The Road to the Desert #6

ROAD TO THE DESERT - PART 6

It’s not all about the bike - with ANDREW PAYNE

I ran on Friday.

Being a lifelong runner, it is something that I still cherish even if it was only for 5 kilometres and part of a warmup for the gym.

Recurring injuries have limited running for the last few years, but I still try to keep a bare minimum of 1-2 runs per week.

Strength-work in the gym, while supplementary to my cycling, is essential. Not just for the obvious muscular benefits but also a diversion from the day to day rides in preparation for the 2011 Desert Dash.

So, Friday’s training looked like this:

5am: 5km run followed by a 40 minute full body weight-training session including free weights for the upper body, legwork with lunges, leg extensions and the all important hamstring curl finishing off abdominal work.

6am: 2hr30min steady ride.

A great day of cross training in the midst of some serious mileage buildup.

This session complimented some other key workouts, including Thursday’s ride:

4 loops of an 11 kilometre circuit up to Constantia Nek via Southern Cross and Rhodes Drive and a “pedalling descent” down Constantia Main Road, averaging 19 minutes per loop.

 Thursday's circuit: No hiding on this route. We pedal uphill and downhill.

We’ve been riding for two weeks without a break now, so we need to very careful not to “cook our goose.” Wisdom and “vasbyt” need to be carefully balanced, meaning that not every ride must be competitive.

Especially since waking up long before “sparrow’s fart” is a daily occurrence.

One thing I’ve noticed is our food bill has gone up while my weight has remained constant. While eating lot’s of good stuff (vegetables, dairy, chicken etc), a daily treat is a necessity, chocolate being the foremost!

Summer is coming, so we are now riding in the dark only for an hour in the mornings before it gets light - it helps the motivational levels.

Road to the Desert #5

ROAD TO THE DESERT – PART 5

Climbing into pink - with Andrew Payne

This past week started slow with my recurring hip injury surfacing after the Worcester league race last Sunday.

I decided to 'listen to my body' and take both Monday and Tuesday as rest days to correct this problem with a view to being fresh for the weekend's racing: a hill climb time trial on Saturday, followed by a kermesse circuit race on Sunday.

After dropping my chain during the 2.2 kilometre hill climb at Malanshoogte, I managed to recover enough time to finish third behind New Market team mate Enzo Lezzi and Daiken's Marius Nel. This allowed me to get into the pink jersey as the overall leader going into Sunday's circuit race outside Wellington.

The conditions were tough making for a hard fought race out on the Lady Loch circuit. The Daiken team attacked after only two kilometres and I managed to make the break of five riders, which included last week's winner Danny Schmeisser.

 "When days are dark and friends are few." Andrew holding his own in tough conditions.

Schmeisser went on to take his second win in a week while I managed to hold on to third place in the final sprint. The final lap was lung searing to say the least.

Daniel Schmeisser is still leading the league on points ahead of his teammate Marius Nel, while I'm in third place.

 Andrew (second left) lunges to the line in Sunday's circuit race outside Wellington

All in all, a good weekend's racing after a lighter than normal week of training.

A few two-hour recovery rides with one hard effort of an hour pretty much sums up the weeks training.

With no races for the next few weeks, it'll be an opportunity to ramp up the mileage again, twenty hours a week being the yardstick.

Road to the Desert #4

Road to the Desert - Part 4

The rain, the race and the one-eyed Beast

With Andrew Payne 

Yesterday saw the first road league race of the season here in the Western Cape.

The annual Orbit Tour d'Worcester covered 98 km with Trevor and myself competing in
the veteran’s category.

I managed to join an early breakaway after only 8 km with Billy Stelling (Team Robert
Daniel) and the legendary Daniel Schmeisser (Daiken-GU). Stelling dropped off at 25 km
and we extended our lead to forty seconds by the halfway mark.

Daniel and I worked well together, especially on the gravel section were we maintained
our tempo to hold of the main field by about forty seconds.

My recurring hip injury from running prevented me from sprinting, but I was happy with
second place.

Team-mate, Uwe Schmidt finished third so it was a good day for Team New Market
Hotels.

Trevor and I then rode home from Worcester to get 6 hours of riding time for the day. The
Beast has been battling with an eye infection since last week making riding difficult.

The weather in Cap Town has been up and down but I still managed to accumulate 20
hours of riding, with Monday being our hard day.

To summarise, my week looked like this:

Monday: Trevor and I did a speed session around Constantia alternating 10 minutes of
hard effort with 2 minutes of recovery.

Tuesday: 2hr30 min recovery.

Wednesday: Morning: 2hr30min recovery.
Afternoon: 3 hours easy in the afternoon (all on road).

