Another Crack

Dreaming of Everesting (yet again)

It's never far from my mind. Every street I go up, every mountain I drive I find myself constantly thinking about elevation profiles, gradients, length etc. That elusive grey jersey.

I know there's been thousands before me, and it's no longer a new concept, but spread to all parts of the globe. Many have done it multiple times, and to them it's a walk in the park, or something to do on a day off. Much respect there.

But for me it'll be a first. Something I've waited three years to do. Something that can enthuse me, motivate me, and unmotivate me all in the space of a few minutes. For me, the task seems gargantuan and I wonder how to fit in all in with working stupid hours, going back to Brisbane every second weekend to see my family and doing running program to lose weight and complete another marathon this year. It's been 13 years. I've run a lot of half marathons etc in the meantime, but it's about time I see if I can do the full distance again.

To fit all this in, with a prospect of the project I'm working on (possibly) running out of funding soon, I have to once again go at Everesting while I'm down here on my own, with no family responsibility and plenty of time to do "stuff".

I've been convinced by a well meaning friend to have a go at Everesting this weekend. Mind you, I don't consider I've done near enough cycling, with some "Donna's" thrown in, and a few rides around Healesville of late.

I'm attempting Don Road out at Healesville this weekend. It's 5.5k's and 370m of "up", for a total of 24 laps required. The first two kilometres are reasonably steep, with the rest of the climb tailing off after that.

Another friend, Rod Aitken smashed out this Everesting in about 12 hours last year. No chance I'll even get anywhere near that. I think, if all goes OK, I'll be out there closer to 20 something hours.

Hopefully, I'll get a few sherpa's out to ride some laps with me. For me, it's always been about the mental side of things. My mind gives up far too quickly, no doubt due to thoughts about taking time away from my family etc which always produces a load of guilt. This time at least, my family are several thousand k's away, in another state (or two).

Before Saturday comes though I need to get supplies, another set of lights, some new brake pads. And the list goes on.

I'm not prepared, not fit enough, but what the hell, I'll give it a shake anyway. Time is running out and it's coming down to "now or never". providing I have extra lights, battery packs for my garmin, and enough nutrition, I'm willing to just keep going until I get there.

Bring on Saturday, and lets see what happens.

Massive stack/Moving to Melbourne/Fixie Life

Hi everyone,

The Accident

Yes, you read the title correctly. Lots has happened, yet again. This time the injury occurred because of another cyclist.

Riding home in early November (sorry, it's been awhile since I last added to this blog) I was humming along quite nicely when I needed to slow to go through a road underpass, which I knew always had runners/kids/dogs coming through from the other side. This underpass also has a steel, 3 tiered railing on the outside to stop any unwanted forays into the creek below.

Hitting the "U-shaped" underpass, there's a convex (?) mirror showing who/what's coming through underneath. I saw a woman running, so stayed to the far left to ensure we avoided each other. Just then I saw a fellow cyclist ripping through the other side, who hadn't seen the woman. he then veered straight into my side of the path before seeing me - too late. His shoulder hit my jaw, and I got flung into the steep railing, over the bars and backwards, before coming to a halt on the concrete, screaming in pain. Nurse and her husband were following along a few minutes back (a good thing) and they called paramedics etc. Washup: a dislocated jaw, fractured hip, fractured L3 vertebrae, and a LOT of morphine. So yeah, it wasn't pretty.  

The intervening weeks have been pretty shit really. Even sitting on the lounge at home hurt like hell. Bored senseless, unable to do much of anything, I still went to work! Still not sure how I managed that as every step had me wincing in pain.  The giant bruise on my hip/back finally disappeared after 3 weeks so I didn't look I'd come out of a war zone any more. But I have put on unwanted weight - a natural occurrence when you're bored stupid I guess. And then I changed jobs and moved to Melbourne...

