A whimsical look at my life in words & photos – The world according to Chad
On Sunday 2 November 2014 I’ll be taking part in the Soldier On Ride 2 Remember.
A social event aimed at raising awareness within the local Canberra community for Soldier On. The ride will be followed up with a BBQ at the Australian War Memorial.
If you’d like to take part than please register at the link below
http://soldieron.org.au/events/ride-2-remember/
For the first time in a long time I entered a new week of riding and training without feeling any pressure. I ended last week on a high after relaxing and just enjoying my time on the bike.
So on Monday morning when I woke up feeling a bit tight and sore in my hamstrings I opted out of commuting to work and rested. On Tuesday I took Kate the XTC into work and rode home via a loop of Bruce Ridge to start my week of riding. I rode a total of 43.6km in what felt like freezing temperatures but was in fact a balmy 4’C.
I took Sara the roadie into work on Wednesday morning and did a quick lap of Lake Burley Griffin with the intention of doing a bigger ride in the afternoon. Unfortunately my beloved Giant Defy had other ideas and I ended up with a busted derailleur and had to abandon any further road rides. I am yet to fix this bike and with more time to spend on the MTB before the Battle Of The Beasts, I doubt she’ll get another ride in the next couple of months.
Thursday and Friday were literally washouts for riding in Canberra. I had no intention of riding in the wind and rain so opted for some time in front of the TV honing my XBox skills. Saturday was a ride-free day due to the Girly flying out of town and my vote to ride having been vetoed.
Sunday kicked off with my regular ride at Bruce Ridge with The Berm crew followed by breakfast at Edgar’s Inn. I haven’t ridden Zooey the Giant Anthem off-road since I bought Kate the XTC a few months ago. I have been riding her to work quite often but this was her first time on dirt in a long time. It took me 10km to get used to her not-so-tight cornering, non-carbon weight, dual suspension and longer wheel base.
I was heading out to Mt Stromlo mid morning for a short spin and with some time to spare I went home and swapped Zooey out for Kate. I was glad I did as I met up with Bermers Roger and Alyssa and followed them around one of the Scott 24 Hour loops. After finishing my ride with 14.2km under the wheels I packed up my bike and gear and went home with a total of 92.4km for the week.
.:Kate at Mt Stromlo:.
After a week spent (attempting) snowboarding I started Week 7 feeling very sore. I had many small but painful bruises all over my limbs; and an extremely tender left shoulder.
Not one to do things by halves I jumped straight into my riding by commuting to and from work on Monday on Kate the XTC. The week off the bike was quite evident with a heavy build up of lactic acid in my leg muscles and butt cheeks!
Tuesday was a slight sleep in and a shorter commute into work. Ignoring my screaming quads I rode out to Mt Stromlo via Lake Burley Griffin and had a quick spin around some of the easier trails to get 21.1 km of dirt under the tyres. The commute home was a painful 38.1km in the cold of Canberra’s night-time.
After a fairly intense 95.3km on Tuesday I took a rest day on Wednesday before taking the easy route to and from work on Thursday. Even though I felt like I hate skimped out of some quality riding by taking it easy I did reach my goal of 200km in just three days of riding.
On Friday I decided to break out Sara the roadie for some easier commuting for my early start at work. After a fairly long and tiring day at work the decision to take the short route home was an easy one… But I had to work hard for it. Canberra decided to put on some incredibly strong wind gusts that almost blew me off the road and into the gutter several times.
With Round 4 of the CORC XC Series being held at Mt Stromlo on Sunday I intended to take some time on Saturday to service and ready Kate for the next days race. Instead I took her out for a spin around Bruce Ridge with fellow Bermer Tony on his new Trek Superfly (which is sooo nice… pity it’s not a Giant!) It was a very enjoyable 50.1km of riding but I still needed to prep my bike for the CORC race.
I don’t warm up very quickly when I ride. It’s generally around the 7-9km mark when on the mountain bike before I’m actually warmed up enough to take on the singletrack with speed and confidence. Because of this I will either ride out to a race if it’s close to home or do a few laps of the course beforehand. On Sunday morning I joined fellow Bermers Andy & Tony for a ride out to Mt Stromlo.
It wasn’t long before I was tearing off layers of clothing in the crisp Canberra morning; I was warming up very quickly. We arrived with ample time to register and unfortunately enough time to get very cold in the chilly air, light rain and sweat drenched clothing.
Soon I was off riding Mt Stromlo’s western trails for some quick paced XC racing. I hadn’t ridden the first part of the course before and was in for some technical and rocky trails. I handled the course well on my first lap and made up a few places before deciding to attack the faster riders in front of me. I took a few chances and was quickly passing the juniors and slower paced riders. Fast fire-roads and different lines up the short but rocky climbs allowed me to use Kate for what she was designed to do; quick acceleration and powerful climbing.
After worrying about not riding the trails prior to the race I was really enjoying the experience on what I felt was a great course. Halfway through my second lap I pulled up to see an injured rider laid out on the trail. Young Pedal 4 Pierce rider Chris had taken a spill and was concussed from the fall. A few of us diverted race traffic and helped out until an ambulance arrived to take Chris to hospital. Thankfully he got the all clear and was sent home later in the day.
