Oh Dear

After an afternoon of conscious rehydration I thought it might not hurt too much to have a glass of wine while blogging.

Turns out, not such a great idea. I am toast! Back to the water I think or my 5.15a.m. start is really going to hurt.

In Which Pip Chooses the High Road

It's Saturday so it must be Gearshifters.

Dee had more hills for us this morning. Lots of hills. Big hills. As I got out of bed for the umpteenth time I was craving a sleep in. Well, that was never going to happen! I was at Freyberg unloading Cleo not long after 8 a.m.

We had a nice morning for a ride, though it was remarkably crisp and there was a bit of a Northerly. We rode to the base of the Ngaio gorge and then we had a choice - up the gorge or hang a right and take the steeper Old Porirua Rd. I could see the start of Old Porirua swinging off up the hill. They weren't joking when they said it was steep. I did a mini-freakout. I decided I was going to ride up Ngaio Rd. I decided I would feel like I'd wimped out if I took the easier option. I turned right.

Oh yes, they REALLY weren't kidding when they said Old Porirua was steep! For the first time ever I had to get out of my saddle to climb. I NEVER climb out of my saddle! I thought so many times over that I was going to die. Thankfully the road levels off every now and then, just enough to allow you to catch your breath, then it laughs in an evil manner and cranks up the gradient even more.

Needless to say I made it to the top, though I seriously need to work on standing on the pedals. Having not really ever had to do it before I was having an interesting time finding my centre of gravity and identifying how to stand and grind efficiently. It's still my technical skills that let me down when I'm riding, but at least I know what I have to work on.

Down Ngaio Gorge, stopping briefly to fix my dropped chain (cross-chaining again - completely my fault). At the bottom we turned and started climbing again. Some of the pack did Old Porirua twice but I really didn't need to remind myself of how steep it was and I was curious to see how difficult Ngaio was.

In the end, Ngaio Gorge felt ridiculously easy and I overtook a few people on the way up. It was a happy Pip who reached the top and waited with the others. From there I don't really know where we went. We went via the backroads, past the end of Sarah's street, through Wilton and past Otari-Wilton's Bush. The route was undulating with a couple of reasonable climbs.

We regrouped then headed down into Aro Valley, meeting at the base of Brooklyn Hill. From there it was another climb up to Brooklyn - the steep side this time! This big mammoth hill I'd alwasy dreaded was infact nothing to worry about at all and I cruised up there without difficulty.

Onwards - flying down through Happy Valley desperately trying to hit 50kmph (failing). Those of us who were too fast for our own good got to do Murchison Rd, but it didn't worry me, knowing that it was steepish but short and it didn't take long to reach the top. Unfortunately while we were waiting a boy of about eight years old who had been flying up and down his driveway took a spectacular fall and started screaming hysterically. A quick inspection and his wrist was bending at an obviously unfortunate angle. His father thanked us for going to him and headed off to the hospital. One day that kid is going to make an excellent roadie!

Back down Murchison and around to Island Bay where we hung a right at Mercer Street. Now I know Kate will understand just how much the next fifteen minutes or so hurt. We rode up Melrose Rd then hung a left into Southgate Rd. At this point things got steep again. Southgate Rd was gruelling. What hurt even more was levelling off and thinking we were at the top only to discover the road steepened again and kept going for another couple of hundred metres or so. Getting to the top felt like survival!

We regrouped yet again and then headed back to the coast via Houghton Bay Rd. From there a small pack continued around the Bays and back to Freyberg. Over time we had dropped several riders - some to equipment failures and some to punctures and another group of cyclists cut back through at Kilbirnie. Those of us who were left pushed on through the headwind and sped when the tailwind gave us the opportunity. It was now warm and the sun was out and it wasn't bad at all to be riding around the coast. Knowing we were on the home stretch we started talking more and rode two-abreast when we could.

From around Greta Point Richard instructed us to sprint home and I got unceremoniously dropped again. I really need to work out why it is I don't have the power on the flat to hold my own. I was NOT impressed! Once I was dropped it was difficult to keep motivated to speed home. I'm going to have to go out and practice power starts and sprinting if I'm ever going to feel happy with my non-hill rides.

It was, however, a very happy Pip who met the others in Parade for a cold, cold drink. When I got home a pair of Kaka were playing in a tree at the top of the garden and birds in general were chorusing loudly in the mild spring weather. I sat in the courtyard rehydrating and reading the paper and feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Tomorrow - 100km around (and around) Waikanae. Dee's picking me up at 6.15 and I am SO sleeping in next Sunday!

Turns out I really am a hill climber. Who would have ever thought?!

The Week of the Mad Dog

I woke up on Monday morning after the Wairarapa race with surprisingly fresh legs, but with a muscle strain in the area of my upper left hamstring/glute. Did that stop me? Not likely. I was up at 6am and off to the gym. I wanted to do a circuit workout and so that's mostly what I did, although I was thwarted somewhat by the 6.50 a.m. bus never arriving. The next bus wasn't till 7.15 and I got to the gym with little time to spare.

I got a bit territorial, taking over my usual cable machine and assembling a power bag and a barbell next to it. I conceded to the day before's exertions by dropping a kilo on the step-back squat and to use a smaller power bag in the walking lunges. I then raced through three sets each of the step-back squat, walking lunges and woodchopper, then moved onto three sets of bosu-ball side step, swing squat and leg press.

My energy levels were pretty good and having to hurry meant that I maintained a pretty good heart rate. My main concern was the pain through my left glute and I was a bit worried that I might be doing more damage.

Did that stop me? Of course not!

After work I headed out for a recovery run in the sun. It's liberating to run without the Garmin and to give myself permission to just run in a way that feels good. I got as far as Freyberg, where I stopped briefly to talk to the leader of the Capitelles, a Welly women's cycling pack. Somehow over the course of the evening, via a series of messages on the Vorb forums, I managed to be convinced into riding with them this Monday (after the Waikanae 100km event). It will be a challenge (a good one) to keep up, but on the shorter rides it's the kind of challenge I need. As Richard says, I need to lay it on the line.

Speaking of Richard, I hadn't been running for long when I came across him walking home and we walked together for a while. He gave me an excellent pep talk, for which I was very grateful.

I ran out to the Point then turned back towards the Terrace, and was able to run faster on the way back than on the way out. It seems it takes about 7km for my fatigued legs to start loosening up. My glute was still a bit sore and I still wasn't sure I was doing the best thing for my body, but mentally I was doing well.

Tuesday turned into one of those Mad Dog marathons. It started after work with a leg workout. I did most of Duck's leg programme, including the squats, bosu side steps, leg press, abductor swiss ball press, box jumps and leg extension. I skipped the walking lunges, if only because my glute was still bothering me.

With ten minutes to spare I ate a banana and headed into the 6.40 RPM class. Dee was teaching and the room was, once again, filled with Gearshifters. 45 minutes later that class was finished and I wolfed down another banana. From then on in the pain began. We had another hour of mostly hill tracks ahead of us. Whereas we had been rowdy and jovial in the first class by midway through the second we all fell slowly silent. With my legs complaining that they were well overdue a rest I switched into HTFU mode. I reminded myself that halfway through Taupo I would probably be feeling pretty tired and that I wouldn't have the option then of turning the dial down and spinning things out. It would have been grim had it not been gratifying and the Mad Dog was baying.

