Building up the Ks, recovering and following the Tour de France

Monday. It's marked as an off the bike day, a rest day.

I do feel that a day off would be the right thing to do. I am tired after a solid week (my standards here!), tired after watching most of the TdF stages at night and tired from getting up too early to go to work.

The funny thing is, part of me tells me that it would be good to get on the bike. Something like an easy spin on the rollers. Another part says the contrary, that I am tired from the lack of sleep and should rest. It is hard to make this decisions sometimes, as both options have their benefits.


Training

Some good sessions in the week that ended yesterday, including a couple of efforts at Coot-tah and a fast 83.5 km ride. I say fast because I had a nice tail wind for the first half of the ride and fast again as I raced frantically to get home and to work on time. Typical of my late morning rides before late shifts.

On the weekend, and with some assistance from friends, I managed to ride to Elimbah, north of Brisbane, race a club handicap and ride back home. All of the 155 km in a fast to very fast pace. Great riding day!

Surprisingly, I got up early on Sunday, on time for the Zupps ride (I had to get more kms in anyway!) and that's never an easy bunch ride. To top up, Sandra and I met after that and we rode to Southbank for breakfast. Another 4 hours on the saddle when I got home. Another great riding day!

Here are the graphs:

Wednesday: Mt Coot-tah for strength workouts

Saturday: Three laps, handicap race

Sunday: Zupps, 15 kms of race pace

Time: 14h 35min

Dist: 425.5 km


This week, I will drop the volume back a little as I have a couple of races coming up. Saturday, HPRW will be running the club crit championships, this year run in age groups. Then, on Sunday, I will be off to Mt Tyson for the Jon Brooks Memorial.

Plenty of recovery needed after that!


Recovery

There was a lot of emphasis on recovery over the weekend as well. A good diet before and after the training, ice on the legs and a hot baths on both days. There was also a new pair of compression tights on the weekend. I truly believe on these garments, these are my third pair (I have old Skins). Perhaps not the single answer to a good recovery but certainly a great help. But you have to wear them for a long time.

More on how good these are soon.

The Tour de France

As much as I enjoy watching and reading about the Tour, the teams and the riders, what goes on in the media and with the cycling forums around here makes me wonder what people's interests really are.

When Australian riders, S. Gerrans and A. Davies got dropped from their teams, the folks in this country went completely mad. More so in Simon's case, a TdF stage winner, diffusing a harder blow which , triggering what some described (and some encouraged) as pure anger.

There were insults directed to Gerrans team mates, team managers, bike manufacturers, the Spanish population, etc... I was shocked with such a show of narrow minded nationalism, when most of us didn't even know why he was sent home.

At the time, I was afraid some Spanish restaurant in Melbourne was going to get torched. The old call for an all Australian team was again mentioned in the media. Something that hasn't been seeing in the Tour for 70 or 80 years...

OK, there is room for a bit of patriotism here but what about the Tour, what about the twenty teams and their 180 riders. Does anyone around here know that Thomas Voeckler & Mikhail Ignatiev defined all odds and beat all the teams to Perpignan? What about Brice Feillu, the 23 years-old who won a mountain stage in his first Tour de France?

I guess it doesn't make the domestic headlines.

This piece started without much bearing. Now, I feel inclined to write something witty to finish it off. But waiting for some divine light will give me time to read and re-think what I wrote and very likely stop me posting it... Ah well, nothing too serious!

An easy Recovery Week, what's next?

In my last post, I wrote that I didn't have any events to aim for this year and that I was just enjoying the riding and racing. Well, that has changed, it had to change! I have now chosen three races for this year, three A races as they call them.

They are races in which I have little chance of finishing with the top riders but I am going to enter them for the experience and the fun. By saying that, I don't mean sitting there and taking easy, just hoping to finish.

