Spin ups

Now that I'm getting a little stronger, it's probably time to do something about getting faster, too. Seriously, I have just done about the longest base training anyone has ever heard of, about a year worth of base miles, anything between three hundred and a thousand extremely enjoyable but mostly slow kilometers a month, for the past year... and while I continue enjoying just riding my bike(s), I also itch to go faster again. I mean, let's be honest here, faster is more fun!

Alberto and I went for a spin down to Sandgate yesterday morning. He said the sunrise should be beautiful and it was indeed quite the spectacle. And he said I should do spin ups and I did and every time I wanted to stop the crazy spinning he was beside me telling me to keep going for another bit, to the next roundabout, to the big tree... and I remembered how awkward the bouncing in the saddle is and I laughed and spun my legs like mad and later, at another playful uphill sprint along Sandgate Rd on our way home I was surprised how smashed my legs felt. Maybe I never did them properly in the past, the spin-ups? 150 rpm, for 30-40 seconds, three repeats, once or twice a week... And maybe, only maybe, I should leave my Fixie alone for a while.

Having a closer look at McAfees with the Multi-File/Range Analysis tool from WKO+

McAfees is a lookout on the road to Mount Nebo. It's conveniently located because from our place to the bottom of the climb it's only 13 km, far enough for a warm up to a hard workout and close enough for a mid-week pre-work training ride (40 km/1:45hour round trip).

The climb is actually not a climb in the classic sense but rather several ramps of varying length and gradient with short downhill "recovery opportunities" in between.

The seven to nine percent gradient ensure that I always have to push hard, no matter how fit and strong I am. It's 6.5 km to McAfees and there is a second lookout called Jolly's further up. The road continues on to Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious, but for a weekday training session, most people turn around at McAfee's or Jolly's Lookout, depending on work commitments and time constraints.

McAfee's has been one of my form finders for many years. I know every turn, every bump in the road, every tree and I know most of the corner stones of my power data by heart. Time, average power, TSS, mean maximum power for five minutes and twenty... you name it and I can probably rattle it off for my latest ride, and the best ride so far this season.

But I'm aware there is more to each ride than just time and average power.

I've been eyeing the Multi-File/Range Analysis tab on my WKO+ software for a while now and even had a little play with it a couple of months ago but couldn't work out the functionality intuitively and I'm very male when it comes to reading manuals.

Yesterday I was comparing my climbing data once again, trying to work out where I'm loosing time, where I can improve, toggling between screens and finally I had enough and read up how to create a Multi-File/Range Analysis.

It's actually so incredibly easy to create that I feel a little stupid for not figuring this out earlier. But now that I know how to do it I will use this great tool often. All you have to do is choose the range you want to compare, right click and choose "Create Multi-File/Range Analysis" from the drop down menu, name the thing and then open the next file range, right click, and choose "Add to Multi-File/Range Analysis name". If this explanation doesn't make sense to you, I found the detailed instructions on the trainingpeaks website.

I'm not sure whether there is any limit to how many files you can compare but I stuck with three to keep it simple. I chose yesterday's climb because it was my best time so far this season. I compared it to McAfees two weeks ago and then added one from November 2009, when I was only eight seconds off my best time ever.

The Multi-File/Range Analysis allows you to see the three rides overlaying, with the first window comparing power data, the second showing all three heart rate files and the third cadence. Multi-File/Range Analysis even allows to have multiple files showing in your quadrant analysis and scatter graphs but more about these two analysis tools some other time.

It was a real eye opener to see the data for the three McAfees rides in one window. What immediately jumped at me from the power file was that even though yesterday was my fastest time up to the lookout for 2011, I started out putting the lowest power on the first steep uphill section and subsequently, three minutes into the climb, I was 30 sec behind my previous best time from two weeks earlier. But by the end of the first longer climb (between 15:34 and 16:34) I had caught up. How did I do this? Yesterday I put out a slightly higher power more consistently. While the initial burst at the beginning of the climb was not as powerful, I was able to sustain a higher output for a little longer (average of 290W for about 25 seconds) and then managed to keep up a more steady output of 207W for the rest of the climb.

