The training thread: How was yours? (today/yesterday/etc)

[winstonw]

Milestone for moi this morning. 114km, 2550metres. front and back side of Mt Glorious. took the thongs in case I had to walk, but due to virtually no traffic, was able to zig zag on the gnarly bits, and get up both sides without stopping/walking. am now lying in a cesspit of endorphins and fatigue. you never know what you can achieve until you take a dose, and have a go.

[dalai47]

Nice winstonw.

Rode my last threepeat of Mt Donna Buang - 50.4km (3*16.8km (AT) 6.4%) climbing 110km total in preparation for my coming USA trip.

No snow this week, but bike computer registered 3 degrees celcius which wasn't accounting for the wind chill due to the strong northerly. Took alot of will power to turn around at the base in the relative warmth of the valley for the final lap...

[toolonglegs]

Weekend didn't go to plan... had Friday off after a good race Thursday. Was just about to ride off on Saturday to another race when got a phone call that my daughter had cracked her eyebrow open so had to go get that stitched up... after that all motivation went out the window.
So have now decided to dump all plans of doing the various championship TT rounds in the coming weeks... due to the fact that my form is no where the same as last year so I am unlikely to qualify this time around.
So I headed out for my first mtb ride in 10 months or so ... time to start getting ready for CX, lots of super steep technical climbs today trying to get hips ready for the suffering to come .

[foo on patrol]

^^Bugger^^

Foo

[jules21]

good luck TLL, hope your daughter is OK.

is it wrong to start worrying that taking an upcoming o/seas 4 week holiday will spoil my form?

[dalai47]

Guess it depends on the intensity and frequency of your riding whilst OS?

[toolonglegs]

Yeah she's ok, doctor did a good job on the stitches.
One month off... Forget form, you will be starting from basically zero when you get back lol... I had 12-13 days off in April when I was playing soigneur, I feel like I having been playing catch up ever since!. Racing TT's seemed a bit pointless... Glad I didn't get that frame and disc this year!.

[filip]

Have started training again after a couple of weeks off. Motivation for me in winter drops with the temperature. Did 60km on fri, sat and Sunday. Got attacked twice by idiot magpies on Sunday. Funny, as i did the same ride on fri, but they didn’t attack then. September, i’ll start my intervals sessions -try and catch me then you magpies ! First race end of September.

[boss]

I've had a solid two weeks off and prior to that I was only riding bits and pieces for a few weeks due to a knee/leg injury (torn quad).

Obviously not on peak form but doesn't feel like I've lost it. I have put a few kilos on though...

[jack11]

Went for a big ride (well by my standards) today to celebrate finishing exams 104km with just over 1400m elevation gain. Ended up some of the worst cramp in my life despite drinking lots and taking magnesium tablets. Made it about 2/3rds of the way up Mt Mee which for a big guy i was pretty happy with. As someone said above "I'm lying in a pool of lactic acid and endorphins!"

http://www.strava.com/activities/75789158" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Duck!]

Didn't fancy fishing the trike out of the pond alongside the track at Casey Fields yesterday, so didn't train.

"Tristan's Pond", named after a rider who did end up getting blown into it in similar conditions a couple of years ago is just off the exit of a fast 90-degree corner. In a stonking northerly or north-westerly such as we had in Melbourne on the weekend, you get hit by a ferocious crosswind as you exit said corner, which sends you straight towards the pond. Quite scary when you're strapped into a fully enclosed HPV!

[warthog1]

Nice winstonw.

Rode my last threepeat of Mt Donna Buang - 50.4km (3*16.8km (AT) 6.4%) climbing 110km total in preparation for my coming USA trip.

No snow this week, but bike computer registered 3 degrees celcius which wasn't accounting for the wind chill due to the strong northerly. Took alot of will power to turn around at the base in the relative warmth of the valley for the final lap...

What were you wearing for those temps?

Are they Zondas on your bike? If so how do you rate them?

[dalai47]

What were you wearing for those temps?

Are they Zondas on your bike? If so how do you rate them?

Going up

Long sleeve Merino undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, cycling cap under the helmet, full finger gloves, bib tights, merino cycling socks, neoprene overshoes.

Descending

Add Gillet plus waterproof jacket. I also wear a pair of plastic overpants carried up via the second cage in an old bidon with the top cut off. I find this minimizes windchill on the legs so they handle the next repeat better. Only need the one bidon of water on Mt Donna Buang as I just refill at the spring at the Ten Mile Turntable carpark each descent...

Wheels are actually an ancient set of Sciroccos. Weigh a ton but have been absolutely bombproof!

[warthog1]

Thanks Dalai. I hadn't considered Donna til later in the year. Looks like I need to harden up next time we go to Melb.

[dalai47]

I must say although it is rideable throughout the year including most of winter, if I wasn't needing the climbs length to train for my trips I would be less motivated to ride Mt Donna in the middle of winter...

[warthog1]

Next time we visit the inlaws in Melb I'll drop the family off and motor out to warburton for Donna repeats.
I'll just tell my wife the blokes on the forum do it all the time.

[warthog1]

I think it'll be a while til I get a chance Dalai, so I'm still wussing it for the foreseeable future

[vander]

Did a MAP test yesterday, hit 478W for the last minute (was meant to be a 460w step but hard to control the watts when your close to max). Hit 415W for 5min (PB) and 350W for 10min (close to PB) to get there. Improved by 72W (on last min) from last time I did it. Also down 5kg from last time, sitting <77kg last couple of days. Happy days.

[toolonglegs]

That's pretty good Vander!.
Never had much luck with map tests... my 5 minute best on the road was nearly equal to my last minute in the tests, would have thought my last minute would have been a fair bit higher.

[vander]

That's pretty good Vander!.
Never had much luck with map tests... my 5 minute best on the road was nearly equal to my last minute in the tests, would have thought my last minute would have been a fair bit higher.

Yea I always think I am going to get higher then I usually get based on 5min efforts, yesterday was one of the few times that was not the case (though I do think I could hit around 420-430ish for 5min on the road). Pretty happy with it, massive improvement, apart from racing raw havent done many efforts of that length, cant wait till I add in the intensity.

[winstonw]

530am tomorrow, I'm doing this ride with 2 mates.
http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course. ... rse=590908" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
219km Bris to Kin Kin near Gympie. Stay the night.

Then ride back to Bris via Noosa. 413km round trip. 2700m.
my biggest 2 day ride. will be a journey into the unknown.

[foo on patrol]

Wanna hope the wind disappears Winstonw.

Foo

[winstonw]

haha Foo. yeah it wasn't an issue....compared to the climbs!
ended up 404 km and 5100metres for the return trip. I started a bit up the road from my mate who mapped it.
16 hours in the saddle over 2 days. am suitably flat tonight...but have a sense of contentment, where I couldn't give a stuff what others think about my riding. I know what I did on the weekend pushed me to a place most dare not venture so, screw all the knockers!

the most gnarly bits - climbs up Maleny Stanley River Rd, Kiel Mtn Rd, Tunnel Ridge Rd. all not such a big deal in their own right, but throw them into 2x8 hour back to backs and its a different beast.

ok, time for shut eye

[singlespeedscott]

Nice work Winston.

[foo on patrol]

Yeah over in there there are some good narly climbs Winstonw. Have not ridden them myself but know of them. You should've hooked up with Idry for some hurt extra hurt.

Foo