Canberra Weekend

Hmm where to begin, perhaps not the most inspiring start to a blog, but the last three days have been a blast, so settle back if you are the slightest bit interested, but if you only care only the bike bits, I will tag them with
Friday is where it all started an impromptu day off work as we had our new telly delivered (we just watched Avatar on it WOW!) and I had a few jobs around the house including moving the telephone line, chopping some wood and most importantly cleaning the bikes! I had been out every night this week to various event’s with the kids, and the 29er still hadn’t had a proper clean since the Husky.

I also got to thinking about life and words life momentum, tempo, lead and lag, it’s like a pendulum, or a spring that you wind up. I have been thinking about how you have to have balance in your life and when you take shortcuts you have to pay it back sooner or later. But it works the other way as well, when you give something like time or energy or even food to your body, you get it back down the track. For example this training thing I have been working on, you don’t feel any fitter and you don’t instantly reap a better performance, instead it’s like you are winding up a spring or pulling back the string on a cross bow. Then just at the right time you can release the spring and the results you are aiming for or the performance you dream off becomes a reality. It works for anything really, friendships, family, money... Some people call it karma, I don’t really know what it is and whether it has a place in the framework of my Christian beliefs, but I am trying to keep this in mind when it comes to life in general.
Anyway Friday was one of those days when it was time to pay a few things back and it felt great to get a few things sorted, then we were packed and off to Canberra, battling the Sydney traffic to get across the metropolis and onto the open road.

The weather seemed perfect but as we continued south to Canberra, the clouds looks more ominous until we could see lightning over Canberra and boy was it chucking it down. We arrived at the Wells’ and discussed the plan for the weekend starting with a road ride in the morning then out to Stromlo in the afternoon. It rained all night, but we were keen to ride and the radar looked clear so we rolled out in the dark around 6:15 and sure enough it rained steadily for the 20 odd k’s into town, and just to test our metal, I punctured. Anyway we still managed to get to the meeting point on time and it seemed the local crew knew something we didn’t, because counting Jase, Kev and I, it was a massive bunch of 6 riders! Anyway thankfully the rain was not too heavy, it wasn’t too cold and we could see it was clearing. The clouds swirling around Canberra were amazing to watch as we rounded Parliament House, waved to Julia in her plush new office and cried with KRudd as he sat out on the grass in the rain all on his lonesome. It was up Northbourne and then out towards Belconnen and the first steady rise into a block headwind took two casualties so we were down to 4. I jumped on the front and was happy just to spin at a steady pace into the wind and marvel at the scenery as the sun finally poked it’s head out above the cloud bank around 7:45. We looped out through Ginninderra and back through Gungahlin, strange names, but nice places, picked up one of our lost riders on our way back down Northbourne into the city and headed back out past Red Hill towards Stromlo. It was so cool to be finally riding these roads and getting a taste of the Canberra lifestyle. I checked the odometer and we had done around 70km’s hardly the stuff of an epic, but it had been a good ride and I hadn’t brought a great deal of fuel with me, when Kev uttered those word’s I’ll never forget “So do ya wanna do the Cotter loop?” Sounded harmless enough, a loop might add an extra 10km’s or so and get us close to the 100km mark by the time we got back, “Yeah sure why not” came the reply. It wasn’t until I saw the road sign “44km till next petrol in Tharwa” that began to wonder what I had let myself in for. It was also around that time that my sarcastic comment of “Bit hilly round here” while we spinning leisurely along one of the many flat perfectly sealed ACT boulevards came back to bite me. Kev explained how it was a 50km loop of undulating tarmac. Undulating? The first climb out of Cotter was a ripper, sort of a long straight never ending Bobbin Head and the hill repeats didn’t stop till reached home, but hey, this is what I came for. A ride to wind that spring a little tighter, it was just me and Kev now and as we took turns on the front, we stretched every sinew and rode as hard as could through this hilly region. No cars, full sun, a bit of a headwind and truly amazing scenery. We got home around 11 pretty tired and sore but not beat so we washed the bikes and refuelled the bodies ready for the afternoon session.

Our hosts had an appointment with the boxing class so Sarah and I headed out to Stromlo, back tracking our morning’s ride through Cotter. We had a terrific afternoon and the track was in great nick despite the copius rain that had fallen in the last 24 hours. Sarah had a ball on her recently acquired second hand Trek 6000 (with some trick components) and I was just happy to spin the 29er around gently stilling feeling the pinch from the morning’s effort. The descent down Skyline then the Luge was absolutely fantastic, plus Sarah beat her time for a lap and thoroughly enjoyed it.

