29:41

Really wanted to do a sub-30min up the Gillies before this weekends Tour. Gave my minute man 4 of them, didn't reel him in, as he also did a PB, nice one Ash. Passing the 500m to go sign with 28:14 on the clock, I knew it would be tight, and with the lookout in sight, the pain faded to a satisfied final lunge fot the finish. 19secs to spare,Yay!!

Rex Range

Sunday was the 3rd round of a little race series they have here in FNQ which saw us tackling the Rex Range to Julatten. Race starts just outside Port Douglas and after a 10km flat hits a good 6km climb, not too different to Kuranda.
I had never ridden the Rex before, but early reports suggested it was suited to 'le-grimpeur' and that I would have to carry the mantle of 'favourite'. Ouch!!
Forgetting my helmet, which involved a sub-legal drive back to Clifton to collect it, meant I was firing with adrenaline before the flag dropped, just minus a good warm-up.
Observations:
We hit the base of the climb, and true to 'le-grimpeur' form,  sought this as a chance to up the tempo. It proved too much for a few, who were shelled instantly, and this brought a smile to 'le-grimpeur' who hates to carry dead weight. After a few more twists there was a mashing of Front Mechs on chains and chanirings as we entered the lower ramps and again 'le-grimpeur' realised an opportunity to dish out some more fun to the limpits hanging on his wheel. Still riding the Outer, 'le-grimpeur' upped the tempo with a little 'Dancing', this saw a few more struggle with their under geared Inner Chain-rings and drop of the back.
With a good 75% of the climb still to go, there were only two, 'le-grimpeur' had one left to deal with. Pace was good, HR was steady, but he could not dislodge the stayer. 'Le-grimpeur' could hear a lot of gear shifting and laboured breathing as the ascended the final few Km's, but try as he might, he could not break free. I would call it questionable on 'le-grimpeur's' behalf for allowing a adversary to ride his wheel all the way up a climb, there is no glory in holding back, for this is what we do, there should have been more ATTACK from 'le-grimpeur'. Climbing is about beauty and panache, not tempo and restraint, what was he thinking! Nevertheless, it was good day out and some solid performance indicators were revealed. 1260VAM, nearly there!!!
Oh, and I believe there was a equal 1st in the end, a null and void sprint, all the more reason to have dealt it out more on the climb. See!!!

Sad Day!!

Today we mourn the passing of a fellow cyclist. It never matters to me if it is a Pro race, or on the road riding to work, that I always feel a much deeper connection to the event and the people involved when I hear about a fatal accident involving a cyclist.  We are, by choice or not, part of a community, all enjoying the same sensations, some as their profession, others to their profession, some just for procession, either way, we all ride and daily take the same risks every time we clamber on our bikes.
Some will never crash, others will have many, but the reality there is no secret pill that can stop the inevitable, random is, well, random. Skill and experience certainly help, but as we sometimes see, even the worlds best make an error that is costly. You cannot live in bubble and not hope to prevent all accidents from ever happening, so, we must continue, riding on, using our heads to the best of our ability.

Bramston Beach # 2

Yesterday was my second race at Bramston Beach, about 80km south of Cairns. A good course with many rolling hills, and this time a finish on a short sharp climb.
Due to the lack of participants it was a TTT until the final 1km, a late surge rewarded me with 2nd.
I am certainly feeling some good form, and things are building well for the Tour de Tablelands, now only 4weeks away.

rebirth

Oh, how long it's been.

goooood stufff...

Hell Ride Today, but less Hell at the moment. It seems a avid warning of penalties to licensed riders for misconduct has settled the usually ratty bunch. It is a pleasant ride when the insipid moronic jerks either ride like decent cyclists or don't turn up. So a bit of mangle here and there, but nobody wants a white-knuckled ride at 7:00am on a Saturday. Seemed to be another accident on Beach Rd on the way back in, seems out of control, with cyclist owning that road on the weekend AM.

Drilled some good watts up Olivers today, increased 1 min wattage, well below AeT HR, felt pretty good. The ride to the turn around was solid too, with a couple of guys mixing it up, Jono L (maybe) and some Drapac guy, I rode below max, and was pleased to see then suffering a little.

Huge gains this week allround. Friday the only rest day, so will be another 600km week. Only 1 more, before a week of lower k's, but then the hurt really begins as AeT workouts and ME workouts dominate.

Also need to check out BAW BAW soon, but the fires still burn down that way. Tragic!!!

UP!

Little blue line is going up, and so it should. Have been pounding out the k's recently, and keeping the intensity high for most workouts. It seems that as the little blue line goes up, a recovery day has little effect on it's path, but has major impact on ATL and CTL. The last two workouts show that Monday (red arrow) and Tuesday (blue arrow) have kept general fitness increasing, however have not caused to much strain as to cause the CTL to drop substantially. Tuesday was a solid effort, but my feeling and indicated by the red line (green arrow) is that it was a result of increased overall fitness, therefore not effecting the CTL too much. I also set a TOP10 1 minute power during the ride of 536watts, and even this effort didn't cause to much strain.