Moving Home and Holidays Abroad

Well, this is the third week of being back in Brisbane. I scored a permanent job, with more money, in a similar role. So life in that sphere is great. The best thing though is being back home with my family. Back to playing Dad and husband, without leaving for days at a time to work away in Toowoomba. I missed my family far too much and missed out on far too much as well.
 

Toowoomba was a great place to work. The people were awesome, the work was challenging and interesting, the climbs were ridiculous, scenery was fantastic, but financially it just wasn't sustainable.
 

Now that I'm back in Brisbane I can leave the car behind and commute to work each day (or most days) by bike. I had a "set route" that I used to follow, but doing the latest (December) Strava Climbing Challenge led me to a better path into the city, involving +300m on the way in and +400m on the way home. So in reality, that's 700-750m climbing in 40k's per day.
 

Commuting has been a game changer. Going from averaging under 50k a week while I was in Toowoomba to now averaging over 200k a week has been both awesome and a shock to the system! I'm hoping this will do me good when it comes to having yet another go at Everesting in the future. Miles in the legs as they say....
 

So, one more day of work then I'm off overseas for my first trip abroad. I have been to New Zealand, but that doesn't count really (in my books anyway).
 

Where am I off to I hear you "virtually" say? Well, Munich, Innsbruck, Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Nurenburg etc. Spending  a few days (including Xmas and Boxing Day) in Innsbruck, Austria. First white Xmas at the age of 51. Going from 30 degrees to minus figures. How cool!! (pun intended).
 

Not sure how I'll go posting anything while we're over there but stranger things have happened at sea as they say.
 

Have a wonderful and safe Xmas with your families, enjoy the weather and the open roads (or trails), and I'll be back in 2016 for another Everesting crack.

Failure is a just another term for "I'm not finished yet".

Failure on the Mountain

Well my Everesting days are finished for the time being (never say never). I tried and didn’t succeed. It was a case of “a hill too far”. Feeling pretty gutted today. 2 attempts, 2 x DNF’s. This is not an easy gig. Gives me even more respect for those who have attained such lofty heights (pun intended).

I got in almost 3000m and felt sick as a dog, asthma kicked in and I never recovered from there. The cold mountain air does nothing for my asthma and once that happened I quickly tired and lost any sense of completing this quest. It’s hard enough to try something like this when you can breathe, let alone when you can’t! Try climbing a 20% hill breathing through a straw and you’ll understand what people with asthma go through. But still, I’m not putting that forward as an excuse, there are none – I just wasn’t up to the task.

The first few laps were hard but not insurmountable and I felt that despite the effort, I could do it. However as my breathing got worse, so did the exponential increase in difficulty, particularly the first 200m of the segment which are pretty horrendous no matter how good a cyclist you may be.

So today I got to work and found it hard to focus on anything except my disappointment. That was until my brother in Sydney, who’s always been opposed to such a boring and repetitious activity (and could never understand my obsession with Everesting) told me I should try Bobbin Head West, a far, far easier climb (2.9k’s, 5%, 165m), with amenities at the bottom of the climb, set in a truly magnificent area. He even decided he might ride support or do an Everesting as well.

Now my brother rides with the “A” groups in Sydney, won the Mont 24hr Team Championship a couple years back, and is (in my opinion anyway) a superbly fit athlete. So having him along on my continued journey was a bit of a watershed moment. So maybe I’m not washed up after all. Motivation started seeping back into my brain.

For now though I’m going to put this Everesting business to bed, and “let sleeping dogs lie” for a while. Cycling for me has always been about just “being”, enjoying the scenery, the hills, the effort, new discoveries and the solitude. So I need to rediscover that before I can move forward again.

Thanks for reading this epic tale over the last few months. All the best to find your own “Everest”.

Jeff

Time to Summit #2 (attempt)

E-Day Approaches.

Well, finally, my hand has been forced and my Everesting will happen Monday/Tuesday next week. I got a job offer back home in Brisbane earlier in the week, which I've accepted, meaning I have no choice really but to do it - a case of now or never.

The Hill

It's been a long 6 months since my first failed attempt, and I've seen many friends do multiple Everests in that time. I don't want to fail this time around. I know I need far more miles in my legs, better endurance, better "lots of things", but that will have to wait. I've just got to put my head down and just keep going and going. The lure of "Up" is just to strong to wait any longer.

I bought a new 12-30T cassette for the bike on Wednesday and I'll trial this tomorrow when I return home to Brissie. I need some lower gearing for the climb ahead. It's bloody steep and pretty unforgiving. There are thankfully plenty of places to stop and get my breath back on the way up.

Since I'm now in "get everything done before I leave" mode I'll only have Monday and Tuesday to make this happen. My Everesting will start about 5pm on Monday afternoon, and (hopefully) be completed sometime in the following afternoon. Riding through the night will be an experience, but the road should at least be quiet during that period allowing me to use all the road and avoid the steep camber coming up the climb. I just hope that rabid mongrel dog (that tried to eat me a few weeks back) is chained up. That's one dog that needs to be put down (and I'm a dog lover...).

A few weeks back I did an all day ride on a local climb (Clear Mtn) to test myself a little (and maybe Everest) and see how it'd go. It turned out pretty disastrous as that climb involved two very steep (+20%) climbs that after the 8th repeat proved just too tiring to ride up without putting a foot down. My endurance, despite not putting in many miles these days was pretty good, I felt fine - I just didn't have the horsepower to get over the climbs. So after 3150m I decided this wasn't the ideal place and my original "hill" was to be "the one". Besides that, it was well over 30 degrees Celsius on the day and stupidly humid. Yep, so I "caved" and decided to lick my wounds and gear up for the final push on November 2nd. A "make or break" scenario really. 

I've even decided not to book any accommodation Monday night to ensure I have nowhere to go other than that "hill". This way I can't back down and wimp out. There will be no contingency plan.

Beginning in November will also allow me to get the Strava Challenge done for the month, something that hasn't occurred for awhile.

I'm looking forward to being back in Brisbane though. It means I can go back to commuting by bike everyday, and also get my old morning mountain bike rides in too. Win-win all round really.

Bring on Monday afternoon.