In November 2009, only three weeks before the start of the Tour of Bright, I would have been very fit and strong. I noticed from my notes that I was about a kilo lighter than what I am right now. I was doing gym work back then and able to put out higher wattage for longer and my heartrate was right at my climbing threshold of 162-165 bpm. Being November, it would have also been much warmer and the sun would have been up, which explains why I was able to push harder on the downhill sections. Right now it's pitch black at 5:30am and I'm a little more cautious descending.

There are so many more things that spring to mind but I want to leave it at that for now. I can't wait for next Tuesday morning and McAfees again so I can add another range to my multi-file and hopefully it will again be closer to my best time...

What makes news in Brisbane

So it was cold in Brisbane last week!

Facebook status updates were dotted with single digit temperature reportings from all corners of the area: Caboolture 3.6C, Inner city Brisbane 6.5C and 5.8C on my own Garmin on Thursday morning when crossing the Indooroopilly bridge.

Brisbane's cyclists were all in a frenzy over a few cold mornings; covering up their bragging with the seeming newsworthiness of winter temperature of an Australian subtropical climate zone city.

But than I discovered my own unexpected subtropical type of cycling associated pain: defrosting body parts! So it actually does get cold enough for numb, tingling toes occasionally and I remembered that I own a pair of overshoes. Last week would have possibly been a good time to dig them out and actually wear them for once.

You can never be quite sure how to dress in winter and whether it is indeed cold enough to go to the extend of putting on booties. The other morning it said 7C but with an undershirt and winter riding jacket I was way too hot.

I can tell that I'm perfectly dressed when I'm slightly cold during the first ten minutes of my ride.

Oh, and apparently we could be in for a dusting of snow this year, like Brisbane had in 1984, and that was actually on the News last night.

What you really need to be afraid of: bike path commuting at night!

In time for the start of another work week, here are a few things you need to know about bike commuting.

The single most important consideration for successful bike commuting is the choice of route to your place of work and home!

So you are too scared to ride your bike on roads in peak hour traffic? I acknowledge that this may be a very alien statement for European readers.

Excuses, excuses! What you really need to be afraid of is bike path commuting at night!

First up, since my pledge to ride to work at least once a week, I managed to follow through and last week I even rode Wednesday and Thursday, something I'm hoping to repeat this week. Just like one swallow doesn't make a summer, four weeks of bike commuting doesn't make me an authority on bike commuting, but it does mean - well - one less car on the road (and in the overcrowded staff car park).

I usually commute on roads, yes, the same busy peak hour traffic roads that I crawl along in my car the other four (now hopefully three) mornings and afternoons a week. With a little bit of extra time at hand because I had gotten away on time, I decided to take the bike path home for a change on my last commute. The bike path runs kinda parallel to my usual on-road commute along a creek and adds only 1.5 km to the distance. The sun had already set when I rolled my bike out the office door and I thought the bike path would make for a more peaceful commute than fighting for road space with stressed drivers anxious to get home.

Well, there are a few things that I didn't know about bike path commuting, and to spare you the same horrific experience, here are the highlights of my ride.

1. Bring a bell! I'm not sure whether it is the deafening silence of the belt-driven Peacemaker or bike path frequenting people just love the sound of bells but I got told in no uncertain terms to ring my bell.

2. Shut up! Bike paths are frequented by hundreds of tiny insects, yes, even this time of year. Keep your mouth shut, especially if you are vegetarian.

3. Be alert! The path at night is used by all those people who forgot their lights at home or got caught out in the early sunset this time of year. And then there are also the joggers and walkers who naturally don't carry lights. So don't get freaked out by all the shadows popping up left, right and centre out of nowhere.

4. Memorise the path! The overlit, mountainbike-riding types with helmet high beams love staring right in your face, probably wondering why every oncoming rider has this rabbit in the spotlight wide-eyed panicked expression. While they swoosh pass you in their bumptious unawareness, you have split-seconds before everything turns dark for a long while - blinded.

And last but not least (and probably the one that put me off the most):

5. Don't be in a hurry! Even the best planned bike path has to cross roads at some stage. Even if they are normal little suburban ones - I'm not even talking main, five-lane, arterial types - consider that you are not travelling with the traffic and no car (at least not in Australia) will stop and let you cross. So settle in for a looooooong wait till all this peak hour traffic has passed.

