Well it's Thursday and that means DISC is hot with some very dedicated riders, and the pace was on in all grades.

As usual i roll up for my D grade racing and gave myself a bit of a surprise tonight. I managed to keep up the pace in the Scratch race and found i was off the back with only 2 to go. Not bad for me. The Points is always something i really don't like. This time i found myself on the front with 2 to go to the first sprint. Well the rest really wrote itself, a pair tried to have a go but i just kept powering on and took the firt sprint. I was holding in there but fell off the back not long after. The last race of the night was the Motor Pace. I should be pretty good here, as it is a race that sort of suits the Sprinters. Tonight i found myself at 4 to go having to swing up and sit on the back. To many surges and i just could hold my position, plus the pace was pretty high.

So another night and some better results for me. I know that i am stronger than ever, my power is really good, now i just have to work on my endurance a bit.

Well i had my firs ride at DISC for the first time in a long time. I managed to almost finnish each race. I missed the last three laps if the Scratch Race and the Points Race. I managed to finnish the motorpace on the lead lap.

Not bad for a guy that has done absolutely NO ENDURANCE WORK at all on the bike.

Well as you all may well have heard, there were some records set at Spin last Tuesday Night.

I set a PB on the Power Tap and tried to calibrate it to the Kurt Kinetic Computer as they both show the power output in Watts for the rider. They are pretty close to each other (about 3-5% difference) which gives me a great idea when i am training on my own on the trainer.

So lets talk about the PB. Carl and i have been working on Strength and Power alot as of late. We have smashed ourselves into the ground with weights and standing starts, as well as short MAX efforts with a few F100 and F200's thrown in to keep things going along. Now we are kicking along with the enduro section of our prep and find a few extra K's of E1 to drop a litle of the "Winter Form" we are both holding. I am trying to keep "Fresh" for round 1 so will take it pretty easy the week before.

Well on Tuesday night i topped out at 1420 watts MAX POWER! I have struggled for weks and have now seen that i am capable of punching out what it takes to get gowing FAST. I realy surprised my self and those around me with what i was able t get out. I thought i might get 1300 by the sprint series, but 1400 + gives me a bit of an edge, and a great lead into the summer and the mythical 1500 i want to get to.

So in 4 weeks time i get to see if i am ready for B Grade like i had hoped, or will C Grade be my home for a little while longer??

I have been chatting to suppliers, friends, and enemies alike. With time my ultimate enemy, i need to get on the bike to do all my strength work. Power and strength= quite fast fat man!! But like i said i need to do pretty much everything on the bike so i need more gear inch's.

The major problem is my knee, and how much pressure it can take before it say's NO. I still have a bit of a struggle at the gym with squats, but can manage a Dead Lifts and some power lifts if i take a lttle care. I try and gget some upper body stuff done but doing basic chin ups and pull ups. At 97KG i really don't need weights, just body weight is fine.

So where to from here........... Well i have found the biggest possable gear i can find for Sunday to do Standing Starts over 1 lap. 54:12 will give me about 121.5 inch gear. That's only until i can get my grubby little hands on a 55 tooth chain ring................

DISC training was something of a fizzer for me tonight. I have been struggling with my knee as of late, and have had a bit of a cold i can't get past as well. But even though  i have had a struggle, i have been kicking along training as hard as possable. My strength has been getting much better, and my power is strating increase to a pont where i am happy with. I have started to get alot faster over the last few weeks, now i am working on getting my sprint a bit longer.

Tonight i was starting out the big gear standing starts in "Insanity" gear. For those that look at gear charts, 110.1 or 53:13 was what i was using tonight. I could manage a top speed of 48.9 k/hr over 125 mtrs. I am looking forward to chase out some form maths to be able to work out RPM and power over the distance.

I look forward to next weeks 1 lap standings. Will give me a better gauge of what i am capable of.  

I would like to thank John Nicholson for taking the training session tonight. He has a wealth of knowlege and loves to pass it on to younger, and older riders a like. We had a great time and i hope everyone enjoyed the small game at the end.

