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China Diary
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2013/14 : Week 34 – Build 02/09
Mon – Rest
Tues – TT75 – TR Gendarme
Was feeling very strong on this session. Aim of it is to improve aerobic capacity and it’s 20 reps of 30sec at 120%FTP, about 300W for me followed by 30sec rest so it’s fairly intense but the 30sec off allows just about enough recovery time to lash into 30sec again, those 30sec effort for me would be something like trying to get across to a break (probably more required for doing this) or powering up a short climb. Completed the first set with a bit of energy to spare in order to hit the 2nd set harder. Then I heard a funny noise coming from what I thought was the chain as it kinda clicked at a certain point every revolution in the same spot. So I had a look but didn’t see anything but did notice the front derailleur mount screws had come loose (don’t have any of that special screw glue, can’t remember the brand name, oh ya, Loctite something). Ended up fixing that, getting back on the bike and the clicking was still there so had another look and noticed a link in the chain had become dislodged and was hiting the derailleur cages every rev so I got out the chainbreaker and fixed that and decided one interval was enough for today. Spare myself for later in the week.
Wed – L2W1 Core #6
Got in a good day of core work today and did a nice bit of stretching also, as my hamstrings could do with being a bit more elastic, they’re really tight I guess from sitting down studying the whole time. The opposite arm/leg stretches are still tough but I’ve improved a lot since session #1. Time to move onto Level 2 Workout 2, which will see me go back to the Prone Snow Angels but adds 2 new exercises with TT Position Acceleration and Crossover Squats.
Turs – TT76 – Ticking Over
Had arranged a spin with a Chinese guy for the Friday, which was going to be quite long with lots of climbing so I decided not to do the Trainerroad session and just did a few sprints on the turbo over 20mins.
Fri – Climbing Endurance 东方红
This turned out to be quite a day and. What better way to forge a friendship than by going on a spin on the bike with somebody. It’s not too often you can spend 7-8 hours in somebodys company you have just metand not have to be talking the whole time in order to avoid the awkward silence possibly. Cycling has a unique way of avoiding this in that when going uphill you’re usually suffering too much to think about talking.
Yesterdays air was terrible but luckily it rained at night and the skies were blue when I woke up. The PM2.5 was at record low levels of about 11 (I believe it was near 100 a few months ago in Paris). It was cool outside and I just wore a ss jersey and a pair of arm warmers (and shorts of course). Forgot to put on sun cream though. Rode out to the meetup place and got ½ lost despite riding there loads of time before except this time I was told the name of the road to go to and of course I never go by road names here, just memory and trying to follow signs here isn’t exactly easy but I asked an old man and his wife (who was on the back of his tricycle) and he explained where to go. You meet some nice old people here now and again who are only too happy to help. Met up with the guy, Shengyuan Is his name, and he had all the gear. Cervelo P3 I think it was, di2, Castelli jersey, xBionic shorts, Garmin aero gloves, Sidi shoes, the real deal. All the gear bought on Wiggle. Still, he turned out to be a really nice fella and it was refreshing to learn about the cycling culture here from someone who is fairly in the know. Previously I only been going by what I read on the net in some articles but I’ve finally made a pal on the “inside” as such. We set off at 9am and rode out at an easy pace to the first climb called东方红(DongFangHong). This was a nice climb of 3.9km and 195m ascent. We didn’t kill ourselves but rode around ¾ pace and it was a good start to the day. Had to slow twice for SY but I was to repay the favour later on. Long descent on the other side but as today was a national holiday ½ of Beijing had decided to drive out here for BBQs so the traffic was blocked up for about 3km so we couldn’t enjoy that descent really. Finally we got out of traffic and onto clear roads again and it wasn’t long before we were going uphill again. I had stopped before this just to get a bottle of water and some grub. Foolishly I got a Snickers and ate it all instead of maybe having ½ of it. I think my body isn’t used to sweets and chocolate since I’ve changed the diet to more proteins and fats and about 5km later I was feeling a bit weak. Must have been something like an insulin spike and then a drop, which kinda left me with no energy. So I sat in behind on the next climb which was about 550m ascending and 5-6km approx. Felt really crap ½ way and had to stop for a while. Kept on going then and we finally made the top where we got a nice set of pics. Really scenic up there. When you’re surrounded by a concrete jungle for 50km squared in Beijing you really appreciate this sort of environment when you get into it. Next up was a savage descent of at least 10km. Never done anything like it before. Road was really well tarred all the way, in fact we didn’t meet any bad stretch of road in 184km today. Credit due to the road builders here big-time. Managed a top speed of 74km/hr on that downhill on a long straight and was spinning out on the 53/11 nearly. Some feeling although there were a few areas where there was no barrier on the edge and it was a sheer drop of a few 100m so that had me wary just in case there was gravel or anything that could cause a slip. We had another stop and got some more water, was really wolfing it down today and drank 6 bottles by the end I think and maybe 2 bottles of orange, 2 bananas, a gel, lots of cashew & hazelnuts (things that look like brains), ½ an energy bar, that Snickers and 2 buns. Oh ya, and some organic strips of hawthorn, which I’d picked up at the farmers market last week. Have kinda learned that it’s probably best to backload the carbs and rely on proteins more in the front end of such a long spin and carbs towards the finish. That’s the way my body is adapting to the new diet.
The road started to turn to rolling terrain after this, rather like home except with perfectly smooth roads, and it got really windy so I was still sitting on the wheel. This wheelsucking lasted about 40km and then finally I started to come good again. We eventually joined up with the route we had come out on and there was one last climb left and that was back up to 东方红. This is actually a very famous tunnel in Beijing (there’s a cycling website/forum named after it) as it leads into the mountains in the west of Beijing and your choice of climbing route is almost endless from there or so I’ve been told, it’s like the gateway to the west. Seeing as it was about 3pm now and people had finished their BBQs or almost we hit traffic again unfortunately but it wasn’t as bad. I hit the front on the climb and paced myself well. I said to myself I’ll try and stick to 39/25 and keep the HR just above threshold at around 168bpm. Got into a good rhythm and had to slow once or twice for SY before he went to the front and that was the last hard bit of the day done. Mainly flat roads with a few drags left to go but still about 50-60kk to get home. My legs were feeling savage at this stage after the temporary lapse between km 60-100 so I said I’d give them a good hammering any chance I got. We worked well together on any clear stretch of road and it was all good TT practice. The recent change of bars I made was a good decision. I’m much more comfortable in the drops now and not reaching as far and feel a bit more aero too. I must really work on my TT position next and start using the TT bars. Delighted with the bike I picked up last September. Great frame and great for climbing and sprinting. Was happy to get home as the wind had picked up and it was threatening to rain. Late Spring always bring wind from the Gobi desert and it comes from nowhere almost. Luckily the rain held off and I managed to get in the door before a big shower. Will take some time to get used to the Irish weather (i.e. rain) when I get back I rekon.
Sat – 妙峰山Slooow Endurance[/B]
My legs were fairly killing me after yesterday. Hadn’t done many rides over the century mark this year, actually hadn’t done anything that intense in a long long time. Yesterdays ride had a hrTSS of over 400 so I was bound to be tired today but had arranged to meet another Chinese lad. I’d done a survey recently on the use of power meters among Chinese riders and it was a great excuse to get to know people. This young fella is only about 18/19, a really talented climber going by the times he’s set on some Strava segments. I had told him about the long spin yesterday and that I wouldn’t be much use on any climbs, or on anything really. Was really a case of just getting out and forcing the body to adapt for any possible stage racing later in the year, even though I’d never be going near this distance really in 2 days, but it’s good to know I can do it when I push myself.
Met up at 10 at the bottom of Miaofengshan, a 19km long climb. Didn’t feel so good. Did one or 2 efforts to test the legs on the way out and I knew today was just about spinning away at my own pace and not trying to kill myself. However, the lads I met had other plans. These guys were all serious riders, one had an SRM, the other a Cervelo weighing 6.3kg with DT Swiss wheels and Campag electronic groupset (had a nice VW as well so he was definitely in the money). Not a pick of fat on any one of them. I knew this wasn’t a good idea to be riding with these lads today especially given we were at the base of this climb. I did some stretching and talked to the guy about his SRM. 15000RMB he paid for it. A friend picked it up in the States for him. Not a bad price actually. We were waiting for a fella who goes by the name of Ice and he’s the champ in Beijing. Not sure what he’s won but he’s a serious rider. He finally arrived after about 30mins of waiting around. I’m sure he had done a few serious efforts coming up the hill before meeting us. He took off like Satan Himself was chasing us with a red hot poker. My HR immediately shot up and my legs and muscles in my ass were screaming at me to stop and just do it at your own pace. I persisted for a few 100m more but eventually did the wise thing and dropped off on my own. Good luck lads, enjoy.
