Late spring evenings...

...are a fantastic time to be outside enjoying our fine city.

Keep having fun everyone!

Noodles for beginners

OK, there seems to be some interest in team Mi Goreng (not to be confused with Chinese emperor Nasi Goreng), so here is a beginners guide to enjoying Mi Goreng noodles.

Step 1.
Add water to a saucepan, bring to boil

Step 2
Open a packet of Mi Goreng noodles, and take out the sauce and flavouring pouches.

Step 3


If you are really hungry you can have more than one serving of delicious Mi Goreng noodles at a time.



Place the noodles into the water, and discard the packaging responsibly.

Step 4

Pour the dry flavourings into a bowl

Step 6

Add the liquid oils and flavours to the bowl with the dry flavours. Beginners beware, Mi Goreng chilli sauce is quite hot.

Step 7

Mix the flavourings together.

Step 8
Once the noodles have been boiling for a minute or so, give them a stir to make sure they are soft and ready to eat. Then carefully drain the excess water from the noodles and add the noodles to the bowl with the sauces.

Step 9

Stir the sauce through the noodles

Step 10

Best enjoyed with chopsticks. Hooray!!!

Feeling fitter

A spectacular sunset seen from the bridge at UQ. Thank god we finally have the bike side to ourselves again.

Hey! All this high threshold track riding i have been doing lately seems to be making me fitter. Went for a quick hour on the roadie this evening with Rishy, needed to get away from study for a bit, and felt really good. Legs had plenty of snap crackle and pop, and i felt like attacking every little hill i came to. Might have to find a quick hour on the weekend to go and attack mt gravatt a few times. Uni has been chewing up all the enthusiasm lately, but not long to go now.

Speaking of uni, Mi Goreng noodles are the ultimate student food, 50cents a packet, taste good, and with two slices of bread make for a great snack. All you kids out there finishing school and moving out to share accomodation with your uni mates, remember, a loaf of bread on special for a dollar, and five pack of noodles for two fifty, and a box of goon will see you through till payday, most of the time. And goon sacks can be inflated and used as pillows when you forget where you live, hooray!! Good luck to all of you finishing school and heading out into the big wide world, be responsible (or at least have one sober person in the group to talk you out of the stuff that will get you killed), don't take drugs, and above all have fun!! (and you won't be able to outdrink your old uncle hillbilly so don't even try declan)

Happy Birthday to me!!

With birthdays come thoughtful presents. One ear in makes for a very pleasant ride, lots of training to be done with music to keep me company. Hooray!!

Also, growing a movember mo to go with the chops. This one will go to 11!

That winning feeling!

I actually won a race today! A 15 lap points race at chandler. I like this track game, great pain but good fun. Logan cycling club had a track racing this morning, a great way to spend ten bucks and hurt your legs. Surprisingly not a massive crowd, considering it was a cheap and high quality event. If you like track, definitely get out to one of these sunday morning events (not on next week due to the strongman champs, but back on the week after that, check logan cycling website). Because i have not really done a lot of this i didn't know where i should be graded, since there was only a small field they threw me in with a grade for the first race, a 20 lap scratch race. i was blown out the back by about half distance, gearing too light, couldn't spin fast enough to keep up with the fast experienced guys. The organisers dropped me back into b grade for the next couple of races, probably a good call.

Next up was something i had not done before, Keiran racing. paced behind a motorbike for 4.5 laps, then the bike pulls off and its a one and a half lap sprint to the line. messed up, was sitting in fourth wheel for most of it but let third open too much of a gap to second before i moved up to close it. ended up 3rd, not bad for a first attempt. good fun.

Last up, a 15 lap points race. Went hard early, jagged the win in the first sprint, let the others have the fun for the second one and then worked hard to finish second in the final sprint. 9 points, winner!

Hopefully some bigger gears arrive at the bike shop for me this week, looking to rip it up again on tuesday night. see you all soon!!

PS, hell pizza is awesome!

