Should there be any updates

I'm not sure yet

That fell apart quickly!!

It seems the dream of another London Edinburgh London is now finished. I tore my rotor cuff in my shoulder. There is no way that I can continue the training that I need. Probably, it will have healed sufficiently before the actual ride, but it will significantly impact on my training and preparation. Closed

Coastal 200. A Brevet Permanent ride

Well today is my first Audax ride since Paris Brest Paris in 2011. That's incredible. I can't believe how quickly that time has gone. Actually I did the 70 km Mt Buffalo Alpine Classic option in 2012 but I'm not really counting that. That ride was really a manifestation of my cycling 'burnout' and need for a break. I was entered for the 250km but decided the day before that I'd just do the 70 and enjoy it.

I see today's ride as the beginning of the journey to London Edinburgh London (LEL). Riding a brevet ride introduces some discipline. You have to follow the route, in the timeframe and not just go with the flow. This time back though, I'll be more careful to mix it up and still do some long rides 'without the card' so I have the freedom to go where I feel like at the time.

6:00 am was the start time I had designated for this ride. I had no real idea how long this would take but I was hoping that I would finish within 11 hours and therefore be home for dinner!

The start. 202km in front of me

The ride has about 2000 metres of climbing, so not too much, not too little. It would be a ride of quarters. Most of the climbing in the first and third quarters. Stunning scenery for most of the ride, either coastal vistas or country riding. The only downside, if you can call it that, is the amount of navigation. Lots of turns. Today is the first time I've used my Garmin 1000 on an Audax ride so it will be a good test. I'm nervous about the battery life so I've also brought a battery pack charger.



Anyway, lighting check etc done and I'm off.


Winding north through the suburbs of Wollongong, enjoying the quiet streets,  quickly brings the undulations of the coastal road to Bald Hill and Stanwell Park. Traffic is not too bad at this time of day and the workers who are heading off to work are behaving themselves on the road today. It was a stunning, blue sky spring day. Not too hot and whilst a bit windy, not too much. So the option of riding verses going to work was a great one.






The top of Bald Hill has one of the most iconic views of Wollongong. The view south along the escarpment, with the spectacular Sea Cliff Bridge in the foreground, it is a spectacular sight.

Looking south from Bald Hill

Coffee at the first checkpoint was greatly appreciated. 52km and 700 metres of climbing done and feeling pretty good.

The next 50km was the most challenging from a navigation perspective to stay on the designated route. Winding to North Wollongong, around the Steelworks to Port Kembla then along the north edge of Lake Illawarra to Dapto. Time for an early lunch with 102 km and 1002 metres of climbing done. Halfway in all respects.

Now this next 50 km was going to be the test. Roads and hills that I know well, but not with 100 km under my legs. At least not for quite a while. Why is it that I only remember that I need a couple of more gears on my bike, when I'm on my bike, not at home where I can do something about it? The route from Dapto down to Kiama is quite hilly, so there will be a few quite slow climbs today.

It's quite amazing how strong the pull of home is on a course that brings you back to the finish at the half way point. I had no intention of pulling out. Felt tired and a bit sore but still good and yet I could not wait to get 20 or so kilometres away from Dapto so I was back on the ride and away from home. Mind games of long distance riding. Crazy hey?

Kiama Blowhole. Spectacular when there is a big sea running

That's right, it's school holidays. The Kiama Blowhole was pretty crowded even though there was no 'blow' today. A final chai latte at Kiama and then it was back on the road for the last 60 km. Hills for the next 10 km and then the final 50 km is flatter.

I could feel my speed starting to drop and I was spinning rather than powering up the hills now, but I was still going forward.

Eventually I hit the southern edge on Lake Illawarra and followed the bike track around to Yallah. School holidays introduced some traffic onto the bike path but it was all good.

The wind today had not been my best friend, changing direction to give my a headwind for about 75% of the ride but it was not too strong. Heading south west along Avondale Road straight into a headwind did make me struggle. I just kept thinking that the direction and strength on the wind would be a great asset on Cleveland Road. This turned out to be true with the wind helping me over the undulations that can be draining on Cleveland Road.

With just over 2 km to go and around 199km on my Garmin I looked down at the screen and it was completely blank. Time to panic! If it's not on Strava, or at least recorded by a Garmin, it didn't happen. I stopped the bike straight away thinking that the battery had gone flat. I had to connect the battery charger at the halfway point because I was down to 25%. This is poor for a device that is targeted at endurance riding. You should not have to turn off all the functions just to get good battery life.

I plugged the charger in and the device came to life, still with the ride loaded. Great, what a relief. I checked and there was still 65% battery life, so I don't know what caused the Garmin to shut down. By the way, navigation worked without issue for about the first third of the ride. After that, I had to follow the navigation line. I was not getting the advance turn information. I'll be interested to keep an eye on this. Was it an issue with the Garmin or an issue with the route loaded from RidewithGPS??