I finished my lap; came last in my grade and helped pack up the rego/event centre while enjoying a post race coffee. When all the dust had settled I packed up my gear, rode down to the main car-park and headed off to lunch in the city. After scoffing a pizza at Debacle I headed home slowly with a full stomach and 81.4km under the tyres for day.
At the end of the week I finished with 352.5km on the bike. My biggest week of riding this year. Although I’m a little sore in the legs I’m looking forward to another big week in the saddle with my first 12 Hour solo race this coming weekend at Dargle Farm.
For the first time in a long time I was looking forward to tackling another week on the bike. After taking a few hits mentally during the past couple of weeks it felt really good to want to spend more time in the saddle. Thanks to the previous week’s 250.3km of fairly high intensity riding I started the new week quite tender and fatigued.
While I had grand plans of long commutes on the roadie, Canberra decided it was going to be a very wet week with lots of fog. It is a fact that skinny tyres and wet/icy asphalt don’t mix so I prepped Zooey the Anthem with some lights, higher pressure tyres and dragged out my waterproof jacket.
I wanted to ride at least 50km each day while commuting; a goal I achieved on both Monday and Tuesday while riding in some light rain each time. Even at this early stage of the week I was feeling a lot of muscle fatigue but was still making gains while getting very wet and muddy.
Wednesday was dry enough that I was able to ride the roadie, but the aforementioned muscle fatigue was now in the fully fledged DOMS stage and any aspirations of a massive road ride were halted before the wheels began to even turn. But I still reached my 50km/day goal with a short commute into work and a longer commute home. I even managed to wash both Zooey and Sara taking advantage of the break in rain and brief sunshine.
Thursday was another mild Canberra day so I decided to take Kate the XTC into work. After riding Zooey and the ultra stiff (in a good way) Sara, riding Kate felt amazing. By swapping out a few components I’ve managed to keep my carbon hardtail under 10kg. With the front forks locked out and a good tucked position I quite often overtake most road bikes on the commuting climbs; something I relish doing. There’s nothing worse than tackling a long and difficult climb and having someone pass you looking cool, calm and collected. I aim to be that person; especially on a 29er while my prey is on a road bike sporting aerobars.
…But anyway, I took Kate to work on a particularly foggy morning the longish way and managed to push out 31.1km prior to work. On the way home my quadriceps were incredibly sore; but I wanted some off road time. A quick spin around the more fun tracks at Bruce Ridge went down a treat and I then headed off home covered in mud.
Thursday was also the day an article about my fundraising for Soldier On was printed in the Australian Army News.
Friday was a complete wash out for commuting and to be honest I don’t think my aching legs had much more than a slow roll left in them. My bikes stayed at home and instead of riding I signed up for the JetBlack WSMTB 12 Hour at Dargle Farm on 10 August 2013. This will my first 12 hour and I’m looking forward to pushing myself over an extended period of time to test my body and mind before October’s Battle Of The Beasts.
This will also be my last race before my Wedding in September; so in some roundabout way the race will be my Buck’s Ride and I’m looking forward to spending the weekend riding with some of my good friends from The Berm.
At the end if this week I managed to push out 215.3km in four days riding.
Next week will be a much smaller week for riding as I only intend to ride on Sunday due to spending some time on my board in the snow.
Week 4 was going to be a larger week for the numbers from the get go. I needed to break past 150km; a weekly goal I had only achieved once in the past three weeks.
I had decided I was going to spend more time on the road bike, but also knew I didn’t have the endurance to smash out the long rides I wanted to do. My fitness has improved dramatically over the past few weeks but my quads are constantly screaming at me for a rest. The only option was for some good paced commuting to work.
Monday I took the roadie to work along the short commute racking up 18.6km in the chilly Canberra morning air. On the ride home I took in a more scenic 30.1km around a bit of LBG and exploring some of the bike paths near my suburb.
Tuesday was the day my beloved Kate was booked in for her first service at Onya Bike Civic. I had experienced a fair bit of gear skipping during the previous Sunday’s CORC XC race at Kowen Forest. As always the service, both mechanical and customer, was first rate and I soon had a singletrack eating machine firing at 100%…. Well for a about 6km of Bruce Ridge actually! I managed to clip a stray fallen branch and snapped a spoke on my Crank Brothers Cobalt 29er front wheel. After cutting my ride short at 7.1km I managed to fix the spoke with a spare included with the wheels.
Wednesday was a short commute to and from work on Zooey my Giant Anthem X 29er… Not a lot to say about this apart from riding a 29er dualie on the road is a lot harder than sub 10kg road bike running 110psi. I earned those 38.6km!
Thursday’s commute to work was on the roadie in subzero temperatures. I was relatively warm in my leg warmers and wind-stopper; but still had ice on my legs when I arrived at work. The commute home was a shit-fight of epic proportions; twin punctures, spat at by a bogan and a small stack due to a moron who didn’t have her inbred dog on a leash. <end rant>
Friday saw a ride to work in subzero temps and some incredibly thick fog! There was even plenty of ice on my legs and crotchular region!
