The Giant awakes.....

I received my new Giant XTC 1 29er today. I have decided to ride it stock standard apart from changing the tires to 2.1 Maxxis Crossmark as the 1.9 Kenda Karma's I feel would be a bit light on for the rocky loose stuff we will encounter in Victoria. Apart from that, the bike feels great! 

I won't bore you with all the specs but suffice to say a mix of Shimano SLX and XT make up the running gear with Avid Juicy 3 brakes and a selection of Giant branded bits to top it off. It weighs in at around 11.8kg with pedals so it is no light weight but it is still respectable. 

I've set the bars and seat height and basically the bike feels pretty close to the Fisher. I have heard good things about the tapered steerer tube and the 15mm through axle (non bike nerds will have glazed over well and truly by now!) and when I get the thing on the dirt we'll see for real. All in all, we're both ready to race.

Massive thanks to Giant, I can't thank them enough. Massive thanks to Jarron and Mark at Cyc'd for Bikes for the race strip and other suppoort along the way and of course to Spencer for building it up and making it run smooth. 

Check out the photos and stay tuned for the ride reports to come.

Lessons Learnt - Part Two.

My training is officially over. I am now in the taper week which at this stage seems kind of a joke seeing as how the past week has been spent trying to shake an ear infection and not punching out K's as it should have been. I thought now would be a good time to drop some of the hard fought wisdom I have accumulated along the way. Hopefully you  can read this and get something out of it and maybe take on a challenge yourself or even just get a laugh out of my experiences.
Lesson One: Get a training plan and stick to it.
There is so much information out there regarding the best ways to train and ways to maximise your time and efforts that there is NO excuse for not having a plan. I haven't spoken about my training plan much as I find it pretty boring to write about so I can't imagine you as a reader would get heaps out of it either. The trick is to plan your training  around your life rather than your life around your training. It will ease the stress of balancing family commitments, work commitments and social life and allow you to ENJOY your training.
Lesson Two: Sort your logistics early.
This the one area I have felt totally happy with in my preparation for the Terra. The fact is that if you get this right  you alleviate a whole level of fuss further down the road. Even though my plans have changed several times along the way I have had a clear idea of where I needed to be along the way.  I did the research on weather, facilities and transport options early and as options became available I could adjust to them and make the most of them. This same advice goes for any race or event. If you plan well and early when things go pear shaped, and they will go pear shaped at some stage, you can adjust and cope with it with a minimum of fuss. Nothing in life ever goes perfectly to plan so why not have a couple of aces up your sleeve for when the chips are down.
Lesson Three: Set realistic goals.
I have always believed I can finish the Terra. While this may seem like a lofty goal that was kind of the whole point. You need to set yourself some challenges in order to feel that it is no walk in the park, and that it is worth doing. Just don't set the bar so high that you can't see it any more! Apply this theory to your training as well. Call it built in redundancy if you like. You WILL miss some sessions, you WILL have bad days, there WILL be speedbumps along the way. Life is like that! Challenge yourself but just don't set yourself up for failure from the outset.
My best example of this? I wanted to lose a few kilos and seriously cut back on the amount of alcohol I was drinking. This was all focused towards my health both physically and mentally. I want to get off my medication. I have succeeded in 2 of the 3 goals in losing weight, cutting back the alcohol consumption and the third goal is on course for after the race. Whats this got to do with racing? Everything. What is competing if not the setting of goals with the aim of reaching them to make us feel proud of ourselves and our efforts. Whether its to win or to just have fun, set that goal, go for it and feel proud of your efforts in doing so.
I think I have preached at you enough today. It is Sunday after all. I have just one parting thought. Courage is  knowing that you will be testing your limits and that you may fail and being willing to do both in making an attempt for your goal.
Just try......

Medical update.

Well at least I know why I have had a little trouble with my energy levels and heart rate jumping. The pain in my left ear turned out to be an infection! The doctor said it looked like someone has been stuffing cherry tomatoes down my eustacian canal. Oh well, into the antibioatics and hopefully it will clear up quickly and let me get back to training. I only have one week left before my week of taper and basically no riding.
Spencer and I will hopefully get a couple of good rides in over the weekend. The final tune up so to speak. There may be a new bike to add into the mix as well and give me that new bike buzz. Stay tuned for the final training logs and reports before the race.

A day in pictures.

Spencer arrives for the ride. Finally.

We did a repeat of last weeks ride today. The weather has not been kind of late and so we stayed off the single track and headed out on the management roads instead. 

Robbo got a basting last week for not bringing out his new bike. This week he brought it out and got it dirty

Scrub Creek causeway. It was looking awesome. I haven't seen this much water in the creek for ages. You could hear water flowing down the gullies on most of the ride today. 