Almost Time - Counting Down

This Everesting business has taken up so much of my thoughts from the last failed attempt in June. I don't think an hour has gone past that it hasn't crossed my mind. Yes, I want it that badly. I've layed awake at night thinking of the past attempt and why I should've just kept going back then and ignored the world.

It's proving to myself I can do this.

The second thought was that I'm not going to succumb to pressure this time, nor guilt (from being away from a family sitting at home waiting for me to come back) nor the elements. Having no support crew will be the toughest part once again....

A third thought it that "is this possible on so very few kilometres per week?". No longer do I have the luxury of multiple rides of varying distances every week, nor do I get the extra long rides in on the weekends, preferring to spend that precious time with my kids and wife. I know how hard the climb is (350m in 4k's with 1k of that being flatland), where the worst parts are (everywhere!), and where I can spin and get my breathing under control.

And a final thought. The road is dangerous and very narrow, full of hairpins and blind corners, not to mention a dog that wants to rip my legs off every time it sees me. How will this pan out in the middle of the night, and then how will I go when the traffic starts coming up the road in the morning?

When things get hard and harder

I might actually bring up my Niner hardtail up to start off during the night as this will be safer in the dark on the very rough descent, climbs pretty well, isn't too heavy, and I can smash down the descent easily and in much greater control. I'll save the roadie for later when the sun comes up, and won't then have to worry about taking off lights etc.

No time to worry about that stuff now! Too late for worrying, time for action. I know the hill (it's stupidly steep), I know the length (pretty much 216k's), I know the downhill component (108k's) and I know this is going to hurt like nothing else!

It's going to be a very long day, and I have to remember to just be patient, enjoy the ride, the scenery and to just take my time and conserve my energy (no use smashing out the first couple repeats only to collapse after 5 or so is there?). And finally, don't stop till I reach the required number of laps and elevation! 

I'm going to watch this youtube speech before I start and maybe then record it to play over and over when things get crazy...

Eric Thomas (it’s long but absolutely worth listening to over and over).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFGWnqNf6t0

Everesting checklist

I've put together a list of everything I can think of to get me across the line on this second attempt. have I missed anything?

I brought my MTB up last week and while the climb was easier, it was much to slow - although it may still be an option at the end when I'm completely shattered.

Think Light!

1. Bike clothing - bibs, jersey, socks, jumper
2. Heart rate monitor
3. Bike x 2
4. Helmet
5. Shoes
6. Sunglasses
7. Pump
8. Gels
9. Hydration (10 x drinks) + water
10. Food - sandwiches/banana's etc
11. 3 x battery packs – test these don’t reset the Garmin’s
12. 2 x Garmin bike computers

Marginal gains I've thought about which are worth thinking about as I ride.

1. Bike – keep everything off that’s not necessary. Take bare minimum tools if at all
2. Water bottles and food at car – drink and eat there and on the way back down
3. The start of the climb and the second pinch are the hardest – take these slow and easy – keep HR low – don’t start off hard and fast or you’ll run out of puff after the first few repeats
4. When possible (probably in the dark) keep to the high side of the road for easier pedaling as the road slopes downhill in the “S” bends (the inside line is much steeper and an energy waster)
5. At the top of the first pinch, take it slow and recover (road flattens). No need for speed. Get your HR down and breath back
6. The second pinch is tough. May have to stand near the top – take it slow and keep HR as low as possible
7. Up to the top of Flagstone – grind it out as easy as you can maintaining low HR. The “S” bends are steep – go steady and just push (seated). Don’t waste energy standing up
8. Rowbotham pinch – gets difficult half way up. Steady as she goes – may have to stand the final 30m or so
9. Exit roundabout and start the trip down
10. The Rowbotham/Flagstone intersection is dangerous. Stop completely and check the opposing mirror for oncoming cars from the right
11. The descent is rough, narrow and can be potentially dangerous. Take it slow and just cruise down – don’t be in a hurry to start the next repeat. Just get down the climb without face planting the bitumen! 
12. Wind will also be a factor. 
13. Be careful, look out and listen for cars both behind and oncoming. The road is narrow.

Anything I've missed here??

Getting Closer

Interesting times ahead.

I've decided to try and Everest a very tough, but very short climb for my next adventure. Managing a very limited amount of riding these days due to work commitments, and where I work away from home, it's increasingly difficult to think of doing an Everest involving a significant distance. Thus I've decided to "bite the bullet" and try a very tough but more (I think) manageable Everest. The climb itself scales 350m in just over 4k's, and the all up distance will be around 220k's. That's roughly 25 repeats of one very brutal climb! 

The "Everesting Calculator" says it's only 20 repeats and 386m's, but I'd dispute this one. My Garmin yesterday showed only a 350m gain including a full up and down to the start.

This week I brought the Lapierre up. Probably not a good thing as it has a 27t on the rear, not really small enough for a climb involving some extremely tough ramps. In hindsight my TCR which is both lighter, and has a 28t on the rear would have been a better idea.

I'm also going to experiment with my mountain bike, a Giant Anthem on the climb next week. It has both a triple chain ring, and significantly, an extra small gear (I purchased a long time ago). The descent of the climb is quite rough and patchworked, and with traffic it's not a really good place to be.

So, a mountain bike with dual suspension may work out. Guess we'll see how that pans out. It weighs in at 11.7kg's, so while not light by road bike standards, it may actually work out to be a better choice over the day's journey. Like I said, it's all experimentation at present to find the best way to make this dream a reality.

Yesterday afternoon, after work, I did two repeats, meaning I climbed 700m in (just over) 17.5 kilometres. That's a pretty significant elevation gain in my books! Despite the wrong bike, I felt OK doing just those 2 repeats, trying to find the "marginal gains" that will help on the day, the best part of the road, where the hardest parts will be etc.

The lower 1.4k's is just brutal and will be the hardest to get up after the first 5 repeats. It's very tough, with a really steep initial section for the first 100m, before flattening off, and then kicking once more. After that there's another very steep ramp, and once over that, it's just a slow hard slog to the top of the climb. I don't think anyone could call it "fun" :-)

So it's all going to happen soon. Just logistics to work out including days off work etc. I'll do this ride on my own, up here in Toowoomba while everyone is at work. Starting in the middle of the night will give me a good chance of some easier riding without traffic making it's way up the climb, and also involve (I hope) some cool and calm weather. 

