The Mont 24 Hour 2011

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything but training has been taking up most of any spare time.


After finishing 2010 on an DNF at the Fling, it was time to recover and re-evaluate my events for 2011. I took a couple weeks off before I started some cross training mainly with some paddling on my surf ski. This was to give my injured calf a break and work on some upper body strength. So over the Christmas and New Year period sitting idle wasn't on my cards. Mid way through January 2011 I was back on the bike to do some base training on the road before I contemplated on what to do for the year.


I gave the Sydney 24hour a miss in 2011 and just as well! Not that the wet put me off last year, it was the extreme heat that the riders faced this year. Apparently, temps hit in excess of 40 degrees! Martin Keenlyside could attest to this, he rode into second place with his riding partner Brad for the second year running. 


So the first event for 2011 was...


The Mont 24 Hour at East Kowen Forest


The Lactic Wastrels Return returned to The Mont for another crack at the 24 hour event. According to my fellow team mates, I held up my end in 2010 and they have invited me back be part of the team.


Leading up the the race it wasn't smooth sailing. Mic, the captain of the team had to withdraw from the event to have his long awaiting head wound fixed once and for all. The wound would not have healed in time for the event. Training weekend before the race saw Cam (Mic's replacement) came a cropper on Pork Barrel at Mt Stromlo and gashed his right forearm serverly. He had to stay in a Canberra hospital overnight before transferring to another one to have surgery to clean and stitch up the wound. Suffice to say, he had to withdraw as well. So the remaining 3 of us, Craig, Kieran and I decide to compete as a triple.


We headed for East Kowen on the Friday morning before Saturday's start to set up camp and do a sighter. There was a slight course modification for the race compared the lap we did the previous weekend. Some how I drew the short straw and ended doing the Le Man style start to the race. They said it was a 500m run from the starting line to the bikes. It was more like 1 kilometer if you asked me. Nonetheless, helmet, gloves, sunnies, riding shoes on I was ready!

The gun went off at 12 midday on the Saturday and over 350 riders/runners set off for the 2011 Mont. I was sitting comfortably around 150 odd mark before I collected my bike off Craig who was handling for me. The first part of the lap of the course was about 2km of fire trail to string out the riders before the bottleneck started on the single tracks. Not much you can do in this situation as everyone are in the same boat. It's no use overtaking! Unless they are ultra slow and hesitant on the downhill section. I finished the lap in a reasonable time and I handed it over to Craig. 

Back at the tent I refuelled with fluids and food and did some maintenance on the bike before I set off for my second lap. The plan was for each of us to do 3 singles and then followed by doubles. I had to put the lights on for my third lap and it was the first time I have used them since the year before. Piece of cake, just like riding a bike. Loved the conditions that I was in and grew more brave with the lines I was taking. Especially enjoying the Kowalski Bros section with a massive grin on my face pales to the grimmace of doing the little pinch climbs.

Salt and vinegar chips were my friend for the race as it replenished the lost salt and mineral content that had depleted from my body as leg cramps in the inner quads deleveloped. Pushed through the cramp barrier and went out to do my double. Kieran smashed out his lap and luckily I got to the transition zone when I did! I took off but knowingly I had a double to do so I backed off the pace a bit to manage my fluid consumption as my frame could only fit a small bidon. I packed a water filled GU bottle in my back jersey for reserves. This all worked out well and I was pretty happy to complete my double as the fifth lap in total took a toll on the body, not only cramps but sever saddle sores!

I went to have a nice warm shower and pizza to eat before crashing for a few hours knowingly that my next stint will be around 7am. I woke to find the weather had changed from cloudless skies to drizzling rain. Kieran reported that the track were no longer duty but sticky mud. The rain came a bit harder and more consistent and the consensous was that we were all happy in what we have achieved and enjoyed a great weekend and not to spoil it but potential falls, spills and damged bikes. So we pulled the pin. I was thankful for that as the body wouldn't agree on another lap or 2.


So we pulled up stumps at 7.30am and called it quits. Packed up in the wet and headed for Goulburn for a nice warm breakfast before arriving back home around just after lunch.


Thanks to Craig Moroz and Kieran Laughton for great a weekend of racing and company.


Note: This was Craig professes that this was his last 24hr event, he'll be dearly missed from future events.