The ride home was almost as big of a fail as the previous day. The dirty little secret of Canberra cycling community is the abundance of glass littered in cycle lanes and cycle paths. There is a stupidly large amount that never gets cleaned up because TAMS (Territory & Municipal Services) couldn’t give a rat’s arse!
<end rant>
After copping my fifth puncture in two days I called the girly and got picked up 2km from home.
Saturday was supposed to be a few laps of Mt Stromlo with some of the guys and girls from The Berm, but alas due to an oversight in forgetting my front wheel thru-axle that plan was aborted and I ended up riding in the afternoon.
My ride around Bruce Ridge and to home pushed me over my 200km goal for the week.
The close of the week saw a ride into Bruce Ridge and a spin around the grippy singletrack before the usual breakfast at Edgar’s and a steady ride in the pouring rain to home.
By the time my all my bikes had been cleaned and stowed away, I had amassed 250.3km for the week. All in all I didn’t push myself too had and despite a few mechanical issues with two of my bikes I was happy with the end result.
Week 3 started off well. I commuted to and from work on Monday; the short way and shortish way respectively. Tuesday saw an early start at work and the need for me to drive in. I put the XTC in the back of the car in the hope I’d be able to hit the trails after work. Thanks to be oh-dark-hundred start I made my way out to Sparrow Hill for some quick fun on the immaculate trails.
I cheated on Wednesday and put the roadie in the back of the girly’s car for a quick commute home. The ride itself was fairly standard except for the now infamous bike pump versus car bumper incident.
Thursday I strapped on the Shimano MTB shoes and took Kate in with the intention of taking her for a spin around Bruce Ridge on the way home. The weather was a bit ordinary with 80km/hr wind-gusts that tried their best to knock me off the bike and into Lake Burley Griffin. So I rode home via Belconnen and around Lake Ginninderra.
Friday was meant to be a medium length ride around Kowen Forest and Sparrow Hill on my Giant Anthem Zooey. But alas it was not meant to be thanks to a single phone call.
Saturday was a rest day/bike maintenance day spent preparing my XTC for Sunday’s CORC XC Race. I replaced the standard Shimano rear derailleur in favour of a Shimano XT Shadow to reduce the annoying chain slap. This didn’t quite go to plan and I was left with about four non-slipping gears for the race the next day.
I wasn’t feeling the best before this race. My heart wasn’t in it and my head definitely wasn’t. I woke up early and decided I’d give it a go. I’m glad I did. I managed to pull in fifth place and pushed myself further than I had before on a short course race. I went out fairly easy at the start and picked up the pace quite considerably for the second lap finishing almost 3 minutes faster than my first.
At the end of the race I was 149.9km for the week… 100m short of my 150km target. So after my shower I took out my single speed flat bar and rode a quick 500m to reach my 150km goal. At the end of Week 3, I had some ups, plenty of downs and one hell of a good time at Kowen Forest racing.
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.
After 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.
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.
It’s been three very long weeks since I had my crash at Mt Stromlo during Round 10 of the CORC XC 12/13 Series. It was my first venture into short course racing after entering and successfully completing several endurance mountain bike races.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I went into the XC race full of confidence… Maybe too much confidence. I’m not saying it’s the reason I had my off or is responsible for the extent of my injury; the truth is I entered the race as I wanted/needed a challenge and it just so happened I felt fully dialled in during the ride. But then, seconds from the finish line I attempted a jump, didn’t stick the landing and have been going through the last few weeks in considerable pain.
I’ve never been one to sit back and wait for injuries to heal and for rehab to work. The truth is I’ve torn muscles, broken bones and had bouts of acute illness and gone straight back to work or back into sport. It’s a stupid thing to do and as I get older and my susceptibility for injury increases; it takes longer for me to heal.
So now on the eve of Round 1 of the new CORC XC 2013 Series I face a conundrum:
Do I race or do I sit this one out?
There is not straightforward and simple answer; only more questions…
Do I want to race? … Yes
Should I race? … No
Am I fit enough? … Maybe
Has my chest & shoulder healed enough? … No
Is it safe for me to ride? … Maybe
I went for a ride yesterday afternoon on the same track as tomorrow’s race. I only did one lap and I struggled a little bit. It takes a fair few kilometres for me to warm up and by the time I had reached the 7km mark I was finally warm. My chest and shoulder held up well, but I didn’t go as fast as I normally do and will need to go during the race.
However I woke up this morning quite tender and tonight I’m in considerable pain in my shoulder where the tear originates. As with all muscle injuries you don’t feel the full extent until you cool down; and well I’m feeling it right now.
I’ve prepped Zooey and set my alarm for tomorrow morning with the intention of riding out to Mt Stromlo as part of my warm up; although a 30km commute seems a little excessive for a 20km race.
I guess I’ll just wait and see and if I decide it’s best not race tomorrow I’ll go out to Mt Stromlo and cheer on the rest of The Berm riders and help out my local MTB club.
Blogged Down By Life 