The first event is on the 12th 0f September, a 226 km race from Grafton to Inverell (NSW). It is the longest one-day race in Australia (I think!) and one of the toughest. There is a hard 17 km climb after 65 kms and an undulating terrain once you are on top of the Great Dividing Range -altitude 1000+ m. Then, it is kind of down hill all the way to Inverell as the graph shows...
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For this race, I've put together a nine-week training program based primarily on information found in Joe Friel's book. The fact that I have never ridden that distance and only had done 120+ rides a few times will make it interesting, and difficult. I know someone in the club that has raced it more than a dozen times so I will be trying to find out more about the race in the next few weeks.

Then, eight weeks later, I am hoping to race in the World Masters Games in Sydney... and why not? It is going to be a huge event and I don't get a chance to race for the rainbow stripes often. I haven't decided if I will do the crits and the ITT but I aiming for the road race which will be at the Eastern Creek Raceway. That in itself will be something new and exciting.

For the third event, I am planning to return to the Victorian alpine region this year to race my third Tour of Bright. I missed out the last two because of a holiday overseas and my incident with a van last year and didn't get to try the somehow vicious climb to Mt Hotham. But I heard (and read) a bit about it and have enough madness in me to have a go.

In between those three, there are lots of club races, open events and the QLD Championships to keep me busy and the legs turning.

Training

The first week of the training was mostly for recovery from the last few races, including the Scenic Rim the weekend before. I did add a couple of high intensity rides to a total of six sessions (including a session on the rollers).

Time: 10h 50min
Dist: 266.6 km

The training week ended on Sunday with an easy ride with Sandra. She needed to do a couple of hours as well and had asked if we could ride over the Samford Range and the back roads of Highvale . Perfect, but we left home a little late in the afternoon and been a Sunday, the speeding traffic put me off going up the range. We took the dirt track that runs parallel to the old train line and did most of the riding in this beautiful countryside, located just a few kilometers from Brisbane.

Friendly locals

A steep road revisited...

...same road

This week things will get a little harder and the rides a little longer. I am planning to race another club handicap at Elimbah, 50 kms north of Brisbane. I am just hoping to get a bit of rest in the next three weeks as well, Le Tour is on and staying away from the TV till the early hours is not an easy thing to do.

We will see.

Training and more importantly, a few races in the last 29 days...

Another interesting month, a month full of fun.

It has been a time to have fun on the bike, so no hard training. The weeks have been anything in between 145 and 260 km. I included a few TT sessions, all very short, so I wouldn't stress my body too much and used the weekend races as high-intensity sessions. All about having fun and catching up with friends.

I have a couple of reasons for that. First, I hadn't made any decisions on what events I wanted to peak for this year. Second, I want to have a different approach to training/racing this year, concentrating a lot more on recovery, diet and off the bike activities.

Training has been mostly at an easy pace, even when doing hills. I have used sessions at Nebo, Clear Mountain and Coo-tah just to work on climbing techniques, trying to go a little faster without going harder. The exception was the day I took Sandra's Powertap mounted Mavic Pro wheel for a test on Mt Nebo road.

Now, I have some idea of my power output and will be able to access any changes after doing another test in a couple of months. Another thing I learned, and that has to do with equipment, is how much softer the Mavic Pros are, compared to the Mavic Ksyrium SLs I have been training on. I noticed the difference as I climbed as well as cornering at speed on my down down the mountain... With 32 spokes perhaps the softness is on the Powertap hub.

The racing

This year, and after my stint off the bike, I have gone back to racing B Grade in club events and Masters B (or Cat 3) in Open events. I discussed the move with a club official and we agreed that it is the right decision due to my circumstances (and age!). Obviously, this decision can be re-accessed later in the year and if I ever get to the level I was 12 months ago, I might get moved up again.

The Metropolitan Championship - 69 km Road Race, Mt Alford

That was my third open event for 2009, this one in a course that I was was thought I could do well. I finished 4th in the State Championship in 2007, in 2008 I dropped a chain and never saw the bunch again. This year, I did everything right for most of the race, helping to cover a few attacks, closing gaps and saving a bit on the last lap, positioning myself close to the sprinters as the bunch reached 3 km to the finish. With 800 m to go, I took advantage of the slow pace and attacked in a solo effort but died within 200 m of the line. Made it to the Pub first, if that counts... top 15.