I turned around to go home but seeing as I was here I said I may as well see what I can do. I knew it would be hard to get to the top but the least I could do is try. It would be really good to go beyond the usual and this could serve as a nice block of endurance training. Lots of riders on the road, mainly slow on mtn bikes spinning away in the granny gear which suited me perfectly. I would ride behind them for a while and then move onto the next person if it was too easy. I couldn’t go above 145bpm or my legs would just give up so I was just below Z3 HR for most of the climb. Stopped a few times for photos and just wanted to enjoy the spin more so than suffer all the way up. Reached a restaurant which I’d eaten at before and couldn’t resist the smell so I pulled in and ordered some really nice dishes. Nice to treat myself to Chinese food, although it’s very oily, now and again. But this place does decent food and they didn’t disappoint this time round either. Some of the customers were fairly pisst off as they’re dishes were slow in arriving but I got mine in under 10mins so I was happy enough.
Decided not to go to the top as I might have put too much stress on the body and just went back down the mountain. A real mental challenge going home. It as like riding without the big ring on a downhill the way I was restricted to a max HR of 145 (normal max of 191 although very very rearely reach that) before the legs would remind me to slow down or just stop pedaling, I now know what a loss of power feels like. Was really glad to get home this time and managed to get in just under a century, although distance isn’t a real priority to me. I could have racked up the extra 200m but not much point. Had a lovely smoothie recovery drink and an egg white thrown in. Really look forward to treating myself with these high GI carbs after a hard session.
In the evening I decided to treat myself to a massage. There’s a place near the college and believe it or not, all the masseuses are blind. Took me a while to find the entrance. Again, if something is not within a 20m vicinity of a security guard for example, they don’t have a clue where places are. Seem very limited in their ability to think outside a certain radius for whatever reason. Even a woman who lived in that compound was of no use when asking for direction. Anyway, after eventually locating the entrance I was asked to take off m shoes and lie face down on a maseusse table. A guy by the name of Li Deng was to be my masseuse. He turned to be a really nice guy and was from the same province as my wife. We had a nice conversation and it was a good way to practice my Chinese. He really knew the points on my legs and shoulders to work and always asked for feedback. I explained to him I liked him to press very hard on areas. Have had physio in Ireland in the past and the best one I ever had was with a fella from Ballysteen in West Limerick. I think he used to be the physio with Garrowwn rugby club in Limerick as well. Had a dodgy shoulder once after a box of a shoulder in hurling match one night and he did a bit of work on it. He used to kill me practically but I used always come away feeling great relief and having much more mobility actually. This guy was similar. He stuck his thumbs right into my ITB and it really hurt but I knew it was good. Also worked on my calves a lot and despit being sore today, it’s not the type of soreness I associate with the feeling I sometimes have from after long spin. Some people say it’s lactic acid in the musecles but I read somewhere in one of Joe Friel’s books that it’s not actually this that causes the stiffness/burning in the muselce. Scientists are yet to pinpoint the reason. Anyway, I felt great relief after it and was 10euro for an hour. Good deal I thought.
Sun – Today is a rest day. I’ve earned it. Feeling pretty hungry and tired after the last 2 days so I’ll just take it easy and try and rest up.
Summary
Tough week from a volume and distance point of view, not so much intensity. Won’t need to do that anymore, just need to focus on intensity now for the rest of the build period.
Just a brief mention that I’ve hit the 63.x kg mark a few times this week finally despite eating pretty much the same quanitity, just different types of foods and more importantly, more fats. The diet is working, high GI carbs after training only and majority of fats and proteins in between this. Today (sun) was the first day for a while I’ve craved carbs but I’m guessing it’s the body way of reacting to the long day on Saturday. Overall, I have a much more controlled appetite now. My fix this evening after 2 good meals today (4 steamed eggs for breakfast; steamed basa fish, carrots, broccoli and Chinese cabbage with cheese for dinner) was just some hot full fat milk and 2 spoonfuls of homemade jam. A nice little treat.
There are a few races in the pipeline here. Hope to do one on 17 and 31 may. Think the one on 31 is a long one with lots of climbing. Have also signed up to do the 8 Days of California on Trainerroad. Might not complete all the sessions but they will be a good indicator of where I am race wise I’d say. Was a bit disappointed to “lose face” with those Chinese lads yesterday but its not the end of the world.
Goals for the week
• Not to exceed TSS of 300
• Commence L2W2 core workouts
• 1 workout at least using TT bars
Saturdays lunch on Miaofeng.
The mountain is starting to come into bloom.
Bamboo scaffolding. Been a while since I've seen this being used. Must be a sign of "progress". Fascinating the way they weave this together.
Problem with one of the chain links.
Morning weigh in chart.
Me training diary, great investment.
This stuff ain't too bad.
DongFangHong - gateway to the west.
Me 1st Chinese mate.
I feel sorry for this poor fella.0 -
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It's a perception thing. Going to these places is still relatively new plus gives people the feeling they are experiencing something different. McDonalds have a very clever marketing strategy here.
The food here isn't as cheap as you might think, at least if you want quality food. Chinese are becoming much more aware of the importance of organic food as opposed to cheap (full of chemicals) food. Lots of scandals in the last few years with contaminated food, especially with baby powder have led to a crackdown on bad practice (scandals in China usually lead to improvements whereas in Ireland they usually lead to tribunals which just waste both time and money). Apparently a lot of the fertiliser used here contains toxic sludge.
As is a big change in classes (rises in income) here there is a gradual shift in the desire to consume clean and healthy green products. The rate of change here is phenomenal. Every time I come back, I can see huge changes. Was talking to wife's uncle recently who is a distinguished businessman having spent a lot of time in The Middle East and having forged into the Papa New Guinea market recently (where food apparently is so abundant all you need to is find a tree and you'll be able to get a coconut or banana or something along those lines, granted you might have a fight on your hands with a monkey or some such animal
. We were at my wife's grandfathers funeral which was taking place in a small village. Villages in China are much different to the Irish concept. They are more fortress like with high walls around each house and they are usually square in overall shaped, don't have one Main Street but have narrow paths usually not paved but more like mud tracks. I asked him what with the big policy changes in relation to agriculture in China (shift away from small farms to big ones like The States) what will this village look like in 20 years. His reply was that in 10 years this place would be demolished,everyone will have moved to an urban location. When the Chinese government put something in motion, things happen very rapidly. I can see this happening now actually. Lots of high rise apartments being built up in the smaller cities along with new shopping centres/malls to accommodate and encourage people to become urban dwellers, also introducing products which were previously only available in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, Tier 1 being Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing; Tier 2 being Mainly provincial capitals like Wuhan, Shijiazhuang, Shenyang etc. 2-3 years ago I could never get decent bananas in my wife's hometown (about 250km from Beijing). Now foreign imports are readily available along with all sorts of chocolate, branded baby milk from Wyeth, and lots of other stuff previously unavailable.
I've learned that the Asian century is upon us and is here to stick around so yez better start practicing with your chops sticks lads.0 -
2013/14 : Week 36 – Build 03/09
Mon – Rest.
Still tired from last week.
Tues – 1. TT77: TR Tyndall 4 x (16 15sec On/Off Billets at 135%FTP); 2. Misc Core #29
Had a bit of a sore knee from last week, thought it was related to the distance I’d put in and I just thought I wasn’t used to it having mainly been doing short turbo sessions for the last few months. When I tried doing this session I had a sore anterior left knee, like a ligament/muscle was being pulled more than it should or as if something was rubbing against the ligament/muscle. Whatever it was it wasn’t very comfortable. When I sat up and took my hands off the bars it was quite sore. Had to limit the session to 50mins so I didn’t do the last interval. Glad I didn’t as I could have done longterm damage.
I’m not used to these billet sessions at all. Basically you do a warmup and then go 15sec at full tilt followed by 15sec easy. Do this 16 times and then a 4-5min rest before doing it all over again times 3. I’m more used to doing threshold efforts for 4-6minutes so this is something new for my body but definitely a great way of simulating the surge efforts in a race. It’s also good for the anaerobic engine as you’re in the red for those 15sec of high intensity and even though you're soft pedaling for the 15secs off the heart rate is still pretty high. Trains your body to get used to these hard efforts and how best to tolerate the pain.
Wed – Morning Stretching #2
I’m not very flexible and have been reading recently about the importance of having a good posture and how cycling contradicts everything related to having a good posture etc. have been told by a few people my posture isn’t great (I have the cycling slouch) so I’m working on correcting this. Trying to be much more conscious about the way I sit and not to slouch, keep the chest out, shoulders back (feel a bit weird doing this) etc. Doing some wall flattener exercises to improve posture and a few others also. Trying to see what’s best for me, static or dynamic stretching or PNF. The problem with the internet is there is so much info that it can lead to confusion but I’m getting a handle on things. My rule of thumb is dynamic stretching when I’m not warmed up so in the morning or before a ride. Static stretching after the body is warm so after a shower or after a ride (clarify: on the bike). My hamstrings feel like the most inflexible part of my body so I’m trying to target these.
