The year that was; 2013 in Review

It was a big year on the bike. I set some goals for myself at the start of the year and this blog entry will be a review of those goals. I know it's a bit piss-weak to not put your goals 'out there' at the start of the year, but hey, it is what it is. So here we go:

Goal 1 - get a start in the Queensland Road Teams Series (QRTS) and then have a strong performance.

A two part goal. Team TLD were kind enough to offer me a start (which was great). Did I have a strong performance? Relatively, I guess I did. Some things went well and some things didn't, but overall I am satisfied with how I rode in the series. 

Goal 2 - be racing in Elite A at some point during the year.

This one happened early and unexpectedly when the state handicapper put me up after the Battle of the Border race in May. This was great, but set me up for some hard racing during the year.

Goal 3 - (if goal 2 comes off) have a strong performance in the Elite A Cunningham Classic.

I say 'yes' based on my 10th place. I still love this race and reckon there is a better finish in these nearly old legs.

Goal 4 - win medals in the Queensland Championships Individual Time Trial and Road Race in my Masters division (MMAS 3, 40 - 44 years).

Nope. I got sick late in the year and this goal was a casualty. I did the Individual Time Trial and came 5th while in really bad shape. I decided not to do the road race the next day as a result of how poor and shitty I felt. This was very frustrating for me as I had done a lot of work on my time trial and well and truly have a better result than this in me.

Goal 5 - have a strong performance in the Australian Championships Individual Time Trial and Road Race in my Masters division (MMAS 3, 40 - 44 years).

See goal 4 (above). I didn't go to the Australian Championships. My season ended prematurely. 

Goal 6 - stay motivated, fit and healthy.

Yes, yes and no. I am still loving what I am doing. My fitness levels and power continued to climb this year (with more to go yet). My health failed me at the end but staying well will be a priority for 2014. Having my coach move from being someone who 'gave me general advice' to being someone who is 'developing and monitoring my program' should help out in that regard.

It's been a while...

This has been one of the longest blog-breaks I have had. Good reason for that; not an awful lot has been happening in my cycling world. Having said that, this is the latest:

Training

I have not been doing much. Probably averaging about 350km a week and basically just wearing out tyres. The Dalby bunch rides have been pretty much the full extent of my program at the moment. I did have a good catch up with my coach this week though. We have sorted out my base phase which I will start after Christmas. I must admit I'm looking forward to getting a bit of structure back into things.

New Bike
Yes, yes, I do own a Cervelo S5 now. Yes it looks awesome. Yes it is fast. Yes I love it.

Bravehearts Time Trial

I managed to raise $2,088 for Bravehearts, which I am very happy about. In the actual time trial I punctured with 37km of the 43km done. This was disappointing as I was looking for a good time to thank all of the people who sponsored me. Such is life!

Combined Club Twilight Criterium Series

This was a five race series that was reduced to three, due to bad weather. As it was, I only made it once (very busy at work) on November 20. This is what happened. Jarred Graves, Darren Rolfe, Trent West and me, kinda 'blew' off the front. Not really sure how it happened. We just went REALLY fast for a bit and all of a sudden the four of us had nearly thirty seconds on what was left of the bunch. Then we went a bit faster, and  then a bit faster. My brain said to my legs 'you two need to do some training' and out the back I went. I was in no man's land for a bit (in fourth) but got swept up with about two laps to go. I finished seventh. This was actually the first time I had finished worse than third in a club race all year. Not too worried though (November is well and truly the 'wrong' month for me). 

Dalby Triathlon

This is always a fun event as it is well supported by the community. There are two events on the day; a business house challenge and a sprint distance triathlon. I did both in a Dalby State High School team. We went really well and won them both. I also snagged fastest cycle leg by a local (and overall). A good fun day out and just quietly a nice little wad of cash as well.

Tim Ashton from South Brisbane is an Arse-Hat

I was trying to sell a pair of wheels on the Facebook Bicycle Market page for $320. This is what happened:

• Arse-Hat messages me and says he is interested. He asks how much for postage.
• I pack the wheels up and stand in line at the post office to get the quote of $14 (this took me about 45 minutes).
• I message Arse-Hat and tell him it will be $14.
• Arse-Hat asks if I will take $300 for them with postage included.
• I decline but say I will take the original $320 with the postage included.
• Arse-Hat agrees. 
• Arse-Hat then asks if I can send them COD.
• I ask how much as I have never done that before.
• Arse-Hat says it will be about $8.
• I go back to the post office again and discover it is actually almost $28 to send the wheels COD (this took me about 20 minutes). 
• I message Arse-Hat and tell him this. I don't feel like I should have to pay the $28 and offer to split it with him, just to get the sale completed.
• Arse-Hat says 'no thanks I didn't want the wheels anyway'.