I had another RPM class to get out of the way before the end of the week and for some reason it seemed like a good idea to do it at lunchtime on Wednesday. Never mind that I hadn't gotten home until 9 p.m. the night before and that I was, to put it mildly, a little tired. I wanted to get the day's workout done and I figured it would be nice to have 36 hours before my next bout of cardio.

It wasn't the easiest of classes, despite the instructor Chris choosing some excellent tracks. My heartrate wouldn't budge above 130 and my legs wouldn't listen when I suggested they work a bit harder. It was a relief to have it all over with and I very much enjoyed being able to head home and rest.

I had various appointments for which I thought it better to be awake and alert for on Thursday, so I didn't get up to workout before heading to the office. Instead I headed off to Extreme after work. Upstairs I jumped on a yellow spin bike and enjoyed watching Murray put an Impact class through their paces. Lauren was up there moving remarkably lightly on his feet for his size (which isn't to say he's mammoth, just to say that he's not small either).

Murray's antics and the accompanying thumping music got me going and motivated me to keep my cadence high and my heartrate over 140, though it jumped immediately back to 130 the second I slackened off. Through sheer grim determination I managed to get it up to 150 at one stage. I warmed up for five minutes, went hard for 20 minutes, recovered for ten then went hard for another 20. By the end of it all I was dripping sweat and my glasses kept fogging up. I got off the bike, turned around, and came face to face with a row of empty treadmills. For some reason it seemed like a good idea to change back to my running shoes and jump on one. So I did! I ran two kilometres, finding my legs surprisingly loose, and sprinted the last 500m.

Was I finished? Not yet! I went downstairs and did three sets of pull-ups, push-ups, cable row and tricep extension. Finally the stress of the eventful day were expunged and the Mad Dog placated. It seemed like a good time to head home.

After all that I took Friday off! It was an excellent week and I felt pretty good the whole way through it. I'm happy that my legs seem to be able to cope with the idea of active recovery. I am, however, perturbed by the amount of food I am piling away right now. My weight is not moving up or down, but I'm having to eat constantly to keep it where it is. If I were to eat a 'normal' diet I would, I'm sure, be skeletal. Instead all I can think of is food. Driving home from RPM on Tuesday night Dee and I were fantasising about pizza, satay and desserts. Food has become the other of my two topics of conversation. I am a slave to my stomach.

I owned the Mad Dog this week. The Mad Dog is extremely high maintenance!

Wairarapa Cycle Challenge Report

Well, it's been a few days since the Wairarapa race and I've had time to process it. I had three goals for this race. I had a time goal, I wanted to ride with a pack and I wanted to nail my hydration and nutrition in a racing environment. In fact I had four goals. Having not ridden more than around 55km since the Grape Ride in April, I also just wanted to finish. I was also looking forward to seeing just how fast I could go.

Dee picked me up at 6.15 on Sunday morning. Hamish still wasn't home from his VJing gig and getting up at 5.00am seemed like a mad endeavour to s ay the least. When we stopped at the BP in Upper Hutt it was blowing a gale and raining and we nearly turned back home. Thankfully we decided it would be foolish not to at least see what conditions were like on the other side of the hill. When we got to Featherston it was still drizzly but the wind was far less severe.

We arrived ridiculously early and I had a lot of time to get Cleo ready, to decide on an appropriate number of layers and to scoff down a banana. I got an attack of the pre-race nerves but tried to distract myself by riding a few laps up and down the road. It was still quite drizzly and the Southerly was keeping things quite cool so I went with a polyprop top, cycling top, arm warmers, leg warmers and a windbreaker. I was worried I might be overdoing it but I never came close to overheating.

Dee persuaded me to move up a wave and when we started off I found myself riding with a bunch of guys doing 40kmph. It was huge fun but I knew I couldn't keep it up and after ten minutes or so I got dropped. Unfortunately that was the first goal down the drain. From then on I rode most of the way on my own. Every now and then I would latch onto another pack, but it wouldn't last long.

For the first 20km or so I managed around 35kmph. I made a point of starting to drink and eat early on. I was feeling good and having fun, despite not being able to see too much as my glasses got covered with rain and started to fog. Then the tail wind kicked in and it all started to go pear shaped. I was riding along narrow country roads completely on my own with only dropped Peak Fuel tubes to reassure me I was still going the right way. My average speed dropped right back and I started to wonder whether I could meet my time goal after all.

Two brief pack rides kept my spirits up during this time, as did a flock of bellbirds as I was riding through a gathering of trees. One rider was stopped on the side of the road changing a flat tire, and he later blew past me at speed. The narrow little roads and the lake on my left would have been wonderfully scenic had it not been grey and overcast.

The headwind of course didn't last and soon a tailwind had me pushing over 35kmph again. From then on my feelings about the race alternated depending on whether I was able to hang off the back of a pack and whether I was riding into the wind. I kept hydrating, kept eating. I kept track of my speed and monitored the passing of the kilometres. I jumped onto a good pack that I was hopeful of holding onto but lost them at the top of one of the few hills as I fiddled with my gears. I cursed myself a bit at that! I pushed hard but coudn't catch them again and eventually gave up.

I started to give up again during an extended period of riding at a 45 degree angle against a crosswind as we approached Martinborough. I just stopped caring about time and just wanted to finish. Ironically, once out of the crosswind I found that, despite some sore sit bones and a bit of legwarmer chafing, I wasn't terribly fatigued and that I still had the power to push a good pace. I was even picking off the occasional cyclist. I enjoyed the sensation of my legs firing away like pistons, pumping rhythmically up and down.

Once I reached Martinborough things picked up considerably. I was flying down State Highway 2 and motivated by the 14km sign to really start pushign the pace again. I was surprised that I was still feeling very strong. Of course I wasn't counting on the hill just before the lefthand turn to Featherston. Halfway up I was passed by a couple on a tandem. I had seen them stopped for a puncture earlier, then a second puncture not long after that. This time I called out to them to ask whether they'd made sure their tires were free of glass this time. The male of the pair grimaced and commented they were not having a good day. Their day must have really been going downhill, because I passed them only a couple of kilometres further down the road with their third puncture.

The last kilometre into Featherston seemed to take forever but I crossed the finishline with a big smile on my face. It took ten minutes or so to find my way back to the hall at the startline. I ended up circling around town with a German girl, totally lost. Back at the hall I very slowly changed into dry clothes then wolfed down a scone from Hamish's baking the day before. Soon after that I finished off one of my Sculpt bars, then a mandarin. Not long after that I was starving again! Other than the chafing at the top of my right leg (ouch), I was suffering a bit of a muscle strain where my left hamstring connected in the area of my glute. However my quads and calves felt ok and I wasn't as tired as I expected to be.

