Updates: flowing like concrete

 Yeah, yeah, need to do updates more often. But I do somehow doubt anyone is losing sleep over it.

Riding – it was a pretty flat February on the bike (217km). I was pretty much fed up with Zwift by the end of January (417km), so really wanted to get back on the road. Problem being February delivered the mother of all tropical heatwaves. 2 weeks solid of 36 degree days with big humidity numbers (60% plus). Even the nights were hot (29 degree, 90% humidity). I tended to wake up just before dawn and do the walk to my local coffee shop and back (4km return).....check out the screenshot of the BoM app I did on one of the walks below (note the feels like temp & humidity, keeping in mind this was taken before 7am). You’d return home wringing wet with sweat. It was tropical summer at it’s worst. No time to be out on the bike - it felt like riding thru an oven. Thankfully that’s dropped away now, and I can get back outside and ride more. Needs to be 3 big months from here though.

I do though have a new goal. I’m planning to ride the 200 Km version of the Alpine Classic in the Victorian Snowys in January. Big ride with lots of climbing: you go up Mt Buffalo, the Front of Falls Creek and also do Mt Beauty both ways. That comes to a solid 3600 m of vertical to go with the 200 Km. Epic day on the bike (I’ve never done over 130 Km). I was toying with the idea of doing the 3 peaks ride. That’s another 35 Km, but you go up the Back of Falls and Mt Hotham instead…..far steeper, more brutal climbs (which scares me). I was also worried about the timing: Alpine Classic is in January, 3 Peaks in March. Your 3 months leading in is where you want to be training hardest. So for the 3 Peaks that means the 3 months when the heat is worst in North Qld.

I think the 200 Km Alpine a far better option for me. It doesn’t mean I’m not planning to ride (& win) the Tour of the North, rather it’s a secondary goal. And getting stronger, thinner & faster is good for both. Yes, racing is more about speed, the alpine classic endurance, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

New wheels. So my DT Swisse “Good for a Clydesdale like me” Wheelset are no longer. All of my spoke nipples started to crack (the wheels showing their age, and my weight). I could have replaced them, but given the age of the wheelset and the price, new wheels are a better bet. So I’ve got a pair of Fulcrum 5s. Well regarded, decent quality, but unremarkable wheelset. I doubt they’ll offer any significant performance gains, but it’ll be nice to have something new and shiny on the bike.