Tag: ACT

Training Week In Review – Week 1

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Almost two and half months ago I crashed during Round 10 of the 2012/2013 CORC XC Series at Mt Stromlo.  Leading up to that race I was probably the most cycle fit and confident I had ever been.  This (over) confidence lead me to attempt a tail whip ride at the end of the race; a decision that ultimately ended in face full of gravel, blood and a grade-2 tear in my left pectoralis major (a torn muscle in my chest along with some ligaments).

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Over the past two and a bit months I have been riding with recovery in mind and doing my best not to aggravate a very touchy injury.  There were days I could barely get out of bed let alone ride a bicycle.  A poor sleeping position would mean I couldn’t move my neck and shoulder.  I still I have pain after waking up but surprisingly I’m very comfortable on a bike when wearing my chest brace.

The hardest part for me being off the bike was the disappointment at being injured and the boredom I was experiencing.  I was at a point in my riding where I was ready to step it up a notch; thus the CORC XC Races.

So after six weeks of recovery rides, including a couple of XC races, I decided to formulate and implement a gradual Training Program.  And this week was the first of many to come.

I aimed for 150km of good solid medium intensity riding for Week One.  I completed 120.6km with 58km of that being some quick singletrack at Kowen Forest/Sparrow Hill and Mt Stromlo.  Although I didn’t reach my target goal for the week I was very happy with the average speeds over the distances I rode and the Mt Stromlo climbs I completed with relative ease.

Plus the one and only David Blucher got a photo of me riding Kate in my Soldier On jersey on Duffy’s Decent on Mt Stromlo on Saturday afternoon.

Duffys!

Battle Of The Beasts – Update #1

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Well I’ve been a little slack in keeping everyone up to date with my fundraising and training for the Battle Of The Beasts in October.

However, I haven’t been slack in my fundraising and other efforts in raising awareness for Veteran’s Support Services.  I have contacted numerous local businesses requesting support and sponsorship for my fundraising and have had a few promising leads and some disappointing rejections.

Being an ex-Soldier and current Defence employee I contacted a few of the larger companies that are contracted to provide services to the Department of Defence.  My thinking was that these companies would be willing to spare a few dollars from the hundreds of millions Defence pays them to support an ex-serviceman raise some money for wounded Veterans and their families.

Well, shit! How wrong was I!  I won’t name and shame them (yet!) but I received a couple of abrupt rejections and one very sarcastic and disrespectful reply to my very reasonable request for support.  I took it with a grain of salt and contacted the respondent’s supervisor; but I was extremely disappointed with the attitude shown considering their supposed support of Defence members.

Anyway… Thanks to a small number of family and friends donating at this early stage we have reached $605 raised for Soldier On.  I’m extremely happy about this and very thankful; and with a few months to go I’m confident we will surpass last years total.

I’ve been riding a fair bit lately and gaining fitness quite quickly.  I’ve competed in two rounds of the 2013 CORC XC Series and have been riding my road bike around Canberra and to and from work.  As usual I’ve been riding with The Berm crew on a regular basis and that keeps my spirits high and head level.  There’s nothing quite like being encouraged, bagged out and enjoying a coffee and breakfast with people that love bikes as much as I do.

The Girly has been very supportive as always and understands that I will randomly go for a 3 hour ride when it’s freezing cold outside. She understands I ride because I enjoy it and it’s my rehabilitation for PTSD and depression.

Round 2 XC SO Jersey

Soldier On Jersey – CORC XC Round 2 At Sparrow Hill

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Soldier On Jerseys

I got to wear a Soldier On jersey at the CORC XC Round 2 Race at Sparrow Hill on Sunday 9 June 2013.
A nice and chilly Canberra morning meant for some fast XC Racing in my new kit and on my new bike Kate.

Round 2 XC SO Jersey CORC Rd 2 - Soldier On Jersey

Recovery Week In Review – Week 6

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

It has been two months and two days since I crashed at Mt Stromlo during Round 10 of the 2012/2013 CORC XC Series.  During that time I’ve been trying to get back to my pre-injury fitness by slowly building my strength and endurance levels.  Between 1 January 2013 and 14 April 2013, when I crashed, I was averaging 250km per week on the bike.  I had ridden in the Mont 24 Hour, 100km Capital Punishment, some short course XC races and plenty of 70km+ rides on both the roadie and MTB.  In total I had ridden 2’242.4km in just over four months.

