Thursday, December 30, 2010

Fatties and 11 year old killers

Had a ball with the Fatties bunch last night. I had not really planned to go considering my previous two hard days but Neil's SMS's through the day got me all interested. Very happy with how the legs and heart performed in the circumstances.

The night was a gorgeous one and I enjoyed introducing Gus to the boys... and the Fatties style of riding. I think he learnt a lot about himself!


Neil describes his p-o-v here with a very inaccurate statement about losing his desire to attack or chase. Throughout this period of no desire I distinctly remember chasing his wheel with my heart in my throat as we screamed along the Westerfolds trails at 45+. No desire my arse!

Tonight on my rest day, my son talked me into going for a run with him. Something I'm clearly not built for. What I conceded to (a coupla k) turned into about six and I'm now in agony.

Too old. Too big. My 11 year old had it all over me.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

2 days, 280 ks hard...

... but very tired.

Time to set the Alpine and Odyssey goals:
  • Alpine Classic 200k - time to beat all things being equal - 6 hrs 52 min
  • Otway Odyssey - time to beat all things being equal - 5 hrs 52 min

Only way to do it is maintain the same as current strength and lose weight.

Must be down to 97 by 20th Jan... we'll see.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Day and those that follow

A grouse day for the kids. They had a ball...


The one day of the year where we can not ride, eat like pigs and not feel guilty. Look at this! What a wonderful wife! What a wonderful life! ~


Karen put a massive effort into the day and didn't stop working from dawn to dusk. I can't believe how exhausted we were by the end of the day (me too and I didn't do much).

Karen's fam for lunch. Mine for dinner. No time for snoozing in between. Far out!

One learning for me from the day: Don't drink (at all) in the middle of the day if you want to make it to the end.

Boxing day was pretty much a repeat of the same with too much food and drink and absolutely no exercise.

At least I made it out onto the bike today to work some of it off. According to Brad's Garmin doozamewatchit he burned off 5750 calories on this morning's ride.

That'll fix about a quarter of it.

It was grouse to welcome Smithy back to the riding today. It's been far too long since he's been out and it was great to catch up (good luck with that first few weeks of agony mate but you'll get there).


We tackled Pigeon Bank and Clintons before an early coffee at Smith's. Smithy turned for home then the three of us headed to King Lake, Whittlesea, Arthurs Creek and Hurstbridge to home.


It's a shocker of a section along Plenty Road and traffic, especially when there's a 30mph south-westerly, but the more pleasant views along Arthurs Creek Road soon make up for it and the ride through there is just gorgeous.


A great hit-out for a public holiday. Heath did a great job of hanging on after not being too confident when I told him there was still 70 to go at KL. You can tell he's a tough-nut.

So Alpine Classic and Otway Odyssey here we come. The times will not be beat unless I change the eating habits of the last two days and that starts today.

Friday, December 24, 2010

If you happen to be watching carols tonight... I much prefer this dress...

I love Christmas Eve

A traditional day with the kids today (Christmas Eve) after a pretty soft cycling week (I'm sure that bit doesn't concern them!).

In typical dad fashion, we leave our Christmas shopping for mum right to the last minute but I really do love shopping with just me and the kids on Chrissy Eve. We had a ball.

The Donc (Westfield Doncaster) was amazingly quiet, mostly due to everyone else being so completely organised. We got a park, took this photo (creativity provided by Jack) -


- then quickly got our pressies done and dusted before grabbing lunch in the food court. Love it!

When we rang mum to say we were coming home we were very clearly instructed to NOT (come home).

So off we went to Dairy Bell. As if we need an excuse for an ice-cream?


The kids were in fine form today. Getting along, not arguing, playing nicely with each other. Couldn't really figure it out?!?

Jack was full of craziness, Lucy was totally brimming with madness and Kate was her usual totally cute self!


We had discussions about how our personalities were displayed in our ice-cream choices and eating habits...