From there it was straight to the nearest coffee shop then back to the NASA outpost at Tinbinbilla. Sarah and I are both fascinated by space travel and really enjoyed wandering around the visitor’s centre marvelling at the ingenuity of those engineers of the past and present.
Home for a quick shower then out to dinner to a lovely Italian restaurant in Kingston called La Dolce Vita and what else would famished cyclists consume but bread and pasta. Yum! Fully recommend this place.
Home again and time for some much needed sleep. Kev and I would roll out on the MTB’s the next morning around 8 and meet Sarah at Stromlo at 9. A lot sunnier this morning and a little cooler at just a couple of degrees above 0, but perfect for riding, and Kev put the hammer down straight out the drive. We took the scenic route following a few back tracks and fire roads. On one section traversing the ridge behind Chapman, we had a few close calls with dogs off leads, but things took a turn for the worse when a crazy young Weimaraner bolted out of the bush and veered straight in front of Kev. Kev locked up the brakes and narrowly avoided a nasty collision, then the hound bounded around to me and gave me a nice nip on the side of the calf “OUCH!” We stopped and the owner, a lovely older lady was mortified that her dog had done this, leaving me with a bloody leg and five nice teeth marks separated by a beautiful bruise. The dog knew he was in trouble and wouldn’t settle down, but we finally grabbed his collar (not before nipping me again on the back of the other leg!!!) and then followed them home to get some first aid. The lady and her son were most helpful in patching me up and before long we were on our way again. Funnily, beside the last road stretch before Stromlo, another dog owner had a crazy Border Collie running around off lead. I slowed fearing a repeat, then Kev rolled up beside me between me and the dog to shield me. It was a very funny moment and thankfully the dog paid us no attention.

Into Stromlo!!! Yay, Sarah was happy to go her own pace up the usual climb. We saw Jase and Gary and a few other race regulars, then Kev took me over some new trails that such as Wattle Happen, Blue Tongue and Heart Breaker. We beat Sarah to the top so we visited Slip Rock and the Pig Run before re-climbing back to the top on probably the steepest fire road I have ever ridden, just in time to meet Sarah with her legs burning after the effort of the climb, not bad darling. Sarah headed back down the Skyline as did Kev and I then back around to Heartbreaker for one more climb before we called it a weekend (/BIKE>.

By the end of this ride, the fuel tanks were empty again and call me crazy but the idea of a foot long Chicken Subway just wouldn’t go away. We followed that with another great coffee (Canberra’s coffee culture is alive and well) and then steeled ourselves for the long drive home.
Well it is getting late and I am beat and if you are still reading I’d be surprised but I better end it here before you never come back again! Thanks again to Kev and Kendra, it was fantastic spending some time with you guys and you looked after us so lovingly, oh and thanks heaps to Mum and Dad for minding the kids!!!