So now I have this set of wheels completely packed up ready to go, with Arse-Hat's name and address on them, sitting in my office.

I did call him out on the Facebook Bicycle Market page to warn others. Funnily enough I had  a few people contact me (including some people from bike shops) to say that the guy was a complete tosser and very dodgy. 

Tim Ashton, from South Brisbane, you are a complete Arse-Hat!

It's Off Season !

I haven't blogged for a little while. It is the end of my 'regular' season and there is not a lot of focus around my racing and training at the moment. I finally shook the lurgee that hammered me for pretty much two months and I am actually enjoying riding my bike with minimal structure. I have been up to a few things though:

Retul Bike Fit

I saw a good, old friend, Nick Formosa, from Cadence, for a Retul bike fit recently. The whole process is extremely interesting. I got both of my bikes (road and TT) fitted. My road bike was almost 'spot on' with only a slight change in seat height (up) needed. My TT bike however, was a different story. Seat slightly up, seat slightly back, shorter stem, stem up (a lot), aero bars extended and arm pads closer together. This new position 'feels' good but is taking some adapting to.

The fit process also highlighted some strength issues I have with my upper body (especially core) so I have been working very hard on that ever since. My biceps have been responding quickly as you can see:

Tour de Valley TT

I rode this event on October 13. It was 'kinda' an excuse to have two nights at the beach with the family, but it was also a good preparation for the Bravehearts TT I am doing at the end of November. The race was an undualting 36km on the proposed 2018 Commonwealth Games course in the Currumbin Valley. It was an extremely windy day as well. I didn't do too well. It was Open Male category and I came 10th of the 25 starters in a pretty ordinary time. I am way off form, struggling with the new position and to be honest, probably a little too focused on the beach ! At least I got a nice photo of me going slow:

Club Criterium

October 19 was a combined club criterium at Glenvale. I thought it might be a nice little hit out. I had absolutely smashed myself in the Dalby bunch ride that morning so had hoped the legs were up to it. I rode fairly agressively and there were only five of the original seven left for the sprint. I came third which I was pretty happy with (I actually sprinted pretty well). Here is a picture of me basking in third place glory:

This is also my first club race in the Team TLD kit. I rode the Queensland Road Teams Series (QRTS) with TLD this year and they have very kindly offered me a regular spot with them for next year. This means that officially I will leave Pensar SPM racing at the end of the year (but will still wear their kit in the two opens I have left in 2013). I'm really looking forward to the move. It was a great QRTS with TLD this year and it's also good to be racing with the local team.

Upcoming Events

Be Better Psychology Criterium (Bikeline Open) is on this Sunday, October 27. Field sizes look small so I am guessing it will be combined Elite A / Elite B / Masters A.

Bravehearts Time Trial is on November 24. My fundraising is going really well and you can sponsor me here if you are interested: BRAVEHEARTS

Bravehearts Individual Time Trial

Bravehearts’ key purpose is to educate, empower and protect Australian kids from sexual assault. I'm doing an individual time trial as a fundraising event for Bravehearts (with many other people) in Brisbane on 24 November. Click on the link below (SPONSOR ME) or use the Paypal link on the right, if you would like to sponsor me by making a donation to Bravehearts:

SPONSOR ME

An Analysis of a Power File

I thought this might be an interesting exercise. If you look around the web you will see quite a few people who have analysed a power file after a race. Normally though, they are crunching the numbers after they have had a win (or gone very well at least). I thought it might be insightful to do it after a race has gone spectacularly wrong.

This file is from the recent Masters 3 (40 - 44 years) Queensland Championships Individual Time Trial, in which I finished 5th. I should probably say that I have appreciated people's kind words and congratulations for this result. I should also keep things in perspective; 5th in the state (in my age group) less than two years after getting back on my bike is not bad. If you know me well though, you know that I was keen for a better result here and when you analyse the power file (as we are going to), you will see that 5th is a bloody miracle!

I should also add that I apologize if my analysis is a bit on on the amateurish side. I have only been training with power since April of this year. I have read just about everything out there on training with power and have had a lot of help with my program from Mark Brady who is a great mate and an excellent coach (based on the Gold Coast). 