I had failed to take note of my time on the finishline so had no idea of how I'd done but thought it might have been around my goal. It took a couple of days for the results to go up online and I got a nasty surprise. The time recorded against my name was about 20 minutes slower than I'd thought. I was, to put it lightly, rather upset. It was only when I realised that some of the other results were a bit screwy to say the least that I started to have my doubts about the time listed against my name. One of my Gearshifters buddies was listed twice, with two different times. Another had come in last and was showing as having finished near the front of the field. The woman who had finished with her wasn't listed at all, and one of our other women was listed as not having started.

Thankfully Julia hit on the bright idea of searching on her bib number and found her true result recorded against someone else's name. I did the same and came up with a time that was far closer to my goal. I was still too slow, but not suicidally slow!

Over the period of the day the results came out a series of anguished emails and txts were swapped between me and some of my long-suffering friends. Forget that conditions hadn't been ideal. forget that I felt good for a lot of it and had more power than I thought. Forget that I was around 5kmph faster than I was around the Graperide. Forget even that I'd done well with the hydration and sustained a race pace the whole way. I hadn't achieved a self-imposed time goal. Even worse, people might think I was weak, unfit or slow!!

Ridiculous, obviously. Believe me when I say I eventually gave myself a good talking to and got over myself, again. Regardless of the time, there were so many positives to take from this race. It was great fun, except for when it was horrendous! Funnily enough, as the days go by I'm increasingly minimising the awfulness of the awful bits and my memories are focussed on the good bits. Race two for the year, race one of Taupo training over with. How can I not be pleased with myself?

Special mention must also be made of the wonderful volunteers with their little red flags signalling each turn. Thanks especially to the guy who tried to send me off down the 64km route and was terribly polite when I suggested I might want to turn right instead. Great fun! I'm glad I always make a point of smiling and thanking them all, even the guy at the end who was a bit vague on how to get back to the start line again!

Too Young to Die

Or, Pip goes cycling in "strong galeforce winds".

If Kate thought it was bad last Saturday then I'm guessing she wasn't out there today. Gearshifters today was an exercise in staring the Grim Reaper in the face. More than once I was given cause to wail "I'm goooiiiinnnnngggggg to diiiieeeeeee.....".

Incredible as it now seems, Dee decided to take us out to Eastbourne today. The ride is flat but a little hazardous at the best of times. It involves cycling through town then along a busy four-lane road and eventually turning onto State Highway 2, a main expressway. After following the expressway for several kilometres you exit at Petone (riding around a roundabout where a policeofficer was knocked off his bike and killed earlier this year), through Petone and then around the coast to the end of the road at Eastbourne.

I wasn't kidding about the galeforce winds. The Northwesterlies made it interesting to say the least. The ride wasn't without its dramas in other ways, either. Lauren, for example, rode into the gutter as we rode up the onramp at the end of Hutt Rd, fell towards the line of traffic, rolled and stood without letting go of his bike, stepping back off the road in what seemed like a fraction of a second. He managed to bend his derrailleur in the process but still completed the ride, albeit accompanied by a loud clacking sound.

The worst part of the ride for me was almost certainly the Petone foreshore on the way out. The crosswinds were so strong that it was all I could do to stay upright. We were supposed to be practicing bunch riding and signalling hazards but there was no way I could take my hands off the handlebars without going for a skate. I compensated by yelling out hazard notifications as loudly as I could.

From the petrol station in Eastbourne we sprinted to the end of the road. I vaguely managed to hold my own but wasn't really satisfied with my speed. The wind was still knocking me around but I don't want to use that as an excuse. All the same, it was gratifying to be reaching up to 40kmph out of the headwinds. I could put that down to tailwinds, or I could just pretend that I'm super fast.

On the way back Richard wanted me to ride with the front bunch and I think that if there had been no wind I would have been able to. However instead I suffered the frustration and indignity of being well and truly dropped. I watched the other Pip, who has obviously been doing her homework and is now a lot faster, take off past me. My mood darkened as much as the sky that was now starting to spit down on us. Sea spray splashed over the road and smeared my glasses, clouds of sand blasted my legs and I tried not to feel like I was the weakest cyclist on the planet. The wind was roaring, the harbour whitecapped and the sky grey. The conditions were truly mad and I wondered how on earth I'd let myself get into this.

In the end some of the other girls who were also dropped formed a second bunch with me and we slogged it back to Petone. Each corner resulted in either a headwind or crosswind and I was really truly dreading the rest of the ride home. I knew of course that I had no other option. I was too far from home to walk and Hamish didn't have a car to come and get me. A phrase comes to mind that will be familiar to a few of my readers. It was time to "harden the f**k up".

Miraculously the wind seemed to have shifted when we got back to Petone and the crosswinds never materialised. Back on the expressway I was holding around 35kmph without too much effort. The lead pack wasn't that far ahead of me but it wasn't worth burning up the energy to try to catch up.

Once off the expressway it was a fairly cruisey spin back to Freyberg. We took the cyclepath along the old Hutt Rd and followed the waterfront rather than cycling through traffic on Jervois Quay. This had the added advantage of meaning that we had to ride slowly to avoid large groups of pedestrians. We made it safely back to the start of the ride and flocked quickly to Parade for coffee.

Richard gave me a bit of a pep talk afterwards. He told me I'm a stronger cyclist that I think I am and that I just have to lay it on the line a bit more. I will admit that I'm riding more conservatively than I could. I'm being held back a bit at the moment by a lack of confidence and technical ability. However nothing burns more than being progressively overtaken by the pack. It's happened too often the last couple of rides and it leaves me fuming and discouraged and ill-motivated to try to catch up again.

I want to regain that sense I had a month or so ago of being powerful. I want to know again that when I push down on a pedal that I will move forward at a pace that seems to correspond to the level of effort I'm putting in. I don't want to be afraid of putting that effort in either. Getting frustrated at being dropped while I'm fiddling around with my gears isn't going to help me pick the pack back up again. The issues I'm having are as much psychological as physical. I need to stop spending so much mental energy on getting frustrated and I need instead to be focussing on power and efficiency and technique. I can do this!

I'm getting up stupidly early tomorrow to get a ride with Dee over to Featherston for an 80km race. Thankfully this wind is now forecast to burn out overnight. The weather service is now predicting occasional rain and light Southerlies. I just want to do this thing!

Two Days in Auckland

Work led me to Auckland on Sunday night, and to the City Life Hotel. Usually when I travel for work I stay with family, so it was a nice change to be staying in some reasonably upmarket accommodation. I was even more pleased when I realised that the bed in my hotel room was a super-king, complete with six pillows.

I couldn't bring myself to order breakfast from the hotel, even though work was paying. The continental breakfast was $25 and all I wanted from it was the cereal. Instead I ventured out onto Queen Street on Sunday night and hunted down a couple of boxes of Lite and Tasty cereal. It was a mild spring evening and I started to feel quite nostalgic for the years when I was studying and working on Queen Street and this was my stamping ground.

One early night later and I was up at 6, downing cereal from a mug with a teaspoon, and catching the lift down to the hotel gym as soon as it opened at 6.30. I had the gym to myself and, although basic, it had everything I needed. I managed three full sets of 10 pull-ups - 30 in total, and ran through the rest of an upper body weights circuit after that, including three sets of push-ups and a few extra tricep dips.

