Brads in the blender (Note: collective not possessive)

By the end of this mornings 6am-er Sunday ride the Brads had had enough of this...


El Mantes' term (Brad No.1), "that really put me in the blender" was well used this morning through the 130+ ks of The Slide Ride. Foggy (Brad No.2) was struggling to get up the last couple of climbs with the group due to cramping and general knackerdness.

That raised discussions about what a group of Brads would be called and The Duke and I decided it should infact be a blender of Brads. Today that seemed quite appropriate. El Mantes' jaw dropped when he saw the route for today but he showed true 6am-er grit to get out there and give it a go anyway. This was despite having an industrial accident at work last week that saw him fracturing his jaw. He hasn't been able to eat all week so was lacking a bit of energy... something very much required on The Slide Ride.

Both Brads reckon they had pretty good excuses. El Mantes with his jaw and Foggy out 'til mid-night last night at a roaring 40th birthday party. Nice efforts to get out guys considering you knew it was going to be a pretty hard one.

Twelve of us headed off this morning for the ride out through Yarra Glen, Toolangi, King Lake to home. We welcomed Gus, a mate of Angles, to the group and christened him to the 6am-ers with a blinder. Nice turn-out. Great company!

Some bloke turned up who looked a bit like Smithy... who used to ride with us. He turned around and went back home half way up Jumping Creek Road so it musn't have been him.
(Nice to see you mate).

It was also great to pick up Geordie who came from the opposite direction just near the top of King Lake and joined us for coffee.

Our arrival at Smith's saw a spike in coffee machine demand but I'm pretty sure they're still happy to see us. The Extractor made a guest appearance and went to pains to show us he was still thinking about us. A few remarked that Extractor's bike was the cleanest they'd ever seen. That can only be explained by the fact that it's still relatively brand new.


We said goodbye to The Claw, Fabio and Gus (maybe someone else?) at Kangaroo Ground then the rest of us ripped up the road to Warrandyte then finally decided to take it nice and easy to home. Everyone's legs were screaming with pain up the last couple of climbs although none of us like to admit it!

• Hard undulating - Jumping Creek Road and KG-W'dyte Rd
  
• Flat fast rolling turns - Churnside Park through to Yarra Glen
• Long continuous climb - Mt. Slide
• Great descent - King Lake
• Magnificant coffee - Smith's Gully
• Smashfest - Kang Ground to Warrandyte
• Cramps, screaming legs, satisfaction - all the way home
• Great company - 6am-ers

This ride has everything. I had an absolute ball !

130+ hard road ride.

Still fat. 102.5kg

Motor pacing - " Intense frustration! "

From 0600hrs this morning. We tried a bit of this (although there wasn't a lot of smiling!)...


Then copped a bit of this...


The Duke and I managed about 45 minutes of high speed behind Rocket's wagon before we were arrested and handcuffed on the side of the Nepean Highway. Well not really, but we were certainly told in no uncertain terms not to continue. The cops were really good actually and it was pretty much impossible to argue with them.

We will have to reconsider our motor-pacing options for next time. It looks like we'll just have to head out of town a bit in cars and smash it down a quiet country road. Very good high speed training though. It's a bit of a buzz flying along behind the Rocket at 55-60kph. The surges in speed now and then (and depending on incline) were a perfect simulation of when the hammer goes down in the Warny. Bring it on.

So - about 50 k on the road bike including 45 min of high intensity. Not enough thanks to Her Majesty's men but not a bad hit-out leading up to an absolutel 6am-er smash-fest tomorrow morning.

Relaxing morning

I dropped the kids off at school today which I love. Watched the band rehearse for a little while then hit the trails on the On-One for a three hour session of dirt. Amongst other trails I fit in three laps of Hans's... a clockwise and two anti. That trail is just fantastic.

Ended up pretty muddy - but not as muddy as this!...


Still had a smile on my face by the time I got to work though... relaxed for a change.

I got some of Tim Arch's photos sent through today. He does a great job, although on this day he had plenty to work with.