The course was 20 km out and back at Purga (near Ipswich). A hard up and down profile that would require a balanced effort to be successful. As a 27 - 28 minute effort, I had decided that a target of 380w average would be about right. I based that on the following previous efforts:

• 32 minute criterium (I was away solo for 30 minutes of it) - 369w (average) / 397w (normalised)
• 28 min time trial - 365w (average) / 368w (normalised)
• 27 min time trial - 370w (average) / 376w (normalised)
• 27 min time trial 383w (average) / 388w (normalised)
• Consistently doing 2 x 20 min efforts at 370w - 380w in training

My power from this particular race was 338w (average) / 340w (normalised). I barely managed to keep my average power in the threshold range. If you have been following my blog you will know that I have been struggling badly with colds and bugs for over a month. That has definitely impacted here. I must say though, that I actually thought I had come good for this race. Despite the impact of the sickness, there are still some other interesting points in the data. So let's have a look at it:

Okay let's explain some of these lines. Power first. The grey line is my target average power (380w). The green line is as high as I wanted to go on the hills (no more than 410w). The pink line is as low as I wanted to go on the downhills (no less than 350w). It should be fairly obvious how this panned out for me. Not bad at the start, but then it all fell apart. I should also add that we are looking at a 10 second smoothing of the watts here, which is what I actually use when I race.

The first 12 minutes or so, I actually felt like I was on target for a really good ride. I was chasing (at 1 minute) a rider who had produced some very good time trial results at masters level (Chris Millen) and I was catching him pretty well. I had gone a little above and below my target power but was feeling quite good. I went maybe a touch too hard up the first hill, but at the time I didn't think it was anything too drastic. You can see (even when I felt good) that I was having some trouble keeping the watts up on the downhills. Was that start too hard? Maybe...

After 12 minutes (the black circle) it all comes crashing down. I definitely hadn't overcooked it on that hill (in fact the section before it fell apart was the most balanced of the entire race), but you can see the power go down, down, down.

After the turn (at the turn I estimate I had only lost 10 seconds or so to the eventual winner John Murazak, who would go on to beat me by over a minute) things go from bad to worse (the brown circle). I am having extreme difficulty getting anywhere near my target power. It looks like I am fatigued and ready to stop and that is probably about how I felt.

As we get nearer to the finish (the pink circle) you can see me starting to panic. I know these last few hills are hard and I try my best to drive up them, but you can see the impact that has overall as I can barely produce any power going over the other side. It almost looks like I am doing intervals! You can also see that I try to 'bring it home' but can't even sustain that acceleration and increased power for very long (I actually blow up completely).

So what can I take out of all this information?

It's been said a thousand times before and I'll say it again. Don't start your time trials too hard. On the road this start felt good, but it was obviously just too quick, which impacted on me later.

When riding time trials with hills, we all know that we need to 'feather' our power up and down. The surging  approach that I used in panic mode late in the race is not effective at all.

It is also obvious to me that I am still not 100% recovered from my colds and bugs. The really telling thing for me is my heart rate data. I know a lot of power users ignore their heart rate all together but I still find it very useful. In time trials, I will generally start at about 165bpm, quickly build to about 170bpm - 175bpm and then in the last few minutes can really bring it home up to 185bpm - 190bpm. The yellow line on the chart is 170bpm. That is actually quite scary. I was cooked (in terms of heart rate) pretty much the whole race. I hit 190bpm (which I consider my maximum) several times throughout the race. A big sign for me that 'all is not well').

So in summary, if you want to learn something from this analysis:

• Don't start too hard.
• Take a balanced approach to time trialing on hilly courses.
• Don't race unless you are 100% well.

Very happy for people to provide a comment if they have further analysis.

Histogram as requested for extra analysis:

Race Report: Elite State Titles Road Race (and a cross road in the season)

Well today was just a straight up shit day...

I have been battling this cold on and off since the Cunningham (three weeks). It gets better, it gets worse, it gets better, it gets worse, but I don't stop coughing. And before you ask, yes I have already had nearly a week off the bike trying to get rid of it.

I coughed like an old car on the hills today. Heart rate goes up = me coughing my guts up. It's not an ideal state for racing. 

The other part of my dilemma was a rear derailleur that today decided I needed some strength training. I say 39 x 23, it says 39 x 19. I say 39 x 25, it says 39 x 21. If you know the Kalbar course, 39 x 23 and 39 x 25 are just a little bit handy (well, for a tall unit like me anyway). 

So it was all over for me on the second lap. The frustrating thing is that if you have a real close examination of my power data today, there is absolutely nothing that says I should have got dropped (well, that early anyway).

So methinks another short break off the bike to rid self of this cough is necessary. And possibly a new derailleur. 

The problem?

Masters State Titles are in two weeks. The individual time trial especially has been a target event for me all year. I have done plenty of specific preparation for it and I believe I have a very good 20 km in these legs. I was intending to make a decision on whether or not I train on until October for the Australian Masters Titles in Goulburn, based on my results in two weeks.