Turs – TT78: TR McDuffie 5(3x13sec 512W/4min 269W); Morning Stretching #3
Had removed one cleat the night before last weeks Fri spin to test on a new pair of shoes and forgot where I’d left it and so had to put on a different one which had a lot of float. Still had 2 dissimilar cleats for Tues turbo session and only spotted it on yesterday so I swapped back the original cleat with about 2-3deg float and I felt fine again. Had never really believed it could cause such a problem but that’s all the evidence I need. Won’t be going doing it in a hurry again.
This was a tough session mentally. The cleats made a big difference though so the kness was 95% again. First 2 intervals killed me and I really wanted to quit. I guess last week took an awful lot out of me and I was still adapting/recovering. Anyway I persevered and tried to find something to think about to keep me sane during the 4mins at 269W which is just over my threshold. Very hard doing these type of efforts after doing what’s like 3 hard sprints leading up to them. The sprints really take it out of my legs as I’m not what one would call a sprinter. I like to think of myself as a bit more of a climber although the mirror doesn’t agree with me when it comes to body fat J Persevered anyway and finally came good (i.e. I wasn’t considering jumping out the window to numb the pain) on the last interval and hit it hard finishing on a high.
Fri – Sun - Rest
Back to see the family so I needed to be careful about what I ate. Managed ok but it is getting harder and harder returning to the inlaws. There are no two ways about it but the place is a sheethole. It’s through no fault of the family but simply the values of Chinese people who live in the countryside. The trip started off on a low note. We arrived on the scene of a traffic accident and it was my first time ever to see a dead person in a traffic accident or what was left of them. Very gruesome. The body was ¾ covered with a yellow sheet but I could see an arm sticking out. It was laid on the ground beside a wrote off car, a crappy little red one. Up ahead as we passed the body were guts and parts of a body squashed under the back wheel of a lorry. At this point I wished I hadn’t looked. It was more akin to a scene from a war with guts everywhere. I just blessed myself and hoped the family of the victims didn’t see what I saw. Felt a bit queasy after this and light headed. I’ve never been good at seeing blood. I remember one time in woodwork class I slit my finger with a chisel and nearly fainted. I’m not sure what’s the standard procedure in Ireland at the scene of a crash. I presume the most important thing is to assess the people involved. Seems that life is not so precious here in the way they didn’t really respect the deceased by ¾ covering them with an aul sheet. The police didn’t seem too phased by the whole thing. Then again, everytime I travel on the motorway here I see one or two crashes at least. I’m afraid to travel by car here to be honest as there are usually no seatbelts in the rear and if there are people don’t wear them. In fact, I’ve often been in cars for an hour or two and the tone for alerting the driver to fasten their seat belt has been going continuously for that whole hour or two. They are completely oblivious to it.
Getting to my wife’s home I wasn’t in the best of form. Recently the weather has got much warmer. Heat in the countryside means one thing – flies. They come out of the walls it seems. I would like to hear from the older generation who are reading this post (not so young myself but not old enough to go back to when fridges and such items were seen as a luxury) of what they experienced in their younger years in relation to hygiene in the home. I’m not criticising my inlaws here, more pointing out the cultural differences so please take note of that in case you think I’m slagging them behind their backs, I’m not.
When people eat food here the consumption methods are much different than Ireland. Plates with ones own dinner are not used. All the dishes are served together and laid on the table and people take from the one dish and put it in their bowl of rice or just eat it directly from their chopsticks. Northern Chinese generally eat a type of steamed bread with their main meals, it’s usually made from white flour so I don’t eat it as it’s crap in my opinion but try explaining that to the family and they think I have two heads (I think they must think I have 4 at this stage what with my plethora of peculiarities). Food that falls on the floor, mainly from the kids, is picked up and eaten as if the floor is spotless. I’m prone to doing this myself in Ireland if the food is a particularly nice apple tart or something I deem too good to give to the dogs but I never do it here simply because I know the floor here is never washed and if it is washed the mop goes in the toilet or some place to wet it, no disinfectant is used. A well educated friend of mine who lives in a city does this to my despair. My in-laws don’t have this opportunity as they don’t have a toilet, we do our business in a pot and throw it into a hole out the front. Anyway moving on, once the meal is finished and everyone has eaten their full (Chinese have the habit of almost force feeding outsiders as it’s a sign of courtesy but I find it annoying at this stage being told to eat more, eat more, initially I found it hard to say no) the tv is usually turned on and the dishes are left on the table. Remember its quite hot and there are a lot of flies around the place so now they start on their dinner. I find this quite disgusting as the dishes are often heated up at the next meal and consumed. This is all despite their being a fridge beside the table, which is full of stuff that has been in there 6 months. I once gave them a tub of Kerrygold back in 2012 and it remains in there to the present day. I could go on and on but I’ll let the photos do the talking.
So back to my request for a comparison with Ireland from say the 60s or 70s. When people grew up in Ireland in those periods when things were much tougher than they are now and maybe not so much emphasis was placed on hygiene etc were families still considerate of putting food away and just trying to avoid things like the story from above? Were flush toilets a common feature of homes then? Were there many flies or was it just not warm enough? If you had rats/mice in the house would you do your best to get ride of them (reason I ask is there are often rats/mice literally burrowing in the attic and stuff falling onto the floor and I often point this out but nobody seems to mind).
Summary
An easy week this week in terms of TSS but the two workouts I did were of a high intensity. These will definitely bring me on a lot I feel and it’s good to get away from too much of the steady state stuff 9even though it’s still very hard) and tax the body in a different way. Needed the recovery after a long week last week as well.
Have a race coming up on Saturday. Going to take part with a group of foreigners with SERK, a bike shop run by an Aussie apparently sponsoring us with jerseys. Looking forward to it. It’s a flat course and one for the sprinters I’m told so I’ll just try to stick near the front and avoid any crashes. Chinese riders are very unpredictable and the style of riding is much different to home so I hope to God I stay upright.
Goals for the week
• Up the intensity again this week, 4 rides before Saturdays race
• Refine my stretching technique
• 2 core sessions
A shepherd and his flock leading his sheep across the road. He has this big long whip and his sheep follow him very obediently. They don't look in great shape though and usually graze on poor land or near garbage sites.
Rubbish laying scattered outside the bins (probably by people looking for stuff to recycle - that's an occupation for some here).
Watermellon season has arrived.
Hard to see but this little river is full of rubbish. Most rivers in China are seriously polluted or have run dry due.
Sweet potato seller. These are about the only cooked foods I'll risk consuming outdoors as they at least have a skin that can be peeled off. Anything else and I usually get diarrhea afterwards.
Took this screenshot of a jersey advertising what a rider can carry in its pockets. Just goes to show the difference in thinking between Chinese riders/marketers and western marketers. Have often seen riders having a few fags before a ride.
A little restaurant selling baozi, a very popular bun with meat/veg on the inside.
This lovely lady was cutting her nails on the bus and nails flying everywhere. The way you can spot a country person in China is either by their clothing, their hairstyle or else they will have a big bunch of keys and a nail clippers attached to their belt.
For me these photos represent the remnants communism, despite all the changes in China, the fundamentals remain the same to me. These are public toilets so they are communal. Anything communal in China is not treated with any respect. By that I mean it doesn't really deserve much attention so cleaning of said area is extremely limited. Have a few Japanese classmates who showed me a picture of a Japanese toilet. You could literally eat your dinner on the toilet bowl 'twas so clean. The smell in Chinese public toilets, even restaurant toilets is pretty bad. I had to flush 3 peoples worth of crap as well before I used this toilet.
This lady sells sweets and drinks at the bus station. She's a hardy bit of stuff. Her hands could tell a thousand stories going by how worn and dirty they are.
Here are the flies I mentioned earlier. The whole place is full of them and they drive me mad. I go around swatting them and I feel a bit weird because nobody else is inclined to take any notice of them. Anytime a bluebottle comes into the house in Ireland our first reaction is to kill it. Complete opposite here. Just let them be.
This one was taken in a supermarket. These are the knives used to cut up the fruit. I once saw one of the Uighurs (Western Chinese usually from Xinjiang) using a knife he used to cut the fruit for cleaning his fingernails. At other times you'd see them cleaning their ears with knives. In fact, a lot of Chinese males grow one fingernail long so they can use it to clean their ears. I find it disgusting but I suppose it's fairly practical. We all pick our noses in private and scratch our holes etc. The Chinese just seem to perform these rituals in public.0 -
Here are the dodgy bananas I'd talked about before. About 5 years ago you could only get the black ones.