My Review of Planet Bike Superflash Turbo Rear Light

Originally submitted at CELL Bikes

One of the brightest tail lights available anywhere at a pocket friendly price.

Planet Bike Superflash Turbo Rear Light

Super bright!

By Louman from Sydney on 10/24/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Bright as, Water Resistant, Easy Install

Best Uses: Around traffic in Sydney

Excellent rear light, highly visible, yet to falter in wet conditions.

(legalese)

My Review of Crank Bros Candy 3 Pedals

Originally submitted at CELL Bikes

Stronger, stiffer, smoother rolling...with replaceable bearings.

Crank Bros Candy 3 Pedals

Crank Bros Candy 3 Review

By Butters from Sydney, Au on 5/8/2011

 

5out of 5

Candy 3 is easy to install, light, ease of use and best of all great performance on any terrain. Can't really complain about these beauties!

(legalese)

Highland Fling 2010 Washup

I have been looking forward to this event second time around hoping to better last years time. However, with some changes to the course (more single trails, yeehaa!) and a badly timed injury meant that the goals I set out to achieve have flown out the window. Reset, new goal was to get myself to the starting line to get walking again and able to ride a bike.

The Wednesday before the race I tested myself on the trainer with an hour session to see if I could ride a bike without any pain. The Session was a success and I declared myself fit to start the race. Props to the young physio at Newington Family Medical Centre who worked very hard in getting me to the start line for this event.

All packed on the Saturday and I got a lift down to Bundanoon with Mic Thaler and Craig Moroz. My original plan was to go down with either Howard Fu or Ronnie Ioia however both of them pulled out of the race citing various reasons. The trip down was uneventful and we rocked up to Bundanoon to the hall for registration. Hassle free and we stopped to have dinner before heading to the Pony Club to set up camp.

We found our spot for the night and we started to erect the tents. Craig obviously was a pro at erecting his and I struggled a bit with mine in the dark. What made matters worse was that it started to rain and this parking attendant sledged and giggled at us throughout the process. I suppose when you see 4 grown men frantically trying to work out which way the top fly should be positioned over the tent while the rain was coming down harder by the minute was a sight to be seen. Managed to get the fly in a position that will keep the inside of the tent dry and I left it at that.

After panic, everyone retreated to the confines of their tent as the rain had set for the evening. It was a muggy sort of night, too hot for a sleeping bag as I unzipped it fully and just laid it over my stomach. It was also my first time using an air mattress. Felt very odd and unusual. It didn't help much as my injured leg started to throb during the night. I took a couple of Nurofen to ease the pain and drifted off back to sleep.

Morning came and the skies were clear, thank goodness! Although, it felt like it was going to be a very warm day ahead. The prediction was correct as it was roasting out in the pine forests!

Getting ready was quite easy this time as I didn't really fuss around with food or doing last minute adjustments to the bike. However, I did manage to lose my registration pack that contain my number and transponder somehow. The last I saw it was on top of Mic's car bonnet the night before. Craig to the rescue, he retrieved it when the rain started. Crisis solved!

Feeling not too bad, I went over to the Start/Finish line for the briefing and seeded myself towards the back. Wasn't too sure what to expect for the race but the plan was to chose one gear lower than normal and spin more. I stayed pretty true to that for the whole day as I did not want to risk injuring my calf even further by putting the power down.

The race started at a cracking pace and I didn't buy into that as I trying to adjust my gears on the fly as it was skipping badly. I managed to resolve the gear skipping issue and proceeded to find a good rhythm. To my surprise it didn't take long to find a good one and I even managed to pass some poorer climbers on easy inclines on stage 1 to Wingello.