Two and a half hours of solid motor-pacing tomorrow morning sitting behind rocket with Duke, Boris and Brave. Should be fun. Hard... but fun. Bring on the Warny.

SS MTB - 3 hrs

big Big BIG News!

Jack got two goals from the back line at soccer tonight. What a superstar! When he makes his first million I'm gunna get him to buy me one of these from Cycleworks...

Hurt Box

I'm glad I dragged myself out of bed in the moist conditions yesterday for the Hurt Box. Six of us pulled turns most of the way and picked up The Duke at about Black Rock on the way back. I could understand the low numbers turning out as the apparent conditions overnight did not encourage you getting out of bed to ride your bike early morning.

It was all pretty good though and plenty of wind made for plenty of money in the bank.

All the better for having got in 70k yesterday because today was a disaster. I've been forcing myself to ensure I fit cycling in around my job but some days - like today - make it completely impossible.

Bring on tomorrow for a North Road smash fest. Time for me to get back to this bunch and mix it up with the boys on the front for some high level intervals.

Calisthenics second prize... go girls!!

It was a weekend for road ks this week. My brother-in-law Brad and I were calisthenically frustrated today. From 9am to 1:30pm we were required to undergo the torture that is calisthenics. Both of us agree that if the concert went for a total of 15 minutes and only included our daughters, we would actually love it. But the fact that about 4 hours of my Sunday is taken up being absolutely bored shitless by other peoples daughters is enough to drive me absolutlely bonkas.

We needed to blow it all out so by 2.30 this arvo we were on the road. Park, Warrandyte and Jumping Creek Roads got us out to Lilydale then up through Yarra Glen, Christmas Hills, Kangaroo Ground, Warrandyte and home. Fantastic Sunday arvo blast through the hills and a good solid session.

Importantly, our girls came second in the district in the subbies division. Very proud!

90ks or so on a beautiful Sunday afternoon after some calisthenics torture! Backing up for me after 130ks to KL yesterday means I've had a pretty good weekend. Bring on the Warny.

King Lake or McKewan (depends which way you look at it today)

I met Adam and Zeth at Shopping Town today for a spin out to King Lake. We rolled out via Mt. Pleasant Road and stopped to vote on the way through St. Andrews. Novel! The old fella processing the absentees had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Lucky my seat requires a massive swing to change coz I'm sure my vote won't count anyway as it ended up in the wrong bucket!

A pretty solid effort up the climb for all of us and a fantastice coffee and muffin at Smiths on the way back. A great day, a great ride and some great company.

130ish ks and 4 hours of beautiful riding. Thanks Zeth and Ad.

Hoot of a commute with a little difference

A couple of invitations for beer today had me very tempted but I sucked it up and left work with a fairly common goal. Get home on the single speed linking all the single track for a hoot of a commute! Easy... and fun. I got about a quarter of the way home when I hear an almighty BANG!

My big butt had broken the big beefy bracing seat post bolt (say that really really fast 10 times).

My bike now looked like this...
















Puny little bloody seat post bolts! Ripping off my training time again. I thought of the answer to my next question even before I'd formulated the question.

Answer - "No."

Question - "Should I ring Karen, interupt dinner, get her to load three kids into the car and ask her to come and pick me up."

So, I came up with a new goal. Get home on the single speed linking all the single track for a hoot of a commute! STANDING UP. Easy... less fun.

It was pretty hard, especially with a 32/16 gear standing up on the flat fast bits. Generally though, it wasn't a bad skills session on handling the bike through the single track whilst standing all the time. I reckon I may have used a few different muscles which I may discover in the morning.

So... half hour on the SS sitting down. 2 and a quarter standing up.

As a bonus I got home and read my duties on the motorbike for the World Championships. They read as follows:

INFORMATION BIKE – Required for Road Race days only. The Information motorcycle operates within the race convoy, providing the UCI’s Radio Tour announcer with the information he/she requires throughout the race. The rider of the Information motorcycle also provides the information themselves without a passenger, operating with an integrated radio headset within their helmet. He should provide information on the composition of breakaway groups, the location of the race, dangerous hazards and time gaps between groups, providing team managers with information in which to base their race strategy on. The Information motorcycle should operate within the race convoy and throughout the race but make every effort not to impede, interrupt or affect the integrity of the race in any way. They should also avoid interrupting TV broadcast motorcycles from performing their role.

