I cannot think of a more fitting title to this blog. From the side lines, it may have looked like I was drowning, hell, there were many many times where I felt like I was drowning but I managed to go into the deep dark recesses of the vault and drag the head out of the water just enough to keep the nose above the water line and with that, stay in the race that little bit longer.

Oh sh!t bi-atches, that was THE SINGLE HARDEST THING i have done on 2 wheels, I kid you not. Fast, 51.5km covered in the 1h + 3 laps, open racing, all 17 teams on track together all starting at the same time of which some were VIS, Drapac Porsche, Degani Team and that all equals one thing = PHUKING FAST with the likes of David Pell riding (12th Aust Road Racing Champs). This was by no means a Sunday saunter.

It's is somewhat difficult to sum up how fast and intense the ride was today. I'll start by saying it was the hardest 1h and 10min I have spent on a bike. I decided to leave the HR strap at home as I figured

1) No time to look at it with 100+ other bikes around me, needed to be ALERT
2) The heart was always going to be AWOL which could mentally crack me
3) Not knowing is a good thing.

So with that in mind I would hazard a guess to say mid to high 170's for 90% of the race and low 180's to ??? for the other 10%, pretty much all out maximal effort. And that was how the race was for me, it was close to an all out effort for over an hour.

Speaking with Xav before hand, I mentioned, "Do you think it will roll around for a lap or two?". He said, "No, it will be hot from the get go". How right Xav was. It was just BANG from the start, luckily we warmed up well pre-race riding laps of the Calder Park circuit - about a nice 20+km warm-up. It was very windy.

I must thank the X-Man for talking me into this, I don't know how on earth he did it but did it he did and I am so glad for that now.

After the start, I thought to myself, oh 5hit b!tches, this is going to get very ugly very quickly as I found myself at the rear end of the bunch. After a few laps I worked out where I needed to be in certain corners to make life somewhat easier (still HARD) for myself from a positioning perspective. What is hard to explain is the constant accelerations that take place, then the slowing then the accelerations all over again. This is vastly different to Ironman racing where you generally hold the same effort and intensity for 180kms.

The first 20min or so were raced at a very fast tempo and after a small break away formed, the pace settled back down for the next 20min or so. I was happily riding towards the back of the bunch and would occasionally make my way towards mid pack for a lap and did find it easier there. In hindsight, I should have tried to stay in this position but did not really have the experience to hold it as guys would duck into the smallest of gaps.

At 50min in, I lost the wheel coming around the straight to start another lap and had to go into the vaults vault and extract something else to get back on. Hearing Matty Lewis from the side lines yell out "Go Komo - get back" just gave me that little spur I needed, so, head down, I got back on and managed to last until the sign for the final 3 laps was shown.

Once this sign went up, it was like a turbo boost was applied to the race and the pace went up a notch again. Oh BOY! At this point I'd been riding on the drops for a good 30min to hang on so I managed to fight and scramble my way around for the next 2 laps.

With 1 lap to go as we cornered to start the final lap of the race, the nose dropped below the waterline, I started to drown at this point. The pace went up to 51kph into the head wind, I lost the wheel, got spat out the back and finished the last lap a few hundred metres behind the bunch. That said, guys dropped out throughout the 1hr so I made it to the end, considering I have only raced one 'C' grade CRIT and one 'Open' now of which I was told was faster than club 'A' grade racing I figure my cycling is on track and in line with my goals (perhaps slightly ahead).

All in all, one hell of an experience, the surging was so so hard to contend with, I have NEVER had to dig as deep into the piggy pig on a bike EVER and I went that deep and then some. At the end of the day, you only have some many of those efforts in you.

You can kiss T1 and T2 goodbye for some time, I am entrenched in this roadie caper now, this was truly the deep end, a baptism of fire and to come out the other end has now given me a huge confidence booster to know I can ride with some fast lads and hang on.

Giddy Up,

Komo

It is now official, I have entered the world of the roadie. On Tuesday I officially became a full member of the Footscray Cycling Club http://www.footscraycc.com.au/ and entered the realm of road cycling and all that it encompasses.

So, nothing like diving straight into the deep end, but Xav http://xaviercoppock.blogspot.com coerced me into competing in the teams event at Calder Park this Saturday afternoon at 3pm. We are both part of a 6 man team from FCC racing in the teams Kermesse event which consists of 1hr and 2 laps around the Calder Park track (approx. 2.28km) per lap. It should be a blast and something that I will be very nervous about as this is "open", not graded, so we both expect the pace to be RED HOT. Unsure of team tactics at this stage but our tactis should come to hand more over the next few days. It will be one interesting afternoon of racing indeed, one I am so excited about but will be entering with a great deal of trepidation. That said, I'll be racing in the FCC jersey too so will do it proud and bury myself in the process and do whatever it takes for the team. Hopefully I'll be on song and have the legs of the past few weeks.