Saving as much energy as I possibly could on the first stage to put me in a good state for the longer stage 2, I did reasonably well coming into transition for stage 1. According to my Garmin, I cranked out 1hr34min. A quick refreshment break and I was off to start stage 2. The first part of stage 2 I felt reasonably good and tried to hitch onto the back of two riders in front of me. I managed to stay with them on the flats but then my world fell apart. Missing those final two weeks of training has really put a dent into the fitness and the ability to put any power down. I struggled big time on The Wall as it was the first of 3 hills that I walked up. Craig doing the Flying Threesome with Mic caught up to me at this stage (started 30min behind me). He asked how I was going and I replied "Shit house!" He retorted, "Yeah, you you don't look too good". After gathering myself together I followed Craig down the single trail and try to get a tow along. I didn't take long before he dropped me and the ever increasing heat and the amount of inclines were putting pay to my lack of fitness and injury.
Not feeling the best at the Riders Lounge (1/2 way through stage 2 and contemplating of pulling out) I refueled and went on my merry way. Got stuck into all the down hill and single stuff and slowly ground my way up hills. I had a good ding dong battle with the top 2 unicyclists all day along. I know
we are nuts doing this sort of crazy shit but there are even more nutters in in our riding community, I digress...

By now I pass or get passed by this group of riders, so I figure we're riding around the same pace albeit differ between downhill, uphill and the single stuff. I had some conversations with this Fling virgin and he even managed to see how I felt after seeing me on the side of track looking quite sorry for myself. This was the lowest point for me in the race. I never felt this bad ever before on a bike. We both asked the SES volunteer how far to go and he said if you back track you can get to Wingello within 7k or it's about 15k to go by the race route. My new acquire friend was suffering from cramps big time and decides to tough it out and plough on to Wingello. After 10 minutes or so on the ground I recovered enough to complete stage 2. I gave my new mate a head start of about a minute or so and I caught him within 2kms. He
struggled even more than I did on the climbs. Unintentionally, this is where I managed to get ahead of him. I was hoping that he could stay with me so that we could work together.

Getting back onto the flats on the way back into town, I tried to put the hammer down as best I could so I could beat the cut off time. Arriving back to Wingello completing stage 2 I manage to beat the cut off time by at least 15 minutes. By then, my body had had enough as my legs could not take me any further. I contemplated in sticking it out but I remembered the course has been altered from last year and it involved doing the roller coaster in reverse and that there was a grass hill climb towards the end. It wasn't worth the risk and pain in doing myself any more injury and decided to withdraw from the race. I went over to the timing tent to inform my withdrawal and got my transponder removed. Sadly, I made my way over to the bus stop for the Sag Wagon to transport the DNFers back to the start/finish.

Most happy about: The amount of single trails and my single trail skills for the race.

Now time to recover from the injury and the race. I think I might spend some time on the surf ski out on the harbour for a while.

Next planned event is the Mont24 in April 2011.

Official results here.


GPS Data here.

A Big thanks goes out to Mic for the lift down and Kieran for the lift back home.

Highland Fling 2010

The 2010 Highland Fling is fast approaching, matter of fact it's happening this weekend. Preparations for the race has been interrupted severely this year in the lead up to the race. From 6 weeks out I was getting good mileage into the legs from the commute to work and back with nice hard and intensive rides. Since then, I have changed jobs and moved house which put me on the back burner for 2 weeks of inactivity.

As soon as we settled into the new abode I started back commuting into the CBD to my new place of employment. A little longer in distance, duration and a little more hillier. A good recipe for the Fling one would think. Regained some much need fitness and got to a point where I was happy where I was in my riding conditioning as I even managed to have some mid-week lunch time running sessions thrown in.

A couple of wet weekends have put a downer on some much needed off track workout as well a broken spoke at beginning of a training ride up the Oaks and back. The sun came out at last a couple of weeks ago and I managed to get up to Wentworth Falls to do Andersons and Oaks. I was going solo as Howard and Ronnie have pulled out of the event citing personal reasons.

The ride was going really well, albeit I had too much air in the tires. I stopped after 15minutes on Andersons and let out what I thought was enough air. However, that wasn't enough as I struggled up the climb out of Bedford Creek. The rears were slipping and spinning too much. I was in no state in letting any more out at that point in time as I was struggling.

Recovered well enough to make it out of Andersons and go to the start of the Oaks and had a quick stretch and a shot of gel. Ripped off down the Oaks hoping to put in a decent leg. I was meaning to have a break at the helipad but for some reason I did not stop. I knew it was all downhill from here and I thought I could smash it to the gate without a break.

Downhill section down and I approached the gate and feeling a little tired. For the second time I did not stop as there were a few riders there waiting for their mates to arrive. So I hit the single track and doing a fairly solid job after not being on the the MTB for donkeys! Half way through the single track I remembered that I still had too much air in the tires as riding became a lot more treacherous on the slippery stuff.

