Sunday bunch ride and training week 11

We finished the week on Sunday with a 100+ km ride to Dayboro and the 7 km climb to Ocean View (Mt Mee road). Another early start to make it to our meeting point at 6:30 am. We almost made it on time...

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Ferny-Grove-to-Dayboro-return-loop

At the bottom of the Samford Range, we met Petrina, Mark and Shane. Soon after, Donna and David arrived and with Sandra, Daniel and I the group started our Easy ride up the range, then Samford and to Dayboro. As we normally ride, lots of chatting and laughing for the first few kms. This time, clothing and David's new bike were the main topics. With Mark's mechanical knowledge and help, David finished building the bike a few hours before we started the ride... And there it was, with everything Record. It looked fantastic and David had the biggest smile of all. Wonder why?


Back to the ride, for the first time this year I was wearing my arm warmers and a vest. A good decision as descending on the other side of the range at that time of the morning can be a little cool. The descend is just under three kms long and has a nice gradient, allowing us to reach 50 to 60 km/h without trying... Nice! Then, the undulating road to Dayboro, about 26 kms of a rough surfaced road through the Samson Valley, a very scenic part of Brisbane's country side.


It took us under an hour, which is a good time as we slowed down a couple of times to wait for the slower members of the bunch. A quick stop at the township of Dayboro and off we went on what I consider one of my favourite climbs. It has the perfect gradient to be ridden on the saddle and at tempo, hence a chance to stay in E1 and E2 for the whole time. Well, that's what I planned and how I rode for the first half. For the second part, I changed my mind and decided to push harder to catch a couple of riders up the road and get an idea of how my climbing is at the moment. Climbing hasn't been part of my programs, except for the short hill repeats.


I let one of the riders go and went off a minute later trying to catch him before the top. I don't know how much he was pushing but I did manage to pass him with about 300 or 400 m to our stop. I was climbing comfortably with a HR around 165 bpm (85%), which is higher than what it was this time last year. Happy with my ride!


We waited for the rest of the group at Ocean View and to top up on the effort of the climb, and to stay warm, a few of us ventured up the side street which is a 500m climb at 18%, 167 bpm for me. After a few laughs and photos taken we started the "race" down hill and to the coffee shop. Again, happy to have arm warmers and a vest on. As my descending skills are a little poor, I just followed the guys for most of the time and then put my foot down with a couple of kms to go and as the road got flatter... and managed to stay away.


Have to mention David's great effort on making to the top for the first time, it must have been a Record.


Time for coffee, snacks, bathroom stops, and a chat on the ride so far. Also, have to mention Donna's bike-ride-break-snack: a steak pie!!! How does she manage to eat that, before 9 in the morning? Her reply was that it has been a tradition.... I know she has been riding for a long time but I didn't dare ask how long the tradition has been going for... It was an easy ride back for the first 15 kms, except for Sandra and Shane who decided they needed a little more of a workout. Another short stop at Samford Village then over the range again and home.

Total: 104 kms; Av. speed: 26.7 km/h; and Av. HR: 121 bpm

Week 11 starts

Monday was another easy recovery ride, again with John and Stephen, through some new country roads at Samford Valley. A relatively flat ride, highlighted by a very fast stretch of road starting at Mt O'Reilly Road, along Gibbons Road and finishing at Mt Samson Road. I sat on Stephen's wheel for a few kms as he grinded those cranks at 50 km/h. Dream run!!

Time: 2:09; Distance: 52.8 kms; Av. speed: 24.5 km/h; Max. speed: 62.9 km/h; Av. HR: 106 bpm and Max HR: ?

Today was back with Hill Repeats, this time a little different. I still had to do the 4 X 3 min efforts but this time with higher cadence (85-95 rpm), on and off the saddle and a gear that suited the climb. Again, the three of us headed to Clear Mountain road, a choice that proved not to be the best one (I will listen to John next time). It was too steep, only allowing me to turn a 39x25 at 65 rpm for the last two repeats. It was incredibly painful! On the last one, I had John and Stephen waiting near the top to encourage me to finish. It made a big difference as I managed to reach the furthest point of the four repeats. Good news! The bad news, I had forgotten that the road kept going up after that with two equally steep sections, one with a 20% sign posted on the side of the road.

Time: 2:25; Distance: 61.7 kms; Av. speed: 24 km/h; Max. speed: 82.2 km/h; Av. HR: 120 bpm and Max HR: 165 bpm

Coffee and french pastry at a french patisserie was the reward at the end.