You see the problem? At this rate, I may not even get to the start line in two weeks, effectively meaning that my 2013 season may well be finished right...NOW. 

Maybe I 'll just get healthy and got to Goulburn anyway? Who knows. At least I'm not a fat slug on the sofa (gotta stay positive about this whole cycling business).

Here's me looking ragged:

Race Report: Charles Coin Memorial

A funny old day...

I had pretty good legs. Not great but not bad either. I had almost a week off the bike sick after the Cunningham and I think I could feel a little of that in my form. Anyway...

The day was very warm and there was minimal wind. The course was also fairly straight forward with little challenge in the way of hills or climbs. There was a little berg inside 2km from the finish but it was not really steep or long enough to do much damage. 

The pace was up and down but the third lap was very quick (blew the Strava record for a lap of the course out of the water). The bunch had dwindled to sixteen by that point. 

A break of four went down the road soon after and I had a team mate there, so it was effectively tools down for me right there. That break established a good lead and stayed away until the finish (my team mate came second). 

On the last lap a split in what was left of the bunch happenned with another four riders going off the front. I considered going with that group but made a mistake and stayed in the bunch (I didn't think they would stay away). I chased hard but we missed making contact with the second break by about thirty seconds. There were only six of us left sprinting for 9th and I ended up 11th.

I'm actually disappointed with this. I had better legs than 11th in this race and I am very hungry for better results in Elite A.

Race Report: Cunningham Classic

What a day! It had been exactly 15 years since I last lined up in the Elite A Cunningham Classic - I won't mention the result in that particular race ;) I was 25 and was a fit and lean young bloke. Here I was, 40 years old, on the come back trail and looking for some challenges. I wasn't to be disappointed.

The 171km race had a KOM at about 50km and then the rest of the course was plagued with a very strong cross-head wind that seemed to destroy most races on the day.

The KOM was tough. The climb itself started out very steady but (well in my mind anyway) exploded about half way up. I can tell you that the bunch reduced from forty-nine starters to maybe thirtyish by the top. 

There were some tough cross winds just before Pilton that really stirred things up. I actually had a little 'wise old man' moment right about there. If you know the course there is a long and tough drag right after Pilton. I knew I was in trouble at the bottom of it. I also knew that there was a long downhill straight after and a pretty big convoy of vehicles behind us. I actually dropped off the group before I redlined and rode my own pace over the top. I lost maybe 20 seconds or so but was very quickly and easily able to slot into the convoy and get back on during the downhill stretch. Problem solved!

The rest of the day saw a steady stream of attacks with the decisive break of six heading down the road with about 40km to go. Regrettably for them, two riders fell in the Allora feed zone, leaving four in the break. The chase group had been reduced to less than twenty riders by this point, due to the tough cross winds. This was pretty much how things stayed until the finish in Warwick.

So where did I finish? That's an interesting question. There were four in the break, and our chase group saw two sets of two riders sneak off the front in the closing kilometres, meaning we were sprinting for 9th. I sprinted hard and finished very near the front of the remaining bunch. I was either first or second in the group (I honestly can't remember, it was a bit blurry because we ran up the back of 7th and 8th, and I am pretty old). The rider who I just pipped on the line was on Strava saying how happy he was for coming either 9th or 10th. So I guess I was also about 9th or 10th. The club wasn't able to provide places beyond 5th. So in the interest of making a good story better, I am claiming 10th place! I think that's a safe bet. Maybe 9th? Maybe 11th? Whatever; it's really irrelevant. The point is that I spent nearly five hours on the open road with the best young road riders in the state and had the legs to play with them. To top it off people are calling this 'the toughest Cunningham Classic in years'. I'm pretty happy...

Me on the KOM:

Me right before the finish (guy in blue is the one saying he was 9th or 10th):

Race Report: Queensland Road Team Series (QRTS) - Round 4 (South Burnett)

This was a tough weekend, but overall I am pretty happy with how I coped with the difficult courses and high pace. I even managed to sneak a handful of points for the team.

Stage 1: 112km Road Race 

This was actually a bit shorther than expected at 105km. Solid course with a draggy little climb right before the finish line. It broke up a little in the cross winds but I managed to position myself out of trouble. I finished 39th and was a bit surprised at that as I didn't realise I was so far forward at the finish. 