I'm actually full of nervous energy, and this ride won't happen for about 2 weeks yet!

Stay tuned. I'm hoping this ride will be the one that's gets me that grey jersey which I've been coverting for months now since my first failed attempt. If anything I'm a stubborn bastard and I hate failing! So this time, with a full day on my own, without interruption, I'm hoping I can do it finally.

Remember - stay upright! Until next time.

The Loop

The Southbrook Loop Ride

After being sick for weeks now with a bad sinus infection I finally went to the doctor yesterday and got some antibiotics. Deciding that they should work whether or not I do some exercise I decided to go out riding anyway, and head out towards Southbrook and do the loop I created some time ago in Strava. I knew I'd be fatigued and tired from being sick, but I thought I'd be OK since it was only 70k or so.

That was a big mistake in my thinking! It turned into a really hard ride, with an average heart rate of 153, but I’d imagine once I put it into Strava it’ll show as “Epic” as my HR alarm spent a fair bit of time beeping cause I’d hit the upper limit and I couldn't get it down despite slowing and "relaxing". 

How it panned out

Things started out ok but by the half way mark I was dead with fatigue (no doubt from being sick for weeks). Figured rather than go back the way I’d come (which had some pretty decent hills thanks to the "heavy" bitumen) I’d keep going in the hope that there’d be no more of them. After swinging south from Southbrook I then had to negotiate 20k’s+ of badly corrugated dirt roads with hills! That slowed things up considerably, spending half the time going back and forth across the road avoiding potholes, water and corrugations, and by the time I hit bitumen again I was shattered and had nothing left in the tank. Crawled home at a snail’s pace totally dead with fatigue. The "wall" never looked so big when you're an hour or so away from your bed! It was a tough ride back and it was a case of just turning the pedals and ignoring the constant thoughts of stopping and walking.

Cobbled Classics bike

The Pulsium more than earned it’s stripes last night. Despite the terrible road it was still smooth, quiet, and pretty fuss free. I was hoping against hope I wouldn’t get a puncture! And I woke up this morning without a sore backside too! I couldn't imagine taking my TCR down that road. Those wavy forks certainly do suck up the worst the road has to offer. Seems every time I ride that bike it reaffirms my decision to buy it instead of an Emonda or Domane.

On the bright side, the countryside was gorgeous. Never seen it in the half-light before since I do almost all my riding in the middle of the night, and it was really great. Amazing what you miss in the dark. I did have some rabid cattle dog come at me too, but I yelled at the mongrel and the owners came out and called it back (thank God! It was foaming at the mouth!). 

Joys of cycling…

Stay right side up and stay safe.

Step Ladder to a Grey Jersey

An "Everest" (and that bloody grey jersey I want so badly!) is still at the foremost of my mind, despite the distinct lack of riding I've been able to do while based up here in Toowoomba.  

It's certainly going to be a difficult adventure and, as usual, done on the least amount of riding and training. I have no choice as this is "life as we know it Jim" and "it is what it is". I don't have the luxury anymore of riding every morning etc. On the weekends I prefer to spend my time with my wife and kids as I don't see them for days at a time and I value that family time more than riding. I'll still try and get out when I can, but with football, house and garden duties, cleaning etc it all adds up time wise.

So my main objective is to try and get in quality over quantity rides while I'm up here during the week, and definitely no junk miles. Every ride has to have a purpose and an outcome of some sort, be it climbing repeats, or a distance ride to some out of the way place in the middle of the night.

This week, my objective was to do hill repeats up to 3000m (1 ride) in elevation (or roughly 120k's) on the hill I intend to Everest. I see this as a stepping stone to my future endeavours and it'd be a good indicator of how I'm going, and where I'm at physically. 

I got halfway into it when my Garmin decided it'd had enough and let me know it was out of charge. Bummer. It's an older unit and I had (mistakenly) thought would have lasted the distance (pun intended). It was almost fully charged (I thought!) so I was a bit peeved when I got the warning message after only 1500m, or about 65k's into my ride. It has always lasted far longer (6hrs at a minimum) so it was definitely an unwelcome surprise.

Never mind thought I, I'll just swap over to my phone and finish the ride that way using the Strava app! Of course Murphy's Law prevailed and it too said it was out of power. At this stage there were several expletives uttered and I decided that was the end of that for the night. Not happy at all.

I hadn't brought up any spare battery packs this week as I hadn't thought I'd need them. Lesson learnt once more - have a backup plan for every issue that could crop up.

So, the plan for the rest of August is to ensure I get a 3000m climb in, followed next month by a 5000m climb and then the following month, the Full Monty.

I felt really good the entire ride, and spent most of it working on finding a good and easy pace in which to do the full ride in the future. So I varied things from reasonable to slow (I don't have a "fast" at all).

I'll upload the garmin data shortly as I don't have access here in Toowoomba.

Southbrook (like Southpark but with cows)

Monday night I decided I'd go have a look at one of the southern roads out from the city, in the hope it'd be flatter and easier to get some miles in. And besides, I didn't want to ride bloody hills again this week! I'd missed doing any riding the previous week and was desperately wanting to do some exercise.

The weather has been atrocious up here the last few weeks, with howling winds blowing day and night, and freezing temperatures. Last week it actually snowed up here in the northern suburbs! And this is Queensland for goodness sake. Toowoomba is turning out to be having an extremely cold winter this year (just my luck).

To counter the cold, I rugged up with a thermal top, winter jersey, and a spray jacket over the top, as well as wearing long bibs in an effor to stay warm(ish) while I was out. Leaving in the dark also meant the temperatures were dropping quickly so I had to hit the road as soon as I could after work, otherwise I might have wimped out and stayed in the warmth of my tiny cabin.

The road out was pretty uneventful (just low rolling hills) and wasn't too rough this time, and after consulting Google a couple times I found the right road (it can get confusing in the darkness), and seemed to be flying along at a rapid pace in the big ring. The sky was clear and the stars were out. I even saw some falling stars which buoyed my spirits a lot. It was a great night for a ride (if you count riding alone in the darkness, on a lonely country back road, with no "roadside assist", in the middle of nowhere fun).

I saw some lights in the distance and thought that I'd made the outbound trip much quicker than I'd anticipated. That was a premature thought though, and as I got closer to the lights I realised that it was some giant cattle yard loading cattle into equally giant trucks. The smell reminded me of growing up on our family farm in my younger years, and it brought back a lot of memories of dairy's and hay, milking cows and fresh manure. 