Getting schooled

First time at the track for real on tuesday night. To put it bluntly, got schooled. In a good way though. Learnt heaps (mostly about how good i am at not winning), but had a great time. Its amazing, tapping out 100k on the road or smashing an 8 hour on the mountain bike, not an issue. 12 laps of chandler (thats a pissy little 4k race) and holy crap, THE PAIN. Gearing was a little short, but that will be fixed by the next time i go racing (hopefully sunday morning). I'm really liking this track game, good fun.

With track racing fresh in the legs, it was off to uni on wednesday night, for my last uni lecture ever!!!! (hopefully). Took the roadie, since the track bike was still set up as a track bike, felt good to get out on it again. Was getting ready to head home when Rishy rang and said that we had to go and play on mt gravatt. Met up at uni, and headed for the hills. Twice up was enough for both of us, and home to some badly needed food and 40odd k in the legs. a pleasant evening.

Took Rishy over to Toowong this morning to go to a pilates session. Got over there early and headed for the coffee club for a quick cuppa before Rishy went to the gym, and who should we bump into but the flash green kit of PRO roadie Rhino, getting the caffeine levels back up after Cootha repeats. New kit looks flash mate! I felt guilty for the rest of the day not having turned pedals, so we went for a very enjoyable 30k ride round the city. Beautiful evening for it.

I may not look like it, but i am having fun here!

Ay-ups are cool!

Logan cycling club runs track racing on sunday mornings, 0830 warm up racing at 9, so i'm going to head out and see how it goes. A good high threshold session a couple of times a week can do me no harm, and after all, WHAT WOULD JENS DO!!??!!

Slack

I have been very slack with my updates here lately, so time for a bit of an update.

Firstly, i got a new car! A nissan Xtrail, beautiful machine, heaps of space to throw the bike in the back. The old million kilometre falcon has been retired, may it have a pleasant time at mum and dads place in hervey bay enjoying the sea air!

I have also discovered a new form of cycling, the TRACK!! Been out to chandler twice now with the NRG crew, and i absolutely love it. gearing up to head out tonight for a crack at the tuesday night sessions held by wynnum redlands cycling club. hopefully i will have some pictures too!

Last weekend was also the NRG club cross country championships, and i raced in b grade. unfortunately due to dehydration from the start, i could only manage 9th in class, but i was about a kilometre further when i got lapped by Rhino this time, who was styling it up in a wicked yeti race jersey. Still, that put me 3rd for the NRG riders. certainly wore me out for the track in the afternoon though. Speaking of track, i am going to take it pretty seriously over the coming months. I want to get my standing kilo under 1.12 and my flying 200 under 12flat. at the moment my records are flying 200 13.98 (extrapolated from a 23.31 full flying lap at chandler) and a standing kilo of 1.26.91 (slow, but it was at the end of the day after mtb and track, and i was well tired, and i have never done one before). Lets see how these times can come down over the next few weeks of trying!!

The next big mtb event for me is the 4hour being held late november, i cant race the 6hour due to exams unfortunately. Keep peddling everyone!

8 Hours...

SPEED CHOPS!!

The eight hour mountain bike enduro was held on 5oct recently, and Rishy and I competed as a two person mixed team. The day was hot and dusty, but the setting and racetrack was fantastic. It was a lot of fun, i felt much stronger on the bike for a lot longer into the race than i ever have before in an event like this. didn't need the granny ring at all, felt strong all day. was able to comfortably turn out 11k laps in the low30 minute range, ending up with 6 laps, which put our team total at 12. Some mechanicals held us up a little, rishy got stuck in her granny ring for almost an entire lap due to a stone getting jammed in her FD which cost her a lot of time, while i suffered rear hub issues culminating in a broken freewheel. still, we finished 7th from 10 in our class, on the same number of laps as 4th. next year we will be aiming for at least 14 laps of that course, i think that had we had a trouble free run that would have been achievable.

Rishy tearin it up!

To make the event even more special, my mum and my great aunt came over to watch for a while, it was great to be able to put on a good showing for them. Big thanks to them for making the trip out!

