On The Road

You all think you are just so clever. Well let me tell you, right now you are at the top of the school but next year you start at the bottom again and this is a cycle that repeats throughout life. Then after secondary school, it is university and then it is the workforce. You might think you are all very clever now but remember, it does not last for long.

The above is a close approximation of a lecture an angry teacher gave my final year primary class many, many years ago after we had developed the habit of being a little uncontrollable. And it is a lecture I have never forgotten, partly because it continually proves to be true and in many walks of life.

And as recently as Saturday, this wise teacher’s words came into my consciousness.

I have been racing consistently for about 8 months and gradually improving both fitness and race craft. I even thought (naively) I was doing ok and getting to understand a little about this business of bike racing. At least in low grade club events anyway.

However, my racing activities have been restricted to Criterions at Nundah, Lakeside and Murarrie.

On Saturday I completed my first road race out of Elimbah.

Criterions are conducted on nice smooth surfaces free of potholes where at worst, you only push into the wind for a relatively short distance each lap.

The roads we raced on at Elimbah were very rough, contained many pothole hazards including some big enough to break a wheel if you hit them and sections into the wind that went for kilometers not meters.

There were races conducted in two divisions and I was pleased to be allocated the second division race – and I expected to be too.

However I wasn’t really expecting the handicapper to call my name out along with 5 others to start from scratch.

I asked a few other competitors how a handicap road race worked. The best answer I received came from one of my fellow scratch who simply advised “When the starter says go, we go like hell for as long as we can and when we are spent we hang on for dear life and keep going like hell”. Sounds like fun I thought to myself.

The first group of racers left the start line a full 14 minutes before we did, with other groups leaving 11, 8, 6 and 4 minutes before we were waived away.

I was advised we would operate a pace line along the flats and gradual rises and falls and do “your best on the hills and if you get dropped on a hill go hard to get back on because we wont be waiting for you”.

And go like hell we did, on bar jarring pot holed roads into seemingly endless head winds on up hills that seemed like mountains and down hills that seemed so short.

After about 5 kilometers we lost one of our group and it took some 25 kilometers before we caught anyone at all. At about 30 kilometers we had reeled in everyone else and the race was on.

Having a sprint capacity roughly equal to a broken billy cart uphill and knowing my only hope for a win was to break away I stepped on the gas with around 3 kilometers to go and achieved a gap of about 200 meters.

Looking at my heart rate monitor, I decided to ignore a heart rate in a range that would not please my cardiologist.

A kilometer to go and I still had a lead but with pain in the legs and bursting lungs my strength was waning. The chasers caught me with about a hundred meters to go and I finished 5th with a comfortable lead over the next placed cyclist.

Totally spent, aching back and neck, and legs not keen to keep rotating I rolled to a halt before turning and heading back to the finish line where other competitors were gathering. The big thrill came from my scratch partners. These guys are experienced cyclist and experienced road racers. To receive their comments such as “well ridden”, “great ride” and “you made the race and would have deserved a win” was extremely satisfying.

Road racing is tough and very different to criterions. It is fast and furious and you are more reliant on each rider in your start group. You work in cooperation with the people you aim to defeat because to not do so ensures you have no chance of victory.

I knew nothing at the start and now know a tiny little bit about road racing. The words of my primary school teacher came to mind as a racked up my bike and drove home. Her wise words repeatedly are proven to be true as they were again on Saturday. But it is good to be at the bottom again and I look forward eagerly to the next chance to race on the road and rising from the bottom of the heap.

Now for a Time Trial

Is it all about the bike (Part II)

Some time ago I wrote about the pressure I always seem to be under to upgrade my bike.

In the blog post, I referred to my basic satisfaction with the current unit and the fact that I do not perceive it was preventing me achieving any cycling goals, well at least not yet.

Right now, my inclination is to remove the previous entry and deny I ever had such thoughts.

And what about the sequence of events that has led me to this thought process.

Up as usual at 4.10 am. Breakfast etc and into the car. As is the habit, suit etc were packed the night before.

All too often it is a rush to get to the Roma Street meeting place by 5.15 am for a bunch ride but this morning I was on schedule to make it without a mad rush and maybe even with a minute to spare.

Enter the car park and park the car, get the bike out and discover a flat rear tyre.

A quick calculation is all I need to realise if I replace the tube the time it takes means I will miss the bunch start, so not wanting to ride the 40 or so k’s solo without a spare tube (because I would have used the one I had) it is straight to the shower and I am in the office at 5.40am, and very determined to now get away early enough to ride in the afternoon. (Believe me, I would much rather be riding at 5.40 am than following the New York stock market)

There are a few club members who ride most afternoons at about 5.00 pm to either Nudgee or Shorncliffe so sendan SMS to confirm the ride is on today and decide to link with them. So at 4.00 pm I rush home, grab the old (and much loved) steel bike and head to the Nudgee Circuit. And that is where the problem begins.

