Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Majura arvo

2:45 - Majura Pines - 74kg (too much post xmas cheer)

Did 3 laps of the proposed 2010 24 hr solo course - well, I may have guessed some of the course, but it was the general gist :)

Last lap slight deviation via auto alley etc - more fun then the half winery hill climb. Detour on way home via Watson and then back via Majura / Ainslie fire trails

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Stromlo x2

Sunday - 4hr + 1hr - 72.3 kg

Nice wet run at Stromlo. Nice stack on Slip Rock - yes, they really are slippy in the morning after two days of rain.

Very humid.

Monday - 3:45

Back out at Stromlo in the afternoon - very hot and did not have enough lunch, so died a bit earlier then expected. :( Rear flat as well - must get tubeless setup ASAP.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Stromlo Eve

3:30, 72.3 kg, 32C

North Canberra --> O'Conner Ridge --> Black Mtn --> Aranda --> old Cork Plantation --> Stromlo --> Nth Cbr

Took the scenic route to Stromlo - there was stinky hot winds so the path through the trees was better then the cycle path.

Once at Stromlo I took on Cardiac Arrest - not so much the cardio I was troubled by, but the technical nature of the course. I'll have to try again and work out how to master some of those great elements in the track.

Another loop taking on Pork Belly and Double Dissolution etc.

Way too hot to be riding, and there was a killer head wind on the way home.

Still a good way to be spending xmas eve :)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Lazy Pines Ride

1:50 - Majura Pines

Nothing too exciting. Another hot afternoon and once I got out riding I realized I was a bit tired and was making so silly mistakes.

Called the ball a little ealier then I would have liked, but I figure I'll get lots of riding in over this long weekend :)

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Return of the Epic

2:30 - snake cnt++

Majura lap --> O'Conner --> Bruce Ridge --> Majura night lap

Hooray - the Epic is back in action. It is like riding pillows compared to the old hard tail.

Set out for some laps of Majura but am a little bored in there, so went back to O'Conner to ride on the Bike Culture ride. They were in a little bit of party mode, so it was a very easy Bruce Ridge ride.

Still, good fun to see some really good riders there - and also "fun" getting stuck behind some slower people.

After they finished up, back up to Majura for another run through and a sprint up around auto-alley.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Stromlo Arvo

3hrs : 45 mins

Nth CBR --> Stromlo --> 3 laps --> Nth CBR

1 flat and annoying seat post adjustments on the hard tail

Nice Sunday afternoon ride. Not too hot.

Can't wait to get a bike friendly car to drive to Stromlo - save the 45 min commute to get there (and back).

Epic goes in to the shop tomorrow ... can't wait to take it out tomorrow!!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Morning road ride

3:30 road ride, 73.5kg

North Cbr --> Stromlo --> Cotter/Uriarra loop --> back of Belconnen --> around Mt Rogers --> Barton Hwy --> Out towards Yass and return to North Cbr

Really pleasant morning to be out riding. Nice and cool (7am start) and not much traffic around.

Felt a little slow to start with, but once the legs warmed up on some hills it felt all good.

Made the mistake of turning around 15 mins too early on the Yass rd - wanted to get in 4 hr ride.

Will try for another 3:30 ride tomorrow as well to get my hours up

Won't hit the 16 hrs but can probably finish with 13. I did not ride yesterday (Fri) due to not feeling the best - I put that down to the two arvo rides in the 30+ heat.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

No such much Mtn Hills day

1:45 - Majura - 36C

Way to hot to do many hills today. I managed a few but with a hot wind in the face it was not going to be a long ride.

I'll have to make up for it over the weekend.

Forgot to mention that snake count incremented yesterday, with a little black snake crossing my path on the Intestinal Majura track.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Mtn bike day

2hr 10mins - Majura single track - hot 33C

Consistent skills ride - single track in Majura then back track over all trails in reverse + auto alley for good measure.