AQI and PM2.5 readings for the past few days have been really low. Makes a huge difference here. In fact, last Sunday I though I was back home as it was actually cloudy and cold and you weren't sure if it was going to rain or if the sun was going to come out and split the rocks. First time I've ever experienced that feeling here.
This is a familiar scene from the streets of Beijing and one I enjoy seeing. A group of men are gathered around 2 Chinese chess players. When They move the chess pieces they slam them down on the board as if really aggressively. But it's all just for drama. No doubt, there's a few bob at stake here as well.
Another thing I like about China is that they just setup food stalls wherever there's space and BBQ away. No permits required I'm sure or applications to the council. Just tableschairs, some charcoal and grub and bobs your uncle. I keep my distance though as usually I get the diarrhea from this stuff.
This restaurant seems to be a throwback to the Mao days with all of the staff dressed in army outfits. The big statue of the man himself is also a bit of a giveaway. The sign overhead reads Mao's Homemade Dishes. Almost every cheapish restaurant uses the characters for homemade (家菜) despite hem being full of MSG. After a while, every Chinese dish begins to taste the same and I usually wake up in the middle of the night like I've eaten sand, my mouth does be so dry.
These little shops selling honey seem to be all the rage at the moment.0 -
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You missed the part about my Borat shorts so on the Tuesday session I did down by Tiananmen Square. I got some quare looks so I did.
'Twas actually a friend that suggested throwing in more pics of daily things to liven it up. I guess going on about watts this and watts that can get a bit boring. Any other suggestions for the last few entries? Leaving middle of June.0 -
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2013/14 : Week 36 – Build 04/09
Mon – TT79 – TR Joe Devel 15, 30, 45, 18sec Billets
This was a tough little cookies but I’m getting much stronger on these short intense efforts with 15-20sec rest in between each interval. Try to keep the mind focused on something during the interval is key. Also, being comfortable on the bike is very important I’ve found. Have started incorporating more stretching into my daily routine and it helps me I think.
Tues – 1. Morning Stretches #4; Olympic Park Sprints; Evening Stretches #1
Met up with the lads from SERK on Tues eve. Despite leaving in plenty of time I still managed to arrive late. Hadn’t been out there since last September and wasn’t 100% sure of the route but didn’t think it would be a big deal getting there. Went a bit too far east as it’s on the NE of the city and then any road I tried going on to come back was blocked and a security guard ended up getting right peed off with me because I wouldn’t listen to him when he told me there were no bikes allowed into a park I wanted to go through. Had to give in when he caught my handlebars and it was fairly obvious he was pissed with me. Eventually found the meetup point and joined in. twas deadly craic. Hadn’t been on a group ride like this since the last Swords club league race and it was kinda similar except we had a sprint prime or 2 on each lap and I managed to get them all apart from the 1st lap so I think my sprinting has improved a lot from last year. Was a nice evening although the air still isn’t the best even on a fairly clear night and I felt a bit of head cold coming on when I got back.
Wed – Morning Stretches #5
Turs – L2W2: Posture Correction #1; TT80 – TR Deerhorn 1(4x5) Criss Cross Session; Evening Stretches #2
Throat was fairly killing me today but I had some Lemsip I brought over with me and took a few and just drank loads of fluids with ginger. Improved and said I’d do the turbo session and see how I felt. Wasn’t in great form so just did ½ of it but it was still worth it as twas tough but not a killer.
Fri – Race Tuneup
Headed out to Olympic Park again just for a few sprints and rode by the meetup point just to be sure I wasn’t going to get lost again and end up missing the bus. 5 sprints at 80-90% and an easy ride back. Nearly got taken out then in the evening coming back from a Specialized shop where I was registering for a TT for 24 may. A lady cycling along jut swerves for no apparent reason and I had to skid but skidding on a roadbike doesn’t really slow one down much. Luckily I avoided her.
Sat – Race 1 - Shimano Series
The original plan was to do 2 races on Sat. There were a few different cats, one for 31-45 yr olds at 27km, a few others and an Elite cat at 54km. Then during the week I got an email from Shannon saying we could only do one so I thought I’d do the easier of the 2 and maybe win a prize as cash prizes here can be quite substantial. Rumour had it they had cars at a competition once as prizes. Got to the race and we were told all of us foreigners were in with the Elites. No surprise when I thought about it as having foreigners at a race adds to the flashiness. We took a bus there from SERKs storage facility in the NE of Beijing. Met a guy called Steve who works in Mongolia and who, back in the day rode semi-pro in France and even raced with Roche before he went onto bigger and better things. He said he was a class rider, an all rounder with a lovely style of pedalling. I mentioned to him that I lived in Finglas, where Roche did his apprenticeship (think it was in Finglas anyway with the old milk company there) and he said he remembered before Roche came over to France that all the lads in the place got together and each man/woman gave a donation to help him get by over there. Fair play to them all.
Then Ines arrived. Ines Brunn is her full name and she owns a fixie bike shop here in Beijing. She’s originally from Germany. I first came across her on the net when I was doing some research on foreigners who are on the bike scene here. She can do awesome bike tricks like standing on the handlebars while the bike is going round as well as all sorts of superwoman tricks. She told me she started off doing gymnastics at a young age in Germany and then got sick of that as it was too regimented and then got into cycling tricks which is an ancient sport apparently in Germany but the crowd teaching her were very strict as well. She wanted to spice things up by mixing her gymnastics background with her bike skills but was shunned from doing so. I think people eventually gave in as she’s pretty persuasive. She speaks pretty good Chinese and is doing quite well for herself here. See www.natooke.com for her site but check out the videos of her tricks here or just Youtube her (Ines Brunn). She’s unbelievable. We drove on and picked up an American lad, David. Nice aul skin. Had a track background and raced a lot on the track in Plano, Texas. I think Armstrong is from there or maybe trained there. David was fierce chatty altogether and has a background in track cycling. He works with Ines in Natooke. By the way, the brand name of her bikes is “flying Banana” and David was wearing one of these FB cycling hats. 2 of them seem to get on pretty well. The German and the Yank. They know how to forget their history at least whereas if that was a Chinese and a Japanese the animosity from the Chinese to the Japanese is still unbelievable (probably coz they’re always showing shows on tv where the Japs are slaughtering the Chinese). David was telling a few funny stories, one in which he was using the wrong tones in Chinese. Chinese is a tonal language so depending on the way you pronounce a word it could potential have 5 different meanings. The shop sells a lot of Respro masks to filter air pollutants and a mask in Chinese in kou3zhao4, 口罩. That's a 3rd tone and 4th tone. However he was saying kou3jiao1, 口交， which sounds pretty similar and means oral sex. So David was asking customers did they want head instead of did they want to look at masks which must have been quite confusing. He said he has sold plenty of masks. I didn’t ask anymore questions and moved to the back of the bus. ☺
So we got there and received the good news we were being thrown in with the Elites. Was thinking it might not be such a bad thing as the skill level will be much higher and therefore safer. But then I started seeing these serious looking lads with savage legs and really built like pros, i.e. skinny but muscly. Not a pick of fat on them. Chinese people are fairly lean in general but Chinese athletes are seriously lean and fit looking. Anyway, I just said I’d try and hang in for a lap or 2 and see how things panned out. We had about a 3 hour wait but Shannon had a tent setup and he’s a distributor for SWIFT frames in China. They’re a South African company and sponsor Drapac Cycling from Oz. Lovely frames. I rented a SWIFT bike here for a few weeks last year when I was waiting on a replacement frame (frame arrived and chainstay was cracked as the packaging was poor) and it was pretty decent but the Chinese frame I have is just as good if not better. Once you don’t go buying a Chinarello or some other blatant knock off you should worry too much about Chinese build frames IMO. We signed on and were given our numbers and transponders. 200RMB for the transponder and the money is returned after the race once you return it. The whole setup was really slick and there was a great carnival atmosphere there with all the bike stalls. The way the cycling world works here is much different to back home. An event like this is a great way for bike distributors to meet up and come face to face with potential customers. Trade shows are huge over here and the main way of making contacts in any industry. They may appear a waste of time but its quite the opposite. Had a gawk around at all the flash gear. Some of the rides the Chinese lads were on must have been upwards of 5k easily. Road biking is definitely on the rise here while Mtn biking is already quite big.