It had to happen, a combination of fatigue, loss of concentration, too much air on the front and not being on the MTB for a long have me coming unstuck. The front slid out on me and the next thing I knew, I was over the bars and the MTB came crashing down ontop of me and smashing into my right calf.

Layed proned on the ground for a while, initially, I thought I broke my leg and that started the whole scenario thinking that I would need to be air lifted out! As it happened, not 2 weeks before hand one of my mates MVU came a cropper not too far from where I stacked. He managed to brake his right clavical and right wrist. Luckily, he was riding with someone and manage to get a lift out of the National Park to a waiting ambulance. I digress...

After what seemed an eternity, I manage to hop up and removed myself from the riding line and luckily no one came through from the time I went over. Did a quick check of all limbs and I was still intact, however, the leg didn't feel too good. Fixed up the steerer as it was crooked and I tried to mount the bike. So far so good. A couple riders came through by then but didn't stop. I got back on and continued down the single track. Able to keep peadlling I knew I could get back to the car back at Glenbrook Station.

I knew this was going to be a struggle as evertime I had to get off the bike the leg killed. I toughed it out with only granny ring left as the fall wrecked the front shifter. All good, that's all I need to get up the climb out from the creek crossing. I even manage to complete the extended rocky single trail section as I need to hone my skills albeit at a more sedentry pace.

Back at the car, I knew I was in trouble as I started to cool down and standing up was a struggle. Stopped at the bakery to get something into me befoer heading home. Thank goodness for my dear wifer who looked after my gear when I got home as I need to attend to myself.

I was laid up all day Sunday barely able to walk and made sure I followed the RICE principal. Monday was the same and I could not get to work. i got myself to the physio to begin treatment right away.

So far, I yet to be back on the bike and had 3 physio sessions. The swelling has gone down however, there's a massive hard lump in the calf and the leg is still sore. The physio and myself are determine to get me to the starting line this weekend.

Thanks to Ronnie who came over on the weekend to help me out in replacing all my cabling and shifter and getting the MTB back into a rideable state. Also congrats to him on annoucing his engagement and soon to be father!

I'll let you know how it all fair after the race. Stay tuned.

Club Crew World Championships Macau 2010

Just returned from a week of intense world class competition at the recent 7^th Club Crew World Championships in Dragon Boat Racing over in Macau, China. Wow, what an eye opener... even for a second timer!

Retirement only lasted for 2 years since the last CCWC in Penang. Upon answering an SOS and constant niggle from ex-team mates, I trialled for a position in City Dragons Macau squad and managed to secure a spot among the 24. The squad trained for 3 months solid during wintry days and evenings for this event after a long and successful season that began way back in September 2009. This involved cross training with cardio and strength fitness, kayaking, sand dunes running, swimming and bikram yoga. You will know why a little later on.

With me being away for a week, Heidi needed some reinforcements in keeping the kids in check and the best solution was to send them up north. The kids looked forward in flying in a plane again to visit their Pa, Nanna, Great Aunt Margaret, Great Nanna, Paw Paw, Uncles, Aunts and cousins! I sent them on their merry way on the Sunday before I left for Macau as Heidi needed the help in getting the kids, luggage , 2 car seats and herself checked-in.

Packed and ready to roll, well almost... I had sometime to kill in the morning before getting to the airport and fearing the uncomfortable 9 hours on the flight ahead of us I ended up on the table to get much needed neck, shoulder and back massage from my sports massage therapist.  As an elite cyclist, she knows best and knows what areas to target. After the well deserved massage I headed over to OC1's (Clayton P) place to share a cab to the airport. A much quicker and cheaper alternative should I caught public transport or left the car at the long term carpark.

