Time to grow up ...

Time to grow up and take off those training wheels...




Image courtesy of jonnyhunter

So far things have been pretty cruisey. Each week my target kilometers have gone up, and I have happily been hitting them. I had been feeling pretty happy after each ride and hadn't hurt at all after them. (Which I was pretty impressed with considering I started from no bicycle fitness to speak of!) That was up until the 60km ride. I felt it after that one!


The end of the ride was quite typical, got back to the car and had that crazy feeling of "I guess I could do another lap of West Head" (another 25kms). By the time I'd driven home, I was pumped for another quick ride around the neighbourhood. The sun was out and I actually had some free time in my day. It was a great idea until I went to get out of the car. At that moment my legs kindly reminded me that I had totally destroyed them and they were less than impressed about it. Hmmn, maybe that ride would wait!

Due to some work commitments I then hit a blip in my training schedule. I had to go to Cairns for a week. The hotel was supposed to have a gym but I couldn't think of anything worse than exercising in a hotel gym with some dodgy equipment. The concept of not riding for a week terrified me, as you can lose bike fitness very quickly, and everyday I remind myself that every bit I do now, will help me on Nov 19.

With this dilemma, what's a girl to do?

The answer was quite simple really, dismantle the bike and take it on the plane! And that is exactly what I did.

Cycling in Port Douglas was excellent. It was so warm, which was a great change from the Sydney weather, and luckily for me, it was sunny compared to the downpour Sydney had that week! The roads were pretty flat the but scenery made up for it, and some kilometers were better than none!


On the Thursday we had the afternoon off, so another chiropractor (who had also brought her bike) and I cycled to Mossman Gorge. The scenery was beautiful and the ride was really nice. I hadn't had the chance to actually do long flat distances yet, as I'd been riding mostly hills, and was surprised how hard and different it was. On the flats you don't get up as often. All I can say is numb bum!

Lessons learnt this week included: when you don't intend to clip in, make sure that it hasn't accidently stealthy clicked in before putting your foot (and consequently the whole bike and you) on the ground, and that suncream is essential for cycling in warmer weather. Glove and tshirt tan lines are not attractive unless you are going for the "I just fake tanned badly" look.

Soon the week was over, so the bike was dismantled again and packed on a plane for the journey home. Due to lack of time, I didn't manage to do my target kilometers for that week. That meant a 20km jump to the next target.


The next big ride was 80km. West Head is 25km, and Akuna Bay is about 15. To make up 80kms doing these loops screamed boredom.

It was time. I had to grow up, throw out the L plates and take of the training wheels. I had to start riding with the big kids. You know, those rides that the crazy people do. Instead of driving to Akuna Bay, I was going to have to ride there, and then do it. Just like the people you see riding on the road. Those cyclists. Real cyclists. I still felt like an imposter. Not a REAL cyclist.


So I took a teaspoon of concrete and commited to 2 laps of the Royal National Park. Each lap was 40kms. There was no "easy out" and I had to grow up in a lot of ways. First of all, everytime I mentioned it to someone, they asked if I was mad. Having never seen it, I was a little concerned. Secondly I had to ride on the road. Not a pretty quiet road like I had been doing previously, but a main road and not a main road at 5am before there are cars on it. A main road at 7-11am in the morning. Thirdly and something that scared me more than the rest, was riding up a windy national park road that was narrow for 2 cars, let alone with a cyclist. This meant the the cars would be stuck behind me without being able to go past. And that meant I couldn't go slow!


It turns out that the Natio Park loop isn't so bad. The only evil bit is the winding narrow section at the very end. Although on the second lap, that last little winding bit transforms from an evil beast to the devil in the firey pits of hell.

After just over 4 hours we made it to the top and had completed the 80km target. Back in the carpark we got the giggles as we were in a world of hurt. (Or maybe that was just me!)

Time has seemed to fly! Cairns was late August and I have been steadily riding weekdays and weekends since. Mainly hilly sections as that will be what we will be riding on the day. I have been looping Akuna Bay and West Head, now riding from St Ives like the big kids and also lapping the National Park and my local streets. Rain, hail or shine, much to the amazement of many of the cars going past! Most people like to spend their Friday nights relaxing or going out, but here I am, lapping the local streets at 9:30pm in the dark and rain. 

So that gets you ALMOST up to date.. but you will have to wait untill next time for the rest!