Melbourne

The company I was working for was going through some hard times and I could see the writing on the wall, so decided to bail and take up an offer down in Melbourne. Which served the multiple purposes of allowing me to see the Hell's 500 crew and go riding up all those stupidly big mountains, hopefully complete an Everest this year (finally) and stay gainfully employed. Knowing nothing about Melbourne except that I needed to be close to the university (La Trobe), I got a unit at Bundoora, only 4 tram stops away. Bargain. Another advantage being that it's also close to Kinglake etc, and not that far (on a bike with lots of gears) to the Dandenongs, close to all amenities and I can catch a direct tram straight to the city should I want.

I haven't got a car down here (yet) because I hadn't been allowed by the surgeons to drive, run or ride (basically do anything remotely fun) for fear of exacerbating my injuries. So it's been tram/bus/train to anywhere. Which hasn't been so bad as the public transport down here is awesome.

But your weather down here sucks! After the first two weeks I was sure I was going mad as the sun never came out. Was driving me around the twist. And now, funnily enough, the sun has been out and it stays out till after 9pm. Screws with me Queenslander head! but somehow I actually like it...

The #lanewaylife is fabulous, and the coffee shops.. what more needs to be said right?

Fixie time

On Monday I bought my first "hipster mobile", a fixie from 99 Bikes in Fitzroy. Very cheap but amazingly fun. Takes you back to the basics of why we ride. Pure pleasure. I'm missing my Lapierre though. but it'll be awhile before I can get it transported down, and I needed a bike to ride (is that an addiction???) and I needed to do some exploring. walking everywhere just doesn't cut it... But the surgeons told me - you can ride, just don't fall off whatever you do. Those words scared the crap out of me. So flat pedals and flat bars here I come for awhile...

So for the next couple weeks while I'm still getting better, I'll be playing "hipster" on my fixie.

But my baby is waiting at home, ready to ride the big climbs...

Till next time...

Blip in the Road to Nepal...

From Ferrari to 1972 Skoda

Hi everyone,

As you're no doubt aware I haven't been riding much in the last few weeks. I've had immense back pain that's been quite excruciating and just haven't had the motivation to ride.

So eventually I went to the doctor who ordered blood tests and x-rays (and now ultrasounds). Turns out I have some curvature of the spine, something not quite right with my vertabrae (flattened off or some such term) that apparently was the result of something from my youth, a problematic muscular issue with my lower back (it's been painful as all hell) and to top it all off, looks like I also have a small hernia. All only a week out before I was thinking of having another Everest attempt. Ugh!

So, what to do? I've been given a pile of painful exercises to do, as well as a referal for ultrasounds to see the extent of this hernia. Really feeling quite annoyed and frustrated at this moment. I'd enjoyed a relatively good buildup these past few months, and have been feeling really energetic and fitter than ever. All I really needed was some distance in my legs, which becuase of my back I haven't been able to get in. But before my back got really bad I was still in the frame of mind to have another go "on the quiet" and see what transpired.

This was the ideal situation for me to have a go at Everesting as my family will be away for a week. With the exception of my Ay-Up light battery dying a few weeks back (and no replacement due for another 2 weeks), I'd be doing it with a "25 lumen" handlebar light from K-Mart. Definitely NOT ideal, but still "sort of" doable.

To pass the time commuting by train I've been reading a LOT of books - all cycling related. Recent books were Graham Obree's Flying Scotsman and just 2 nights back, Chris Boardmans latest Triumphs and Turbulence which is proving to be an excellent and highly recommended read. Brad Wiggins My Hour has been one of my key motivators so far these past few months though. Just love his candid style.

So next weekend I might sneak out and see how far I can go before falling off my bike. My initial thoughts are to see 1. If I can get on my bike (probably a major point), 2. How much it hurts to ride, and 3. How far I can go before failure/exhaustion sets in.

No thoughts of Everesting due to my body's failure to work correctly, but I've missed riding and need to do something to keep me occupied. God knows mowing and gardening aren't high on my list!!