And now we go up. This is the start of the climb up Scrub Road from the bottom. The ground was soaked with spots of clay that grabbed the wheel and made going hard for quite a while.

Centre Road. It is a pinchy little climb with no breaks once you cross this causeway. There were trees across  the creek and the water was flowing here stronger than anywhere else we had been. I struggled all day but the climb out of here was a real heart breaker for me. Good mental training though as a cup of concrete was consumed at the bottom and the teeth were gritted and many swear words passed the lips to goad and harangue myself to the top.

Bellbird Grove. A little rest before the final assault out to the road and the fast bitumen descent to Ironbark Gully. The bike is a Giant XTC 1 29er the same as the one Giant have very kindly provided to us for the race. I can't wait to get my grubby little fingers on one to put some K's in on it. It was also the official unveiling of the Velo Club Moulin strip today and I hope I did it proud. Onya Mark! 

Dirty Sunday

After a number of aborted attempts to get out on the dirt with Spencer we finally managed to do it on Sunday. The ride promised to be a good effort with the climb up Camp Mountain followed by Mount Nebo via Scrub Road and South Boundary Road. To mix up the return we thought we would take on Centre Road and Bellbird Grove. The day was perfect with a bit of cloud to cool things down and only a little mud around in a few places despite the constant rain of the week before.
Spencer and I were joined by Robbo for our little trek and after some very brief intros we were off. There wasn't a whole lot of conversation as we made our way to the base of South McLean Road for the bitumen climb up to the start of the dirt and the long way up Camp Mount. We were all kind of happy to just punt along and warm up before the climbing started in earnest. If I thought it was quiet on the way out there it was positively deathly silent as all three of us hit the 18% grade climb that meets you as soon as you turn onto South McLean. My heart rate did its usual slow start and my body was complaining bitterly. I am growing to dislike the first 10k's of most rides as I get older. It just seems to take an age to warm up and get a groove going where my heart rate, respiration rate and effort gel together and make the riding feel "strong" rather than "surviving". Of course the fact that the Camp Mountain climb is within the first 10k of the route meant I felt it even more.
Once at the top though everything seems a little easier. I had warmed up and used the little push along the tar to Scrub Road as a relaxing spin to loosen the legs back up. By the time I was at Scrub Road I was ready for a rip down to the causeway and the steep climb out. That descent is a favourite of mine. It isn't technical or twisty but man is it fast. I love the vegetation and the smell of the rainforest. All three of us were still very close at the end of the descent and remained that way as we climbed out to the intersection of South Boundary Road. At the shelter it was time for a quick drink and really no more. Robbo was keen and so was Spencer to keep pushing on to the top for a quick coffee. I felt really strong up this bit of the ride. Everything had clicked into place and my legs were spinning over effortlessly. The grade reduces and becomes more consistant from the shelter and it suited how I felt. Spencer and I chatted about the race to come and how we might approach the different days, what changes he might make to the Giant and what food and preparation we needed to finalise before we left. Robbo slipped back a little but was never out of eye contact. There was a very easy and understanding vibe and it felt like it was cool for us to just pick our pace and ride at it. We always regrouped at intersections but I think there was only 1 or 2 times we stopped to wait for anyone. It was a well matched group.
Eventually the cafe was in front of us!  A great cup of coffee and a little dry out from the drizzle and sweat had us all ready to rock. If only we hadn't had mechanicals a plenty. A flat tyre for Spencer and constant drivetrain issues for me saw the time fall by. I had visitors coming at 12:30 for lunch and it was looking shaky for a while. Finally that was all sorted and I decided that I would try for the rookie mistake prize for 2010. I had no food along the way and only 2 gels with the cup of coffee. You could hear the crack from space as my heart broke and the bonk nailed me. As I headed up Bellbird Grove I was smashed. I had to stop and eat a muesli bar as Robbo and Spencer flew away from me. I opened another bar and ate it as I finished the climb out to meet the guys waiting for me at the turnoff to South McLean. I know it was bad because as I finished the first bar and it hit my stomach I instantly felt better. By the time I reached South McLean Road I felt like I actually might make it home without calling for a medi lift! Woah. Dumb.
 I got back home. I cooked a huge feed on the BBQ and ate lots! After a few beers and a couple of steaks I felt much better. I was already planning with Spencer for the weekend to come and what massive ride we can fit in. Now I am really excited about racing in the Terra. My training is working and while I know I could have done more I think I can survive it. If I am smart with my recovery and race plan then it could even be fun. Who knows.