Am I on track?

Am I on track?

Thursday 30 June 2011

Prepping for Le Tour

Only a couple of sleeps now until the Tour de France kicks off.  I'm sure the riders are al deep in final preparations - and as an avid, slightly obsessive fan of al things cycling, so am I...

First thing is to make sure the viewing facilities are in tiptop shape. I'm fortunate enough to own a digital TV, so I've double-checked that the signal strength I'm getting on SBS is nice & strong.  Last year - when the Tour was broadcast on SBS2 - I was getting terrible picture quality.  I ended up heading out to Dick Smith Electronics, and for $20 I bought a digital signal amplifier. It just plugged into the wall, and my antenna lead went into it. Made a HUGE difference to picture quality...

Next is my late-night snacking protocol.  Sometimes you need something crunchy to keep you going through the stage...   Sweet snacks (like snakes or jelly-babies) have turned out badly for me in the past - way to cloying a taste for every night.  Similarly, too-salty is dangerous - you end up way too thirsty and drink too much water. And when you are already sleep-deprived with the Tour viewing, 4am toilet runs just add to the difficulty!!  For me - Grain Waves are my snack of choice (nice & crunchy, not very salty), with Pringles as my occasional alternate...



Of course, with snacking comes drinks!!  Over the years, I've learned that water is my friend. As my general Tour drink, a big cup of water sitting nest to me on the couch is perfect.  But for one or two Tour stages, the big guns come out - exotic imported beers...  I'll usually go for something that is local to the region the Tour is in that night - some research is required!! The fallback beverage is a strong Belgian Trappiste beer - with my favourite one of the Chimay beers. Guaranteed to keep you warm (and a bit squiffy)...



Finally - make sure the couch is in good working order!! If you are using a recliner, lube & oil the mechanism so you don't wake the house with squeaks & squeals every time you get up to recharge your drink.  And ensure you have a nice cosy Onkaparinga wool blanket in case the temperatures drop in the middle of the night.  The blanket is especially handy if you doze off and wake up at 7am the next morning...

Good luck with your Tour watching!! A bit of planning and prep will only enhance the experience...  :)

Friday 24 June 2011

Book Review: "The Death of Marco Pantani" by Matt Rendell



During my 8 month's off the bike (and thus no cycle-commuting), I have the joys of a 90min each-way bus commute every day. Not fun - but on the upside, I've done a lot more reading in this 8 months compared to usual... 

My latest read has been "The Death of Marco Pantani" by Matt Rendell. 

At its most basic level, its a biography of one of my favourite all-time cyclists. When I ordered it from the library, I was looking forward to reading about the enigmatic Pantani, his fantastic swashbuckling riding style, and what made him tick.  Instead, what I ended up reading was a tragedy - the chronicling of a man's sad descent into drug dependency and hopelessness...

Matt Rendell did a terrific, throrough job of what must have been a difficult book to research. He seems to have interviewed a huge number of the key people in Pantani's life - including his parents, agents, team-mates, doctors and medical staff. It is very comprehensive.

The comprehensive nature of the book is probably, for me, its only downfall in terms of 'readability'. Personally, I found it getting bogged down a number of times in very exacting detail - either of interviews, or exacting minute-by-minute recounts of different events. If Matt Rendell was aiming to make this a reference book, then perfect - he nailed it. But as a casual reader, I found these parts difficult to get through, and wished he'd shown a little more brevity.

That said, I am very glad I read this book. I am a huge fan of professional cycling, but must confess my knowledge of cycling history pre-the Armstrong Era is pretty weak. Rendell's book really illuminated me on cycling of that era, and gave me a sense of perspective and context of many of the historical names of that time.

This book was also, in an emtional context, tough reading. As a lover of pro cycling, some of what I read was straight-up depressing - my initial feeling was of how corrupt and dirty cycling was, and how could it ever emerge from such depths. And as a psychology graduate, I was stunned and appalled at how Pantani - who was clearly in severe mental and emotional distress over many years - could be allowed to reach such a terrible state. Did no-one see the warning signs? Were they that oblivious?

Looking at what I've written so far - it looks like I'm saying "don't read this book".  But in fact, I think the opposite - its a must-read. As a modern cycling fan, it gives you a huge understanding of how far cycling has come by understanding where its come from. More importantly, its given me a much greater sense of the pro cyclist as a 'person', and not just a pedalling machine that turns up ready-made in lycra at the start of each race.

Definitely buy it (or borrow it from the library, as I did). Don't expect a rollicking, easy read - but do expect a read that will leave you with a greater knowledge and perspective of both Pantani and cycling in general.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

"Reverse" goal setting

I may have mentioned previously that my cycling goal for the year is the Ipswich Open (both an individual time trial and a road race) in October 2011.  Its probably wildly over-optimistic given my 8 month absence from the bike, but you have to have a goal, right??

So, in order to work out the steps to get there, I've worked backwards...   If I'm going to race the Ipswich Open in October, then...
  • ...in September - I have to be racing in my club criteriums at Murarrie, so I have some racing efforts in my legs. Which means...
  • ...in August - I have to be riding in my long, pacy club group rides. Both to have some decent mileage in my legs, and to ensure I have my group riding skills back up to scratch again for racing.  Which means...
  • ...in July - I need to be back to cycle-commuting regularly, and getting in some decent (but slow) weekend rides to prep the legs for the group rides.  Which means...
  • ...in June - for the rest of this month, I need to get used to just being on the bike again. And getting myself mentally ready for commuting, plus ensuring I have all my gear ready for it.
Hopefully that will have me ready to race in October, with the goal of simply finishing the race with the main peloton.

Saturday 18 June 2011

Baby steps...

Went for my 2nd ride back today - still feels great saying it!!


