a revelation. I never had the darkness descend. I did have a bag of dried pineapple which is probably just pure sugar and a good handful of dried figs. Wish I had taken more salad rolls with me as proper food.
Keep going, keep going, keep going. I did want to finish quickly, mainly because I did not want to be out there for 8 or 9 days hurting myself. Better to get it over with in 5 or 6 and get down to dads to recover. Most people were better cyclists than me, particularly on the downhills where I am ultra cautious. Get your tempo right and try not to stop. Just keep moving forward, progress happens. There was lots of hike a bike in this which I was concerned about before hand. Just do it. Accept it and do it. It was more fun than I had anticipated, just know that hike a bike eats everyone's time and not just yours. Maybe the huge amount of hike a bike was why my legs and arse were still feeling so good after two big days. Make sure your cycling shoes and socks are suitable for hike a bike.
My race experience. Fell behind early as I always seem to. The first couple of kilometres Calvin and Patrick set a cracking pace up front and maybe half the field tried to hang on, I was not one of them. I understand why they race like that but I never know if it would be the right thing for me or not. If bikepacking was a boxing match, trying to keep up with these guys in the early kilometres would be like letting the other guy punch you in the head half a dozen times before the opening bell.
I didn't push myself at any stage, maybe I should have. Acutely aware that most of these guys would have more straight line speed but a week is a long time to ride your bike. However you like doing it, maximise your strengths. I was passing everyone for the rest of the day, with the exception of the two Americans who were in a different league.
It did rain for most of the first day and when the rain stopped we were still enveloped in a really thick fog. Others have complained about nothing getting a chance to dry because of the fog but wear good wet weather kit and you are usually a bit wet due to perspiration. Build a bridge people, kind of what happens out there.
There is no where to resupply on day one. If you want to eat it, you have to take it with you. Hot Cross Buns compact really well, are tasty and calorie dense. I did have a can of coke handed to me by the wife of one of the riders out there on course for him. Wish I had a support crew out there to bring me salad rolls but always kind of thought it was contrary to most of the point of this race. The heavily introverted like getting away from everyone and you don't achieve that introspective Zen state if your other half shows up every 100km.
With the rain there was thick gear jamming mud. Glad I had the Rohloff and it's single speed chain line. Carry chain lube and a rag. I didn't have a rag but used my long pants which was probably not the optimal situation. I am not sponsored or anything like that but Pro-link chain lube is excellent for bikepacking purposes with no fuss application.
On one of the crazy steep descents, a rock or stick slammed into my front brake, pushing it out of alignment so that the housing was preventing the rotor from moving freely, causing a mighty racket. In my addled and frustrated state, I couldn't see what the problem was or how to fix it. About 10 minutes later Nijat as the next rider pulled up and had a look and immediately spotted the problem. It took me maybe 15 more minutes to fiddle with things and get things aligned properly.
Then there was some very conservative riding with me not trusting the front brakes. The real consequence of this was with all the mud and grime, I totally used up the rear brakes by the end of the day so only had the front brakes which I didn't really trust on the vicious downhills. I spent about 10 minutes in the good light and clear head space at Numarella tennis courts early on day 2 and sorted both front and rear brakes out properly. Made a huge difference and felt a huge buzz of achievement about having fixed something that went wrong. I probably did it quickly and at the right time. Feel the positives, take your wins.
Did I stop too early on day 1? At the time there is no answer for this. I wanted to reach Numarella on day 1, which really should be achievable if everything goes right. As it was, I was in outright third position and no one passed me overnight as I slept. I would have been happy to ride through the night to reach Numarella but my GPS was playing up and I was lost in a guys paddock unable to find the track I was supposed to be riding on. The path was very indistinct and hard to follow and I kept running into huge swathes of bracken and downed trees completely blocking my path.
It was only 11PM when I pulled up stumps and with daylight savings finishing that evening, I was going to get an extra hour overnight. I was maybe a little frustrated and not thinking straight so very quickly made the call to get some sleep and have a better look in the morning hopefully a bit more rested. I fell asleep really quickly but was woken up about 3AM by noise, there was no wind and heavy fog. I thought it was another rider but was instead just a wombat. Noisy bastard.
I couldn't fall back asleep so packed up my stuff and was moving again by 3.30AM. I was feeling really good and found the path I was supposed to be on reasonably quickly. Once I was cycling again it was a very quick ride into Numarella and wish I had done that on the first night. Reality is that you can't fix that.
In one of the best cycling books that I have read (The Rider), Tim Krabbe writes, "On a bike your consciousness is small, the harder you work, the smaller it gets. Every thought that arises is immediately and utterly true, every unexpected event is something you'd known all along but had only forgotten for a moment." It does get very like that. I know that Tim Krabbe is writing about being limited or propelled by your thoughts and understandings. Did I stop too soon? The truth is in that I did stop in that guys paddock, the rest is in how I adapt and evolve around that situation.
You spend a lot of time with your own thoughts and your own version of the truth out there and that is probably pretty much what I write about. The guys up the front and those way behind experienced a different truth. I suspect big training rides help prepare for this. Learn a bit about your mind and whether to allow a thought pattern to continue to evolve or whether it is time to find that circuit breaker. I do a lot of maths, always very simple, times tables learnt in early primary school by rote instead of understanding.
