22 December 2008
8 December 2008
2 December 2008
Flachau
Ski season 08/09 day two. Me, Bill and Toby hit the groomers in Flachau, home of the great Herman Maier. Nice runs, good weather, virtually no people around and just a few crusty, bobbly bits. Early-season skiing... can't beat it.
26 November 2008
Zwölferhorn
Stefan at work has been persuading me to climb the Zwölferhorn at night during winter for ages and yesterday it finally happened. We were joined by a couple of others, Sebastian and Andrea and set off at about 7pm near Tiefbrunnau (870m) with snow shoes, carrying our board on backpacks.
It was snowing lightly, but still quickly worked up a sweat as Stefan set a ferocious pace at the front. Mostly it was steep going, and the final 200 vertical metres were an absolute killer as we trudged straight up a liftline.
Bizzarely enough, we were not the only ones. We reached the summit (1522m) at 8.15 and there were already six or seven more ski tourers milling around toasting their achievements with schnapps. In Franzl's Hütte, the hut near the top, another 10 or so hardy souls were eating gulasch soup and drinking beer.
We began the descent around 10pm, and it was then I realised that my board was set up for a goofy rider. Unfortunately I use a regular stance, so my first go on a snowboard in eight years meant I rode backwards with my feet pointing in the wrong direction.
But that didn't really matter. The descent was a blast, some nice pockets of powder and very few stones poking through. An awesome experience and definitely one I want to repeat before the winter is out.
It was snowing lightly, but still quickly worked up a sweat as Stefan set a ferocious pace at the front. Mostly it was steep going, and the final 200 vertical metres were an absolute killer as we trudged straight up a liftline.
Bizzarely enough, we were not the only ones. We reached the summit (1522m) at 8.15 and there were already six or seven more ski tourers milling around toasting their achievements with schnapps. In Franzl's Hütte, the hut near the top, another 10 or so hardy souls were eating gulasch soup and drinking beer.
We began the descent around 10pm, and it was then I realised that my board was set up for a goofy rider. Unfortunately I use a regular stance, so my first go on a snowboard in eight years meant I rode backwards with my feet pointing in the wrong direction.
But that didn't really matter. The descent was a blast, some nice pockets of powder and very few stones poking through. An awesome experience and definitely one I want to repeat before the winter is out.
25 November 2008
Ski Season 08/09 Day One
Shaking off an appalling hangover, we make it to Schladming for the first day's skiing of the season. For November, the snow was great on the runs, though understandably thin off piste. Always fun going in a group, we spent a good few hours cruising around before everyone realised that their legs were hurting and they probably should have done more exercise over summer.
24 October 2008
Couriering Clip
Selection of the best bits from w3 Films' footage, who followed me around for a few days in Auckland back in 2005. Check out a trailer for their full length messenger film, The Godmachine.
Higher resolution version here.
23 October 2008
3 October 2008
Ellmaustein at Sunset
The results of a quick hike after work up to the 1000m high Ellmaustein overlooking Fuschl.
29 September 2008
UCI World Championships
Always an exciting race and great season closer, the UCI Road World Championships were held this year in Varese, Italy.
Although unfortunately not there in person and recovering from a diabolical hangover following a visit to Munich's Oktoberfest the day before, I wrote live updates and an overall event report for Pedalmag.com, a Canadian cycling website.
10 September 2008
Eddy Merckx
He was once known as the Cannibal, a bike racer who won five Tours de France and in 1971 was victorious in half the races he took part in. Eddy Merckx, now 62-years-old with hairy legs and a small beer pouch, is justifiably still referred to as the sport's greatest champion and it was an honour for me and 1350 other cyclists to ride alongside him at Eddy Merckx Classic Radmarathon, held on September 7, 2008.
The 148km race based in Eugendorf marked the end of my mini-comeback season, and after a successful training period and recent good results I was pretty fired up.
However, the first 95km were slightly chaotic as the course was too flat and the speed too low for the bunch to split. Consequently, the lead peloton was well over 100 strong containing many inexperienced and dangerous riders. On one particular descent we reached 90km/h with riders were spread all over the road and oncoming traffic had no choice but to veer out of the way.
After 60km, the police brought us to a halt and told us the event would be cancelled if we didn't stick to the right side of the road.
It was a poor decision to stop us. Many dropped riders caught up, swelling the bunch to greater proportions, and we were just 2km from the first climb. If we'd been left to race, the peloton would have been further shredded and the problem of large groups crossing the centre line avoided.
