To Ride, to Race or to experience Adventure? – choose three!

My post-Taupo thinking, now that have the full collection of helmet caps is toward not only finishing but being competitive. I am certainly no natural athlete and are unlikely to come close to that top step. The goal is to be competitive with those that choose to race. To not be making up the numbers, a few of hours off the back. I have more than proven I can finish events, including those with high DNF rates. Time to step it up. I have always said “ride" when others have said “race”. Can I change my mind-set?

 

As I have always said:

Never again until next year

But next year, the goal is set, and it has set both early and high. The goal is four laps in under 30 hours in next year’s Maxi Enduro. This is a high-bar, an hour per lap less than 2012. To achieve this I am going to have to achieve a few things that are foreign to me – proper nutrition and a methodical, planned approach to training. This should see me drop 7-10kg of the “insulation-wrap” that I carry with me everywhere.

 

I have always favoured adventure, over racing in my outdoor activities and this no doubt, will continue to be. But for multi-lap events, and events I have done before I think it is time to “step it up”. To step it up, I will need to be leaner, fitter and stronger. It is always important to me to keep the fun, the adventure in all things. It keeps you fresh. It keeps you inspired. To this end, obtaining the base fitness I’ll spend more time on the mountain bike finding new places to explore, tramping and climb the odd mountain. Dabble in some trail running (or more likely marginal trail-jogging) and use randonneuring rides into new and different places as a means of building the base. It will be about incorporating the desire and fun of adventure with a more disciplined training focus. Without fun, without adventure, the risk of becoming stale and bored in training is too great. In boredom all fitness gains are easily lost. With careful thought, adventures will build the base, but 10 weeks beforehand a tunnel-visioned focus must consume me. A time to focus on the specificity of training what is required to achieve the goal that has been set.

 

Then there are other races, that are simply unobtainium. I was a bit surprised when Tim kindly pointed out I was on the qualified list for the hardest, most gruelling and most epic of all endurance cycling races: The Race Across America. I would have thought I was many hours behind the qualifying pace, but as errant as my appearance amongst far stronger, and many truly great riders – could anything else possibly be a greater motivation to attempt to train to such toward such a  high standard? [NB: I am unlikely to ever be of RAAM Solo standard, but I am huge RAAM fan!]

 

 

 

Buckle your seatbelts, and lets enjoy the ride, or is it a race?

 

For some final reflection on the 2012 Maxi-Enduro, few more photos…

 

More start-line, and Maxi-Enduro photos taken my Mum, Dad & nephew Jamie

Before the start with my Mum & my Dad.

 

Team Potato Guy

 

Assorted start-line photos

I wasn’t this near Joshua Kench for very long!

 

 

 

The official event highlights video:

Official event video – mostly the one-lappers on Saturday.

Sunday Ride: Round the Bays (Mt Crawford), Wilton, Khandallah

Ride Data:
Distance:	51.79km	2475 Calories
Time:	2:21:17	22km/h
Elevation:	Ascent: 758m	Descent: 752m
Ride Data:	Garmin Connect Player	MapMyRide
Location:	Wellington, NZ	21 June 2009

This morning, I broke with my solo training traditions and for the first time, went for a group ride with the Onslow Tarbabies. The Onslow Tarbabies are a road-cycling group based in Wellington which focus on fitness and riding technique rather than super-competitive racing.

I signed up to their Yahoo group which then started sending me e-mails about their rides. On Friday morning, I received the details of the weekend's ride.

Hi People
I am down to lead the ride Sunday. Plan is around the Bays option Makara. Route plan is set out below for your information. Forecast look ok'ish possibility of some minor rain.
...
If you are new to the Tarbabies please stick with a Red and green jersey and learn the Tarbabies ethos, please.
...
See you Sunday (if its not pouring with rain).

cheers
Gary


City & the Bays, OPTION Makara
... followed by detailed route description ...