Also counting in an OCD way in tempo with my cadence. I sometimes get stuck on numbers, Having started at one and reached eighty but skipping back to seventy until I reach eighty again. Back to seventy and through to eighty. Sometimes it is just two numbers, 97-98, 97-98, 97-98, never reaching 99. Then you realise and start obsessing about 99 and it's quirks. 99 symmetry. 99 Luft ballons. Barbara Weldon. You need to find a way to skip past the skip in the vinyl. Reset at 1 or 12 or 142, doesn't matter, it is like breathing again after holding your breath for a short time.
I left Numarella prior to 7AM and was feeling great even though I missed a turn and powered down a big hill that I then needed to ride back up. I had fixed the bike and refilled water bottles and found the tennis club house to make myself a couple of cups of coffee. I knew I was in outright third, making good process and suspected everyone behind me was only just rising from slumber. Numarella is a beautiful little town and I was feeling very appreciative of the tennis club for opening up for us smelly cyclists. Very trusting. They could probably make some money if they stocked the fridge with wagon wheels or mint patties.
Following Tyre Tracks. During the Tour Divide, the tyre tracks weren't always obvious, maybe roads were much better over there, or there was thicker mud due to the rain over here? I was following Calvin and Patricks tyres for the whole of my ride. I was very aware of my own progress and pace but these other tyre tracks told of aggressive downhill lines and mad skills to just make the cornering at speeds I could only dream of and on the steep uphill where I was either grinding away in my lowest gear or valiantly pushing the steed, the preceding tracks told of supreme athletes dancing nimbly on pedals as they floated up hill quickly with very little effort. I started thinking it was important that I made my tracks as obvious as those tormenting me. Time to play some games with the slow fuckers behind me.
I hadn't seen anyone since about lunchtime on day one when Nijat drifted slowly off my back wheel up one of the climbs. I am very happy and it is probably a bit easier to ride like that. Nijat is a great guy and it would have been a pleasure to ride with him but I would have had to converse and that takes mental energy. I only saw a couple of dogs in Numarella, no commerce so there was no body out and about.
Then the pain starts with a very tough ride from Numarella to Nimitabel. About half way up the climb, (I had broken my glasses early on day one and more or less riding blind.) out in the middle of no where on some god forsaken goat track a stunningly attractive athletic goddess in her Gucci/Lorna Jane running kit is out trail running. I pulled off the track to let her pass/strike up a conversation , because I was feeling so pretty myself and she says that she is out trail running with her daughter who is behind her riding a horse. I immediately think of the horse v bicycle thread on the BN forums and make a note to pull over and let the horse pass appropriately. I make some lame joke about not having seen the Easter bunny out there that morning and she laughs and says something about the Easter bunny being evil before we both get moving again.
Heaps and heaps of hike a bike between Numarella and Nimitabel. Took me almost exactly 6 hours to go the 40km. Steve as the organiser had told us to budget for 5-7 hours which is probably about right. If I hadn't had navigation issues I might have knocked half an hour off and a stronger rider could take at least another half an hour off that again.
Really spectacular views and interesting countryside. No fog or rain on day two, just heavy cloud keeping the sun away and temperatures moderate. Just really good riding on tough terrain. Happy to reach Nimitabel and the much talked of Bakery as the first resupply opportunity. Was a fraction disappointed when the girl in the bakery told me that day light savings had finished the night before. Meant that I had slept for an hour longer than I had given myself credit for. I had been thinking, "gee, I only had like 3-4 hours sleep and was feeling great, I can replicate that again at least a couple of times in the race." Suddenly you find out that you may have had 5 hours sleep and you will need at least one night with more hours shut eye than that to keep feeling human.
The sleep and sleep patterns is something that I have spent a lot of time thinking about to help me finish this one faster, a bit about pushing some limits. I think I am learning more all the time on this and didn't feel anywhere near as crappy as I had anticipated. The Audax Oppy was good training for this. It may be that in the past the only time I have had to rely on such silly small amounts of sleep there was probably copious amounts of alcohol involved whereas this time, I was out alone on my bicycle in some amazing country in good weather and riding much better than I had predicted. Why not feel good?
Nimitabel. I probably made some mistakes at the bakery. I wanted to be fast and not get caught wasting time at the resupply points. I ordered a pie, two sausage rolls and a custard tart so there would be no waiting. I should have ordered four or five big salad roils with double cheese. I then got stuck talking to people that I didn't want to. I had course notes to look at but wasn't able to. Then my resupply at the general store was not good enough. I bought a couple of boxes of muesli bars that were way too sweet for my liking and a packet of mint slice biscuits which were awesome but started me in that slippery slope of sugar and chocolate consumption that I had avoided. I didn't need the sweet stuff and suspect that more salad rolls, hot cross buns and a big bag of salt and vinegar chips would have been better.
My push out of Nimitabel was very slow and I stopped and read the course notes once I got away from human contact so I could focus on the moment. It is a bit like getting drunk at this stage of the race. You can focus very well if you choose but only on one thing at a time and not the multitude of things that are required. Still an awesome place to ride.
