Our Asian Holiday – Day 13 to Day 14

Day 13: We checked out of our hotel and were picked up by our driver and guide Quyen, for a two and a half hour drive to the Bac Ha Sunday markets. The first sign that this day was going to be interesting was the distinct lack of functioning seat belts in the back of the Toyota Camry in which we were traveling. About 10 minutes into the drive down the mountain I couldn’t help but foresee my own death caused by rapid ejection through the windscreen.

In the end the drive to the markets was uneventful except for the dozens of close calls with buffalos and completely clueless idiots wandering onto the road.

The markets themselves were huge and full of the ‘upland’ people who still dress in traditional clothing. The markets were full of the usual meat, fruit, vegetables and tourist trinkets; as well as buffalo, horse, dog and singing birds. Quyen was ever helpful in explaining some of the customs of these mountain villagers. After wandering the markets for an hour or so we stopped for lunch.

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After lunch we headed out for a tour of two of nearby villages. Quyen explained the daily life of the villagers to us and took us away from the usual tracks to see some of the crops and homes up close. The weather had changed and it was now extremely hot and humid; while it was uncomfortable to us the more overweight and heavily dressed tourists in the central village were much worse off.

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At the end of the walk through the second village we boarded a river boat for a quick cruise on the Chay River. This was quite enjoyable in the cool breeze and Carly even dipped her feet into the water to cool down.

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After a short break from the 40’C and 100% humidity we drove back to Lao Cai to wait for the overnight train back to Ha Noi. As we had a few hours to kill, we visited the Vietnam / China border and heard some stories about Vietnamese women being stolen for forced prostitution and people fleeing from both countries.

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Finally we boarded the train to Ha Noi and soon we were off into the Vietnamese night.

Day 14: Our train pulled into Ha Noi at 04:30. Unlike last time’s shuddering stop to wake us up; soft music played over the speakers before we came to our sudden halt.

Once again it was a mad rush to get off the train and after a few minutes palming off the not so reputable ‘taxi’ drivers (possibly organ harvesters) we found our driver and headed off to the hotel.

We were able to arrange an early check-in at the hotel and get some sleep before wandering the nearby markets and food vendors in the afternoon after the temperature dropped a little.

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Our Asian Holiday – Day 10 to Day 12

Day 10: We left Hoi An and drove to the airport at Da Nang. After a quick flight we arrived in Ha Noi where we were met by our new guide Long and our driver Wei. We had a 45 minute drive into town where we were to do a tour of the city and have lunch. Long was extremely funny when explaining Ha Noi life to us during our drive; always giving us tips on staying safe and avoiding tourist traps.

Our first stop after lunch was the Mot Cot Pagoda or the One Pillared Pagoda built in 1049 in the shape of a lotus flower. Or as I liked to call it… temple #12’500 for the trip.

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A quick walk down the road was the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; unfortunately we couldn’t go inside and see Uncle Ho as it was closed for the wet season.

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Next up was the Temple Of Literature built to worship Confucius and house Vietnam’s first university. Oh yay another temple… We were supposed to visit here first up in the morning, but it was closed due to a visiting dignitary. I would have been happy with it being closed all day to be honest. The buildings and gardens around such areas are impressive but the temples themselves contain crap. I won’t mince words, the original sentiment disappeared decades ago and has since been replaced by thousands of incense candles, cheap recreations of long lost artefacts and locals trying to sell trinkets. By this stage I was well and truly over having shit thrust at me and being told “you buy something!”

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After seeing paper mâché Confucius and paying the equivalent of 10 cents to pee we drove to the Ha Noi Lo Museum; better known as the Ha Noi Hilton. This was built as a gaol by the incredibly brutal French colonialists to basically torture people they didn’t like. Later during the Vietnam War it was used to ‘accommodate America prisoners of war’ including US Senator John McCain.

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The rest of our afternoon was spent looking a temple honoring a magic turtle (I kid you not) and touring the old quarter in a pedicab helping to set back Asian/Anglo relations by having old Asian men ride us around town.

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Later in the evening we went and watched a Vietnamese Water Puppet show. Basically these are puppets in water set to traditional music and song. It wasn’t too hard to follow what was happening but being 6 foot tall in seats designed for 5 foot Asians; the night definitely dragged on a little.