It was easy enough to keep warm as it was about 25deg. Myself and Shannon went out and rode the course anti-clockwise while the womens race was going ahead. Seeing as we’re foreigners the marshalls kinda let us away with it. We didn’t meet any Chinese riders on it. It was fairly flat with about 10m of a rise over the 4.3km circuit. A few dodgy corners with an s-bend (lots of dust on one of them which should have been swept off the road) after 300m and then straight into a strong headwind, another left hander and hammering it with a tail wind and one more narrow 90deg turn onto the finishing straight. Not very technical but a tough little circuit when riding with what would probably be A1/2s back home and I’m only an A3. I headed off at about 2 on my own for a WU and got back just in time to start queuing up. The riders wait under tents to shade them and then we were all called to the start line and its panic stations trying to get to the front. The lads had kept a place for me at the front of the tents so we all got to the 2nd row under the start/finish line. Again, twas a class setup with barriers, kite and the finish line clearly marked. Loads of photographers lining the barriers and a guy on a loudspeaker (Chinese love their loudspeakers, usually beggars on the subway sing songs and have a big loudspeaker in a bag so you know they’re coming, mot of them are genuine though so its nice to give them a few bob as I bet they’re life hasn’t been too good to them) telling us to get ready and then the airhorn sounds and the madness started. Attacks right from the start and as usualy Itried to follow all of them instead of conserving enrgy and letting 2 or 3 go before having a go. Burned 2-3 matches on the 1st lap closing gaps and then at the start of the 2nd lap I made another big effort and got across to a group and we stayed away ½ a lap maybe before things slowed. Came around the back end of the course and I felt like I had eaten sand my mouth was so dry and I needed a breather. 3 lads made a break and I should have gone with them, I knew it I should have went but didn’t and then another 2 went and I still didn’t go and then I waited and waited and went in the next move but that went nowhere fast and it was like this for the rest of the race. The break was gone after lap 2 and they went on to contest the win while we all attacked each other which was fairly futile. It turned out to be a great training day, like most of my races last year. I’ve definitely improved as I could make a lot more big efforts compared to this time last year but now I need to be smart and try not burn so many matches so quickly. Would be nice to have a power meter to gauge my efforts better. I dropped out on lap 9 as my legs were killing me. Spent a lot of time on the front and the constant slowing down speeding up killed me but it I had great fun. Shannon finished in the bunch I dropped out of while the 2 other lads came in in groups behind that group. Not sure who the winner was but I believe there will be a report on it sometime this week online. Will try and find it.
Our driver dropped us off on the equivalent of the M50, just pulled over on the hard shoulder and said, right lads, this should be safe enough here. In fairness, the traffic goes slower here and even though we were cycling against it (just for 50m) we got off safely. Shannon uses a great anecdote to describe traffic here in China, which I’ve pasted in here:
“SB: And there is one other concept that happens here which I call “negotiated flow ...” In Western cities, we have rule sets where you have a bike lane, a pedestrian zone and a car zone, and there are strong rules for everyone. So if you are moving in the car zone, you indicate, you leave space. If you are going to walk across the road, you look both ways and wait for the green man.
Here in China, you have this kind of mixed concept of everything where chickens, people, bicycles, cars just go everywhere across the road and the pedestrian space. But the difference in that system is that each of those objects has to negotiate personally.
Therefore, you have a system of moving through. Because there are loose sets of rules, when you come to an intersection, everything slows down because they don’t know who should be first since there is no steadfast rule, and you don’t know if someone is going to come flying out of some blind corner. So everyone slows down, you look everyone in the eye, and then you personally negotiate the space, which makes it very, very safe. And if something goes wrong, by the time you’ve slowed down to that speed, it’s just not dangerous at all”.
He’s really spot-on in his assessment here and I’m actually starting to find cycling here safer than back home where there are lunatics flying by and buzzing you is fairly common. Anytime I go out behind the airport I can’t wait to get onto the backroads. Also, the chances of someone abusing you if you’re cycling 2 abreast are quite high or getting something thrown out the window at you seems to be quite common now. Not sure where all the hatred stems from but over here it’s completely different. It’s a first come first served situation. If the cyclist gets to the place he wants to go first the car will duly oblige. Given the fact Ireland is relatively traffic free (compared to here) I often wonder why people are in such a hurry to get where they’re going. It’s a real shame Ireland is turning into such a nasty place for cyclists. Now you do get the odd asshole here but the population density of assholes in Ireland seems to much higher. I had a nice easy ride home and got some nice photos on the way. It’s a pity the air is so ****ty here though as my throat was starting to hurt again and my eyes watering. Still, I do miss home a lot at this stage and am looking forward to getting back soon. Only about 3 more of these posts to go.
Sun – Rest
Summary
Overall, a pretty intense week with a TSS of over 500. Mainly short rides with a lot of high intensity work, which is what is needed for racing. Am lacking the top end speed as the pros say and you only get that by racing I find. Diet is going well and the stretching is helping me. I was pretty stiff on Sat night from being in the drops for so long so Sunday was all about recovery and just taking it easy.
Great reading LCDs blog of The RAS. Must be something else to compete in an event like that. Hope to do it one day or something like it.
Goals for the week
• Complete 2 midweek sessions and a TT at weekend
• 2 core workouts
• Fix my cleats, knees still not right
RACE
Shimano poster in a Specialized shop. Registered there for a TT for next week. some really nice equipment in there. Specialized (闪电）are really well thought of here in China and target the higher end consumer segment much like back home and everywhere really. Them and Trek are probably the 2 most respected brands here with their clever marketing strategies.
Some of the bikes on show were savage looking. Money is no objective for a lot of people here. You're either poor, miidle class or stinking rich here.
Steve who rode with Steven Roches, now works in Mongolia with a company who service the ginat trucks that work on the mines. He said the way it works there is that if the wheel of the truck isn't taller than the person fixing it then don't bother wasting your time. The big gg's is in the big wheels.
Ines
Shannon
David
Not too often I see cyclists smoking but even over here to foreigners even smoke and cycle.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5541/14210405522_97178e0d17_z.jpg
Funny the way Beijingers talk to police here. Negotiation is key and having foreigners in the van helps as nobody wants to lose face. we were eventually llowed through the barrier.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2936/14026350418_358290b481_z.jpg
These racks are great for storing bikes.
Racks 2
Me and Steve
Tents
Cannondale tent
Ines doing a relatively simple handstand on her fixie.
Ines and Shannon for Beijing Bike Week IN 2013.0 -
pprendeville wrote: »You missed the part about my Borat shorts so on the Tuesday session I did down by Tiananmen Square. I got some quare looks so I did.
'Twas actually a friend that suggested throwing in more pics of daily things to liven it up. I guess going on about watts this and watts that can get a bit boring. Any other suggestions for the last few entries? Leaving middle of June.
More pics of Peking duck please 0 -
HUTONG
Meat being sold in the hutongs. Remember it's about 25deg and not a refrigerator in site. You'd better not have a sensitive stomach or else you'd want to absolutely blow this away in oil.
Hutong trash collector. I wonder would the guys in Dublin City Coucil ride these?
The hutongs are a hive of activity here. Narrow streets and mainly one storey buildings, the real Beijing is found here. People literally live on top of each other despite no high rises. But everyone seems not to mind.
A young girl prepping veg for dinner. You'd usually only see this in the countryside. Lovely to see a child helping out with things like this.
BEIJING
Beijing bikes, equivalent of Dublin bike. Look pretty decent actually. Not sure if they get much use though. Ines said they do but i haven't seen them on the roads that much, just the odd one.
Temple
You often see kids standing on the carriers of bikes as the Mam cycles along, always with no helmets. Here the passenger is standing on the floor area of the ebike. Modes of transport here are so different and nothing is unusual. The woman saw me taking the photo and as I passed I said I had never seen anything like that in my country and she just smiled. They love being photographed.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2924/14210382872_637d0695ae_z.jpg[/IMG]
Trash collectors. These guys probably just go around collecting scrap and sell it on.
This guy is not taking any chances in Beijing traffic. He might be more suited to Sellaafield or some such place.
BIRDS NEST
Birds nest
Huge screen near Olympic Park.
Olympic pool at night0 -
MISC
Staff of the restaurant lining up for their daily criticism. This all originated when Mao Zedong instigated the cultural revolution to purge his so called rivals/enemies. The whole thing sent China backwards 25 years and millions died in the ensuing famine/campaigns which followed. A royal eff up if ever there was one.
Outdoor restaurant in downtown Beijing.
The sea that is Beijing traffic.
This is a common scene. People transporting just about anything they can get onto a bike.
Only copped on what the hoops on the poles were for this week when I saw girls throwing some sort of ball up in the air with the objective to get them through the hoops.
You actually find some nice ancient and modern architecture here but it's the commy buildings from the 60s-80s that look terrible and really make the place look dreary especially in winter.
These lads and lasses are from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. They have this big massive pipe and do be smoking it in the halls and the lobby of our accommodation. No wifi in the rooms so I was in the lobby and took this pic. The smoke from it smells much nicer than cigarette smoke but my throat was on bits after it.