Stage 2: 144km Road Race

I felt better today than I did on Saturday. I was very active in the first lap and tried to go with quite a few breaks off the front, but regrettably none of them stuck. It was a very tough course with a fair bit of wind and a lot of climbing. Things exploded at the end of the second lap and I ended up in a group that was running about 24th - 50th. We were pulled from the course with one lap to go and I did okay in the sprint to snag a few points for the team by coming 30th. I climbed well today and am overall very pleased with how I went. Looking at this photo though, you can see I did it tough a few times:

That's the end of the QRTS for me this year. I'm not available for the final criterium in Brisbane. I've really enjoyed the opportunity given to me by Team TLD to guest ride with them. A great experience, plenty of hard work but a lot of fun.

Race Report: Club Time Trial - 30 June 2013

The Wyreema Time Trial course that we use in Toowoomba is quickly becoming one of my favourites. Profile is here:

It's a 20km (a tiny bit longer actually) out and back. As you can see it's all downhill or flat until the last 6km or so where it all gets difficult. I think it is a hard course to judge right and make sure you have enough fuel in the tank for the last section.

We had a combined club race on this course yesterday and I am very pleased with how things unfolded. I have raced here twice before and this time tried a slightly different strategy. I rode a little easier for the first 14 km (a little under my threshold) and then absolutely hammered the last 6 km. So I ended up doing a PB of 27 min 36 sec (average speed of 43.9 kmh) and winning A grade (don't ask about field size; time trials are not popular in our cycling clubs). This bested the 27 min 50 sec I did in April. I am especially pleased about this as there was definitely some fatigue in my legs as I had just completed the toughest week (in terms of TSS, power users will know what I am talking about) week of the year. 

The good news for me though, is that I managed to set a new masters record on the course. Andy Patten (from Brisbane) set the previous record of 27 min 42 sec last September the week after he returned from winning a silver medal in the world titles (40 - 44 years). This is very encouraging and hopefully a sign of good things to come for me. My next goal here is a sub 27 min which I think is well and truly achievable (especially with fresh legs).

I also want to say a special thank you to the club officials and volunteers who hosted this race. They did a great job and it frustrates me somewhat that so few people in Toowoomba want to race time trials (or anything other than criteriums for that matter). Supporting local racing is really important and I urge all Toowoomba club members (all three clubs) to make ALL club racing a priority. Glenvale is a beautiful circuit and an asset to Toowoomba, but there is more to life than criteriums people. Get behind your clubs!

Race Report: Club Prologue & Criterium - 22 June 2013

A new format was trialed last weekend at club racing. A 1.4km prologue and then a 45 minute + 2 lap criterium. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points awarded to each stage with an overall winner at the end.

For a man with a hefty power dip in his profile at 1 minute (but getting better, I'm working on it), a 1.4 km prologue was never going to be fun. Add to that the fact that I made a complete meal of it (started too hard and exploded 200 m from the finish) and I should be happy to have run 3rd in 1 min 45 sec. 

The criterium was a lot of fun (but very hard) with heaps of attacks and a long breakaway (which involved two of us getting across to an earlier solo break). That break was caught late and there were six of us left in contention for the sprint. I (with very tired legs) managed to pull out a 2nd place. 

I ended up 3rd overall when you add the points up. A new and interesting format and a good day of local racing. 

It's Cold...

Spare a thought in the coming months for the very small handful of Queensland road cyclists who actually live off the coast in the chillier parts of the state. Now I know it's all relative and the guys in Victoria and Tasmania yada yada yada...

But trust me, in Dalby, where I live, it's cold...and it will get colder.

Luckily for me there a small but slightly insane group who like me don't have the luxury of training during the middle of the day AND we want to stay competitive (in either road racing or triathlon) AND we don't want to spend three months of the year on a wind trainer AND we have full-time jobs and families to consider. We HAVE to train in the morning, in the dark...in the cold.

Tuesday is my big mid-week ride. It's a 4.30 am start and I normally squeeze 100 km in before I go off to work. Sometimes, it's -1 degrees when we leave, drops to - 4 degrees and then (thankfully) comes back to a very respectable 0 degrees by 7.30 am. It's great fun! The best part is attempting to do efforts. As you can imagine it takes a bit of work just to get the body moving. If Cycling Queensland ever put on a time trial race at 5 am somewhere in sub-zero temps, bet a few dollars on me. 

To be fair though, winter cycling clothing has come a long way and it does the job pretty well. A standard kit for a sub-zero morning includes:

• Helmet
• Ear covers
• Long-sleeve thermal undershirt
• Long-sleeve thermal jacket
• Vest
• Thermal bib suit
• Long leg warmers
• Shoes
• Winter socks
• Thermal shoe covers
• Gloves

The gloves, the shoe covers and the ear covers, 'psychologically' are the most important things. If hands, feet, and ears are warm, you can almost cope with a few other bits being cold.