It was great to see so many familiar faces out there, including (but not limited to) (in no particular order) stumeister, greg (tempest), Adventuruss, Zenman, Gav, Matt dog (who tore it up in solo, well done mate), craig storey (who i am sure is jumping around his living room right now looking at a new bike, hope you have that new beast by now mate), mad aussie, winner, and plenty of others. thanks to everyone who said G'day up there (sorry to whoever i havn't mentioned).

My mate hubcap was racing solo, and unfortunately didn't have a very good day. about 6 hours in the heat really got to him, forcing him to pull out early. he still finished about 15th in solo, so a good result from a bad race for him. His mate TK (mechanic from Bike and Cycle obsession in the city) was up supporting us all for the race, and his mechanical brilliance was very much appreciated in keeping us going on a day of unprecedented mechanical misfortune.

A good race, probably one of my better ones. that is pretty much it for the mtb racing season for this year for me, except for some club racing. plenty of weight loss and training time to be had now.

17 hours...

I am a wardsman in a hospital, and saturday i was booked in to do an early shift in intensive care, from 0500 to 1330. no big deal, early start but plenty of afternoon time to recover prior to the the race on sunday morning. HOWEVER, the bloke who was down to replace me for the afternoon called in sick, and with no one else available, i was asked to do a double shift and stay till 2200. 17 hours straight was a really, really long day. as a result i made the decision to not go on sunday morning, wouldn't have been safe to drive out there, i desperately needed sleep. I know, i'm soft.

After a quite a sleep in and a relax and recover morning, it was time to go hit the dirt for the first time in a month. since i am now a little lighter, a lot fitter and heaps stronger from a month of solid training and lots of miles, i felt fantastic. the bike was working well, i was working well, and had a ball with Rishy, hubcap and two of rishy's friends. It was great fun, felt awesome getting back out on the dirt again.

Trying to be artistic with the camera. need a better camera.


Hubcap and Rishy both with the race faces on smashing up hills. After this ride i am feeling really excited for the race next weekend. 8 hours, should be fun!!
This bloke showed up just as we were packing up, I love his nutrition and hydration plan. Note to self, 750ml dare iced coffee fits nicely into a bidon cage.

See you all soon!!!

Changes

What a difference two years can make. And i was already 15 kilo's lighter in the top photo.

Speed Chops!!!

They make you ride faster!! We shall put this theory to the test on sunday morning, club racing at Mt Crosby. Hope to see plenty of mates out there!! Ride hard now, and gentlemen, halving the amount of your face requiring shaving halves your shaving costs, freeing up more money for cycling. Over the course of a year, your speed chops will have paid for your race licence, a whole bunch of races and (in the case of extreme shaving costs) could lead to a new bike. So what are you waiting for, free you inner 70's fashion icon now!!

The joy of commuting!

I have been having an absolute blast since i got my new bike. Simple, nothing to think about, just check the tyre pressures, keep the chain lightly oiled, and ride. Such simple freedom. Plus certainly racking up a few more kilometres than i had been previously. Trip to uni, 21km. Trip to work, 10km. Trip to the shops, 5km. Trip to visit the relatives and friends in ipswich, 40km (plus a little train ride). Not having to drive the car everywhere, priceless.

I hate going to the bike shop though, they keep having nice things for me to buy, much cheaper than they are worth. Grrr

HOT!!!

A glorious day today. Rishy had work from 7-12.30, so after we rode down there, i kept riding. After riding around for a while i bumped into half a dozen roadies wearing NRG cycles club gear, so seeing as i was dressed for the occasion, i joined in. This led me all the way out to NRG at jindalee, and by that stage it was starting to get hot. Very thankful i put sunscreen on this morning.

Headed back toward the city and promplty ran into a stack of people, the city romp today had heaps of people out and about. Ran into my pal Oxford who was out bike couriering for the photo people for the event. He seemed to be having heaps of fun!

All told, by the time i got home i had this many k's on the clock!

I think preparation for the 8 hour is coming along well. I am staying well below the 97 kilo mark, and i was actually 95.3 when i got back from this ride today (although i think that was more due to a bit of dehydration than anything else). Took a while to get going today but once i did, I felt good. Plenty of training to be had yet, a week of trucking around on the single speed (which is so much fun!!!!!!) and club cross country racing next sunday!! Will be good to catch up with plenty of mates out there, and remember to warm up this time.

