What's new..

Since starting this blog in 2007 I've experienced some huge changes.

I commute to work 4 days a week from Eight Mile Plains to Spring Hill. I hammer the trails at Daisy Hill most weekends and hit the roads with the local cycling club most weekends for coffee rides and the like.

I race competively on both Road and MTB and I've even managed a few top three finishes along the way.

Oh and I own 4 bikes!! - (More about them later).

Health wise I'm much better off. I've dropped about 20 kilograms and I have to say I've never felt better. Technicaly I'm still a Clydesdale at a 100kg but being 191cm I manage to cope ok. I'm hoping to get down to 94kg as I ramp up the training for 2010.

A bit about me

I'm Mark, (aka Wellsy) and I'm 45 years old. I've always been pretty active in my life. I grew up in the bush and as a kid I played representative footy, hockey and various other sports. I also rode a bike everywhere. Not the Malvern Star that many of my mates had though. I rode a big steel framed fixed wheel racing bike that once belonged to my father from his cycling days. It was big and heavy but I loved it. I clocked up plenty of miles on that old bike.

I met my High School sweetheart T, (aka MBW - My Beautiful Wife) in 1982 and we married in 1986. Two and a bit decades later we're still together, (patient woman that one) with a couple of kids, J (18) and S (14).

I am the king of unfinished projects and hobbies so when I told MBW a couple of years ago that I was going to start cycling again she responded with the aptly appropriate comment "that's great babe, how much will that cost". A pretty acceptable thing to say in my case so I copped it on the chin. A quick glance at my Ebay history will give you an insight into some of my abandoned hobbies.

Anyway 3 years later and I'm still at it. I have four bikes, a commuter (to ride to work), a roadie, a Dually MTB and a Hard Tail MTB.

I'll post more about the bikes later but suffice to say they get plenty of use. I'm a member of Logan City Cycling Club and Brisbane South MTB Club and I've competed in plenty of Road and MTB races. Not really enough though so I've decided to really step it up this year.

A small part of my reasoning for this blog is the challenge to myself.

This year I will get my finger out and get out there!

2010 Resolutions & Time Travel

From May 2008 to January 2010!!

When I was transferring posts from the old blog I thought it might be appropriate to jump forward to the present day... who needs a flux capacitor.. :)

One of NYE resolutions was to get my Blog up and going again. In reality its not so much a blog as it is a personal journal really. A place where I can record my personal experiences, achievements and of course failures on my journey towards sustained fitness in my forties. It's more for me than anyone else but if you're interested, happy reading..

It'll develop as time goes by I guess. Here's hoping anyway.

22 Jun 08 - Wheel Trueing 101

I spent a bit of time this morning researching the best methods to straighten my rear wheel. Schooled up I headed to the garage and broke out the spoke wrench. 30 minutes later and it was done.. Success

Switched to trail tryes over to the commuters and performed a snappy service and lube and I'm ready for tomorrow's ride to work.

Youtube is an excellent source of MTB maintenance information.. I think I might put together a maintenance hints and tips page.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP6cwZxxAFM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhE9ahpyIHM[/youtube]

21 Jun 08 - Daisy Hill Run and a Bent Wheel

Galps and I put in a couple of house on the trails at Daisy Hill today. Good fast run down possum box then into Chocolate Buddha, back to the Five-Ways and into Tunnel of Love then onto Koala and round the back fire trails and finally onto Turning Japanese before riding back to the top car park.

While heading down a section of Buddha I mad a last minute attempt at rolling over a high rock. Unfortunately I picked the line badly and dropped the bike resulting in a warp in the rear wheel. Lucky the bike was still rideable because it would have been a long walk back to the car park.

I guess tomorrow's lesson will be "Wheel Truing 101"...

18 Jun 08 - Rain!!! (A Commuting Update)

Wow, there’s really nowhere to hide when it’s bucketing down during a ride home. I reckon I left work about 30 minutes two late. By the time I hit the City Botanic Gardens it had started sprinkling but by the time I crossed the Good Will Bridge it was all over, it was pissing down.

I saw a couple of guys huddling under an overpass but I figured what the hell, why delay the inevitable. The backpack cover was on so I just kept going. The only drama was the water which was rinsing out the padding in my helmet caused dirt and dried sweat to wash into my eyes which really, and I mean really hurt…

I made it to the car in one piece, although very wet. Stopped for fuel on the way home and a lady working in the coffee shop took pity on me, (I was dripping) and made me a free coffee. Nice!

Still not deterred…I love the ride. I used to ride a Suzuki Bandit 1200 to work and never got too wet thanks to the protective gear. No such luck on the MTB..

17 Jun 08 - Jerseys – Are Italians really this small???

I bought a jersey on Ebay the other day for $23. It's a "Santini" size XXL apparently. Seemed like a good buy. Anyway it arrived today and I could barely get the thing over my shoulders. The label clearly said XXL but in reality it was barely a Large. It wouldn’t even fit my son!!! Why is it so bloody hard to find a jersey (under $90) that actually fits? This one is going back on Ebay!!!