It’s bloody freezing these mornings, for Sydney anyway, and I can’t face cycling in. Rather than having some days cycle-free, like I was planning, I reckon I’lljust take the bike on the ferry in the mornings, then cycle home. That way i don’t have to deal with the cold too much, and I also don’t have to deal with sitting on a bus in traffic!

As for this morning, I missed the early ferry by a couple of minutes, so I didn’t make it into the CBD in time to get a swim in.

B: 20km – W: 1

We all got dolled up in black tie three weeks ago for Leo & Syra’s wedding. I didn’t bring my camera, as I’d hardly any pockets in the flash suit. John brought his and these are his photos.

Ed, my boss, was in town yesterday, so we went out for a couple of tasty beers after work before his flight back to Canberra. The Australian was the venue and Shearers & Bocks were the beers.

Anyway, didn’t get my cycle home in yesterday, but made up for it today. Also got some weights and some running drills in as well.

This Week:
Bike: 35km
Swim: 1000m
Run Drills * 2
Weights * 2

I finally got around to scanning photos of myself and Jacqui on safari in South Africa, back in 2002. They’re here if you want to see them.

Made it in on time to get a swim in this morning, so I’m back on track with respect to the structured plan. Only did an easy 1km before I had to get out and go to work, but every little bit counts.

200 FS
4 * {
    100 FS on 1:45,
    50 BC on 1:00
}
200 Easy
Total: 1000m

B: 25km – S: 1000m – W: 1 session

Two friends of ours, Kristy and Ben, have headed off on a round-the-world trip, so we volunteered to mind their budgies while they were gone. After a couple of quiet days as they adjusted to their new surroundings, they’re now happily chirping away.

They’re still fairly timid though, so it will be a while before they’re relaxed enough to perch on my finger. Jacqui wants to teach them to talk, but I’m happy just whistle at them and get a response.

Day One of the structured program went quite well. Cycled in and out of work, then did some light weights when I got home. Had dinner with Tom and a bunch of friends for his birthday, down in Mu Shu, a flash new restaurant in Bondi.

As a result, Day Two of the structured program didn’t get off to a great start, with me not making it out of bed early enough to go for a swim. I’ll have to make up the session tomorrow or something.

B: 15km – W: 1 session

Well last week was a bit of a lazy week. Apart from the MTB ride I did nothing. However, I did have a think about getting a more structured program in place, so here’s what I came up with:

Mon: Bike In/Out of work, light weights
Tue: AM Swim, PM Run
Mon: Bike In/Out of work, light weights
Thurs: AM Swim, PM Run
Fri: Bike In/Out of work, AM Swim
Sat: Run
Sun: Bugger all

That’s the plan from now on. If I can stick to it for 3-4 weeks then I can settle into a routine and it will be a bit easier from then on, though with my sisters arriving at different stages over the next month it could play havoc with the plan.

I picked up the last batch of fish to go in my aquarium, a pair of Pearl Gouramis. Now I can sit back, relax and watch them swim around. I also got a bit of Java Moss which will hopefully attach itself to the driftwood and start growing. Lastly, I discovered that the Platies have given birth, and there’s 4 or 5 tiny (3mm long) fish somewhere in the tank. I had asked for 6 male fish to avoid having spry, so it appears that there’s one female in there after all.

Met up with the guys from Canberra yesterday and did the same ride in Kangaroo Valley. It was a good bit easier this time, possible because I knew what was up ahead and could pace myself accordingly. Thankfully I had no punctures this time, so there was no messing about at the side of the trail and as a result the whole ride only took about 3.5 hours. I also made it most of the way up the long climb out of the valley. I had to stop twice, due to losing my balance on quite rocky bits, but in total I only walked about 400m which was a lot better than last time. A bit more fitness and I should be able to ride the whole thing.

We met quite a few bikers taking advantage of the long weekend, some on the same trail as us, and others trying different routes in the area. There are a couple of other tracks on the map that might be worth investigating some other weekend, and one in particular look promising if we can get across the river. We might have to consult some locals before heading off on that one.

B: 37km

Myself, Kev and Niall went snorkelling this afternoon in Gordon’s Bay near Clovelly. I brought the underwater camera and took a few photos, some of which came out reasonably well.

Here they are.

Cycled home after work yesterday and then went to Gus’s funeral. Excellent eulogies from Billy And Neil. Suffering from a hangover this morning.

B: 37km – S: 2000m – W: 1 session

Got back on the bike over the past two days. Pretty straight-forward, nothing exciting to report ;-)

Arrived down at the ferry this morning only to find the harbour fogged in and all ferries cancelled. Had ot cycle into work after all, though it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be after my 3 week layoff.

B: 27km – S: 2000m – W: 1 session

Getting back into the swing of things after all the parties/drinking over the last few weeks. Crawled out of bed for a swim this morning.

200 FS easy
8 * {
    100 FS on 1:45 (Avg. 1:28)
    100 IM on 1:45 (Avg. 1:35)
}
200 FS easy
Total: 2000m

Weighed in at 87.0kg too.

S: 2000m

Another swim this morning. My freestyle is quite weak. Anything more than about 200m at a time and my arms start struggling. The IM was easy enough, I guess because it involves changing the way muscles are used on a regular basis. I’m going to have to start doing some weights to help get used to swimming again. Lots of reps with a low weight I think.