Took the bike out for a 45min easy spin, covering around 13.5km at a lazy 18.5km/h average...  Headed out to a nearby industrial area (which is quiet on a Saturday) and did a few long loops on the wide streets.  Then continued on around the surrounding suburb, on a combination of quiet roads and bike-paths.


Legs felt good (as they should on such an easy pace!), I 'felt' my left shoulder but there was no pain, and mentally I felt sure and confident. 


I'm still only 'slowly' returning, but this morning was a strong step forward toward regular cycling again.  Happy days...  :)

Friday 17 June 2011

Asking for it

Had my weekly visit today from Leonie, my Exercise Physiologist.  She checks in with me at the work gym once a week, where she'll review my progress with the exercises I've done over the past week and how my shoulder is responding.

Here's a tip.  When your Exercise Physiologist says "How did you find the exercises this week?", you should not say "Pretty easy, actually...."

Today's session ended up feeling brutal!! Both weights and reps went up, and a few new torturous exercises to perform.

Thanks Leonie...  I think...  :)

Tuesday 14 June 2011

What's it all about...??

So what's the point of all this??

No - I'm not entering a philosophical, existential period.  But I just wanted to let you know what I'm envisaging this blog to be all about...

It's gonna be loose and unstructured.  And probably will be filled with a whole lot of boring posts - especially at the start as I find my feet!!  But my grand plan is to detail a few of the following:

1. My journey back to cycling.  I've already mentioned "the accident" and "the injury" (cue horror music)...  That's in the past though - and I'm looking forward to chronicling my return to the cycling world.  Both racing, and cycling for pleasure.

2. Reviews!!  I'm a tight-arse. There's no nicer way to say it... :)  Being on an average income, and supporting a wonderful wife and two growing daughters on that income, means I'm pretty careful and judicious on what I spend my cycling-dollar on...  So I'm hoping to share with you the research behind my spending choices, what I perceive to be the best value out there in cycling gear, and my experiences of my equipment after much use.

3. Commentary.  I love professional cycling - for all its wonderful glories, and all its terrible faults. Its like the most wonderful theatre to me.  So from time-to-time, I'll be babbling about my thoughts on the world of pro cycling.  Not surprisingly, with July and Le Tour approaching, there may be a lot of that ahead...

Is that it?? Hardly. Let's see where this blog goes... I hope you all get some pleasure out of reading it, and I'm genuinely looking forward to any comments I get (about anything!).

The blog is also linked into a Facebook page , which also links to a Twitter feed (@CGradeCyclist). So whatever variety of social networking is your poison - it should be well catered for...

Again - hope you all enjoy the ride with me....  :)

Monday 13 June 2011

I went for a bike ride today...

Seems like a very basic thing to say - "I went for a bike ride today" - but the last time I was able to say that was 8 months ago!!


Eight long months ago...  That was the day last October when I was cycling home from work, on my 25km commute.  I was almost home - less than 1 km to go, when an old lady in a white Toyota Corolla didn't look as she entered a roundabout...


I remember waking up on the ground, with an ambulance paramedic talking to me. I didn't know where I was or what day it was (fail!), but I kept saying to her, "I think there's something wrong with my left shoulder - it hurts..."


Since that day, I've had two surgeries on my left shoulder - 11 screws in, then a capsular release and 9 screws out (I have two screws left in there as permanent souvenirs).  They were to fix my broken left clavicle, and the fracture to the left femoral head...


I'm still undergoing a lot of physiotherapy, as my "shoulder muscles" are still pretty wasted and weak - but I'm getting there...


Which brings me back to today's bike ride.  It was only 10-minutes long, and 2.5km.  But man, it was glorious...  :)

Sunday 12 June 2011

The Cycling Gods say no...

Plan this morning was for my first ride in over 7 months...  A quiet roll around the back streets of my estate, just getting used to the feel of being clipped in and seeing how the shoulder handles some 'real world' stress on the bike.


But woke up to some light, steady rain that has set in for the day...  :(   So I took the hint from the cycling gods, and will wait until (hopefully) tomorrow and see how the weather looks. 


I'm keen to get back on my bike - but I think the idea of making thefirst ride on wet, slippery roads probably isn't the smartest idea in the world...


Ended up cooking bacon and poached eggs on toast for my wife & girls - so it wasn't a total bust of a morning!! :)

Thursday 9 June 2011

Introducing Leonie...

I'm currently recovering from a serious shoulder injury.  Around 7 months ago, I was knocked off my bike by a nice old lady in a white Corolla...  :(  More on that later - but the upshot was a broken left clavicle, and fractured left femoral head. 11 screws went in, and 2 are now left as permanent souvenirs...


Today, the next step in my recovery. I met Leonie, who is my new Exercise Physiologist.  I'll be seeing her every Friday in the work gym, when she'll be making life tougher and harder for me... *yikes!*


For this first week, I have a series of 6 exercises to do - and I have to hit the gym at least 3 times. Don't tell anyone, but she has me doing bicep curls with a massive THREE KILO dumb-bell!! I guess I won't be troubling the Mr Universe titles anytime soon...  ;)


I am mainly just stoked to be doing 'real' strength training again. There is just something not very manly about using the elastic therabands from the physio...

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Welcome to the C Grade Cyclist blog!!

Hi everyone...


This blog will hopefully be an amusing & entertaining look at my cycling journey. I'm currently a middle-aged, happily married family man with two beautiful daughters. And I love cycling...  :)


I'm a member of the Balmoral Cycling Club in Brisbane, Australia - and I'm currently pack fodder in C Grade (for club races) and Masters C (for open races).  But I have dreams & ambitions for my cycling - over the next few posts I'll share these with you...


Safe cycling everyone!!