Sandmans Cycling Blog

[ruscook]

Good ride this morning, out at 7:00am, temp already at 29c...went out with my sons girlfriends dad.... you know the things blokes do to bond Very social, nice ride, a little headwind for part of the ride but any breeze was welcome.

29 (AT) 7am , I thought it was bad enough today. I got 31c out here on the way home from work (and had to fix a puncture in the sun and on a new tyre grrrr)....

Are bonding with future family what fun .. Actually I'm lucky I get on with my inlaws and so do my parents. Makes it very easy.

Dropped into town for a coffee, heard the local club were meeting at Flynns grave out on Larapinta for brekkie, went out and no one to be found so back to the hospital to meet Carol and have a coffee and pickup the car.
Its a BLOODY hot day out here, we're going to go back to the Hospital pool later for a dip, one of the benefits of Carol working there....

Nice, what is it about a decent hot coffee 1/2way through or at the end of a ride. Really goes down well. The pool sounds good.

Another scorching day in the Alice

Hell I'm glad I was there in April (08).. not this time of year going into summer would be no fun. You'd have to become nocturnal to survive

Did you hear the FPRs are still racking up podiums (even the newbies - good on ya Mark). You might have more competition when you're back in Sydney

[sandman]

Did you hear the FPRs are still racking up podiums (even the newbies - good on ya Mark). You might have more competition when you're back in Sydney

Russ

That would be awesome. I've been doing some secret squirrel training myself, I'm not sleeping on the job 6 of us rode in today, man there was some serious carbon bling. One guy had a set of awesome $2.5K carbon 65mm rims, another running a pair of SRAM 60s, ooooohh, ahhhhhhh. bike pr0n.

I led us out to the airport turnoff, got the Specialized into the 53/13 and got some good rpm going, I don't use a speedo anymore but I suspected we were going quick as the bunch soon got into single file and the talking stopped. They told me afterwards I had them sitting on 47km/hr, well I didn't hear any whining just lots of grunting and breathing, all good for experience The run out was 32 mins today, we split into 2 bunches, really really good ride. Keiran yelled at me afterwards "maybe the OX shouldn't have had a holiday

Heading home today only 3 of us, Hatt road was over 40c so we settled into a good rhythm. Led the guys for about 16km into the head and hot wind and I almost went through a litre of water in that 16km, it was stinking hot. Run down to the airport turnoff was nice, from there to the city we sped up a little and Mike had problems hanging on so Herb and I slowed and just chatted. Really good ride today, the group is getting nice and fast. We've got some new group riders coming this Wednesday so we'll be on our best behavior Need to encourage more to come riding with us

Sandman

[sogood]

You are real MAN there in Alice! I did a ride in Sydney at 1pm and I nearly died from the heat and humidity. Don't know how you managed to ride there.

[sandman]

Sogood, you have the added pleasure of humidity, we dont. It was a stinker today and its only going to get hotter. I sucked last Friday, straight onto the bike after a month thinking I can tackle the heat, oh dear, silly me I felt sick for hours and my heart rate was elevated until the following morning.....

No ride tomorrow as day off but Wed should be another nice ride...Hope you had a good ride to the Gong I heard it was pretty warm !

Sandman

[sogood]

Sogood, you have the added pleasure of humidity, we dont. It was a stinker today and its only going to get hotter. I sucked last Friday, straight onto the bike after a month thinking I can tackle the heat, oh dear, silly me I felt sick for hours and my heart rate was elevated until the following morning.....

No ride tomorrow as day off but Wed should be another nice ride...Hope you had a good ride to the Gong I heard it was pretty warm !

The humidity killed my cardio I guess.

I didn't manage to do the Gong (yesterday) due to the social calendar but did ride to Sutherland and return. Saw the Gong riders and it's better managed this year.

[ruscook]

Did you hear the FPRs are still racking up podiums (even the newbies - good on ya Mark). You might have more competition when you're back in Sydney

Russ

That would be awesome. I've been doing some secret squirrel training myself, I'm not sleeping on the job 6 of us rode in today, man there was some serious carbon bling. One guy had a set of awesome $2.5K carbon 65mm rims, another running a pair of SRAM 60s, ooooohh, ahhhhhhh. bike pr0n.

I led us out to the airport turnoff, got the Specialized into the 53/13 and got some good rpm going, I don't use a speedo anymore but I suspected we were going quick as the bunch soon got into single file and the talking stopped. They told me afterwards I had them sitting on 47km/hr, well I didn't hear any whining just lots of grunting and breathing, all good for experience The run out was 32 mins today, we split into 2 bunches, really really good ride. Keiran yelled at me afterwards "maybe the OX shouldn't have had a holiday

Heading home today only 3 of us, Hatt road was over 40c so we settled into a good rhythm. Led the guys for about 16km into the head and hot wind and I almost went through a litre of water in that 16km, it was stinking hot. Run down to the airport turnoff was nice, from there to the city we sped up a little and Mike had problems hanging on so Herb and I slowed and just chatted. Really good ride today, the group is getting nice and fast. We've got some new group riders coming this Wednesday so we'll be on our best behavior Need to encourage more to come riding with us

Sandman

Holy crap, maybe we don't want you back if you're doing runs with 47km/h averages ... I'm struggling to do 29-30km/h average and definitely not at 40c (humidity or no).... That's some huge HTFU and a great description of the ride, thanks Pete - but you are mad

Well looks like the storm won't hit here tomorrow so the FPR ride should be fun.

