Number 5 is Alive :-)
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 2:45 pm
Sometimes you need to remember all that good advice you gave others and practice what you preach...The move to Alice has been fantasitic but with it has come a whole lot of changes to my riding, some not so good yet others very good.
A few weeks ago while cycling home, the headwind managed to pick up to 40km/hr, while thats not too bad, the heat was almost unbearable. It would have been around 50c, like a blow torch to the legs, something I've never experienced. I started to feel sick, dehydrated even though I was constantly on the bottle, it really messed with my will to ride, it was super tough. The next day I hopped onto the bus instead and then the next day and the next, no riding. The wind generally picked up in the afternoon with an increase in temp and for once I had really lost the desire to ride. The Saturday rides were good but to stick with the fast guys I needed to get that mid week ride in to stay in touch. So Saturdays I started to sleep in and the story just goes on......pfft
Anyway one of the work guys had a good dig at me last week and referred to the new Alice term of HTFU... remember that folks, I introduced HTFU to Alice so we started to ride again. The wind has died down a little in the afternoons and the heat has backed off a touch. Last week we rode in 3 days, 1st day was getting my butt used to the saddle and by Friday I'd managed to average 35km/hr to work, not bad for now.
This morning a few of us got onto our MTBs for a "fang" through the Alice countryside. We checked out some really famous landmarks like "the Dunny, the Sink and the Washingmachine" How some people dragged them out there I have no idea. Anyway, the riding was simply stunning, some quite technical bits where Chris managed to get a lead on me but when we hit the climbs, I introduced him to the Hurtbox He's got this awesome Orbea with 29" wheels, on the fast runs the thing just flys.... a few hours in the bush this morning was just what we both needed, no snakes but we did manage to get cut off by one rather large roo that tried to get on the front of our paceline Back into Alice we went and sat in the Todd Mall with a large coffee, lots of tourists and good to see those Sweedish Backpackers again
Add to that a few calls to BMXBandito this week telling me to stop being a darn girl and life is looking a lot better again. I'm still missing the Thursday HTFU rides with him, getting my arse smacked in A Grade at the Regatta, Footpath racing and the ever growing Lifecycles Sat ride...
Life does look better when your riding a bike
Ciao for now....Sandman on Todd
A few weeks ago while cycling home, the headwind managed to pick up to 40km/hr, while thats not too bad, the heat was almost unbearable. It would have been around 50c, like a blow torch to the legs, something I've never experienced. I started to feel sick, dehydrated even though I was constantly on the bottle, it really messed with my will to ride, it was super tough. The next day I hopped onto the bus instead and then the next day and the next, no riding. The wind generally picked up in the afternoon with an increase in temp and for once I had really lost the desire to ride. The Saturday rides were good but to stick with the fast guys I needed to get that mid week ride in to stay in touch. So Saturdays I started to sleep in and the story just goes on......pfft
Anyway one of the work guys had a good dig at me last week and referred to the new Alice term of HTFU... remember that folks, I introduced HTFU to Alice so we started to ride again. The wind has died down a little in the afternoons and the heat has backed off a touch. Last week we rode in 3 days, 1st day was getting my butt used to the saddle and by Friday I'd managed to average 35km/hr to work, not bad for now.
This morning a few of us got onto our MTBs for a "fang" through the Alice countryside. We checked out some really famous landmarks like "the Dunny, the Sink and the Washingmachine" How some people dragged them out there I have no idea. Anyway, the riding was simply stunning, some quite technical bits where Chris managed to get a lead on me but when we hit the climbs, I introduced him to the Hurtbox He's got this awesome Orbea with 29" wheels, on the fast runs the thing just flys.... a few hours in the bush this morning was just what we both needed, no snakes but we did manage to get cut off by one rather large roo that tried to get on the front of our paceline Back into Alice we went and sat in the Todd Mall with a large coffee, lots of tourists and good to see those Sweedish Backpackers again
Add to that a few calls to BMXBandito this week telling me to stop being a darn girl and life is looking a lot better again. I'm still missing the Thursday HTFU rides with him, getting my arse smacked in A Grade at the Regatta, Footpath racing and the ever growing Lifecycles Sat ride...
Life does look better when your riding a bike
Ciao for now....Sandman on Todd