And remember, just because i don't care doesn't mean i don't understand!

Problems and solutions

As many of you will know, the uni student (and the cyclist) generally operate only when containing caffeine. This afternoon a problem occured in my humble abode, we ran out of pepsi (i like coke better, but pepsi is cheaper, refer to above uni student comment). The solution to the problem, get more pepsi.

To the rescue, my new Crumpler bag!!



Having seen the insane amounts of crap that can be hauled around by city bike messengers, and seeing the quality of my mates crumpler bag, i decided that it would be the ideal way for me to be able to carry my stuff around on the bike to work, uni, etc. They are really comfy, and almost indestructable, having developed initially from the melbourne bike messenger scene.

The payload in question:
24 cans of black fizzy caffeinated goodness!!
OH YEAH!!

DEATH MAGNETIC...

...Is fantastic! As a huge metallica fan, i am very impressed. This sounds like a real metallica album, sort of like those ones from the eighties. Keep Riding the Lightning everyone!!!

Rollin to Redcliffe

A favourite ride of mine is from my place out to Redcliffe to a smashing little cafe for breakfast and back. Makes for a nice 120 k flat ride, great scenery tapping out through the boondall wetlands, then along the beach and over the bridge to the Redcliffe peninsula, then out to Scarborough. I always get scared going across the bridge that some keen angler is going to throw a rod over his shoulder at the wrong moment, and catch me. But i degress...

Sunday morning was great, my lovely girlfriend and I took my mate spence on his first 100k ride, on his new Avanti Giro. Stunning bike, and he lapped it up, coped with the hundred easily. Big future for that bloke, probably see him tearing the local crits up sometime soon. Had quite a strong headwind most of the way out, which meant a nice tailwind most of the way back.

That ride coupled with plenty of single speeding around this week mean i'm now comfortable into the 96 kilo bracket of a morning. Gotta keep that coming down. Mt Gravatt calls on saturday!!

I'm liking this photo business!

Goal setting revisited...

Well my last set of goals fell in an enormous steaming heap, so time for some new ones. The next race on the horizon is the Geocentric 8 hour mountain bike race in North Brisbane. I shall be racing in a two person mixed team with my girlfriend as i see no sense in breaking up a winning team. The goal for this race is to be able to go hard all day, turn solid one on-one off laps and see how we end up on the leader board. i would like to be in the top third of the table, but you just never know with big events like this.

With that in mind, a new training plan emerges. the plan, ride heaps. yep, thats pretty much it. I have been riding everywhere lately, and really enjoying it. riding with my mate to work most weekdays, and he's getting a new road bike tomorrow so its going to be on for young and old. (he already destroys me on his crappy old mtb, so he's going to be scary fast on a good roadie. I'm starting to rack up a few k's on the single speed, pushing 70 gear inches to work and uni, plus other assorted rides. It is a really fun machine to ride on, and there is no substitute for time on the bike.

Racing on October 5, so must ride hard until then. NO DRIVING

Keep happy all!!

new toys

Well that worked!

back in the saddle!!

back in the mountain bike saddle for the first time since early july. club racing at Mt Crosby, great fun. taking so long off the bike my mountain skills were rubbish, and stupidly not doing a warm up meant that lap one was absolute pain. after a little throw up early on lap two, and getting lapped by a very fast bloke on a shiny yeti (who had a huge smile on his face) the race got a bit better. i started to be able to ride over things, not fall off, and breathe a little bit. Great fun, finished 7th of 8 in b grade, in a time that would have won c grade. i guess i belong in b grade then, woohoo!

not looking forward to tomorrow, got to get up at 4am to get to work for a 5am start. at least my bike will keep me company on the way to work. plus my cat died, so not a fun day :(

I'm also thinking about a new toy. i think i need a single speed commuting bike to get to work on. something like a schwinn madison, that could maybe be turned into a track bike if i ever felt that way inclined. See you all later folks!!

