On a High & Hooked! - CORC Round 1, Mt Stromlo

Back in 2003, a massive fire storm wiped out thousands of hectares of native forest and pine plantations in the surrounding areas of the Canberra region. It didn’t stop there when the fire went on to claim lives and scores of houses. We were lucky and didn’t loose anything or anyone close to us but we know plenty of people who did. Why am I telling you all this?!?! The Stromlo Forest Park MTB facility would not exist today if it wasn’t for the fire that cleared the way for the development. Mt Stromlo was totally decimated by the fires that left a perfectly clean slate to build an awesome facility. The ACT Government came through with the grant and today we have a road criterium course, a XC running course, horse riding trails, BMX dirt jumping park and they have a built a Pavilion with facilities for the larger events. Plans are in place for accommodation, chair lifts and more downhill trails. All of this less then 10 minute ride from my front door.

http://www.stromloforestpark.com.au/

The Race

I didn’t eat any breakfast before the race, my stomach felt like a squeezed stress ball so it wasn’t going to take anything substantial. So with race start at 9:30am all I had time for was some water and sports drink. I prepared my bike and gear the day before so all I had to do was gear up and roll out. I rode to the track nice and slow, it probably took me about 15mins. One after the other, beautiful bikes primed and ready to hit the dirt went past me on top of cars.

I’m amazed at the variety in the way that people prepare for the race. Sure enough there are the usual early birds, setup and geared up before the sign on tent has even opened. Then there are the people that punch out multiple practice laps, I think this is crazy. Maybe one slow sighting lap if you’re worried about the technical bits but smashing the track at close to race speed just seems ludicrous. Is this a Tour de France time trial or what….? I was actually cheering them on just in case they were in my class, like go on boys, burn it all up now, hahaha.

My friend Josh gave me a proton pill (in the form of a GU squeeze) on the start line. The super sweet berry flavour makes me cringe just thinking about it. HR was steady at about 85bpm but those waves of nerves kept coming and going right up until the starter let us loose. I didn’t get the holeshot because this looney tune took off like a BMX racer and I just let him going thinking that he was probably an A grader in the wrong class. I locked in behind 2nd place and watched my HR closely, cruising around 175bpm wasn’t bad for the first stage, I can maintain this in training but I know how my legs feel later if I do it for a minute too long. 2nd place was a super light and had really skinny legs, I was wondering how they were going to fire up when the track gets a bit steeper. Sure enough mid berm up the switch backs, he would just about come to a stop and when I came close to crashing I thought this was enough, so called track and passed him up the inside. For the rest of the first lap it was just me and the track, I dropped my HR back down to 160bpm and locked into a good pace.

It wasn’t long before I noticed 3rd place catching up, and early on the 2nd lap he went past me up a pinch. I was blown away on two fronts, he smashed me on the hill and he looked to weigh in at 95kg’s or more. Then he said to me, ‘oh shit I hate this section coming up’. Like, why did you pass right here then, gosh!!!  I’d recovered from the start so I put my head down and locked onto his back wheel. By the end of the 2nd lap we had caught 1st place.

I remembered the back of his jersey well from his initial sprint off the start that had held him first place for most of the race. I was so surprised that I actually called out, ‘1st, 2nd, 3rd C grade all right here!!!” Instantly 1st place got out of his saddle and started pushing hard, I was thinking ooops, shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. After riding with 2nd for a good lap now we were most definitely brothers of the dirt, and he said to me ‘don’t worry mate, we’ll catch him again!’ I was like sweet, show me the way man. So I stayed with my tow and sure enough within about 2kms we caught him. Now I started thinking really hard about how I can execute this, I had actually settled for 2nd, but then I dropped back to 3rd, now I’m racing for 1st. Lets go!!!

I didn’t waste much time and in full slip stream stance (lying on my seat), sling-shotted past 2nd on the fast traverse fire trail section. Punched it through black berry climb and hooked a line onto the back wheel of first place. He looked fit and fast up the climbs but slowed on some of the corners so I knew he wasn’t the best at keeping momentum. There was a short section of steep downhill fire road that hooked into a 90 degree single trail, this was going to be my opportunity. So as soon as we hit the fire road I sprinted for the corner, getting heaps of speed, zooming into first place and into a massive two wheel drift through the powdery dust. I heard 1st place let out a grunt that was a blended form appreciation and disgust as I left him with a face full of dust. In an instant there were a few slightly slower riders in front of us, got passed one and then locked onto a quick single speeder for a coupe of km’s of undulating single trail. As soon as we hit the downhill we opened the gap by a few seconds. I went passed the single speeder and milked the track for as much free speed as I could find, pedalled as much as I could and went over the finish line 7 seconds in front. On a High and Hooked!!!

