Fitness & form are strange things. After recently having 3 weeks off the bike, even a 2 hour easy ride was resulting in sore legs. Three weeks later it feels like some leg strength is returning.

I took it real easy my first week back - only 319TSS for the week, then 473TSS and 484TSS for the next two. I really didn’t want to overdo it and need a rest week so early. Those 3 weeks have served as a bit of a base, and after feeling absolutely horrible with no power last Sunday, this week I’ve been feeling stronger and stronger.

Tuesday I did a 2.5 hour ride at 0.73IF, giving me 130TSS. Yesterday was shorter and harder - 1:20 at 0.82IF giving 91TSS. That included one 15min L4 interval. Its been a long time since I did one of those. Today I started out conservatively at L1/L2 then gradually ramped it up for 2:16 at 0.83IF, giving a nice 155TSS. NP for the ride was 234w, which is more like it!

Saturday is Worcester League (98km), so I’ll probably rest tomorrow and hope that the good legs last until then. The plan is then to do an hour after the race, and another 3.5 hours on Sunday, which should give the CTL a serious kick up the bum (currently 57).

Its no nice seeing CTL on an upward trajectory

As a beginning to the training I need to do for next year’s Sani2C, I rode the 35km route at Lourensford yesterday. The rain was threatening but luckily it stayed dry the whole ride. I’m a bit stiff since its the first time on the MTB since May. I only managed 4th after 3 youngsters went a bit too hard for me up the initial climbs, before I was warmed up. Still waiting for the results to see how far behind them I finished. I received a gap of about 4mins just past half way.

Legs were pretty stiff this morning and I grovelled on my training ride today, which did not escape the rain. It was wet, cold and altogether miserable.

My 6-year old Sidi Shadows have been chewed by the dog just a few too many times, so I decided it was time for some new cycling shoes. My local bike shop only really stocked Specialized shoes, so I got to try on a few of them. They seemed pretty comfy, so when I was out Tygervalley way I found some at Willie Engelbrecht for R150 less than my LBS, Cycles Direct.

They have an unusual sole design that cants your foot slightly outwards. This is working well for me on my right foot, but not so well on my left. Hopefully some juggling of cleat position will get it sorted. As expected, they are much stiffer than my old shoes, and have a nice snug fit.

Last Monday I was very chuffed to succeed with a team entry into the Sani2C 3-day MTB race in KZN. The race runs from Himeville near the Drakensberg, to Scottburgh on the coast. Entries sold out in 2 and a half hours, but I was quick enough to get in. I’ll be riding with team-mate Paul Jacobs. Then Garron and Andreas, other team-mates, are also entered. So BikeMaxPower has 2 teams in the race, which is great for our sponsors.

Unfortunately the good news was tempered with an injury. I bumped my knee into the wall the other day. It was pretty innocuous, but an hour or two of riding would see some knee pain and light swelling at the top of the knee cap. Three physio visits later and almost 10 days of no riding and things still aren’t perfectly fixed. I’m back at the physio this Thursday for (hopefully) my last visit, with Friday pencilled in as my first ride in 2 weeks.

Consequently CTL has plummetted and I’ll be going into the season’s first league race at the end of the month, with less than ideal fitness. These things happen, I guess.

Rode the Argus Cycle Tour last Sunday - I started in the VA (30-39 yrs old) group, but had a puncture just before Smitswinkel Hill and then joined the B who were 5 minutes behind. I rode the rest of the race with the B group and finished with a group of about 10 of them that got away on the Suikerbossie Climb.

Peter’s posted some interesting power stats on his blog. Its clear why I’m not a pro - how about David George’s figures?! Stupendous!!

One of the flyers in our race packs at yesterday’s Argus MTB race, was from Dirtopia, advertising AMA - the African MTB Association. Meurant from Dirtopia has been heading in this direction for many years, and finally we have our own IMBA-style advocacy organisation.

I’ve just signed up, and I hope that many of my MTB buddies will do the same. Meurant and Arina have done more for mountain biking in this country than anyone else, and their vision and plan for taking things to the next level really deserves our support.

Just looked at the results from yesterday’s MTB race. My estimate of approx 15mins loss looks about right. I overtook Guy Pike (comprehensively) about 45mins into the race, and he came in 24th in 2:29. So 2:24 is definitely about where I could/should have been.

My CTL has just edged over 80. Looking back at spring season I started feeling really good in races as soon as CTL>80, so hopefully I experience the same thing with this weekend’s Argus Subvets race!

Rode my first MTB race in a while today - the Argus MTB race at Boschendal. I arrived at the startline a little late and ended up starting at the back of the bunch, which didn’t bode well for my chances of staying with the front guys. As expected within 2ks the front guys were out of site while I was still blocked in. I eventually found a rhythm and was passing people continuously but steadily for the first hour. Until I had a puncture which I didn’t really have the heart to try and repair quickly. But I got it done and set off again, having to pass many of those that I’d passed already. I ended up stuck between small bunches for large parts of the flat jeep track, which isn’t ideal for my light frame. I grabbed a few more places up the final climb, then got stuck behind some hardtails on the descent which was very frustrating. Eventually I got past and opened a big gap quickly. Race was over by then though, and I finished in 2:39. I reckon the puncture and other hold-ups cost me about 15mins, which puts my pace at about 2:24, which would have been top 20 or so. So I definitely have some mountain biking legs and I’m looking forward to the next MTB race. Hopefully a little fitter, and hopefully I get a proper start.