A group of City Dragons had already checked in and we weren't too far behind. We felt special and loved as we had a check-in counter all to ourselves. The flight was good all the way to Hong Kong and I even manager to get in almost 3 movies. I missed the last 30 mins of Shutter Island. Oh well, I'll get it on the flight home. Hong Kong's new airport rocks but the line up at immigration sucked! We had the slowest line in the world, as if the immigration officer was on training wheels. We all re-grouped and got our gear and we headed off on our organised coach to the overnight stay at the Eaton Hotel on Nathan St. Well, almost... Ningus gained the notoriety of accruing the first DC points as he walked off without his luggage while still wearing the free sleeping eye mask from Virgin Atlantic. Man, didn't we feel the change in temperature as soon as we headed out the airport! We checked-in to the hotel and it was not too long that Shortcut (Mariano) gained the next lot of DC points as he somehow manage to check in to 2 separate rooms. Confusion reigned at reception. NFI... My roomy for the tour is OC1. After all the crap cleared up, we head out for a bit of leg stretch and walked towards Mong Kok to check out the local surrounds. The hotel just got renovated not that long ago and it looked reasonably good. Small room but modern. Bed was very comfy. Breakfast was as expected in the Western world. We bussed it to the ferry terminal where we boarded a ferry to Macau. Yes, we had to do all the immigration thing again etc.

A pretty ordinary crossing due to some swells and inclement weather, a few on board looked very green around the gills. After alighting from the air conditioned comfort of the ferry we were hit with the humidity that will confront us for the duration of the tour. Through immigration once again and another line we waited what seemed an eternity for a bus to our hotel. Where we boarded our bus is the actual pit area for the F3 Macau Grand Prix.  Now that was the quickest bus ride to a hotel! Meh, it was merely only 2 blocks away. Hmm we could've walked, but then again, we had bags and it was frigging hot!

Golden Dragon Hotel, one of many casino hotel in Macau. Comes to think of it, majority of the hotels were casinos... The hotel room was more spacious than the Eaton and we had an excellent view. Oddly, the bar fridge was locked! We required a deposit of $300HKD to unlock it. Screw it! The beds were a shocker! It was like sleeping on an ironing board. I asked house keeping for an extra doona but they wouldn't allow. Time to think as the first night proved the bed was a real back killer. I ended up doubling up on the doona and sleep on top with a sheet to cover me. Problem solved!

It wasn't long before we all met up for lunch and we headed for the Sands Casino to the food and beverage area. After lunch we headed out to the race site for a final dress rehearsal to get a feel of the course and the new BuK boats that we will be racing in. Nothing like a down pour to end the day. It was still raining by dinner time and we had weave our way under cover until we reached our destination - African buffet! Azza and Dude (Cristian) decided they would try out their new bed for the night.

Breakfast, hmm... we have left the Western world and moved into the Chinese style. For cereal the options were porridge, some sort of rice bubbles and corn flakes. Congee was there to have as well as steamed buns. Bacon, eggs and beans were available as well as pancakes if they could make enough! They also had all these other sort of hot food available like fried rice, fried noodles and veges.

It was long before we were summoned for a land session down stairs.  We did our usual warm up routine and then we did some sprints to get our cardio going. To finish the session we headed across the road for a 3km run before a recovery session at the hotel pool. Another down pour in paradise and this lasted a lot longer. We stayed at the hotel for a buffet dinner and it wasn't too bad at all. It seems that we just eat on this tour! We had a stretch and pool session on the morning of the 2000m. We headed over to the Sands again for a light lunch before making our way over to the Race Site for our first race of the championships.

Weather: 34degrees with 90% humidity. Wow - another hot and humid day even at 4.25pm, Race Time!

There were two heats for the premier division and we were in Heat 1 with 10 boats in our heat. The 2k race is a time trial race around a 500m course with 3 turns (so it’s essentially longer than 2k) with 12 second intervals between each boat. We managed to overtake a fellow Aussie crew (VADB) at the 1k mark and in the process OC1 and I hit a buoy each me first and then him. It turns out that OC1 pop his shoulder out slightly and toughed it all the way home. Respect! We manage to hold off and not get passed by the fast finishing Germans. We did a personal best time of 9minutes 3seconds. Knocking off over a minute from the National Titles time. Nice work DCs! However, there were 15 other teams that were quicker. The 2 Czech crews filled the first 2 positions with the Germans in third. See results at the bottom. Youtube of the of race - 2000m Race from SRP.

Dinner time and we're off on a protein feast of Brazilian churrasco at the Venetian Casino. The casino complex is massive and apparently it turns over more than Vegas itself! Inside was amazing as they had a man made canal in the complex with real gondolas and singing gondaliers.
  