Thats easy enough. Just turn up. Oh, and make sure my alarm is set for the earlier than usual start. I woke in a brief moment of panic as I checked my tyre that had tyre for cuts after being punctured in the dark the previous night. And, still plenty of air in the tube - yay :). Raced through the supermarket for a couple of snacks on the way, before heading back to the starting location in Khandallah. I listened to the obligatory safety briefing and raised my hand when asked if anyone was along for the first time. The group leader (Gary) introduced hiimself and the group was split into fast, medium and slow bunches. As my first time I naturally opted for the slow bunch. There was also a first-timers rule that we do not have to lead the bunches until they see how the group works. I presume this is to make sure that the emphasis is on keeping the bunch together and having fun, rather than pushing the bunch or shooting out in a breakaway. This of course suited me fine as we set off into a stiff ~45km/h southerly and I would get to hide in the bunch for the entire ride. Excellent :).

The pace in this group was generally what I would probably describe as a good recovery or intro pace, depending whether you are new to road cycling or not. I understand that often they have Fast, Medium, Slow and Development bunches - with the latter catering for people new to cycling or, training for their first ride around Lake Taupo. What I really noticed how much effort I put in when hill climbing in a group compared to when riding solo. I think when riding by yourself you may not realise how gentle you can be on yourself in such situations. On the way up Mt Crawford, the first significant climb of the ride I saw my heart rate shoot for the sky.

I was pleased to have a chance to catch my breath at the top of Mt Crawford while the whole bunch completed the climb. One down, two ~150m climbs to come. A steep descent into Worser Bay, around to Seatoun and through the Pass of Branda. As we went through Branda we were greeting by a wall of wind from the southerly directly off Cook Strait. But, it was a marvelous view down to the snow capped mountains of the Kaikoura Ranges in the South Island. Tempting to get my tramping boots and head for the hills!

On our way toward to Lyall Bay we lost two members of our bunch, seeking repairs to one bike after its front wheel briefly jammed in a drain gate. This resulted in a broken spoke and thankfully no crashes. Only a bruised wallets, not bodies.

In the camaraderie of riding in a bunch, rather than solo it seemed to take no time to get around to Owhiro Bay and the steady climb up to Brooklyn, a quick descent down Owhiro Road before the slightly more demanding climb up Raroa Road. Pretty soon we found our way to the Monteith's Pub in Khandallah for coffee. Well, not all of us. I resisted my coffee addiction and with a hot chocolate. 9 days since coffee and counting!

Had a great time riding in the group. See you all again soon :).

Increasing cadence from "grinding" to "spinning"

As a solo weekend warrior cyclist, I rely on blogs and books for my training tips. The consensus seems to be that an ideal cadence for a "weekend warrior" should be 92-95 pedal revolutions per minute. Growing up carrying weight on bicycles as a paperboy, then as a postie I was very much a grinder. When I first used a cadence meter, the Cateye Strada showed me pedaling with a cadence of a mere 72-75 revolutions per minute. Ever since, I have been trying to increase my cadence. Once a higher cadence rate is natural, try and match that with the few remaining remnants of strength from my past life. i.e. Before I graduated from University and into the desk and chair complete with self-contained air-conditioned box.

For surely,
Strength + Cadence = Power -->> more speed (yay)

In October last year, the information addicted boy that I am, I invested in a Garmin Edge 705 fitness GPS. Now I have all the data that I could hope to analyse :). Well, not quite - I don't have a power meter. But then these difficult economic times are not the time for a second mortgage to make such an investment. Now comparing cadence of recent ride data with my first few rides with the Garmin Edge 705:

Sample of average ride cadences:

• November 2008:
  
  • 81/minute
  • 80/minute
  • 76/minute
  
  
• May/June 2009:
  • 90/minute
  • 88/minute
  • 92/minute
  • 90/minute

No doubt there, that I am now in the "spinning" zone (85-120/minute). In theory, this is supposed to mean less muscle fatigue (yay) and improved blood flow =
faster recovery.

