Archive for the ‘Thoughts and quotes’ Category
Hexa-badass
Posted on: Thursday May 3, 2012
Training on the bike 20-30hrs a week is a lot of time on the bike. Think about it: 20-30 HOURS a week on the bike. How you approach these hours is going to have a massive impact on your progression.
There is no doubt riding long hours on your bike consistently for months straight will strike a righteous fitness profit in your legs. But, let us not forget: training is not only about your legs. Training must primarily be about the mental connection between you and your legs.
This winter I decided to ditch the headphones. No music. No French lessons. No Radiolab science hours. And I trained by myself. Alone. No distractions. No hold-ups. I only had the rhythm of my breath and the monotonous quiet whirr of rubber on pavement as my companion. Days when the wind roared and the rain came violently from the skies were a gift. They offered variation as my mind fought for focus.
Ride with Cadel
Posted on: Tuesday December 6, 2011
Today at work I caught a country train service to a small little town, got off and rode down to the little coastal village of Barwon Heads, met up with a bunch of colleagues, and had a seriously delicious second breakfast.
After second breakfast this dude on a BMC with rainbow stripes on his jersey showed up for a chat and took us for a 35km roll around some pretty nice back roads at a very chatty pace.
I was worried the whole thing would be a bit naff or feel contrived but it was actually really, really awesome. Cadel and his training buddy (Brinton? One of the Torq Racing dudes — involved in a nasty over-the-bars wreck resulting in induced coma a few months back) were both totally chilled and chatty. It was really like any normal bunch ride where you spend some time next to a guy you don’t know. Pleasantries. Awkward bicycling handshake. Chit chat. Bike talk. Race talk. And then the group shifts. All very natural. The biggest difference is that the speed was much slower but who cares, it was such a beautiful day, and how often do you get to share a few words with a TdF champion, let alone one with whom you share enough cultural customs that you can actually have an exchange.
After the ride we were treated to duck, five-spice and pear (OMFG) salad at Annie’s Provedore and I found myself seated next to ASO commentator and seriously nice bloke, Matt Keenan, from whom I learned some interesting stuff about Alberto Contador. Namely that in spite of the trademark pistolero salute he’s a pretty humble guy. He lives across the road from his parents in the house he lived in before turning pro, he’s married to his high school sweetheart (like me!) and is managed by his brother.
After conferring with my colleagues, we decided to write off the day and spend the afternoon rolling between coastal towns and eating ice-cream at the end of jetties.
Above: Andrew, who will be my suffer buddy in the Odyssey next year.
83 km / 372 m / 3:21:05 / more
Not a bad day all in all. Thank you REA!
Posted on: Wednesday November 30, 2011
AIS Selection Camp: Don’t Keep Your Courage in a Box
Very deliberately, we were exhausted physically within the first 3 days. We were given no feedback, either positive or negative. We had no spare time to ourselves. We were never told more than a few hours in advance what challenge we would face next. We were sleep-deprived, woken unexpectedly, and at times not fed. Our challenges took us far outside our comfort zones. Our performances – good or bad – were greeted by blank expressions. Each night, we had intense de-briefs where a few of us would be grilled mercilessly about the decisions we had made that day. We were videoed and interviewed, all the time – constantly under the microscope. Half the time they probably didn’t even have tapes in the cameras.
Last season at the GILA… I was with a good friend and I woke up in the morning dreading the coming stage. He quickly pointed out that I should be stoked…. “You get to race your bike today.”We train so we can race. Then on race day we forget that racing is why we ride. Racing is the gift. Racing is what you should be stoked about..……. not a new set of carbon wheels… or a cool new cycling kit…. We ride so we can race. We train so we can crush people…… then in the race when we get crushed… we should figure out how to train better, harder, smarter. etc……. instead we make up all sorts of crap…..ignore the gift of racing and never improve upon our past performances because we are blind to what is holding us back.
It isn’t flat tires and heavy bikes that slow us down…. It is our FLAT SQUARE MIND….. Leaking air and spewing crap all over the place. When you show up for a race and people ask you how you are doing… Tell them you are ready to rumble… ready to hurt… and hopefully you can end up on top today. Don’t tell them about how hard your work week was, that you have been sick, that this isn’t an “A” race… that you haven’t started your V02 block of training yet…. Blah…. Blah….. Blah…. If you are going to spew excuses then I suggest you take up a different sport. My good friend Jason has more legitimate excuses not to train than anyone I know. But he rarely ever uses any of them. At 4 a.m. almost every day that dude is on the trainer or out on the roads 350 days a year crushing it. It doesn’t matter if he is sick, didn’t sleep, or if the damn sky is falling. He has missed very few days of training in 7 years. His hard work is what motivates me. I can’t quite live up to his standards but I try. He was the first rider I knew that had a CTL of 100, 110, 120. It didn’t kill him and made him stronger… I gave it a try and I can’t put into words what it did for my riding.
Sam Krieg knows speaks only truth.
I needed to read this:
http://crossfitimpulse.com/why-grains-are-killing-you
Update
Posted on: Friday September 9, 2011
It’s been a huge week with not a lot of time for training.
I have been on the bike a little, and I’ll fill those posts in soon, but not as much as I’d like to have been. I started a new job on the other side of town this week, spent the first two days in a conference and the remainder shuffling to work with the masses on PT.
The simple truth now is this: Whatever slim sliver of fitness I have right now is what I’ll be taking into the Amy Gillet Gran Fondo. I couldn’t care less. I’ll ride myself silly and love every moment of it. Here’s to being an empty shell!