Jeff

7 weeks in - 13 to go

7 Weeks into Training

Well, 7 weeks (of a planned 20) have flown past and I’m feeling pretty good “where I’m at” fitness wise. My Fitness and Freshness scores are coming along nicely and when on the bike I’m feeling pretty good when it comes to the hilly workouts. I’m getting plenty of PR’s on many days up some of the “baseline climbs” too. I’m not a fast climber, more a diesel than a V8, but I still get there in the end.

Several days a week I’ve been doing various “hilly commutes” into the city, logging between 600-700m per day, though all the climbs are short and (a couple in particular) very steep. Though they’re short, they’ve provided some much needed muscular power to my legs and have also aided in me losing over 5 kilo’s in weight. I figure this is a good thing J I’m trying to be far more disciplined with what I put in my mouth too. Less weight, better strength = easier climbing.

Following this block of 10 weeks, I then plan to start extending the weekend rides to incorporate more distance rather than straight out strength. I figure I have the strength now, but I’m lacking the distance (endurance) aspect to undertake an Everest ride of at least 260k’s, though of course,  half of that will be downhill.

The hill to be Everested has been done once before (last year), so I know how many reps required etc straight from the table on http://everesting.cc . I’ve also ridden the hill before, last year, completing 18 laps one Saturday morning. Despite a couple very short steeper pinches, I think this time I’ll complete the required laps. I’m far (far!) fitter now, having benefitted from my prior failures in that I know the how and why of Everesting, and feel far more capable than previous. The hill itself isn’t particularly steep or overly long. The gradients are far shallower and thus more “doable”. A big plus (for me anyway) is that come the day, the whole family will be away for a couple weeks meaning I’ll have no guilt about being out on the mountain. This has been a big factor on previous attempts for me. I have incredible feeling of guilt when I'm away riding, when I have plenty to do at home, or being with my family. It's been a tough gig for me mentally to overcome.

This time, I’ll also have “sherpa’s” to help me out. I’ve learnt from other people who have Everested multiple times that this is an invaluable service and definitely needed for the mental battle that gets waged in your head the further you climb. Some of the gang from The Bimblers http://www.bimblers.com have kindly offered to come out on the day as “crew” and provide support for me. Awesome effort.

So, just 3 more weeks, then I’ll be into the final block of training before the big day. I’m really motivated this time to accomplish this goal.

Starting Over

Given my errors in what's required to Everest I've gone away, had a think about things, and decided to start building up once again. I'm not one to quit any challenge and that grey jersey is still at the forefront of my mind.

Since moving back to Brisbane I've easily completed the Strava climbing challenges without too much effort being required. To achieve these I've started my own plan as to how to go about building both strength and endurance via two 10 week plans.

Stage 1 involves commuting to work as much as possible, and to this end, I've managed to find the hilliest route I can take to build strength in my legs. I can sometimes manage over 800m of climbing per day just by commuting to work. Added to this is a Thursday or Friday ITT to raise my threshold level, and in between some rest days to ensure I don't get overcome by fatigue.

The weekends are taken up (depending on family requirements) with a ride I call "Mt Pain", which is basically 1300m of climbing in 40k's. This ride includes 2 x 20% climbs and then some very steep punchy climbs to round it off. It's a killer.

I've decided to give the Strava Fitness and Freshness app a go, following it religiously each ride to monitor both my improving fitness levels and my associated fatigue. Once fatigue gets too high, then I'll back off or take a rest day to get it down.

Stage 2 will involve longer rides to get some much needed endurance. So I'm working on getting my weekend rides up to 160-200k's. This was a major shortfall in my last Everest attempt so I'm determined to address this, this time around.

Sometime in the next few weeks I'll also plan in some time spent where my next attempt will be made. It requires 66 laps of a mountain with a much easier gradient than I've tried before. I'm going to aim for "half way" or "Mt Blanc" as I call it (a 4000m mountain in Europe). This will be a good indicator as to how my fitness and "plan" is going.

I'll update this blog as my fitness grows.

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

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.

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.