It’s no secret that I ride bikes as a form of therapy and rehabilitation.  Exercise is an amazing tool to soften the edge of anxiety and depression.  Mountain biking is something I can fully immerse myself in; the riding, the technology, the competitiveness and the social scene.  Canberra has an amazingly inclusive and tight-knit mountain biking community.  One of the reasons why I have enjoyed riding so much these past nine months (the first time I ever road singletrack was on 9 September 2012 at Bruce Ridge) is because of the people I have met and ridden with from The Berm.  It doesn’t matter if you are a novice or an elite rider, if you enjoy riding you are welcomed with open arms.

So this week was supposed to be the start of my new training regime.  The plan was to restart my daily commuting on the roadie and get as much singletrack in between as the girly would tolerate.  I have a lot of ground to make up and the weather in Canberra is not very accommodating; we have had a lot of rain and sub-zero temperatures.  This past week I have woken up, checked the weather on my iPhone and walked onto the balcony to gauge my tolerance of the early morning temperature.  Only once did I brave the cold and ride to work.

I did however use every opportunity before and after the heavy midweek rain to ride my new Giant XTC 29er 1 – Kate.  I managed to get a couple of rides in at Mt Stromlo, two at Bruce Ridge and two at Sparrow Hill/Kowen Forest.  For my sixth week of recovery riding I ended up having my second biggest week in the saddle since my crash.  After today’s 66.6km road ride around Lake Burley Griffin I amassed 209.1km.

So after six weeks of Recovery Riding I am now transitioning  in Training Riding.

Rec Week 6 03

Recovery Week In Review – Week 5

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Recovery Week 5 started off with a 20.2km ride on Monday afternoon at Kowen Forest after a particularly ordinary day at work.  The ride itself was cut short after I got chased by a sheep and then had a low speed collision with a small kangaroo.  But I did have a lot of fun just riding on the Kowalski’s immaculate single track.

Aunty Flo GIF

Wednesday saw the arrival of my long awaited Soldier On jerseys and a quick 22.6km ride home on the roadie.

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Thursday was the day I picked up my new Giant Composite 29er 1 Kate, which I spent the next two days drooling over and swapping out components before her maiden ride at Mt Stromlo on Saturday morning.

Kate 04

Round 2 of the CORC XC Series was held on Sunday and after a sluggish start I was very happy with my finish and even managed to have an off on Kate without letting the new carbon frame bike hit the ground.  How did I manage that you ask?  Well I just made sure my body hit the ground first and I lifted the bike into the air and made sure she didn’t make contact with the ground.

After a big week in cycling, mostly off the bike, I was happy with my 74.1km in the saddle and left with a huge smile about a new bike and my Soldier On jerseys.

CORC Rd 2 - Soldier On Jersey

 

TGIF

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

I haven’t been on the bike for ten long days.  I’ve been sick and nursing my injury; so getting better has been my priority.  In the interim I have been aggressively fundraising for Soldier On and acquiring new parts for N+1 (which is a few weeks away at best).

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Today didn’t start off too well; cycling-wise.  While driving to work I heard a rattle on my windscreen which I assumed to be the missing plastic tyre lever I most likely placed on my bonnet while fitting my tubeless tyres the night before.  Oh how I was wrong.  When I turned on my wipers I saw a black object fly across my windscreen and onto the car next to me on Northbourne Ave.

It did not dawn on me until I was at Sparrow Hill this afternoon that the black object was in fact the 15mm thru-axle that secures my front wheel to my forks; Rookie_Error indeed!  Three bike shops later and quite a few phone calls I tracked one down at Bike Culture at O’Conner.

Two hours after I left work, I finally arrived back at Sparrow Hill for my first ride in ten days.  I intended to ride a couple of laps of the course for this Sunday’s CORC XC Race; but after one lap I headed across the highway into Kowen Forest.  I was not disappointed.  The free-flowing trails spoke to me as daylight quickly faded and night-time set in.  I switched on my lights and had the entire forest to myself for a brief moment in time.  Just me, my bike and the trails.  All of my troubles disappeared into the pine trees.

