6K Club. 2012 Edition. Cleaner and Greener.

[whitey]

Yesterdays ride got me through 6000 a couple of months early. Pretty happy with that

Good work whitey, you can hang the bike up now till Jan

Well I did sleep in today instead of riding. Although that may have been the beer I drank while watching the swans belt the pies last night

[coffeeandwine]

What a glorious day for a ride! Was meant to be showers early but didn't see them which is nice. Not much wind and it has finished up bright sunshine.

Managed 106km (in 2x 50km loops) with coffee in the middle. Not sure if berry danishes are on the prescribed training menu but it tasted pretty good Rationalized it as extra energy for the back end of the ride. Had a small part of the team for Around The Bay, so it was good getting used to riding together, managing speed, energy levels etc. Had the new Team Kit on which i think made us go faster

Some nice totals being accumulated, congrats to those reaching 5k, 6k and 7k milestones!

[norbs]

I am just about to roll over 7000 for the year. I did Norton Summit today. The Garmin crapped itself so I need to find a way to get good data off it.

Oh the questions!! Old road or New road? What did you think? Which way did you come back down?
I liked the old road the best, with the kick up at the end past the pub a great heart test.

It is up on strava. I don't know where we went.

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[marinmomma]

Yesterdays ride got me through 6000 a couple of months early. Pretty happy with that

Ooh, I like what happens to the bar once you achieve your goal....I'm so not changing my goal until after it has gone yellow!
Then I will up it to 8k to match the bike journal one

[oldnewby]

I've been managing a few 20-30km rides during the week lately, which has been great, as well as 70-80km most weekends. But today, I managed to organise a few mates, and one of them did 163km with me! My longest ride ever, and what a day for it. Struggled a bit after about 105km, but learnt a few good lessons for 210km ATB in 4 weeks (long food stops aren't good, maccas as a food stop isn't good, and pushing too hard too early in a long ride isn't good!) Very happy, and a bit sore. http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/test-1025

[sblack]

But can you guess where this is? Shane won't know because it is completely flat. All the Felts were on the road whizzing by but the bike tracks and beach were good enough for this Giant.

Looks like there's some hills in the background there Graham. Be something different for you riding on the flats though, don't have any of that at home.

Well done on the imperial century oldnewby. Pacing yourself on longer rides is certainly a difficult challenge. It's all too easy to go out too hard and really suffer later on and I think the restraint to not do that is a major part of the challenge of longer rides.

whitey, well done on the 6k.

I was fortunate enough to have an RDO with some sensational weather on Friday. Started the day off with a breakfast date with my wife after her night shift then when she went home to sleep I headed off for a ride. Decided it was time to get the climbing legs back into gear and to cross another climb of my list. While I'd climbed Saddleback before my list has 6 possible routes to do it and before this ride I'd only done two of them. For this attempt I'd decided to go from Kiama High School and follow the route of the Saddleback Smash, an event that bills itself as Australia's Toughest Fun Run and this year has opened it up for bikes as well.

Heading down the freeway towards Kiama I'm wondering if I'd made the right choice in attempting it when I've been taking it fairly easy this month and haven't been doing a lot of serious climbing for a while. Saddleback is a testing climb when in good form as I'm hitting the undulations on the way to the start I'm wondering if my legs have it in them today. Still, I ride on and after a bit under 20km I find myself at the high school and starting the climb. It's a different feeling starting at the school and climbing past some houses and at 10% it's a reasonable start although not like initial punch in the face of the start on the Jamberoo side I usually took. Still, the heart rate is climbing a lot quicker than the bike is until as I climb up past the houses and the gradient drops a little before kicking back up a bit steeper as the gradient steps up to the mid to high teens for the first time. A glance over the left shoulder and I'm already high enough to have some fantastic views down the coast as having done just over a kilometre the road flattens out again and is mostly gentle undulations, including some slight downhills for the second kilometre. This takes me to the intersection with Old Saddleback Rd and it's around this point I notice that this side of Saddleback is a lot more open than the Jamberoo side. Occasionally it provides some motivation by allowing you to see an easing of the gradient or at this point a section of downhill up ahead but mostly it shows the challenge ahead with the view of the climb kicking back up after that descent or views of other steeper sections ahead. Looking up towards the top the final section of climb is hidden in tree cover and looks like God decided to plonk a hill on top of another hill. There's no obvious way up there but it makes the rest of the climb look relatively flat with it's slopes appearing 2 or 3 times steeper than everything leading up to it.

