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?