The unanswered questions remain:

1. Will I actually be faster riding with a more orthodoxed cadence rate?
   
2. Am I mixing any strength with my new found higher cadence rate, for surely:
   Cadence + Nothing = Cadence -->> not necessarily more speed (boo)
   

In Wellington right now, we are in the depths of a very Antarctic feeling winter. With no light before or after work, riding in the dark does not suit just comparing times with summer. Not to for get windy Wellingtons famous resistance training.

My desire for more speed also means I need to ride with people faster than me to ensure that I challenge myself to get quicker and quicker. To this end, I am going to stop training exclusively by myself and join the Onslow Tarbabies on the Sunday morning rides. Yes, riding group, means no more 10am, or afternoon starts. Yes, I hear you chuckling at the thought of wintery morning starts from me- but you're the same people that are in disbelief at my entire week and counting without coffee.

P.S. I have finally caught up on cycling event blogs for the past season :). I have backdated some of the posts to when they actually happened, rather than when they were posted :>.

P.P.S. Four years of tramping trips yet to be mapped and posted. This will take a while...

It's going to be a long road back to beating the PBs!

June already, I now have 28 days until the half-marathon I entered a few months ago. I entered with a view of improving fitness and cardio to help achieve some cycling PB's heading into the spring and summer cycling events.

Training has been limited to non-existent. It is about 9 years since I last ran this distance. At the moment I have had the odd encourage training run, but really it has been mostly disappointingly slow "jogging". Its going to have be a good effort to get up to speed for this one. Due to my current slothful unfitness I am simply aiming to finish without stopping or walking in under two hours.

So, what do I do over a long weekend while lamenting on my lack of fitness? Well, not much in the miserable gales and hailstorms. Just sitting back and updating my blog of course :). It should be much prettier and more readable now. Thanks to the folks at freeskins.blogspot.com because editing and manipulating CSS certainly is not my forte. I've also added in my Twitter and Garmin Connect feeds for small updates when I am too lazy to write a full blog entry - which happens to be quite often.

Yearning for the distant sun

The summer sure ended abruptly in these parts. It has quickly turned miserable wet, cold with southerly gales for the past few weeks. My Garmin says I have ridden some 3000km since my last cycling post. You may recall that I had been suffering a misery of mechanical nightmares. The new bike, a Specialized Roubaix has returned me to the enjoyment of simply riding rather than lamenting on mechanicial failures and unscheduled cycle maintenance.

I've managed to get all around country with organised fun rides to Lake Taupo, Around Mt Ruapehu, Kapiti, Le Race (Christchurch to Akaroa), the Graperide in Marlborough and the R4 from Rotorua to Whakatane.

Regardless of significant miles logged, I was pretty unfit this past summer and have been a long way off acheiving any personal bests.

There has been some intent to actually train this winter, with some keen night rides interlaced with slothful slacking in the stormy gales. The real question is, will I hibernate and become more unfit during the winter? Or will I manage to get out training and come out fitter the otherside? I'd prefer the latter, but the weather sure is conspiring against me!!

This blog not been abandoned - honest!!!

I am still alive. I just haven't been posting anything for ages. Sorry.

Recently I have been doing a reasonable amount of road riding, but are well behind on fitness. Unfortunately not much to report on the PB front this past year, so I might try something new this winter and actually train. I thought I might do a bit of running which is something I have not done for some time. Must be eight or nine years since I last completed a half marathon. Sure am suffering when I take myself out for run. 

Since I have been so slack in posting of late, I have included my Garmin Connect data below. You can see I have been slooooow and suffering of late. I will rectify this and find some fitness from somewhere - promise.

I haven't been up into the hills tramping for like ever so must get back up into the Tararuas real soon. 

Training in the Equinox / Almost time for the K2

Again I find myself as a typical masochistic Wellington cyclist. With the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge being the goal for most of us recreational roadies, we find ourselves on a bikes again and beginning training at the spring equinox. In most places this would be fine, but in Wellington we find ourselves persistently blown about by the breezes that the equinox brings. Heading out on our cycles, and noting the slow times on our regular routes, and unsure of how much to allow for the breeze. It is not until the actual races come around that we finally find out, are we faster? Fitter? Stronger? than last year?

