That is all. I got on my bike and rode for 3 hours. If it wasn't for Nick ringing me and giving me no excuses for pulling out I would have bailed and stayed on the couch. It was well worth it though. Breezing around Bunya on the single speed is something that should be put on the therapeutic goods list.
The plan was to roll around at a very relaxed pace but not stop. It means we get to chat along the way and get a workout without thinking about it. After an hour or so Nick got a call and soon Eric was joining us for our cathartic spin in the bush. The route was nothing new but it is always fun.
My legs hurt now but my brain feels great. There is precious little time over the next couple of weeks for me to ride but at least I got one ride in. A big thanks to Nick and Eric for the company and the awesome conversation. Now Nick has even convinced me to have a crack at an 8 hour race in a month or so. Should be a real laugh.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
A spark to light the way.
It's been a long time since I just sat here and waxed lyrical on why riding a bike is so important to me. I know it must be obvious to those people around me as today I had a family friend and my Dad asking me if I'd been riding lately. Life has been a bit up and down for me recently.
Riding gives much more than just fitness and a day out. Riding is "intelligent" in its therapy. You go out some days and just smash yourself, because that's what you need. Other days are a roll around with mates for laughs, conversation and time out. Sometimes the coffee post ride is the thing that sets all the buttons back to normal and washes away the dross of a day or week. How can something inanimate "know" what you need? Because you get out what you put in and you get to choose how much you put in.
I haven't been putting enough in for a little while now. The state of my riding is reflected in my life, or perhaps it's my life reflected in my riding. There are struggles to find motivation, to find the spark to ignite the fire again and burn away my lethargy and sloth.
I need the pain again. I have had my perceptions of what can be endured and what can be achieved irrevocably altered by the people around me, and indeed by my own efforts. When I think of the next challenge it gives me a brief vision of how I should be in life. Passionate, committed, determined. Now it is more persevering, controlled, listless. Time is drawing me closer to another challenge. I don't know what it will be but it needs to be big. I need to know that whatever I take on is not a certainty. I need to know I could fail, if I don't put my passion, commitment and determination on the line. Toe the damn line. It'll be on a bike though. My muse and my tormentor.
Riding gives much more than just fitness and a day out. Riding is "intelligent" in its therapy. You go out some days and just smash yourself, because that's what you need. Other days are a roll around with mates for laughs, conversation and time out. Sometimes the coffee post ride is the thing that sets all the buttons back to normal and washes away the dross of a day or week. How can something inanimate "know" what you need? Because you get out what you put in and you get to choose how much you put in.
I haven't been putting enough in for a little while now. The state of my riding is reflected in my life, or perhaps it's my life reflected in my riding. There are struggles to find motivation, to find the spark to ignite the fire again and burn away my lethargy and sloth.
I need the pain again. I have had my perceptions of what can be endured and what can be achieved irrevocably altered by the people around me, and indeed by my own efforts. When I think of the next challenge it gives me a brief vision of how I should be in life. Passionate, committed, determined. Now it is more persevering, controlled, listless. Time is drawing me closer to another challenge. I don't know what it will be but it needs to be big. I need to know that whatever I take on is not a certainty. I need to know I could fail, if I don't put my passion, commitment and determination on the line. Toe the damn line. It'll be on a bike though. My muse and my tormentor.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Moon light riding.
I received some really exciting news a couple of weeks ago and have been busting to get it out there. The guys from QBC, the distributors for Giant and a number of other brands here in Queensland offered me the chance to ride with their new light brand, MOON Lights. Looking at the spec sheets for the various units had me salivating with the option for a 1500 lumen light with a 3 hour burn time and a 1000 lumen with a 4 hour burn time the top dogs.
Normally I only like to ride with a helmet light so when given the option of which unit I could get I went with the 1500 lumen X-Power 1500. With 5 power modes including a flash mode you get plenty of different light levels. They also come with both a helmet and bar light as standard as well as an extension lead and a strap to mount the battery wherever you might choose. All in all, a nice little package for a great price. The whole lot retails for $399.
These puppies are bright! After nearly blinding Drew on the first singletrack run I turned the light down to the 1100 lumen level. The quality and spread of the beam meant this was more than enough light to ride most trails. In fact it punched along the trail so well it was difficult for Drew to be in front. At least that was his excuse for lagging behind!