CARREFOUR
Nothing goes to waste in terms of consuming every body part here in China.
Not sure do we eat these back home. I've kinda got used to eating them now and eat the eyes and the rain of the fish. Imagine they're much safer than the brain of a cow.
Beijing belly tops. When it gets hot here, men usually roll up there tops like so. They are usually middle aged and overweight.
ADVERTISING
Bay watch style modelling for Monton products.0 -
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I'm contemplating cutting my top in 1/2 for added effect
As for the beef, I'm planning on getting suspended after winning next years RAS only to make my comeback in The Vuelta and winning it comfotably with a 5-6minute margin going into the last day. Easy easy Japaneesy.
A few pics from the race. Suffering in all of them as the pace was high and it was into the wind on this section.
Lots of pushing and shoving to get into a decent position on the start line. The guys in the Trek outfits were very strong and were given a few metres on everyone else. One of them went on to win it followed by a Specialized rider. It was a really strong field of about 84 riders.
I had killed myself to get into this position near the front but on the next lap I realised I'd done too much too soon and missed the break of the day.
The leaders have about 200m on us at this stage. The 1st lad is English. Very strong on the flat. I tried staying on his wheel most of the rest of the race as he's big and you get a lot of shelter.
Keep an eye out there on the last fella. Sponsored by UCC Bikes, a Chinese up and coming bike manufacturer and OEM.
These were my 3 team mates who made it across to the group I was in (you can see us up ahead). The 3 Amigos. They all finished the race while I dropped out of lap 9 as the legs won the battle with the mind today. They were just spent after the effort on the 1st 2 laps. There's always the next race though.0 -
2013/14 : Week 37 – Build 05/09
Mon – Rest
Still pretty wrecked from last week so no harm in having another day off.
Tues – Easy ride to visa office and Specizlized shop
My wife needs a re-entry visa for getting back into Ireland so I had to drop out some documents to the Irish visa office. Thought it was open til 5 but it was 4:30 so that was annoying. Had to pick up my number from a Specialized shop for a tT I’m doing at the weekend. They gave me handy little thing that goes on the back break that holds the number. Saw some lovely hutongs today as I was relying on the Garmin for directions. The hutongs are the old streets of Beijing that are like a maze and usually only pedestrians are on them. Found a nice place to go for a swim as well near the zoo. Water doesn't look too bad and there was a fella who had just got out. He said it was nice and wanted to know if I was going in for a dip and I kitted out in cycling gear. J Savage weather today, not a cloud in the sky and the air quality index was pretty good. When it’s like this Beijing is nice but my nose and throat still get irritated from the car fumes.
Went to see a fantastic movie this evening with a classmate. Twas the Ireland China Network that have these movie nights every now and again and this movie was called “China Heavyweight”. It was on in a lovely little hostel called Fly by Knight Courtyard, situated in a hutong near Dongsi subway. Really cool little place. 80RMB entry and loadsa pizza and beers for 5RMB followed by a talk given by a lad called Murray Greig who works with The China Daily. He’s Canadian, used to be a boxer and now writes about it. Boxing was banned in China from 1959 to 1987 as it was deemed too violent and western. The movie was based in Sichuan province (where the big earthquake was a few years ago) and revolves around 3 fellas, 2 who are aspiring to be pros and one who coaches but wants one more round in the ring. The 2 aspiring pros are young and from the countryside and hence have the burden of expectation on their shoulders of finding a wife and being able to provide for their parents in the future (I thank God I’m not Chinese) which seems to be the common theme for most peasants (and even city dwellers although not so much these days). The coach, who used to be pro, can see the 2 lads potential but wants them to work hard and lay a good foundation before considering trying the pro scene. One of them has confidence issues in the ring (scared of losing) while the other fighter is a bit cocky but lacking in the willpower to put in the hard work. I could see so many parallels with cycling. The sacrifices these guys put in was unbelievable. To even fight as an amateur here in China takes balls as it’s really a road to nowhere unless you’re exceptional. Chinese athletes have a history of being treated very badly. Lots of stories of gymnasts in particular who are chosen from a young age and taken from their parents in order to represent their country in 12 years time at the Olympics without receiving any education, just train everyday, 7 days a week and maybe see the parents once a year at New Year if they’re lucky. They are brainwashed into thinking it is their duty and if they fail they will have let down their parents and their country, that sort of patriotic thinking is still very strong here. I read a great article as well about the cycling scene here in China and why it is more desirable to be a good amateur than to turn pro as the money is better and coaches use pro-athletes to further their own careers and make money out them. A corrupted system similar to so many other things here involving sports and athletes with great potential. There’s one scene where the coach is choosing young fighters with potential and he asks one of girls what time she got up and how far did she have to walk to school this morning. Her reply was that she was up before 7 and had a 2 hour walk to school. Reminded me of a piece I read about Nairo Quintano who cycling something like a 1700m mountain everyday to school and back. Incredible when you think about it. The movie is definitely worth a watch and is subtitled and available on youtube I’m told. Definitely no Hollywood ending for any of the characters.
Murray went on to talk about how big pro-fighting is getting in Macao and where it will be the centre of the boxing world in the next few years. Apparently the casino trade is booming there and the revenue was seven times greater than sin city (las Vegas). He also said boxing is like no other sport in that once you get in the ring you’re on your own, just you and your fists and your opponent. Glad I never went down that road. “The sign of a good boxer is not how good a punch he can throw but how many he can take and still go on to win the fight”. A great night and watching a movie outdoors in the heat is much more enjoyable than any cinema experience I’ve ever had. Over indulged in the pizza though so I’ll have to work it off the next few days.
Wed – TT81: TR Guard 7(2mins 274W w/4 bursts)
This wasn’t such a bad session. I had recovered well by this stage and it was 2 minutes at 274W with 4x6sec bursts during the 2 minutes. The only thing was that it was 28deg indoors and despite having the fan on full blast right in front of my face I was sweating like a pig. Lots of water and an ice cold smoothie afterwards helped. It’s only going to get hotter from here on in though so these indoor sessions will be tough but they’re efficient. 1 hour on the turbo is like going for a 2 hour ride.
Turs – Olumpic Park Laps
It's such a pleasure training in 28degrees at 7:30 in the evening. Only problem was the air wasn’t great and despite wearing a special filter thing in my nose my and mainly trying to breather through my nose, I got a sore throat after about 30minutes into this spin. Passed 2 foreigners while I was out there. Actually one in Sky Kit rode by while I was waiting around for a friend so I decided to try and catch him. Never caught him but passed another lad kitted out in Garmin gear who was riding in the cycling lane which ends abruptly but I didn’t have a chance to tell him as I was doing my best to catch up with the other lad. Anyway, that never happened so I rode around for another lap on my own and waited again for the friend. The foreigner in Garmin kit rolled up and what would know only he was a paddy as well. Small world. Turns out he’s from Drogheda and owns a business selling golf tours to Chinese. Then Koobcam rolled up and we said we’d better get the show on the road. All the Chinese lads there were yapping away and eying each others gear and having a few smokes. Typical, they chat away for ages and don’t actually get on with the business at hand of riding their bikes. Did 4 more laps before calling it a night. Nice to have met another Irish fella and useful contact for the future. Tiz all about contacts out here.
Fri – Morning Stretching #9; Evening Stretching #4
Sat – Morning Stretching #10; TT82: TR Bradley 4(10mins 243-253W w 4x8sec bursts)
Felt great during this session. Usually 10minute intervals on the turbo are tough especially when they are close to threshold but this has bursts every 2 minutes which helped to break it up a little and didn’t have me bored to death. Going from 250W up to 450W for 8sec wasn’t too hard but coming back down and maintaining the 250W again for another 2 minutes was hard. The body instinctively wants to go as easy as possible after a hard effort so this is good training. Had the AC on in the room which seems to have been repaired recently. When I switch it on a load of pipes start noising but it certainly helps bring the temperature down fairly quickly.
Sun – TT83: Pre-Breakfast Fat Burning; TT84: TR Mcadie 4x12min O/U
Had planned on an outdoor spin today but the air wasn’t great and by the time it cleared up it was a bit late. Rain is the problem back home, air quality is the problem here. I think I’d take rain over crap air as the worst you can get is cold. Breathing in those little particles here can cause long term lung damage. It will be interesting to see what the cancer rates are like here in 20-30 years time.
Summary
Another good week down and only 4 more to go to my first race on Irish soil. Can’t wait to get back on Irish roads. I was supposed to do a TT on Saturday but it rained and I wasn’t taking any chances in case I had a spill. Looks like I’ll only have that one race from last week under my belt before getting back so that will work against me. Fixed me cleats and the knees are perfect again. Read a few good articles on how to setup them up. There’s a great video on Youtube by GCN and it outlines how best to setup cleats.
