Let the training begin

Route: Eltham to Kinglake return
Distance: 65km
Duration: 2 hours 50 minutes

With Brendan now back from his U.K holiday I’ve got no excuse not to start training. Unfortunately, our plans to meet up in Emerald for a “‘Nongs sesh” didn’t come to fruition due to time constraints and so I headed out to Kinglake instead. It’s been about three weeks since I last rode – my day-trip to Mt. Macedon – and I paid for it today.

Once I’d dragged myself over the initial climbs between Eltham and Kangaroo Ground I actually felt ok. Indeed I felt fine until about half way up the Kinglake climb. Just before the road heads away from the ridge line and gets noticeably steeper, I hit the wall – I was feeling the effects of time off the bike, being sick for a couple days and little sleep, having gotten up at 4:30am to get to work.
I struggled my way to the top of the climb amid cramps and some good old Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome pain.

With the weather being quite cool and overcast at the top and wanting to get home before it got dark, I didn’t stick around at Kinglake all that long. As I descended from Kinglake, my camera, which was attached to my newly-constructed handlebar camera mount, shook loose due to the rough road surface. Luckily, I managed to tighten the wingnuts that were holding it in place and it didn’t cause me too much trouble for the rest of the ride home.

The cramping that I had experienced on the climb stuck with me for most of the way back. At the bottom of my pedal stroke I would feel a sharp pain in my quads that reminded me that I probably need to drink more fluids, do more stretching and probably do some more riding.

I eventually got home feeling a little sore and sorry for myself and remembering how easy the ride to Kinglake usually feels. It’s becoming clear that we have a lot of work to do in the next two months to prepare for what is going to be a truly painful day in the saddle.

63 days to go…

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