  • Jack - caramel cream - mostly gone already, very organised, neat and tidy... so Jack really.
  • Dad - spearmint choc-covered with choc-fudge - very chocolate, lot's of energy, heaps of variety but pretty organised.
  • Kate - orange sorbet - very pretty, lots of tang and delicately eaten.
  • Lucy - bubble gum - pink, pretty, messy but well contained in her usual cup.

20 minutes and 50 thousand calories later we headed home having properly gained permission to do so.

Karen out for food shopping quickly now.... then I'll fit a ride in. Smith's here we come - and if you're out there D'Zilva, you're a gonner.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Big MTB week

This week has been a big week on the mountain bike and the discs in my back are feeling it.

Monday night I rode home via my hoot of a commute. I've wacked my head on this branch about five times and it seems to be at a height where I don't notice it in time before it tries to knock my block off.


I thought if I actually stopped, got off the bike and took a photo of it, I might remember next time that it's going to get me.

Some work training days on Wednesday and Thursday meant that I got off a bit earlier than normal and was able to head out and give Han's Loop a blast a couple of days in a row.

Three days in a row on the hard-tail have me walking around with a stoop like an old man!

Thursday arvo I took the road bike the long way home via Lower Plenty, Mt. Pleasant Rd, then Kangaroo Ground-Warrandyte Road for a bit of a hoot down my favourite bit of bitumen on my own (a bit like the last couple of times with the 6am-ers Horny!)...

Then this morning I've been out to Smith's Gully with Mick and Al for a rip around the magnificent single track of Smith's/St. Andrews.



I was determined to find and arrest that cop-stabber D'Zilva today out in the middle of the bush but he aluded us again. What a hoot that would be!

Al on the Rob Roy loop

My legs were a bit tired this morning after a pretty big week but it was a fantastic ride on some brilliant trail. Great company with Al and Mick and a fantastic morning in beautiful country-side.

This weeks summary:
  • Sunday - 3.5hr road - 6am-ers beach run
  • Monday - 1.5hr MTB - Hoot of a commute
  • Tuesday - 2.5hr MTB - Mullem and Hans's
  • Wednesday - 2.5hr MTB - Bulleen and Hans's
  • Thursday - 3hr road - into work and out via Lwr Plenty, KG and W'dyte
  • Friday - 45min road - into work
  • Saturday - 3hr MTB - Smith's Gully
An all important week for Alpine Classic and Odyssey prep.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Fellowship extraordinaire

It was a privilege this morning to be joined by the Tour of Bright Sprint King, Jeffrey Shaw. We were a sight to behold as we cruised down Nepean Highway and back for coffee in Black Rock.

Mostly a sea of blue and yellow but speckled with a bit of GREEN.



Shawie's tales of the Tour tell a story of someone actually willing to have a go and chase some success rather than sit in the bunch and simply roll with the rest of them. All his points came in attacks and breaks. Nice work mate!


About 20 of us had a nice cruise down to Mt. Eliza this morning. A flat and easy roll - something a bit out of the ordinary for the 6am-ers.

It wasn't until we'd got nearly all the way around the Two Bays loop that the hammer went down...

Suddenly the boys were chewin' on the handlebar tape as Mrs. P came over us and started sucking us along on the back of her semi-motorised scooter thingy (without the motor).



You can see she was really cranky to have Big Gus breathing down her neck...


and the whole group 'strung out' behind her!..


It was good to be joined by some not so frequent 6am-ers in Darryl, Back-cracker and Rocket.... oh, that's right - Rocket never turned up! But these rides will become at least bi-monthly in order to gather together some of the old hats that don't seem to join us too regularly in the hills.

A great 6am-er day of cycling and fellowship extraordinaire.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Nice warm start to the week

A nice cruisy hoot-of-a-commute into work on the SS yesterday.

2hr MTB - solid

A hard hit out with the Hurt Box this morning. Very admirable win to Horny in the sprint. I set him up big time and he still took me by half a wheel. One lesson learned!

2hr road bike - hard

Saturday, December 4, 2010

What a wonderful day... from beginning to end.

From super trails to Christmas Trees to gorgeous children. Today had it all. Up at 5 and non-stop to mid-night.