Bike Week Criterium - Nundah

HPRW Cycling Club and Bike Queensland have again put a great morning of racing at Nundah. It was all part of Bike Week which started on the 29th March and will end tomorrow with the Mt Coot-tha challenge.


My morning and race were well planned today. With a 9:30 am start, I was able to sleep till 7ish, have a light breakfast, a large latte, organised a "musette", pump the tubulars and leave home around 8:15. It is a 15 min ride to the circuit so I chose a nice stretch of undulating road and spent 30 min going up and down. A few efforts, a little sweat and I was feeling ready for the race.


At Nundah, the Elite guys were going around. There was a break with three riders and a bunch "sitting up" 400 or 500 m back. That's something I think it can make bike racing a little boring sometimes. So, I got my number, spoke to a few people and got out of there, I wanted to stay warm as there was a cool SE wind cutting across the circuit. Bad news!


I raced in B1, a combination of categories forming a 40+ bunch. There was a good number of strong guys and a couple of teams. My club had its team but I wasn't part of it. At the moment, I prefer to race solo as all my main events this year will be contested without a team. Still, I always try to help or get help from a racing friend. Adam is a typical case, everytime he goes I try to go with him, and vice-versa.


The race was pretty interesting, there was a few of us trying to bring the speed up and even try an early break away but the bunch was pretty strong and had no problems bringing us back each time. In one of the atempts, Adam, two other guys and myself even managed to get a considerable gap. The windy condition wasn't helping much.


Half way trough the 45 min + 2 laps race we got the wistle for a prime sprint. I decided to wait for the attack that usually follows it. But nothing... So, up to the front and try to get rid of the sprinters was the next option. That didn't work either as they have team mates doing the work when needed.

2008 Bike Week Criterium, Nundah

My last atempt came in the last lap. I didn't feel particular fast but was hoping that some confusion would be created or the bunch would have a late reaction. Went from the first corner, got a gap, don't ask me by how much, got the speed to 49+ km/h through the Ss and last corner but slowly faded and watched the bunch coming around me with 250 or 300 m to go. The WHOLE bunch.


That is racing!

Time: 47+ min; Dist: 33.5 km; Av. speed: 42.8 Km/h; Max. Speed: 51.4 km/h; Av. HR: 158 and Max. HR:171

Story on Cycle Sport News: http://www.cyclesportnews.com/aus/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=828&Itemid=2

I can't believe it...Friday again!

It was an unusual training week as I had company for most of my training rides. That does help a lot when I am a little tired and lacking a bit of motivation.


I got the new program from my coach, Iain Bowman, who had it ramped up at first. I then, reminded him that my first "A" event for 2008 was coming up quickly so he made a few minor changes... The Tour de Tablelands starts on the 3rd May and I feel that I should be ready by then. In fact, I feel ready now!


On this post, I will mention a few names (some very famous), people who are not just riding partners but also good friends so the rides are always fun as well.


On Monday, the ride started with coffee first (pretty good, hey!). Kris came over and after our home-made Latte, we headed off for an easy ride. We rode along Wynn Road and came back via Bunya Road, perhaps my favourite stretch of road in Brisbane. Kris is a friend from our days in Cairns, we met at the bike shop where he worked and he has now moved to Brisbane with his young family and is working at our local bike shop, Velo Cycles.


We had the usual chat about things in general but the subject always returned to racing, bikes, training. It amazes me that Kris still doesn't mind talking bikes after racing and working in the industry for so many years. Lucky me as I am always learning something from him.

Total: 59 km; Average speed: 25.7 km/h; HR Max: 148 bpm and HR Av: 113 bpm

Next day was back to strength training with some hill repeats. I met John Flynn (yes, the TdF reporter!!!) and Stephen Lowe, a mate from work and "new cycling fanatic" (We also met John in Cairns and he has since moved down here to set up his business). Being originally from the North side of Brisbane, John knows a lot of the good roads in the area and yesterday he took us to the back of Ferny Grove. He introduced us to a new "hairy"climb, Lochivar Road.


The climb is about 800 m long which is a good for the repeats but it does get a little steep at the end. I had to get off the saddle at the end of the last two repeats to get up on the big chainring. And they did hurt!!!

Total: 48 km; Average speed: 24.3 km/h; HR Max: 166 bpm and HR Av: 125 bpm

Rode to work on Wednesday which was great with exception of the mud on Airport Drive created by the trucks coming into and from the new road development site. After work, I met Stephen at Nundah for a ride to Nudge Beach on the bike path and some "spin intervals" with a couple of sprints added to test the legs. All good fun.

Total: 70 km; Average speed: 26.5 km/h; HR Max: 166 bpm and HR Av: 112 bpm

A lot of cleaning up after that!