After the impressive results for the X-power 1500 I was also keen to try out the X-power 1000 units as for endurance racing I thought that one of these on the bars and one on the helmet might be a good combination. The 1000 uses 2 Cree XPG emitters and 1 XML emitter to give the lesser lumen output with a slightly better burn time. I really like the mounting brackets for these lights too. The bar mount is simple to use with a rubber strap that loops around and hooks back to the mount that sees only the rubber in contact with the bars. A nice touch particularly if you use carbon bars like me.
I got the opportunity to test the lights against another light in a similar price bracket and output. Again I was joined by Drew and also this time Reg came along for a roll too. Reg was running a 1400 lumen bar light and a 900 lumen helmet light. All three of us agreed that the MOON was a superior beam with a much wider throw and less hot spot than the light Reg was running. Not bad for $270 odd dollars! MOON lists the run times for the 1000 lumen as 3.5 hours.
The wash up of the first couple of rides with the MOON lights is that they produce an astounding amount of light. They might not be the lightest units in terms of weight but from my research they are comparable with lights of a similar output. You can go with the 1500 lumen model and need nothing else or go with 2 of the 1000 lumen units to put a light on the bars and the helmet. I still need to run the lights a few times to really confirm the run times. At this stage they seem pretty accurate though as I have ridden twice with the X-power 1500 with no issues and the X-power 1000 did a 2.5 hour ride with no issues.
I am really excited to get these lights out and race them. They fit right into my ethos of performance at a fantastic price. As I get more time with the MOON lights on the trail I will report back with updates. There are also a number of other products MOON does that the guys from QBC have given me to mess around with like tail lights and a very classy looking 300 lumen commuter light. All in all I could be spending a whole lot more time night riding from now on!
These puppies are bright! After nearly blinding Drew on the first singletrack run I turned the light down to the 1100 lumen level. The quality and spread of the beam meant this was more than enough light to ride most trails. In fact it punched along the trail so well it was difficult for Drew to be in front. At least that was his excuse for lagging behind!
After the impressive results for the X-power 1500 I was also keen to try out the X-power 1000 units as for endurance racing I thought that one of these on the bars and one on the helmet might be a good combination. The 1000 uses 2 Cree XPG emitters and 1 XML emitter to give the lesser lumen output with a slightly better burn time. I really like the mounting brackets for these lights too. The bar mount is simple to use with a rubber strap that loops around and hooks back to the mount that sees only the rubber in contact with the bars. A nice touch particularly if you use carbon bars like me.
I got the opportunity to test the lights against another light in a similar price bracket and output. Again I was joined by Drew and also this time Reg came along for a roll too. Reg was running a 1400 lumen bar light and a 900 lumen helmet light. All three of us agreed that the MOON was a superior beam with a much wider throw and less hot spot than the light Reg was running. Not bad for $270 odd dollars! MOON lists the run times for the 1000 lumen as 3.5 hours.
The wash up of the first couple of rides with the MOON lights is that they produce an astounding amount of light. They might not be the lightest units in terms of weight but from my research they are comparable with lights of a similar output. You can go with the 1500 lumen model and need nothing else or go with 2 of the 1000 lumen units to put a light on the bars and the helmet. I still need to run the lights a few times to really confirm the run times. At this stage they seem pretty accurate though as I have ridden twice with the X-power 1500 with no issues and the X-power 1000 did a 2.5 hour ride with no issues.
I am really excited to get these lights out and race them. They fit right into my ethos of performance at a fantastic price. As I get more time with the MOON lights on the trail I will report back with updates. There are also a number of other products MOON does that the guys from QBC have given me to mess around with like tail lights and a very classy looking 300 lumen commuter light. All in all I could be spending a whole lot more time night riding from now on!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Enduro Series Race 4. Sunday in the Vale.
There is a certain satisfaction in finishing what you start. Race 4 of the Enduro Super Series came and went this weekend with an 8 hour format on the cards. As an observation it has been really interesting to have to prepare and consider the 4 different durations of the events and to start to get a feel for just how hard I can go out in each one. It seems a consistent theme that I say I feel I could have gone harder. I might just need to get on with it and put the hurt on a lot more.