So there it is, a red hot attempt at gaining sympathy, and the next time you hop on Strava and complain about how cold your river loop was because it was 9 degrees, just think about me with frozen snot stuck to my face.

Race Report: Queensland Road Team Series (QRTS) - Round 2 (Southern Downs)

The series moved to Stanthorpe and Warwick for the second round of the series.

Stage 1: 33km Team Time Trial

We did pretty well in this and came 10th out of 18 teams. We worked well together as a team and made it to the finish with 5 / 6 riders. It was a tough, hilly and windy course. I felt pretty good and am fairly pleased with how it went.

Stage 2: 120km Road Race

I definitely had a bit of fatigue in my legs from the morning effort but didn't feel too bad. The first 20km was very hard with over half the field being disposed of up a long, draggy climb and some nasty cross winds. I was caught up behind a crash at the 30km point and had to almost completely stop. I quickly chased back to a group of four who had also been caught up. We chased for a solid hour but didn't make contact with the front group (which by that point was down to thirty-one riders). That is where we stayed. I was frustrated and disappointed with this because I was finding it fast, but wasn't really in 'trouble' in terms of staying in that front group. Grr...

Stage 3: 125km Road Race

I thought I had good legs yesterday and I was right. The course today was undulating with some very nasty cross winds on narrow roads. I stayed near the front and positioned myself correctly in terms of  staying out of the gutter. The race had blown to pieces by the end with small groups coming in and a huge bunch of riders exiting. I was in a group of twelve that was sprinting for 25th and I ended up 29th, earning a valuable 18 points for Team TLD. I am very pleased with this ride. I watched some good A grade bike riders blow up on the road today and I was able to keep on going. I think I am starting to get some form...

A New Beginning

I'm not going to lie, I am a little surprised and excited about some news I received last week. The following was emailed to me from Cycling Queensland:

Now I want to be really clear and say that I didn't request this. The state handicapper reportedly completed a big review of all the gradings and made quite a few changes. This is obviously based on some of the good form I showed at the recent Battle of the Border tour.

I am absolutely stoked about this! It means that racing will be a LOT harder now, but this has been a goal of mine for a long time and to achieve it makes me very happy. February 2012 = Masters B, May 2013 = Elite A. You have to be happy with that!

So my first Elite A outing was the Metropolitan Championships. 115 km (five laps of a 23 km circuit) with some nasty little hills. I rode pretty well, but went out the back door on the third lap. I wasn't alone though, and  looking at the result sheet only 27 / 54 got to the finish. 

I'm really looking forward to more racing against all of these nineteen year old whippets!

Race Report: Battle on the Border (Tour de Tweed)

This three day / four stage tour was held on the Tweed Coast last weekend. I finished up racing in the category of Elite 1, which was an interesting mix. Here's the mix of riders:

• A small handful of riders from National Road Series (NRS) teams who missed selection (top six) in their own team for the NRS tour that was running concurrently.
• Elite A riders from Queensland and NSW who were not affiliated with a NRS team.
• A small handful of Elite B riders from NSW.
• The top twenty (about) Elite B riders from Queensland as selected by the state handicapper (I have no idea how I made this 'cut' to be honest).

All in all, a very competitive bunch of fifty-four with some very fast and talented riders. I was in for a rough ride.

Stage 1 Road Race (93km) - 43rd

This stage went straight up the Terranora and Campbell's Pocket climbs in the first 20km. By that point, the field had split into three groups of about 25 / 15 / 14. I was in the third group. We stayed that way until the finish, I was disappointed to get dropped up Terranora but I was absolutely REDLINING and could do nothing about it. 

Stage 2 Individual Time Trial (9km) - 8th

This...is good news. I averaged a little over 44km/h and am very happy with the result in some good company. Nice to have a good time trial after two 'misfires' the previous weekends. 

Stage 3 Criterium - 41st

A fast and furious affair on a tight and hilly circuit. I spent the stage following wheels and staying out of trouble. I finished in the main bunch. 

Stage 4 Road Race (100km) - 22nd

This stage was by far the most encouraging and promising race I have had since I got back on the bike. The stage was extremely hard with two crossings of Farrant's Hill, some other steep as a wall berg on the way down towards Burringbar, then the two part Burringar Range itself. The bunch got smaller and smaller each time we started to climb and I managed to stay with the front group (of twenty-four) all the way to the finish. I felt strong, climbed well and managed to suffer like a dog. Very pleased with this. This ride pushed me up to 26th place overall (for the three days) which I am very pleased with, given the quality of the field.