Ultimately the decision point came on Thalguaegg, with 55km left to race. The hammer went down, and the course became extremely mountainous, splitting the field into little bits.
In fact, the final third of the race contained over 1000m of climbing, adding to the 1200m from the first two-thirds. I found myself in a seven-strong group, and we worked well together not too far down on the leaders.
On the final major climb from Vorderfager up to the Gaisberg I was dropped, but kept to a reasonable pace and after a wild descent managed to bridge back to the others. Then it was a mad, balls-out blast final 8km to the finish.
We caught more riders on the way in to Eugendorf and after a fairly mild sprint, I ended up in 28th in a time of 4hr 15min 51sec.
Philip Götsch was the winner, completing the course in a super-fast 4hr 1min 35sec. Eddy Merckx rode the shorter 110km route, crossing the line with some of his team-mates from his racing days in 3hr 46min.
Couple of news reports from the day; you can see me riding up a hill on the back of our group after 1min 22sec on this one:
And I'm turning a corner with a small bunch around 1min 4sec:
Below: heart rate readings and altitude profile plotted against distance.
The 148km race based in Eugendorf marked the end of my mini-comeback season, and after a successful training period and recent good results I was pretty fired up.However, the first 95km were slightly chaotic as the course was too flat and the speed too low for the bunch to split. Consequently, the lead peloton was well over 100 strong containing many inexperienced and dangerous riders. On one particular descent we reached 90km/h with riders were spread all over the road and oncoming traffic had no choice but to veer out of the way.
After 60km, the police brought us to a halt and told us the event would be cancelled if we didn't stick to the right side of the road. It was a poor decision to stop us. Many dropped riders caught up, swelling the bunch to greater proportions, and we were just 2km from the first climb. If we'd been left to race, the peloton would have been further shredded and the problem of large groups crossing the centre line avoided.
Ultimately the decision point came on Thalguaegg, with 55km left to race. The hammer went down, and the course became extremely mountainous, splitting the field into little bits. In fact, the final third of the race contained over 1000m of climbing, adding to the 1200m from the first two-thirds. I found myself in a seven-strong group, and we worked well together not too far down on the leaders.
On the final major climb from Vorderfager up to the Gaisberg I was dropped, but kept to a reasonable pace and after a wild descent managed to bridge back to the others. Then it was a mad, balls-out blast final 8km to the finish.
We caught more riders on the way in to Eugendorf and after a fairly mild sprint, I ended up in 28th in a time of 4hr 15min 51sec.Philip Götsch was the winner, completing the course in a super-fast 4hr 1min 35sec. Eddy Merckx rode the shorter 110km route, crossing the line with some of his team-mates from his racing days in 3hr 46min.
Couple of news reports from the day; you can see me riding up a hill on the back of our group after 1min 22sec on this one:
And I'm turning a corner with a small bunch around 1min 4sec:
Below: heart rate readings and altitude profile plotted against distance.
3 September 2008
Si Fo Mo In Austria
Old courier buddy Simon Foster Moan visited this week, and got rather excited by the roads and scenery. Known as 'Nana-Four' to his friends, we spent the weekend riding the local routes, while Simon commented constantly on the smoothness of the asphalt. On Sunday, we took on the RC Hallein club run up to Werfenweng, a ski resort about 1000m above sea level, reachable after a 40km ride through the Pass Lueg.
Snapping a spoke on the ascent, Simon was almost ready to pack it in and take the train home. Luckily he had recently discovered the Radler - a local type of shandy popular with cyclists who can't resist the taste of beer mid-ride - and the thought of missing out kept him going to the top.He had his camera out, and I cobbled together a short video from the stuff he filmed. There's also a short post and photos written by Dietmar on the RC Hallein site.
24 August 2008
Festina Radmarathon - UPDATED
Next race on the calendar was the Festina Radmarathon based around Schwanenstadt in the Salzkammergut region on August 15.
I wrote a brief report in German for the RC Hallein website, and for those interested, here's the write-up:
Manche der Freuden, wenn man ein neues Land entdeckt, sind die Überraschungen, nett oder nicht so nett. Ich habe mich für den Salzkammergutradmarathon angemeldet und habe geglaubt es ist nur ein Event für Hobbyfahrer, mit einem kleinen Wettbewerbsvorteil.
In diesem Fall kommt die Überraschung an der Startlinie. Es gab keine Hobbyfahrer, nur circa 100 ernste Rennfahrer, die wie Semiprofis ausschauen. Ich habe ein bisschen Angst bekommen, aber dann waren wir unterwegs und es gab keine Zeit mehr zum Denken.