I continued on and came to my target for the night, "Southbrook", a small community with a few small houses nestled in amongst similarly small hills, and of course the ubiquitous pub full of locals who it turned out were only too happy to call out to me and have a chat about what I was doing and what type of bike I was riding. One local thought he knew about bikes and said "is that one of them new graphite bikes?". Seems steel is all the go up here apparently according to the locals.

I'd mistakenly thought that the wind had dropped, being away from the range. It wasn't  till I turned around to start the journey home that it hit me in the face, the wind that is. Yep, nothing like a fierce headwind to make you realise that a tailwind is only helpful when you're coming home on a ride! So the entire way back I was chewing the bars and trying to get as low as possible to both stay out of the wind, and to maintain some possibility of forward momentum. Turned out to be far tougher than I'd envisaged. That and getting "slightly" lost again and going off in the wrong direction... I'm definitely making a (bad) habit of that!

Coming out of a place called Wyreema, I'd missed a turn somewhere and ended up on an unknown (to me at least) road. At least the small sign I did see said I was heading back towards Toowoomba. Small mercies eh?

Eventually I made it back to the cabin and safety. Beats riding these country roads while dodging large trucks and assorted locals who don't realise they can actually dip their lights, instead of blinding you like something out of one of Spielberg's "Close Encounters" movies.

A definite plus up here is the seeming lack of rubbish on the roadside likely to cause a flat tyre. I've been up here 4 months now and have had no issues at all, either bike wise or in respect to flats. Toowoomba residents mustn't have heard about the tack problem down south in Melbourne yet. No doubt if they had, someone would think it a great laugh. Once again, small mercies.

Stay right side up and enjoy the ride. Until next time.

The Intervening Weeks

After some time away from this blog, I've come back! That may, or may not be such a good thing depending on your viewpoint, but nonetheless here I am.

Where am I at, fitness-wise?

I haven't given up on the idea of Everesting just yet. I'm stubborn if nothing else. I am planning on how best to go about it once again, especially now that I know just how much it entails, and how important having a support team is. My issue is I'll most likely never have that support, and so I need to plan meticulously around it. Both physically and mentally. My last attempt was going OK until I made the fatal mistake of calling home and heairng the discontent with my activity. Won't do that next time!

One thing with working in Toowoomba is there's no lack of hills. In fact, that's about all there are! There's not a lot of flat ground unless you're willing to venture way southwards, which I haven't done (yet).

Despite not getting a lot of riding in, due to the fact I spend half my life driving back and forth to Toowoomba, those rides I have done have been memorable, usually for the roughness of the roads, and the prevailing howling westerly winds! I've been trying to increase my distances up here of late, both for weight control and as a way of stifling the inevitable fitness loss from lack of exercise.

I've done a couple decent rides, this time away from the horrors of the Great Dividing Range and it's killer hill climbs. They might be fun, but some days you just don't want to face them!

My first longer distance ride, was to a place called "Goombungee" (92k's). The name sounds like a town you'd find in New Zealand, given their passion for having people jump off huge structures, attached to a rubber band of rope into icy water. Unfortunately this was not the case. There was no icy water (just icy wind), and no rubber bands, just lots of incredibly rough roads traversed with rubber tyres instead. After initially trying to find this place a week or two previously, I'd abandoned that ride after getting very lost in the darkness. This time I was determined to find the place.

The night was pitch black dark, and the thoughts of what may be in the forest and beside the road kept me alert and a little anxious. Creepy roads leading to a dimly lit, small country town where the only thing open was the pub. I'd had to get off the road several times for trucks passing through, but it was better to move off the thin strip of bitumen than get run over by 22 wheels moving at high speed. At least, as compensation of sorts, there were no huge climbs, only rolling hills, although these came with their own special brand of slowness - the wide, tyre sucking bitumen kind. They quickly sap you of energy, and it's often easier just to down-shift and stay seated and spin your way to the crest.

Riding at night in the country is a different experience to that of the city. There are no street lights, only the occasional intersection or a lone light in the middle of the darkness denoting a new direction to be followed in the future. The roads are thin, often with unseen potholes and broken pieces of bitumen lying across the road, and thus it's a process of staring at the road and also trying to see what's up ahead while all the while trying to maintain forward momentum. It's a balancing act. Some nights I wish I had a big spotlight attached to the bars instead of small, but reasonable Ay-Ups. I'd also (luckily) bought 2 seat stay mounted lights in case the main light gave out - it did half way back  (my own fault - forgot to charge it properly).

But you gotta embrace the challenges I guess as life throws them at you. I will Everest before the year is out - just when is all up to me and circumstance I suppose. I now have to find the time, no, I'll change that, make the time to do the appropriate training.

Stay right side up. Until next time.

The Silver Pinch Rd - Roubaix Ride (Search Engine #3)

After a miserable day of rain and very cold temps, with Toowoomba covered in heavy cloud, the afternoon finally gave in to sunshine and reasonably clear skies. I saw this as a chance to get out for a quick ride and do some more exploring. I knew it was always going to involve mountains and steep climbs cause that's all there seems to be up here!!! Some nights I'd kill for a piece of flat road... (maybe on the weekend when I'm back home and can take the TCR out for a spin. I miss the hum of the carbones on the tarmac.. it's the smell of victory :-) ).

I left on dusk, heading east, down Flagstone Creek Rd (for a change!) figuring at least I won't be climbing that mongrel hill tonight. Half way down Flagstone there's a branch to the left which, if followed, leads to Withcott (heading northwards  back to the bottom of the range in a kind of circle) and the highway. Maybe half a kilometre after this turn comes Silver Pinch Road, and this was where I wanted to have a look around. The road runs down the central spine in the pic below (cutting through the middle).

The road is narrow and lumpy and runs along a ridge line/spine and connects eventually to Flagstone Creek Road, further to the east. My idea was to have a look around this road, then double back and instead of going straight up the big ass climb again, I'd continue on and hit the easier gradual climb up the range further along (or so I thought...)

Much of the road seemed to be "under construction" and as such, there were stretches of new tar and gravel, rough ripped up bitumen and several very steep pinches (and I thought it would be all downhill...). There were also some very architect designed homes along this stretch that were way out of my price range! 