Till the next instalment, Keep Riding
Mike

STM3 and Husky100

A big couple of weekends have just blown by, first with the STM3 7 hour at Yellowmundee and today the long awaited Husky100. The training is starting to pay dividends with two very satisfying results,
Yellowmundee was the race that might have been and after a good start, riding my Giant XTC 29 1 for the first time it was eating up the rocky trails and it certainly wasn’t slowing me down after setting the fastest lap in my category. The dual for 2nd and 3rd continued for a few laps between Jeff Rooney and myself, but about the same time that Jeff put a gap between us I realised my back tyre was steadily losing pressure, not good when riding a tubed wheel on a hard tail at speed over a rocky trail! I stopped a couple of times to pump it up but sure enough on lap 7 the tube gave up the ghost and I was left to run back along the trail to the event centre to find a replacement. Now there is a story here. The bike is an ex-demo, apparently straight from the guys at AMB. When I inspected the blown tube there were no less than 4 patches on it! Thanks AMB! I must write to thank you for this learning experience! The guys at Lifecycles were great and swap out the dilapidated thong for a brand spanker and I was rolling again, but down to 6th place. I fought my way back to 5th, and finished feeling pretty happy with my effort and glad to still be in the series points. One other thing, Giant can you please put some decent brakes on what is otherwise a brilliant bike? This bike deserves better than Avid 3’s!!!
The Husky today was an awesome race and starting just behind the Elite’s the pace was furious to start with but I soon settled into a nice steady rhythm and again the 29er was rolling beautifully. This trail was made for a 29er and having ridden all these trails over the last few summer’s I knew this would be a fast race. There were a few mud puddles to contend with but basically the track was in great shape until about the 85k mark and then the mud really started to bite. Our dear organiser Amanda who did a fantastic job today quipped that it can’t be a MTB race without some mud, but let’s be clear. It is one thing to jump off for a few impassable pools, but wading through 4-5 thigh high slop traps is not what we want. MTB’s are not cheap to run at the best of times and it is about time MTB event organisers realised that replacing multiple drive train and suspension components after every race is not sustainable. Please guys show some consideration for the people who support your events and avoid running on really wet muddy trails. There are still folks out there that crumble into a sobbing mess at the mere mention of Capital Punishment
OK so having got that off my chest, let me repeat this was by and large a fantastic course, with plenty of fun single track and fast flowing fire trail often over hard baked clay, nice and fast. I had the nutrition dialled and felt pretty fresh at the end, perhaps I should have gone a little harder? I achieved a PB today, finishing a solid 4th just 2 minutes behind 3rd place. A podium would have been nice but
It’s been great racing this last two weeks, but even better chatting, riding and recovering (eating!) with top people I have met through this sport, there are too many to name! Also congrats to the other TORC riders, Larri Brittan winning her category and Kelly Mapleston 2nd. Peter Cheesman and Sandy Logie also completed the 50km and 100km races respectively
Keep riding
Mike

Training Update

Well it was just 4 weeks ago since training began in earnest for the WSC24 and everything is coming along nicely. My training program of 3 weeks on and one week off is working well thanks to the guys at FTP and I am feeling stronger after every session. I have forgotten what it feels like not to have that dull ache in my legs and at times taking my usual two steps at a time is more than I can manage, so this week off has been great. Mind you I still got a chance to do a few laps around centennial park and a couple of games of soccer with the Knox 1st XI means it wasnt all rest this week.

The training has been great and I have found it interesting how much it has taken over my life. To even train at this level of around 10-12 hours per week is all-consuming while still fulfilling the responsibilities of Dad, husband, and breadwinner. I get test to the results in the STM Round 3 this Sunday at Yellowmundee. Even more exciting is it will be the first outing for my new Giant XTC 29 1. I have a really good feeling about this bike and I am hoping it is comfortable and quick enough for me to use as my main ride when the WSC comes round.






















Plans for the WSC are also looking good with a number of people getting behind me with offers of sponsorship. I am hoping that Turramurra Cyclery and TORC will take care of marquee hire and EDC are also interested in providing some support which is fantastic, and there are a few other irons in the fire.

My support crew has now been significantly bolstered with the addition of Gary Eastment. It is great to have you on board mate. Our catch cry is "If you're breathing, then you're riding!" I have known Gary for over 15 years from the first time I visited Teen Ranch all those years ago, also the place I met my beautiful wife, but that's another story. Speaking of which I must say this training fits in well with home life too. All that time on the trainer means I am home more often and the higher intensity, shorter time sessions equates to virtual marital bliss, or as close as you can get to it when you have such lofty goals.

I had one of those moments riding home in the traffic up the Pacific highway this evening, you know when you are fit when you reach the top of a pinch and you are out of the saddle and you have the capacity to kick over the crest and accelerate, instead of collapsing back into the saddle and half pedal for a while till your legs recover. It is an awesome feeling to know the training is paying off and you are on target for a personal best result.

So what is coming up?

• 12/6: STM3 Yellowmundee (7hr)
• 14/6-4/7: Stage 2 of training program
• 19/6: Husky 100 (100km)
• 26-27/6: Weekend with Sarah in Canberra. Training at Stromlo with Kev
• 5-11/7: Recovery week
• 12-31/7: Stage 3 of training program
• 29/8: STM4 Stromlo (6hr)
• 12-17/9: FTP training camp
• 25/9: STM5 Appin (10hr)
• 27/9-8/10: Taper
• 9-10/10: WSC24

I have even had to forgo my beloved Dirtworks and Angry Doctor, but time and money are limited resources and my focus is soley on the WSC for 2010. That's it for now

Keep Riding
Mike