Die ersten 25km waren unsäglich schnell und die Strecke war mit kleinen Hügeln übersät. Nach 20km war das Peloton total gespalten. Ich habe mich in der zweiten Gruppe mit acht anderen Rennfahrern gefunden.
Die Geschwindigkeit ist hoch, aber konstant, geblieben und wir haben Nußdorf, nach 55km des Rennens, in 90 Minuten erreicht.
Der 766m hohe Berg nach Nußdorf hat einen Wendepunkt markiert. Erstens, auf dem Anstieg, ist der Regen angekommen. Dann wurden manche Fahrer von unserer Gruppe abgeworfen und ich holte mit drei anderen eine weitere kleine Gruppe, die vom ersten Peloton zurückgelassen wurde, ein.
Der Regen ist wieder schwer gefallen, aber nach vielen Jahren in England als Rennfahrer, war ich in meinem Element! Wir haben gut über die hügelige und kurvenreiche Strecke zusammen gearbeitet, und nach drei Stunden und 30 Minuten sind wir 125km gefahren und in der Zielstrecke angekommen.
Ich habe die bemalte Aufzeichnung auf der Strasse gelesen: 5km bis zum Ziel. Die Gruppe ist schneller gefahren. Ein Kilometer: wieder schneller. Fünfhundert Meter, dann 100m. Ein Fahrer der Atterbike Mannschaft hat seinen Sprint begonnen und ich habe ihn verfolgt.
Aber nach weiteren 200 Metern gab es kein Ziel! Wir sind um eine Ecke gekommen und ich habe noch eine Aufzeichnung gelesen: 100m bis zum Ziel. 'Scheiße' sagt der Atterbiker, und ist wieder gesprintet. Ich habe kein Gas mehr gehabt, und bin hinter ihm aber vor den anderen von unserer Gruppe durchs Ziel.
Am Ende habe ich 20. Platz geschafft, noch eine nette Überraschung in Österreich!
Thomas Mair von RC ÄRBO Wels hat mit 3:13 gewonnen. Ulli Öhlböck (Team Müller’s Gasthaus) war Zweiter, und Josef Benetseder (Team Volksbank) Dritter.
Not the best image, but that's me in the black behind the guy from Atterbike
To summarise in English, it was a 125km route littered with little climbs and very few flat sections. I was more than slightly unnerved on the startline when virtually all of the 100 or so starters turned out to be local hotshots and there were even a couple of pros. But once on the road, the peloton fractured quickly and I ended up in the second group. We worked well together, over the major hill at halfway and even through the worsening weather, which by for the final 50km became heavy rain.
The road was marked with 5km to go, down to 100m when a guy from the Atterbike team went for it and I jumped on his wheel. Unfortunately the markings were totally incorrect and we still had another 750m to the line. When the actual finish came into sight we had a small gap over the field and the Atterbiker opened his sprint out again. I couldn't match it, but was still pretty stoked, ending up 20th behind winner Thomas Mair (RC Ärbo Wels).
I wrote a brief report in German for the RC Hallein website, and for those interested, here's the write-up:
Manche der Freuden, wenn man ein neues Land entdeckt, sind die Überraschungen, nett oder nicht so nett. Ich habe mich für den Salzkammergutradmarathon angemeldet und habe geglaubt es ist nur ein Event für Hobbyfahrer, mit einem kleinen Wettbewerbsvorteil.
In diesem Fall kommt die Überraschung an der Startlinie. Es gab keine Hobbyfahrer, nur circa 100 ernste Rennfahrer, die wie Semiprofis ausschauen. Ich habe ein bisschen Angst bekommen, aber dann waren wir unterwegs und es gab keine Zeit mehr zum Denken.
Die ersten 25km waren unsäglich schnell und die Strecke war mit kleinen Hügeln übersät. Nach 20km war das Peloton total gespalten. Ich habe mich in der zweiten Gruppe mit acht anderen Rennfahrern gefunden.Die Geschwindigkeit ist hoch, aber konstant, geblieben und wir haben Nußdorf, nach 55km des Rennens, in 90 Minuten erreicht.
Der 766m hohe Berg nach Nußdorf hat einen Wendepunkt markiert. Erstens, auf dem Anstieg, ist der Regen angekommen. Dann wurden manche Fahrer von unserer Gruppe abgeworfen und ich holte mit drei anderen eine weitere kleine Gruppe, die vom ersten Peloton zurückgelassen wurde, ein.