After a couple of k's I hit pave (humour me ok?) and this continued on for several kilometres. The dirt at least was smooth and not too potholed and in the dark I was on the lookout for deep gravelly sections or loose stuff. Thankfully nothing unwarranted happened. That was until I hit bitumen again and thought "there must be a downhill here somewhere to get me off this mountain". Yep, there was! A twisting, turning, fish hook type of downhill that was stupidly steep. I was down on the back wheel like my mountain bikes with hands squeezing the brakes, hoping to dear God I wouldn't lose a brake pad before I got to the bottom.  Parts of the descent were so rough my Ay-Ups actually came undone from their bracket and I had to roll in the dark for the last few metres before coming to a halt. Phew! made it it down alive.

Getting down in one piece, it was a case of turning back westwards and following the road to the other range crossing. I had to get right off the road several times because of cars and trucks but I was in no hurry and happy to cruise along and enjoy the cool night air and brilliant glow of the stars.

Eventually I got to the bottom of the other crossing and was alarmed to start going upwards at a very steep rate, like a fighter jet taking off from an aircraft carrier. After declaring "this is bullshit" and having a bit of a laugh to myself, I conceded and walked the rest of the climb. No way I could've climbed it with a 27T on the back. Maybe a 32? (I'm looking into that as I write).

It was only 43k's in the end but I had a great time. Although in the dark I was a bit creeped out about locals with guns and pig dogs lying in wait for me to pass. There's always an element of concern, travelling in the pitch black along narrow country roads in the middle of the night. But it's the only time I get to ride now so I figure I have to make the most of it. 

But I do still dream of Everesting, (with a 32T on the back). I have a hill in mind, but that's story for another day. I'm not through with that goal just yet... :-)

Stay right side up everyone.

Character Building

I'm starting to get used to this Toowoomba "thing". I miss home a lot during the week as I spend a few days up here on my own, then commute Thursdays and Friday's. It's wearing on mind and body. Having spent so much time over the last 17 years with my boy, not being with him every day is a constant source of angst. I feel like I'm missing out on so much of his life, especially his sporting life to which he's an absolute champion.

At least I can get a bit of riding in while I'm up here. Like yesterday's epic-ness. What I thought would be a reasonable, "run of the mill" 60k ride turned into a ride of epic proportions, for me anyway. Only 60k I hear you say? read on dear folks...

I left in the daylight with a slight breeze blowing in from the west, something that hasn't happened for a few weeks. Generally, over the last month, it's been an absolute gale force chill wind, with temps in the low teens to lower. Last Wednesday, with the wind chill, it was equivalent to 6 degrees celsius all day. Not particularly pleasant.Most days are the same in winter up here apparently!

From 2k out (from the uni where I work) the road turns rapidly from reasonable to ridiculous, with barely a shoulder to ride on, and idiots driving past yelling obscenities. That's not particularly helpful when the following vehicle is a massive cattle truck with several trailers worth of prime beef.

Anyway, after traversing some awful bitumen, I turned eastwards and was able to relax and take in the countryside. Late in the afternoon it's quite nice. The wind had all but dropped and I was just humming along smelling the roses, looking at tractors and saying "moo" to all the cows. Then it all started....

From that moment on it seemed every hill was at least 12% and they just kept coming, leading up to what they call locally, 'the wall", a bloody steep hill (15%?) that seemed never ending. By then it was dark and I had the Ay-Ups blazing away. All I could think at that moment was WTF is this???

After cresting that one, a short flattish road section and then came "The Descent". A massive downhill that would have been awesome in daylight, but was downright dangerous in the pitch black. Gravel here and there and twisting turns (not to mention on-coming speedsters) made me quite circumspect and so I kept the speed to around the 60kph mark, just in case there was a kangaroo or cow in the middle of the road (you do think of strange things in the middle of the night). I'd passed several "roo's" on the verge of the road already and so the idea of hitting one and going OTB had me a little spooked.

The "flatland", it's all relative I guess, went by quickly and I think, in daylight, it would be a really scenic place between the valleys. I'll have to go back and check it out one day soon. One thing about living up here is that country drivers don't get the idea of dipping their headlights when approaching someone on a bike on a very narrow road at night. I spent a lot of time off the road waiting for cars to pass because I couldn't see a damn thing!

Finally I got to the bottom of the range, where I knew what was coming. Having nothing much for lunch and only a gel I'd consumed an hour beforehand I was feeling pretty drained and just wanted it to be over. It was never going to happen so easily because this particular piece of road (4k's) is stupidly steep. The temperature was getting chilly (that's Toowoomba speak for cold) and I was daydreaming (onset of delirium?) of a burning hot shower and a Big Mac (and I hate Macca's!!!). Focus, focus Jeff!!

The Range - Flagstone Creek Road Ascent.

This would likely be one of my most pathetic (time wise) and yet character building experiences. I was already pretty much "hitting the wall" when I hit the first segment. A really steep pinch of only 80 or so metres (and maybe 15%-17%), but honestly, I was shattered. The first upwards pitch and I was struggling. Select "granny gear" (God, where's my mtb when I need it!) and just try to keep moving. The pitch tamed it was a short but oh-so-good "flattish" section before hitting another pinch. This went on for for 40 minutes. During that time I was chewing the bars and thinking of walking the whole mountain. And I did walk for 20-30 metres twice, just to get my heart rate down.. and I couldn't care. I kept it together mentally and got to the final hill, where I felt a wave of euphoria wash over me. I don't think I've ever felt as bad (or as good) as I did after riding (only) 60k's. That distance is normally an easy morning spin, not a "will I ever get back home" sufferfest. It was a very weird experience.

At last I got back to my tiny cabin and made myself a coffee, and just sat outside on the steps, in the cold, going back over the ride. I didn't think about anything much but that moment in time, and those last 3 hours of hell. I was "home", in one piece, the bike itself was outstanding in those conditions (smooth and surefooted) and feeling like I'd accomplished something meaningful, if only for my own ego.