[sandman]

Sogood, you have the added pleasure of humidity, we dont. It was a stinker today and its only going to get hotter. I sucked last Friday, straight onto the bike after a month thinking I can tackle the heat, oh dear, silly me I felt sick for hours and my heart rate was elevated until the following morning.....

No ride tomorrow as day off but Wed should be another nice ride...Hope you had a good ride to the Gong I heard it was pretty warm !

The humidity killed my cardio I guess.

I didn't manage to do the Gong (yesterday) due to the social calendar but did ride to Sutherland and return. Saw the Gong riders and it's better managed this year.

Pity you didn't get to ride Sogood but in the big smoke you guys have lots of different rides you can do....We've got 4 rides or less out here and after a while they all look the same That's why the work rides are so good as at least its a little variety with the different riders and it is spectacular watching the sun rise every day....then again if you are a MTB guy, there are literally 100's of tracks out here, it is the MTB MECCA of OZ

Sandman

[sandman]

Holy crap, maybe we don't want you back if you're doing runs with 47km/h averages ... I'm struggling to do 29-30km/h average and definitely not at 40c (humidity or no).... That's some huge HTFU and a great description of the ride, thanks Pete - but you are mad

Well looks like the storm won't hit here tomorrow so the FPR ride should be fun.

Russ, keep it in perspective. I rode them for a few kms at 47km/hr to see how they could ride. All good guys, we average 35-37 most days and try to keep it civil though every now and then it goes a little feral Yeah at 40c it gets real hard to keep the pace up, yesterday wasn't too bad but I've worked out you need to be real careful. Not sure if 1 liter of water is going to cut it riding home, might take the 2nd bottle.

Was looking at the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge, MTB across the desert affectionately known as the "Devil's Velodrome. Those guys drink 22 liters per day !!! 22 bloody liters, you have to carry all that water in your support vehicle and thats only for one person !

Living in lice gives you a different perspective of life I can assure you

Pete

[sandman]

Waiting at Tom Brown at 5:45am, no one shows except for Mr Specialized....had to ride in on my own and back home though I did manage to catch one guy riding home and NO flats this time

Supposedly all the boys are coming tomorrow, should be a Feral Fest, might just sit in and see what happens......

[Chuck]

might just sit in and see what happens......

That'll be the day

You don't know how to sit in Pete, all you know is ATTACK

[sandman]

might just sit in and see what happens......

That'll be the day

You don't know how to sit in Pete, all you know is ATTACK

Starting to get some form in Chucky The attack the other morning, a few solid pulls into stiff headwind, getting used to the leg burn again, is good My riding buddy (to and from work) is starting to feel it, he used to push me hard when on his TT, now I'm pushing him into headwind and I see a few cracks appear We all go through it, he said the other day he wanted to give up riding for a while, told him to HTFU, get over it and shut the EFF up and ride....

Awesome day out in the Alice today, 4 of us did a 40km loop just to get to the coffee shop, my first 300km in one week for ages. To top it all off I took the Tarmac Pro for a spin today, my god that is a weapon...

Missing the FPRs on Tuesday nights thats for sure however looks like a band of brothers want to ride out to Simpsons Gap at night one evening per week, most certainly will turn into a Central Australian Chapter of FPR'ing....

So what shall I do today, missus is at work, kids doing their own thing... play music **REAL LOUD* and clean the bikes !

Sandman

[mikesbytes]

They say that Racing is Training, but for you Commuting is Racing

[sandman]

Mike

ha, you are so right Well the last few weeks have been pretty darn busy and hot. Riding has been good but the +40c temps have taken their toll. The afternoon group has been thinning out, a few times I've been the only rider but generally there is me and another guy. I've found you can exist and still ride in high temps, simply drink more water and ride at a more moderate pace. If you tried to sit on race pace on your own into a hot headwind, you'll end up destroying yourself !

This last week has had both good and tough days, sometimes I've had 50km/hr headwind gusts though I don't find the headwind that hard to ride into, its probably more the radiated heat from the road that gets you. We're only just coming into the warmer part of the year in Alice and we've had over 45c off the road, suspect it will soon be into the 50s and above out on Hatt road. Guys at work do shake their heads and then hop on the bus and ride home, if you're going to ride then you have to do it both ways IMHO. On a road bike, there is no "just riding down the hill", you ride down then you ride back up, thats how it works...Out here you ride in the morning, well stuff it you have to ride home.

So besides that, most committed to riding, chainreaction have another 10% discount this weekend so I've bought a whole bunch of bits ranging from a bike workstand, Ultegra Crankset, tyres, cassettes and tools. The prices are bloody good and free shipping, how could you do any better in Alice Springs $650AUS on the mastercard later, I cant wait for my delivery

Pete

[mikesbytes]

Mate you make me look soft

[ruscook]

Mate you make me look soft

hehe, if you guys are soft, I'm melted!

