3 Peaks Challenge 2012 Training Log #6: Team MOTUs Adelaide Hills 230km Enduro

 Looking South at intersection of Paris Creek Road

and Old Bull Creek Road before descending into Meadows

On Sunday 4 December 2011, Team MOTU took on 230 kilometres and 3234 metres of climbing through the Adelaide Hills, all in the interests of furthering my preparation for the 2012 3 Peaks Challenge. 

What a truly spectacular ride; breathtaking countryside, enjoyable company and a very real opportunity to test both mind and body over the distance and variable climbs! 

To steal the phrase off another, there is indeed a “truckload of awesome” and we found it.  Come March, I’m sure I will again find the “truckload of awesome”, but this time be hit by it as the enormity of the 3 Peaks achievement and the pain of the experience come together as I cross the Falls Creek finish line.

English is only my second language – though I don’t have a first – so, it is very difficult for me to try and describe the ride in only a few paragraphs.  But I’ll give it my best shot and allow my friends to later correct my grammar and pull me up for missing something important:

·        The wooded countryside descending Aldgate Valley Road between Mylor into Echunga, the open pastures between Echunga and Strathalbyn, the views to the Coast as we descended fast down into Willunga, the early morning sun as it rose to the East over Kangaroo Creek Dam, the patterns on the long grass and the white caps on the lake caused by the wind, the newly shorn lamas and grazing cattle watching this crazy group ride by…

Ah, the serenity of being away from the insanity of the city!

·        The Hills which I love so much and which call to me like a siren to the sailors never fail to disappoint; the Gorge, Fox Creek, Greenhill and Willunga to name the major category climbs tackled confidently and without the need to stop by any of us, albeit, at our riding each to our own tempo.

Fox Creek at only 40km, would have had me set a very comfortable PB and felt very good, but it’s something that I have yet to compare and of course needs to be taken in context.  Willunga however at 170km was somewhat tougher and my small backpack had never felt heavier.  Nevertheless, I assertively made it to the top alternating my climbing both in and out of the saddle trying to maintain a constant cadence.  Super special thanks to faithful domestique DS for giving me a wheel to follow the entire way up.

I have to note DDs Strava AC best up Willunga!  It is something I’ll never forget – all for the sake of him being able to take some pictures as the rest of us crested the top! 

“Wow, I was there when…”

·        The descents – which we earnt – were a healthy mix of incredibly fun and incredibly scary. 

Now, as those who ride with me know, I am the clumsiest descender among MOTU, taking things much more conservatively than the jedi’s around me, but in my defence there was one moment on the ride when I seriously thought…

…“I’m about to go down … HARD!”.

We were descending Penny’s Hill Road into Willunga town, and there were some serious crosswinds at the time (as there was for the entire day, varying between about 20 – 30km/hr), and whilst travelling at about 72km/hr passing the limited shelter of the tree’s on the side of the road, I got buffeted and had the biggest speed wobble ever!  Wobbles always scare the shit out of me and the temptation is always to brake, which always – of course – makes it worse. 

Thankfully, I got it under control – slowed down – and made it to the bottom safely.  I was surprised to hear that AVO and DS also had some scary wobbles of their own.

I have embedded two video’s below taken by AVO as he descended.  The first is down Penny’s Hill Road – I’m immediately in front at the start of the video before descending out of sight, and the second is of ET and DD descending Aldgate Valley Road, I’m a bend or two behind AVO.

·        The comradery and sense of team. 

Until this ride I never ever truly fully personally appreciated how much of a team sport cycling is.  Of course, in watching and reading about cycling you objectively recognise the benefits of being within a strong team and having a trusted team of domestiques, team captain etc.  However, to experience it first hand in effect as “the protected rider” (being Team MOTUs 3 Peaks 2012 contender :p), their assistance was so apparent and appreciated! 

I was of course protected by them from the elements, but also the constant support and comfort that their very presence provided, and their willingness to always pull a turn and give me a wheel to follow.  I am very grateful for their support and will pay their support forward in the future I know.

Taken at 220km
From left; myself (ZZ), AVO, DS, SD and DD

Upon arrival home I neither felt like I needed to, nor was tempted by the lure of the lounge room couch upon which to lie down and fall asleep.  Instead, I immediately skulled down 2 x 70gms of liquid protein, and both stretched and rolled the legs.  I owed it to them for being so good to me the whole day!