There's a cycling blog called "Being Kristian Manietta" (http://kristianmanietta.com/momento-mori/) and in it, one of his rides is titled "Momento Mori", which means "remember your mortality". I thought about that a lot during the ride. Like Manietta says, "understanding that concept is a start to living". Manietta goes on to say "Why do we rush through life? Rarely pausing to soak in the experiences, the views, the smells and at times the freshness of it all". Well I did that last night, I spent at least an hour in the "solitary" hurt box, and I loved every stinking minute of it.

Today my legs hurt, I've felt sick in the guts, and I can't wait for another burning hot shower tonight. But if I had to do it all over again, I'd gladly jump back on the bike and hit that route one more time. 

Bike? Check. Lights? Check. Wattles bottles? Check.

Cow country

Getting nearer the ascent to hell..and they say it's downhill? Some people have no idea, it's all about the "up".

Ride route and profile

Stay right side up everyone.

Till next time.

Update from Toowoomba

The T-Files (Toowoomba)

It's been long few months working up here. Trouble is, driving back and forth and even staying up a few days a week is really impacting how much I get to ride these days. Some days I feel like a "drive in, drive out" (similar to the "fly in - fly out" in the mines) employee which is basically the reality of it. Just have to suck it up for now - it's a job and I'm employed so I shouldn't really complain I suppose.

I still follow the Hell's 500 website and their Instagram account. Some days I feel envious that those riders get to both ride so often, and to do their Everesting attempts without complaint. But for now, any everesting attempt will by the nature of my work, have to wait for another day.

But on the brighter side, I have found some really interesting places to ride up here, and of course, being at the top of the range, there are a never ending source of climbs to check out, some ridiculously  steep and other just long drags. I've been reliably informed that there are also a couple of 20% climbs around the place, so they will be next to find and ride. Might be a case of bringing up the TCR though, as it has both a 28 on the back (versus 27 on the Lapierre), and it's a little lighter (in other words, a better climber's bike). 

Now that I have the Shamals put on the Lapierre after speccing a shimano hub on them so they'd work with the Ultegra cassette, they've certainly lightened up the bike and also given it an even more comforting ride. It's a great long distance bike, extremely comfortable, stable and (now) light. Different horses for different courses in other words.

Ride to Hell

Last weekend I did the "Ride to Hell". After having been asked by my wife to pick up some assignments to mark (she's a teacher) from one of her colleagues, I decided to go "the long way' and do a ride I've been wanting to do for a long time.

The route was out to Dayboro, up and over Mt Mee (a 15k climb up from Dayboro) and then the plan was to hit a shortcut through to Caboolture and then onto my wife's friends place to pick up the assignments. The shortcut route off the top contained many  steep declines, and also contained some very steep incline pinches (they were a bit disheartening!). Of course I got lost (OK, maybe it was just an "adventure") and having no phone reception ended up on the highway to Kilcoy, miles from where I was supposed to come out. Having established I'd inadvertently added another 40k to the journey I decided to just "ride" and "get home when I got home". Much to the changrin of my wife....

Having only 1 piece of toast for breakfast, and no gels at all, I hit the wall at the 60k mark, and was shattered for the rest of the ride. It was a case of just "diesel home" (slow and constant) and just to keep the pedals turning over....So despite it being only 130k's, it took a considerably longer time than I'd anticipated. I left home at 5.30am and got home at 1pm. Ugh! despite the pain, it was fun in a sadistic kind of way!

Ride details are here https://www.strava.com/activities/310458100

Bikes - the original search engines (Apres Velo Clothing 2015)

My ride yesterday arv was damn awesome – had a smile on my face the whole way.

Brought the TCR up to do some speedy work this time. Such a marked difference to the Pulsium. You sit ON the TCR, whereas you sit IN the Pulsium. But the TCR felt like a rocket. I was hammering out of the town (45-50kph+) when this idiot pulled out of a driveway (of one of those small shopping centres). I slammed on the brakes and they locked up and I was just sliding towards this fool at a great rate of knots. Just missed the back of the car and yelled my lungs out him. Idiot!

After I calmed down a bit and got my stress level under control, I then went south out of town on this rough bitumen road, trying my best to avoid large and smaller trucks on the narrow road. Then turned off and went back east around this small mountain (Mt Rascale). The roads are pretty crap, lumpy and bumpy, and the surface is that kind where it seems to suck your tyres down into it. Slow and heavy going in some parts, particularly the hills. Looking out over the countryside is wonderful though, with clear vista's full of crops and cows, tractors and barbed wire fences everywhere you look. It's a real joy and is helping bring back the motivation to just explore again instead of feeling like I have to go out and hammer myself all the time.

There were kangaroos, rabbits, and even camels. So surreal….was great fun. I even scored a 54th/368 places on this segment where I was going reasonably quickly. Might have to go back there and have another (proper) go at that one....

I hit a dirt road too, and it was then I wished I’d brought the Lapierre up! But as they do in Paris-Roubaix, I rode the sideline and it wasn’t too bad. Not too much "retina rattling".

Didn't ride this morning as I got away from my parents place (a 40 minute drive out of town) too late for anything decent. Tonight I'm going to head out towards Flagstone Creek Road (see earlier rides in Toowoomba), but instead, veer off half way down and go another way, involving even more steep and longer climbs. I figure if it’s a short ride you gotta make the most of it! And up here, when it's dark, it's DARK!!! We're talking bogey-man dark, "Halloween" dark, and even "Friday the 13th" dark! Creepy....

The riding up here is different, but no less fun. Sort of helping get my motivation back, riding somewhere totally different. Much of it is exploring rather than hammering like back home. For sure, bikes are the original and best “search engines” for life.

Stay safe, and upright!

Riding with Pierre

I decided, since you can never have enough bikes, to buy a new "endurance machine" that will alleviate some of the discomfort from riding my Giant TCR long distances. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with the bike itself, I love it, but it does get a little harsh after a few hours riding. Since I turned the big "5-0" last year, and in still wanting to conquer Everest, I needed a bike that would be easier to undertake some serious distances (one of my lessons learned), and that was softer riding.

After researching and evaluating a lot of bikes (ask my wife, she hates bikes and hates seeing endless articles on bikes on my iPad even more!) I settled on a new Lapierre Pulsium 500 with a compact groupset (50-34, 11 x 32).  I was chasing a new Domane, but they're in short supply around the country, and I wasn't sure about the very high head-tube. It looked a little "weird" for me. While they're certainly great bikes, and are selling out everywhere, I decided I liked the look of the Lapierre more - it has a racier (subjective I know) look about it. More integrated? Whatever it is, it just took my fancy and so I headed out and bought one. I hadn't ridden the bike until I brought it along with me to Toowoomba this week. 