Thanks Everyone.

DISC on Sunday produced a few mixed results. I managed to keep Dino at bay with Some very good efforts and a reasonably fast F100 time to boot. Been having trouble with my knee as of late and managed to get a bit of a head cold, and even with those problems i have been able to stick very quick times over the 100 and 200 distances.

So i look forward to the Summer season and a few of the longer handicap races as well as the BSSS series.

I should be flying!!!

Carl and i have been working on "Bike Strength" for me at the moment as it is really ahrd for me to get to the Gym and train properly. I am waiting to get the stuff out of my garrage to be able to set up my own small Gym to get this done, but alas i have to wait a little longer to get this done.

With me putting some seriously good times down at DISC, it's really weird that when we are at spin on Tuesday i seem to be struggleing to make any inroads on the Power Meter to make the results i am getting look right. If i could get a pair of these SRM Track Cranks it might make a bit of difference in the abillity to get data. I might even try and get a pair for the Roadie

So all i need to do is keep punching out geat numbers on the track and do what i can at Spin and see where the new season takes me.

I have been keeping an eye on my times, and we had a crack at a few flying 200's bbehind the motorbike tonight. I have been fiddleing with gear ratios and spinning my legs like a top.

I have been running between an 87 to 90 inch gear when riding as of late. I have been getting stronger as i have gone back to they way i was doing things as i changed some stuff and went backwards for a while. Now i seem to be back on track.

I managed a PB of 13.66 tonight over the 200 with a 14.02 for the second time round. this gives me so much confidence, and also props up my ego a little. I have been feeling a little down as of late, and thought i was never going to get where i want. But now i know it's just a matter of time....

Tonight at DISC i managed to take 2 Flying 100's within .2 of a second of each other. I am trying to get my F100 in the 6.5 kinda range, and at the moment im in the 6.9 range.  Thats pretty quick for a second year rider, and i am kinda proud of getting close to my wanted time before the season starts. If i can keep my head down and bum up, i should be able to get to my goal before the season starts.

Training gets harder and more intense as we get along. The thing that keeps me going is the wish to be faster and get to the Masters..

Dreams and aspriations come in small really easily managed proportions. When they are to grand, it is to easy to clobber them and have it all go dead silent on you.

I have taken a closer look at the way i train, eat, live, and look at my rideing and have decided to do the right thing. That's make it as fun as i like it, and understand that i have limitations. But these problems, thoughts, dreams, are only suggestive and i know i can work through them. I need to take a step forward and understand i am able to win races.

I have been looking trying my hand at a few things, and    one might be Masters in 2009.

There are many things going on in my life at the moment.

I am looking at doing a few more things this year, and training always takes a lot of time.  With all this no spare time that i have i need to race, train, live, love, and work. The strangest thing though, is that all these things seem to run hand in hand when i ride my NEW TOY!! Yes i am the owner of a full carbon Hillbrick track bike.

When i get to ride it the first time on Sunday at DISC, i will let you all know how cool and fun it is to rde. My New Hillbrick Toy!!

With the BBN Track Champs just days away, i have finaly draged myself from be where i have been hibernating for the last 5 days with something like the Flu. I have only just recently been out and about with the general public because i have not been really able to leave my bed or even stay awake for more than an hour at a time.

I have had probably one of the worst years i can put to record. I have missed a fair amount of racing, had very interupted preperations for all my races, and really have taken to heart and felt quite down about my own performances and abillities.

I will try again to have a bit of a ride tomorrow just to get the legs turning. The Club Champs were something i really wanted to perform well in, and i know i will have to write that off for this year. I will need to put in a strong TSSS final round and see what i can achieve over the winter. I have some big plans for Summer 09, and have some really big races i want to be able to ride.

Well today was my first official commute to work and with the HRM on i was able to get a boot load of data on how i am going and where i need to improve. I was also able to measure out my route and make sure i am doing it in a time that was relavant to getting better and trying to stay within my training limits.

