The Tax Mans log book...

The tax man

Ultimate goal: PBP 2011.
2010 goals:200s,300s,400s...distance distance distance training.
Give up the smokes........again.:o

5/12/09.........76k Route.
Got the ball rolling this morning to see if time off the bike has let my troublesome knee heal enough. Headed up through Tallaght onto the N81 heading towards Blessington, did a loop of the Blessington lakes following the WW200 route from Kilbride to Blackditches. Slight head\cross wind on the way out but the back roads were fairly sheltered. After turning at Blackditches it was a tailwind all the way home.:) Knees were fine(thank god) but legs had a touch of cramp and contact points certainly felt like they've been away from a bike for sometime.

Very pleased with the new bike. Lovely and comfy.Also glad I had full length mudguards on,roads were either mucky or flowing streams of water,race blades would have left the feet soaking in no time.Out and back before the weather turned nasty.


edit:Thanks to Diarmuid for the ride with gps link.

Captain Havoc

I challenge you to a quit the smokes duel for 2010! Punishment is for all boardsies to see!!

Beasty

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I challenge you to a quit the smokes duel for 2010! Punishment is for all boardsies to see!!

Go for it you guys - the more competition (and forfeits) the better:)

The tax man

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I challenge you to a quit the smokes duel for 2010! Punishment is for all boardsies to see!!

Bring it on!!!:)

Captain Havoc

What's the forfit?

Actually reminds me of the first 3 minutes of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2G8SrNqc5g

Beasty

Captain Havoc wrote: »

What's the forfit?

I would suggest something like this

The tax man

Captain Havoc wrote: »

What's the forfit?

It has to be something even worse than wearing mankinis for the WW200.
We should open this challenge for all to see and recommend forfeits in the Broomwagon.

thebouldwhacker

We should open this challenge for all to see and recommend forfeits in the Broomwagon.

Yea, I'd prob be interested in some thing like this....:( fighting the nicotine again, something after Christmas though.

The tax man

Quitting the smokes on the 9th of December.:eek:

The tax man

8/12/09....26k....Route.
A nice calm night out so I hit the hills tonight. Progress was steady,still don't trust my knee yet,but arrived home pain free again.
I thought I was mad been up there but while nearing the hairpin bridge my lights lit up a Sam Browne belt in the distance. The race was on...had to catch this bloke that was out for a night time jog. It was tough but I passed him while trying not to puff and pant too loudly.Hey,I'm lugging an extra 11kgs.
Turned left and headed towards Johnnie Fox's,a stretch of road you wouldn't want your lights failing.Man it was dark up there. Descent from J.F. was cautious due to manhole covers on the line you'd take but some light coloured tarmac put down really showed up the dangerous spots nicely.Easy spin towards home,one last sharp climb around the back of Lamb Doyles.

sy

Glad to hear the knee is holding up tax man. Missed out on the new bike, what did you buy?

The tax man

sy wrote: »

Glad to hear the knee is holding up tax man. Missed out on the new bike, what did you buy?

Cheers for that sy.Still a bit to go till I reckon it's 100% again.

As for the bike,I went for the PX Ti sportive frame and built it with new Ultegra parts and a few bits off the old bike. Linky.

sy

Very nice and I see that you have greenfingers!
Never rode a Titanium frame, how do you find it?

The tax man

Absolutely love the titanium frame. It's stiff but still has some flex like an old steel frame. It's ability to soak up road vibrations is amazing. Rough roads that destroyed me on an aluminium frame are so much smoother.

The tax man

103k......Route.

Nice day out on an Orwell\Boards spin. Ended badly though with the knee back to square one. Gutted.:(


On a plus note....Four days, 14 hours, 12 minutes and 13 seconds. 91 cigarettes not smoked, saving €38.75. Life saved: 7 hours, 35 minutes.

The tax man

Wed 16th Trip to the physio. Ongoing work to the right knee area. Given stretching exercises and told to stay off the bike.

Good news:One week, five days, 4 hours, 53 minutes and 45 seconds. 244 cigarettes not smoked, saving €103.00. Life saved: 20 hours, 20 minutes.

Beasty

The tax man wrote: »

Good news:One week, five days, 4 hours, 53 minutes and 45 seconds. 244 cigarettes not smoked, saving €103.00. Life saved: 20 hours, 20 minutes.