One of the cyclists arrives on his brand new Time – I think it is a VXRS UL Team Worldstar model and with Fulcrum Zeros, it looks sensational.

I have always admired Time bikes. I think they just drip style and class. And now, for no particularly logical reason I want one. Or if not a Time, a new bike of another brand or model.

With a bit of luck, I will get over this urge – like you get over a headache. It may just be a bout of temporary insanity. It may be having some spare purchasing capacity having just decided not to buy a new car.

Or it maybe that deep down, I really do want a new bike to enjoy and show off and I have been simply resorting to rational thoughts to convince myself I don’t need or want a new bike.

However, I have many friends who think getting up 4 or more mornings a week at 4.10 am defies any concept of rationality so maybe cycling addiction and rational thoughts are an oxymoron anyway.

To upgrade or not to upgrade, that is the dilemma.

But that Time sure looks good.

Lakeside - anticipation, excitement, trepidation

Lakeside – Saturday 28 February 2008.

Emotions – anticipation, excitement, trepidation.

WHY

Anticipation and excitement.

Lakeside is the Hamilton Club’s home circuit however I have only raced their once before.

It has recently been upgraded and re-surfaced so I was looking forward to seeing what it was like.

Lakeside is also a very different circuit to Nundah it that it is twice the distance, has a much, much longer straight and ridden clockwise, is usually into the wind. There also 2 distinct hills to challenge the legs.

My other interest in Lakeside is linked to being a part time motor sport fan. Lakeside was for many years the premier Queensland venue for motor sport and a place where legends were born. It would be great to do well there.

Trepidation

I have had a fairly heavy exercise schedule this week involving harder than usual week day rides, and a particularly hard Friday ride. I also added some swimming sessions to my schedule so I was not sure how my legs would be under pressure.

Also, my one race at Lakeside in March 2007 was a rather inglorious affair in that I was blown out the back after about 15 minutes.

The Race

It was tough and the field worked pretty hard. As the race progressed, the rises became hills, the hills became climbs and the climbs became mountains. And the pace remained constant.

At about the 20 minute mark I was thinking I would see breakfast for the second time and talking to other riders after the event, others had the same feeling at about the same time.

I did manage to do ok and walked away with the win in a 3 up sprint.

I was absolutely spent – and absolutely delighted.

On Tuesday I have a full heart review including stress test with the Cardiologist. Hopefully I will be allowed to go up a grade next week.

Now for some training at Mt Coot-tha in the morning.

Awesome

Sometimes, sometimes, it all comes together in a sporting performance.

It may be a game of football or hockey and the rest of the game seems to be in slow motion to you. Every move you make works and your ball handling or control is perfect.

All too often in cycling, be it training or racing we are either struggling for oxygen or struggling to clear the lactic acid from our legs. When our legs are great, the lungs struggle or visa versa, but when it all comes together and everything works as one, it is awesome.

I had such an experience this morning at the Nundah circuit in what was one of the most exciting rides of the last 4 years. An average heart rate of 121 over 62 minutes delivered 37 k’s.

It is often said the most important component of sports performance is mental preparation. I assume the difference between the professionals and us strugglers is the pros have the ability to put themselves in the frame of mind that allows them to replicate maximum performance levels day after day, session after session.

If only I knew how to put myself in the fame of mind to replicate this mornings ride.

Just as a birdie on the 18th hole will sustain me for many more rounds of golf, the ride the morning will keep me coming back looking for the thrill once more of legs and lungs coming together as one.

It was awesome.

Anonymous Heroes

OK, so South East Queensland is still in the grips of a severe drought and we all actually welcome the rain, any rain. However, how many of us morning cyclists can honestly say we were disappointed to wake this morning to find damp, but not wet roads, no rain and an encouraging, if not totally clear sky. I for one was secretly pleased the conditions were good for cycling, and in fact were ideal.

I was out on the well known Nudgee Beach ride.

Exiting the bike path on to Nudgee Road, I noticed another cyclist about 50 metres or so behind me on a TT or tri bike. My mental note to self was to keep riding my own cadence, speed and heart rate and forget about trying to prevent the catch (refer Ego post) and I'm pleased to say I maintained my discipline this time.

He caught me after a few minutes and I then tucked into his slipstream and had a fabulous tow to the beach. (40 kph, 100 cadence, 130 – 135 HR)

At the turn around, I thanked him for the tow and he invited me to tuck in again on the way back.

We got talking and instead of tucking in, he rode side by side.

He said he is a finance executive with a local “all finanz” organisation and we chatted about the financial crisis and the employment down turn. I asked him if he raced triathlons and he said he did. Talk came around to training and he revealed he is preparing for the Port Macquarie Iron Man.

This guy holds down a full time executive job and is married with a child.

He went onto outline his current weekly programme and it was nothing short of an extraordinary commitment.

