Self Righteous Cyclist

Introduction This is part 2 of 10 of the N=1 series of becoming a stronger cyclist for less than a cup of coffee a day. In this series I am going to take you through my journey from my local Masters C category to Masters A in the space of 18 months, at the age of 57. If you are reading this series for the first time, you can go back and read Part 1, where I start with a daily smoothie and Creatine. Five weeks into Part 1 (Smoothie & Creatine) of my N=1 experiment, I started doing longer outdoor rides on a Wednesday morning with a couple of mates, otherwise known as the WMR. Wednesdays are my easy day, so I insisted that we keep it social and ride Zone 2 pace (75% of max heart rate or lower). After trying a few different routes, we settled on Albert Park Lake as our home track, with it's one set of lights and very little traffic. Three months into my N=1, I had managed Personal Best power numbers from 3 to 35 seconds and also ridden very close to my record power for 3.5hrs at A...

Introduction What if I said you could be a stronger cyclist, for less than a cup of coffee a day? Would you do it? This is part 1 of 10, of the N=1 series of becoming a stronger cyclist for less than a cup of coffee a day. In this series I am going to take you through my journey from my local Masters C category to Masters A in the space of 18 months, at the age of 57. A year ago when I tried something new, I never thought it would end up as a ten part blog series, but here it is. Over the next 10 blog posts I am going to explore what happened when I introduced different ergogenic aids and training stimuli. Part 1 Smoothie and Creatine Part 2 Regular Sprint Training Part 3 Strength Training Part 4 Sodium Bicarbonate Part 5 Polarised Training and Masters Training Plan Part 6 Lactate Threshold Testing and Training Part 7 Increasing race day carbohydrate Part 8 90min Zone 2 rides with different inputs Part 9 Increasing Protein Intake Part 10 Putting it all together If you are new to this...

What if you could become a stronger cyclist for less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day, would you do it? 365 days and $5 per cup comes out at $1825, which might buy you a nice set of wheels or some more aero gear, which makes you go faster, but power or watts per kilogram is the name of the game in cycling. Over the past year, I've introduced a range of different interventions into my training and diet, most of which are either free or cost less than a cup of coffee a day. During the next five weeks I'm going to cover off what they are, explain why I did them and what the results were. Have you event considered yourself a human experiment? I guess each of us in our strange way is an experiment of n=1. Over the past year, I've been listening, learning and applying different training interventions, curious to see what can make a difference to my cycling performance and overall health. As my favourite science communicator Dr Karl from Triple J radio always says, the ...

Glenaroua outside of Broadford, provided a tantalising course for the puncheurs and rolleurs of the Northern Cycling Club. Pure climbers and flat trackers, need not apply, but then again, with a decent handicap and some grit, anything is possible. On the drive out with Tommy "the oracle" McDonough, we review the field, the ones to watch. Tommy in his wisdom says that there will be a new name on the trophy by the end of the day. Could Tom know something that I don't? Let's wait and see. First of all, let's take a look at what this is all about, because there are three races within one event: The Secret Handicap, Age Group Championship and Club Championship for fastest man and woman. All riders start at the same time, without knowing what their handicap is, which is what makes this such an interesting ride. It's mano a mano. The male Club Champion gets to wear the coveted number 1 for the next year, currently worn by Tim Anderson. The conditions Strong norther...

It was a picture perfect day, that cyclists dream of. Not too windy, not hot and not too cold, somewhere in the Goldilocks zone. With 138 starters, the race attracted riders from Victoria and interstate, including a strong contingent of ProVelo riders in Scratch and Chop groups. My club Brunswick CC, was one of the most strongly represented clubs with 13 starters across the breadth of the field. 23min bunch pre-race Scratch Aston KEY 5 Minutes Taj HINDELL, Leo WORSAM and Nicholas MAHONEY 11 Minutes Patrick RUGGLES 17 Minutes Lucas FITZGERALD and John Adrian D'ALFONSO 23 Minutes Michael KANIZAY, Andrew GANNON, Stewart HAY, Jeremy HINDELL and Max MCKAY 30 Minutes Karla BELL (best placed, 11th overall) Handicaps have a habit of bringing out the optimist in me. I quietly had confidence in the 23min bunch of 27 riders, the largest of the race being able to catch the groups in front and hold off those behind. The group spanned in ages from 16 (Bendigo's Sebastian Freer) to 62...

Brunswick Cycling Club member Luke Markov has been consistently on the podium at the Auscycling Victorian Time Trial 2025 series..He has kindly penned his account of the Victorian Time Trial Championships held at Philip Island. After the 35 min+ wait in line for scrutineering, this leaves a stunning 15 mins for warm up. I hit the rollers and start loosening the legs. I wrap that, pop the last of the aero gear on and head to the starting gantry. It’s a 4.4km lap for 22km total with plenty of corners on the Phillip Island Grand Prix track. Funnily enough, despite the slightly annoying lead in - I feel tremendously relaxed. I have seen this course before (18 years ago!) behind the wheel and am confident in the space and lines. Before I know it, I’m up. Get the hold, double check I’m in a good gear, hit “start” on the computer 2s before release and then I’m off. I punch out hard to get up to speed as fast as possible and then settle into position. Running anti-clockwise we come into an exp...