Thursday: rest (rain).

Friday: 2 hours recovery.

Saturday: 2 hours. Rode to the aerial mast in the rain.

Sunday: 6 hours. Race and ride home.

Road to the Desert #3

The Road to the Desert - with Trevor Seinen

05 September 2011

Spring has sprung, but Cape Town is certainly living up to its reputation for “four seasons in one week”.

Last week began with “summer-like” conditions and no wind, changing for the worst on Thursday and Friday before reverting to idyllic conditions for the weekend.
This of course adjusts our training program, with safety being our number one concern. Riding in the dark is no problem. Riding in the rain is unpleasant, but bearable. Riding in the dark AND the rain is a “no-no”.

So we improvise.

With the bad weather, I didn’t manage to achieve my goal of a certain amount of hours, but incidentally achieved the same total distance as the previous week.

This spells quality over quantity, indicating the average speed was substantially higher than last week.

I had two indoor sessions, both at a high cadence, which provides an excellent workout. This works the hamstrings as well as the quadriceps, improving my pedalling efficiency.

Saturday’s ride was our key session, and can only be described as “bomb-proof”!
We covered 182 kilometres averaging over 30km/hr, giving us another six-hour ride “in the bank”.

All in all, a good week, with a total of fifteen hours of riding. Considering the bad weather and resulting lack of night rides, I’m definitely satisfied with my progress up to this point.

We plan on “ramping it up” this week, with Sunday being our key day at the first league road race being held in Worcester.

I am riding back from there afterwards, which will be a very long ride totalling over six hours.

Bring it on!

Fuelled by PowerBar 

http://www.powerbar-europe.net/2373/za/home.powerbar

Road to the Desert #2

It's 5am on a Thursday morning. It is still dark. The roads are quiet.

A group of cyclists set off from Virgin Active Claremont, destination the Atlantic seaboard.
Various conversations are taking place as the riders stretch their legs.

The bunch approaches the Cape Town CBD. The banter has died down. The speed as increased. The group is now in a straight line.

The 'arrow-head' reaches the top of Suikerbossie, regrouping for the journey home, retracing their outward journey.

The roads are busier now, but the pace has not reduced. It has increased.

Rush hour has begun. The group is riding against the traffic now. Exhilarated after a great session, they peel off to their homes to ready themselves for the work-day.

"Today's ride was Epic! No talking," exclaimed Trevor Seinen when asked about his Thursday morning ride.

"We did 70-odd kays in under 2 hours and it was like a league race. Claremont to Suikerbossie and back. Very fast and hard and all the dudes said the same so not just in my legs or head!"

The dudes?

They make up the "CVA" training group and include such luminaries as the Davies brothers, Stuart and Alastair, Xterra professional Lieuwe Boonstra and Andrew Payne.

Payne is a noted hard worker. Often 'bookending' group training sessions with extra mileage, Andrew was spotted early on Saturday morning riding the Bergvliet High School circuit with former provincial cricketer and Orbis rider, Craig Lillie.

A total of 500 km was covered this week over nine sessions. This translates into approximately 17 hours of training including 3 'double-days' where the morning session was supplemented with a 1 hour lunchtime spin on a stationary bike.

"My legs are a bit stiff," explains Seinen "but this is could be from Baviaans two weeks ago."

"I'm eating well although I haven't put on any weight - perhaps I'm still hungry from the Trans Baviaans!"

Training resumes today after a well deserved rest on Sunday.A similar week will ensue, with a 6 hour ride planned for Saturday and a 3 hour night ride mid-week.

"Feeling amped and pumped forth training ahead," comments Trevor, confirming that Payne and himself are right on schedule for December's Desert Dash.

Road to the Desert - the Riders #2

Road to the Desert - the Riders #1

Road to the Desert #1

The Road to the Desert

22 August 2011

'Only those who dare, truly live.' Ruth Freedman

The 2011 Trans Baviaans Mountain Bike Enduro has come and gone and our two intrepid cyclists, Andrew Payne and Trevor Seinen now turn their attention to the big one: this year's edition of the annual FNB Desert Dash (http://www.desertdashnamibia.com/).

Taking place in Namibia on 16 December, 'The Dash' is a 340 km journey from the capital city of Windhoek to the temperate coastal resort town of Swakopmund.

The 'Road to the Desert' aims to provide our sponsors and supporters with a weekly update chronicling Andrew and Trevor's progress. Primarily covering their training and racing experiences leading up to the 2011 'Dash', we also aim to give the reader an insight into a host of related topics including our generous sponsors, equipment choices and the rider's daily lifestyles.