Day 11: We awoke and embarked on a two hour drive to Ninh Binh to see ‘Ha Long Bay on Land’. We embarked on a short boat ride up the river and through the ‘three caves’. This was quite enjoyable despite the very obvious tourist trap atmosphere to the area. The locals row you up the river and at the turn around point others in their boats close in and hard sell you their wares and expensive food and drinks. This is after others in their boats take your photo and demand you buy it. It’s a real shame that this area has become like this; ultimately it is the fault of the tourist trade but aggressive selling will eventually be the undoing of this place.

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After spending the last half of our boat ride in a monsoonal storm we drove to the ancient city of Dai Vet wringing wet to see another few temples before the drive back to Na Noi and our overnight train ride to Lao Cai.

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Day 12: We arrived in Lao Cai at around 05:30 to the sweet smell of the train having the septic tanks emptied onto the tracks. Our driver picked us up and we drove up the mountain range towards Sa Pa for an early check in and breakfast before our day trek on the buffalo tracks around the rice fields and villages of Sa Pa.

The short trek was a highlight for the trip as we were able to see the village life up close. Outside of the hustle and bustle of the big cities being able to witness their farming lives was much more enjoyable. The people use all available land to farm and only have small living areas for themselves and livestock. The villagers were very friendly and thanks to the local know how of our guide, the hawkers were kept at bay.

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Our Asian Holiday – Day 8 to Day 9

Day 8: Our eighth day in Asia started with a sleep in until 7am; when the constant horns from the scooter woke me up. The weather had turned the rain on for us and it was bucketing down. I guess that is what happens when you travel at the start of their wet season; luckily for us we don’t really mind and the hotel had provided big umbrellas for us.

Tuyet picked us up from the hotel and drove us to the Dao Tien River View Restaurant for our Vietnamese cooking lesson. We met the restaurant manager Hung, and started walking towards the Hoi An markets as the rain stopped. Hung guided us around the fruit and vegetables, meats, fish and spices areas of the market and explained how the restaurant chooses their produce.

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After touring the market we headed back to the restaurant via the river on a water taxi with Hung. About 15 minutes into our leisurely cruise the rain started again.

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On arrival back at the Dao Tien River View we met the head chef and started our cooking lesson for day. First up was making rice paper and fresh spring rolls.

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After eating our fresh spring rolls we prepared our lunch for after the lesson; grilled fish in banana leaf.

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When the staff whisked away our fish into the kitchen for cooking we started preparing and cooking some eggplant and spices.

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Next was the big challenge of the day, attempting to replicate the chef’s favourite; money bags. These seemed quite simple to put together; stir fried vegetables and meat inside of a thin flour sheet and tied up with a piece of blanched shallot.

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After all the cooking was done we sat down to enjoy the food we had just made for lunch.

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After what was the highlight of the trip so far, we ended the day with a walk through town and a quiet dinner near the river.

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Day 9: With nothing at all planned for the first time on the trip so far and Hoi An with sunny, clear skies; we spent the day relaxing and enjoying ourselves. There were a few trips to the tailors for Carly to buy new clothes, lounging around the pool, sitting out the front of cares drinking coffee and aimless wanderings around town.

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Our Asian Holiday – Day 5 to Day 7

Day 5: Our driver picked us up from our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City at 06:30 in the morning. Even at this early time the people of HCMC were out and about doing group calisthenics in the district parks, opening their shops and speeding down the streets on their scooters.

We arrived at the airport and checked in for our flight to Da Lat. The flight was quick and soon we were on our way to our new hotel just across the road from the lake near the centre of town.

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Before we had the chance to get out and explore the city the rain came pouring down and we were stuck watching terrible Asian MTV in the hotel room.

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When the rain finally stopped we went for a walk around the lake before a quick lunch while the weather cleared up and the blue sky reappeared.

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The nearby markets were full of fresh fruits, flowers and random meats; some fresher than others.

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Our fifth day in Asia ended with a quiet dinner for two in the hotel’s restaurant enjoying a traditional Vietnamese banquet and local red wine.