At 5:15am this morning Mick Ritchie and I were out the door and on our way to Smith's Gully (St. Andrews) for a MTB exploration morning. We had never ridden these trails before and were looking forward to finding out how good it really is.


As we cruised north the weather was absolutely beautiful. Sunny skies and warms temp. From what we currently understand, that's not how it's supposed to be on a Saturday. We should be getting at least 30mm of rain!

My enthusiasm got the better of me as I texted Bruce in Bright to say how pleased I was that they had such a beautiful day for the tour (big road racing weekend this weekend for the Tour of Bright - 15 6am-ers in attendance). I heard later it was raining up there... he must have thought I was taking the piss!

Anyway, we discovered what a delight it is to ride the trails of Smith's Gully. It was absolutely as good as it comes. The single track is extensive, well maintained and heaps of fun. The scenery is wonderful and the coffee at the shop at the end is as good as anywhere. The whole package really.


Towards late afternoon we headed out to Wandin to choose our Christmas tree. This is the one...


And later, Karen headed off to a 50th birthday and the kids and I went out for some tea. We had one of those treasured nights that are never planned but just happen. Jack's wish for quite a while was to go to Formosa House Chinese restaurant so I sucked it up and went (I'd much prefer Thai or Indian... maccas for that matter).

The kids felt extremely special simply because of the fussy waiters, white table clothes and candles on the table. They absolutely loved it and couldn't hold back their appreciation (I reckon each of them thanked me twenty times!). Funny!... I never get that at McDonalds.

We had to finish off with a massive ice-cream each from Dairy Bell and home to bed by 10, yes - 10.

Grouse!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Fat and Lazy

Getting fatter.

Getting lazier.

Managed a good two hour hoot of a commute last night but then the rain stopped me this morning.

Need to get out with the Fatties tomorrow for a nice positive smashfest to get my head back in the right space.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Cruisy

My tiredness on Monday and my crashes and mechanicals on Wednesday have caused me to consider a super-easy week. I've only ridden Sunday, Monday and Wednesday this week and have enjoyed the back-off for a bit. It's fit in with the rain anyway which is good!

Will try to get out on the trails at some stage this weekend and out with the 6am-ers on the road tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Good time for a significant rest anyway considering the Alpine Classic goals for late January.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Rubber side up... woops!

This photo pretty much sums up the finish of a pretty crappy day...

A bloody leg and sitting on the side of the Eastern Freeway waiting for Karen and the kids to come and pick me up. Crap.

I was excited to be at Fatties again and ready to smash it up having had a rest day from the bike yesterday. I was feeling pretty good when quite early in the ride I washed my front wheel out in a soft dusty corner and went down like a bag o' spuds.

It doesn't look so bad but I could actually feel the skin ripping off my leg. Ouch.

A quick check of bike and bones and I was back on again with not too much of a problem.

Twenty minutes later I was sitting on Alex's wheel along the most rocky bit of track on the trail. Because I was so close to him I couldn't see to pick my lines well and was hitting rocks and bumps that I normally wouldn't.

100kg on a hard-tail + rocky trail + picking bad line = torn up tyres

I tore a big hole in my rear, fixed it, flatted it, walked up to the freeway, rang Karen.

I've had trouble-free riding for months now. I wouldn't say that it's time something went wrong, but it doesn't happen too often so hey... suck it up I reckon.

2hrs SS MTB
100kg

Monday, November 22, 2010

Yawn

This was how I felt after yesterday's 6am-er ride and a full and busy day at work today...


I shouldn't have bothered getting on the single speed mountain bike for what I had intended to be my normal hoot of a commute home. I was fatigued by the time I'd got one kilometre up Spencer Street. My head was out of the trail zone and I couldn't get my heart rate above 150.... definite fatigue.

A bonus was running into The Extractor on the trails and stopping for a chat. Another bonus was getting home.

Okay, I'm 43. I need a rest now and again. Might take the day completely off tomorrow so I'm ready to smash it with the Fatties on Wednesday night.

1.5hr MTB SS - sooky la, la pace.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

6am-ers Double King Lake TT

Out to King Lake this morning with the 6am-ers. Just a small group of about 8 headed out through Eltham and climbed King Lake once as a group and then once as hard as we wanted on our own.