Gotta love that! I'll see if I can paint the bike up in Cycleworks colours Vlad!

Hurt box Tuesday and Two Bays Wednesday

Two days of 5am start and I'm now pretty shtoofed! I should expect that with one rest day then two days of hard efforts after a 7 hour enduro on Sunday.

Tuesday - I met The Claw and Fabio on the Clarendon Street bridge at 5.30 before heading down to join the 6am NR bunch to Rowans Road. We picked up the large group of 6am-ers and joined the turns from the highway to Mordy then St. K. I'm loving this ride but questioning the benefit when I'm missing the high intensity work-out I would get in the NR bunches. I know without that I will not survive the Warny... so more thought required! Without getting the benefit of super hard intervals in road racing, I think I need to join the boys on the front of the NR bunch for a few weeks.

As always, a fantastic breakfast with everyone in Albert Road. Love the company of the 6am-ers.

Wednesday - Today I met The Duke, Boris and Brave at the 6am North Road. We all cruised (as they do on a Wednesday) down to Mordi then Duke, Brave and I joined about 10 others for the longer trek down to Mt. Eliza and the Two Bays loop. It was a good group. Steggles, Danny Kah and Snowy (Brendan Rowbotham) amongst them so it was solid. Nice strong fast turns down to Baden Powell Drive then fast efforts up all the climbs. I got left behind heading up to Canadian Bay but smashed down the drop and got a head-start up the next climb. The turns back were very solid and diminished the group down to four riders at times with the others chewing the bar tape trying to hang on. Duke, Brave and I were pretty proud to have survived most of it.

A great solid ride of 110k and at the desk by 10am having fit in a nice couple of coffees with Brave and Duke.

HTFU (Neil's blog)

Have a look at Neil's post here. Great wit. He has a lovely way of describing these things.

I stole his figures (which are the same as mine for 7 laps). Similar climbing figures with a bit less distance than a 6am-er Sunday ride.

D: 99.2km (kilomuds?)
A: 2,135m



That explains some of why I was a bit tired.

Tim Arch took some fantastic photos yesterday. The mud makes some of them a little more entertaining but his skills are great. In this one here, I managed a bit of a smile for him at the end despite the torture.

Results here.

Never dug deeper

I stayed clean very briefly today.

Half way through the first lap I knew this race was going to be very hard for me. By the end of the lap I had to suck it up even to continue (not really, but I felt a little bit like that!). Four steep stints of climbing and a general feel that the lap was all uphill. Not the best race for me (still 103 kg and undisciplined).

Not only that, but there was heaps of fire trail and bugger all single track. I'm relatively quick on the single track so feel a bit ripped off when I don't have that opportunity.

By halfway through the second lap the showers started and an already muddy course turned to absolute slush. There were some sunny times during the day but the whole 7+ plus hours was mostly raining. By the four hour mark it was absolutely horrible. Some sections had to be diverted and closed and many sections that are usually a real hoot were miserable. Fun.

Chain suck was a managable problem by lap three and by the end of my 5th lap (3rd last) my rear derailer was stuffed so that I couldn't get off the 32 tooth and I had virtually no front brake. Woo hoo! Lucky I was knackered. What fun.


The decision to commence my 6th and 7th laps was hard. I really did want to stop and my bike was working like a bucket of crap. I don't say "Never dug deeper" lightly but fair dinkum... I've never dug deeper. At least I was still smiling at the end...


I tried to do the Cycleworks brand proud today but a little disappointed in 6th place. Not too bad though considering the style of course and it's lack of suitability for me. Will have to study things a bit closer to see how I may stand up in the places for the series if I do well in the 4th and final one.

I'll leave you with this magnificant self portrait...

Mick retired on lap four with a brand-new smashed to bits derailer. I last saw Angles on the side of the track on about the 5th lap with his bike upside down... it looks like that was it for him. Geordie and his mate Craig made it through 6 laps in the Just good friends pairs category.