With confidence from the improvement in my time in the 160km Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge last year, I was silly enough to enter the 192km Kuaotunu 2 (K2) cycle race in the Coromandel. It is sure to be a fine challenge with seven classified hills to climb. And goodness me, it is now only just over a week away. Yikes!

The training began with a broken axle. Could someone explain how one breaks two rear axles on a road bike in twelve months? It seems insane!! As a result, I splashed out on some new wheels - American Classic Hurricane. As these are wheels are for use in cycle cross and have a traditional 3-cross, 32 spoke setup I am planning for it to be a far too challenging task for even I to damage these babies. Regardless of the full 32 spokes, I have still saved 400g on the Mavic Aksium wheels I have swapped out. First ride out I whizzed downhill at 93km/h, so speeds good :).The K2 organisers suggest the race includes a 100+km/h descent, so we'll see how these babies go next week.

"This is followed by an exciting downhill section with a few turns to begin with followed by a 100km per hour straight. This downhill section will probably give you enough momentum to get half way up the next uphill."

Thankyou Mr Newton, I think your law rocks. 

The race organisers have been very good at sending out daily e-mails to those who have entered, generally being kind enough to remind us of how brutal the race is and the magnitude of the hills to be climbed.

"The 200km RoadCraft K2 has been described as one of the most brutal rides in the Southern Hemisphere and is a real test of how good you are on the bike. It is certainly one of those inspiring challenges for both Elite Cyclists and the weekend warrior."

Great, thanks for reminding us! What masochistic moment made me enter ths race anyhow?

"The tyre had split. Descending these hills at speed puts a lot of stress on the bike, the brakes get hot and my tyres were probably a bit warn."

Could Newtons Law might save me? Sure going to need a rest on those descents.

So, how does one assess a realistic time goal for a race the harder and further than they have been before? Can I finish before the prize giving? Will I be able to walk afterwards? All to be revealed in my next posting.

Craig.

Wind-trainers vs "Wind-Training"

4 November 2007

Spring cycling in Wellington is often a tale of woe. Possibly never more so than this year when it has been persistently wet and windy. Personally, I have found it battle to stay on my bike at times let alone travel at great speed. Journey's around the bays dropping to 9km/h on the flat into a headwind come to mind, let alone the northerlies as I've struggled up Ngaranga Gorge over the past two months.

Almost defeated, I finally succumbed and bought a wind-trainer. I have to say it is nowhere near as exciting as battling the elements. Wind-trainers seem best used in front of a good DVD. As a recreational road rider the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge is the event that I look forward to each year. I was planning to do a few events in the lead up, but the first event was cancelled due to wind. I am to this day not sure if I wasted more time driving to Featherston and back, or, if I stayed home and watched a certain rugby game.

'twas a blustery morn'
Da wind buffeted each and ev'ry way
Ride is on, Rain, Hail, Sun or Wind they said
Two ruggered bloke drove to Feathers
Only to find da stupid race was can-celled
Too dangerous they sayeth
What ya mean too dangerous thought Craig
For I've been riding in t'is crap all week
Oh bugger, the World Cup's been cancelled too.
All da way back to the bright lights of J'vegas for us
And bright were the lights
With bolt after bolt falling from the sky
As did our 15 demi-gods of national pride

Alas, two weeks later the 115km Martinborough Charity Fun Ride did in fact take place on a cool day with a medium southerly blowing. Back to the wind-training thing, I was absolutely gobsmacked to find myself easily gaining a 500m lead on a bunch in the slightest breath of wind. Still, just a recreational rider, but I did manage to take close to 20 minutes off my time from the previous year. Being out there battling the elements seems to be the perfect training.

So, I think its going to be wind-training for me all the way. Wind-trainer anyone?