We have a number of auction items which will be posted this week, as well as a raffle with some awesome prizes. All donations (past and future) will receive a raffle ticket(s) to go into the draw.

Stay tuned for further details to be updated next week.

Please help me reach my goal of $2500 to help Redkite help children with cancer and their families and provide much needed support for real, essential everyday items such as bills, transportation, counselling and tutoring while they miss school. Every dollar counts, and all donations over $2 are tax deductable.

Traning Session #2: No rest for the unfit...

Saturday 30th July

So another week rolled by.

After a huge weekend last week, and being fully booked at work everyday this week, my mid week activity slipped in favour of the nanna nap!

Saturday afternoon was quiet at work, so I decided we should leave early. I had a seminar Sat arvo so I knew I'd be pressed for time.

I met up with my friend Kat and dragged her up to West Head. I decided not to tell her how hard it was, as I didn't want to scare her off!

1 hill done and I was not her favourite person in the world. But she perservered and made it to the end and back! To her credit, her bike wasn't changing gears properly so it was a tough ride.

I had been going well recently with the fall tally, however, it suffered on Saturday. I had finally made it up "hell hill". I was super stoked! So I rode down a little at the top to help motivate Kat. I unclipped as we stopped for a breather, and then when I went to take off I informed Kat "I always struggle to start uphills". No sooner had I said that, when my foot missed the pedal and TIMMMMBEERRRRRR!

Over I went, onto my left elbow, sending pain shooting through my collarbone, and my butt landed on the seat tip. Excellent, another butt bruise when the first one was only just fading! Luckily my collarbone was fine and up I jumped and continued on.

The ride back is so much easier than the ride out. I think Kat was starting to forgive me a little now. On the way back I saw my sister stopped. (She had run into us at the West Head Lookout). I stopped to check that everything was ok, when she told us how she had just seen and echidna waddle across the road. CUTE!

After having a chat with Laura about fundraising ideas I thought I would go meet Kat. So I decided to click in my right foot as I was just taking off anyway. (I usually click in the left first and put my right foot down). But then I looked up and Kat was coming around the corner. So my usual "stop" mechanism was put my right foot down. The problem was that it was clicked in, and my left one wasn't. So leaning the right was a fatal error. Well, almost. Somehow, in a moment of quick reactions, I managed to somehow get my left foot down, jump around on one foot for a bit and end up with the bike infront of me, right foot still attached, and front wheel in the air! Impressive!

Distance: 25kms

Fall Tally: 3

New Falls: 1

Sunday 30th July

I've been wanting to ride to work. It's 33kms and an easy way to get kilometres done during the week.

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I had been a bit weary of the ride, as it's along Pennant Hills Rd. I had decided the best way to do it was with a test ride first. This presented problems as I would be riding to work at 5am, and home at 7:30 / 8 pm. Not the most convenient test times!

So after some birthday celebrations the night before I told myself "suck it up Princess" and got up at 4:45 and rode to work and back.

I chose Pennant Hills Rd for the full distance as I thought it would be easier than the hillier back streets. The one thing I hadn't anticipated was the horrible road surface! There were GIANT cracks every meter for a good kilometer! Each "kathunk" killed my butt! And I was petrified of getting a flat as I don't really know how to change one yet!

The run to work wasn't too bad, pretty much all downhill, which meant coming home was going to hurt!

A couple of shot bloks and a quick stop to take a pic, and I was off again back home. Thanks to those AMAZING Clif Shot Bloks the hills weren't too bad. "Just keep peddling, just keep pedalling" and slowly I made it up each hill.

I found my happy place on the hills. A slow but consistant pace on the easiest (still bloody hard!) and I'd get there eventually. I could do this comfortably in the saddle and use the "lift" from the pedals and rest my quads. Standing up killed my quads in about 30 seconds!

I got home just after sunrise, with time to have a shower and then go treat a patient before their Sunday morning sport!

Thats when the illness hit. All day all I could think about was going for another ride! I did my best to fight it, but by 5pm I gave in and went for a 10 min spin. Someone call a doctor!

Please help me reach my goal of $2500 to help Redkite help children with cancer and provide much needed support to their families.

Training Session #1

Sunday 24th July: West Head loop.


Laura and I embarked on our first training session today. 