Day 6: We awoke to a sunny Da Lat morning and a few hours of touring some of the sites around town. Our first stop of the morning was the old Da Lat Train Station.

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Next up was the Valley of Love…. OMG! If you are after kitschy over romantic, how do I say… Crap! Then this is your destination. This was one stop I could have done without. The views are spectacular, but they have removed all natural beauty of the area by erecting oversized love hearts, Cinderella statues and ugly bird houses.

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After the Valley we drove to the Da Lat Royal Palace. It is quite interesting to see that the palace has been kept as it was in the 1950’s when the Royal family left Vietnam. By today’s standards it is reminiscent of an old military mess furnished with your grandparents antiques. In comparison to other palaces around the world, even in its prime the Da Lat Royal Palace and its gardens would have been quite tame and understated.

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Our final destination for the tour was the Datanla Falls just outside of town. Aimed clearly at a tourist market the falls were somewhat impressive but the walk into and out of the rainforest was much more enjoyable.

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After returning to our hotel we headed out for a walk around the surrounding suburbs to admire the French inspired architecture.

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Before the afternoon rains rolled in we enjoyed a quiet lunch at a cafe over looking Hoa Binh square; enjoying the Vietnamese sweet milk coffee.

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In the afternoon we visited the local markets again to buy some fresh fruit for an afternoon snack. As usual the market was a hive of activity.

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We took the long way back to the hotel walking through the suburbs and saying hello to the locals while searching for a place to have dinner. As enjoyable as the tours have been so far on this trip it is far more rewarding to spend a few hours wandering around the town soaking up the Vietnamese lifestyle.

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Day 7: Once again our day started early as we were flying out to Da Nang and then driving onto Hoi An. Our new guide Tuyet and her driver were at Da Nang airport waiting for us. She was very friendly and extremely proficient with English.

The first stop for the morning was the Cham Museum in Da Nang. After spending almost all of our time in Cambodia looking at temples and artefacts; it was very hard to distinguish between these 90 Buddha statues and the 1’900 I had already seen. I don’t think I will be going into anymore incense filled museums and temples for the duration of this trip unless it is something extremely special.

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Next we drove through Da Nang to the Marble Mountain overlooking China Beach. Marble Mountain used to be mined for quality marble to make statues, tiles and furniture. Nowadays it is a backdrop for an immense marble market where the locals try to sell their wares to tourists. As impressive as some of the works are I have no need for a 700kg statue of Buddha in my lounge room. It is interesting to note that all of the marble being sold at these markets is imported from Pakistan and not sourced locally.

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Soon we arrived in Hoi An, Tuyet being a local of 27 years, took us to a local restaurant, The Secret Garden, for a Vietnamese banquet lunch. Once again we were not disappointed with the fantastic food on offer.

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After lunch we visited the centre of Hoi An and some of the local tailors who make measured to fit clothing. Hoi An is famous for its many, many clothes stores that make clothes to order or copy fashion trends such as “James Bond’s Skyfall suit!” After a quick size up and some clothes ordered for both Carly and I we headed to the hotel for check in before our tour of Hoi An in the afternoon.

By the time we left the hotel it was pouring down with rain which thankfully dropped the temperature a little. Tuyet took us around her home town and it quickly became obvious that Hoi An was filled with and aimed squarely at tourists. Any speck of traditional Vietnamese style or tradition had been glossed over with a generous helping of kitsch aimed at parting gullible tourists with their money. This is not to say Hoi An doesn’t have a lot to offer, it does, but you need to walk a few streets behind the clothes stores and the neon signs to find it. The street sellers and souvenir traders are more aggressive here and will only stop their attempts to sell you their products after several firm “no’s” or in the case of one determined restaurant bus boy who got in our faces; “fuck off idiot!”

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As night fell and the rain continued we ventured out onto the streets for another visit to the tailor. A quick fitting of our almost completed clothes and we were off looking for a quiet place for dinner. By the time we headed back to the hotel at around 9pm most of the stores were closing and restaurants empty. In comparison to Da Lat the night before, Han Oi was a relative ghost town. With another early start ahead of a Vietnamese cooking class, tomorrow looks like another eventful day in Vietnam.

