Looking for Hutberg and another couple of rides...

Sandra had told me about the Hutberg climb, in Kamenz, and was looking forward to take me there. What she didn't tell me was that to get to it, I was going to experience one of the best rides of my life.

A mostly flat ride, my second in Europe (ever) and I am talking best rides... Well, it was!

Saturday: Senftenberg-Kamenz-Senftenberg





A few cobbles, including a short and steep section before we got to Hutberg.

Time: 3h 34min
Dist: 87.4 km
Elev: 586 m
Temp: 9° C
(under-shirt, jersey, jacket, bib tights, gloves x2, beanie and over-shoes)


Sunday: Senftenberg-Groß Lübbenau-Senftenberg











Guided by Mario, from the Lauta bikeshop, we rode through an amazing web of bikeways, sighting fields with wind-turbines and artificial lakes. Nice little stop in a traditional coffee-cake shop. It is getting dangerous...

Time: 4h 45min
Dist: 113 km
Elev: 438 m
Temp: 8° C
(under-shirt, jersey; arm warmers, jacket, bib tights, gloves x2, balaclava and over-shoes)


Monday: Hörlitzer Str, Senftenberg











Repeats on 1.5 km road, mostly on a cobbled strip in between lanes. Good fun but tiring after 10 of them. Bike behave very well but I felt sorry for it...

Time: 59min
Dist: 21.8 km
Elev: 8 m
Temp: 9° C
(under-shirt, jersey; arm warmers, jacket, bib tights, gloves x2, beanie and over-shoes)


And the new Campag-equipped bike...





... which is just a bike in a town of bikes.

Leaving Australia and the numbers game

Having lived amongst to-do-lists and storage boxes for the last few weeks, training for the P-R Challenge didn't really happen. However, I created my own little challenge-list for the week prior to our departure to make sure I did get on the bike.

Yes, it is all to do with numbers. And it has to do with signing up to Strava.com (Alberto AMR), the website that plots the rides and places riders on a Leaderboard according to set segments of the rides. How close to signing up to Facebook am I getting?

The challenges were on popular Brisbane roads, McAfees @ 6.5 kms, Coot-tha @ 2.3 kms and Gateway Bridge @ 1.4 kms and the aim was to set my best times for the year before leaving Australia.

No all-time PBs was set on McAfees (I didn't think I would because of my weight) but I did get a 17:32, 38 seconds faster than my attempt the week before. A few days later Sandra and I rolled out for one of our last rides around Brisbane and did the Gateway Bridge and Mt Coot-tha. And yes, I am happy with the times I got on both, 3'05", a PB, and 8'22".

Next, we managed to do everything else on those lists, we survived twenty plus hours of flying and we are now in Senftenberg, Germany.

How exciting for me is this? Well, I am a little speechless, everything has been better than I expected. I even managed to have my first Streuselschnecke before leaving Berlin's Airport with Sandra's parents. Not a bad effort, hey?

I am expecting a few numbers to go up...

Not too far into our first day, bikes got built, new cycling gear got tried on and lots more breads and cheeses got consumed. I even had a warm beer. Pretty much all in anticipation of the first ride.

Senftenberg-Lauta-Senftenberg

Beautiful ride on narrow roads, through fields and forest. Many small villages on the way, lakes and cobble roads. Not Spring weather yet.

Time: 2h 13min
Dist: 44.5 km
Elev: 141 m
Temp: 9° C
(l/s under-shirt; jersey; jacket; bib tights; gloves x2; beanie and over-shoes)

Lots more to come.

Tschüss!

PS: Sorry, I forgot to mention the rides and parties in the last two weeks in Brisbane. All very special, thank you very much!!

Summer morning

Some of the best roads are found right here... in our own backyards.

A dash to McAfees and being a pro-cyclist

It is that time of the year again, when hanging on to fast bunches is a real struggle, or an impossibility! It is all to do with that "off season" stuff, or strength training I do. This time, been three months of a very low kilometer count, as well.

How to fix that? A race at Lakeside (1 hour in a hilly circuit) and a fast Zupps bunch ride, I thought. But, like my start of any other year, I got dropped in both... But that should be OK, I needed to go through the physical and mental pain and just get the intensity and the legs turning a bit faster.

This morning, to test myself, I joined Sandra's McAfees Ride, which includes a 6.5 km/300 m elevation dash to a look-out. Because of the heavy europe layer I am carrying, and saving for next month, I (kind of desperately) even emptied my second drink-bottle before I passed the street sign at 5:34 am. From there, the ride was full of those moments when we feel a bit sick and think of turning around.

And after some uncomfortable eighteen-minutes-ten-seconds (Strava time) I was at the look-out on Mt Nebo Road. Slower than my best time of 16'18" a couple of years back, and on the R3, but a surprising fast time, if I may say so.

I don't have the power data from those earlier rides to McAfees and Nebo but I can see some good numbers from this ride - an FT(20 min) of 3.98 w/kg. That's always encouraging.

What's next?

With the date of our departure getting closer, there are lots of important things to do (I've been told). Training time is limited. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing because it is very important to stay rested and healthy in preparation for the contrasting (freezing) riding weather we are going to encounter in Europe. Short(ish), medium intensity rides are in the menu for now.

Perhaps, one more dash to McAfees...

And what else?

Well, I am officially unemployed. Or, I am officially a pro-cyclist because I will be paying myself to ride a bike for the next eight months. To mark the occasion, leaving work that is, I put together a video of my last commute, something I did on-and-off for almost seven years. Rides that, undoubtely, made me a better cyclist.