Chasing fast people

Fun and games are to be had out support crewing for big races. Last weekend was the mega epic, and my mate hubcap was 9th in mens, 11th overall. Well done to him, thats a fantastic effort. Had heaps of fun catching up with plenty of old friends and making some new ones (like charlie the wonder puppy!!). Had this nagging itch in my legs that they wanted to be riding though.

With that in mind, good training has been had of late. Riding most mornings with my mate spencer to work. getting some good k's in, plus spence has been tearing my legs off, on his mountain bike no less! He soon will be getting a road bike, so i'm in for even more hurt. Hooray!!

Spent this morning chasing my mate hubcap round the city playing bike courier, after my commute to someone elses work. A fast 50k morning, shame uni had to interrupt it. Looking forward now to a short cross country race on sunday, good times. first mountain bike ride in a long time, i hope i remember how to do it!!

Regular training

A mate of mine has recently moved up here from sydney, and is a pretty fit bloke and rather keen on cycling. his old mountain bike is pretty well clapped out, and he is looking to upgrade to a nice new roadie in the next couple of weeks. he has been riding to work each day this week and today i joined him, which meant a nice 35ish k ride bright and early this morning. i think that in order to ensure he doesnt leave me for dead on his new roadie (he is doing an excellent job on his old mtb) i am going to ride down and meet him for his commute each day (work permitting). I should be able to turn this into a nice daily 40-50 k ride, plus some long rides on the weekend. Things are looking up for the 8 hour in october...

Support crewing

Well the epic has arrived, and i have gone completely soft and decided not to race. I'm just not in good enough shape to be able to justify the expense. Instead i will be support crewing for my mate who is doing the mega epic, 100+ kilometres saturday and sunday. I'm lookin forward to it, crewed for him last year and had plenty of fun, and this year will be even better, as Hubcap is much much fitter and stronger than he was last year. Looking forward to catching up with some mates at the checkpoints too. See you all out there!!

Rolling again

Being back at uni has meant i'm back on the bike commuting back and forth. The 22k round trip means some nice base kilometres and a $3 fuel saving every time i don't drive. It also gives me a good opportunity to head past Mt Gravatt on the way home. As a result, got a good 150k into the legs during the week, and i'm certainly feeling better on the bike. I don't think 6 hours in the epic is on the cards anymore, (hell, i don't know if i will even be doing it yet, $$$) but the 8 hour in October is looking good. See you all out turning pedals!

pear shaped

After insomnia, it was holiday time. uni had finished, exams were over, and it was time to recover and plan for the next few weeks/months. Some solid riding, relaxing, good times. the next event on the horizon was the noosa enduro. I was in for the 100 and Rishy for the hard 50. I was quite excited about this.

I think i shall tell you about one of the better training rides we have undertaken for a while. Rishy and i had planned a big hit up, take the road bikes up the legendary Col du Nebo. Not being the worlds greatest climber, (and 10 kilos overweight to boot) this was going to be a good solid ride. Our friend Hubcap had agreed to join us also. It was a grey and gloomy morning when we headed out from the 'Shire' (my place) in Coorparoo, but we weren't to be deterred. we were going climbing, and that was that. The three of us made our way over to the base of the climb and stopped at the ranger station for a quick nature stop and fill up some water bottles. after that, up hill for about 17km it was. and lo and behold, the grey skies started to give way to rain. Hubcap thundered off into the distance, and Rishy and I gradually made our way up to the top. Eventually, rather damp, we pulled into the cafe at Nebo Village, for a soup bowl full of coffee. A little social time with some other keen roadies at the cafe, and then it was time to head home. With the rain coming down rather heavily now, we pointed downhill. Once we got back into the city, Hubcap speared off to his place and Rishy and i headed for ours. one flat tyre later, we made it. a good solid 80km hilly training ride, in the pissing rain. a really good outing. A short mountain bike ride with friends of Rishy for her birthday the next morning, and that was all the riding i did for about 3 weeks.

Sickness set in. I think i got some sort of virus, i got the most severe headache i have ever had, coupled with nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and generally feeling shit for a week. couple of trips to hospital, and about 5 kilos of weight loss for the week. i felt terrible. a friday night spent in hospital means no mountain bike enduro's for sunday morning. i had to pull out of the race at noosa, very sad. oh well. I'm getting back to full health now, and i've kept a little of that weight off, so thats a good thing i suppose. i have lost a lot of fittness and training time however, so my aims for the epic have taken a little knock.