Getting ready to chase the sun

Psyching myself up for the 7 hour tomorrow. It's a bit scary! Have to keep telling myself it's just a bit longer than an Alpine.

Commute

In and out today on the road bike. 65 ks of cruisiness. Really not enough.

Neil really is mad

Rode to work this morning on the SS road bike... in the pouring rain. Fun. Stop start on a 53/16.

Rained all day but still planned to head out with the Fatties group this evening. "Straight out to Hans Loop for laps then back" says Neil, "We'll miss all the slushy bits".

Email at about 4pm as I stared at the rain outside, "You still going?" - "Yep." - "Riiiight. I might see you there."

Took off on the SS MTB from work in the pouring rain. Work-mates thought me very silly. I thought it would be good to blow out the frustrations of a busy day.

Got to Burke Road foot bridge and SMSed Neil, "At Burke Road bridge.. cold, wet, miserable.. going home. I love your enthusiasm."

I fair dinkum thought at this stage that he couldn't be riding.. madness.

2105hrs SMS from Neil.. "You missed the most ridiculous shit : ) " Gav, Justin and Neil actually rode.. madness.

I later hear The Duke, Shawie and Lumpy did 110 down to Two Bays this morning when conditions were predicted to be cold, wet and windy. Steve Martin raced in Geelong which received the highest rainfall in Victoria today.

Still 60 k for me in the rain on a variety of bikes... but a lesson in being soft none-the-less! I tip my hat to you guys and will accept today as a message from those stronger (or sillier) than me.

Yarra trails - a Melbourne secret

It was a gorgeous day today and the Yarra Trails were magnificent. Beautifully tacky in most places but a bit muddy in some. A quick loop of the Paddock Loop had my tyres chock-a-block and the frame full of sticky mud. Half the loop was okay but the other was virtually unrideable. I think I'll need to give it a miss for a while. I took some pix on the way home tonight to show what the trails are really like.

I'm sure most have no idea how beautiful and tucked away it is. I think most have visions of cruising along the bitumen bike track when I say I've ridden the MTB to work. Not so. These trails have everything; good short hard climbs, technical rock gardens, flowing single track... and all within minutes of the CBD. Lucky it is still mostly a secret!

These first two photos are just below The Boulevard in Kew. The drop off to the left of this tree is about 10 metres straight down to the river...

At the bottom of this drop the track heads straight under the Eastern Freeway on the east side of the river. (the bike is hanging off a tree btw - it's steep)...

Trail is just below the bike track which is along the Eastern Freeway here. The fence on the left is the Ivanhoe (I think) Golf Course...

This one is along the freeway wall in Doncaster, less than one k from home...

Back to near The Boulevard. I got pushed off this track once by a burly runner. He did it on purpose and I nearly ended up in the river (which is just to the left)...

Time to burn the PJs (The worst man-flu ever!)

That little unwanted rest of two days turned into the worst man-flu ever! I know due to my gender that I generally have much less tolerance for these things but bloody hell!... that was a bad one.

Nine days off the bike. Unavoidable but not free of rider's guilt.

Anyway... 2.5 hours on the Mullem Mullem trails late this arvo put the MTB smile back on my face. It gave me some confidence that I should still be okay for the third Chase the Sun (7hr) next Sunday. I probably haven't lost too much fitness but I certainly haven't gained any in the past week. I'm still keen on the podium for that series prize.

2.5hrs on the On-One (SS)
103kg and bloody well climbing again... must do something about that.

Sick o' being sick

4th day off the bike is starting to make me cranky

Too many fluids

Melbourne, in particular Mt. Dandenong, at 0845 this morning. The prediction made from my one-eyed half-asleep view of the radar at 0530 this morning was correct! I stayed in bed.

Very annoyed that Mother Nature has ripped me off a good days training again. Might go for getting it back with lights on the MTB tonight, sloppy though it will be.

The vice around my head and the tap running out my nose is another issue. As much as it pains me to have three days off in a row, maybe that would be the sensible decision.