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Av Speed: 35 km/h
Av HR: 153 bpm

HPRW Club Race - Hill Finish (1 hour), Lakeside

Another one of my favourites, this time with a hard up hill finish. Worked hard, felt good, chose a good wheel for the finish... but got stuck on the inside without room to go anywhere. Too late when I found a gap, finishing 6th!

(last 39 min)

Av Speed: 38.6 km/h

Av HR: 153 bpm

HPRW Club Race - Handicap Race (40 km), Somerset Dam

The idea to do this race was to go out to give the legs a spin and have fun before the Avanti Classic, next morning. It is an area of Brisbane that Sandra and I didn't know so even driving there was already a bonus. The course was out and back on a hilly terrain. Starting 3min before Scratch, our group got reduced to 3 riders in the first 4 km (I think). Unfortunately, it did become a hard race after the turn around as we spotted a solo rider trying to get to us... Check this video of the race.

Av Speed: 35.9 km/h
Av HR: 159 bpm

Avanti Classic - Open Handicap (80 km), Lowood

With a 11 min advantage and five or six strong riders in the group, I did think we had a chance of staying away. I changed my mind after someone told me in the first 5 km that I was going to fast for the group... It is hard to change my mind sometimes. I kept going, taking long turns, trying to talk others to do the same. Some did, some just sat there. I didn't mind, it was all training for me. That was my second Avanti Classic, last year I cramped badly when going really strong, so this year I tried to drink as much as possible but ended up getting dropped in the beginning of the second lap as I struggled to get one of my biddons... Silly really, perhaps I was wasted anyway. I did join other groups, including the Scratch but failed to hang on, riding the last 10 or 15 km with another three riders and finishing in just over 2 hours - 67th place.

Av Speed: 40 km/h
Av HR: 152 bpm

HPRW Club Race - Criterium (50min + 2 laps), Nundah Circuit

Legs were feeling fresh with only two rides for the week, including a few intervals at Jinker and a recovery ride with a few folks from work and the V Australia Team. Nundah is always a good place to catch up with friends, the warm up laps being perfect for pre-race chatting. The race turned out to be fast, I managed to get away from the bunch with three other riders after 30 min. We kept the speed high, with a 35 sec gap at some stage. At the end, I lead out the sprint to finish 3rd.

Av Speed: 41.1 km/h
Av HR: 155 bpm

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Tour of Scenic Rim - Road Race, ITT and Kermesse Races, Boonah

The RR was 45 kms on a really, really hilly course (16 km of climbing). The "highlight" been a 450 m climb at 9% at the end of each lap. It was a course which suited me well, a top 3 finish was truly in reach. That was not to happen as I spend too much energy fighting for the KOM points with a U17 rider and had little left for the last lap - 10th place.

Av Speed: 32.5 km/h
Av HR: 154 bpm

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The 12 km Time Trial from pub to pub was on a down hill course and the later groups had a nice SW wind helping for most of the way - 15:57.67 for 9th place. Aero bars next time!

Av Speed: 45.4 km/h
Av HR: 158 bpm

The Kermesse was a 7 km loop which included a few hills as well. Nice! I was well prepared for it and had planned to get away at some stage, only way to steel a few seconds. I knew I was going to be one of the marked riders but had no other choices. I tried my luck twice but didn't have what it takes to get away and stay away that morning. Still, quick change of plans and I was hanging on to some strong finishers wheels for a couple of kms and rough corners... Battled on and finished 3rd.

Av Speed: 37.9 km/h
Av HR: 149 bpm

The overall result was a bit of a mess and after a lot of rightful and unrightful changes, they gave me a 6th place. I guess we just have to be thankful for having events like that in our backyard...

I am now in the middle of a recovery week. As I have now set some goals for 2009, next week I will start an eight-week (crash) program in preparation for the Grafton to Inverell, my first A race for this year. More on that and my other events next time.

Safe riding!