To ride like that (especially given the climbs), I am feeling very encouraged for the future. The time trial result is also a good sign...

Race Report: Queensland Road Team Series (QRTS) - Round 1 (Gatton)

I have been kindly offered a guest team spot with Toowoomba's Team TLD Racing for this series. I expected the standard of racing to be well above anything I have done so far on the comeback trail and I was right.

Stage 1: 15km Individual Time Trial

49th place (108 starters) in 22 min 25 sec. Just like last week at Ipswich, I just didn't 'fire'. Not a great course for me (was quite hilly) but all the same, I just didn't perform like I should. Not a total disaster, but not great either.

Stage 2: 105km Road Race

We did the same course from the time trial seven times. The hills were not especially steep (all done in the big chain ring) but the pace was very fast which made it tough. I was caught behind a HUGE crash with 1km to go so was given bunch time. There were two riders away and seventy or so of us left in the main bunch, so I was pleased with that finish.

Stage 3: 105 km Road Race

This was a 20km loop we did five times with a small circuit to get to the course. It was much harder than yesterday with a nasty little climb we crossed five times. I was actually dropped on lap three and did a mad dash through the convoy to get back on. A large group of fifteen rode away and I finished in the main group of about sixty or so riders. Like yesterday, I was very happy to finish in the main pack; especially after getting dropped at halfway. 

So overall, I'm feeling pretty pleased with how it went. An 'okay' time trial and two solid bunch finishes in some very good company. I need to get that time trial right though...

Race Report: Ipswich Open - 20 & 21 April 2013

Individual Time Trial @ Purga - 20 km

This was a frustrating ride. I thought I was doing okay as I had quite easily caught my minute man and could see I was on track to catch my two minute man. The course was quite hilly so I chose to ride slightly easier than normal on the flat sections so I could bomb it up the hills. I don't think this was an effective strategy because with 5 km to go I wasn't hammered and knew I had left too much fuel in the tank. I did belt it home but in the end I knew I hadn't done enough. I finished so quickly I'm actually Strava KOM for a segment someone set up that was the last 2.4 km off the course. I finished 8th in Elite B with a time of 28 min 52 sec, and I am very disappointed.

Silver lining on cloud moment: I did the 5th fastest ride by a master across all the divisions and was the 2nd fastest in the MMAS (40 - 44) category. This augers well for masters time trial titles later in the year.

Road Race @ Mount Marrow - 68 km

68 km sounds short but it was a very hard 8 km course that we did eight times. There were forty-five starters in Elite B and by the last lap there were only about twenty-five of us left. I really struggled on the steeper hills today. There is no hiding that fact. I was in trouble by lap six and most frustratingly I got popped with about 5 km to go on the very last lap. Nothing worked for me today. I tried climbing in the seat, out of the seat, grinding, spinning, whatever, nothing would work for me. This was another extremely disappointing ride.

Silver lining on cloud moment: Hmm. Tough one. I guess I have identified a gap in my fitness and possibly an issue with my taper. This was the shortest week on the bike I have had since November last year and this crapola weekend is the result! Bring on the hard miles I say!

Hmm...what now. My standard response of 'have a whinge' - 'regather myself' - 'train my arse off' - 'get smarter' will probably do. I have some big fish to fry next weekend so I'm looking forward to moving on from this 'blip' in my progress. 

Queensland Road Team Series (QRTS) with Team Time Line Drafting

http://m.thechronicle.com.au/news/toowoomba-cycling-team-geared-queensland-road-seri/1833545/

Very kind of The Chronicle to talk me up like that!

Really, really, looking forward to this series.

Race Report: Club Time Trial - 14 April 2013

Today, was a good day. Good because I have been able to see how much I have improved in seven months, and good because there is nothing quite like having a great day on a time trial bike.

So the course was the usual Wyreema one, 20 km long, 10 km out and back with a long downhill run out and a corresponding run uphill coming back. I came 2nd in a time (official, actually had myself a few seconds quicker!) of 27 min 50 sec. This gave me an average speed of 43.5 km / h. Darren Rolfe (who is a time trial rider of note and course record holder) beat me in a time of 26 min 42 sec. No shame in that; he is a machine!

Okay so now to the number crunching. 

Good news number 1:

I did this course in 29 min 36 sec early last September (almost a 2 min improvement). 

Good news number 2:

Andy Patten, who had just returned from a silver medal ride at the world time trial titles (MMAS 3) a week earlier, rode a 27 min 42 sec on that same day in September. A handful of seconds faster than my time today. 

Good news number 3:

My heart rate and power output were strong the whole way  meaning I had a well controlled ride. 