Anyway, a race report. I had a full dance card on Saturday with some kid commitments and that meant I wasn't able to get out to OHV to set up a pit area on Saturday as I had done previously. It also meant a 5am start to get out there on Sunday. I hate 5am starts. I arrived at 7am and already the pit lane was full. I wasn't surprised or even upset as with a solo rider all I needed was a spot to put my cooler to hold bottles and some food. Luckily though I ran into Meg and Pete and they very kindly allowed me to hand out in their shelter. All good. I did still have to rush to get ready to race and didn't really get to stretch properly and wasn't ever really sure if I had everything. I guess I'll know in 8 hours or so!
For the first time this year I pushed towards the front a little at the start. I wanted to get a good start as there was a small chance if I raced well I could get up into 3rd place overall on the series points. Well that was the plan. The start went around a hairpin corner and across a muddy land bridge in a dam which when all was said and done successfully killed my flow on the run out. I got around a few riders from there on the first lap and happily tapped out the lap. It was still under 50 minutes for the 14km lap and the second lap was even better. lap 3 was my best for the race as I caught up with Matt Killin and had a great chat and really pushed along nicely swapping pace setting duties along the way. Matt ended the day with a very respectable 4th place in elite after punching out consistent laps for the 8 hours. I stopped for food and water and Matt kept going through.
I had a little bit of bad luck. Lap 4 and going across the muddy land bridge a rider in front lost his front wheel and fell. My front wheel smacked into his rear wheel and I slipped forward and smashed my hip on my stem. It was no problem at the time, just a bummer for both of us really. As the lap progressed though my hip, or more precisely my ITB, started to tighten and make my knee quite sore. By the end of the lap though during the climb up Escalator my whole leg was killing me. After crawling back to the transition area i was feeling really bummed. We had fortunately set up next to the masseuse and as I was pretty well screwed anyway I thought I might as well give the ten minute massage a try. It did the trick. Trevor, the masseuse, knew his stuff and my leg felt almost good for a while. He instructed me to hydrate really well, do a few stretches and keep an eye on it.
I had been off the bike for 40 minutes and everyone had put at least a lap into me. Any chance of getting a podium were well gone so I just went out to ride some more laps and salvage some personal pride. I'd like to point out that when I say my chances of a podium had gone, I should qualify that the guys who finished in front of me and that I had gone into the race with the intention of matching it with were riding very strongly. I felt great until my hip went pop but the guys were just super consistent and may have left me weeping like a 3 year old who'd dropped his ice cream. Well done to Jay and John for finishing the series well and fighting out the minor places while Clint smashed everyone.
Anyway, 4 more laps after the massage for a total of 8 laps. That's 112km for the day and not a bad days work. Even with a disappointing 7th place in this race I still managed to finish 4th on points for the series. Happy enough. I want to mention some great performances by a couple of mates too. Well done to Matt Powell and Anthony Zahra for a series of great racing, well done Nick Westwood for putting in a gutsy effort on Sunday and being pipped for 3rd by seconds. Of course a big thanks and congratulations must go to Tailwind Promotions for running a really fantastic series of races.
So now what?
Anyway, a race report. I had a full dance card on Saturday with some kid commitments and that meant I wasn't able to get out to OHV to set up a pit area on Saturday as I had done previously. It also meant a 5am start to get out there on Sunday. I hate 5am starts. I arrived at 7am and already the pit lane was full. I wasn't surprised or even upset as with a solo rider all I needed was a spot to put my cooler to hold bottles and some food. Luckily though I ran into Meg and Pete and they very kindly allowed me to hand out in their shelter. All good. I did still have to rush to get ready to race and didn't really get to stretch properly and wasn't ever really sure if I had everything. I guess I'll know in 8 hours or so!
For the first time this year I pushed towards the front a little at the start. I wanted to get a good start as there was a small chance if I raced well I could get up into 3rd place overall on the series points. Well that was the plan. The start went around a hairpin corner and across a muddy land bridge in a dam which when all was said and done successfully killed my flow on the run out. I got around a few riders from there on the first lap and happily tapped out the lap. It was still under 50 minutes for the 14km lap and the second lap was even better. lap 3 was my best for the race as I caught up with Matt Killin and had a great chat and really pushed along nicely swapping pace setting duties along the way. Matt ended the day with a very respectable 4th place in elite after punching out consistent laps for the 8 hours. I stopped for food and water and Matt kept going through.