The week: The Giro and Clear Mountain, old training ground revisited

What a great week!

First, the Giro d'Italia '09

I didn't stay up to watch the highlights this year. Really, and if that's possible, I had more important things to do. Did I miss the Giro highlights? Not really. I just read cyclingnews.com and watch the final kms on youtube every morning. Also, found the Italian commentators, which included Bettini more entertaining!

Happy with the race? Absolutely! I find the Giro to be a great race, with great climbs and great riders. It is not portrayed to be the greatest race but it might even be just that. A hat trick by Cavendish, a win by Petacchi, the strong finish by Gerran and a great show of professionalism by Pauwels. He is certainly someone who can replace young Andy Schleck on Sastre's quest to win the TdF again. And on the man himself, Sastre climbing of Monte Petrano and the Vesuvius is what I like to watch.

Simon's great winning smile

Win number one, Mount Petrano

Win number two, The Vesuvio

I can't forget to mention Danilo "The killer" Di Luca as the big fighter of the Giro '09. He just tried everything but ended up dragging and leading Menchov, The Shadow, to the highest spot on the podium. That's racing!

Di Luca and Menchov

The winner is... Menchov!

My riding week was a good one also. I didn't win the Wednesday bunch ride to Jolly's and I didn't get on the podium yesterday but, apart from the hurt, I had a bloody good time having a go on both.

As I haven't sat down to seriously jot down my 2009 training program, I chose to get out there and have fun. Using the rides as tests to find out where I am at the moment is important and will help to design my program and follow my progress later on .

With that in mind, I started by revisiting an old favourite, Clear Mountain. Those short pinches always let me know where my strength level is... First, there is an undulating route via Eatons Crossing then a 6 km stretch to the climbs which I normally use to psych myself for the hurt.

Eaton's Crossing for a warm up

Turn right and start getting ready...

This time I didn't aim to go flat out. I don't need to do that to measure my fitness and strength. I just need to observe my heart rate and how my body behaves when going up. Still, it did cause a little hurt.

The second climb, aiming for the resort


350m, averaging 11%

My route to Clear Mountain (front)

Then, there was the Wednesday ride to Jolly's Lookout, with Adam. It can also be called "Wednesday hurtfest", even when you set out to take it easy because you have a hilly race on the weekend.

With that in mind, I met Stephen and rolled at an easy pace towards the bottom of Nebo. A small group gathered in the dark, chatty but surely aware of each other and trying to foresee the amount of pain that was about to be generated. The word "F..k" came to my mind as I realised I was the weakest of the five...

The Nebo climb is not for the pure climber (none in our group) as there are ups and downs. So, if you want to do a good time, you need to speed down the descents in the dark. It is a demanding, risk taking exercise at times. Even more, if you rely on your mate's powerful lights to illuminate the corners. In daylight is safer and that's when you can set some really good times.

Home to Jolly's

An easy solo ride on Thursday as I really needed to recover. Lovely, it feels good just riding the bike sometimes... With training in mind, I added some high cadence efforts, to start getting some speed on the untrained legs.

180m at 176, 183, 177, 184 and 186 RPM

Day off the bike on Friday as I started work at 4 am, after a sleepless night. It meant getting home early, true, but I was in no condition to go anywhere or doing any form of exercise. In times like that, it just stresses my immune system. Yoga stretches was the best I could do.

Saturday, an early-enough shift again, a 40 min spin on the rollers and a Yoga session with Sandra before heading to the Gold Coast for a party. Perfect prep for the race on Sunday.

The Metro's at Mt Alford is a tough little race if you are racing Masters B. I say little because of the relatively short distance, 69 km. I raced it with the Masters A lot last year, dropped a chain before the top of the last hill on lap two and never saw them again... I chased them on the downhill for a few minutes at 80 km/h and still watched the small group ride away... I did one more lap on my own and decided to stop. A fourth lap on that windy loop would be a killer.