Thursday, I rode again to work, this time on my old bike, the 370 Trek without minding the mud too much.


Got home around 3:45 pm with the intention of heading out for the last workout of the week. Guess what? I could not get myself motivated to ride. The workout was going to be really hard and I was feeling my legs sore from the previous days. A good excuse, I thought. I bought the Feb issue of ProCycling, got in a warm bath with it and dreamed of riding some of the 50 rides they featured in the special edition of the magazine.

Total: 27 km and Average speed: 26 km/h

Today, it was River Loop & Raisin Toast recovery ride. This time in fantastic weather. Unfortunately I couldn't get Sandra out of bed as I wanted her to enjoy the beautiful morning. I met Adam and Daniel "Whitey" at Velo, around 5:05, and we headed to town straight away. This time a little faster than normal. Fun, apart from my rear derailleur playing up which ended up being a bent drop out. Nothing that I couldn't fix with a little force... (already ordered a Ti one with Kris).


In town, we met Petrina, her friend Sueanne, Shaun and Scott (Sev) for our easy recovery River Loop. Again, the pace was a little higher than normal but without any attacks or sprints up the hill on Fairfew Road. It was a good ride and we ended up at the 19 Juice Bar a little earlier than usual. Good, time for lots of laughs and a couple of coffees (and the raisin toast).


Mark was a late show, coming straight from home. As I didn't have to get to work till late, I decided to join him for a few more kms after the others left for work. A stop at Velo Cycles and I was home at around 9:45, with another few kms in the odometer.

Total: 68 km ; Average speed: 26 km/h; HR Max: 146 bpm and HR Av: 108 bpm

At home, not much time for a rest. I had to prepare the bike for tomorrow's race, the Bike Week Open, which I will race in B1. It will be a criterium event on the Nundah circuit (45 min + 2 laps) and they have combined Elite B and Masters A, with a total of 40 riders. Unfortunately, we will be racing at the same time as B2 (Masters B and Elite C combined) which has around 60 riders, it might be messy!


We will see!

Weekend: Brisbane River and Sunday Zupps rides

Well, there was no Saturday time trial for me. Although I was awake at 6 am, the body was telling me to stay in bed and get more rest. Next time I checked the time, it was after 9 am. When was the last time I slept that much? Can't remember but I really enjoyed my 10 hours in bed...


Still had to do an easy ride so Sandra and I managed to get out of the house by noon. Some might think it is not a good idea, midday sun and Saturday traffic... but it was a really great ride. The weather was a little cool for that time of the day and the traffic was almost non existent... I can't work out why.


As we were really taking easy, we got to town in about 25 min and went straight to the Bicentenial bikeway which runs along the Brisbane River. We rode to St Lucia and the back of the University of Queensland, along the Indooroopilly golf course and back to the city. Back on the bike path along the river, into the Botanical Garden and home on the fast route, which is along Lutwyche Road.

Click here for info on riding in Brisbane.


With the unusual small amount of the cars on the road, we had the easy ride we wanted and got back home at around 2:30 pm after stopping at Velo Cycles to see our friends.

Total: 46 km; Average Speed: 22 km/h; HR Max: 130 bpm and HR av: 89 bpm.


On Sunday, things were a little different. I got up at 5:45 am and got ready for the Zupps Ride. The usual double-shot coffee, a quick wipe of the excess oil on the chain and on the road at 6:17.
Off the driveway and down the hill when I almost froze... I couldn't believe how cold it was. Summer is gone and I wish I had armwarmers on. Later someone told me that it was around 12 degrees.


It was good to see so many familiar faces at the start and have time for a little chat. Adam, Shane, Donna, David, Mark, Suart, Murray (great to see him back doing the bunch rides), Tony, Mick, and a few more from the club were there. Great to see as I was told by Terry Bourne that this ride got started many years ago by HPRW members.


The ride started a little different this time with a group deciding to head out a couple of minutes earlier. The rest of us just watched for a while before working out that the group had a few "big hitters" and that we could have a hard time pulling them back...


It took a while for our group of 25 or 30 to get organised and the initial speed was down a couple of notches. Nevertheless, I took advantage of that to get a good warm up before we had to put the foot down. I was riding next to Adam Harrison for most of the ride which is not just entertaining but, as we often race together, a good way to see how we are in terms of fitness.


As the bunch turned into Narangba road, Adam and I got to the front and instinctively started to bring the speed up. We were doing 40 km/h where the bunch usually travels at 35 km/h. I believe there was some whinging at the back...