A couple of river crossings went really well. Don't think about it, just wade right through quickly. You will be across before you realise how cold and wet your feet are. Start riding again. I have wasted a lot of time in the past trying to do this differently, just get across.
In comparison to the rest of the ride, it was actually a fast and fun ride through to Cathcart from Nimitabel. You do go through a National Park on Easter long weekend so I did have to contend with car traffic for the first time in the ride. Most of the drivers were very good and slowed down, gave me plenty of space but I did have one complete fucking idiot happy to drive his Chevvy Ignoramus straight at me at speed. I mean you are on a dirt track in a National Park, enjoy the serenity you fool instead of feeling the need to be so angry at the cyclist you read about in the Daily Telegraph. Just because you haven't been healthy enough to see your own tiny penis let alone sustain the kind of erection that may provide some kind of pleasure no matter how fleeting to yourself let alone a mutually agreeable partner. Hmmmm, maybe I was getting a bit grumpy at this stage myself.
It was a good place to ride none the less. The climbs and descents were less steep and to prevent erosion they have these ski jump mounds at regular intervals all the way. I was thinking that this really plays into my hands as the profile would prevent others from cycling that much faster and more aggressively than me. For once I would be competitive on the road.
As always pride does truly cometh before a fall. Just when you think that you have things under control is when things are most likely to turn pear shaped. I had some problems with the GPS on Saturday turning it back on after it timed itself out when I was lost in the guys paddock late in the night. I suspect that water on the pins at the dyno end is an issue and I should have had electrical tape covering all this to keep the moisture out. This is the second etrex that I have blown up and that gets very expensive very quickly. I have always like my setup, certainly in preference to any others I have seen with the SON28 hub, ewerk regulator, etrex 30 and Exposure Revo light.
Anyway, about half way between Nimitabel and Cathcart I was feeling good, making some progress and planning a much later push into the night to keep resupply options open when my GPS just stopped. Unfortunately the GPS was my only source of navigation and I was well out of mobile range. The panic about being lost was surprisingly quickly replace with acceptance that my ride was over and I can just kind of make my way back to civilisation with plenty of food and warm clothes with me on a busier trail I was never in any real danger.
Unfortunately in my desperate attempts to get things working again, I had changed the batteries in the GPS (no difference) and did not clip the etrex back into the mount properly. I have read negative reviews about the mount and needing to tether the unit as well but I have never had a problem and know that it was an error on my part that I lost my GPS when I hit a bump at speed and it rattled loose. The unit even in it's broken state was worth a significant amount of money to me and I was very down about things when I realised it was missing.
As soon as I got back in mobile range at the top of one of the ridges, I made a phone call to Steve as the race organiser with my tail of woe. I had had an hour or so to ponder things prior to making the call and was pretty reconciled with my situation at this point. Steve did all the right things about getting me to Bombala and seeing if I could come up with a solution but it had been a very expensive trip for me already and I probably would have been putting myself in quite some danger progressing through some of Australia's most rugged countryside without GPS or any previous knowledge or experience of the area.
Cathcart was another really nice looking little town even if it was well after dark when I arrived and everything was closed. Easter Sunday, probably fair enough. A very impressive Art Deco Memorial Hall had public toilets and showers which I would have loved but had no towel. Anyway, that was my race. Looks like there won't be too many finishers. Tough race but well worth the attempt and if you come with the right setup, attitude and levels of fitness, should be achievable.
Post race speculation. All academic really. I know I will speculate in my own little mind but need to keep that to myself. I cannot allow this to be a pattern. It appears I finish any race wondering "what if?" I am guessing that is probably pretty normal for everyone but I am not certain it is healthy or good or not. I know that I have a lot to learn and I continue to make errors, many errors. The guys up front, much younger than me are not making these errors, I know they are still learning as well.
Was it right to come in with such low expectations and levels of motivation? I wasn't trained or prepared properly which made me very uncommitted to finishing. I was so no nervous before the ride that I even had a great nights sleep before hand which never happens. I couldn't get excited or motivated so why go and rac? I enjoy touring and will go and do that again next. Anyone else up for a Helsinki to Moscow ride?
I enjoy the racing because I am out there cycling and my competitive nature pushes you further for longer. I kind of think I could be pretty good at racing in this format if I ever got organised. If I am good at it, what is holding me back? How is this for screwed in the head. I was clearly outright 3rd and like to think pushing on strongly for well over a day prior to losing my GPS. Whilst out there I was pushing hard and did want to ride harder for longer than I had in the past. I was well aware that I was third and that probably scared me a bit never having done that well in the past.
Why be scared of doing well? I was thinking third - podium. You beauty and then third, that is nearly the best place. First is too much pressure and expectation for every and any other time that I jump on the bike. Second is just the guy who didn't win but third is podium. You rode hard, lifted and extended to claim a coveted spot up there with the guys who really know how to ride. Something to be proud of. All of this fits in the speculation basket. I was a DNF.
Get out there and enjoy, really happy to have supported this ride and I hope it succeeds in a very similar format from here on in.
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