More hard work in the offing

I got a problem all right, no gym, no training in the summer months and frankly laziness has had an impact on my fitness. Today in the gym I had to take 3 breaks to complete 10 kms on the bike, earlier I used to ride for the timing, and now I am taking breaks to complete them.

Its going to take some doing now, no more AOEs so hopefully early morning office and regular training.6 more months for the Tour of Nilgiris.

On another note, got the packaging today to take it to Bhubaneswar, I will be checking it in , return is through train so that shouldnt be a problem. The idea there is to roam around the city and then a ride to Puri and Konark and back to the city , it would be roughly 130-140 kms so should be doable , or so I think . I need to get my coordinates and feed them into the GPS . Dont know how folks back home would react to that idea.

8th April 2009

Today the weather was nice, there were some showers overnight and it was still overcast around 11 AM in the morning. So I decided to come to office on bike. There were a couple of untried stuff, first the extra weight of the laptop, the new seat height, and not glucose or electrolyte solution. I never quite struggled on the office ride, so all this was over looked. But man did I struggle, once I had to get down from the bike , the laptop was beginning to strain my riding position and I quite literally bonked. I was struggling with a gear ratio of 2*4 on flat road ! I had a breakfast, but still I just didnt have any energy. There were times, when I thought maybe I should turn back home and call it a day, I seriously thought so.

Nevertheless this is a wake up call, A cruise in the cool moist air turned out to be a real struggle :(. And I am not sure If I am going back on ccle today, As I write this, I have already finished my packed lunch and still hungry.

12/03/2009

Started gymming finally, its not as great as I expected it would be. The seat on the bike is way too broad and inclined , the seating position quite different and frankly quite painful from that of my bike. Today I carried my ipod just to make it interesting, on a road , on a actual bike its so different,so much more enjoyable.
Nevertheless this is the only way to keep up fitness levels, besides one can also target particular muscle groups on the multi gym.

More intensity

This week has been a forgetful one so far, I let myself down , couldnt find time to practice or rather the focus was lacking to create time for it, I havent started the gym as I had thought I will. And more importantly screwed up on my diet totally. Saturday Oraovations will be over and then hopefully next week will be different. Probably I became a little over confident after the last ride , to take it easy. whatever it is continuous focus was necessary. 100 kms is not easy will require some doing.

There are a million other thoughts that are going around but this si the only thing that gives me peace, let me forget all that , drains me totally to even think of them. THis is my escape , this is where I hide , this is where I find peace, how could I betray it.Next week will be different, I promise

As someone said everyone is running away from something , riding is as basic as innocent as far away from the wold as it can be,,, simple ..you just need a bike.. a rider and a place to ride... what can better this ! You are in your elements, aware of your existence and its beautiful ,

Cruising ...

Net was down over the weekend, so I couldnt post this. All this transpired on Saturday 27th of Feb


2 hrs and 10 mins was the target to be broken, and it got broken tonight by 20 mins. Today I was able to complete 5 rounds abt 50 kms in 1hr and 50 mins. The intensity was there right throughout, not taking it easy , not coasting at any time and there were times where I did some really nice sprints. Unlie last time there was no pain on the backside, this was mainly cause I kept shifting my seating position also my body is slowly getting used to long distance cycling. There was totally no pain in my knees , I guess with knees its very important to keep your legs straight and close to the frame, that way the pedal strokes are in a straight line and so more efficient transfer of power.

As I was finishing the fifth round I had exhausted all my water, and I wasnt carrying any money to buy water, else I had it in me to go for another round.
The next target is to complete 7 rounds , I dont think I can improve my speed any further , atleast in the coming weeks, it will be a gradual improvement from now. I was mostly riding in 2*6 so 3*7 is still some effort away, besides that kind of spped can only be sustained in early morning hours not in evening traffic.

So coming back to the target 7 rounds with a break in between.

First 4 rounds in abt 85 mins
a drink break for 10 mins
next 3 rounds in 65 mins

so total 165 mins thats 2 hrs and 45 mins, but frankly for starters I would ba happy to do 70 kms in 3 hrs.and from there 100 kms in under 4 hrs.
This target should be reached comfortably not an all or nothing kind of attack, I should be my senses come abck and may be enjoy a Hitchcock movie :).

Another positive thing is if the evening temperatures around Hussain Sagar remain in the region as it was today, no worries for Summer training. Got some snacks ideas from NDTV good times , so on ride snacks can be taken care of now.

As I havent blogged abt this before, today Royal Warriors , a team comprising Core Pay and Localizations guys from Oracle has reached the Semi Finals, Tomm we have the semi finals, Frankly I didnt have much expectation from this, I was never much of a cricket player and was not sure if I would be making it to the playing 11, but so far so good. May be I will put down all this in my musings blog may be I wont , this is my blog, thats my experience hehe

Not tonight !