We finished our turn after crossing the old railway bridge and taking the bunch into Burpengary Road. Time to sit back and rest before the "race" really started. We caught the front bunch and as soon as we turned into Anzac ave. I attacked and got a gap. It is a fast stretch of road with false flats and slight down hill sessions. Normally, the teams reach speeds up to 65 km/h on that part of the ride. My max was 63.4 km/h this Sunday.


Altough we didn't have the Brisbane Elite riders in the bunch this Sunday, there was a lot of attacks and fast riding all the way along Scarborough, Redcliff and Woody Point. The last couple of kms to the finish (Hornibrook Bridge at Clontarf) is flat, head winded and covered by the front bunch in fast speeds. There is an unofficial sprint before we slow down to get on the bridge. This time I was lucky as I was in a group of four (with a couple of Masters A riders) who got a gap on the bunch and took advantage of a traffic light (yellow as we went past!!!) to stay away and drop the sprinters. I rode the last km in third wheel, watching the guy in front fade and overtaking the other rider with 300 m to the finish.


Unofficial but a great feeling nevertheless!!!

The ride: 65 km; Average speed: 37+ km/h; Max speed: 63.4 km/h and Max HR: 165 bpm.


The bunch slows down to cross the bridge and starts to split at the waterfront in Sandgate. I met up with the club bunch for a coffee and a chat at a beach front cafe, then an easy and pleasant ride home through the Bondall wetlands. Best way to finish a hard ride, I reckon!

Total: 104 km; Average Speed: 31 km/h; HR Max: 165 bpm and HR av: 124 bpm.


The rest of the day was filled with eating, resting and time with Sandra. We finally went to see Andy Warhol's exhibition and managed to have dinner in one of our favourite restaurants - Taj Mahal at the Valley.


Great weekend, will post some photos another time as I am having a few issues with my PC.

Strenght training, spin intervals, hills and riding in the rain

I am one of those lucky people, in a way. Usually, my colds/flu hit me really hard when they come but they also go away very quickly. So, back in training on Tuesday afternoon with some strength work (Stomps) along the flats at Samford Valley with one new climb added to list of "done that". It wasn't in the program but my riding partner spoke about his earlier attempt and kind of "challenged" me to have a go at it...


Ok then! He was talking about Mt O'Reilly's climb which I have heard of but have never seen. I was aware that one of the local cycling clubs promotes the ”Mt O'Reilly's Challenge" once a year. Apparently, not many people make it up the hill.


The sign at the bottom showed a 20% gradient and looking up I guessed it was about 250 m long with a right bend at the top. I hoped that one could find the end of it just pass the bend... Wrong!!


I started by dropping one of my drink bottles on the side of the road (=750g) and shifted to 39x19 which rapidly turned onto 39x25. At about a quarter of the way, I could not spin anymore and it was out of the saddle and grinding... I was waiting for my cleats to snap off the soles of my shoes or perhaps the tendons on my knees to give in... A slight move forward on the bike and the rear wheel started to slip, moving back a little too far and the front wheel started to lift off the ground.


Half way up and I was wishing for flat MTB handlebars and a 27t. My friend made it to the 100 or 150 m mark, I couldn't look back (or down), I just kept grinding and made it to the bend. It was difficult to stop and unclip even. Looking up I learned that there was no end in sight... Where does the challenge end? It ended for me, at the 360 m mark and 164 bpm.


Not part of the training but it was good to experience it. I will do it again, next time a little fitter and with the 303s to help me up the "beast".


Samford Valley is a beautiful training area in the North side of Brisbane, worth a ride there.


Up at 4:30 next morning to meet a couple of friends for an easy ride and a couple of "spin intervals". Now, those are funny ones, you have to pedal as fast as you can (min 130 rpm) for a certain distance without falling off your bike... I managed 173 rpm this time and have done 183 in the past but I just keep thinking how silly it must look for someone watching from behind.


Nevertheless, it was another good ride. We went over the Samford Range, Eaton's Crossing, Albany Creek, Cashmere and back... around 60 km when I got home.


A bit of rain Thursday morning and a late start. I was meant to do some hill repeats again and chose to go somewhere different than Mt Coot-tha. At 8:45, I headed north hoping to get to Clear Mountain via Winn Road. I have done the front of this climb many, many times and really like it. Now I wanted to try the back as I was told it was a longer/tougher climb. Ideal to do my 5 min big chainring hill repeats.


The ride there was excellent but the fact that I was running out of time and wasn't going to do the hill repeats was putting me in a funny mood. So, I rode fast to the bottom and decided to hit it hard from the start and go all the way to the top (no timing), descend on the other side and head home as quick as possible, all on the big chainring.