I felt pretty happy finishing just behind the best of our climbers.

The route was like Burke Street today. Bikes everywhere. Our secret coffee and muffin spot at Smiths, which has previously been inundated only by us and few others, was choc-a-block. How things change when the sun comes out.

120k moderate with one hard climb.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Suit up and ride

I "compteted" in the Suit-up-and-ride fund raiser yesterday for Oryen Youth Health. It involved about 4 kilometres of riding one of these...

... in a team with five other big bosses from work and my CEO. Quite funny really.

And that was it! Phew.

I need a rest day which I had today. Ready for a big one with the 6am-ers in the morning with two laps of King Lake climb involved. Should get home with at least 120 in the legs. Can't wait.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Fatties

It's funny. When I talk about Fatties amongst my family they think I'm referring to the older ladies weight loss group which my mother-in-law attends to weigh-in and discuss the next fad diet they'll try.

When I talk about Fatties amonst my cycling mates they think about the three hour smash-fest through the Yarra trails on mountain bikes at a pace most would suffer to achieve on a road bike.


Geez it was bloody great to be back! Fatties is the nic for the Fat Tyre Flyers mountain bike group ride from Eaglemont. From 6:30pm we hit the trails hard, try not to crash and attempt to appear to our mates like we're doing it easy.

The going was a bit slow through to Banksia Street with some major trail damage after the recent flooding. It's amazing how the trail landscape has changed as a result... lots of new corners.

By the time we'd been all the way out for a lap of Hans's loop I was smashed as we cruised home on the gravel bike track in the dark with me running a cadence of about 130 - phew!

On the track at about 35kph -
Neil - "How's it going Rich"
Rich - "Yeah mate......(spin spin)....... good......(spin spin spin)........ goin' fine....(spin)..... mate.....(spin spin)......... fine."

Remember - attempt to appear to our mates like we're doing it easy.

Far out, I was glad to hit Burke Road to slow. Four other really fit blokes on geared bikes and me on the single speed heading out of town on the more open faster trails. Good one Rich!

What a grouse night! It was beautiful.

80ks solid on the road bike today pretty much finished me off.

Love it.

4hrs solid - SS MTB yesterday.
80 solid - geared road bike today.

99kg

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A bit of dirt and a bit of road

4 hours on the single speed mountain bike yesterday to and from work.

Hurt Box with the 6am-ers this morning so 70 k single speed road.

Looking forward to a return to Fatties tomorrow night.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

One way to the top

... and it involved a lot of stairs. 1850 to be exact. Angela, Andy and I practiced high cadence (one step at a time) and I reckon it was the way to go.

The Eureka climb was this morning and we entered two teams from work plus me competing as an individual. The girls team, consisting of Sarah, Darce, Chloe and Kendra stuck together and supported each other all the way to the top.

Ange, Andy and I started within a minute of each other and all went our hardest. Andy and I both finished in about 13 minutes and Ange about twenty.

I haven't caught up on Mark's team results yet but I'm hoping they did well.

I was surprised at how much fun this was to be honest and I'll probably have another crack next year. Now I have a time to beat I'll have a clear goal... and three kids who want to join me!

Angela, Rich, Andrew


Darce, Sarah, Rich, Chloe, Kendra


Angela, Andrew, Darce, Kendra, Karen, Rich


Lucy, Kate, Rich, Jack

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Hoot of a commute

Took the trails home from work Friday night. As soon as they get dry they get wet again.

Nice dry hard-pack in the sunshine for half the trip home then poured with rain and got absolutely soaked for the other half.

A good 2.5hrs on the trails though - SS MTB.

Ready (sort of) for the Eureka Climb in the morning... not something the legs are used to.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Sandown

Raced Sandown crits tonight. Had a ball.

Felt very comfortable in the bunch and sat most of the time between 4th and 10th wheel. I went with a couple of attacks and break attempts and chased down many others. Felt pretty strong all the way around.