Yesterday's race wasn't much easier but it was fun. My present form didn't allow me to have an easy ride. I did have to conserve when I could and go fairly hard when I saw myself drifting back. I needed to be at the front all the time. I felt the lack of power on the steep little hills and had to do them on my lowest gear (39/23), with difficulties.

A felt pretty fresh in the last kms, held my position in the middle of the bunch and stayed out of the wind and in touch with the sprinters. As the bunch cought a couple of scapees I took my chance hoping that the reaction was going to be slow. It was, but it was with 1 km, or thereabout, to go. Too far. In the process, I dragged a rider to the 300 m mark before fading (at the pub!!). I think he finished well.

I dragged myself across the line behind a bunch of 12-15 riders (just a guess here) so top twenty. How do I feel? I wish I had Stage 2 this morning...

The tree 23 km loops

Picture and dish of the week. It just looked so good that I had to photograph it and post it here. I did taste good too.

Vegetable Frittata

AMR

Global Ride DVDs - a humble review

Last week, I was openly told about my time management skills: "They aren't the best!". Well, I have known that for a long time and chose to take it as a personal characteristic and not as a modern day calamity. It is a less stressful approach to life, I reckon, and might just be a healthier one too.
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Now that I mentioned that, I can confess that the USPS parcel with the Global Ride DVDs arrived a "few weeks" ago. Not that I just put them aside - I was too excited about getting them to do that - so I did opened the package quickly and started playing the first DVD straight away. Then, there was a trip overseas, a bit of training, a couple of races, etc...

My first impression: I liked them! And from the week I received them, I started doing the Yoga sessions two to three times a week. Now, after going through them, I can write a little review and hope that it will assist someone wishing to purchase training DVDs. I wish I had received them six months ago...

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The GlobalRide DVDs - Hawaii Rides

Let me start by saying that I haven't been overly keen to use training DVDs in the past and I have only tried a couple of them, made by some big manufacturer of wind trainers. The Global Ride DVDs, having been produced by a small production house and featuring a couple of familiar voices (let me surprise you there if you are in Brisbane), made me more interested. Another point of interest to me is the location where the rides took place - Hawaii. I am still a surfer by heart and the dream of surfing in Hawaii still comes up now and then.

At first, I didn't set up the bike on the trainer to try the DVDs. I had just returned to riding on the road after months and months of training on the wind-trainer and spinning on the rollers. So every chance I had, I just got on the road. Nevertheless, I chose to sit in the front of the TV set and watch them while doing my basic stretches and/or having my post-ride meals.

The first thing I liked about this three DVD set is the inclusion of the Strength, Pilates and Yoga training. They are a huge bonus! The sessions are well presented and easy to follow. The Pilates training is fairly new to me and I haven't done a lot of strength work in the past but I have done lots of Yoga and I can tell this session in the Maui Rollers DVD is what we, as cyclists, need after every training session on the bike.

It's also a plus to have the choices of trainers (voice-overs) in all of the DVDs. In fact, there are lots of choices when playing the DVDs and surely everyone will find something they like. Or even, no voice-over at all. While on the subject of sound, the music is good, motivating.

I found Italian coach Marzia Cozzolino the best as she guides through the sessions. Funny enough, I was expecting to learn a bit of Italian but Marzia only speaks English on the DVDs. With a lovely accent, I must add. Surely, some ladies could enjoy listening to coach Massimiliano. That's if they could find him, sorry, I couldn't. Something to be looked at by the folks at Global Ride.

Back with the music, I am not a music buff so there is a lot of stuff that I didn't know. So good, I can just play one of the DVDs and pump the volume a little to have nice music in the house.

View of my TV set

Another good feature on the three DVDs is the slide-show set up for the warm-up so you don't get thrown into the hard part straight away. The photographs are beautiful and get you in the right mood for the training, or packing and buying a ticket to Hawaii.

Photo of my TV set

Kissed by Morning Rain is one of my favourite sessions but I would prefer not to have the rain drops on the lens. For the purist, it makes it very realistic, so "grab your light weight rain jacket"... The scenery is beautiful.