Friday – 200m heats. With 4 boats in this heat we managed to finish 2^nd and qualified for the semi straight up. Time: 46.600sec. The signs were ominous when the Windsor Arch Jiujang DBT (Chinese crew) went out in the heat after us and ripped up the course in 42.529sec. Absolutely amazing to watch! Obviously they qualified 1^st and ranked 1^st for the semis.

Saturday – 200m Semi/Final. Circumstances happens but that’s racing and the gods weren’t shining for us that day. We ended up in the fastest semi of the day but still managed to pull in a fast time considering our 2^nd best paddler snapped his paddle (made out of kevlar carbon fibre) and we had to carry his 100kg frame all the way. Finished 5^th out of 6 in 46.916sec. Missed the major final by less than 0.6 sec and minor final by less than 0.07 sec. Predictably, the Chinese crew took out the major final by over a second. With some paddlers carrying niggling injuries we bypassed the plate final as we preserved them for the 500m races the following day. We all felt pretty low and robbed of an opportunity. But that's racing... We headed for James Packer's City of Dreams to chill out at the Hard Rock Hotel for a poolside BBQ buffet. Simply awesome venue and food. I told you we just ate. This must the be the best eating tour ever!

Sunday – last day of competition 500m races and things didn’t look too bright for us as there were at least 4 paddlers suffering from gastro. First Heat – tough draw but nevertheless, close finish but only 5^th in 2min 00.988sec. Repechage it is and we need to finish 1^st or 2^nd to progress to the semis. We managed a 2^nd in 2min 00.279sec. So very consistent racing under the circumstances. Semi final time and there’s nothing to lose, we had a crack but the competition was just too good. 6^th placing with another consistent time of 2min 00.481sec. This placed us in the plate final with another Aussie crew (Pacific Dragons) who had a ding dong battle between the two clubs all year in all distances. We were in lane 6 out of sight and out of mind and not expecting to challenge the others for the win. Oh how wrong they were… rather than seeing most crews have a faster start than us all day long, finally we managed to nail the start and shot out with a massive lead. We followed the race plan as we did all day and had an awesome middle part of the race. Pass the half way point, Bear our sweep sensed the other crews were closing in and we put down the hammer for the last 80 strokes or so. The best race by far by us as we hammered home holding off all comers in a photo finish and winning the plate final crossing in 1min 59.516sec. Woohoo! We still hold the title of the fastest aussie premier crew for 200m and 500m. However, Pacific Dragons retains the 2k title.

After all the bad luck we had in the last couple of days, this was the best way to finish this hard campaign. Well… the after party is another story in itself…

The original DCs

Left Macau Monday morning after breakfast hoping to do a spot of camera shopping in Hong Kong with OC1. No luck, the camera I wanted was way too expensive compared to the net. OC1 and I made our way to the airport by the subway and it was a breeze. Why can't we have a system like this back in Sydney??? Time to use up the local currency so I bought the kids some Toy Story 3 watches which they love wearing. Now stop wearing my Polar watch! There were 10 of us returning home first and we're all checked-in and boarded bar one. Ballcrack (Petr B) was missing! Virgin staff put a page out for Ballcrack and asked one of us to call him to see where he was. Alas, Ballcrack last on board and earned more DC points! We left Monday evening and arrived back to a cold, wet and windy Sydney Tuesday morning. Oh joy!

Thanks to Ryan (coach) for giving me the opportunity to trial and make a return to this great team for another crack at the world champs.

Thanks to all the supporters and my fellow DC crew. The effort and the sacrifices we all put in was immense and worth while especially to the all fathers in crew. You guys rock! Lastly, a big thank you goes to my very understanding wife Heidi and the kids Annika and Mitchell for allowing me to partake in this campaign as it doesn't come around too often.

PS. Thanks to Wongy and Dude for sharing the photos. I stole a few!