No Hinksy, sorry mate but you won't be able to watch the highlights to this event on SBS :) but, I will update this blog in due course with the full blow by blow account of the race.

I'll also be fronting up on Sunday to the graded Crit racing again at Drake Blvd for a slightly less hectic race.

Just waiting for tonight's stage 17 of the Giro d'Italia to start so I glue myself to the live feed.

Outski,

Komo

During the week I have been reading the blog entries from Chris Horner from his Giro d'Italia exploits with team Astana. On one particular day, he discussed his daily calorie intake of about 6500 which include pre race, post race and during race nutrition for the entire day. What struck me was the amount of coke he consumed during the stage, about 8 x 250ml mini cans of coke, WOW, must be something in that. So I decided to experiment today on my ride with coke as my main source of fuel.

So last night, I filled a bidon with full fat coke and left the lid off the bidon for a few hours to allow it to degas.

So this morning I headed out on my ride today to Kinglake with a long black coffee in the bowels and that was it. I took the following fuel along for the ride:

1 x Bidon 750ml with water and a Nuun Electrolyte Tablet
1 x Bidon 750ml with full fat coke - 85g CHO
1 x Fruit and Nut Bar 20g CHO
1 x Small Can Red Bull 250ml 28g CHO

And that was it. 4h+ of riding hills and started putting down the coke at the 1:30 point into the ride. Once I started on the coke, I really needed to keep it going the entire time. Had the can of red bull and the fruit and nut bar at the top of the climb which was about 2:00 into the ride. At the 3:30 mark the coke was nearing empty so pulled into a servo and purchased another can of coke and into the bidon it went. So all up, I had approx 150-160g of CHO for the entire ride and that was on an empty stomach and with reasonable intensity to boot. Body is getting good at fat burning. In years past, I would have gone out on a 4h ride with at least 320g CHO and had breakfast before hand and I would not have ridden as fast as I currently am.

I have to say, I had legs all day and the after burners appeared to be on today. Climbed at a good constant pace and even put some big ones in at times for a surge here and there. All up, coke for me was a winner, thanks Chris Horner (Astana) for the blog entry and the abuse you gave coke during stage 8 of the Giro. (8 x 250ml cans).

No noticeable shakes at all, mind clear and sharp all day, I wonder if it was a placebo effect given I knew coke was going in or does it really do that to you? Sugar is awesome! Oh, even better yet is the taste, it sure beats High5 hands down. Bottom line, I will be keeping the coke going on my rides in the future and stop using High5, don't see the need to go back to it for now.

My first taste of crit racing took place on Sunday at Footscray Cycling Club at the crit course at Drake Blvd Altona. With the Pina clean and crisp and ready to rock, it was a pleasant 9:30am start. Given it was my 1st race, I started in 'C' grade to earn my wings so to speak. Tactics and not fitness is the name of the game and is something I need to learn.

So, the format for the race was 50min of riding followed by 2 laps. The course was 2km in length and we covered close to 38km in the 50-55min or so of riding.

I sat back towards the rear of the bunch for the first 10 to 15 minutes just getting a gauge of the race and seeing who was who. There were mediocre attacks here and there but nothing that taxed my aerobically at all. After 20mins I decided to move my way towards the front and for the most part I rode 4th to 5th wheel and took some turns on the front, probably too many for a first up race.

I think I showed my cards far too early when with 20min to go, I went out and attacked, opened up a 20m gap and wanted to see if anyone came with me, one guy did, came past too fast and asked me to join him but he went by too fast for me to latch on so we settled back into the bunch.

There were attacks the entire time but no reaction from the bunch as it was too early (2km) per lap and with half a lap into the monster head wind, there was no real way you could launch and expect to out ride 30+ guys working together.

So, I sort of worked out who was who and made sure with 2 laps remaining I was never deeper than 4th wheel so I could react if any attacks came. After about 15min of racing I found the confidence to ride hard through all corners without braking or backing off, this helped to considerably lessen the effort required to hold the wheel out of the corners.

So, 2nd last lap, no attacks as such but pace faster to probably prevent attacks from happening. With 2/3 of the last lap, pace was hot, I was 2nd wheel and was just waiting to go. With 2 corners from the final straight (about 400m to finish) the lad that made the move with me earlier went and got the jump on the rest us by 30m. I moved to the front and went balls to the wall to try and catch him. I wanted the win, not 2nd or 3rd so went full gas. Started to pull him back but no closer than 15m :( I was a clear 2nd with 30m to go but the lights were fading fast and with 10m to go got passed by 2nd and 3rd place (I was on the rivet giving it all I had but just went too early). On the line I either held 4th or was pipped by a late lunge by a tyres width, not sure at this stage. Need the photo finish I think.

So there you have it, first crit, definitely had the measure in terms of fitness, was not tested at all except for final 500m and it was tactics that got me. Need to work on the tactics. Given I know who is who now I will tag that MOFO next race (2 wks time) and sit on his wheel. Problem: They now know me, I played my hand too early and paid the penalty, you gotta know when to hold em and I did not.