A full day of presentations at our Auckland office followed. I didn't fancy any of the lunch that was on offer - croissants, sandwiches and savouries. Instead I found a really excellent salad bar downstairs. I ordered a vegetable hotpot with brown rice and a broccoli and carrot seasame seed salad. That filled me up for the rest of the afternoon.

At 4.00 we wrapped up for the day. Everyone else headed off to a nearby bar but I was on a mission. I donned my running shoes and Garmin and headed off down Queen Street to the Viaduct. From there I headed for Victoria Park. As I ran it started to rain gently - the warm pleasant kind of rain, not the icy bullets of a Wellington winter.

I assessed how I felt when I got to the end of Victoria Park. I was running slowly but wasn't ready to turn around. I decided to run up College Hill. Before I moved to Wellington six and a half years ago I lived in an apartment down the Three Lamps end of Ponsonby, just off Jervois Rd. I used to attend a Weight Watchers meeting on Jervois Rd and one Saturday I walked, puffing and panting up College Hill, staggering behind two women from the meeting as they power walked to the top. Some time after that I made a second attempt at taking up running (the first had been as a student living in Newmarket). I used to jog slowly down Curran Avenue then run and walk my way past Westhaven Marina back to Victoria Street, then walk up College Hill to home.

In the back of my mind over the last couple of years has been a desire to return to Ponsonby and run that route again. Here I was at the bottom of College Hill, about to see how far I had come. I wanted to run to the top.

Of course running to the top turned out to be a simple matter. Even though this was my first run in nearly three weeks, even though I was really tired and my legs felt like lead, running to the top was easy. And of course, once I was at the top I wanted to finish this thing. I ran to Curran Ave and down to the Marina.

By the time I got to the Marina I was a bit over the whole thing, particularly when I went the wrong way and ended up in a car park surrounded by water and had to double back. I was cursing the motorway sign on my right which advised it was another 500 metres to Fanshaw Street. Here I was totally aceing a run that I once could have only dreamed of doing, and I just wanted to get back to the hotel!

I fairly staggered back through the Viaduct to the Ferry building, then ran past Britomart to the bottom of Queen Street. By that time I'd done about 8.5km according to my Garmin, so I estimated I had in fact run around 9km. It had taken at least 500m to latch onto a satellite. I figured 9km including a big hill for my first run in several weeks was enough. I figured that trying to run up Queen Street through the after-work mass of humanity was stupid and rude. I walked back to the hotel, stopping only to buy a cheap bottle of Rose from the superette across the road.

So it wasn't a pretty run, even if it was a tick-the-box-I've-done-that-now run. I wasn't entirely satisfied with it. Of course I had to remind myself that my legs were hardly fresh either, having been put through RPM on Friday, Makara on Saturday and the Bays ride on Sunday. Really, I shouldn't have expected one of those floating, fast kinds of runs.

One long, powerful and very hot shower later I was ordering a plate of chilli chicken with noodles and a side salad from room service and sipping on Rose. I climbed into bed early and watched the Illusionist on Sky then fell asleep. All the while my workmates were dining at Portofinos and being sociable. Sure, it wasn't very team-building of me, but I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to hang out with my six pillows and Egyptian cotton sheets and The Illusionist on Sky.

I took Tuesday as a rest day but my metabolism didn't know it was supposed to be taking a day off. I had my Lite and Tasty for breakfast. My stomach told me it wanted something else. I ate some fruit. My stomach shrugged its shoulders and hmmmmed. By 10.30 a.m. my stomach was screaming at me. Fruit was not going to cut it. A scone with a little jam and a little cream hit the spot. I felt the most amazing sense of relief as my stomach smiled and relaxed. Here was a lesson in intuitive eating if ever there was one. Unfortunately the carb-and-sugar binge didn't stop there, with various slices being served for afternoon tea. However my weight is fairly stable so the occasional bad day won't hurt me.

Back to Wellington, the cats and Hamish on Tuesday night and up early this morning to do a leg workout. I'm slowly increasing the height with my box jumps and I'm steadily increasing my leg extension weights. I backed off increasing my leg press weights this week because we've got a ride on Saturday and a race on Sunday.

The 'rest' week in Gearshifters training has meant that today I was able to treat myself to another run. I headed out at lunchtime in the spring sun and avoided the worst of the wind by running up to Kelburn. The tulips are out in force in the Botanical Gardens and it was a very pleasant route to have chosen. I wish I could say that it was one of those runs where I amazed myself with the speed of my hill climbing or the power in my legs. Wrong on both counts. My legs felt heavy and I fairly plodded my way to the top of the hill. Once again I reassured myself that I simply haven't been running very often. I also reminded myself I did a leg workout this morning.

In the end I was too happy to be out running (I felt like a naughty schoolchild) that I didn't mind too much that I felt slow. I know that it would only take a week or two of regular running to get my speed back up again. I will make more of an effort now to fit a run in at least once or twice a week.

Tomorrow I'm going to do a circuit weights session and follow it up with an RPM class after work. On Friday I will limit myself to a Balance class. I'm concerned that I'm not getting enough core work in so if I can't make it to Balance a couple of times a week I'm going to have to fit in a core session in my own time. I do have some Pilates and Yoga DVDs at home from boxes of Special K cereal and I should really make use of them.

It's time to lift Gaffer from my lap and prepare for tomorrow!

On Speaking Terms With My Bike Again

It seems yesterday knocked my confidence more than I thought. I was going to meet with Dee and some of the others this morning for an 8.15 ride but the idea stressed me out too much. I realised I needed to sleep in and think about something else for a few hours. To add to that I forgot to set my clock forward for the start of Daylight Savings, and ended up running an hour late anyway.

Hamish and I lay around while outside the wind died away and the cloud burned off. Hamish cooked us pancakes for breakfast and I sat around in the sun for a while putting off the inevitable. I spent around 10 minutes riding up and down our short, flat street practicing shifting from the large to the small chain and back and learning in which gears my chain crossed. Things initially didn't go well. I dropped my chain twice more shifting to the large chain ring before something clicked and I found the sweet spot. I learned to shift by feel - not being too cautious nor too aggressive. I learned to listen for the sound the chain makes when it's too loose.

Eventually I felt confident enough to drive down to Oriental Bay to go for a ride. The homework was an hour to an hour and a half of hills. Under the circumstances I decided to ignore the hill part of the homework. I wanted to go for a nice, slow, relaxed ride around the Bays. I needed to get my confidence back and I wanted to enjoy the lovely spring afternoon.

So that's exactly wht I did. I cruised around the Bays. Next time I'll switch my cycle computer off, but in general I achieved what I set out to do. There was a bit of a Southerly, but out of the wind I managed to cruise at a fairly satisfying pace. By the end of the ride I had a smile on my face again and from Kilbirnie back to Oriental Bay I allowed myself a bit of a sprint. It was fun.

So Cleo and I are back on speaking terms again. I'm flying up to Auckland tonight, staying at the City Life hotel and holding two days of workshops. I have a bag of gym gear with me and I'm hoping to use it. Conveniently Gearshifters is in a recovery week and our homework is light so I'm going to try to fit a couple of runs in while I'm up there.

Cleo is, it seems, a little highly strung. Thankfully I'm committed to this relationship!