First ride impressions.

The more "upright" geometry got me a little at first. After riding a "real racer" for a number of years, it was a weird sensation being a little more upright and not as stretched out. This was compensated for by the very comfortable position in the drops, which I spent a great deal of time in and found probably more comfortable than the TCR (I'll use that as my comparison bike cause that's the bike I know best). Having both stems slammed to a decent degree, the TCR sits 35mm lower (apparently) but it doesn't feel like that. Certainly, I noticed the saddle didn't look as high off the frame and this made me inspect things more.

The frame on the Lapierre is very contorted and flattened everywhere. In comparison, the TCR is one smooth design from head-tube to seat tube. The downtubes are another area of interest. The TCR is clearly more aero (mine is the Composite 2 from 2011 which has a deep and narrower profile) whereas the Lapierre is more "traditional" in that it has a very shallow downtube that's neither here nor there. Nowhere near as boxy as current bikes for sure.

Yet it is these contorted shapes everywhere that work to make the bike look like a real "cobble gobbler", and a nice one at that! The top tube flexes in unison with the rest of the bike to make the ride far smoother. The TCR has absolutely no flex at all.

The Lapierre also has a small elastomer in the top tube to soak up the pounding of the cobbles. This works amazingly well in combination with the slim seat stays, also made to flex.

I took the bike over 50 kilometres of very rough, patchwork roads where every 5 metres there were "patches on patches", lumps, bumps, potholes, dirt "pretend pave", stones and detritis from the myriad styles of trucks that traverse the region. The bike absolutely smashed it out, soaking up everything so well I could have been on a dual suspension mountain bike. I kept thinking the whole time, "I'm glad I'm not on carbon rims and the TCR, my eyeballs would be rattling around by now". It was ridiculously competent and smooth. Nothing seemed to faze it. Everything was handled with utter contempt.

I did note that it didn't "feel" as fast as the TCR. This is probably an illusion, so any comparisons on speed will need to wait till I get home and take it out on a course I regularly ride. Toowoomba is littered with hills and as such the reduced pace may just be because of that very fact.

The latest Ultegra 11 speed drivetrain is also another standout feature. Silky smooth and silent. 

I thought maybe all this smoothness may be to the detriment of climbing and stiffness in the bottom bracket etc. Not so. No flex at all in the BB, not in the Zipp handle bars, or the Zipp stem. Good stuff.

So as far as ride and components go, this bike definitely gets a huge thumbs up.

Bad side? The wheels the bike comes with (Mavic Axiom WTS) are pretty heavy and only suited to maybe those wet and muddy days out. Just too heavy for normal "Joe's" and weight weenies would have a fit!. I've a great pair of Shamals to go on it when I get a shimano hub, so that will both lighten things up in the rear, and also provide a lightweight and decent set of "cobble" rims for the bike. Plus I love the look of the Shamals.

So, some pics...

Note the frame - bends and twists and splits..

Pinarello style forks help smooth the road

The "rear shock"

So all up, I'm very happy with this purchase and I think together, Pierre and I will have a loving future ahead of us!

For those days where speed and hotmix collide, then the TCR will still be the bike of choice, but those days where big distances and/or rough roads will be encountered, this will be THE bike for me.

Stay upright and enjoy the ride.

Starting Over

Back to the training. I've been really annoyed with myself the last two weeks not reaching the goals I set for myself. I learned a lot from the prior (failed) attempt and know now what's required now, both physically and mentally.

I'm working for the University of Southern Queensland now, up in Toowoomba, Queensland. So once again, training will be interrupted by the necessity to constantly travel up here from Brisbane. To counter this though I intend to bring both road and mountain bikes up when I travel so at least I can still put some miles in. The roads are pretty bad, pot holed and rough bitumen, but there is no shortage of hills!

Last night I did a hard ride, down to the bottom of the southern side of the range (Great Dividing Range) and then some k's around the city itself. The weather was absolutely miserable so I was glad I brought my Niner instead of the road bike. The temperature was 6 degrees, cold and rainy with a biting wind blowing the entire time. To compound things, I hadn't brought up any cold weather clothes so my pain was doubled. I was glad to escape into my tiny cabin at a local caravan/motor home park at the end!

Picnic point Toowoomba, in the dark.

Strava profile, though this (partial, from my phone)

So where to from here? Time to get serious again, find the motivation, and start putting in some big miles before having another crack at this monster called Everesting.

Probably the biggest necessity bar none, is having family support on the day. This is where I came apart on my last attempt. So there'll be a few discussions to be had before any new attempt to Everest on your own is just not a feasible activity to undertake.

From Failure the Phoenix will Rise

As those who've I've spoken to or emailed know my weekend was disappointing, and I didn't reach anywhere the target required. But there were a lot of lessons learned, so it wasn't all bad. I'm happy with an initial attempt at this stage anyway and the knowledge I got out of the weekend, both about Everesting and also about myself will prove invaluable in the weeks ahead.

I ended up doing 16 or 17 repeats of Mt Gravatt and after making the mistake of phoning home guilt got the better of me. Everyone is on holidays and just waiting for me to get home and that made me feel very selfish. So despite not feeling too bad, I called it a day at 2200m or so. Wouldn't have been so bad if I'd taken the Niner as well for those times when I was feeling shattered as the first 200 -300m (and then at the 1k mark) or so was quite steep and really hit your legs hard. Those tiny sections really got me hurting after a few hours. 

A fellow cyclist came off on the (fast) descent and did himself some serious damage given the amount of blood left on the road and the large number of bystanders willing to help out. An ambulance made an urgent appearance and he was taken to hospital. After that the guys I was riding with decided it was time to call it a day too and left me to my own devices.

So the wash up (lessons learned). 

1. I need to do far more repeats more often before having another go. That will entail some repeats of Mt Mee (a big and long climb) or something big regularly 
2. Regular 160-180k rides to get used to both the monotony and also build far more endurance in my legs (and ass!)
3. I must remember to take some music as I left it all at home and was bored out of my brain..
4. Support crew is essential (I had none..) This was probably the biggest part. You definitely need people around you to encourage and give you constant uplifting statements, otherwise you fall in a heap very quickly

I'm already planning out a training regime for another attempt in a couple months....I'm stubborn like that..