Have fun!

Am I too late?

It is all go at the moment! We have bought our tickets and we are now anxiously getting ready for the great experience (getaway, if you like). In twenty-one days, we are hoping to have everything we own (apart from some clothes and a suitcase full of cycling gear) sold or in storage. We will then board the big Kangaroo and head to the old continent…

Once in Germany, our starting point, we have the first most important task of assembling our new bikes. According to Sandra, it shouldn’t take too long. I, knowing myself, will spend the first 30 to 45 minutes in trance with the new Campagnolo equipped marvel. My first!

Yes, a full transition is about to be fulfilled. Why? Because after seven or eight years on the ever consistent Japanese gear (I use Ultegra), I feel it is time to try the gear that is closer linked to cycling culture and the cycling history of the roads we will be riding on.

Call me a romantic, or a dreamer, I just want to experience been part of the cult of artisans and followers who argue and endorse the group's soul-filled character.

Ideally, a Campagnolo group would be married to a classic steel Pegoretti or racy Colnago frame and I am hoping the group will last to the day when I will be able to celebrate such union.

For now, it will stay matched to a German designed, Asian constructed carbon frame. A very light combo indeed, which will help me get up those steep and celebrated roads of the Alps and the Pyrenees...

But am I too late? In a way it feels like that. The new, long waited Campagnolo EPS (eletronic) system is out - RKP Intro.

Do I want one? Maybe. Am I going to get one, ever? Perhaps not.

Time to get some miles in... and Acai berries for health

About 8 1/2 weeks for THE CHALLENGE, it is time to get on the bike for some genuine training. The first thing, and hardest: testing. I need to do a threshold power test (FTP) to set up a bench mark and my training zones. These tests do hurt so I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I am looking forward to it!!

So, to Nundah for a few laps around the Circuit in a couple of days.

Interesting that when I made this video in 2010, I was coming back from an injury. Almost two years later, I have another injury (not bike related) I must keep an eye on.

The training for the challenge should be a bit different because it is not a race. The goal is to finish in the velodrome after riding 148 km, with thirty-one of them on cobble roads. I don't think I can really train for something like that here so I will be mostly working on my endurance by clocking up some miles until we get to Europe.

It is also a good time to focus on my health. The weather (as in temperature) isn't going to be too kind for a few weeks after our arrival. It might be a good thing that I am carrying five extra kilos at the moment (not panicking yet, I read Alberto was trying to shed 7.5 kg in Argentina) as they might work as insulators, and padding.

As most people who read my posts know, or know me, and without advocating vegetarianism here, I try to follow a healthy semi-vegetarian diet. To achieve this and also push myself in training and racing, I do some experiments by adding unconventional, natural elements to my daily food intake (I do take a multivitamin supplement as well). For example, Goji berries and Maca powder have been part of my breakfast ritual for a few years now and I feel I do profit from that.

For this season, I decided to try something different (nothing really new by any means) by adding high in antioxidants Acai to my diet. The berry like fruit has been used by sports people in Brazil for many years and has now become the natural supplement for everyone seeking a healthier life.

The idea came about when I was in Rio a few months ago. I noticed all the juice bars (they have been around for decades in Brazil) had Acai in some form or another, on their blackboards. At the beach, Acai was served on its pulp-form like a fruit sorbet. It was perfect after a bike ride!!

Back in Australia, and after doing a bit of reading on Acai and the Amazon jungle, I got in touch with the Bondi-crew from Amazonia.com. I told them I wanted to support their venture because of their Acai products but also, and largely, because of their concepts on sustainable practices and assistance to Amazon communities. A few weeks later, a package with Acai organic powder and Acai bars arrived on my front door with a note: "Good luck with all your upcoming competitions!"

I will stop here, for now, before this post starts looking like pure advertising.

Yet, I will recommend everyone to try the delicious Acai berry form Amazonia.com and help communities in the Amazon, as well as giving these three Australian interpreneurs and their product a go!

Safe Riding!

(and be aware of iconic Cricket figures out there)

Winter riding and winter training

My groover-half keeps telling me that I don't really know what I am signing up for when I plan to ride a bike in Europe, in March. She is not talking about cobbles or steep roads, she is talking about winter riding.

The memories of filling one of my drink bottles with hot tea and honey for the early rides to Park Road, during Brisbane's winter period, reveals the kind of measure I took for riding my bike when the temperature dropped. That, and wearing full-finger gloves and a binny, kept me warm for the first thirty minutes, after that dawn would come and the bunch would speed up, making things warmer rapidly.

She is right, going from an Australian summer to a still occurring winter in Central Europe is going to be a refreshing experience. Even a shock to the system, some might add. But comes March, and as long as it is not too wet, I will be taking equivalent measures, and adding another layer or two, to be on the road.

And as far as winter training goes, I might just leave that for the pros...

Congratulations Green Edge Cycling

Without a doubt, this is a great start for Green Edge, the new pro-cycling team. It is also a great overall win for Simon Gerrans, undoubtedly one of the best road cyclists in Australia.

Unfortunately, they didn't succeed in getting a stage win. They were as close as half a wheel on the 5th stage, only to have one of the best race-finishers in the world, Alexandro Valverde, gate-crashing the party.

Many others deserve a mention but I will keep it short today by only noting three more riders. Rohan Dennis for a top 5 finish (overall) and a few prizes, young Queenslander Jay McCarthy for his top 10 in the KOM and Young Rider competitions and, once again, Andre Greipel for his nearly obliterating sprint finishes.

Looking forward to tracking the peloton this year.

More results here.