An Educational Ride

I will admit it. I lost a mental battle on our ride today. I guess it was about time I had a bad one - all my training rides have gone so well lately. Thankfully it's easy to simply admit things did not go well and to identify what went wrong. I can chalk this one up as a learning experience and hopefully move on.

So, what exactly happened? Well, firstly the weather. Today delivered colder than expected temperatures and gale Northerlies. The wind got to me, badly, right from the start. We all met up at Freyberg as usual and several people remarked on how badly I was shivering as we waited to leave.

Dee had divided us into a slow and a fast group and the slow group had already left. Our pack rode through the city and up Aro Valley. I did RPM yesterday and was expecting my legs to be toast, but I didn't notice any particular soreness. I cruised up the valley reasonably easily and overtook most of the group on the way up. When I got to the top though I had to battle a little nausea which was the first indicator something wasn't right.

We rode through Karori and I got overtaken by most of the pack. This happened to me at the Pass of Branda last week as well. Very frustrating! It was at about this point I realised I wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Up the Makara hill and I managed to overtake people again. The wind was seriously playing games with me however. By the time we headed down into the valley I was starting to cave. I really lost it when Dee had us ride up South Makara Rd. All the undulations did a number on me and I was barely hanging on to the back of the pack. I folded about a kilometre past the golf club. The other Pip and I turned back and everyone else went on. Rounding a corner the wind caught me and sent me wobbling across the road. By the time I got back to the main road I was completely over it and just wanted to get home.

While we were waiting I had some Leppin and drank some more of my Replace drink. I didn't have any solid food on me as our cupboards were bare and I'd forgotten to stock up yesterday. I thought that the sugar would be enough but I should have known better. When I'm low on fuel I don't necessarily feel it physically, at least at first. Rather, I start feeling either grumpy or weepy. Today I took the weepy option. For much of the ride back up towards Johnsonville I just wanted to curl up and cry.

In retrospect of course the ride wasn't as bad as I felt it to be at the time. I was hanging on to the back of the pack and if I'd been feeling better I would have kept up easily. The wind was my primary issue. It was blowing me all over the place and I couldn't overcome the mental image of me flying across the road on my side.

The climb up to Johnsonville was a relief once it finally arrived, because I knew it meant the ride was nearly over. I climbed the hill comfortably and did a little overtaking again. At the top we stopped briefly at Concord Street. I took up Angela's offer of a banana, something I should have done at South Makara Rd. The food was exactly what I needed. Not only did I have more energy but I got over the whole wanting to cry thing.

Unfortunately fate had more in store for me. Just before we turned to go down Ngaio Gorge I dropped my chain shifting onto the large chain ring. I was annoyed because I was having a bit of fun trying to keep up with the more confident downhill riders and didn't want to stop. Vanessa helped me get the chain back on again and the two of us were off. I flew down Ngaio Gorge (well, for me anyway - I probably wasn't going that fast) and we caught the pack at the lights at the intersection with the old Hutt Rd.

So far, so good, until, shifting onto the large chain ring again, clang! Aaaahhhhhhhhh! So once again Vanessa and I stopped, got the chain back on and chased off after the pack. Rounding the corner on Thorndon Quay the wind hit and we both struggled to stay upright, ending up in the middle of the lane and thankful there were no cars around. I let out a startled yelp! The same thing happened at Waitangi Park and I was incredibly relieved to finally be able to turn into the Freyberg carpark.

So I was back - frustrated and a bit dejected. Writing it up though it doesn't sound as bad as I felt it to be at the time. I'm not actually physically tired, I just got knocked around by the wind and got into the wrong headspace. I also needed to EAT! I also have to remember - I'm riding with the FAST people. Last time I was the second-to-last rider in the pack. I can't be too hard on myself for having to work a bit harder to keep up!

I took Cleo off to Penny's and got a bit of a lecture about not changing chain rings when the chain is crossed. It wasn't something I ever had to worry about on Lola and, to be honest, when I'm changing I generally don't have any idea where the chain is! I guess riding this bike is a little like riding a sports car - they can both be a bit tempermental. I will just have to educate myself and treat Cleo with some respect.

That wind was frightening today though! This ride will I'm sure prove to be excellent Taupo training. I fought the battle today and I didn't quit and I didn't actually cry, even if I wanted to. I think I deserve an afternoon on the sofa.

Read Write Poem: Word Fishing

The prompt for this week suggested we take words from different poems and use them to compose a poem of our own. I was going to do that but got distracted by the words 'word fishing' and ended up going somewhere else completely.

The stream in this poem is a real place and one I still return to occasionally. It is a place where childhood dreams still live on.

Word Fishing

Today we are going

word fishing

down at the

bottom of the garden,

by a curve in the

stream where the

water slows and

deepens and

where honeysuckle

hangs over the

algal odour of

silt and

mosquito larvae.

The words here are

long and dark

and lithesome.

They hide in dark

corners where

we tempt them

out with things

foul and ripe.

so that they swim

towards us

across pages

worn smooth by

seasons of flood.

The words here are

ancient.

They tell stories

of epic journeys

and the taste of

salt at depth.

They sing of

great migrations and

homecomings and

the comfort that

can be found in

a familiar place.

We fish for all

of these words.

We hold them

as they slide through

our hands leaving

their viscous

traces on skin,

falling into

red plastic buckets

where they turn and

twist into knots.

We fish for

these words but

we do not

consume them.

A word eaten

becomes bitter

and gristled.

Words returned

to the stream

continue to

dance and

journey and

tell their

stories in a

dark pool

in a cool corner

where water runs

slow at the

bottom of the

garden.

Woohooot

Woohoot because I had a very interesting conversation today which, even if it doesn't go in the most obvious direction, had several intriguing offshoots which could lead even more interesting places (and yes, I know that's cryptic. It's meant to be).

Woohoot because it was spring today. I mean really spring. I mean sun and sweet smells in the air and being outside without several layers of clothing and not dying of cold.

Woohoot because I carried one of Cleo's tires with me to work today to take to a cycle maintenance worshop tonight and the cycle courier in the lift commented on my "nice rims". Yeah, I got rims baby!

Woohoot because the guy in Shoe Clinic also felt compelled to comment on my nice wheel. Mmmhmmm...

Woohoot because I can now clean my bike and adjust my chain and do other cool little things that I should have learned last time I did a cycle maintenance workshop but was too girly to pay attention to.

And woohoot most of all because we're riding Makara on Saturday. Oh yes.

There are times when life fills me with a joy that manifests in pure energy and everything seems good in the world. Today was one of those days. There is change in the air and opportunities emerging with the change of season. I'm riding again!

Sneaky Mid-Day Poetry

Wellington, Spring 2008

Come spring

vines, waking push

through from under

pink fingernails,

crescent mooned.

Moist loamy dirt

lies scattered on

the kitchen table,

tumbling down white

pillows each morning.

Seeds fall from pursed lips,

inconveniently

mid-rebuke.

Fuscia flowers bud

from ears, muting

the sound of all

other than the humming

of bumble bees flying

through open bedroom

windows.

All inhabitants here

walk under the weight

of a seasonal infestation

until the coming of

the Equinox brings

wind from the North,

blowing new foliage

back out to the

hillsides and

away.