Goals for the week
· 2 core workouts
· 3 turbo sessions midweek
Chinese style apartments. Notice the steel bars covering the windows even up on the top floors. I have a theory that they have these to stop people jumping out..
I’ve noticed that people sleep literally everywhere in Beijing whether they’re working or not. When the heat cranks up in the summer it’s even more common – taxi drivers, old people, students, delivery guys.
This little budgie came outta nowhere and landed on a sign near where I was passing buy. Lovely little guy.
This guy was going round with a loudspeaker on auto asking people did they have any electronic goods they wanted rid of.
I was 1/2 expecting Rodney and Dell Boy to appear from somewhere after siing this. The wheels are blocked with bit of timber to stop dogs/cats peeing on them I was told.
Pedal boats.
Soong Ching Ling, the wife of Sun Yat Sen who founded the Republic of China. Her sister went on to marry Mao Zedong's arch rival Jiang Jieshi who fled to Taiwan after the communists defeated his party.
The Garmin lead me onto some cool back alleys today and I discovered this lane not far from my uni which was covered over to keep out the sun.
Tug boats which ride up and down the canal. Think its 70RMB for a go on them.
Old steam engine which was behind a Russian building.0 -
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Nice looking Chinese style archway leading to the waters edge.
Got a bit lost looking for the embassy so I asked this guy, who is like a taxi, would he show me the place. He asked for 15RMB, I said 10 and that was the deal.
My new Specialized lid.
[IMG]https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2933/14051438740_6ce28470c2_z.jpg This was Murray who has put on a bit of weight since his days in the ring.[/img]
This pic was taken from the 11th floor of a building, which holds the Irish Visa office. Had to pick up a re-entry visa for my wife and luckily there were no complications. Beijing on a clear sunny day looks pretty nice.
Had one of these boyos on the way home from Olympic Park. Absolutely gorgeous. The cakes are home baked. The meat is chopped up and put inside the cake with some green pepper and they add some of the juices as well. A nice treat after a spin.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjg1Mjg5NjY4.html
Link to Des Bishop doing a Chinese tv show. I think about 20-25mins in he's singing The Black and Tans but the rest is in Chinese.0 -
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2013/14: Week 38 – Build 06/09
Mon – Endurance w/12 Sprints @ end
Did a long day on the saddle today. Weather was gorgeous and couldn’t resist heading out. Had a route planned for Sunday but the air wasn’t great but today was ideal. The aul Garmin wasn’t having it though and wouldn't bring up the route but theres a handy feature that navigates to the pindrop area and that brough me to the 1st climb of the day. It’s relatively short at about 5.3km and 218m. It was absolutely boiling today and before I hit this climb about an hour into the ride I’d gone through 3 bottles. Went up at about threshold pace for most of it and then started to go a bit harder towards the end but I died with about 300m to go and had to go under the shade and drink. Mouth was parched and I felt exhausted. I’m blaming the heat but it could be that I needed a day off. Anyway, whatever the problem was I crawled up the last 300m about 5 mins later and was glad to be at the top. Probably not a good idea to attack so hard on the 1st climb of a long day even if I was taking it handy enough in between the climbs. Had a nice descent down the other side.
A friend had told me about a nice climb nearby and I tackled that next. The first bit leads up near a temple and instead of going up to that I took a left and went through and old path and onto a long steady climb of about 15km averaging 5-6%. Didn’t have much water in the bottles at this stage and stopped to ask if there was a shop nearby. I was told about 20km on the other side of the mountain way off in the distance. That had me a little worried as the Garmin was reading 38deg in the open and a cool 30 in the shade J. So I took my time and managed my sips of water carefully. Came across a dead snake on the road at one point. Have only ever come across one live one before and that was in the south of China many moons ago. Some really nice scenery in the area and great to get out of the city with all its hustle and bustle and ****ty air. Finally got to the top and came across a sign saying there was a 13km descent coming up. Wooohooo. That was welcome relief. Passed this place I though might have water on the way down so I turned round and headed back. As is typical of China, there was a small little security building at the entrance with an old man inside smoking. I asked could I get some water while gesturing at the water dispenser and he muttered something which I didn’t understand so I asked again and he pointed at something behind me. It was a big petrol gallon of water which looked fairly suspicious to me. I asked was it clean and I got a nod of the head so I filled up my 2 bottles and off I went. Haven’t died yet or got bad diarrhea so I’ll take his word it was clean. Enjoyed that descent as the roads were wide and even though there were plenty of hairpins, the roads were quiet. A few bikers out with big salutes for the foreigner. I had a quick stop in the next town for a well deserved Cornetto (been a while since I had one of those and will never forget the ads on tv with the opera singer lad “give me one cornetto from HB ice-a cream…”) and and some more drinks and off I went. Came across a nice little river a few km up the road and couldn’t resist dipping my feet in. Felt lovely to have cool clean water in the middle of nowhere in China. That’s a rare site.
Next up was the last climb of the day and I was pretty wrecked at this stage and contemplating just going home. It was about 20km long and about 700m. The heat had me killed at this stage and I must have stopped about 10 times on the way to drink and get some shade. My mouth was going dry the whole time, had to keep sipping and licking my lips. I was like a frog on drugs with the tongue going the whole time. I thought I had reached the top after what seemed like an endless amount of hairpins only to be faced with a 12% gradient for about 1km which really had me on my knees. I finally managed to get to the top without collapsing and rolled on down the climb. Very breezy so had to be careful and before I knew it I was on Miaofeng mountain. Not a chance was I going to the top of that. Instead, I went in to a nice little restaurant (when I say that I mean the food was nice, the actual restaurant itself is a bit of a dive with green mesh put up around the sides to keep out the flies and a handy fly swatter on my table to keep them at bay). Still, its not the décor that’s important, it's the food and the company. The food is always good there although the guy put a bit too much salt in this time and I asked for a bowl of yellow millet porridge and he brought me out nearly a barrel of it so next time I’ll have o specify my quantities a bit clearer. Hate seeing food going to waste. Suffice to say I descended like a stone after the meal. Didn’t feel too bad on the flats on the way home and got in 12 sprints. Always good to do those type of efforts at the end of a long spin when you’re fatigued, kinda simulates the end of a long hard stage in a bunch finish.
Tues – Rest
Wed – Rest
Turs – Morning Stretches #12; TT84 - TR Black Giant 4(4x18-242 Anaerobic Power Bursts); L2W2: posture Correction
Had a great workout on the trainer today after some quality stretching. Feeling a bit more flexible definitely helps. Just need to find a better stretching routine and stick to it. Helps with posture also. Sitting down a lot doesn't help. The seats in our class are like kindergarten seats which I’m sick of at this stage. I have to get up every 10 minutes to stretch. Anyway, I was able to hit all the power intervals for once without too much difficulty so my sprinting is improving. I’ve kinda plateaued recently on Trainerroad and need to do a few harder sessions. In saying that it’s good to finish a session knowing you could give a bit more. Not nice to be killing myself everytime I get on it.
Fri – TT85 – TR Winchell 2(3x4mins 95/100/105% 258W)
Only did ½ of this session as I had the familia coming to town. Felt strong again so a good indicator my form is heading in the right direction. Hadn’t done anything around the 4mins t 270W for a while and my legs were sore after it. Not used to having 3 small ones around and come Friday evening I was knackered. 2 of them didn’t sleep well so I managed about 2 hours sleep in between lots of crying and going from the bed to the floor and back to the bed again. The room I’m staying in is just a single room so when you throw in a wife and 3 small kids into it it gets a bit hectic.
Sat – Rest
Sun – Rest
Summary
Easyish week apart from the ride on Monday. Having the family visit is a great way to switch off from study and training mode but its so easy to go off the rails with rubbish food and my sleep is just all over the place. You get used to living by yourself. Pretty tired of Beijing at this stage. It’s not a family friendly city in the least. Everyone is going 100mph and doing their own thing. Doing a simple thing here like taking a bus or a taxi to the zoo for example can be a nightmare. A lot of taxis will pass you by or just ignore you if you are not they’re type (I guess a family of 5 is not appealing to many taxi drivers). This weekend was a holiday called Dragon boat Festival and also it was children’s day on Sunday (I find it ironic they have a children’s day in a country with a one child policy, granted the law is being relaxed in places) so everyone was out and about with their child. The park was mobbed, twas like going to a concert or something trying to get around. Chinese don’t really do queuing and in general are a little rude (Beijinger’s anyway) so I’m fairly looking forward to getting back to a more civilized place soon.