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Our Asian Holiday – Day 4

Day 4: Our final morning in Cambodia was spent wandering the street markets for a new travel bag for Carly. While packing her well-used suitcase the seam tore apart and with an hour until our driver arrived to take us to the airport, we went on a mission.

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Luckily for us she found a bag that would accommodate her increasing number of clothes and soon we were on our way to the airport and on a plane bound for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

As we descended, the size of HCMC was astounding. It’s a huge city with an even bigger urban sprawl; life looked busy from our vantage point in the sky. Unfortunately for us we were about to spend the next hour and a half sitting at passport control waiting to have our visas issued. The paperwork was completed and submitted; we just had to sit and wait while a single person processed multiple plane loads of passengers wanting to enter Vietnam. Eventually we passed immigration and met our clearly pissed off driver who then proceeded to drive at break neck speed through the ridiculously hectic HCMC traffic.

Within an hour we arrived at our hotel and soon set off for a look around the nearby markets. Luckily for us we were inside the market pavilion when the heavens unleashed an almighty monsoonal storm.

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Braving the downpour, we ran across the road and tucked into a fantastic dinner of Phõ followed by a tour of the downtown night markets. All in all our first night in Vietnam was a good one.

Our Asian Holiday – Day 2 to Day 3

Day 2: We woke up to a sunny morning in Phnom Penh and enjoyed a lazy breakfast on the top of our hotel overlooking the Mekong River. Our guide and driver arrived and took us to the airport for our flight to Siem Reap. Our flight was a quick 45min leg where our new guide Con and his driver were waiting.

We checked into our new hotel, The City River Hotel, just a few blocks away from downtown Siem Reap. A quick lunch in the hotel restaurant and we were off for a tour of the famous Angkor Wat temple.

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We drove through Siem Reap and to the Angkor Wat tourist centre where our photos were taken and visitor ID’s issued. A quick 10min down the road and some history lessons from Con, we arrived at Angkor Wat with the thousands of other tourists; mostly Chinese and Vietnamese. In the land of Cambodia this whitey is a rare and much taller animal.

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It is really a huge temple at Angkor Wat, the scale is only surpassed by the detail that is on every piece of stone and wall.

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We left Angkor Wat for another temple at Pnom Bakheng built on top of a large hill overlooking the Siem Reap province. We were allocated an hour to scale the hill and climb the steep stairs to the top of the temple before enjoying the sun setting over the Great Lake. We made the steep climb in little over 15mins with no heavy breathing or excess sweating; unlike the other tourists in their terrible footwear and heavy clothing.

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The top of the temple itself was ridiculously hot and after watching dozens of Chinese tourists climb all over an ancient temple and throw up peace sign selfies, we left for our dinner and dance show in Siem Reap.

The dinner was an Asian style buffet with some Western foods thrown in to appease the people not keen on trying something different. During the meal we watched an Asara dance that was pretty impressive and then headed back to our hotel for an early night.

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Day 3: We went for a quick stroll around the markets near our hotel after a light Asian breakfast. The markets were bustling with vendors and I picked up a cheap cap for my journeys.

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Our guide and driver picked us up and we headed out to Angkor Wat once again. This time we toured the South Gate of Angkor Thom and Preah Khan.

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Later we headed off into the jungle to look a few smaller, less preserved temples. These temples were a lot quieter than the main area at Angkor Wat. I can only assume that due to the extra walking required certain groups just cut them from their itinerary. For both Carly and I it was a more enjoyable experience seeing the temples and ruins that the jungle had taken back.

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In the afternoon we spent some time in and out of the balcony pool at the hotel drinking beers and enjoying the sun. As a huge storm started to roll in with retired to our room for a siesta before heading out to the night markets, pub street and a nice dinner.

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Our Asian Holiday – Day 0 to Day 1

What a whirlwind the past few days has been for Carly and I. The Wedding went off without a hitch and was a huge day and night for not only us but for our family and friends. Carly spent the morning getting ready with her Bridesmaids, family and the Twin flower girls. I spent the morning drinking coffee, wandering around Elwood before finally spending some time with my Groomsmen, Mark and Evan by watching Robocop.
20130904-102358.jpg.:Meredith O’Shea is the most amazing photographer ever! Just do what she says!:.