For now, i am improving, and went for my first ride yesterday, a road ride for about 25k. i felt good. my legs are a bit sore today though, they need to get used to it again i guess. I'll keep you all posted folks, catch you later!!

It's been a while...

Well, after a long absence, i'm back. Time to fill all my fans in on the ups and downs of the last month or so.

Firstly, the Insomnia 24 hour mountain bike race. Great fun.

My girlfriend and I were racing as a two person mixed team for this race, and we were hoping to do a little better than our efforts in the same event last year. Last year we managed 7 laps all up for about 122 km, and last in our category (but still a great result for Rishy, it was her first mountain bike event, her bike was only a month old, and her first night ride). this year, much better prepared, we managed to crank our 12 laps, over 210 km, and first in class!!! My 7 laps makes that event the most i have done in a single event, and i now know i can do those sort of kilometres, i am feeling more confident to be able to hit up the epic this year. Rishy rode well also, five very solid laps to make this her biggest event also. A very muddy affair, however, and the bikes needed a serious clean after each lap to keep running smoothly.

All up, it was a great event, and I'm very proud of my super teammate!! We will definitely be back in october for the 8 hour at this venue.

Training on track it would seem...

Stupid Spokes

Stupid spoke on the rear wheel of my roadie is broken.  It wasn't broken when i hung it up after my ride on sunday.  It was broken when i went into the garage on monday??  Stupid thing must have broken overnight.  I have never seen or heard of that before.  I just don't have the time to go to the shop to get the spoke replaced this week until after exams (friday) so i don't have a roadie to train on.  i am seriously missing my nice get out of the house for an hour on the bike time.  oh well.  might be time to invest in a new wheel (the old one has had to deal with my weight sitting on it for over two years now, might be starting to wear out).  stupid spokes. 

Week 2 in review

Week 2.  I haven't done as much as i should have.  However:

monday 35k road

tuesday 70k road

This ride on tuesday was hard.  I felt terrible, very slow, kind of like i had 'pants on my head'.  My body was telling me i really needed a rest for a day (or more likely two).  i had done something like 260 in four days though, so it was rest time for me.  Work and uni also enforced a break on me, meaning i didnt get back on the bike until saturday morning.  

Saturday 48k road

Sunday 45k road

so all told for the week, 198k.  i should have done more.  feeling quite good now though, and will be doing a couple of decent rides early this week coming, then it's taper time for the 24 hour next weekend.  That should be good.  

I'm also going to keep a running total of the number of kilometres i do between now and august, just for my amusement.  currently that total stands at 471k on the road, and 65 on the MTB.  Exam week now, so back to work!

Diet

I forgot to mention in my previous post that diet is an important part of weight loss.  My girlfriend very politely reminded me (being the dietitian student she is) that energy intake must be less than energy output in order for a reduction in weight to occur. So, along with a heap of riding (the energy out part), i need to keep a good eye on my energy intake (all the food i munch down, in great excess).  Eat less, exercise more, pretty simple. 

A training plan (sort of...)

Lose some weight ya fat b******d.  

thats pretty much it.  Drop about ten kilos.  thats my plan.  I think its a good plan.  a ten percent reduction in useless body mass will help every aspect of my riding.  so how do i do that?

my plan for losing weight is simple.  do long (more than two hours), moderate intensity (averaging 60-70% max heart rate, about 125-150 beats per minute) no less than five days (hopefully six) a week.  endurance training and weight loss.  i think this will do the trick for the next few weeks.  after insomnia, i will turn my attention to my climbing problem, but first i need to lose just a little weight.  my road bike will be my friend for this purpose, Hooray!!

so to summarise, lots of long, moderate road kilometres to burn off fat and build endurance base.  lots of hillclimbing to start in about three weeks time.  

Goals

Goal setting.  I hear that in order to achieve your goals, you first need to have some.  With that in mind, I am going to outline my goals for the next three months, and how i am going to (try to) achieve them.  