Foiled

I figured it was probably a bad idea to go cycling when I couldn't walk down the road without getting blown over. Sigh.

Dinner at Maria Pia's was, of course, excellent. I just couldn't go past the duck again - the big slab of duck. We're off to 550, a pizza restaurant in Thorndon tonight. I'm going to be on a serious detox after the visitors from London depart!

Got Me Some Hills

One way to not prepare for a Saturday ride: drink a bottle of wine and eat a whole heap of cheese and crackers followed by a big curry. Nic and Leonie arrived yesterday and they brought good stuff!

Surprisingly I felt fine this morning. I put that down to the quality of the wine we were drinking and I must check the labels on the empty bottles to see whether any contained sulphites. I'm pretty certain it's the sulphites which have caused me problems in the past.

Any, by 7.am today it was shaping up to be a good morning for a ride. It was a little cool and overcast but there was hardly any wind. Dee had promised hills and I was in the mood for some climbing. It was finally time to test my legs.

We started out by riding round the Basin Reserve and through Newtown up to Alexandra Rd at the base of Mt Vic. I wouldn't normally ride down Kent Terrace. The three lanes of traffic and the necessary shuffle from the far left to the far right, followed by the scramble around the Basin Reserve have always put me off. It was only the security of having the pack around me that got me there.

We assembled at the small car park at the base of the mountain and then did three five minute hill repeats. I haven't done hill repeats up Alexandra Rd since the start of the Grape Ride training at the start of the year. I was amazed to find that the hill that I found challenging only a few months ago was now little more than a speed bump. I easily flew past the point where I used to turn around at the end of the five minutes. I know part of this is the new bike, but part of it is simply being fitter and stronger as well.

At the end of the three hill repeats we rode back up again and assembled at the top. I had a huge grin on my face and was feeling really fresh. When Richard (one of the trainers) said that there was an optional hill climb up Mt Crawford I was the first to put my hand up. I believe I may even have uttered something like "woohoo". When I got some funny looks I qualified my outburst by saying "I love that hill". Of course that just earned me more funny looks ...

First we had to get back down. We rode down the seaward side of the hill to the bottom of Carlton Gore. It's a particularly steep and winding stretch of road, made more interesting by road works. It didn't intimidate me anywhere near as much as it once did though.

From Carlton Gore around the Bays to the bottom of Mt Crawford. I quickly realised that only the more experienced, speedy cyclists had elected to take on the extra hill. Richard rode with me part of the way up giving me some tips on climbing which were, eventually, appreciated. Richard has a particularly vocal way of organising his packs, riding back and forth and yelling instructions in a constant stream. It can sometimes be a little irritating but I try to appreciate it because I know I'm becoming a better cyclist as a result. His directions are forcing me to maintain a better pace line, retain better contact with the pack, and ride beyond my comfort levels.

Once I hit my stride I overtook a few of my compatriats. We paused for a while at the top for a time and waited for Julia who was bravely tagging along behind. Then it was down to Worser Bay and around the Bays to the base of Happy Valley. Frustratingly I got dropped on the climb up the Pass of Branda. I'm not quite sure what happened. Perhaps I just didn't push when everyone else did but I should have been able to hold my own easily. I had to race down the other side to catch the pack again. Once I was there though we had to slow to wait for Julia again.

We caught up with the non-Crawford riders at Lyall Bay so it was an intimidating pack that rode round to Owhiro Bay. The traffic situation was interesting, with several cars clearly freaked out and unsure how to overtake a large number of cyclists. We had to continually call to warn of cars back. I got cut off from my pack as they rode past the riders we had just caught and I got stuck behind a car. I had to work hard to catch them again at Island Bay.

Dee had said that we would be climbing Murchison Rd, a hill on the right just before the tip. Richard had however said that he didn't think we'd go that way after all. However Dee assured us it was all on and I was secretly relieved. I wanted a new hill and I was a little in awe of how steep I thought Murchison Rd appeared.

In the end Murchison Rd wasn't as bad as all that. Sure, it was steeper than Crawford or Alexandra, but it wasn't anything extreme. Plus, it wasn't that long. I overtook quite a few riders again and was one of the first to the top. I immediately decided that from now on this would be my hill repeat option. It's perfect because it's so close to home. I can ride down the valley as a warm up then get straight into it.

We circled for a little while up and down the flat part of the street and then Richard gave us the option of either turning around and going back down again or riding a little bit further and dropping down Frobischer Street, which would take us back to the Southern coast. From there we would ride back to Owhiro Bay again and back up Happy Valley all the way to Brooklyn. Of course I took the Frobisher Street option.

I got a little dropped at the base of Happy Valley but by half way up I was starting to catch and overtake people. I concentrated on taking them down, one at a time. I soon realised I was overtaking people who had taken the short option straight down Murchison again. Yep, that made me pretty happy. I was feeling good!

I made it through the lights at Brooklyn just as they were turning orange. We all waited at the Brooklyn bus stop at the top of the hill then everyone moved off just as I was txting Leonie to let her know we were on our way back into town. I had to quickly pull my glove back on and jump back on my bike. I had to work hard to catch people again on the way back down the hill. I would have overtaken a few more had it not been for a car sitting on my tail and refusing to overtake me. In the end I moved out and took the road in front of her.

Back through town and back to Freyberg. I was fairly buzzing in the line for coffee at Parade and was getting very dirty looks from some of the other women who were complaining they were tired. I was fired up with adrenalin. I had loved all the hill climbing and was still feeling very fresh and strong at the end of it all. We'd ridden around 60km and I could have gone back out and done it all again. A new bike and proper fit has made a huge difference to my endurance.

I learned one thing today though. Inappropriately positioned leg warmers can lead to chafing in unfortunate places. Lower is better!

I haven't had a chance to crash today. Leonie and I went shopping as soon as I was showered and pretty-ified. Back home and we've had another couple of glasses of wine and some rather fine chocolate that was so rich ist was more like fudge. Soon we're departing for Maria Pia's for some fine Italian food and likely as not more wine. I'm a little tired but I know I'll cope. I may even wake in enough time tomorrow to fit in that one and a half hour ride like I'm supposed to. Maybe.

The last couple of rides are forcing me to reconsider my abilities as a cyclist. I'm really not that slow and even though I might not think of myself as being particularly confident I'm much more confident than most. I'm going to have to hang with the front of the pack all the time now. It's good for me and it's good for my self-belief. Liking it. Liking it a lot!

Blitzed

Or Pip gets things done and nurses a quiet sense of achievement.

It has truly been a good week. Yes, it's been another of those weeks where my fitness levels have taken a jump. This week it's been about bike fitess, and it's not surprising really. Consider this:

Saturday: Gearshifters time trial and ride through Brooklyn
Sunday: Homework ride - around three hours including some hills
Monday: Commute to work, circuit workout, hour ride home
Tuesday: RPM and Balance
Wednesday: 20-10-20 time trial on spin bike, leg weights session
Thursday: Upper body weights session, RPM

You know how I was complaining about my heart rate during Wednesday's time trial? Well in RPM today my heart rate stayed stubbornly low. I could get it up to around 140 and I got it up to 150 a couple of times. I managed to get it to 160 once, and that was during a particularly gruelling power interval on the last hill track. I was absolutely dying and couldn't have sustained that level of exertion for any longer. How did I ever manage to get my heartrate over 170? Hmmm, interesting.