As they come in a package of three, there are lots of choices and great rides to keep anyone motivated during the winter months and rainy days. Not just that, for those days that we don't have the time, the DVDs will make a quick session on the rollers more fun.

Now, for my next holiday, I won't just take my surfboards to Hawaii, I will be taking my bike as well!!

Thanks to the folks at Global Ride!

Tour of California, April-May 2009

Here I am, finally writing and adding a few pictures of our Tour of California to this blog. "Ours" because I did the trip with Sandra. Without her this Tour wouldn't have taken off...

There is so much to write about and around 200 pictures that I would consider posting here but that's realistically too much. So, I will put together a slide show soon and put a link to it so anyone interested can have a look at it at some stage. Also, Sandra is putting together a cute little movie, it is going to be posted here soon.

This is my "Six-Stage Tour of California 2009".

Stage One - Los Angeles River Bikeway ITT, Long Beach to somewhere and back (35 km)

A flat ride along what I wouldn't call a river. A smell of concrete filled the cool air. Still, it was fast, had no signs of LA's crazy traffic and seemed to go forever.

... that's in miles

Long, long bikeway


The bikeway goes under many Highways


Not the nicest river I've seen...

Time: 1h 20min

Ascent: 92m

Temp: 23 C

Fantastic post-race meal of scrambled eggs,

vegetarian chorizo and spicy fries

at the Omelette Inn, Long Beach

Stage Two - Kelbaker Road ITT, Mojave National Park (36 km)

After a night at a truck/RV stop in the middle of nowhere, a ride into the desert. An amazing first ride in the desert.

Off on the Trek 1400

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Kelbaker Road, Mojave NP
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Searching for the Joshua Tree
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First sight...
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With a Joshua Tree
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Time: 1h 26min
Ascent: 816m
Temp.: 33 C

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Stage Three: Furnace Creek to Zabriskie Point and back, Death Valley (40 km)

Sandra rode into the village the day before and loved the ride. I felt I had to experience it as the the road looked so smooth, fast and the surrounds so... awesome.

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The road from Zabriskie Point

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Awesome landscape

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Getting greener when approaching the valley

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Very smooth road all the way in

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That's below sea level

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Time: 48min

Ascent: 428m

Temp: 28 C
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Post ride meal at 49ers, Furnace Creek

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Stage Four: Kern River ITT, Johnstone, Sequoia National Park (30 km)

An early start for another little discovery ride, this time along a river and surrounded by alpine trees and rocky mountains. Huge contrast from the previous day.

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Bike and the Kern River
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Generals Highway, Sequoia National Park
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Population: 1 1/2, Elevation: 4720 ft

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Almost at the turn around...
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Time: 1h 8min
Ascent: 516 m
Temp: 21 C

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Stage Five: Convict Flat ITT, Kings Canyon (26km)

Sandra did the morning ride into the valley. After a nice walk (cross-training), we decided to head towards the coast. To do that, we had to drive over 6,000 ft high mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Sandra insisted I did a portion of it by bike - best ride ever!

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Usual pre-race meal
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Kings River and the twisting road

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Kings Canyon Scenic Byway

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1,000 feet to go

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Time: 1h 10min

Ascent: 973 m

Temp: 22 to 31 C
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Stage Six: Solvang ITT, Solvang (29 + 4 km)

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The folks at Lonely Planet wrote it was kitschy but a friend said we should stop. I am glad we did! Firstly, we had a fantastic lunch in this Danish look alike town. Secondly, Sandra found a beautiful bracellet with a little road bike hanging of it. Lastly, I did part of the Tour of California ITT course... and was about to beat Levy's time when I missed a turn and kept riding on Hwy One for a few more miles.

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Shopping for a new bike... maybe!
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Perfect spot for a pre-race meal

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Best pre-race meal ever!!