Today I was a bit sick in the morning, the cold made me feel feverish and my head was heavy. So more or less slept through the day, by evening I was confused how I was feeling and there was time for a ride. So after putting air by 7:25 Pm I was descending the Kharitabad fly over ! hehe .

The initial plan was may be a round or two that would be 20 kms but as the ride went on I felt I had something left in me so why not after 3 rounds I was determind to make 5 rounds . My speed was the best I believe 3rd round was completed by 8:30 PM thats 30 kms in an hour . After the fourth round though I struggled really hard, there was so much pain in the backside, often I had to just get up from the saddle ever 2-3 mins and my knees too hurt. Though the good news is I am having the stamina to go for 50 kms non stop. I finally completed the 5th round by 9:35 PM thats 50 kms in 2 hrs 10 mins. My last 50 kms was in 2 hrs 30 mins. But for the pain the back side and my knees I could have gone faster and longer, I had the energy to do it. That was on a sick day ... I was so thrilled by the timing of this 50 kms , if you would have asked me then I would have said Sick today yeah..but not tonight :)

Anyways for the record 50 kms 2 hrs 10 mins is the time to beat

Diet and training

Diet is so very imp and thats where I am making mistakes , I am not able to regularize the good things. This week so far I have skipped breakfast many times had so and so lunch and a decent dinner most of the times.

Ideally I would love to have a high calorie high burn rate, a calorie gazzler, that will bring in the stregth in my legs also get myself a lot more organized so that I can leave office and cut down on those AOE games, unncessary late night thats eats up into my schedule teh next day.

Saurday and Sunday are two days when I train and train hard , I need to have atleast two to three more such days in a week.

Another thing I need to work on is the drink during a ride, Going by the 20-40 rule , I need to drink every 20 mins and considering 50 kms is taking about 2 and a half hrs for me right now thats 7-8 on ride drinks. Thats two bottles, + I can carry the glucose and electrolyte mixture in the saddle bag to refill if required. Lets see how that works out,

40 mins food is a more bigger problem, I dont know what to carry, high carbohydrate content, easy to carry is what I need , but I cant carry the snickers all the while, may be a one bar and then something else ... but what its going to be ...requires more research and googling . The regular protein drink is a good enough supplimental drink for now.

100kms non stop in 5 hrs would be decent , would be fun

Remembrance

There are so many shades in everything, Till now I had read everything good about cycling , what can possibly tarnish something that is so pure and simple, "a bike, a rider and a place to ride".

But as I begun to dig deeper into the culture , the legends, their stories, things begun to acquire a darker shade. Cycling and drug abuse have apparently gone hand in hand. Infact there has been an instances where people have died on the track, while racing cause of drugs and worse the prevailing thought then was cause of the harshness of the sport it was legitimate to do so. And until quite recently the drug checks where not so strictly enforced.

This was while I was going through the heroics of Eddie Mercex and his attacks on those hills. his duel with Ocana , when you read that and side by side you read episodes like that of Tom Simpson . well you have to live with that , the good coexisting with the bad, its there always well almost always, there is quite often a darker side to everything. This is not to imply that I look down upon Simpson, the fellow could actually stretch himself so far that he died , he could stretch himself so far .. that speaks of his determination, commitment. He probably wouldnt have resorted to drugs if that was not the prevailing culture , but sadly he will always be stickered with that episode. Its convenient , its unfair aswell and sad. People will seldom reflect on his early childhood and subsequent rise as a professional cyclist but ..... ohh that guy who died on the hills.

Thats us!

Hell on wheels

If Dog in a Hat draws images of struggle, competition, politics,drugs in a professional cycling circuit this short documentary will tell you the other side of it.

As someone in the documentary apts captures teh spirit.

"For me, suffering has two meanings
Suffering can be negative
If you try to suffer for its own sake
thats bad, thats unhealthy, There is something wrong in your head

But when you talk about suffering that you must get through
and that you can survive through enormous effort, that is somethign else
That is positive, good and beautiful
Beautiful cause you think of courage, of stamina
loyalty, of willingness, to make sacrifices, modesty and love
From this perspective the suffering during training,
during sporting competitions,while doings ones job,
which all require great effort,
is the same as religious suffering
it is love
it is beautiful
I like that
"

Roam

I was sold with the opening soundtrack anyways. Its a nice feeling to hang out with complete strangers, there was no tension in the air, its taken for granted that you will strike a chord no matter what.. This was my first meeting of the Hyderabad Cycling group , We were meeting in a local restaurant for the screening of a cycling movie and it was Roam. The music was so good Bob Marley types, soulful,clear,freedom qualities that you look for strive in youself......