The downhill after the intersection is the last real rest as the road points straight back up and any recovery from there on is on the false flats. After about 5 km it flattens out again but the view of another steep kick up , disappearing into the trees, is just ahead. I take it easy on the flat to recover as much as possible then reach that start of that kick. As I start climbing this kick the view ahead continues to curve upwards and the gradient and my heart rate continue to rise, pushing up above 20 and 190 repectively. It's about 200m of this when things flatten off again. I'm now at the T intersection and it's the decision of where to go here that determines how a rider defines the climb of Saddleback. Some regard this as the top of the climb, turn right and drop down towards Jamberoo. These riders may tell you Jamberoo Pass is the toughest climb they've ever done. The other option is to continue straight ahead, past the gate and the signs warning to engage low gear and that no trailers, caravans, buses or coaches are permitted beyond this point. After the brief flat section of the intersection the road kicks straight back up around the 20% mark and stays there for around 400m. For the first 100 I"m feeling like it's ok and I should be able to make it. The second 100 I'm feeling near my limit and I know there's not much left in me. It's the first time I've worn a HRM for Saddleback and the 202 on the display is one higher than I've ever had before. Through the third 100 and every turn of the pedals is a conscious effort, my whole body is starting to feel weak and my heart rate climbs another beat or two. For the final 100 the crest is in view, giving some extra motivation to push on, I'd come too far to not make it now. As I pass over where the cattle grid used to be that marked the end of the climb it's instant relief as I cruise through the car park and around to the western lookout. I take a couple of pics before a toilet stop and then around to the other lookout for a couple more pics.

[norbs]

Windy and coolish for start today. Brrrr



I'm not at my desk. Thanks Tappatalk.

[grantw]

Nice one Shane, I'm yet to tackle Saddleback, not sure I really want to after your description

Have fun Norbs, should be a great experience.

I snuck out for a short ride this morning. Nothing special, but it was good to be out in the sunshine again.

[Mugglechops]

Some good rides happening. I finally got back on the bike today after 10 days off the bike and only 4 rides in the last 4 weeks

I am getting the urge to make another fixie, if only we had a real velodrome.

[norbs]

Laying in bed with back spasms. This wasn't part of the plan.

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[Mugglechops]

Laying in bed with back spasms. This wasn't part of the plan.

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I hope I didn't jinx you again.

Get well quick mate.

[sblack]

Not good norbs, sounds like your back doesn't like something about climbing. Hopefully the flatter terrain ahead has it more comfortable and things get better from here.

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[DaveOZ]

Beer will fix it Norbs. Fixing most of my problems right now.

[coffeeandwine]

Windy and coolish for start today. Brrrr
.

Quite windy and cool and a few early showers but great day to have the spinaker up, 35km tailwind!!!

Well done on the ride Norbs, hope the back settles quickly.

cheers

[marinmomma]

Laying in bed with back spasms. This wasn't part of the plan.

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Ouch, no good Norbs, hope things settle quickly for you

[norbs]

Today's ride.

http://app.strava.com/rides/22879029

Back feels ok.

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[roller]

spent 2 hours going round the velodrome today, does that count towards my total?

[ColinOldnCranky]

A little under 500km now and then I can take the rest ofthe year off.

And I am back into the top 1,000. At least I am until others update their logs.

[sblack]

Nice one Shane, I'm yet to tackle Saddleback, not sure I really want to after your description

It's certainly a tough one Grant, I'm yet to find a tougher section of bitumen. I read someone else's review of it a while back and they rated it as second in Australia behind Mt Baw Baw. If you've done Jamberoo Pass then as a reference the steepest bits of Jamberoo (in the first 2km) are comparable but being shorter sections and earlier in the climb I find them easier to manage than the final part of Saddleback. Still I would rate the first 2km of Jamberoo Pass as my second toughest section of bitumen and anyone who can climb Jamberoo Pass should be good to get to somewhere in that final 400m of Saddleback.

It's definately worth the climb though. It's a nice quiet road that only goes to the lookout and a few houses. Unless the top is under cloud cover like the first time I climbed it then the views are fantastic. Even then the experience of climbing through clouds made for something unique and there's the satisfaction of completing such a tough climb. If you descend towards Kiama you can enjoy the views for most of the way down as well. Finally, after riding it all the other hills around seam easier than they used to.

[grantw]

Yes, I imagine the sense of satisfaction would be great. One day soon perhaps.

Funnily enough shortly after reading your post, I saw that some of the fast local guys (who I stravastalk) did a "recovery" ride up the fountaindale road side and back down through Kiama. Looking at their route out of town, it would make a scenic (but brutal) 100km loop from my place.

[norbs]

Day 2 is done and dusted. And imperial century no less. Lost the gopro as the new handlebar mount sheared off and it bounced twice on the road then got every left side wheel of a semi!

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[bosvit]

Day 2 is done and dusted. And imperial century no less. Lost the gopro as the new handlebar mount sheared off and it bounced twice on the road then got every left side wheel of a semi!

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Lichen sore back and sore back pocket

[norbs]

Ride data if anyone is interested.

http://app.strava.com/rides/22994447

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[Mugglechops]

Ride data if anyone is interested.

http://app.strava.com/rides/22994447

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A bit flatter than yesterday mate. Was the mount that broke one you had hardly used? Should not have broken that early. Might be worth an email to Go Pro when you get back.

[norbs]

Ride data if anyone is interested.

http://app.strava.com/rides/22994447

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A bit flatter than yesterday mate. Was the mount that broke one you had hardly used? Should not have broken that early. Might be worth an email to Go Pro when you get back.

Yep. Second time i had used it.

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