The partys over

Its the end of may, and that only means one thing, I start training again now. Ive had a rest from real training for about a month and been enjoying my 18ness a bit. As ive probably already mentioned, Im now training to peak in September for some marathons the and the Scott24hr. My plan is to focus on endruance util mid July when ill be doing 200km rides on the weekends, at the same time Ill also work on my climbing which has never been the same since I started training for last summers national series. After this month and a half period, I will start working more on strength and thresholds. At this time I will also start doing longer XC rides on various terrain so that I really feel comfortable on my bike and can come into these races in the very best condition, ready to handle it all. My main gaol out of this is to get to a point where I have the endurance and knowledge to race a marathon with out hitting the wall midway through, and to build up my speed on easier sections where I usualy get dropped. I think with this amount of effort going into these races, I will really be at a level where I can start racing with bakc end of the elite guys.

Since I last posted nothing much has really happened, I got 15th in a club XC race in Senior men which I was pretty happy with considering the size and quality of the feild. Tha also means my forks are finaly fixed and going great. I think ive finaly got my roadie going well, gears are working the bakc wheel has been true for a record amount of time and pretty stiff and its generaly feeling good.

So thats all for now, Ill probably bust out some big rides next weekend and let you know how that goes. Catchya Gangstas!

Not so good

...was the Canberra Tour, not that it was really a tour for me, more a classic. Stage one went from stromlo to Uriara Crossing up to Condor Creek and back and then all that again. I decided to just race for the KOM points and not worry about GC. so we were off and it wasn't too bad, but pretty uncomfortable riding at the back of the bunch. After smashing myself to catchup with the leaders coming out of the Uriara Crossing, I moved up a bit towoards the front. We turned around at Condor Creek and then the second KOM points were about 1km away. There was a break away of about 3 or 4 riders out the front, but I thought it was worth getting 1 point so half way up the hill I made an acceleration and opened up a good 50m gap pretty fast and cruised down the other side waiting to be caught again. Me and pete did a few turns to try and catch the break away again, but as we came up the 3 sisters, I just couldnt handle the pase and got droped back a fair bit. I battled on and eventualy got caught by a group behind me and we caught the leaders at the end of the lap. However, coming out of Uriara Crossing again, I got held back again at the back of the bunch and couldnt catch up this time. I strugled along the flase flat for a bit, but Id had it and turned back. I dont know what was going on, I was just tired and my legs just felt terrible. I felt like I had already done 100km the day before and hadnt streched or somthing. It was a very dissapointing weekend not to have finished my first big road race.

Im getting my forks fixed at the moment, Ive given up on the warrenty as its probably going to cost as much sending them over as is to get them fixed here. But it will mean I can race the next Club XC race at my fav...MAJURA!!!!! So Ill see you all then.

Average

is how Im feeling after the 6+6 and a big weekend in Sydney. Been too tired to ride in the mornings, and its to windy during the day for riding, which is when Id usualy go for am XC ride, but I have no forks. So as you can see, things have been a bit lazy. Because I got my forks from America, the warrenty can't be covered in Australia which means Im probably not going to have forks for a few weeks now, which is pretty annoying because it means I cant race at stromlo on the weekend.

I start school next week and I have a nee trainign plan:
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Cotter/Uriara in the monring and gym in the arvo
Wednsday - Bunch ride or hill climbs or intervals (somthing hard but short)
Thursday - Gym, maybe XC ride
Friday - Cruisy ride or XC ride
Saturday - Bunch ride plus hills or race
Sunday - Long endurance ride or long XC ride or race

This means I get some long rides in on Sunday and tuesday with a rest in between, and the other days I do more strength training, or recovery.

Next race is the Canberra Tour which im looking forward to. Not sure what my stratergy will be, but Im going to try and take out the KOM points, and I guess Ill see where I stand throughout the race and make a decision based on that. Then Ill have a break for 3 weeks during may and start some base training to peak in September.

Not so 24, but totaly solo

Well firstly, we got 3rd at the Mont the other week. We were leading, but i broke my chain and had to wait till someone came past with a chainbreaker to get it fixed. Then tom got held up for about 10 mins after someone broke their leg and finaly I was 5 mins late for an transition. So we came thrid by 20 mins and lost about 25 due to mistakes, 15 of which were mine.





But who cares about the mont, The 24hour solo champs were on over the weekend. I was racing the 6+6 hr in under 18s. There were 3 of us plus about 10 others in open. At the start i was about 3rd wheel for a little while until about halfway when i went off on my own and finished the lap first. I stayed in front for the rest of the day opening up a 20 min gap between me and 2nd place. However, I noticed my forks were really stiff and my wrists were killing me. I stoped to let some air out of my forks, but it didnt change anything. I asked the BMC guys (the use the same forks) and they said ask the bike shop. Shane from bike culture said this happens with these forks some times, I wasnt in the mood for details, and said to finish the day and put some new forks on for the last 6 hours. I couldnt handle the bumps down the hills and lost 5 mins. On sunday I got off to a slow start and after about 3 laps Taylor Charlton (2nd place) had halved the gap to 7.5 mins. I stepped on the gas and after about 3 more laps I had gained 90 seconds and was starting to get confident that he wasnt going to keep the pace up all day. Soon it was up to 15 minutes and with only 2 hours to go I knew I had the win. I kept on lapping but I was getting pretty tired and slowed down to about 35 min laps. But I had moved to a 20 min+ gap. the last 3 laps were tough, I had no energy and was pretty sick of riding the same track. But the last lap I just cruised around ticking off each section that I wouldnt have to ride over again any time soon. I finished with a smile on my face and 17 mins ahead of Taylor and about 3 laps up on Chris Cady. Its not a huge race like nationals, but its the biggets race Ive ever won on my own and it was bloody tough. Its given me a big confidence boost and taught me alot about racing longer events.