The Preparation

The week ahead of the enduro allowed me to simulate my plans for the week ahead of the 3 Peaks.  My philosophy has always been better to learn from my mistakes during “rehearsal” than to make them for the first time when “performing”.

There were a number of aspects which I consciously focused on; in no particular order:

·        Muscle management: stretching, rolling and ensuring that despite my not doing any seriously taxing rides throughout the week, the legs had a spin of some sort each day;

·        Consumption: hesitant to call it “carb loading” – it sounds so cliché – but from Tuesday, I certainly made a concerted effort to eat more than I would ordinarily allow myself, and increased the ratio of carbohydrate to both protein and fat; fruit breads, pasta, sweet rice, and bananas became primary staples;

·        Hydration: Goes without saying; and

·        Sleep:  Albeit, I found myself waking early and not being able to sleep again for thinking about the ride ahead, my preparation and of course questioning whether it was still too soon after my glandular fever.

I also:

·        studied the route and weather repeatedly, planning how best to approach specific sections and the ride as a whole;

·        calculated, as best as I could everything that that I would take with me on the ride and how it would be carried; and

·        mentally prepared myself for what was to come.

By Sunday morning my weight had increased by 0.7kg, my legs felt good, I was feeling confident and I was ready.  Oh, and my stomach was telling me “if you eat any more rice pudding, I swear I’ll make you taste it for a second time going back up...”

Ride Nutrition



Dining table on Sat sorting/recording gels, bars, Powerade etc.

The approach I took to ride nutrition was quite simple.  The enduro was unsupported, and bar planned major stops at ~100km (Strathalbyn) and ~200km (Clarendon) enough sustenance needed to be carried on the person.  I knew the theory as to how many calories/grams of carbohydrate I needed to consume on the bike, and I knew that I wanted some variety in what I was to eat.  I also knew that I needed something reliable to carry everything, and in this regard I acquired a 2L backpack from Kathmandu which fits very comfortably and doesn’t interfere with my access to rear jersey pockets.

The following summarises precisely what I consumed on the ride, including the bakery items purchased along the way:

·         4 x SiS Go Gels ·         3 x SiS Smart Gels ·         3 x SiS 65gm Go Bars ·         3 x PowerBar Gels ·         3 x Raisin Toast Slices with honey

·         10 x Homemade Honey Biscuits ·         19 x scoops of Powerade (Powder) ·         2 x Pasties ·         1 x Sausage Roll ·         1 x Farmers Union Iced Coffee

In summary the above has total nutritional information as follows:

·                Calories – 5354 (ratio 13:80:7)

·                Fat, gm – 77

·                Carbs, gm  – 1055

·                Protein, gm – 89

Notably, the total calories burnt on the ride (per Garmin) were in the order of 6,150.

Recovery

I am incredibly pleased with how well the body has recovered. 

With the exception of some specific tiredness in the legs on Monday commuting to and from work, and general tiredness on Monday and Tuesday, there have been no injuries or muscle soreness to manage.  I couldn’t be happier in this regard!  I feel that I must be doing something right in looking after myself.

I spun the legs comfortably up Mount Lofty Wednesday morning, having consciously chosen to allow myself some extra sleep on Tuesday and skip our usual Tuesday spin.  The body felt great and the conversation very educational as I rode with a friend who had just returned from a week long ride holiday to Hotham, Falls Creek and Mount Beauty.

What’s Next….?

Bar training rides, the next major riding effort between now and March is the week of the Tour Down Under in January.  Team MOTU is planning to ride 900 - 1,000km between the two Sundays that bookend the TDU week, taking in as much of the tour and the atmosphere as possible.

I would like to Blog after every day’s ride, but let’s wait and see…

Until next time.

ZZ

Enduro Ride Statistics

Total Distance:        230.01km

Elevation Gain:       3,234m

Total Ride Time:      9hr 15min 10 sec

Average Speed:      24.9km/hr

Max Speed:              74.6 km/hr

Video’s were taken by AVO:

·                Aldgate Valley Road descent features ET and DD; and

·                Penny’s Hill Road descent has me immediately in front but descending out of view from the camera.