My only regret is the absence of any running. However this week's workouts weren't very long, just numerous. Next week I'll try to fit a bit more running in again. My legs are feeling it of course, but a rest day tomorrow will do them good and I'll be good to go on Saturday, when Dee says we will be riding hills. Yay!

Of course I raved to Grant at Penny's about how much I was loving Cleo yesterday. The guys fitted some spacers on my brake levers (so I can actually reach them from the drops now) and a cycle computer. She's all new again and I'm looking forward to Saturday's ride. The weather forecast is looking good. The only question is whether I will be too hung over from dinner at Maria Pia's to fit in a one and a half hour hill ride on Sunday. My aim is to try to fit it in before everyone else surfaces, then get home around the time they are all thinking about blueberry pancakes. It would be rude to disappear for too long when we have guests from London! I plan to ride from home down Farnham Street, up Alexandra Rd, down Carlton Gore, around the Bays to Mt Crawford, down and back around back up to Mornington again. I can always fit in some hill repeats somewhere.

Oh, and the blitzing? Today I managed 27 full pull-ups - 10, 10 and 7! I totally wiped out my previous record ... Pleased much? Oh yes!

No Backing Out Now!

Race number 3378. Pip goes to Taupo! OMG - I've wanted to do this for years and I'm finally doing it!

Kathryn has secured four of us a room in the YWCA for two nights on the weekend of the Round the Lake Challenge. Right now we're dreaming of sinking into a hot mineral spa after finishing. The only problem I foresee with that plan is that it's a long steep walk uphill to get back to the car afterwards. Oh, and every other tired, sore cyclist is likely to have the same idea!

The plan is to complete an 80km race in the Wairarapa on 5 October and a 100km race the weekend after that. Both will provide a good lead up and will also give me a better idea of the likely time for Taupo. I've entered a very conservative estimated finish time for Taupo for now.

This morning in RPM a phrase I'd heard the night before popped into my mind. However instead of thinking to myself "pain is weakness leaving the body" I realised I was chanting "pain is fear leaving the body". It seemed apprpriate really. Pain is learning not to be afraid to find out what I can do. Pain is a side effect of being all I can be and doing all that I can do. I take this route not because it is easy but precisely because it is hard. When I was afraid I did all that I could to avoid the pain. By confronting pain face on I am brave.

Cleo Love

The results of the time trial are in. They prove conclusively that my love for my bike is justified, and they prove Kathryn wrong when she argues that a new bike doesn't necessarily make you faster.

Out of 24 riders I came in 9th equal. I was the fifth woman home. I beat Kathryn (who finished the Grape Ride 10 minutes ahead of me), if only by a few seconds. I came equal with one of the veterans of last year's Taupo squad. This woman finished the Grape Ride over 25 minutes faster than me. I am not a sprinter; I am a climber, so to do so well on the time trial is remarkable. I have a secret goal, planted in my head by evil trainer Duck at the very end of our last session. Her passing comment showed that she knows how competitive I am and how to push my buttons. I am totally on track to meet my goal.

I guess this is the point at which I stop protesting that I'm slow.

I managed step one of this week's homework programme today. I was out the door and on Cleo by about 6.50am. I wasn't so happy with the huge backpack I had to carry and my legs felt dead on the short little climb up to the Ridgway. My eyes watered badly in the early morning air. All the same I made it safely down Brooklyn hill and managed somehow to hit nearly every green light all the way up to the Terrace. I was on the gym floor by 7.20, ten minute earlier than I would have if I'd caught the bus. I raced through my circuit programme then hit the showers, only to discover they were once again stone cold. That was the only hiccup on an otherwise smooth day.

I left work early with the one hour homework ride to get out of the way. I have to be honest and admit that I wasn't looking forward to it. It had been overcast and windy all day and I was tired. However once I was out there I found myself enjoying the ride immensely. I treated it as an easy recovery ride so kept my pace steady but easy. Sure, the wind made things interesting but I just chose an appropriate gear, tucked in and slogged onwards. Turning right onto the Southern coast at Lyall Bay the sun was out and the mild temperatures had coaxed a number of walkers and their dogs out into the evening.

I was a bit over it as I rode up through Happy Valley to Brooklyn. The headwind was hitting me full on and I was in a far lighter gear than normal. I had to grind up Mornington Rd, having used everything on the long, slow climb up to Brooklyn. It was wonderful to turn down onto Farnham and then left onto the short flat street leading to home. I realised that I'd actually had fun and that it had felt a lot easier than when I'd last ridden that particular commute on Lola.

I'm signed in for Dee's 6.30am RPM tomorrow and it will be hard not to enthuse about how much I'm enjoying riding at the moment. Riding is the high point of my life right now. It's helping me get through a particularly difficult patch at work.

Feeling a Little Overwhelmed

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this Taupo training. It's not that I don't want to do the race, it's just that I'm not sure how I'm going to fit everything in. We're only on week three and I have to fit in three homework rides and two RPM classes. This is on top of the usual Saturday ride.

All the riding would feel more doable if it were daylight savings already. As it is I'm faced with trying to fit in a ride before or after work, part of which will have to take place in semi-darkness. The rides aren't particularly long but I only have a narrow window in which to get them done. There's a one hour ride, a 20-10-20 time trial and a one and a half hour hill circuit. Am I realistic in wanting to try to fit in a run or two on top of everything else?

I'm thinking my perfect getting-everything-done week might look like this:

Monday: Bike to the Terrace gym and do a weights session. Do a homework ride (the one hour?) after work.
Tuesday: RPM in the morning, Balance at lunch time, run after work
Wednesday: Bike to Penny Farthing to check Cleo in for her service, time trial on way home
Thursday: Weights in the morning, RPM at lunchtime
Friday: Balance at lunchtime or rest (or 1.5 hour ride)
Saturday: Gearshifters
Sunday: 1.5 hour homework ride or rest

The questionmarks around Friday and Sunday are because Nic and Leonie will be with us and of course I want to spend time with them. I'm contemplating taking Friday off work and if so will do my ride then. Besides, we're going to Maria Pia's on Saturday night and I may be hung over on Sunday!

I feel tired looking at all that!

I got today's 2.5 hour homework ride in, but it didn't go as planned. Julia and I were the only riders to show up which is a pity, because it was a gorgeous warm spring morning. We did the usual Mt Crawford climb, which always feels nasty for the first half until my climbing legs wake up. Julia was not having a good day and had to stop halfway. I had to wait quite a while and was about to go looking for her but a passing cyclist let me know she was on her way. I amused myself by watching a group of Marathon Clinic walkers going past when I should have been riding back to meet her.

Down the hill and Julia decided she wasn't up for Houghton Bay Rd or Sutherland. We agreed to ride around to Owhiro Bay, up to Brooklyn, then down Farnham Street through to Newtown and up over the top of Mt Victoria via Alexandra Rd. Unfortunately Julia's back started to give her serious problems and, when she finally made it to McKinley Crescent where I'd been waiting for her, we agreed she wasn't going to be doing any hill climbing.

