Quiet

After a fortnight of minute-by-minute scheduling of workouts, social engagements, kid activities and work, IW has flown home and with the Kid at Mum's, the house is eerily quiet.

It's been a great fortnight. I've learned a lot about nutrition (and the value of eating a lot) and how to better manage big training loads. I've also gotten plenty of sleep - a novelty - and the difference this makes, even more so than a full fuel tank, is awesome. Sure, I used to have my "catch-up night" when I got run down, but to have a solid 8 hours every night for an extended period is awesome.

I haven't blogged during this period about the training. There's been some crackers, and a re-awakening of how much I love long touring rides on the bike.

Two notable sessions were on new geography for me - the first a trail run on the first stages of the Bibbulmum track from Kalamunda (about 1:45:00 on a stinking hot afternoon) and the second a 93km ride up through the hills to Roleystone and return.
The Bibbulmum track is supposedly un-losable - marked every 20 metres and built for dummies. We lost trail after 40 minutes and meandered home through some real lumpy terrain courtesy of some (thankfully) very visible powerlines. Pattering through this sort of country is my idea of heaven, so I'll be finding my way up there again real soon (probably with a guide). A steady 30-40km out here would be a solid session - can it be done in Fingens?

The big ride was a bit of an unknown for me - I was astride the single-speed messenger bike (on a frame not even provided with water bottle lugs), heading out onto some big buggers of hills. The ups didn't worry me so much, but the descending on this machine was a concern. In the end, it was a good ride. IW suffered in the heat, but we made it through (I only lost her a teensy bit right at the end, but she found her way home...), finishing with a 74km/hr drop down through Kalamunda which got the heartrate up quite a bit.

In amongst these milestone sessions were lots of smaller runs, rides and even a beach swim at Cottesloe, amongst the sculpture exhibition. With the Kid in tow and Fish and Chips at sunset, the beach was a grand day out. Trips to the zoo and Fremantle, plus meeting up with old and new friends (and engaging in critical cultural exchanges like the Tim Tam Slam and Bogan Spotting) rounded out a bloody good fortnight.

So IW survived Australia with only one large mammal attack (a dog who found her tasty during the 250K ride out past Toodyay) and no painful encounters with invertebrate or plant species. Quite an achievement.

Thanks IW.