Finished with a smile

With that saved, it was time to finish the last 2km. Then before I knew it, it was all over. Time 4:01pm. By the time I had got off my bike, took a finishing photo, found some change in my handlebar bag to buy an icecream it was about 4:03. The lady signing the card rounded it off to 4:05!! Oh well, it's only time... 202km. 10h 05mins.

Such a great day, such as great ride. More to come.

Now to ride home and tackle my home hill, that tops out at 18% in places.

New Adventures

It's been a while since I last posted. Seems to be the bane of many blogs.

I've set my sights on a long distance cycling comeback. The next part of this blog will be the journey to get there.

First I have decided to try to do London Edinburgh London next year.

But first, at lease three major hurdles have to be overcome.

1. Will my body handle the extra kilometres needed in the training and riding?
2. Will I still enjoy the longer distances?
3. Can I actually get entry to the event. Numbers are limited.

Each of these are quite important. If my body can't do it anymore, it can't. If I don't enjoy it still, I'm not going to do it, and finally, if I don't get my entry accepted, obviously I can't do it!!

I'm going to focus on getting my average distance consistently up each week, which has started, and then start to do some longer rides. The first of these being tomorrow as I tackle a 200km Brevet Permanent.

20 January 2017 is the entry date for LEL so I need to focus on answering questions 1 and 2 before then.

The following posts are going to reflect the journey.

End of another year: Go for a paddle

Well it's the end of another year.

I checked out my work diary and realised that I could take the day off.

The forecast for today is hot northerly winds and blue sky so it was out for an early morning paddle in the entrance of Lake Illawarra. You can often get some great little waves coming through here which are perfect for a 2-300 metre run.

Today was no exception, though they had a tendency to get steep as they stood up against an outgoing tide. Made for some fun.

Getting ready for a good time

I have not used the GoPro much lately so I decided to take it as well.

A few times I got quite a bit of air paddling out through the waves, a few times smacked in the mouth by the waves. Each time this happened I hoped the water cleared from my eyes before the next one hit!

Heading out through the waves. 

I picked up some great runners and had a ball. Most of the time I was out I was by myself, with just the fishermen on the breakwater as spectators. Eventually I was joined by a couple of SUPs but I was pretty much spent by then.




The Thursday evening paddles in the wind and waves of Botany Bay are starting to show in my confidence and skill in the bump and slop. Still a long way to go, but I'm definitely improving

Go for it. 

The paddle back (about 1.8km) was still into the outgoing tide but it was peaceful and relaxing as I just picked a rhythm and enjoyed my surrounds.

All in all a great way to finish another year. Birthday tomorrow :)

Bridge to Beach

This was my first race on Sydney Harbour and the first time paddling across the Heads to Manly. The forecast was almost perfect so it was a great day to launch into it. Registration done, stickers on the boat and I'm ready to go.

Great turnout on a great day. All types of ski, kayaks and even rowing boats lining up. These events certainly are colourful.

Under the bridge was the normal choppy conditions with bounce back everywhere. One guy was paddling a boat made out of recycled bottles he collected from the harbour. I had a feeling most of them were going to end up back in the harbour. 

I stayed out of the mix for the start and managed to miss a couple of big pile up as boats got jammed up. 

Clearly there were a range of skills out on the water, from newbies (like me) to elite. A number of people had an unplanned swim, including one SUP paddler who came across in front on me, then fell in. I just missed him.

The conditions were probably quite tame. However the swell coming from the heads still kept me focused. I made it across the worst of it, and then within sight of the finish, fell in! I had a bit of an issue getting back on the ski, constantly falling off when the swell kept coming through.

Eventually I was back on and paddling to the finish. Actually, the 100m run along the beach to finish was the hardest part with my bad knee.

This is a great event so I plan to be back next year.

No more running - taking up a new sport - paddling an Ocean Surfski

So I've been grounded from running - severe patellofemoral osteoarthritis  of my right knee. An MRI has confirmed, bone on bone, no more Ironman races. Really disappointed, I was so looking foreward to racing Ironman Melbourne this year

Still coming to terms with this - though I am hoping that I will be able to race some shorter distances

Decided to do something left field and take up ocean surfskiing. Thought about an sea kayak, but ended up with a surfski

I went for a test paddle a couple of weeks ago with Mark from Expedition Kayaks on Botany Bay with a good NE'er blowing. Touchy craft. This is a great service they offer. Basically an hour and a half lesson in a couple of different skis, for no cost!

I tried the Think Ezy and the Epic V10 sports

Then I went for another test paddle with Owen as well on a perfectly still day

Short version of a long story - went with the V10 sport. It will stretch me to start, but then should be ok (I hope)

Today is my first solo paddle. On the Pittwater. Somewhere I am not familiar with, and of course I turned up with flat batteries in my camera.  There's lesson number 1

It was a great paddle, loved it, though whenever a boat passed, I was very unstable.

Finished with a smile on my face :)