I had a little bit of bad luck. Lap 4 and going across the muddy land bridge a rider in front lost his front wheel and fell. My front wheel smacked into his rear wheel and I slipped forward and smashed my hip on my stem. It was no problem at the time, just a bummer for both of us really. As the lap progressed though my hip, or more precisely my ITB, started to tighten and make my knee quite sore. By the end of the lap though during the climb up Escalator my whole leg was killing me. After crawling back to the transition area i was feeling really bummed. We had fortunately set up next to the masseuse and as I was pretty well screwed anyway I thought I might as well give the ten minute massage a try. It did the trick. Trevor, the masseuse, knew his stuff and my leg felt almost good for a while. He instructed me to hydrate really well, do a few stretches and keep an eye on it.
I had been off the bike for 40 minutes and everyone had put at least a lap into me. Any chance of getting a podium were well gone so I just went out to ride some more laps and salvage some personal pride. I'd like to point out that when I say my chances of a podium had gone, I should qualify that the guys who finished in front of me and that I had gone into the race with the intention of matching it with were riding very strongly. I felt great until my hip went pop but the guys were just super consistent and may have left me weeping like a 3 year old who'd dropped his ice cream. Well done to Jay and John for finishing the series well and fighting out the minor places while Clint smashed everyone.
Anyway, 4 more laps after the massage for a total of 8 laps. That's 112km for the day and not a bad days work. Even with a disappointing 7th place in this race I still managed to finish 4th on points for the series. Happy enough. I want to mention some great performances by a couple of mates too. Well done to Matt Powell and Anthony Zahra for a series of great racing, well done Nick Westwood for putting in a gutsy effort on Sunday and being pipped for 3rd by seconds. Of course a big thanks and congratulations must go to Tailwind Promotions for running a really fantastic series of races.
So now what?
Monday, June 13, 2011
Long weekends
When an opportunity arises, you should grab it. On Friday I normally have to play Daddy Daycare and collect the boys from school and don't get me wrong, I love doing it. Friday past though Alison managed an early finish and I was able to convince Nick to come out for a late afternoon jaunt. He said he was going out on the single speed and I thought, hang it, why not! I also thought it might mean the ride would be a bit more casual. I was pretty well as wrong as I could be.
Nick has a Friday loop. It is a really cool mix of the single track around Bunya with a few good fire road climbs to test the legs. We pushed along at a nice pace and while I was slowing Nick up a bit he didn't mind too much. at least I climbed all the hills and only walked "The Steps". They really are just steps. You can't ride them. We had a very entertaining ride and shot the breeze which helped keep my mind off the fact that my legs were screaming. It was a nice scream though and not a "get off the bike now" scream. What a top way to start a long weekend.
Saturday dawned rainy and grey. The forecast had predicted it would be but I had held out hope they would be wrong. The boys had a soccer match each in the morning which stops me riding early and then swimming lessons take us through until lunch time. By then the rain had started and riding in the afternoon was really not much of an option. I hate the cold, and I hate being cold and wet even more. The trails were most likely sodden and my wheels would only make that worse. By late afternoon though I was getting very restless. From time to time I have resorted to drastic measures when this is the case. I go for a trail run. Yep, me running. I stick mainly to the fire roads and some of the ridge line single track and as the weather scares of the mountain bikers it is perfect. Some people ride or run with music devices, but when I run I very purposefully don't. I figure if I am running on MTB trails the least I can do is wear bright clothes and pay attention in case a rider does come along. Running, well it smashes me. How someone does a marathon I don't know. Man my legs were stinging by the end of it. It's only 6km in a very moderate time of 30 minutes but wow, what a workout.