His training for this weekend is something like this:

Saturday 200 k bike and 3 k swim
Sunday 100 k bike and 20 k run


He mentioned he normally is “just” a cyclist and loves racing and it turns out we belong to the same club. His forays into triathlons are infrequent.

What is amazing about this guy is the incredible commitment and passion he has for his sport. Other than simply doing it, there is no glory, no prize money, no photo or article in the paper or vision on TV. He just does it and loves it.

There are thousands of anonymous, but totally dedicated athletes out there, working extraordinarily hard to make the start line of extreme endurance events and I was privileged to meet one this morning.

Finally, the support provided by the partners and families of these people is also heroic and receives even less recognition than the athlete.
On behalf of all unknown athletes everywhere, thank you.

EGO

“And”, she said, “You are definitely not to race tomorrow”.

These were the defining words of Merdi, the Physiotherapist I had an appointment with this afternoon.

Why does a 50 year old, theoretically intelligent male, with a long sporting background and a history of injury management and recovery still let his ego get in the way of listening to his body?

EGO One

I headed out on Tuesday afternoon for what was to be a reasonably low/medium intensity ride. I had about 30 k’s in mind and intended it to be a walk in the park. My determination for a light ride was such that I took the old steel bike, the one that is somewhat heavy and sports what 30 years ago was the latest 6 speed Shimano group set. But I do love riding it.

When I arrived at the Nundah circuit, there were a few other club members getting ready for a ride. The asked if I was coming to the beach and on receiving confirmation they were doing an easy ride before racing the following night, happily joined in.

One of the guys, Paul, mentioned he had been doing 100 plus k’s per day for he last 10 days and was feeling strong. He took the lead and proceeded to cane the rest of us for the next 20 k’s. It is interesting how the ego overrides the plan when a few guys ride together. There was no way any of us were going to be dropped.

When we finished, I headed home and went through some recovery exercises including some lunges. On lung 4, I felt a jabbing pain in my hip and naturally stopped.

EGO TWO

I rode the next morning with no discomfort (River Ride) and really didn’t think much of it again.

EGO THREE

On Wednesday morning I did a medium to hard intensity 60 k's and felt good. I then headed off to a group running session on Thursday night and bang. I went to kick a soccer ball some of the guys were mucking around with during the warm up and I felt the same hip pain.

EGO FOUR

I headed off on a 6 k run, did ok, had a drink and it was off to a series of 300 metre runs. At the start of the second run, seeking to accelerate, my hip went and I was on the ice.

According to the Physio, it is not too bad and is probably the tightness of muscles around the hip joint which she started to release. I can ride, but avoid hills and running is a no no. I also have a range of exercises to do.

Just as I said last time, I will know better next time.

More than a race (part 2)

I won a bike race on the weekend, by over a minute.

It is a few days over 12 months since I was diagnosed with a severe heart issue and advised I would need open heart surgery to perform 4 bypasses around severe blockages in the arteries feeding my heart muscle – that is, I had to have quadruple bypass surgery.

I was not yet 50 years of age, although I was in my 50th year.

I was quite fit, by no means overweight and ate a reasonable diet. It was quite a shock.

I had passed out while cycling on election day in November 2007. I underwent heart tests and passed them all being cleared to resume normal life and the explanation given for passing out was (quite reasonably) dehydration. However when I passed out again while cycling 2 weeks later, it was obviously something more.

I then endured a few weeks of countless blood tests, x-rays, scans, etc and all came back clear. It was then back to the heart and a decision to perform an angiogram which revealed the problem.

I won’t go into the explanation as to why the previous heart tests had not revealed anything.

I spent quite some time in the cardiologist waiting rooms. I would look at all the other patients, over weight or elderly and think “why me? “and “what am I doing here?”

In order to have the surgeon I wanted and to go to the hospital I preferred, I had to wait 5 weeks. It was 5 weeks walking on egg shells but it also gave me time to learn more about the process I was to go through, the possible after effects and to understand post surgical processes and rehabilitation.

It also gave me time to make some decisions and set some objectives.

I borrowed some inspiration from Lance Armstrong and adopted his Livestrong theme for my journey. I also borrowed a phrase of his “You’ve gotta be strong and you’ve gotta to be brave” as my own and it was the last thing I recall saying to myself as the anesthetic was taking hold. “You’ve gotta be strong and you’ve gotta be brave.

I decided on a couple of things

I was going to do exactly what I was told and do it better than anyone else had ever done it.
I was going to play at least one game of hockey in the 2008 season
I was going to return to work after 6 weeks
I was going to ride my bike by week 4
I was going to relax.
I was going to race again in 2008

I cannot really judge number 1, but all others were achieved

The human body is a marvelous thing and its ability to heal and recover is extraordinary. The skills of our heart surgeons and their support staff are extraordinary and the professionals who care for heart patients in intensive care and then the heart wards are amazing are the post hospital rehabilitation staff.

I won a race on the weekend. I am simply very happy and thankful to be alive, let alone to be able to race my bike.