So let me tell you, I was kinda glad when I finally popped out of that scary, spooky Ghost train of a bike path onto my beloved road. I took a deep, insect-free breath, my nerves settled, I signalled with my arm and merged with the traffic, confident that the woman in the car behind me had noticed my well-lit bell-less bike, took the third exit on the roundabout without wait or hesitation and was home minutes later, grumpy but without further delay.

What was the big deal?

Do you ever wonder How on earth do people do this?

Give it time and it will come. Keep trying! Don't get discouraged. Don't force it, just work on it. Things will fall in place. And you then wonder Why has this ever been a problem, or challenge? You look back and ask yourself What was all the drama about?

It was like this with my first How on earth do people manage to ride on rollers? attempt to What was the big deal, I'm doing it hands-free now! realisation and the same happened with I'll never be able to ride Singlespeed, let alone a Fixie! to This is so cool, I never wanna ride another bike again!. Now I can add Trail #4 in the Bunyaville State Forest to this list ... hopping all the logs, taking the dips and committing to the rocky creek crossings, not stopping until I popped out at the other end.

In the case of the rollers, six or more years passed between first meager attempt and mastery because I didn't touch the damn things again after the first miserable and discouraging failure. It was on my list of things I had resigned myself to never being able to do. Case closed!

Don't ever put anything on this list! Re-open cold cases! Or you miss out on moments like I had today where things suddenly fell in place and before I had time to get all worked up about that log, or rock, or whatever it was I believed I couldn't ride over or through ... I had done it! John was waiting for me with the same big smile in his face.

Last week, when I was on that same trail #4 and heard someone right at my tail, I stopped and hobbled out of the way as quickly as possible but not fast enough for the girl behind me to keep the necessary momentum to clear the log across the trail. She had to dismount, too, and while she remounted I said to her, half in doubt, half with hope You would have ridden this, right? and she gave me this brief Of course! as if saying What's the big deal! before she swooshed away.

Today I rode over it. Four times! What was the big deal?

Sure, it's not the most technical single track. The guy at the trailhead even said that it's an easy track. Easy? I was all giddy and happy because I had just ridden it and he said it was easy - Buh! - but had some little challenges - Better! - and some corners to be entered wide. So I did just that the second time down and all of the sudden it made perfectly sense to my body to follow the lines of my bike and, while not quite with Zen-like smoothness just yet ... it felt easy!

There are a few trails that are on my list of things I will be able to do soon!

My favourite loop: Clear Mountain, Samford, Bunya and Mailman's Track

Sometimes a gamble pays off. Well, maybe I missed out on an even better ride, I will never know. But I do know that what I got was pretty good.

The choice? A 120 km ride to Mt Crosby where I had never been and with the QSM bunch - I love riding with these guys - but in the rain and cold and dark

Or

A sleep-in and possibly a dry ride later in the day - alone!

As mentioned in my previous post, I don't mind riding in the cold or dark but I draw the line at cold, dark and wet. So I stayed in bed.

The gamble? Sometimes the rain only gets heavier.

I checked the skies and the weather radar at eight, nine, ten and by 11am, while the sky looked still grey and threatening, the rain had stopped and the radar looked clear north of Brisbane with just a few remaining rain pockets here and there. I decided to take the risk.

View from the top of Clear Mountain looking south towards Brisbane

I headed for Clear Mountain with the hope to do my favourite loop without getting wet but I was prepared to play it by ear and change directions if the sky was bluer on the other side.

The five kilometer stretch from Eaton's Crossing to the two steep sections that lead to the top of Clear Mountain are one of the most scenic in Brisbane I think. Sure it's rough cheese grater road and as dead as it can be but there are hardly ever any cars and now and then you can catch glimpses of the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance amongst the trees.

The first time Alberto took me there a few years ago, I had to zigzag my way up and didn't even make it to the top. For years I attempted to get further than the very first driveway on the very first steep part and I had this huge respect, almost fear of Clear Mountain.

With the roads wet, climbing the short 500m long and 15% gradient sections out of the saddle was impossible. The rear wheel was slipping even when seated and my quads were burning when I arrived at the top but I realised that I'm no longer scared of Clear Mountain.

