Bonkfest and beyond

Sunday 7th September- SPR Hills ride

A reasonable turn out for the Fathers’ Day ride, pleasing to also see quite a few of these were women. I was not overly excited as it is still a little cold in the mornings (I would much prefer to ride in the sweltering heat than the cold) and we had ridden about an hour from home to get to the start. Luke joined me today for the first bit of the ride, which was very ‘cute couple’ for us to go riding together. I was planning a big day, I needed to take it steady.

All was good until we got to the base of Greenmount and Luke had decided that he had ridden far enough before work and turned around. A few hills later we lost a few of the women, then the crash. A few of the guys in front of me went down, the crash was happening in slow-motion and it was like…is this really happening? All were okay minus some lost skin, a broken rear derailleur and the usual bike scrapes.

We all got back to it and it was about this time that I was starting to feel “the bonk”. I had eaten my usual breakfast, but have changed my diet slightly and was certainly feeling the affects of limited liver glycogen levels. I reached into my pocket for my snack bar and managed to get it down whilst waving the guys on, telling them I would meet them in Kalamunda…when I got there. So in the throes of my bonk, desperate for food; coke (full strength) and a chicken sandwich came to my rescue.

After a little rest at the coffee shop I was as good as new and ready for my favourite part of the hills ride, the descent. We were smashing it down Welshpool and then continued pushing it once on the flat. Back at South Perth, I was feeling pretty good (although a little cautious to avoid the nasty sequel ‘return of the bonk’). I stuck to my original plan to have a big day and tagged along with Steve and Brendon as they did a lap around the river before heading back north to home. Just over 170kms for the day- nice.

My training focus for the moment is base road kms, so my speed work will be a little ordinary (and is for the record), but it will hopefully pay off in the summer- when it counts.

For anyone interested in inquiring about Altitude training- please send Andrew Ivey an email on: andrew@elitesportz.com.au

Ciao ciao xx