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Tour of California TT course

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One of the chardonnay producers in Solvang

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Time: 1h 04min

Ascent: 231 m

Temp: 31 to 36 C

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As I mentioned before, there is so much to write and so many images... I might post a few, now and then, as memories of this great holiday reappear. I feel so lucky to have experienced all that with Sandra, the best travelling partner in the world, and hope to be able to go back one day to see a bit more and ride a few more miles of this vast country. As my friend Aaron said, we just got to the edge of where all the good places are... Of course, he is not from California.

I will finish with two of my best photos of this holiday.

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Sandra riding into a backdrop of colours, Death Valley

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At Elephant Seal Colony, San Simeon

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America, thank you!

Happly back on the bike!

Well, it is finally over. My time off the bike that is...

I have been back on the bike and training since March. The first ride was on the 14th, a 45 min ride to Lakeside where I mistakenly decided to join the B grade bunch for a few laps around the often demanding circuit.

The mistake was to think that after so many months off the bike, I could just drop a grade and hang on to a field of very fit riders... Not when the whole field is speeding up the hill (300m at 5.8%) at 36 km/h, lap after lap. I lasted four laps.

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That was my first ride for 2009.

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Lakeside, 14th March 2009

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Since then, I have done a few kms, in fact over 2,800 kms, and have enjoyed very much doing them (mostly) on the road. It has been very diverse also. I have done a bit of training by myself, have done a few bunch rides and have assisted a couple of friends on their preparations for the Tour de Tablelands (some hard stuff).

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I have even been back on the trainer...

And on the road, followed by Sandra's camera.

Very closely...

Some of those kilometers on the road were in the company of some very talented riders too. In conjunction with V Australia Cycling Team manager, Chris White, and through a workplace initiative, I have started a weekly bunch ride where Virgin Blue and V Australia employees get to meet and ride with some of local elite riders. With a coffee stop after the easy ride, it is all good fun!

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With friends and the Brisbane based V Australia Team.

After months of riding on a "bent" steel frame, on the trainer, it has been great to get back on the R3 again. To top things up, Sandra has landed me her old training wheels as my training set (Mavic Cosmos) have reached their final days. These SLs are great wheels.

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That's the present training set up...

The 2009 racing set up is the same.

As I have mentioned previously, I am pretty keen on fixing my old tubes. Manly because I dislike trowing things out, but also because I find it to be a fairly therapeutic activity. Now, I have found and experimented with a simple "fix" and want to share my findings with everyone... It works!!!

... perhaps more suitable for a mtb tyre.

Last week, I received a little package from the USA. It contained a series of cycling specific training DVDs. My first thought was: why do I want those? I am not going to get on the trainer again. But that isn't true. I used the wind trainer, and later the rollers, a lot and found them to be very valuable training tools. Firstly, they are great when we don't have much time or the weather is really bad. Secondly, they are great for specific training sessions as it provides a controlled environment, unlike the roads with traffic lights and cars.

These ones also have bonus Yoga, Pilates and Weight training segments. I have watched a bit of the the DVDs and have done a couple of Yoga sessions. They were very effective. I haven't had the time to do the "rides" on the trainer yet as I've been fairly busy and am about to embark on a little trip to the USA. So, expect a review on the training DVDs soon.

Global Ride

Well, I have been fairly slack with the blog in the last couple of months, as we all know. But, I am happy to start writing again and have been told several times to do so. Here it is! I will finish this post with a picture of Sandra having brunch in the back veranda of our new place. Also, with a picture of Trouble, such a popular figure in the Blogging world...

Happy times!

What can I say?

2009 Tour Down Under Video

My TDU project is finished.

Initially, I wanted to write a long post, starting with my flight(thanks Virgin Blue!), my meeting with my mate Phil, the party at Stephen and Jane's, the South Australian sea and landscape, the wines and gourmet cheeses of the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and the Barossa, and naturally: the stages of the Tour Down Under.

I wanted to write about everything but that would have been a very long post, perhaps too long. And perhaps too personal as a lot of this journey had to do with my return to Adelaide after almost 16 years.

Hence, the decision to put together a video with some of the images of the trip. I just hope that it gives an idea of the TDU itself and what a great experience it was.

Enjoy it!