Total: 52.8 km; Average speed: 29.5 km/h; HR Max: 159 bpm and HR av: 127 bpm.

Good ride home, fast and in very heavy rain which for some reason brought my good mood back.


Another early start this morning and a recovery ride and breakfast in Southbank. I love this ride. A few of us met at 5:00 and rode to town to meet a few more HPRW club riders for an easy River Loop and coffee at a juice bar in town. We made a deal with the owner and every Friday we finish the ride there, we buy the coffees and he feed us with Raisin Toast and jam. What else do you need? Especially after this morning’s ride, when it rained for the whole time.


This is a real recovery ride and the main point is to get to the juice bar for coffees and a good long chat...

Total: 55.4 km; Average speed: 25 km/h; HR Max: 135 bpm and HR av: 104 bpm.

Tomorrow, the club is running the first ITT for the season at Closeburn. A good chance to see where we all are with our forms and to give the handicapper some extra work with the grading for the 2008 road and handicap races. I will call Iain (coach) and ask if I should race as I am not 100% flu-free yet.

That was my week in training.

Safe Riding!

Fausto Coppi: Il Campionissimo, by Dave Moulton

This is a MUST read :

http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/fausto-coppi-il-campionissimo.html

Also, Dave's blog is full of good information, check it out!

http://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/

Immunosuppression & Training

Yesterday, the signs and symptoms of URTI (upper respiratory tract infection) started to present themselves in the afternoon and in such a manner that in less than an hour I found myself submerged in a state of sickness. I had a sore throat, I was sneezing, had a running nose, I had a feeling of fullness in my head, my body ached and I went quiet. That’s what happens to me when I get a flu-like infection.

I feel sorry for Sandra, my partner, because when that happens I go really quiet. It hits me so hard that all I want to do is to stick my head under a blanket and sleep for 24 hours. In fact, that is how I usually get better. My old recipe is: eat, sleep, eat and sleep.

There was a chance that I wouldn’t be able to deal with it this way as I was rostered to be at work this morning… but after a sleepless night there was no way I could go to work so I called them before 5 am saying: - Sorry…

With a very sore body, I went back to bed for a couple of hours. Next to me, I had a book by A. Jeukendrupe, High-Performance Cycling where he, and friends, devotes an entire chapter on the immune system.

After breakfast, I got into reading that chapter to try to have a better understanding of what I did wrong with my training, my diet and/or my rest in the last few days, causing the failure of my immune system and consequently my infection.

Here are the causes:

I did a long and strenuous ride on Friday (110 km) after a week of intense workouts.
Insufficient rest and another ride on Saturday morning (60 km)
Possible protein deficiency – common on vegetarians
I didn’t drink enough on the last two rides – dehydration
Small amount of alcohol intake in the evenings
Vitamin A, C and Zinc deficiency
Exposure to airborne viruses and bacteria in public places

Now, how to minimise the risk of Immunosuppression:

Allow sufficient time between training sessions for recovery
Avoid extremely long training sessions, restrict to 2 h max.
Periodise your training and ensure variation in the day-to-day training load
Ensure hard training days are followed by recovery days
When increasing training load, do it on hard days. Do not eliminate rest days
Keep life/social/psychological stresses to a minimum
Get adequate and regular sleep
Drink carbohydrate sports drinks before, during and after prolonged workouts

The book has some complex and interesting facts on all the above, it might be a good read for those that are training hard and are preparing for the long road season ahead.

Rest HR this morning: 53 bpm – 5 to 8 beats higher
Weight this morning: 65.7 kg – 2 kg less

No riding today, possible easy (E1) 20 km ride tomorrow.

Easy rides, Mt Mee, Easter and Friends...

I am going to make this one a short pictorial with just a few words for a change.

The plan for the Easter weekend was to do a couple of easy rides and spend time with Sandra and friends and avoid eating chocolates. That's what I did:

Friday

Bunch ride to Dayboro and Mt Mee (110 km) and brunch at David and Donna's place... Real treat!!! Then, a sleep in the afternoon and dinner at Oyama Japanese restaurant - presently, our favourite!

Always time for a chat

The Bunch

Mt Mee road

Saturday

As the rest of the group chose to hurt themselves going up another mountain (see Sandra's blog), David and I decided on an easy and flat ride to Sandgate, a stride along the beach and riding back on the Boondall Wetland bike path (62.8 km).

David Fyfe loving the morning ride

Sandgate Esplanade

The peaceful Boondall bike path

HAPPY EASTER

Someone's front lawn in Shorncliffe