My main goal this year is the Flight Centre Epic.  This is a 100 kilometre mountain bike race on the 24th of August this year.  I have decided to bite off more than i can chew and set myself a target time of 6 hours.  For a rather amateur, slightly overweight "racer", this might be a tall order.  That said, i am going to give this my best shot.  My two biggest issues when it comes to cycling are my excessive weight and my lack of climbing ability. These are the two demons i must slay if i am to succeed in this business.

There are 3 more races between now and the epic.  These are the Insomnia 24hour, the Noosa enduro 100k, and the Race Face 8 hour at kooralbyn.  these are nicely spaced out about 3 weeks apart each, and will be good training events to help get me up to speed for the epic.  

Insomnia is a great event, and i am racing in a two person mixed team.  the goal for our team is to keep someone on track pretty much constantly, and just see how far we can go.   I havn't raced the noosa event before, and it will be my first taste of a 100k enduro.  it is going to be a yardstick to see how i am going, and as such i don't have a time goal for it, just to race strong and not do anything silly, and learn about how my body deals with 100k on the mountain bike. 

Kooralbyn is a venue i have raced at many times before, and as such, 3 weeks out from the epic i can set some well thought out goals for that event.  In 8 hours at kooralbyn i should be able to ride constantly, and cover no less than the epic distance.  this will mean covering at least 11 laps of the course (providing its the same course as previously) and only stopping for water and food.  i also intend to make my nutrition plan pretty much identical for these two races, simple foods that i can carry on my bike and eat on the bike, gels bars and the like.  

All that is left to do now is work out how i am going to train for these goals, but thats another story...

Week 1 in review

There are 11 weeks until the Flight Centre Epic in August.  I hope to train quite specifically for this event (along with other events in between).  with that in mind, here is my first week of training in review.

Sunday: Boonah Marathon.  65k

Monday:Rainy night road recovery ride 20k

Tuesday: Road Ride 37k

Wednesday Road ride 45k

Thursday Commute to uni 21k

Friday rest

saturday gentle road ride 30k

Sunday long flat road ride 120k

average weight for the week, 98.6 kilos.  

for the week, thats 273kms on the road, and the marathon on the mtb last sunday.  not a bad start to training.  

Plan week 2:

my plan for the coming weeks involves base endurance kilometres, and weight loss.  I'm not planning any big hillclimbing sessions or speed work, just lots of long kilometres on the road, with the odd session on the mountain bike thrown in.  I have also been evaluating my goals for the coming months, an outline of them coming soon!

And I'm back

Well that was good, nice 45k social pedal around the city.  A nice way to work up a good appetite for a couple of hours.  I'm going to use this website to keep track of what riding i've done, putting up ride distances, times, routes etc.  I'll also use it for goal setting, and keeping track of races I've done.  probably going to be most boring (i'm not that creative, you see), but who knows.  so with that in mind, i shall summarise my week so far.  

Sunday, Boonah Marathon.  65km.  My goal for this race was to try to break four hours, but i would have been happy with four and a half.  Managed to get it done in 3hrs58mins, so i was a happy camper.  

Monday, the rain eased a bit in the evening, so i decided that i needed a recovery ride.  Twenty very wet and windy kilometres later, i decided that was a silly idea and was very glad to be home.  still, the wet weather gear performed well, and the ride was quite enjoyable, except when the rain really came down.  

Tuesday night was good fun.  headed over to a mates place for a road ride.  He hasn't been into this game very long and has taken to it like a duck to water.  He wanted to head somewhere different to our usual loop, so we headed west for once.  a nice 37k loop taking in some slightly hillier terrain than usual.  Lots of fun.  

So thats my week so far.  20k monday, 37k tuesday, 45k wednesday.  along with the marathon on sunday, thats not a bad week for me so far.  lets see how it pans out...

And it begins...

Time to start a training diary.  Nothing interesting, but i reckon that if my training is open to the world, i might actually do some.  With that in mind, i'm going to start keeping a record of my cycling training.  But no time to type now, the bike awaits!!