Bit pooped by the end - will put that down to the heat

Good news for me - Specialized have the Epic's replacement part - will be installed and ready for monday!!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Road Hills and a new week

New week has begin - target is for ~ 16 hrs riding this week in the same proportions as last

2:20 mins, Riding from Nth Canberra, 4 x repeats Mt Stromlo (big ring), 73.6 kg (too much pre-xmas cheer)

Nice and hot afternoon, a little breeze from the North / West ... had to use the tap near the burnt out observatory to cool down on each lap.

Felt strong on ride back via Adelaide Ave - got a flat :(

Sprints to finish riding down Northbourne Ave - as I seem to get all the red lights

Monday, December 14, 2009

Mtn bike "rest" day

2hr 30min ride in Majura and Ainslie

Went with the Gibbon to Majura for a "revseri" day. ie you ride all the trails in the reverse of what you usually do them in.

Turned out to be a CORC race on ... so ended up doing a bit of the winery hill, auto-alley and then up out over the saddle to ainslie, up the back of ainslie to the top of the mountain. Then took a nasty steep decent to the old quarry and back around.

Later followed by a 15 minute ride to/from an xmas party - so that is my 13 hrs on the bike done for this week!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Road ride

3 hr road ride - Cotter / Uriarra loop + bonus lap of Burley Gerkin

- Brown snake cnt = 1
- Twigs, sticks, car parts, piping that look like snakes - at least 1000

Nothing too much exciting about this ride. Good steady ride. I ride in the counter-clockwise direction (ie past the Stromlo Park enterence, as apposed to the Mt Stromlo Observatory first. This gives a bit harder approach to Canberra and you get a great downhill run to the Cotter camping ground.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Mtn bike skills day

2hr mtn bike - 73.8 kg (big burrito at lunch)

2hrs of single track around the flat sections of Majura Pines.

No real hills - just focusing on constant speed and efficient cornering and rolling.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

mtn bike hills day

Today was 2:15 hr mtn bike - mostly hills. 73 kg

So, over the saddle between Ainslie and Majura into the pines, 4 x repeats of the winery hill, auto-alley, back out and over the saddle, and a loop around the back of Mt Ainslie.

One tree-meet-shoulder incident :) Still getting used to the "special guest" hard tail bike.

Have been experimenting with having a lighter lunch and then eating a snack bar as I head out on the bike in the afternoon. Trying to get my body used to processing food on the go.

Geez I hope Specialized hurry up with those Epic recall replacement parts ...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

17 weeks to go ...

Target ride hrs this week ~ 14 hrs ~ 4 hrs hills, 5 hrs generic xc, 5 hrs generic road riding

Hills road ride done - 4 laps of Telstra Tower + Generic 2 hr xc ride through Majura Pines

Crash count = 2 (when the Gibbon decided to stop suddenly for the wrong single track turn off, and the taking a corner too fast at night after one too many Gibbon beers)

Excitement for this week is getting to use a "special guest bike" - I'm borrowing El-Presidento's old hard tail as my new Epic is still out of action awaiting the recall replacement parts :(

Riding the hard tail is still quite fun - just not so fast on the descents and I have to get out of the saddle a bit more.

I must say that the Epic is a great bike - but I am pretty disappointed with the recall. The faulty stay weld was pretty bad ... it would not have taken too much testing to cause the failure.

If there are any Specialized reps out there, feel free to send me your new bikes and I'll test them out and help you find these faults earlier :)

Starting out

So, who am I again?

I'm a 30-something cyclist from Canberra, Australia.

Lucky me, I got to grow up with some of the best xc mtn bike trails in the country and spent a lot of time exploring everything these trails had to offer.

For the last 4 years I have been living in the big apple and fell in with some NYCC roadies and have been taking in the lovely sites of New Jersey and New York state.

On returning to Canberra, I've been bitten by the xc bug again and have set my goal of two 24 hr solo races in 2010, and a bunch of other supporting races.

I have my training plan set out and we will see how well it prepares me for the first 24 hr solo at Easter ...

Introduction

Hi,

Welcome to the beginning of my journey in preparing for 24hr solo mtn bike racing.

Though this blog I'll track my training, tips, tricks and other bits and pieces that I encounter in working towards 24hr racing.

Thanks for reading!