All in all, an absolute awesome day, too much fun. I am hooked. The road racing season has not officially kicked off for me and I am so looking forward to the change from what has been 5-6 yrs of Triathlon.

It has been a good week on the weight loss efforts. I've managed to crack 78kg and keep the 7 day rolling average around 77.8kg. It's been some time since I've managed to get my weight down under 78kg, probably Ironman Port Macq 2007 to be exact.

So, all signs are positive, 75kg here I come. Although I may get the intervention from the wife before I get there but it remains to be seen at this point.

I'm having a rest off the bike tomorrow given it is Mother's Day and I feel it is a warranted rest too. I felt a tad flat on Thu, Fri and this morning on the bike, just did not have the giddy up of the past few weeks. My RHR this morning was elevated too, close to 50bpm which is high for me as it is normally sub 40. This is probably a sign I need 2 days off the bike for some long needed recovery and sleep. The continuous sub 5am starts 6 days a week tend to get the better of you after a while.

In about an hours time I'll be tuning in to stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia live via an Internet feed. Can't wait, too exciting, what a shame SBS don't televise it live. A few links to the coverage here. It should be one cracking race. http://www.cyclingfans.com/

Komo

A group of us headed out on the Kinglake ride again this Saturday, the 2nd time I've done the loop in two weeks. I have only ever done this ride on the Cervelo TT bike in the past and the last 2 weeks on the Pina have been fantastic. Much better climbing on the road setup as opposed to the TT setup.

Anyway, I have been on a mission over the past 3 weeks to lose weight, I started at 81.4kg and am currently sitting around 78.5kg. For every extra kg I shed adds speed to my climbing and I am slowly starting to climb well for the first time, well, probably ever! I'm finding I have the ability to bury myself on a climb and hang on a damned while longer compared to seasons past.

Given this ride is a regular Saturday morning occurrence for the group I ride with, I plan on using it as a good gauge on my climbing, and more importantly, my weight loss and what impact it has to my climbing prowess or lack thereof.

So, as I type this, it's 1:30 since my ride this morning and I've avoided eating, just had two coffees and a mini can of coke. Burn the fat! I am aiming for 75kg, I will be shredded at that weight but it's a good thing. I should find the climbing considerably faster for the same effort (not easy) as I will ride the climbs at the same intensity but in the overall scheme of w/kg ratio, as the kg declines and the watts stay the same, that magic number increases as does the speed on the climbs.

The weight loss is easier than what it has been in the past, I guess it's my mental state and the fact I am sharing the campaign with 2 other madmen and most importantly, we are accountable on a daily basis as we record the numbers in a shared online spreadsheet.

So for now, I'll keep melting away the fat and hope to soar like an eagle in the coming months.

Over and out.

Komo

This morning's plan was for 6h of the best with Monas out to the Dandenongs again for what has become the Saturday morning ritual of late.  Today we opted for a sleep in and a 6am rendezvous at Burke and Toorak Rds before heading up the Burwood Hwy and then the Mountain Hwy to the base of the 1/20 climb.

The bike is the number one passion, but, it is followed very very closely by the coffee bean.  After sampling many different establishments throughout Melbourne and beyond, there is no better place than BBB, or make that Brother Baba Budan.  

Quick note to say that I am now the proud owner of an Italian thoroughbred, the Pinarello FP2 56cm.  I went out to Ivanhoe Cycles http://www.ivanhoecycles.com.au/ after work today and test rode the Fp2.  

(Quick Note: Awesome store, encourage you to take any bike out for a test ride prior to purchase as opposed to - CBD Cycles: who lost a customer and a sale last week when they did not allow me test a bike, their loss and considering I purchased 3 bikes from them over the years, rather disappointing, word of mouth spreads too!)

Back to FP2, in a nutshell, it rode like a dream!  Fast, responsive, stiff and it looks AWESOME.  I go back in tomorrow to make some minor tweaks to the setup, perhaps a stem length change which has a 120mm on it.  It is running Ultegra SL 10spd and I just cannot wait until Sunday to get out on it (weather must be good, do not want to get it dirty).  Here it is in all it's beauty.

Okay, so I've hijacked that from Gaffer from this mornings ride which befitted some hatecra clad cyclist riding a wicked Bianchi, I guess we were just jealous of the bling he was riding.

Which one wins?  Each has a place in its own right, whilst I have been riding a TT rig for many years now (since 2004 it has been my only bike of choice that I go out on), the world of the roadie has been calling me for sometime.  I absolutely love road riding and can't get enough of the ProTour events.  Ever since I decided to give the Ironman racing a rest, I have been longing to get a road setup again and the time is now perfect for the purchase to go ahead.

The big question was, which road setup was going to compliment the Cervelo P3C?Well it happens to be an Orbea Vento 2009.  It just so happens that Damo has this exact bike and is away for 10 days and has kindly lent me his steade for 2 weeks.