It's Time to Summit

A shout out to those on the interweb - How was your Easter? I was feeling crap the whole weekend with some sort of flu like symptoms. So no riding, although we did go down the coast for a few days. You can see my photo's on Instagram @jefftillack.

However, this coming Saturday is "E" Day!! (Everesting Day), that is, I will attempt, rather than just 4000m, the full monty! yes, stuff training and endless "what if's", I'm going for broke. There's 8 others doing a "half", starting at 5:30am, but I'm going out there about 4am (depends on the gates being passable to the park) and starting off the endless repeats until I get that damned jersey!!! (see below). I'm guessing it will take probably 20 hours of suffering, but the main problem will be food intake and support - I won't have any support crew! Psychologically I think this will be the hardest part. My family are just not into this at all and so it will just be me, myself and I until the end.

So I'll have to ensure the car is full of food and drinks, and I'll pack an esky of stuff. I just have to work out a regime for eating and drinking. I'll have the bike as light as possible, carrying no tools (it's only 2k up/down) and maybe one bidon of water/drink. The rest will be in the car. I'll also fill an iPod full of music to while away the endless hours going up and down. Can I do it? time will tell suppose. Either way, I'll tell you all Sunday (at some stage) !!!

    This is the ultimate goal for this coming Saturday....

Mont Blanc Group of Mountains

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I did manage to finally get some work after completing my contract with the university last Friday (27th March). The other roles fell through due to funding and internal machinations, so despite the stress being minimised for now, it's still lurking in the background.

I did score a new short term role with the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, after being telephoned by one of their faculties. They're hoping to secure me long term and possibly permanent, so fingers crossed in that regard. My new bike is dependent upon things going well!!

Speaking of riding, as this is a riding blog afterall, this coming Easter weekend I intend to do the "Mont Blanc Group of Mountains" in elevation, that is, those mountains are all over 4000 metres and this is my target goal in metres for this upcoming Saturday.

I rode out to Mt Gravatt last weekend to check out the climb and see if it was "do-able" for me and my level of fitness. The first kilometre is steep (ish), but not too bad at all, with the second kilometre being of a lesser gradient and a much easier "spin" to the top.

I'll be looking to do 36 repeats, or approx 4320m of climbing. For me this will not be easy as I've never done this before, have no idea how my mind and body will go, and won't have anyone there to support me when I'm stuffed and need some motivational speeches to keep me going. But this is all irrelevant to those amongst you who have summitted multiple times! You've been there, done that and know what to expect so I won't go over my present thoughts in that regard and bore everyone.

I'll get through this weekend, and then write up my thoughts on this interim path to Everest.

have a good week and stay upright.

Choices

Choice - what life is all about I suppose. Presently life has turned a few corners. I have a couple of offers now that, while they seems great, are taking their sweet time in turning into concrete jobs. Consequently you reach that stage where people (those with offers on the table) need some answers, i.e. “yes or “no” whilst the others are still dilly-dallying with their decisions. The question that then comes to mind is “ should I wait it out and hope for a “yes” in my favour for the more preferable role?” or “should I take what’s on offer now and see what happens afterwards?” Anyone have any ideas???

I went up to Toowoomba last week for a discussion with some of the uni staff up there. On the trip up, beautiful and green for a change, I spied some mountains with towers on their pinnacles. This needs further investigation in case there’s a good road that needs “Everesting”. Potential is everywhere at the moment! I also remembered growing up around the area and that in turn made me think of some of the big hills around our farm. Perhaps that’s in my interest to check out too.

My biking has started to get going, slowly, but at least it’s going OK. I’ve started doing the Strava Climbing Challenge for March and whilst I haven’t done any riding the last two days, I’ll nevertheless get back to it tomorrow and smash out some more metres. This is a challenge I will complete.

I read today the Strava blog about the girls down in Melbourne doing their Everesting of Mt Donna Buang together. How inspiring was that! Looking at some of the photo’s it seems like a truly beautiful ride and one I’ve now got very interested in.

It seems decisions will be made in the next day or two and that these will determine whether I'm still my present role, possible in in Melbourne (my preferred role) or in Toowoomba.

Sometimes it can be nice to have choices afterall.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

The rain started proper yesterday and today, it hasn't stopped pouring at any stage. The region north of Brisbane has copped a (now) Category 5 cyclone, which is causing (as I write this) a fair amount of damage. Luckily for most, the cyclone crossed the coast in a relatively low populated area, meaning damage was kept mainly to the bushland. The cyclone, once hitting the coast is deteriorating slowly however it still poses a significant risk (flooding) to the areas around Yeppoon, Rockhampton and southwards towards Brisbane.

My city is in the middle somewhere....

This is a big impediment to me! (yep, selfish) as I had planned a decent 100k+ plus ride for the morning, out around the southern suburbs before the weekend really got under way. The idea of spending time on the trainer doesn't thrill me as it always seems to upset the gearing on my roadie, and consequently I tend to not use perhaps as much as I should.

Been reading everything and anything related to Everesting the last few days as it makes it's way back to the forefront of my mind. I really need to get in and get this done soon. Otherwise it'll bug me forever and a day until the goal is attained.

Recently a friend attempted an "Everest" in an area known for continuous, big and steep hills and subsequently failed, doing only 2 of the approx 15 loops. This was a concern as this fellow is extremely fit and mentally tough so I was surprised to see his attempt falter. Gave me pause for thought, however that just then spurred me on to do my own thing, irrespective of how others went with their attempts.

My own attempt will be done on my own, in the company of myself (poor me!). That'll be the tough part. I've found a couple hills that will be suitable. It's now a case of riding them regularly and then when I feel I'm able, go and smash out the required laps.

I need to do this soon. It's killing me mentally, going round and round in my brain. Guess it's a bit of OCD that I feel I need to do this before I turn 51 in August. Each year (for the past 10 or so) I've set some crazy goal and most times get there in the end, from mountain bike races to running marathons. This one is by far the biggest yet though!

So from the very next ride, it's full focus on getting this old body fit enough to conquer Everest. Things are gonna get weird from here on folks!