Tag: Roadie

Training Week In Review – Week 3

Posted on 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.

CORC XC Rd 3 #02 CORC XC Rd 3 #01

Training Week In Review – Week 2

Posted on 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 G Sunset

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.

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.

BOTB 13 004 BOTB 13 003

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 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.

The Roadie

Posted on by Chad Dobbs

The Roadie

Every morning I walk down the stairs and see Sara sitting there. She’s good to go; bidons at the ready, tyres at 120psi, Garmin charged and helmet and glasses waiting.

It’s been a week since I tore my left pectoralis major and I’m missing riding.

Starting to think my aim of being ready for Round 1 of the CORC XC series in early May might not happen.