I decided to salvage something out of my ride and continued up to the Ridgway, then turned back, lowered to my drops, kicked a few gears and caned it the whole way down to Owhiro Bay again. That bike seriously flies downhill! I caught Julia at Lyall Bay, having pushed hard through a nasty Northerly headwind. We rode back to Evans Bay together then I picked the pace up again riding into the wind all the way back to Freyberg.

With all the stopping and starting we were out for over two and a half hours but it was a frustrating ride and I still don't have a true sense of my hill climbing legs. I'm hoping Dee will take us up a few on Saturday. I need to start doing my homework rides at a faster pace as well.

I still feel like a much stronger rider on this bike though. I'm not getting blown past by anywhere near as many other riders now. I ride along with a fluidity that seems to be translating into speed. I'm also curious to discover that I am now also the left arm signal queen - something that never felt comfortable on Lola. A proper fit obviously makes a difference.

The other positive of today's ride - not one honk from an impatient, inconsiderate motorist. The only incident of note was a car flying past me then cutting in front of me into the left-turn lane at one of the sets of lights in Kilbirnie. I'd heard the car coming up behind me and had a funny feeling he was going to do just that. Thankfully Julia was close enough behind me to see him indicating and was able to call out a warning.

Dalek Cookies

Apologies for the poor quality PXT. Hilarity took over the kitchen today. First I added too much water to the cookie mix. I had cookie dough all over my hands like some strange Dr Who alien invasion. Hamish came to the rescue, adding flour to my sticky hands until I was eventually able to rescue the situation and create something that looked like cookie dough. I rolled out the dough onto the bench, but then discovered I hadn't floured the bench enough and that the cookies were stuck fast. I smooshed up the dough again, liberally dusted the bench with flour (and myself and the floor and the cupboards at the same time) and tried again. Eventually I ended up with acceptable Dalek cutouts. I then spent another few minutes adding rice crisps to the cookies before bumping them and sending rice crispies flying everywhere.

It took a fair bit longer than the eight minutes the box gave as the cooking time but eventually we had some cooked Daleks cooling on the stovetop. I was decorating them with the orange paste when the buyer of my bike turned up with his two adorable young girls in tow. Afterwards I regreted not offering them one each.

There's a reason I don't bake very often!

Are You Sick of Me Raving About My Bike Yet?

Another week down, a shift in focus. Tuesday went exactly as planned. I did Balance at lunchtime and had a great class. Margaret was teaching and went through the tentire latest release. The hip track really works for me.

After work I hustled down to Extreme to fit in as much of a weights workout as I could before Dee started teaching RPM at 6.40. I rummaged through my bag to grab some Hydrocortisone only to discover the pills were missing. I'd forgotten to put them back in my bag after moving them into my cycling bag on Sunday. I did a quick calculation. I had enough time to dash back to the office for my spare stash, but that would mean not being able to do any weights. I really didn't feel like rushing around either. Did I have enough cortisol in my system to get me through an evening of exercise? I decided to take a chance.

Upstairs I rushed through an upper body weights session. It was too busy to get near the pull up bars so I threw in some bicep curls then managed three sets of flat body pull ups just before the 5.45 class got out.

Dee's Gearshifters crew took over the 6.30 class. A group of us sat in the back row chatting and being a bit more vocal than usual. I ate a banana before the class started and felt good the whole way through. I had another banana at the end of the class while waiting for the second class to begin. I was still feeling fine and definitely not feeling like my cortisol was bottoming out.

About halfway through the second class I finally started to feel a little sore. Thankfully this was about when Dee decided to play Zombie, from the latest release. I loved it and it gave me just the pick-up I needed to get me through. By the time we finished everything was hurting but I'd survived. I dashed home to my medication and a big bowl of pasta.

Wednesday ended up being an unintended rest day. My legs were feeling pretty sore and it started pouring with rain right before I finished work. Yes, I wimped out. I made up for it on Thursday morning by doing my 15-10-15 interval session on a spin bike on the fourth floor at Extreme. I brought along my SPDs and had Flo and her four personal training clients for entertainment.

I can't say the bike workout was fun. Mostly it just either hurt or was mind numbing. Next time I don't care how windy it is or how hard it's raining, I'm taking Cleo out! All the same my heart rate never got up over 150, despite being drenched in sweat, so I'm still not sure I went hard enough. It was good to get it done though, because I really want to work on my speed on the flat.

After the bike workout I did about two thirds of a leg session before running out of time. I was still feeling pretty sore, but a good physio session that afternoon helped get some movement back into my sacroileac and iron out some of the knot in my right glute. A rest day on Friday (again unintended) helped even more.

I woke this morning feeling quietly confident about today's ride. I was ready for some hills. What I wasn't expecting was to find myself faced with a time trial. Gaaahhh! At least it was a nice morning ...

We biked slowly around to Shelley Bay, stopped, then lined up slowest to fastest. For some reason, because I'd been one of the first few riders to the Bay, I ended up being one of the last to be set off. I'm not quite sure how that happened! Carrie left thirty seconds before me and I had to chase her pink jacket all the way around to Lyall Bay. I was happy just to be able to keep her in sight.

Deja Vu. I set off when Dee told me to go and the next 25 minutes or so were all about the hurt. My quads were screaming, my lungs were hating me. My chest hurt for ages after I finished. As if that weren't bad enough I got overtaken by Lauren at Moa Point, and by a couple of other Gearshifters guys not long after that. And yes, I know Lauren's a lost faster than me, but did he really have to?!

Now I'm just waiting for the official results to go up on the website. I'm dreading finding out that I was slower than some of the people I'm hoping to be able to come in ahead of this time around. I've been saying that I'm so much faster on Cleo. I want the evidence to show it!

After we'd regrouped I somehow ended up leading everyone off towards Owhiro Bay. Without a computer on my bike it was difficult to judge my pace and I even got told to slow down at one point, which was odd. I nearly got taken out by a truck at one stage and had a car fail to do a u-turn in front of me then honk at me when I rode around him. There was a lot of cycle-hating going on out there today, but the weather was too nice to take it too seriously.

Up Happy Valley and then down Brooklyn Hill. I overtook most people on the way down. Cleo just feels too good not to! Back through the city, stopping at pretty much every light and then we were back at Freyberg already. We all had coffee at Parade and then it was off to get the grocery shopping done and prepare for the arrival of the refugees from London.

This afternoon Lola went to a new home. A lovely guy stopped by to pick her up. His wife is just getting into triathlon and wanted a road bike and I'm thrilled she is going to a good owner. I ended up getting $280 for her and given that Mike at Penny's said she was worth $300 I'm happy with that.

Up again tomorrow for a two and a half hour ride. I'm itching to go for a run, it's so spring-like out there, but I should restrain myself. Perhaps I should just eat Dalek cookies instead.

Winston Peters has a Cunning Plan

Winston's master stroke will see him escaping the SFO and criminal investigations via his unexpected and unforeseen use of donations into supporting development of the Large Hadron Collider.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and he feels fine.