So from Noble Park Nth to Preston via the most direct route is 38 k. Now thats taking a pretty easy and not very hill way through Clayton, Carnegie, Brighton, St Kilda, Metro Melb, Brunswick, Northcote, Thornbury, and finaly Preston.

It's a nice ride almost exclusively on Bike Lane the whole way!! I am addicted to the commute now and feel the need to do more. I might even start to ride home as well as in.

Well i have made the first commute from Preston to Noble Park Nth. It took about 2hrs and 15 min and i covered about 55 k. Now if my math is about right it looks like about 25.5 k/Hr. I have to admit that this is probably the longest single ride i have completed in a long time.

Now that this have been done, i really think i will have to look at doing this commute as often as possable due to the fact it takes bugger all time and i recon i could get it down to 2 hr or even 1.5 hrs if i get going a bit.

One reason for the commute is that i have been struggleing a little for fitness and my weight gust wont seem to drop. I have taken to diet but it just wont shift. So doing the commute will help drop the weight, and get some extra K's in the legs. I am also kinda proud that i was able to finnish such a ride. Bev and i have been doing our weekend Lunch ride for ages and i never thought i could cover the distance we do over 2 stints in 1 hit!!

Now i look to Shepparton carnival and a new year filled with bigger and better steps.

It has taken quite a while and with a few misshaps i think i'm ready to take on the riders at BBN Velo again. Times have been a little ruff for me at the minute and i think m y mind has been a little if not a lot preoccupied with other things. Time has been pf the essence, and yet i am still finding it hard to hit my straps.

I had a disastorus ride in Shepparton that has really put my racing and training back to a place i dont like, and that's back to the start. I was ment to be a social ride and something a few of us ABOC'ers were going to do for fun. I went for a training ride on Saturday to meet Bev on the road somewhere in between Cobram and Shepparton. Here is a condensed list of what happened in numerical order.

1) Ran off the road by locals and binned it in the thick gravel.

2) Swoop by a magpie for about a 12 k stretch.

3) Turned onto the Murray Goulburn freeway and was swooped by another bird for 6 k.

4) Had a snake take a liking to my shoes and give chase for 5-10 mtrs.

5) Had a puncture 9 k out of Tallygaroopna.

6) Forgot to bring money and ranout of drink just 6 k from Shep and had to stop a IGA for toilets and water. Thanks to Bev for Lollies as i even forgot food when i took a closer look.

So as you can see it was a kinda eventful ride to Shep and i was glad it was over when we got in. Had dinner and left Bev and Rob at the caravan park looking to the morning for the ride. When we got back to the farm i noticed that my knee was a little swollen and a small lump had  made it self home just under my knee. So thought i would see how this goes and make a decission in the morning.

Well with a bigger lump i was off to Cobram Hospital to see if there was anything they could do. Two X Rays and an ultrasound said i should keep off it for a couple of days and if it doesn't go down i will need to drop back in to the hospital or an Arthriscope. NO MORE SURGERY was the only thing i was thinking and came back to Melbourne as the lump seemed to go down almost overnight (OK it was still there 2 days later but was almost gone and was not there 4 days later).

So i still had a little pain and was a bit stiff so i went and got a massage telling the guy i had a fall and he should be a little gental on me. After about 10 minuets he managed to pop my shoulder back in (i didn't even think it was out) and felt a little more pain. More and more pain came in the dyas after so off to the Physio i went (on the recomendation of a few others) and he couldn't really find anything major untill we had the ultrasound and found the fracture in my Collar Bone!

So now over 3 weeks after the Shepparton debarkle i am almost fit (nothing hurting from broken or bashed) enough to have my first real race back. 

I had a bit of a ride this morning down to Glenvale for a look, then up to see my girls have a hit of tennis then home. 25 k with no pain in my shoulder but a little in the knee, but thats only because i have had trouble riding because of the other pains and it will come good over the next few days of training.