At one stage about half way through the race I initiated an attack myself. A couple came with me and we lasted a k or so hovering off the front. After we got caught I felt pretty smashed and said to myself,
"Right, nothing else stupid now."

Within a few hundred metres I'd forgotten what I'd thougt and went again. Got caught, felt even more smashed!

The race was very unfamiliar to me and I didn't have a computer so I had no idea of time or finishing tactics. I attacked on my own on the second last lap (because noone else was silly enough to come with me) not knowing it was the second last lap!

I spent about half a lap off the front, got caught, felt smashed and had nothing left for what ended up a bunch sprint.

Bugger. Lessons learned. Knowledge stored.

Will know the time and how they finish next time.

Brave raced in B grade and came second. Nice one! In the money. I didn't wait for the presentations (sorry Dave) and just made it home before dark.

Good fun. Will definitely head out there again.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Same Same

I read Neil's blog this evening and thought, "That's me!". His words reproduced...

"I'm still feeling tired from the weekend, my legs are sore and I'm not able to concentrate (as much as normal). Hopefully the next couple of days I can get some decent sleep in and feel like a "normal" human again."

Neil had done the Gravity 12 hr on his single speed in a two man team on the weekend. For good reason from separate races, we're both feeling the same way. I was going to ride the North Road bunch in the morning but think I am better off taking the advantage of sleep if I can get it.

I may race tomorrow night - or maybe not. I must be getting old.

Good news to me though. I was actually 3rd on Sunday and have been promoted in the results. Not sure why yet. Pitty I didn't actually get to stand on the podium... bugger.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Happy as...

The Dirt Works 100k is a marathon mountain bike race run through the trails of the Wombat State Forest near Woodend. The single track is sweet and the country side is beautiful Australian bush. A fantastic place to ride.


My result on Sunday was one of my best ever. Maybe
the best?

I had prepared well and managed a good night's sleep. I was hoping for top ten.

As I stood on the start line with Stormy (Rod Stormonth), Angles (Craig Van der Valk) and Gus Gollings I was hoping it would all go well for us. The weather was perfect for racing and the atmosphere was restless and exciting all at the same time.

100k mountain bike races require more than just good prep and lots of training. You need a little bit of luck as well and I must say it went great for me. The bike prep by Cycleworks was outstanding. It was my first race on the virtually new Giant Anthem which had just been fitted with a SRAM X9 2x10 groupset and the fully optioned Rock Shox rear shock. I won't bother with the detail but the bike ran like an absolute dream. It was a pleasure to ride right to the
115k mark.

Yes... it was a 115k 100k race. Go figure! Due to the rain efffected trails, a lot of the single track had to be protected which extended the route. It would have been great to know of the change before the race but nobody cared to tell us. People were very confused when they saw the 51k drink stop was at 62k and the finish line at 115. I was glad not to have a computer because I had absolutely no idea until it was all over.

When speaking of luck, it's worth mentioning my mates.

After smashing down single track for much of the first 62 ks, screaming around berms, squeezing between trees at 40 kph, tackling puddles and ruts at full speed downhill -
Gus stepped off his bike at the second feed station and rolled his ankle in a tiny little hole whilst walking across to get a drink. Good one! He tried to keep going but 10k later was overcome with sensibilities (and pain) so limped home.

Stormy crashed heavily part way through the race. He fell and hurt his neck quite severly but managed to get back on and finish the race. Sensible? Hmm... not sure. He's having MRIs today to see if there's any significant damage.

Angles' XX problems continued when his gears stopped working after 10k preventing him from accessing the small ring at the front. He finished the rest of the race in the big ring and Gus and I were lucky to hold him up after he crossed the finish line (he still managed to collect his beer though!).

My
Bright mates had a ball, although Kel Boers says he has never heard as much grovelling as he did over the last 30 ks... NEVER EVER. Dave, Chris, Andy and Mark (and Kel) stuck together after some earlier mechanical issues. They finished in the middle of a massive hail storm which resulted in bruised arms for Chris and two written-off vehicles which were parked amongst many others out in the open (we waited in the sunshine guys but sorry... when the rain came I left a message with Paul, "See you in Bright! Nice work getting through it.").

