Monday, February 21, 2011

Bio-mechanics.

Getting the joints supple. Legs are levers. Upper body counters the efforts. Core keeps you over the fulcrum. Out on the road bike. Pitiful miles in the legs over the last 4 weeks. Time to trial the hill. The Crow Road.

The last time up was in the dead of winter. It takes me around 20 minutes. I pass the footpath sign to Milton at the bottom and the seconds start ticking away. The first swithchback is the steepest. The heart rate increases, the blood pumping. Keep it just within the red.

Move up a gear, then 2. Keep the cadence high. No mashing. Circles. Ignore the burning.

Round the corner and i sense the top. Steal a look at the watch. It looks like it might go sub 20 minutes. Suffer up the false summit, then gain the rounded top of the Campsies. Into the large ring but dont lose the cadence.

There it is, the top. A small fireroad access gate with the path to the top of the hill on the other side. Rise up. Rise out of the saddle and apply the leverage. Work the blood and bone and sinew.



17 minutes and 10 seconds. The fastest i have ever made it up. Empty vessel, but joy. Maybe not such a bad place to start from for the spring.

3 comments:

Craig said...

good time fella! The best I ever managed was a low 15, that was after riding Le Raid Pyrenean. My weight was sub 70kg, to be honest I looked ill but felt great. Since then, my times are hovering around 17-18 from the golf course up to the signs. Drop me a line anytime you fancy a spin.

I hope the wee one is well and making you smile.

Stay upright,

Craig

Steve J Makin said...

amazing what rest can do ;-)

Dean said...

Good job! Biggest hill here is 6 mins or so (if you're doing it properly) so you have to go up and down a bit. Hills feel good.