My Treck Summer Sprint Series was a fizzer as i could barely hold the bars and could only muster a 14.6 so a little dissapointed is an understaement. I know i can go alot faster and think the December edition will be a totaly different scenerio. 

Just a small note for all those concerned with all things Nathan.

Last night being Tuesday i finally managed to crack the 200 rpm cadence mark with a 202 (172.5 mm Cranks) in one of the HCLR runs. I never thought i would make it this far.

Now to crack 210.

Well today was the ride i missed yeasterday because of work. I miss my time on the bike with Bev and anyone else that wants to come alone. Working Sucks and rideing makes more sense. If i didn't have to do a delivery yesterday on the way i was planning to ride from Preston back home to Noble Park as my training and then off to Masters Track this morning. But alas my best plans were shot to ribbons and i had to plan my big ride for today.

Bev and one of her friends got to my place at around 9 and we were off by 9.30 due to a few forgetfull things on my part. It was going to be an interesting ride when on one of the easier down hill sections both my drink botttles fell out when i hit a pot hole in the road. This was Karma letting me know that i haven't ridden my race bit for a while and the training bike was at home.

We were setting a great pace and managed to keep a great average of about 25 K/hr for the section from Noble Park to Frankston. The turn around point was the toilets before the Night Club section where we could take a pit stop if needed.

Back up Nepean Hwy to our normal lunch spot and a bit of a perve at Linda the waitress.

Lunch took a bit of sting out of our leggs, and it took a little bit of time for them to warm again and find that magic cadence. Along Neapan Hwy to Station St and choof along to Edithvale Rd heading home. So far we hadn't mentoned the stiff head wind but thought better not to. Usually you can get a good run back up Springvale Rd with the wind to your back. Not today thought. We struggled a little with the wind but then PSSSSSHHHHHHHH i blow a tire half way up Spingy Rd near Cheltenham Rd. So over we pull so i can change the stupid thing and back off we are.

So my cherry has been popped. I am the first in my small riding group to puncher on one of our rides. We made it back to Chez Larkin after 3 hours in the saddle and all felt a little better for it.

I havn't written much lately as i have been training like a mad man and working myself metal. Time is a commodity i have yet to learn any respect for, and think it will last froever. I think i need to take a step back and look at all things clock related and determine what things i need to change to get the most out of my riding.

Wroking in Preston at the bike shop is a killer. It's about an hour travell each way by car; about an hour and a half by public transport; or if i tried to do it on the bike we would be looking at two hours. At work there is no shower so that makes riding in a bit of a smelly idea and working retail and being smelly dont really mix. I try and take the train as often as i can but with wanting to get home earlie to see my kids or needing to deliver something on my way home seems to keep the car an option for most of what i do.

Yet i still struggle to find time to train! Life seems to take time and piss it away for me. Working is taking up alot of my time. Traing is taking up alot of my time. Trying to be a good husband and father is taking up alot of my time.

Thank Christ i enjoy all the torment my lovely, delicate, chosen profession, sport, and family life or i would be a psyco by now.

Well as you can all see sometimes the monotony of traing does weird things to your head. I do suppose that you need to have full use of your facultys before assuming that you can loose part of them but hay who am i to complain.

Train, Train, Train, Train, and Train seems to be my mantra at the moment. I couldn't see the benefits until last night at DISC. I managed to hold on to most of the riders in the three races that were offered even though i never finnished a race. My best results ever.

Now that seems odd that i am pleased with my performance even though i never finnished a race, but there were a few things that are more important than winning and the small steps all count to the big steps. I am training for something else at the moment and tried my best to see how i was going to perform when this time comes. And from what i think i saw and felt i am almost ready.

So at the moment i am at my lightest for at least 12 years, i have found and extra 3 k/Hr in my sprint, and i feel in the best shape of my life.

So in my best Iron Chef dubed voice "The secret to this ingrediant is Train, Train, Train, Train."