I rode the 4th lap but was fairly wrecked from giving it everything, I completed the 4th lap about 3mins slower then the others and estimate that I would have finished 5th or 6th if i was racing in B grade.

The Body

Actually felt pretty good, the hard intervals have paid off and gave me some recovery and ability to push hard at the crucial points in the race. I never bonked and was able to finish the extra lap at a reasonable pace. Even my lower back held up until after the race, I’ve been doing situps and push ups using the fit ball so it seems that I’m getting more stability and strength in my core.

Recovery went ok, I had a big Milo milkshake and wifey took me out to the Botanical Gardens for a chicken burger and salad. I had a bit of a headache but this seems pretty normal for me after a race, not sure why though.

Race Work Rate
Max HR – 185bpm (98% MHR)
Avg HR – 167bpm (88% MHR)

The Bike

I love my Scott Carbon frame and TLC Cycles hooks me up with all the good gear so it's running like a dream. The bike just comes into its own when you get up out of the saddle and sprint over crests and it has awesome hanling in any downhill situation. Could have used some rear suspension on those super rocky climbs but it really came down to picking better lines. My gears need adjusting but that’s about it. Oh yeah and I think I had my forks were locked out for most of the last lap, maybe that’s the secrete, hahaha.

Until next post..
Keep Ridin’

Pre-Race Tune-up

Man I’m tired, not physically but I’m really sleepy. With only one night in the last week or more where we’ve had less 3 or 4 disturbances during the night, I’m starting to fade into the fog of parenthood. The young fella is falling into and out of routines like the apocalypse is upon us, and the dog has decided that 3am and -4 degrees is the best time and place to be let out of the laundry to snap one off (oh I didn’t just make that joke did I). I haven’t quite needed a Grande Triple Shot Caramel Macchiato but I have been getting an extra shot of coffee in the afternoons. But not to worry I’ve still been getting out on the bike and have had some great interval sessions in the past week.

I have that little nervous tickle in my stomach, it sort of comes and goes in waves and sometimes wakes me up at night. There are times in my life when I don’t know why I’m getting it but that’s not the case at the moment. It’s all because this Sunday is RACE DAY! Oh yeah! I’ll be racing my first ever XC MTB race at Stromlo. I know I’ve been in a few other MTB racing events but the difference is this one is only about 1.5hrs long which means I’ll have to be running at close to my maximum threshold in order to get a decent result. The others have required more of a tractor pace to ensure that I make duration. This one will be intense and hard work.

Race Strategy

Last week I was feeling good about my preparation and was keen to enter B grade in order to get a taste of the competition and to see what it takes to get a result in A grade. But after speaking with older, wiser riders it seems that Canberra has some serious depth in the field. The course is about 7km’s long and the category’s available are:

A Grade – 5 laps (35km)
B Grade - 4 laps (28km)
C Grade – 3 laps (21km)
D Grade – 2 laps
Vets & Masters

I fancy myself as being a little older and wiser these days too so I’m going to play it safe and enter C grade. But I’m committing to 4 laps so I can compare times with the B graders to see where I would have ended up.

Race Prep – light ride on the day before, good eatin’ and drinkin’!!!

Race Start – being the popular class they normally get about 40 riders in C grade. So I’m going for the holeshot.  To be first into the first corner will mean that I’m not held up by slower riders and I’ll be able to gauge how fast the pointy end of the field are really going.

Groovy & Smooth – shortly after the start, maybe 10 to 20 minutes into it or near the end of the first lap. I’m going to try and find my pace, settle into a groove, and try and recover a little from the start sprint. I’m going to milk the track for as much free speed as I can and try to hold of faster riders for as long as I can without blowing up.

Last Lap – who knows, I’ll tell you in my next post. But I’ll be putting extra effort into picking good lines and just pushing out every last gram of strength.

Wish me luck.

Until next post.
Race Hard!!!