Now that I actually make it to the top of Clear Mountain, I could go on and over and return via Winn Road but I still prefer to turn around and continue on Eaton's Crossing because there is Nemesis. That innocent looking climb on Eaton's Crossing, just before the Bunya Road turn-off, actually stopped to be my Nemesis long time ago but the name somehow stuck and whenever I refer to that climb as Nemesis, people knows what climb I'm talking about. I even heard other people using the name, too, so I suspect I'm not the only one who once detested getting up there. It's just under a kilometer long but has a consistent 9-10% gradient and takes me about three and a half minutes to climb. Nowadays it's a great test climb for me to see where I am with my fitness and strength.

I planned to turn straight into Bunya Road for home when I realised that I would run out of road before three hours were over. Even though heavy dark clouds were hanging thick and low against the hills on the other side of the valley, I decided to drop down into Samford to add a few extra kilometers. I promised myself that I wouldn't have to also climb up Mailman's Track if I did a Samford Valley loop.

Looking at this photo now I'm not exactly sure how I managed to stay dry

Colourful Samford Village was bustling with people and a wiff of coffee came across from the bakery. Before long I was climbing out of the valley, up towards Bunya Road, which is equally scenic as painful with tired legs. To my great surprise my legs were doing a great job and carrying me up the rollers with more ease than they had in the past few months. Without even thinking, I turned into Mailman's Track, happily breaking the promise I had given myself an hour earlier. It took 10:30min up and 4:30min down, adding exactly 15 minutes to my ride to make it a round three hours.

After the ride I pulled out my compression thighs that have been burried in the bottom of my drawer for months unused. I think I will also take it a bit easier for the next few days. I can't call it rest week since I'm not exactly training, even though some of you may get this impression. ;)

Riding time: 3hrs 3min
Distance: 68 km
Elevation gain: 1053m
223.7 TSS

(I'm all for) Winter Riding

No, seriously, I'm not sarcastic or anything. I'm loving winter. Maybe it's my European heritage finally finding a voice and way to express itself, or several years in Australia have caused heat to accumulate deep in the core of my body and I don't feel the cold anymore as much as I used to, or I spent so much money on winter riding gear that I get excited that I actually get to wear the full kit for those brief three mornings before spring, or I simply just love the spectacular sunrises this time of year.

I once was a summer girl. Then again, 76.3% of the world's population wouldn't even agree that Brisbane weather this time of year passes as proper winter weather anyway (and I include Melbournians here) and it could probably pass as just one of those average Berlin summers even though the temperatures hit 7.6 degrees Celsius for a brief moment in a dip along the river just before sunrise this morning.

But people are sensitive to single digit temperatures in this part of the world and I, too, was rugged up and appreciated my full finger gloves, winter jacket, full lengths bib and beanie under my helmet. But I also felt immensely alive and happy riding in the dark with the crisp air in my face, the early morning smell of fresh buns from the bakery at Graceville train station, warm and sweet and comforting, and the smokey smell of fire places reminded me of Europe.

The days have been just as crisp with squeaky clean blue skies and fresh air. So what have I been up to these past week?

I rode out to Lakeside with John and his newly refurbished custom Llewellyn bike.

And we watched Alberto race, socialised, chatted with race officials who found me skinny and healthy looking (much to the club handicapper's surprise it seemed) and who immediately tried to talk me into returning to racing. I laughed and told them that I wasn't planning to spoil this perfectly good thing I have going on ... but later secretly checked the flyer for the women's series that is coming up in July. Then we jumped onto one of the bunches that took us back into town in no time, almost like motor pacing really.

On Sunday Alberto and I joined the Zupps ride, which I haven't done in over a year and I remember now why...! The first twenty kilometers were twiddled along at 28 km/h until the Data#3 team pulled off at the roundabout in Petrie to head into a different direction to Mt Mee. That's when some young guns from Lifecycle (I think) hit the front hard, probably frustrated with the slow pace, and everybody was suddenly ripped out of their lull and pushed deep into the red. I wasn't panicking, especially with Alberto next to me reassuring me that we would catch on as soon as we would hit the Petrie Hill but some guys behind us were less patient and started overtaking. I didn't mind because I sure enough sat at the back of the bunch and climbed at the same speed reasonably comfortable but when the speed stayed around 40 km/h after the hill, I couldn't sustain it and dropped off the back. I could have possibly dug a bit deeper for a bit longer but Alberto saw me struggling and pulled out with me (he had an easy ride on his training schedule anyway) and we picked up another friend Peter and just enjoyed a beautiful Sunday morning for the remaining 65 km.