Friday's single speed ride showed it was time for a new rear tyre. I had a new Ignitor sitting at home for just the purpose and a quiet beer on Saturday evening saw the job done and ready for the next day. Again Sunday morning was pretty ordinary and my plans for a big ride up into the hills was looking more than a little shaky. It stopped raining at around 2pm and that was my cue to get busy! I bundled the single speed in the car, chucked the riding gear on and set off for Gap Creek. I wasn't keen on trashing my nice clean bikes and the single speed suits the task with no pivots to clean, no gears or cables to clog and a 5 minute clean after the ride. Oh yeah. Gap creek was deserted. I had the trails to my self and with that in mind I rolled around in a state of near bliss. I was almost disappointed when I finally did come across some other riders.
Up and over Dirt Girls and Pony Express, on through to Skink, the painful fire road climb up Magic and down Rocket Frog. Phew, time for a muesli bar before the next bit. There is a little bit of transit single trail to the bottom of Dingo and then up. I love this trail as it is an arse kicker. I'm yet to tame it on the single speed with a couple of little log roll overs that when wet are just damn hard. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor and with a race next weekend I wasn't out to prove a point. I got off and walked a couple of the trail features. Going down was an exercise in traction control and 2 wheel drifting. The lack off suspension on my bike made for more than a few butt clenching moments with the best being the split second I was able to see me rear tyre in my peripheral vision. Yeah, I hadn't turned my head.
It was nice to get warm back in the car. I was reasonably well soaked through and the thought of a hot cup of tea and a warm shower appealed greatly. Big smile on my face though and a very satisfied feeling to have snuck in a ride.
Then there was today. A late start because I could, a coffee to get going and the family off for an outing. I was off the hook with a whole world of trails to go ride. I didn't head far from home, I don't need to. Down to the end of the street and into Ironbark for a few hills to warm up. To my great surprise and delight I came across the new trail head for Sunset. I've written about this trail before. It had been closed due to erosion but the trail fairies have cut a new entry and cleaned up the really bad bits to improve drainage and it's good as new. In fact better than new. My undying respect and thanks to the trail fairies. You rock.
Over to Bunya for some single track. There is a short tarmac traverse to the top of "Track 8". I barreled around for another hour until I ran into Antz. He was out for a final run before the weekends 8 hour race in the single speed category. In the SS category he is running second with strong results in all the races. As we talked he told me he hadn't been able to find a link into Ironbark from Bunya. As I was heading home by this time I offered to take him over and show him the roads. We had a good chat along the way and as is often the case we both mentioned that it was about time that there were a few more rides for us. I look forward to it as Antz is a strong rider that can only make me go harder to keep up. If him and Nick come out for a ride it will be really on. We said goodbye at the turnoff back to Bunya with the promise of catching up next week. I was off home for some left over macaroni cheese and a big drink of water. I felt great.
So there it is. Now I just get a couple of commutes before the 8 hour race next Sunday. I really couldn't be happier with my weekend. I couldn't be happier with the years racing so far.
It was nice to get warm back in the car. I was reasonably well soaked through and the thought of a hot cup of tea and a warm shower appealed greatly. Big smile on my face though and a very satisfied feeling to have snuck in a ride.
Then there was today. A late start because I could, a coffee to get going and the family off for an outing. I was off the hook with a whole world of trails to go ride. I didn't head far from home, I don't need to. Down to the end of the street and into Ironbark for a few hills to warm up. To my great surprise and delight I came across the new trail head for Sunset. I've written about this trail before. It had been closed due to erosion but the trail fairies have cut a new entry and cleaned up the really bad bits to improve drainage and it's good as new. In fact better than new. My undying respect and thanks to the trail fairies. You rock.
Over to Bunya for some single track. There is a short tarmac traverse to the top of "Track 8". I barreled around for another hour until I ran into Antz. He was out for a final run before the weekends 8 hour race in the single speed category. In the SS category he is running second with strong results in all the races. As we talked he told me he hadn't been able to find a link into Ironbark from Bunya. As I was heading home by this time I offered to take him over and show him the roads. We had a good chat along the way and as is often the case we both mentioned that it was about time that there were a few more rides for us. I look forward to it as Antz is a strong rider that can only make me go harder to keep up. If him and Nick come out for a ride it will be really on. We said goodbye at the turnoff back to Bunya with the promise of catching up next week. I was off home for some left over macaroni cheese and a big drink of water. I felt great.
So there it is. Now I just get a couple of commutes before the 8 hour race next Sunday. I really couldn't be happier with my weekend. I couldn't be happier with the years racing so far.
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