4 * {
200 Free
200 IM, single arm fly
}, 60secs rest/200
Total: 1600m

B: 37km – S: 2600m

Forced myself out of bed and back into the pool this morning. A short session which wasn’t too bad.

2 * 400 Reverse IM, single arm fly
200 Free easy
Total: 1000m

B: 37km – S: 1000m

Since we all had Monday off work, myself, Kev, Niall and Tom decided to head down to Kangaroo Valley for some MTBing. Watches were syncronised the night before and rendevous was arranged for Tom’s house at 0745hrs at the latest. I got there with time to spare, which was used for some last minute bike maintenance. Kev was late, though he redeemed himself by bringing coffee for everyone and as he pointed out he still had to sit and watch Tom & Niall make sandwiches for another 10mins. We finally left Bondi some time after 8am for an uneventful drive south to Kangaroo Valley.

Once there we had to do the car shuffle, so we’d have one waiting for us at the bottom of the run, which gave me time to do some more bike maintenance, and also to fall over while still clipped into my pedals. I feel it’s best to get these things over and done with early in the day. We hit the trail and immediately stopped for some photos. Tom wasn’t feeling too good already, admitting that he may have eaten too many Easter eggs on Saturday. He figured things would settle down once we got going.

The whole route consists of various fire trails and 4WD tracks. The first section is quite flat and winds through farm country, before taking a turn into Morton National Park. We briefly debated adding an extra loop which was marked on the map, but decided against it. Shortly after entering the park, my front tube exploded. Niall and Kevin almost ducked for cover as they thought an irate farmer might be out with the shotgun! Ten minutes into the ride and we were already stopping for repairs! I threw in a spare tube and off we went again.

We found a nice bit of singletrack and did some exploring but it all proved a little too much. Tom cleared a log, then promptly fell over while trying to cycle on. Kevin’s front wheel slid out from under him and he ended up flat on his back off the trail. Myself and Niall escaped from the singletrack unharmed, but Niall decided to go back in for some reason, whereupon he promptly fell off as well. As mentioned earlier, I find it’s better to get all the falling over out of the way early on. The lads felt it was better to do it without the sort of audience you find in a car park. We wisely decided to leave further exploring for another day and continued down the trail to our lunch stop at a quiet lookout, with a spectacular view across Kangaroo Valley laid out before us as we ate.

Niall broke out the gourmet sandwiches which had taken so long to make earlier in the morning, along with his cup of tea. Myself and Kev had shop bought pasta salads and Tom only managed a couple of grapes. By this stage we were a little worried, as you know there is something seriously wrong when Tom refuses food!

After lunch we continued on our way and the lads got to do a few jumps. I decided to skip the jumps given my impressive performance the last time I tried jumping in Kangaroo Valley, ie: I crashed badly! Soon after that I had another flat, though not in as spectacular style as the first. I’d used my spare tube, so I had to borrow one from Tom. Five minutes later Kevin also flatted, only to find that his tubes felt like they were Teflon coated. The patch wouldn’t stick, so he had to get a tube off Niall. That was our last tube, so we had to hope we wouldn’t have any more tube issues. Lesson for the day: don’t buy tubes made in Thailand, or Teflon coated ones made anywhere at all!

After another couple of kays, we made it to the creek crossing. I waded through with my shoes still on, figuring it wouldn’t take them long to dry out. The lads stopped to take theirs off and I think they had the right idea. As I write this (the following morning) my shoes are still outside on the balcony at home drying out. We were now at the worst part of the ride: a 3km serious hill climb. Tom was in no fit state to make the climb, so he decided to walk. The rest of us were determined to give it a go. Niall and Kev made it to the top without stopping, but I wasn’t able for it. I reckon I cycled about 60% of it, though split into three cycle/walks.

Once up the hill it was a straight-forward on-road 10km back to the car for 37km total riding for the day. Niall took the car back to pick up Tom who was really suffering by this stage. Not being able to eat anything all day meant that he had zero energy left. We thought we’d get stuck in holiday traffic on the drive back to Sydney, though we got lucky and it was plain sailing, apart from the moron we saw reversing through 3 lanes of traffic near the airport!

So, all in all it was a good day. I’d been itching to do that route for a while, so it was good to finally have the chance. I’ll need to work on the fitness for that hill as Kev & Niall can get to the top & Tom managed all but 400m of it ona previous visit. I’ll have another chance in two weeks as we’re supposed to meet the guys from Canberra for another MTB trip, so we’ll see how I go on that one!

Photos are here.

87.1kg this morning.

Went for a bit of a swim today… yeah, right. I actually went for a snorkel with Kevin & Niall, down in Clovelly. Water was warm (22C), it was nice and sunny and therewas plenty of fish around. I hadn’t been snorkelling in about a year and a half and this time was much better than the last. I’ll have to go a bit more often now, especially as this is the best time of the year to go. I’ll being the camera next time.

Another slack exercise week, though my weight is staying fairly constant. We’re off to Kangaroo Valley again on Monday for a long ride, so that can be my reintroduction to the bike etc.