Road Bike – Page 2 – Blogged Down By Life

The Week After The Beast

Posted on October 27, 2013May 19, 2014 by Chad Dobbs

The week after riding The Beast has been a quiet one. As with last year I didn’t actually start feeling any muscle soreness until 2 days after the race and to be honest I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to get back in the saddle.

I spent Monday at home cleaning up after a big weekend of riding. My bike was filthy and sounded extremely second hand and needed a thorough clean and mini-service. The bike wasn’t the only thing in need of a going over; I finally trimmed my hobo beard right down and had my first haircut in almost 3 months.

.:The dirty bike post Beast:.

My Crank Brothers wheel-set has taken a beating these past few months and the rubber on them barely survived the Namadgi trails. So the tyres came off and went in the bin, while I scoured Canberra’s bike stores for a set of tubeless rubber. Alas the four shops I visited didn’t have the tyres I wanted so I resorted to buying a set on-line and placed my spare wheels and tubed tyres back on Kate the XTC for the interim.

My first ride for the week was a short pedal up and down Mt Stromlo that ended with me riding straight into a tree on the second half of Luge. While there was no real damage to person or bike it highlighted how in tune I had become with my XTC with tubeless setup that when I put on the stock wheels I was inches off my normal lines.

Not to be deterred I headed back out on Saturday afternoon on Zooey the Anthem. She is a great bike especially going downhill where her dual suspension absorbs much of rough riding Western Wedgetail, Skyline, Luge and Duffy’s Descent throws at you.

.:Zooey On top of Mt Stromlo:.

At the end of the week I only rode twice for a measly 23.9km in total.

The time off the bike wasn’t for naught with a lot of time spent emailing the Beast-Worx and Soldier On crews about the previous weekend’s riding, fundraising, upcoming Call of the Beast and of course more Riding For Soldier On.

.:Nearing the end of The Beast:.

.:Congratulating Adam “Rocket” Rolls on his hard-earned 7th place:.

.:My right up in the Battle of the Beasts post race report:.

Training Week In Review – Week 7

Posted on August 5, 2013March 11, 2015 by Chad Dobbs

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.

Training Week In Review – Week 5

Posted on July 21, 2013March 11, 2015 by Chad Dobbs

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.

Training Week In Review – Week 4

Posted on July 14, 2013March 11, 2015 by Chad Dobbs

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.

Training Week In Review – Week 3

Posted on July 8, 2013March 11, 2015 by Chad Dobbs

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.

Training Week In Review – Week 2

Posted on June 30, 2013March 11, 2015 by Chad Dobbs

Week 2 was never going to be a big week for the numbers. The weather was very ordinary early in the week, work was fairly busy and I was interstate over the weekend. I set a goal of 150km and achieved 121.4km for the week.

My first day on the bike was Wednesday afternoon. I rode from work to Mt Stromlo and relished in the chance to push my Giant XTC up the switchback climbs. I’m not the fastest rider downhill due to my aversion of death by bike; but I do enjoy being able to climb quickly with confidence and endurance. As sunset approached I headed home and covered 65.1km with a vertical gain of 656m.

Lake Ginninderra at sunset

Thursday afternoon I took the roadie home and was feeling a little bit of pain in my quads (more training needed).

Friday I took the XTC to work and managed to chase down a few roadies en route. By lunch time I had packed Kate into the back of the car and was driving down to Melbourne for some wedding prep over the weekend.

Saturday I had the chance to ride Lysterfield Park with a good friend and although he suffered a flat and we had to walk back to the carpark it was a good ride.

Week 2 of my planned training regime didn’t go to plan, but with a few quality rides and a good catch up it wasn’t a total loss.

Battle Of The Beasts – Update #1

Posted on June 18, 2013May 19, 2014 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.

Recovery Week In Review – Week 6

Posted on June 16, 2013March 12, 2015 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.

Recovery Week In Review – Week 5

Posted on June 10, 2013March 12, 2015 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.

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

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.

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.

Recovery Week In Review – Week 2

Posted on May 21, 2013March 12, 2015 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.

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