I do agree if you ride in, ride home. That's why I don't ride in on 40deg+ days I have ridden in western Sydney's humidity at 35-37deg but that is hard work and the pace drops off considerably to conserve energy.

Today Spizza and I did 88km, supposedly before the heat, but it was about 25C at 7am and just got progressively hotter even with some cloud cover. I drank 2 water bottles, 1 coffee, ate 2 muesli bars, an apple and banana and still lost 2kg of fluids over the one ride.. A big lunch and LOTs of other drinks has fixed that... The point is, I don't know how you can survive riding in over 40! (look at temp outside it's 42 here now)

[Spiza]

Russ, Pete is part man part machine. It's the technology they are developing where he works. I think I have said too much. Must hide from the men in black suits now.

[sandman]

HA ! You boys....I miss you all you B@stards

I went soft this weekend, I couldn't get out of bed. Think the locals are out at 5:30am on the weekends to get back before it heats up but since i do that on weekdays, I have no inclination to do that on the weekends Yeah the place with the Golf Balls is actually a BORG factory, I'm getting fitted out with some really cool stuff Nah seriously its a cool place and the cycling is fun but the climate out here is a challenge. I had no idea it was always furging windy !

Anyway up at a sparrows fart tomorrow and see who turns up. We're supposed to have some rain out here tomorrow, its going to be 14 overnight supposedly, I will DEFINITELY be riding in a long sleeve jersey in the morning ! Tuesday will be motorbike and the rest of the week should be riding.

I keep reading the FPR bits, sounds darn awesome, some guys are really smashing up that track and putting the hurt on people.....how awesome is that, all you buggers are getting stronger !

Ciao from the Sandman in Alice

[KillerHeadWind]

It's so good reading all these descriptive rides, and you putting the Hurtbox on everyone in mild conditions.
Come back to the real rides where the mountains call. (or for you they move out of the way because they are
embarrassed to be called "hills" )
Can you hear Mt Vic?

[sandman]

It's so good reading all these descriptive rides, and you putting the Hurtbox on everyone in mild conditions.
Come back to the real rides where the mountains call. (or for you they move out of the way because they are
embarrassed to be called "hills" )
Can you hear Mt Vic?

Killer, I have dreams about that ride, its just the bestestestest, mate I so wish I was riding up there with you

Man didn't conditions turn today, blowing like a bastard this morning, I put the speedo on the bike and I was struggling to do 31 into this bloody wind. It eased for part of the trip but it blew like an absolute bastard all day. I had the skin vest on today as it was cold and as usual had all my buddies with me, on my friggin own. Latre found out that TT boy sprained his ankle at a Karate meet, think a 12 year old gave him a hiding

Ride home was totally wicked, the wind was right up from just everywhere, so hard to work out its exact direction. It didn't matter, hurting all the way though I did managed to get a bit of a tailwind from the airport turnoff into town. Legs burning after hitting the headwind, managed to sit between 45-48 with a breeze from behind.....awesome way to finish the ride.

So much as I hate riding on my own it was pretty good today, got into the right headspace and rode with the speedo trying to maintain some minimum speeds, was fun ! No ride tomorrow as its motorbike day but riding for the rest of the week.

I do dream about the Blue Mountains and all the racing that goes on in Sydney, its the price I have to pay for being in Alice but its just something I need to do for a while.

The Red Sandman

[Spiza]

Man didn't conditions turn today, blowing like a bastard this morning, I put the speedo on the bike and I was struggling to do 31 into this bloody wind

Told you he's not human

[sandman]

My new Facebook profile picture

[mikesbytes]

Dune, how fitting

I remember Sandman (and Stretch) putting me in the hurt box on General Homes Drive and that's before Sandman toughened up

[sandman]

Dune, how fitting

I remember Sandman (and Stretch) putting me in the hurt box on General Homes Drive and that's before Sandman toughened up

You inspired me Mike...was a tough day all round yesterday, not in the mood for much when I woke up today. Alarm at 5:15am and at the "Roundy" by 5:45am. To my surprise 3 guys showed up, as usual "Billy's Mouth" wouldnt shut the hell up...blah blah blah, him baging everyone there, does it for the fun I gather We just ignore him..

Anyway thought I should lead out this morning down through the gap and noticed I was sitting in 53-13..kinda felt good so upped the speed a little, well I wouldnt call it the "Pain Train but for 16km pulled them along between 38-41km/hr. It must have been a little quick for them as they went single file and stopped talking We turned off into Hatt Rd and Billy does his soft turn up the front for 2-3km so I took the front again and kept them all honest

Weather out here was a little cool but absolutely gorgeous, no clouds in the sky, absolutely pristine. I felt today I put in an "honest effort", great way to start the day !

Sandman

[zozza]

Welcome aboard Sandman's Pain Train



One ticket please

[sandman]

There was some good "Paining" yesterday on the way home The 53-13 caused some hurt all round... I heard Billy say "you made your point"....

Sandman