We were joined by Andrew Vize who had just bought a road bike this week so he could join in on the fun. He will actually be volunteering during the race and it  will be excellent to have him there to support us. This will be a bit of role-reversal as Laura usually "crews" for him during his ultramarathons. (I am sure she will be returning the favour when Andrew runs the Coast 2 Kosi a few weeks later. (This ultramarathon is essentially the same course, but they are even MORE unhinged, as they RUN it!) For more info on Andrew's crazy ultramarathon antics check out Ultra 168's website




We met at West Head again. I like this road as the surface is fresh, and there aren't too many cars. It also has a good range of hills to keep you entertained, puffing, and cursing! Luckily the rain had just eased and then decided to stay away for the rest of the afternoon. 

There had been a lot of rain this week, which was evident by the amount of dirt, rocks and debris in the dips in the road. Whilst hooning down the hill, at about 60km/hr, on skinny minnie, twitchy, flimsy road tires, rocks and debris are NOT your friend! But, luckily for me, I remained upright long enough to then have to pedal back up the hill. 


We had been riding along quite happily when we turned a corner and there it was. "Hell hill" as I had affectionately named it! This was the hill that had beat me last week. 

The view from the top of "Hell hill".
It looks small, but you can't see the steep bit
 where it drops below the crest in this shot!

Hills didn't seem too bad on my mountain bike as a kid. If you stopped progressing up the hill, you put your foot down. Easy! But now, with cleats, everything had changed. When you stop moving, there is a surge of fear that sweeps over you as you do the maths in your head. "I could keep pedalling, but if I lose momentum I have approximately 0.2 seconds to get my foot out of the pedal before my hip makes friends with the bitumen ... AGAIN! Do I keep pedalling and take the chance *runs percentages of failure through head* or do I hedge my bets and unclip and admit defeat?" 




I made it 1/2 way up the hill before admitting defeat, and spinning around and getting another run up to try again. This time I made it 3/4 of the way. Not bad. But still disappointed. So I sucked up my failure, unclipped and walked the rest of the way.

Try walking normally with these platforms
 stuck to the bottom of your shoes!

Walking in cleats must be one of the best calf muscle lengthening exercises.  Because of the cleats on the base of your shoes,your toes sit higher than the heel of your foot. The result: the penguin waddle that I am sure you would have seen as the flocks of cyclists waddle their way to the coffee shops on a Saturday morning! The penguin waddle creates an excellent stretch to the calf muscles. The stretch  is then increased even further when you add a steep hill to the mix! 


The reward for climbing up "hell hill" was the very fun ride down the hill to the lookout! The only problem was, as I was so excited riding down it, I was painfully aware that the only way out was back up the same hill. 

The view from West Head lookout.
The recent rains had sent all the silt and tannins into the ocean.

After several near misses (of the hip meeting the bitumen variety) Andrew came up with some new cycling terminology.



Barked: What happens when you accidentally steer the bike off the shoulder of the road into the bark chips whilst still clipped in. "You're barked!"


Timber: Verb. The action of falling of the bike. Usually a consequence of being barked!


I had come straight from work to todays ride, and had only had a small yoghurt for breakfast with no lunch. After riding for a while I was hurting! On the way back from the West Head lookout, (up another torturous hill) my legs started to tremble badly and the need to vomit ramped up in intensity dramatically!


Luckily Laura had some nifty gels on her. These weren't the usual sachets of goop that most endurance athletes use. But little blocks, kind of like jelly lollies. 2 Clif Shot Bloks later and I kept pedalling. I didn't notice a huge change at first, but the vomitty urge disappeared and I could keep pedalling up the hills much happier than I had been all day. These Shot Bloks were gold. I think I am in love!


I rode happily back to the car, and as the sun set we all went home. I was still a little hyperactive and bouncing around from the Shot Bloks much to the amusement of the people in cars around me! (Those of you that have been fortunate enough to have been in my car would understand this!)

No ones butt looks good in cycling shorts!

As an aside, why is it that whenever I am on my way home from riding I remember that I need to pick something up from Woolies? Walking around with shorts that look like they have a nappy in them is NOT attractive, no matter how good looking you are. I am sorry, but even Megan Gale would look horrid in a pair of these. I must remember to put a super long jumper or trakkies in the car for next time!

Summary: 
Distance: 25kms
Duration: 1:45 mins
Avg Speed 14km/h
Max Speed 61km/h
Fall Tally: 2
New Falls: 0

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