With just a little luck, my race went perfectly to plan. MTB race starts usually stress me. Unlike road racing, the starts are nearly always frantic with riders burying themselves to get as clear a track as possible. This one was a little less hectic. The 33 elite riders started in a wave 5 minutes before the main group and the open trail continued for a few ks before we hit the single. Plenty of time to sort it all out.

I stayed with a group of 20 or so at the front for about 10k before consciously deciding to back off and let them go. I picked off most of these guys and many of the elites one-by-one over the next 105k (11 of 26 elite men beat me). I've learnt through many such races that this is how I roll. I have to be satisfied that I will catch many of those who head off ahead of me in the early stages. I'm the tortoise, they're the hares.

I rode a lot of the last 40 ks with two other riders, we helped each other through much of the open stuff then I managed to drop one within the last 10 k and the other within the last 2.

I rolled across the line in 3rd place in masters (of 99) and 20th place overall (of 330). Very happy considering 33 elites were competing and rapt to be so competitive in masters.

Check out the results here.

Happy as...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Anticipation

Bikes good.

I'm good.

... but nervous.

Bring on the Dirt Works 100.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Eeezy Peezy

A few nice easy days toward the end of this week in preparation for a big one this Sunday. It's been nice to take it easy and enjoyed a cruisy ride home with Gus tonight doing a final test on our race bikes for Sunday.

Gus bought a brand-new 2011 Anthem dually today... it's beautiful. I rode my virtually brand-new Anthem and we both spent time and effort dialing our suspension in so we're nice and comfy but still fast.

I just had one of these fitted (right) and it took me a bit to get used to the two pro-pedal options on it. I think I've got it sorted now and I'm looking forward to the advantages it will give me on Sunday when climbing and smashing the flat fire roads.

Thanks to Cycleworks for the shocker and the fitting. It's feeling good.

So bring on the Dirt Works 100k. I'm feeling pretty good for it and hoping for a good result this year.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

6am-er Cup Day Special

Twelve of us headed out this morning for a cruise to the Nongs. We got as far as Terrara Road.

The veiw ahead was very dark and it had started raining steadily on us by Springvale Road.

So we turned left and headed north where it was looking a little bit better. This is Shawie taking the left-hander...


It turned out to be a good move as we headed out through Park Orchards and Warrandyte. We dodged the rain nicely. A quick loop up around Clintons Road, coffee and muffin at Smiths Gully and a blast home.

A beautiful 80k-ish Cup Day cruise and all home to the families by 1000hrs. Magnificent!

80 ks - solid effort
100kg still - bugger it

Monday, November 1, 2010

Hoot of a commute with El Mantes

Today I met El Mantes (Brad James) on the MTB at the bottom of Walmer Street and we headed out on the trails for three hours of fun. Brad hadn't been on a MTB for years but quickly found his old skills.

Just like riding a bike really!

The stuff away from Walmer Street and out along the river contains some of the more technical tracks around. It's not the sort of thing I would take the 6am-ers on when introducing them to Yarra Trails but I figured Brad would possess the right skills. 6am-ers know he handles a bike well and that proved to be correct... a bit like Mad Mike last night. It sort of comes naturally to them.

The trails were in great condition, however the Yarra River was as high as I've ever seen it. Many of the trails down close to the river were under water and some of the sealed bike track out further east near Burke Road was completely flooded.

Great ride and great to have El Mantes company. Hopefully that 6am-er MTB won't be too far off. Ready for a Cup morning ride up the nongs tomorrow. Nice.

3 hours MTB - solid
Hovering on 100kg

Sunday, October 31, 2010

More unexpected pleasures

The 6am-er mountain bike adventure ended up getting off the ground in some small way this evening. Mick, Mick and I met at Schwerkolt Cottage late this arvo and hit the trails of Mullem Mullem for what turned out to be a pretty solid effort.