Race Results

2000m Race

Final

1^st Nymburk Dragon Team (CZE) 8.22.222

2^nd Moravian Dragons (CZE) 8.28.606

3^rd Wann Sea Dragons (GER) 8.29759

7^th Pacific Dragons (AUS) 8.42.800

16^th City Dragons (AUS) 9.03.645

19^th Vietnamese Australian DBC (AUS) 9.56.003  

200m Races

Major Final

1^st Windsor Arch Jiujang DBT (CHN) 44.463

2^nd Nymburk Dragon Team (CZE) 45.133

3^rd Wann Sea Dragons (CER) 45.163

Heat

2^nd City Dragons (AUS)  44.600

Semi Final

5^th City Dragons (AUS) 44.916

Plate Final

DNS

500m Races

Major Final

1^st Windsor Arch Jiujang DBT (CHN) 1.51.744

2^nd Nymburk Dragon Team (CZE) 1.52.404

3^rd Wann Sea Dragons (GER) 1.54.784

Plate Final

1^st City Dragons (AUS) 1.59.516

2^nd South Eagles DBA (HKG) 1.59.556

3^rd Galaxy Stars (MAC) 1.59.5996

4^th Pacific Dragons (AUS) 2.00.696

Semi Final

6^th City Dragons (AUS) 2.00.481

Repechage

2^nd City Dragons (AUS) 2.00.279

Heat

5^th City Dragons (AUS) 2.00.988

DC20

Queen - Alice Steel (drummer)

Azza - AaronDe Sousa

Shortcut - Mariano Castenda

OC1 - Clayton Pickering

AQIS - Michael Ng

Butters - Keith Louie

Mr. Finish - Jiri Rolc

Klaus - Miro Utrata

Bubby - Mark van Uden

Fish - Petr Macoun

Ballcrack - Petr Balcarek

Avatar - Peter Skene

Apple - Juan Arbarca

Chill - Cristian Sepulveda

Dude - Bernie Rojas

Baywatch - Viktor Baldovic

Dazza - Darren Chan

Celine - Dion Taylor

Wongy - Allan Wong

Bangers - Bang Duong

Cleo - Claudio Leondelabarra

Sickbay - Keith Szeto

Bear - Steve Da Costa (sweep)

Mr T - Ryan Chan (coach)

Tour Supporters

Leg breaker - Ines De Sousa

Chichi - Ingrid van Uden

Nurse - Bev Magpayo

Caro - Carolina Carvallo

Now back to dragon boat retirement...

CCWC Macau 2010 City Dragons Training Update

Well, it has been 4 weeks since my family break up at Hamilton Island and it was time to provide an update to what has been happening in preparation for CCWC Macau 2010. During the week in the sun up at Hamilton Island I wasn’t sitting idle as I knew I had to keep relatively in shape for this up and coming campaign. As with the nature of being sun drenched and surrounded by water (both in the blue yonder and pools), swimming and playing around with the kids was a given. I also managed to get out for a couple of steep trail runs on the island with the first one of around 6kms and a climb of 252m up to Passage Peak. Brilliant views from up top and I managed to pump out 30 push-ups on a rocky platform. The second run I had on the island was another trail run down to Coral Cove. I covered over 5km with a climb out of the cove of over 200m. Again, there were more spectacular scenery and views on the trail.

As a complete contrast in weather, we arrived back to a drenched Sydney in pouring rain. I had the plan to attend training that night but it was cancelled and a pool session was called. Unfortunately, I hadn’t read my emails before hand to pack swimming gear if the weather was feral as I basically got home from the airport and went straight to training. Not all was lost as Heidi was happy to see me home and watched the XXXX Queensland Maroons take out State of Origin I over NSW Blues. Go Queenslander!

Friday evening there was no training scheduled as we celebrated Azza’s 40^th birthday at Oscars Pyrmont. As a dress up party we had to come as what you would like to grow up to be. I got drawn into joining 3 others in dressing up as the Ninja Turtles. This I imagine was hilarious to see as we made an instant impact as we walked from the parked car all the way to Oscars and coming through the doors. A great night had by all.

The weekend arrived and the weather improved as opposed to the forecast and sand dune running at Kurnell was in order. Heidi and kids came along to check out the dunes and the kids had a ball running up the dunes and playing in the sand. The session was tough as envisaged with 5 laps of a set course followed by 5 sprints up a dune in teams. Lunch afterwards was in order and we headed to Cronulla.