On Thursday I commuted to work and I wondered (again) why I'm not riding to work every day.

Now it's another cold Friday night and I have the heater going next to me. I can hear the possum on the roof, probably running and fighting for the little warm patch above me. The rest of the house is sunken in cold darkness. The washing machine just finished and I'm dreading to leave this only warm room to hang the wash load in the veranda but I already can't wait to rug up tomorrow morning for another ride.

The commute

Five years ago I never saw a cyclist on my way to or from work. In the city, sure, you see commuters, but not in the suburbs. Too dangerous to ride your bike in peak hour traffic, most would have said...

While I always rode quite comfortably amongst cars, much to the distress of Alberto, I used all the other excuses not to ride to work: too short a distance (only 7.6km), too hot in summer, too cold in winter, too much hassle carrying lunch and make-up and corporate office attire (My hair straightener doesn't fit in my backpack!), no proper shower and bike storage... any excuse you can think of, I probably used it. I love riding my bike, so don't ask me why I don't like the idea of riding my bike to work. And, yes, I am plagued by my bad carbon foot print conscience.

Two weeks ago, when I was thinking up the logistics for the Fish n' Chips Ride, which started 5:45 pm only three kilometers down the road from the office, I decided to ride to work in the morning and then straight from work to the meeting point. With not enough time to go home and get changed, the other option would have been to throw the bike in the car, which even I, with my relatively low bad conscience threshold, thought a too outragous thing to do.

So I commuted to work and my commute was not very long nor was it very exciting and I didn't wear earrings, watch and bracelet that day because I forgot to pack them but I enjoyed looking at my bike in the corner of my office everytime I looked up from my computer screen. And then, the following Thursday, even though there was no Fish n' Chips Ride, I decided to ride my bike to work again.

... and nowadays I see more and more commuters on my route to work. Some quite regular commuters like the guy in Hard Yakka workwear and orange high-vis vest, the girl on a mountain bike, the Asian lady on her hybrid and Wayne from the club on his road bike, and some irregulars.

And now there is ME on Thursdays...

Why competitive cycling needs Specialized

Today's post is provided by a new site sponsor Primera Sports.

Every market has a brand that stands head and shoulder above the rest and is the brand that first comes to mind. In the competitive cycling world, this brand is Specialized.

Why Specialized?

No other bike and cycling clothing manufacturer has such expertise in creating a ground breaking formula and simply making it better and better every year with new and exciting innovations. The 2011 versions of their excellent products prove this point excellently. For example, their  2011 29er bikes are taking the cycling world by storm.

Specialized Bikes:

These bikes help competitive cycling because:

·They are innovative: The S-Works brand in particular combines excellent stiffness with a lightweight frame that allows you to really enjoy a powerful ride, getting the most out of it that you can.

·They help you win! Todd Wells, who won the 2010 US National Championships, hadn’t received his bike until the night before he was due to ride it. He went on to win two titles in the championship. The bike? A Specialized S-Works Epic 29er. The capitalisation on the E in “Epic” is very much deserved!

Specialised Clothing and accessories

Competitive cyclists swear by Specialized Clothing and accessories because:

·Like the bikes, they are innovative. Specialized clothing aims to be the best and make YOU the best you can possibly be. Examples of such innovation include their excellent Solar Arm Covers and Specialized shoes that use all of the latest technology to make performance excellent.

·They fit perfectly. Not many manufacturers and designers make such an effort to ensure that cycling apparel clicks to the body and works with it, optimising comfort and performance at every opportunity. Specialized has developed its own Body Geometry (BG) technology to ensure an excellent fit.

·They are designed to be excellently comfortable and functional. Specialized saddles for example adhere to this. Specialized helmets are designed to provide excellent protection and comfort and are well worth investing in.

Specialized bikes, clothing and accessories are all intricately designed to make sure the rider gets a hard, fast, exhilarating ride and performs to the very best ability they can.