The conditions were super-wet of course but we thought we would get away without it actually raining on us. It appeared to be quite clear. Here's our 'before' shot -


We didn't get away with it and it ended up bucketing on us on a number of occasions through the ride. That added to the already soaked trails to cause this -


- and this -


Despite the water, it was one of those days where it was actually quite pleasant riding in the rain. We enjoyed the trails and enjoyed the company. This is us after a lap of Hans's Loop... It has that smiling effect on you. Mick Shaw, a novice to the loop, was pretty happy with Hans!

Unexpected pleasures

The deluge kept us off the bikes and inside this morning. My daughter Kate reminded me that the kids (Jack, Lucy, Kate) used to alternate going out for coffee on the weekends with me. She wanted to give it another go.

So Kate and I ended up in the local cafe for half hour this morning spending some nice time one-on-one together. My little fashion princess informed me that she used to love dressing up for coffee and remembered on one occasion she wore her favourite dress.

RR - "Why didn't you wear your favourite dress this morning then darling?"
KR - "Daaaaad... It doesn't fit me anymore silly."

I pointed out that she could wear her current favourite dress and she agreed that she would do so on the next occasion. Gorgeous!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

6am-er MTB no longer

This is what has put a stop to the 6am-er Yarra Trail MTB epic tomorrow morning...

With a forecast of weather of this nature going through to lunchtime tomorrow (Sunday) there's not much point. Let's hope it clears enough tomorrow to get out on the road bike for a bit.

I'm very disappointed but that's life I guess. I was really looking forward to it.

Friday, October 29, 2010

NRR

North Road yesterday and loving it.

I've missed this ride tremendously and have enjoyed getting out the last two weeks.

Spent plenty of time on the front. Proud to be there with another 6am-er for a lot of it.

Welcomed back Horny to the fold (although didn't see him til the very end!!).

A bit of a rest today.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Trail commute and clever kids

One way commute from work to home this arvo. Extended the route as much as I could and linked every trail I could think of that remotely headed east. Ran into the Fatties boys on the Burke Street footbridge and regretted not being able to join them.

Lucy's first session in swimming squad and dinner for Jack at Pompeos to celebrate his fist successful music (Sax) exam. Such clever children!

2hrs MTB SS

Down to 99kg and getting excited about it - even Ricketts Point "climb" is easier!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Hoot and Hurt

I took the new Giant Anthem out yesterday for it's first spin. Really good! Getting back on the dually made me realise how sweet it is to have a rear shock and how relieving for the back.

The 2x10 took some getting used to. I read something recently describing 2x10 as a
'single ring with an escape'. That was fairly apt. I really really liked it and I do see myself spending most of my time in the big ring, especially when racing. It's an amazingly efficient system and you can ride every cog on the back on either ring on the front. The shifting between big and little ring is a quick snap. Amazingly fast with the new four ramps on the big chain ring. I think I'm going to really enjoy it. The only thing that worries me is the steep climbing in a race such as the Odyssey. I know how much I use my granny there and still walk so it's going to be interesting.

4+ solid hours of MTB yesterday... and loved it.

Today was the hurt box with a great group of 6am-ers. We moved along pretty well this morning too and this week I managed to significantly contribute (unlike last week when I felt like shit).

70k of road bike - most of it hard.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

FCUK the blender


No place for this today!


Today was one of those days where I got home from the ride thinking, "That was just bloody fantastic!"

110 ks belted out with the 6am-ers in glorious conditions across magnificant country-side. What a ripper of a day.

Henty Road (Mist and sunshine... splendid!)


Yarra Glen - Kangaroo Ground Road


Fifteen of us headed out despite the racing options this weekend. Out through Warrandyte, Pigeon Bank Road then Henty Road. Down to Clintons Road, St. Andrews and up to King Lake.

It was good to see some guys today who we haven't seen for a while. Smithy joined us before turning for home at Smith's Gully and we were priveleged to be joined by these two wackers (below). Both felt they had to make excuses for not going so well, yet both were sitting in the front group on every climb! Go figure?

Pete and Simon


Smith's for a coffee then hammer-time down to Warrandyte.

No time for the blender here. Fantastic!




Today was one of those days the 6am-ers exist for. Good solid riding, lots of climbing and heaps and heaps of fun.