Is it really worth it?

You will soon reach the stage where the extra pension costs outweigh the cash saved on fags:)

The tax man

Beasty wrote: »

Is it really worth it?

You will soon reach the stage where the extra pension costs outweigh the cash saved on fags:)

It's currently paying for my physio sessions. The money side of giving up smoking is the least thing on my mind. I just want a half decent set of lungs next year. 3rd day today I've gone without a patch on.:)

daytrader

Hi Tax man, best off luck. May I ask what gps/computer your using, it's great the way you can view previous rides to compare progress.

Can heartbeat be logged too?

The tax man

Cheers daytrader.

I'm currently using a Garmin 705 and yes you can upload a heart rate log from the 705 to that site. I've just never used mine.

The tax man

Sat 16th Jan 2010

Back on the road again...Route.

Well with the ongoing leg work at the physio and the poor weather conditions I haven't been on a bike outdoors since the 13th Dec '09.
Woke up too late to get out to the Epic race between el tonto and Mockler,well done to all involved.
Headed out for an easy spin towards Enniskerry,constantly having to dodge potholes and gravel.
Road from Kiltiernan up to the scalp was actually closed to traffic heading south due to flooding.All I can say is thank good for neoprene overshoes,kept the water out while feet were under water. First outing and first puncture in ages.:mad: Poxy pinch flat@100psi after clipping a large stone.
Turned onto unfamiliar roads and kept going till I found myself in Bray,actually used the Garmin twice to check my whereabouts:D and then headed home via the N11 yawn.

All in all great to be back on tarmac,lungs felt quite good as did legs.

One month, one week, 16 hours, 10 minutes and 31 seconds. 966 cigarettes not smoked, saving €410.91. Life saved: 3 days, 8 hours, 30 minutes.

sy

How is the knee tax man? Hope it is holding up ok, be patient

The tax man

sy wrote: »

How is the knee tax man? Hope it is holding up ok, be patient

Still troublesome sy.:( It's annoying because it's mostly fine in everything I do apart from cycling. Went out with Orwell on the 17th and quickly found my knee not liking the quicker pace and my fitness level shockingly poor.
I'm resigned to the fact that an up coming bike trip aboard may not contain much cycling for me.

I think you're spot on about being patient. I not very good at that.:)
Physio sessions helping but it's going to take more time than I had hoped.

sy

The tax man wrote: »

Still troublesome sy.:( It's annoying because it's mostly fine in everything I do apart from cycling. Went out with Orwell on the 17th and quickly found my knee not liking the quicker pace and my fitness level shockingly poor.
I'm resigned to the fact that an up coming bike trip aboard may not contain much cycling for me.

I think you're spot on about being patient. I not very good at that.:)
Physio sessions helping but it's going to take more time than I had hoped.

I can empathize as I am in a similar prediciment . Gets depressing at times but have resigned myself to a long rehabilitation. Fingers crossed. A chronic knee problem is a cyclist worst enemy. Hang in there and well done on the cigs.

The tax man

Orwell Spin Jan 24th.....Route
Nice day out on the bike today. Decided to play it safe and go out with one of the slower groups instead of pushing things too much like last weekend and ending up sore and disappointed.Also made a few adjustments to the bike setup which also seemed to help.

The tax man

sy wrote: »

I can empathize as I am in a similar prediciment . Gets depressing at times but have resigned myself to a long rehabilitation. Fingers crossed. A chronic knee problem is a cyclist worst enemy. Hang in there and well done on the cigs.

Sounds like we're in a similar boat sy,can I ask what problems you're having?
Cheers for the words of encouragement.;)

sy

Hi tax man glad to hear the knee is holding up. Its very tempting to push it when you are with a group so stick with the slower ones. 70km without pain sounds very positive. You should really stick with that for a few weeks and build up the cycling muscles again. Alas my knee problem is something thats being going on since last summer. Wont bore you with details ( I could write the book) but a bit depressing at this stage. Still chin up and hope we can have a chat and exchange stories on the W200 or some other sportive (this year!). Love to see that new bike in the flesh and hope you are winning your battle with the cigs. Will be keeping an eye on your progress;)