Gifts from Colombia!

Direct from Medellin and just for a cyclist: bocadillo, panelita, and rum. 

What Two Weeks of Rest Will Do

My chronic training load (blue line) decreased from 113 to 81 (it started at 0 in early September). My training stress balance (green line) moved from -42 to +60. 

Mid-season Performance Review

Camila and I are in Bali, Indonesia for 10 days over the New Years break. I thought I would look at my performance improvement so far this season.

I bought my power meter in early September so I now have almost 4 months of training data, including 3 races in November. You can see in the chart above that my max output was 1,011 watts. The wattage drops off quickly until approximately 3 minutes but declines at a very slow rate thereafter.

Last Ride of 2013

Race Report: Fred Ogle Classic 2013

I had a great race this morning at the Fred Ogle Classic near Whangarei, finishing 12th overall. The course was 110km just west of Whangarei and covered some of the Tour of Northland stage-1 course. The race doubled as the Northland Club Champs and it drew a serious field, including semi-pros just back from the Tour of Southland.

After last week's implosion at MS Bike the Bridge, I wasn't sure how I would feel today. I did 4 rides this week - all pretty easy, just to make sure I was recovered. 

Race Report: MS Bike The Bridge 2013

I finished 15th today (of 648) in the MS Bike the Bridge, and 3rd in my age category. The course is 103km starting in Auckland city. The race begins by crossing the Auckland Harbor Bridge to the North Shore. The bridge closes for 3-4 events each year, such as the half-Ironman and Auckland Marathon. 

Anyway, today's race was probably the hardest race I've done. The course has about a dozen climbs of around 100m, plus several smaller climbs. I was cramping badly by the 40th km. Usually that doesn't happen until 90-100km. 

Race Report: K1 2013

I finished 2nd in my 35-44yrs age group yesterday, and 27th overall in the K1 90km race from Thames to Whitianga.

Until two months ago, I was training for the K2 200km race. My training was going well through August, and I was riding 4.5 hr rides by the end of the month. However, we had 5-6 weeks of terrible weather which put an end to my K2 goal.

Power Profile Test

I did the Power Profile test today with my new power meter. The goal of the test is to determine your strengths and weaknesses. The test is conducted by doing intervals over 15 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minute intervals, as well as my functional threshold results.

The results of the power profile test shed insight on whether you're an: a) all rounder, b) sprinter, c) time-trialist, climber or steady-state rider, or d) pursuiter. I was under no illusion; I am definitely not a, b, or d.  

FTP Test

I rode a functional threshold power test last week. I was quite surprised with my result: I averaged 261 watts over the 20 minute test. Not bad given where I am at - 6 months without any speed-work and just several weeks into base training. 

The FTP sets my benchmark for training over the next few months. I'll be trying to improve my baseline with interval training, fast group rides, and hill work. 

Training with Power

I bought a Power2Max power meter last week. After training hard for the last couple of race seasons, I figured the next logical step was to use objective performance data to improve my training and racing. 

Earlier this winter, I spent several weeks researching a range of brands. In the end I chose Power2Max because: 1) it has great user reviews, 2) is reasonably priced, and 3) can be used with training and racing wheels since it is a crank-based power meter.

K2 Training Plan

I have wanted to race in K2 for the past two years. In 2011, I missed the race because I ended up in Colombia. And last year, a combination of flu and bad weather left me with only a few weeks to train. This year, I am training specifically for K2. 

K2 is a 200km road-race in an anti-clockwise direction around the Coromandel peninsula. The race features 7 major climbs with a total of 2,300 meters of elevation gain. The smallest climb is 145m and the biggest is 425m. But what makes K2 so grueling is the fact that its held so early in the race season - the first week of November.  

I bought a car. For my bike.

Auckland's Best Chinese Bakeries

I have been surveying local Chinese Bakeries recently. Typically, we'll stop-in at the end of a training ride. The sugars go down easy. 

Auckland's North Shore has several Chinese Bakeries. (For some reason, I couldn't find any when we lived in the city). I have visited these establishments enough times to know which bakery consistently has the best cream donuts and chocolate roughs. 

My 2013 Off-Season

I've decided to take a couple of weeks off the bike. We all learn sooner or later that you have to take a break between seasons. If not, then burn-out is a certainty, and you don't want that to happen in the middle of your race schedule.

Looking at my weekly Strava volumes, the last time I took a week off was eleven months ago, in late August 2012. I've had several low-volume weeks, but I was always getting at least one ride in.

I would like to compete in K2 in early November. Its a 200km race held very early in the race season. I plan to start my base period in early August, which will give me ~3 months of training. I think a break now is the wise decision, despite the perfect weather we've had in Auckland for the past week. And anyway, most of my friends are currently on their off-season rest too.

Foto del Dia: Nairo Quintana, Stage 20, 2013 Tour de France

Auckland's Best Group Rides

Sunday Albany Bunch: The best group ride, by a country mile, is the Sunday 7am Albany bunch. Its an 80km ride that draws the strongest cyclists from all over greater Auckland, including pro-conti and conti riders. Typically, about 50 people show up. After a warm-up on the old highway that runs north to Silverdale, the hammer goes down on the flat country roads that travel west. Flats turn to undulating rollers on the run into Helensville, before a really tough 5km step-climb that blows the group apart every time.

We then have a 20 minute ride to Kumeu. Its a long slow descent, broken up by more undulations, and some of NZ's roughest chip roads (highway 16). Usually, we stop at a Chinese Bakery in Kumeu for a few minutes. Then comes the ride back to Albany on Ridge Road. Its a quiet country road featuring 15km of undulation, false flats, and several short, steep power-climbs. The Sunday 7am Albany bunch is guaranteed to give you the best training conditions, regardless of whether you are in base, strength, or peak phases. 

RaceShape.com

RaceShape.com is a cool new website that analyses Strava KOM segments to produce a chart of rolling time gaps. The time gap shows where you gained and lost time relative to the KOM holder. The chart below is the Sunnyside Road KOM segment just outside Albany. 

Green is the elevation profile. The horizontal pink line is me, and the blue line is the KOM holder. The difference between the blue and pink lines represents the time difference (measured in seconds on the 2nd y-axis) between us over the distance. 

2013 Race Season: Looking Back; Looking Ahead

The 2013 racing season is now over for me. I planned to continue racing through April and May (mostly in local club races) but my last race was the Tour of Northland in March. Since then, moving into the city, a little burn-out, and other priorities kept me off the saddle most days of the week. 

So, lets look back at my 2013 season. My best result and most exciting race was finishing 12th at Taranaki Cycle Challenge. I managed to make the break at kilometer 90 and hold on for the last 58km. The Tour of Northland was my first stage race and first time racing in the same field as pros. I learned a lot, and really enjoyed stage-racing. I'll definitely be back in 2014. The Tour de Ranges and The Rev were decent races. I finished in the first group on both undulating courses.

Foto Del Dia: Tour de France, 1975

Eddy Merckx attacks on Stage 15 (Nice to Pra Loup) of the 1975 Tour de France. 

White Mountains, New Hampshire Cycling Weekend (August 2010)

This is another video I made in late-2010. I spent a weekend with Peter Montero (a colleague at Fidelity Investments) in New Hampshire's White Mountains. On Day-1, we covered 180km over four notches, including Kinsman, Franconia, Crawford, and Bear, and then the Kancamagus Pass. On Day-2, we cycled the roads around Waterville Valley, many of which were unpaved.