"To roam is to search for somthing new ,
on local trails in your hometown ,
or halfway around the world in a place your never been.
on a mountain bike you can cover a great distance in a short period of time ,
or a short distance in a great period of time.

they said that the journey can be more important than the destination.
in mountain biking is no destination.
just a bike a rider and a place to ride !!!!! "

In a way isnt life like that a track on which we have to keep rolling, occasionally there will be steep climbs where you almost give up, but you keep the faith and carry on...its really that simple. Looking back you reflect on it that was tough but I made it .... keep rolling folks with the wind in your face, warmth in your muscles , freedom in your heart just a bike and a rider... just life and you :)

Faster Stronger Fitter

Diet again and again, I need to talk to myself to not loose sight of this ...more carbs and more proteins . I can gradually feel teh strenght coming into the legs.... the speed increasing it still pains a lot over those hills but, I am more confident now.

Initially I was thinking that not going down to the lowest gear is a good thing...it was more of a ego thing really.The key however lies in keeping it all aerobic... never crooss the lactate threshold never make it anerobic, cause then the recovery would be longer and possibly complicated. Pace yourself and I can see that overall if you keep it all aerobic, you can still push along at a faster clip and you dont get tired that quickly.

So Keep it aerobic and watch your diet....This weekend I will aim for 80kms NON STOP lets see ...Then there is the speed factor aswell ... I need to improve it further and I need to hit the gym now ... especially on the days when I am not riding to do some building and conditioning....

Man I can go farther and I can go faster .....

SPD pedals rock

Got the SPD pedals on my bike now, and boy do tehy rock. The speed today was awesome, and I was able to maintain it through three rounds of Hussain Sagar. was a bit apprehensive to use them in the first place, cause if your feet is clipped and you cannot take it off the pedals when coming to a stop, you will fall. Infact that was exactly what the guy in the store had warned me, he had said two three falls are inevitable, and it would be quite embarrassing, you lying down with your feet clamped to the pedals that would be a sight :). But its really not that difficult, it does take some time to get used to it, but no big deal.

I guess what really works is your feet position, now that its clipped the position is perfect and the transfer of power all that efficient. It makes a huge huge difference... the cycling shoes are meaningless without the spd pedals, but together they rock,

Any takers!

If govt can subsidize cycles,

The proposal
Income tax clause 80 c is expanded to include cycles. i.e if you buy the trek Madone 5.2 the cost of it would be deductible from your taxable income,

The rationale: People would be more healthy in general, that would mean less health care costs. Less pollution, it would be great if we can have something like teh carbon credit for cyclists.
And then govt also will be spending less for subsidy...
so wahts stopping these morons? ohh I get it they are morons right, they will never get it :)

I dont need that bike now ! Useless shitty piece of equipment

Well, I almost got all the stuff

The shoes, jersys, shorts and the gps. Even got a pair of spd pedals, some maintenance stuff like a lubricant , a chain tool and a spoke wrench. one puncture repair kit and a saddle pack.

A water resistant non grease lubricant might seem a bit far fetched, but it has its place. Its water resistant so you dont need to apply the lubricant again after a wash and its non greasy so it doesnt attract grit, which will damage the cassate and the drive chain.

Yesterday I went for a ride a 50 km one, at one strech, no stops I could do it. The pace was also good , I did slow down a bit in the alst 10 kms but still, good progress. I need to touch 100 and then possibly 150. I need to do 150 by december. One handicap that I now have is I dont have a road bike, cause of that my riding position is not streamlined enough.

Nope I am not buying one right now, in a way its good, a mountain bike will require more effort, so I will train harder , if I can pull it off on a mountain bike I can surely do it on a road bike, so no plans as of now of buying it, but boy how good it looks . I get the same feeling that I felt when I first saw my brand new Hero impact cycle in high school :). Some things dont change, shouldnt for that matter :)

One more thing is I need to practise using those cleats , there will be some falls , embarrassing ones, but thats expected. Focus more on my diet , and ride more :)

But still The Trek Madone 5.2 looks awesome, too expensive for me now , But I have convinced myself that I dont need it now, cause I need to train harder on the muntain bike .... Ohh yeah sounds convincing enough, for today :)

Need for Speed

I am slowly coming to terms with this devil. Speed...just now back from a ride around Hussain Sagar 2 rounds under 1 hour ... Next target 4 rounds in under 2 hours. The idea is to sustain the momentum , I finished the whole I litre that I was carrying, so a hydration pack might be helpful for a longer ride, I faced the same problem on the Medak ride. I loose a lot of fluids my equation is more like 1 hour 1 litre.

The satisfying thing is I am able to sustain a gear ratio of 2*5 now up from 2*4 and briefly able to sustain 3*6 too. I will have to sustain 3*6 consostently atleast on flat tracks like Hussain Sagar.

Diet is so so so very imortant, before teh ride I had 4 slices of bread toasted with honey and a milkshake that was about 2 hrs before, the energy levels remained right throughout. More carbs, more fluids more speed!