Dangerously Inspirational

Well my legs are a little sore, I’ve dropped another kilogram and I’m feeling pretty good about life in general. I’m sure most of it is because I’ve got an awesome little family who keep me happy and busy but I’ve also come off a solid week of riding.

Tues – 90mins interval session @ Stromlo
Wed – 90mins interval night freeze @ Stromlo
Fri – 120mins work group ride @ Majura
Sat – 90mins fat burner @ Stromlo
Sun – 90min fat burner @ Stromlo

For the next two weeks I’m going to try and increase the duration a little and any day that I don’t ride I’m going to get on the trainer to keep stripping the skin folds off.

I was riding with my mate Sammy on Saturday and we were talking about Michael Milton and dreaming of how good it would be to have two legs both as strong as his one. Sammy raced the Capital Punishment (50km) a couple of months ago and got a tow from Michael for a couple of km’s, only to be left for dead by him levering his bike over obstacles with massive torque and prowess. Not only has the champion adjusted to, and capitalised on having one leg, but Michael has overcome adversity on even bigger scales. Something I didn’t know until I looked him up. Shortly after being selected for the Para-Cycling World Championships in France in August 2007, Milton was diagnosed with Oesophageal Cancer.

“Almost two months of radiotherapy and chemotherapy was followed by radical surgery to remove two-thirds of his stomach and all of his oesophagus, along with the tumour. The results were good and his surgeon was confident the cancer was gone but he faced a long and challenging recovery.

At the 2008 Australian Track Cycling Championships he raced again in the 1km Time Trial and the 3000m Pursuit, winning gold in both. His times in the two events were comparable to his results in the same events 12 months ago.”

A dangerously inspirational man who I’m sure has helped to motivate people world wide. He sure has been dealt a raw deal in life but it does seem a little divine that it has been given to a man with his attitude and determination.

http://www.michaelmilton.com/

So while I was out smashing the trails with skids and wheelies again on Sunday, I started thinking about Michael some more, and thinking about how he must have developed a perfect cycling technique to get the maximum benefit from that one, awesome right leg of his. I’m 100% sure that I don't really use my clipins like I should. So I started doing what Milton does on any given Sunday, I started riding with one leg at a time. I managed to crank out 3 sets of 3 mins of riding with only one leg clipped in, and did it for each leg (obviously right?!?!). Yesterday I felt like I had completed weights session, from calves to hamstrings to quads, everything had a massive workout and my legs were wrecked. I’ve since researched the one legged training technique and it turns out that it’s not an uncommon way to improve technique and power. So I’ll try and crank of some more sets on the longer endurance rides where I have a little anaerobic capacity in the bank because I’m telling you, it requires a lot of effort.

http://www.cptips.com/index.htm

Until next post,
Ride On!!!

Economy of Time on Bike

I need to be a bit realistic about my training schedule and the goals I set. I think I can get a lot done in the next year but maybe not as quickly as the 18yr old fresh out of school without a care/responsibility in the world. I know this from my Moto-x racing days where I was always working a 9-5 to pay for the bike and travel. The pointy end of the field was always made up of kids with fully funded programs paid for by parents holding onto a dream that one day, their kid may be the super star to make that elusive million dollar bank balance. Some of these kids would finish school early, return home to catch a couple of hours of training on the perfectly groomed practice track in their back paddock. I was so envious of these kids back in the day but it did make it satisfying when you came home with a trophy knowing how good some have got it.

Today I have a 9-5 job in the government so work lifestyle balance isn’t normally a problem. But with a young family and a few other interests, balancing my time is always a challenge. There are a lot of people in the same boat of competing priorities that manage to race successfully, so I have a long way to go in balancing these priorities in becoming a faster rider. No one likes to make sacrifices but I think this crazy plan of mine is going to be worth it. Without knowing what I’m prepared to sacrifice yet I need to ensure that when I’m training I get maximum gain for the time spent in the saddle. So what do I do…I GOOGLE IT!!!!