I had 2 water sessions back to get reacquainted before the weekend water time trial. First session was a distance session which I was glad to have to put some paddling mileage in followed by a power session on the Wednesday evening. I wasn’t overly concern about the water time trials as I knew I was cardio fit from adventure racing and mountain biking and could endure the distance without any troubles. My only concern was that I lacked physical strength up top after being away from DB for 2 years.

A 4:30am wakeup call was harsh for the 5am roll call. But nevertheless, MVU and I headed down to Bank St to join the rest of the squad loading up 2 x 20 man boat and a 10 man boat to take over to the trial area of Black Wattle Bay. It was a cold morning to boot and staying warm was a challenge as we needed to be ready to roll when called upon. All in all, I was happy with my effort as this course was a different to the ones I have trialled on as it was longer. However, the distance did not phase me as my enduro form kicked in well but lack the strength to provide me more grunt. Up against Keifa I had a relatively good start and we were pretty neck and neck all the way until the last 20-30m where Keifa’s strength started to pull away from me. In the end he only pipped me by 2 seconds. I’m pretty chuffed about this considering the lack of water time I had to prepare for this. Everyone piled into the café at Channel Ten for breakfast afterwards and headed off for sand dune training afterwards. This session I could not make as I was back on kids duty as Heidi was doing her weekend shift. The kids had a ball with the sleepover at Mark and Ingrid’s place and a big thank you goes out to Ingrid for looking after the kids while MVU and I was doing the water time trial and for allowing us to stay over while Heidi was doing her on call shift. All packed ready to go home, the kids and I walked to the tram stop and caught a tram ride to Central Station. After finding the right platform at Central we caught a train to Strathfield where we need to catch a bus home for the final part of the journey. The trip home was smooth and the kids enjoyed the experience. I rewarded them with some play time on the play equipment at the local park.

With the water time trial out of the way it was time to focus on putting in the hard work for the next 8 weeks before we leave. Ryan’s (coach) well layed out plan looks right on the money with minor adjustments to suit the squad fitness levels. Monday evening encompasses distance (4km) training on the water on both sides. Wednesday water sessions focus on power with milk crates used for resistance work. Friday sessions could entail any component of workout ranging from power/distance sessions to swimming. I have had hit the pool a couple of times for a recovery swim session of 1km. Each time (Ian Thorpe Aquatic and Sydney Aquatic centres) the kids have came along for swim watched over by Heidi while I punched out the laps. A quick change over and it’s Heidi’s turn to churn up the lanes while I keep an eye on the squids.

As each week passes, my paddling fitness level has definitely increased along with my paddling strength. Accompanied by the tweaked stroke technique, the new rating level imposed by Ryan for this squad is immense and challenging. City Dragons needed the step up in level in order to compete against the world’s best crews.

Stay tuned for the next update which will come before we leave for Macau.

This is the last post before we fly out for Macau on Monday 26^th July and I thought it was an opportunity to provide an update on how we are faring for the championships. We are in the throes of finalising preparations with only a race practice session left on Friday and a Bikram Yoga session on Saturday.

 

Since I last updated over 4 weeks ago, the squad have endured a lot in that short space of time in terms of fitness, heath, celebrations and indecisions. Albeit, things are looking good for City Dragons after last Sunday’s practice races with Pacific Dragons on Black Wattle Bay. There have been plenty of members that’s been sick or still recovering from various forms of flu or colds among the sleepless nights many had by all during the World Cup of Football. In the midst, we celebrated Azza’s change in life, firstly with his 40^th do and a buck’s party following his announcement that he’ll wed Ines. On top of that, the now newly weds are expecting their first! Congrats to Azza and Ines on this momentous occasion.

 

Cross training has been influential as part of this campaign as everyone will get stale from just dragon boat paddling. To break up the monotony, we have ventured out on kayaks on Sydney Harbour, hit the sand dunes of Kurnell, recovery swim sessions and to acclimatise to Macau’s conditions Bikram Yoga.

 

The DB water sessions have been broken up into distance and power sessions and some sessions have been brutal in terms of what Ryan have set out for us. Bravo to him for sticking to the training plan and not deterred by external factors. The last couple of weeks entailed the obligatory power sessions and the building up of races for all distances. The last weekend before flying out we did some bench marking by having a race session against Pacific Dragons. All distances were cover in the form of 500m, 200m and 2000m. The form suggest that City Dragons were on track with their training regime.