Today I was reminded why I started riding mountain bikes…  Because it’s fun to ride.

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Recovery Week In Review – Week 2

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

After a massive 277.4km the previous week, I went into last week with a lot more confidence and renewed vigour for spending time in the saddle.  But after Monday’s short commute to and from work I felt that familiar twinge in my shoulder and neck; my injury was flaring up.  So Tuesday as a riding day was a scratch.  I wore my brace to work under my business shirt and took my painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs.

By Wednesday I was still sore, so still no riding… and Thursday became SSDD.  I was getting a little anxious to get back on the bike; but Friday was spent driving to Melbourne for some Wedding planning and a going away party for the future in-laws.  But in the back of my car was Zooey.

Saturday was a typical Melbourne morning; cold and raining.  I drove to Lysterfield Park for some muddy MTB fun with a friend from my Army days.  I followed up with another couple of solo laps after a quick bite to eat.  Lysterfield Park is a great MTB park, but I didn’t get to experience it’s full potential with all the mud and the many, many slower riders who just don’t understand the concept of moving out of the way.

With the next CORC XC race on 2 June, I’ll be putting some more kilometres down to build up more fitness and hopefully keep my recovery in check.

Recovery Week In Review – Week 1

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

After last weekend’s disappointing DNF in Round 1 of the 2013 CORC XC Series I hopped back on Sara, my Giant Defy road bike.  My first roadie commute on Tuesday afternoon didn’t go very well; I was slow, out of breath and my legs felt like they were on fire.

I was quite dejected and even let out some of the little dark clouds I keep hidden in the closet under the stairs.  But soon I realised I was still recovering from my injury and all I needed to do was get some more kilometres under the tyres and take my time building up my strength, fitness and endurance.

I woke up early on Wednesday morning and decided to ride Zooey into work.  It was a cold morning and I wore too much cold weather gear; by the time I arrived at work in the very chilly 2 degrees I was sweating profusely; a lesson learned prior to the sub-zero Canberra winter.  My ride home was quite enjoyable with a little extra km’s thrown in.  Later that night I joined Sonja and Fi for a lap around LBG. I started off taking it very easy and then stepped it up a few notches.  Finally I was feeling comfortable back in the saddle.

I was feeling motivated and drafted up a training program to help me get race fit once again.  Because of this, Thursday was a self-imposed rest day.  Friday saw me take the quick route to work; a ride I’ve done at least one hundred times before and a ride I did in a little over 4 minutes longer than my best time.  My legs felt good and so did my overall fitness.  I was starting to think Tuesday morning may have been an off day so I decided to test myself on the ride home.  I crossed into NSW and headed the long way home.  41.2km and a few decent climbs later; I was a sweaty, hungry and very happy rider.

I woke up on Saturday morning, had breakfast and kitted up for the long ride out to Mt Stromlo for some XC laps with fellow Bermers Tony and Pad.  By the time I finished riding some of Australia’s best singletrack and gotten home I had ridden 80.6km on my beloved Zooey.

Sunday morning is traditionally The Berm’s Sunday Morning Social and Breakfast ride; but being Mother’s Day we were forgoing the regular breakfast at Edgars.  I rode out in the cold and incredibly foggy Canberra morning.  The sun was yet to rise and even if it did, the thick morning fog would not let it shine through.  By the time I arrived at Bruce Ridge I was completely soaked from the heavy humidity and I had lost my cycling glasses.

The ride around Bruce was enjoyable as always.  The tracks are tight and it’s easy to get lost in the thick eucalypt forest.  But with our fearless leader Nat out in front on his new Open hardtail, we carved a quick but enjoyable ride through the dusty tracks.  But like all good things, the ride came to an end and I headed back home on my mud and dust caked steed.

Zooey With DirtAfter uploading my ride to Strava I discovered I had demolished my weekly goal of 150km and had ridden a staggering 277.4km for the week.
Strava Week Ending 12 May 13

To say I was happy is an understatement.  Although my legs are a little tender I know I am on the mend.  I still experience a dull pain in my chest and sharp pains in my neck and shoulder at times; but I’m not pushing myself to my limits.  I’m confident I’m on the right track and I’m doing all the right things to get better.

Weekly Wrap Up