Whoa, so many articles and forums on training techniques for MTB racing, aerobic vs anaerobic training, training for endurance capacity or training to increase VO2 Max, sprint and strength training, the list keeps going. Lots of crazy lingo and lots of competing ideas, from super painful stair running sessions to day long 300km road cycling sessions. Out of all the research I could manage in a couple of hours, two main training ideas kept jumping off the screen at me. Number 1, was the idea that pushing anaerobic limits with interval training will have a positive effect on increasing aerobic capacity. Two in one sounds like a good use of time in saddle. This seems counterintuitive but when it’s explained it makes perfect sense and simulates race conditions better then other forms of training. Number 2, was training to gain core fitness and induce weight loss with longer and less intense sessions. This one is obvious and well known but I’d imagine that once a level of core fitness is reached, this technique will become less beneficial to race speed. For the next month I’ll try and use about 50% of my time on intervals, and 50% of my time on core and weight loss training. See how we go….

How this translates to the actual riding sessions on any given day is still a bit of a mystery to me so I’ll look to some mates for advice. Hopefully once I have some real world examples of how the fast guys do it I’ll be able to come up with a training plan for the next few weeks and months. When I have it down in the calendar I’ll post it up.

I didn’t make many sacrifices last week and only got two riding sessions in, good for recovery but bad for progress. For the next few weeks its time to burn the km’s directly into my quads.

Next race is in the calendar for the 29th of May, it’s the 1st round of the local CORC XC series at my home track Stromlo.

Until next post..

Peace out!!!

Tumut 3hr Enduro - 1st May 2011

By pure coincidence, the birth of my MTB racing year has begun at the same place that I was born into this world. Tumut, NSW, is a sleepy little town in the hills of about 6000 people. Our family spent some years there while my Dad spent most of his time setting charges to blow cliff faces out, building new fire trails, fighting fires and generally looking after the local forestry areas. Tumut also has a large sawmilling and logging industry that keep the town running but the Tumut shire is probably best known for its apple orchards as Batlow is only a few minutes up the road.

The day began as most day trips do, up nice and early and on the road by about 6:30am. My cousin Dan and good friend Josh were in good form and with a quick rendezvous at Yass Maccas we were back on the road a and heading for the hills.

The Race

I was surprised at first at how early everyone gears up for the race. I mean we drove in with nearly two hours to spare and there were already keenos in full lycra chomping at the bit to get it underway.  I think for me I’d waste more energy on nerves if I was in my race getup for any longer than required. Registration was smooth sailing, I zip tied on my number plate and instantly transformed my steed from a practice bike to a full race machine.

I reckon a packed start line is as good for people watching as an international airport. Watching people handle the excitement and nerves is always interesting. Caught one guy checking out my gloves and realized he was wearing exactly the same, instant brothers of the dirt! My cousin and I are chatting, making observations and joking around but generally in denial about the pain that was about to unfold.

I think in terms of pace I executed the race poorly, I spent way too much time above 175bpm in the first two laps. It must be a good thing to get as many places as possible while everyone is bunched up but I think it probably cost me a lap and possibly a top 15 finish in the end. At the end of the day I was more than happy with my first solo 3hr, I gave it my all, handled the trails pretty well and generally had a great time. Success.

The track was tough, started with some solid climbing, had a nice downhill section at the half way point, a long undulating climb and ended with some great single trails and fast decent’s down to the start/finish. The track had an awesome big ring sprint, rutted out 4x4 trail just after the start finish that had multiple lines to choose from with multiple opps to put on a little style. Oh yeah the view from the skyline trail made the climbing worthwhile, well at least for the first few laps.

I finished 19th out of 53 riders.

113 David Roberts 6 laps 02:52:24
1 00:24:37 00:24:37
2 00:26:09 00:50:46
3 00:26:36 01:17:22
4 00:27:55 01:45:17
5 00:36:34 02:21:51
6 00:30:33 02:52:24

The Body

Considering I spent the day before building a deck, my lower back held up quite well as the track was fairly smooth. Upper body got a good work out because there was a lot of fast single trail that meant you were standing up for long periods. I spent the last two laps riding the cramps in my legs so I’ve still got a long way to go with my training.

The Bike - Scott Scale 30

Bike went well on most of the course. CrossMark tyres were solid performers. There were some steep rocky climbs where a 29er would have been good but I challenge anyone on 29er to smash the downhill like I was doing on my stiff, agile and trusty 26er. Obviously the debate continues for me.

Broken Bits
- Rear cluster worked loose
- Fork lock out doesn’t work anymore
- Fork small bump action has gone
- Front derailleur cable needs replacing

I’ll try and post once or twice a week.
So until next post.

Keep ridin!!!