Goals for the week
· Pass my exams
· Get in a few nice short hill climbs
· 2 core workouts
Misc
Took this this morning while waiting for a bus at a busy junction in my wife’s hometown. There were traffic lights but the lights were just flashing orange the whole time in peak traffic. It’s amazing the amount of different sized vehicles on Chinese roads, everything from electric bikes to BMWs to these little tractors that crawl along at 10-15km/hr. I’m probably taller than the cab on this tractor.
I love these gekos coz they eat mosquitoes. We caught one last night and the girls were screaming and shouting with excitement.
This sign is gas and actually applies to most of the service you get in Beijing.
Been a bit of violence in the western province of Xinjiang recently so security has been stepped up in the capital. These guys have the hood down and are cruising around in lots of places. How bad on a nice summers day.
Hawkers always selling these type of bracelets and what look like Buddha yolks to me. A certain portion of the older generation are mad for holding these ball type bracelets and fiddling with them.
These guys will haul around stuff for you for a small fee. They’re outside a wholesale distribution centre where small shops go to buy clothes and other stuff in bulk.
Coca Cola were doing this promotion on the campus astro today. They had people go inside these giant balls and play soccer. The idea seemed to be to get the people to bump off each other and knock them upside down. Looked like good craic to me.
Cycling
This was my grub in the Miaofeng restaurant after Monday’s long ride. The only problem was the guy put about 100g of salt into the eggs. Next time I’ll have to remember to tell him to go easy on the salt.
Nothing better than getting out of Beijing into the tranquillity of the countryside where the roads are quiet and passers by are fairly amiable. Beijing is in the extreme background about 40km away.
Came across this unlucky snake on the road on Monday. Got rolled over. Had only ever seen one other snake in the wild here going back 10 years but fortunately he was far off and slithered away harmlessly. Not too fond of the aul snakes so I’m not.
This outpost was right on top of a mountain and is more of a tourist attraction but looks like a dwelling in a computer game I used to play years ago called Monkey Island. I was waiting for Guybrush Threepwood to appear of a 3 headed monkey.
The beginning of a 13km downhill section. Badly needed as I had almost run out of water and was about 20km from the next shop in 38deg heat.0 -
2013/14: Week 39 – Build 07/09
Mon – Rest
Tues – TT86 -20Min FTP Test: 280W
Had a good rest going into this having been off the bike for 4 days prior. Still, I wasn’t really looking forward to it as it’s usually 20minutes of brute suffering and this one didn’t disappoint. Last time I did the test I had gone out way too hard and ended up blowing up after 8mins so I had that in mind this time and took it much easier starting off. Got in a great WU and felt strong so all was looking rosy. Got into a nice rhythm and after 10mins I was feeling good. Upped the pace a little and then I started to suffer after 13mins but just focused on keeping a cadence of around 100RPM. 5mins to go and I was hurting. 3mins to go I shifted from 53/16 to 53/15 and upped the cadence a little. Last minute was a killer as ever but my power output at the finish was much higher than the 1st test in March so that was good for my ego. Turned out I’d improved by 24W so I was well chuffed with that. Will do another test in another 5-6 weeks time but I don't expect such a significant gain if any at all.
My tips for doing a good FTP test are follows.
· Get a good rest going into the test, 3-4 days of complete rest, don’t go near the bike and you’ll be well motivated for it or if not, at least well rested.
· Have the AC or a fan on full blast to keep you cool and drinks and a towel at hand.
· Don’t go out too hard. Build up the power slowly as opposed to going out really hard and then not being able to push it for the last 5 mins when you want to lay everything you have on the table.
· Get in a good WU. The 20min test protocol on Traineroad is perfect IMO.
Wed – Pre + Post-ride Stretching; 香山3 x VO2 Max Efforts & 6 Overgeared Sprints
Exams finished today so while others were treating themselves to a few beers and a night on the tear I was treating myself to some hillclimbing. I had a few KOMs in mind and the first one was a 2.6km climb with some nice steep sections with constantly changing gradient. Weather was amazing with blue skies and about 35degrees so I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Rode hard all the way up and kept the cadence real high Chris Froome style but had to pull in after the end of the KOM due to the heat. Was boiling and needed lots of water. Lovely to look out over Beijing in the peace and quiet up there. The next 2 climbs were of similar length but one wasn’t so steep while the other had a long 8-10% section. Rode the first one in what I though was a really good time but about 150m to go I had to pull over as I ½ blew up. The next one wasn’t so good. Unfortunately the Garmin never recorded the last 2 efforts but I managed to shave 40secs off my old time which I set in November and got the KOM also.
Turs – Morning Stretching #13; L2W2: Posture Correction #3
Some of the exercises in the posture correction look easy but coming close to the end of the reps is tough. Prone snow angels and Timberrs are probably the toughest of these but I can feel an improvement.
Fri – Morning Stretching #14; TT87 – TR Goethe 2x10mins 280W
Had a big ride planned for tomorrow so I only did ½ of this workout. Was supposed to be 4x10mins at threshold but I knew if I did that my legs would be hurting for tomorrow so I just about completed 2 sets. Big step up to be doing threshold at this level from what I was used to (256W).
Sat –Yongning Tombs Endurance Ride & 6 sprints, Post-ride Stretching
Up at 5 am and what a day. Rained on Friday so that washed away a lot of the pollution. AQI was about 58 and PM2.5 was at 8 which must be similar to Irish levels. Unbelievably clear. Wasn’t expecting too many out on the road but the Chinese are early risers and there were plenty of people out and about jogging, cycling, walking but not much traffic thank God. Rode out to near the 4th ring road north and met an Irish guy who has been out here a good number of years. Rode a lot as a junior and even went on a training camp down in Carlow with a certain Allan Peiper who is now with BMC and seems to have brought Philippe Gilbert back to life again. So we rode out to Yongning which is about 40K north of the 6th ring road north of Beijing. The 6th ring road circumnavigates the city of Beijing and must be close to 200km long. Once we got outside it the roads quietened down a lot. I had got an email from The Beijing Peloton during the week saying they were doing their weekly Sat morn ride out here so the plan was to meet up with them. However we couldn’t find them and said we’d follow there route and hopefully bump into them later. There was some tasty climbing and we started off with 12km peaking out at 472m and the rest of the day was up and down after that. We finally bumped into the Peloton as I was about to get a nice pie but unfortunately I didn’t have time and we went about catching up with them as they were motoring along on the flat. A few km later we finally made contact and sat at the back. There were some rolling hills and we got shed around here so we took it at our own pace to climb back up the way we had come. Roads were amazing, all tarred as smooth as a baby’s backside. The story is that Beijing had loads of money left over from the Olympics and used a lot of it to improve roads or just build lots of new ones. Great for us cyclists. Was nice to try a different route other than the west of Beijing. North is much nicer and the roads seem to be more like back home, a bit more rolling terrain. I did 6 hard sprints on the way back as it’s a good time to do them when you’re tired. All in all, 188km at a decent pace. I should be well able for the distances when racing but it’s the top end stuff I’m a bit worried about. Will probably take me 4-5 races to get up to speed again.
Sun – L2W2: Posture Correction
Just listening to one of Graeme Streets old podcasts on recovery. His motto is everyday is a recovery day. Some fantastic tips in them and so much of it common sense. I’ve kinda neglected the core work for the last 2 months and hope to get back into the swing of it again as it’s really important not just for on the bike but also off it. Today was the first day I haven’t been stiff after such a long ride and I credit that to the improved core and also the stretching I’ve been doing along with proper hydration. All adds up and I guess it's the marginal gains theory.
Summary
Happy with the increased threshold. It’s not the be all and end all however. More important to be able to repeat high intensity efforts and make it into the break or force the break. Also, I’ll be hoping to use my head more than my legs this year as I can be a rather foolish trying to get in every move and ending up spent then when the break does go. Have got in a nice bit of distance work recently so now I need to fine-tune things like muscular force, hill repeats etc. Before I would have been a bit of a masher but I’ve changed my cadence style to more of a spinner and need to get in a few low cadence sessions soon. Got the Skratchlabs portable cookbook on iBooks this week so I’m looking forward to being able to use this (or more specifically asking my wife to make stuff in it as I’m not ½ as good a cook/baker as her) when I get back. No more buying energy bars, or at least much less. Ditto for gels. Will try and use honey from now on.
Goals for the week
· 4 Core Sessions
· 1 Muscular Force spin
· No accidents before leaving
Misc
taken close to top of Xiangshan.
This was taken around 5:30 at a level crossing. A train with about 50 carriages attached was just after passing. They don’t do short trains in China.
This statue had a bit of a Russian feel to it.
These were taken close to the 1st peak of the day. There were a lot of old quarries on the lower slopes and as we ascended the views got better and better. The rain has turned everything nice and green.0 -
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