Overall, I am really happy with how today went and how things are progressing. I actually haven't done any specific time trial training this year. That is still to come. I'm looking forward to seeing the impact that makes. 

Race Report: Club Criterium - 6 April 2013

With ten starters, we had the best field in an A grade club race for ages. I was a little worried about how I would go, because I had just done a very hard ride that crossed the Bunya Mountains twice, two days earlier. As it was, I was also in the midst of a 720km week. In the end, I shouldn't have been worried, because I actually had reasonable legs.

The pace was pretty solid from the start with a few attacks. The decisive move came at about half way when Jared Graves (yes him again), Pete Collins and myself managed to sneak away. We stayed there with a good gap over the chasers until the very end.

Jared pumped me and Pete at one to go for the win. I had nothing left for the finish and Pete disposed of me very easily in the sprint.

I'm very happy with the third place though. Very eager to see what I can do with fresh legs.

On the Deck

It was bound to happen, and this morning, after 1 year and 7 months back on the bike, I fell on my arse (well my head actually). I know I was laying on the bitumen at the Hell of the West Triathlon in Gundy earlier this year, but that was a 'tipover', this one was 'real'. 

Sauntering along, about an hour from the bottom of my beloved Bunyas, in a group of six, when a rider in the group lost control in front of me and layed down. I had nowhere to go and hit and rolled pretty hard. A little bit of bark off on the left but I smacked my head quite hard. I ended up at hospital and have a mild concussion (and a hell of a headache).

What about the bike you ask? It was almost perfect, but I did write off a helmet and the lenses in my Oakley Sunglasses.

The good news is, I don't think I will lose more than a day of training. 

Race Report: Club Criterium (Chasing Jared Graves)

A very small field of seven lined up today for an A and B grade combined, 40 minutes + 2 laps criterium. It was set up as a handicap with four A graders chasing a two minute gap on three B graders. 

Jared Graves (yes world champion mountain biker Jared Graves) was in my group of four, and he absolutely destroyed us to get across the two minute gap. We got there in 28 minutes and then he started attacking again, again and again. I lost contact with him and Trent West (from Team TLD) at about 35 minutes. Jared dumped Trent shortly after and he went on for a comfortable win. Trent came second and I managed to out sprint one of the B grade guys who stayed with me for third (see picture):

This was my first race since November and in many ways it was a great way to 'blow some cobwebs out' because it was so bloody hard. I'm looking forward to the season ahead and to be honest, I hope Jared keeps racing locally, because you can't pay enough for a flogfest like that!

Race Report: Hell of the West Triathlon

This team triathlon involved a 2km swim, a 4km transition run, 80 km ride and finally a 16km run. My team did really well and ended up 2nd of 130 teams.

I did the 80km cycle leg 'officially' in 2:03:29. That time includes transition and also the time I spent on the deck whan I crashed coming back into transition at the end of my ride :(

The ride was actually a little over distance at 81.4 km, so in the end I am quite happy with how I went. I averaged over 40 kmh and ended up with the 4th fastest ride on the day (crash may have cost me 2nd? Grrr).

Strava Base Mile Blast Update

The January challenge is complete. I really eased off my miles from January 20, but I still managed to do pretty well:

• Overall: 19th / 36,324
• Australia: 6th / 6,168
• Age (35 - 44): 6th / 13,244
• Weight (85 kg - 95 kg): 2nd / 6,069

All a bit of fun in the end but it was still nice to be so high on the leaderboard. 

Base Miles = Done

I am delighted that this phase of the year's training is over. I feel tired, but well and truly ready for the season ahead. This has been an extremely effective exercise.

Some stats:

• Total weeks = 8 
• Total kilometers = 6,030km 
• Average week = 753.74km
• Longest week = 1,000km (twice)
• Longest ride = 250km 
• Rides over 200km = 7 
• Days off the bike = 2

So I punched out a 250 on Sunday ...

I did the Toowoomba Bikeline shop ride first (135 km) and then rode back to Dalby. I actually coped a lot better than I expected. The nice tail wind for the last three hours definitely helped!

Strava Base Mile Blast

It is interesting that Strava run a base mile competition during the month of January, which aligns almost perfectly with my base phase. I am currently in week 7 of an 8 week phase. I am actually doing okay on the Strava challenge, sitting in 8th place of 27, 468. I'm hoping to stay on the first page by the end of January. My 6 weeks so far have been 500 km, 610 km, 620 km, 760 km, 660 km and 880 km. I have two weeks left and am aiming to do 2 x 1,000 km weeks. It is AWESOME to get these miles in my legs. I am feeling really good! Can't wait for the upcoming road season.