Day 1: We flew out from Melbourne just after midnight on Tuesday morning and flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The flight itself was fairly painless and we both managed to get a few hours sleep before landing in Kuala Lumpur. The next 3 hours were spent wandering the airport checking out the duty free shopping before we spotted a Starbucks and leeched off their free Internet until our next flight.

We arrived in Phnom Penh just after 10am on Tuesday morning, 13 hours after we departed Melbourne. Sweet Baby Jesus it was hot!!! I like the cold, thus why I like Canberra; so needless to say arriving to 37’C with 10’000% humidity was a shock to the system. We paid for our visas, passed quickly through immigration and customs and were soon sitting in an air-conditioned car with our driver and guide for the day.

Our first stop for the day was the Killing Fields of Choenung Ek. In high school I did a fair bit of study on the recent history of Cambodia; in particular the Khmer Rouge regime. Although I have seen a lot of terrible and horrific things first hand over the past decade it is still quite sobering to experience something so huge that it has restructured a nation’s identity. The Cambodian people don’t shy away from discussing the days under Pol Pot’s genocidal rule; they embrace that this terrible chapter in their recent history has changed them forever and they strive to overcome the challenges of the past.

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Our next destination was the Ohana Hotel across the road from the Mekong River. We checked in and grabbed a quick lunch before a quick walk through the nearby markets.

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Our driver and guide picked us up a couple of hours later and we drove to the Royal Palace for a quick tour of the amazing gardens and buildings. Our guide Sam At was full of knowledge about his country, King and recent history. Sometimes he would even ask questions to see if we were paying attention.

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For our final tour of the day we headed to the National Museum for a quick look around at the thousands of statues of Buddhism and Hinduism that Cambodia has amassed over the past several centuries. To be honest we were fairly statued out; but it was still a good opportunity to see how Cambodia has adapted yet kept its national identity after so many years of upheaval.

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We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying a quick siesta before heading out for a walk on the banks of the Mekong River, a stroll through the markets and quiet dinner near our hotel.

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Training Week In Review – Week 11

A good training regime is broken down into many parts.  It’s not just the riding and strengthening of muscles that gets you fit; there’s nutrition, hydration, rest, and mental preparedness.

I try to find a balance with all of these things and pay particular attention to my nutrition; I am usually pretty disciplined with my meals and race preparation.  Anyone that has sat down and ate with me will know I eat a lot.  The average person consumes around 8’000kj daily; including approximately 300g of carbohydrates.  When I’m riding a lot I can consume more than double that amount; and if I’m including gym work at least 3 days a week I can sometimes triple the daily averages.  This is a good and bad thing.  I’m getting the fuel my body needs; but I’m also speeding up my already fast metabolism.  Because of this it’s very difficult for me to gain weight so I sit anywhere between 74-77kg.

Lately I’ve been eating a lot and not riding as much hoping this would help me put on some weight.  Having overcome a fairly serious muscle tear in my chest; I’ve started light weights again with the aim of building more upper body strength.  So far it’s working as my left shoulder/chest/neck feels really good after ditching the chest brace I’ve been wearing for the past 4 months.

This last week was a testing week more than anything else.  As I’m about to spend almost a month off the bike and out of training I didn’t want to smash myself into the ground.  Instead I spent the few days I had on the bike testing out a new nutrition/hydration mix and enjoying the brilliant Canberra weather.

At the JetBlack WSMTB 12hr, fellow Bermer Adam told me about his beverage mix of choice; Perpetuem.  We have similar sporting backgrounds in endurance running and cycling and have very similar body and fitness types.  I often get cramps when I ride long distances and increasing electrolytes doesn’t really help me.  After doing some research I discovered that while my hydration was pretty spot on, my nutrition was way out.  Ordinarily over an endurance race you rely on caffeinated energy gels and sugar snacks to keep you going.  Some people eat bananas, but considering I’m somewhat allergic to potassium; explosive diarrhoea and vomiting while riding makes bananas are a no-go.

