Tag: Mount Stromlo

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!

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.

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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

 

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

Road(ie) To Recovery

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

Today I got back on the road bike for the first time in almost a month.  I haven’t ridden a lot since I crashed at Mt Stromlo on the 14th of April.  Not counting the 35km’s I rode to get home after I crashed; I have ridden a total of 40km’s since.  This is not a good thing; I went from riding 200-300km’s a week to not riding at all.  I was getting into a good training and nutrition regime that stalled abruptly, well the training side of it did.  In just under 4 weeks I managed to put on an extra 4kg’s by continuing to eat massive amounts of carbohydrate and protein rich foods.

I debated at length with family and friends whether or not I should race last weekend in the first round of the new CORC XC Series.  Well stupidly I entered and started the race.  Predictably I didn’t finish.  At around the 8km mark I clipped a tree with my left shoulder and decided I needed to pull out before I injured myself any further.  Luckily I pulled up all right and my ongoing recovery continues.
End result: Round One: Rider #266 – DNF.

Which brings me to today’s commute.  I decided not to ride to work this morning when I walked out into my courtyard and felt the chilly Canberra air.  So Sara got packed into the Girly’s car with the intention of riding the long way home.  Well that intention got left by the side of the road along with my confidence.

Today I felt something I haven’t felt since last September when I did my first mountain bike race with no lead up training.  Today I felt my quads.  I felt every single metre of the ride home as a deep burning pain in my legs.  I was out of breath very quickly and drank too much water which caused stomach cramps.  It is important to note that this was a 20km ride on tarmac with only a few moderate length hills to climb.  I have done a 100km mountain bike race and felt better afterwards.

Stupidly I thought getting back on the roadie would be as if the last month didn’t happen.  I had psyched myself up and honestly believed my ride home would be full of Strava personal records.  But alas it was not meant to be.  I came home quite disillusioned and somewhat angry at myself; I even managed to break the zipper on my Giant cycling jersey.

It wasn’t until I was in shower stretching out and enjoying the hot water on my aching legs that I realised what was going on.  I’m not as fit as I was a month ago and I’m still healing from a fairly substantial muscle tear.  I’m not ready to start training yet, I’m still in recovery mode.

Back On The Bike (Possibly Off It Again)

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

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.

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