Well im on holidays now for 2 weeks so plenty of training. Next races are the next club race and then the Canberra Tour. After that, I have no races (other than club and road) until the Angry Doctor, So might chill out for a bit and start to build up for some big races in Spring.

Slow Days

Last two weeks have been a bit on the slow and lazy side. Ive been pretty tired and not feeling all that good on the bike. Sunday was a shocker of a ride. I decided to ride to the top of Corrin dam and back. I flet ok going up the hill, but when i got to the bottom, I had had it, and still had about 50km to go. i dordeled home feelign sore and miserable. There have been a few rides like this lately, hopfuly it will pass soon.

There have been a few change to the XC bike. Ive out some new Mantiou R7 MRD forks on t which I havnt been able to use too much, but they feel pretty good so far. With the lock out on, they are rock hard, and they are 320g lighter than my old forks. I just need to get a bracket for my stupid 180mm brakes. Ive also re built my hub with new cones, axle and bearings. I think I did a pretty good job, but the cups are pretty worn and I can feel a new hub coming on in 6 months.

On the race front, ive got the mont coming up this weekend, kinda looking forward to it, but Im not looking forward to haveing only a week to recover before the solo nationals. However, It would seem Im racing on my own in the under 18s 6+6hr, so I probably wont need to be super fit. After that Im taking a bit of a break and going to syndey, before the Canberra Tour. My first big road race.

So thats all for now, Ill tell you how the mont went on monday.

No time means no blogs

This is why this is my first blog in a few weeks. Whats been happening? well the earliest 'event' that i haven't talked about was the ride to goulburn. A few weeks ago (the long weekend) me, pete, nath, dave and andy C began an epic ride to goulburn and back via the old federal hwy. At lake George we met a Hungarian rider called Tomash (I probably spelt it wrong, but you get the idea), apparently he does huge rides each weekend and he came along with us for the day after he caught us at LakeG. It was a rough ride going out with a gentle inclination up to goulburn, some very long gravely shoulder lanes and a slight head wind. After a stop at the Greengrocer bike store and cafe (which was a little overrated i thought, maybe I was expecting too much) we made our way back, with a nice tail wind, we averaged 45km/h coming back. By the time we got to the old Federal hwy again I was pretty buggered, but in hind sight, I think it was more in my head than anything, but I still managed to get home after 200km+.

Last Sunday saw the return of Nicholas Wilson to the CORC Club XC series after missing the last 3 races. I raced A grade to maintain my second place in the series. I was off to a good start in 2nd/3rd place, but I missed a corner and had to let 3 people past. I got back to 4th place and led 5th place for 2 laps, when I decided to make a move in a section I was good at, But coming of the top of a fats climb, I clipped my pedal into a tree stump and went over the bars, and i had been dropped. I tried to catch up, but mentaly, I was beaten when Tom Walter passed me. I decided to finish the race just for the points, but ended up getting bumped down to 3rd overall.

So that's all for now, will get back to you all in a few days.

A month late?

The last two or so weeks I have been feeling really good. Like the fittest Ive ever been. Ive been doing relay well in the road crits and the bakery bunch, and on sunday I did 110km+ and felt fine for the whole ride and for the rest of the day. So I feel like Ive peaked a month late for Nationals. But to tell you the truth I dont think my fitness held me back at nationals, it was my skill and a flat tyre.

But moving on, Ive started ACTAS now. Its been pretty good, alot of focus on core strength and Ive come away feeling sore all over after it, but in a good way. I think this will relay help me from getting a tired back, and keep my upper body strong through races. Only problem is I have had to cut back my already short single shift at work.

On sunday, Nicks Annual Fantastic Tour of Honysuckle Creek took place, it was me pete and andy c. It was a beautiful morning and we just cruised out to Naas and then I smashed my self up the hill enjoying a nice long steep climb in the beautiful Namadgi National Park. We stopped up the top and had a munch before coming back down probably the fastest Ive ever gone. That hill is so stupidly steep, I couldn't brake hard enough into the corners, I was having so much fun. Coming back through Tuggeranong and then along Adelaide Ave, we started a team time trial back and I felt great, just powering along.

On the race front, the marathon champs have bee canceled so my next big race is the 24hr solo championships. I will race the under 18s 6+6 hour. I'm keen to do better than last year and hopefully win. I think Ive had a lot more experience, and I'm alot fitter now so I will do well this year. After that, Ill train for the the Canberra Tour. A 2 day road race around Canberra and then at the end of may, Capital Punishment, a 100km mtb race from Sparrow hill to Stromlo.

So that's all for now, catch you all later.