I trialled Perpetuem over two different rides earlier this week.  All of the CORC XC races are short-course races where I’ll ride at maximum intensity anywhere between 10-20km.  This quickly saps my energy levels and I get very few opportunities to drink.  So on Monday I went for a short spin of Bruce Ridge where I rode short stints at maximum effort and tried the new bidon full of Perpetuem.  The drink itself is a milky, fuller mixture and is quite filling.  It’s more like a meal replacement drink without the dairy feel to it, however there was no after taste and I felt hydrated.  It passed the test for short-course.

On Tuesday I went for a longer endurance ride of Mt Stromlo.  52km of medium to high intensity riding on a beautiful sunny Canberra day.  It was a perfect opportunity to test out my hydration/nutrition for endurance rides.  While I was struggling a bit in my last few kilometres I was pretty happy with the plan I came up with and will certainly put it into effect during my next enduro; the Scott 25 Hour at Mt Stromlo.

BIKES 097.:A perfect Canberra day at Mt Stromlo:.

Wednesday was a difficult day to get back on the bike after the previous day’s ride.  My legs were tender and my lower back was a little tight.  But I headed out for an easy loop of Kowen Forest/Sparrow Hill.  Once I was weaving around the pine trees I started to push out.  All was going well until I hit Rolling Thunder and decided a good old fashioned Strava run was in order.  The track was surprisingly loose and I took a corner a little too fast.  Cue some heavy rear braking and then some sideways action and I was looking at tree coming towards me at speed.  All I could think of was “save the carbon bike” so I did my best Neo impersonation and put my hand out in defiance.  I hit the tree with my hand and ended up on the ground; body and bike intact.  It was at this point that I decided to end both my day and week on the bike.  With only a few days until my Wedding and a heart-racing close call already I thought it best not to tempt fate with any more time in the saddle.

Ride By
.:Don’t blink:.

 

Battle Of The Beasts – Update #4

It’s been a fairly hectic month since my last Battle Of The Beasts update.  I have spent plenty of time in the saddle training, managed a short trip to the snow at Perisher and managed to squeeze in a few cross-country races in and out of Canberra.

CORC XC Rd 4 02
.:CORC XC Round 4 at Mt Stromlo (if you look closely you can see my mullet):.

The highlight for this past month has been the opportunity to travel to Dargle Farm for the JetBlack WSMTB 12 Hour with some of The Berm riders and Pedal4Pierce co-founder Nigel Jeffreys.

Dargle Farm 2013 012.:Soldier On at the JetBlack WSMTB Dargle Farm 12 Hour:.

Even though I DNF’d during my first 12 hour mountain bike race due to illness, I had the honour of representing Soldier On at a huge mountain biking event.  There were a lot of questions from other riders, the event organisers and the Flow Magazine guys about Soldier On and why I ride for and fund-raise for them.

I’m also very excited to announce that the guys from Beast-Worx, the organisers of the Battle Of The Beasts; have invited me to compete in their next venture: The Call Of The Beast.  The Call Of The Beast is Canberra’s/ACT’s first adventure obstacle race.  I’m very excited to be a part of this and incredibly grateful that they are willing to support me in my fundraising for Soldier On.  The Beast-Worx crew are staunch supporters of all Australian Veterans and Soldier On.

My training for the Battle Of The Beasts has been going well despite a bout of illness and a week of nil motivation to train.  In the lead up to my Wedding I’ve decreased the amount of riding I have been doing but will increase the tempo dramatically in the weeks after and leading up to The Beast.

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The Call Of The Beast

I’m very excited to announce that the crew from BEAST-WORX, the organisers of the Battle Of The Beasts, have invited me to compete in their next venture: THE CALL OF THE BEAST.

BEAST-WORX are unbelievable supporters of SOLDIER ON & all Australian veterans, which is why they run their adventure races.  They have partnered with SOLDIER ON to bring you the best mountain biking/obstacle course/adventure races in Australia to raise money and awareness for SOLDIER ON.

The CALL OF THE BEAST is an obstacle course like no other.  It is not for shirtless posers taking selfies covered in mud at the end of leisurely stroll with 4’000 other wannabes!  This is an event that will test you physically, mentally and make you earn crossing that finish line!!

I’m extremely proud to announce that not only am I competing in the Battle Of The Beasts mountain bike festival in October I will be competing in the Call Of The Beast on November 30; racing for and raising money for SOLDIER ON!

Dargle Farm 2013 004

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