Der Regen ist wieder schwer gefallen, aber nach vielen Jahren in England als Rennfahrer, war ich in meinem Element! Wir haben gut über die hügelige und kurvenreiche Strecke zusammen gearbeitet, und nach drei Stunden und 30 Minuten sind wir 125km gefahren und in der Zielstrecke angekommen.
Ich habe die bemalte Aufzeichnung auf der Strasse gelesen: 5km bis zum Ziel. Die Gruppe ist schneller gefahren. Ein Kilometer: wieder schneller. Fünfhundert Meter, dann 100m. Ein Fahrer der Atterbike Mannschaft hat seinen Sprint begonnen und ich habe ihn verfolgt.
Aber nach weiteren 200 Metern gab es kein Ziel! Wir sind um eine Ecke gekommen und ich habe noch eine Aufzeichnung gelesen: 100m bis zum Ziel. 'Scheiße' sagt der Atterbiker, und ist wieder gesprintet. Ich habe kein Gas mehr gehabt, und bin hinter ihm aber vor den anderen von unserer Gruppe durchs Ziel.
Am Ende habe ich 20. Platz geschafft, noch eine nette Überraschung in Österreich!
Thomas Mair von RC ÄRBO Wels hat mit 3:13 gewonnen. Ulli Öhlböck (Team Müller’s Gasthaus) war Zweiter, und Josef Benetseder (Team Volksbank) Dritter.
Not the best image, but that's me in the black behind the guy from AtterbikeTo summarise in English, it was a 125km route littered with little climbs and very few flat sections. I was more than slightly unnerved on the startline when virtually all of the 100 or so starters turned out to be local hotshots and there were even a couple of pros. But once on the road, the peloton fractured quickly and I ended up in the second group. We worked well together, over the major hill at halfway and even through the worsening weather, which by for the final 50km became heavy rain.
The road was marked with 5km to go, down to 100m when a guy from the Atterbike team went for it and I jumped on his wheel. Unfortunately the markings were totally incorrect and we still had another 750m to the line. When the actual finish came into sight we had a small gap over the field and the Atterbiker opened his sprint out again. I couldn't match it, but was still pretty stoked, ending up 20th behind winner Thomas Mair (RC Ärbo Wels).
14 August 2008
Beeb Overkill?
There has been significant comment in British media about the extravagant number of staff in Beijing from the BBC, namely from The Telegraph and Daily MailThe actual figure is around 440, well over the 320-odd athletes representing Team GB. Many newspaper bloggers report an incident from yesterday's press conference with Michael Phelps, the American swimming champion (see report in The Guardian). A Children's BBC reporter asked "just how amazing is amazing? Amazing like Christmas? Like your birthday? Or like winning the lottery?"
Earlier this week, one BBC reporter decided to see how many different sports he could see in one day. Sounds like fun, but was it worthwhile and what exactly came of this intrepid investigation apart from a few amusing comments on their live ticker?
There were similar over-staffing allegations at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. I was there working for a number of magazines, and particularly remember travelling to the triathlon event in the media bus.
"What sports are in this then?" Asked one BBC employee a few seats back.
"Err, cycling, running and swimming?" replied another. "No idea what order they go in though."
One wonders what was the point of sending two journalists half way across the world to report on events they know nothing about. Even more irritating was the fact that these two clowns could have at least done some research into a sport they are expected to describe to an entire nation.
5 August 2008
Trattbergerstier
Second race of the season and it really didn't go too well. The Trattbergerstier is only 82km, but takes in 1850m of vertical gain. I got into oxygen debt on the first short and sharp hill, and never really recovered properly. Unfortunately this race finishes on a 20km long climb that rises approximately 900m. The last eight kilometres are particularly steep and unpleasant with five hairpin turns and by this stage I was not exactly enjoying myself.
About 250 riders, including many from my club RC Hallein took to the start.
Halfway up before the steep section.
On the final hairpin before the finish.
Reading from the race: heart rate on the top, altitude on the bottom, both plotted against distance.
I ended up mid pack, a long way down on the leader. My training has been significantly altered since this race, however. After consulting my old coach, it became clear that my upper levels were not getting the work out they need if I am to race at a decent level. The past few years have been all about enjoying riding and therefore basically just cruising around at a medium level. Therefore my endurance is fine, but I need more higher intensity workouts.
It feels very strange to be so far off the standard I once was, not that I was ever that incredible. But it would be nice to get some of the old racing sensations back again. Schau ma moi.
Enzianhütte at the top. They do a good Kaspressknödelsuppe.
About 250 riders, including many from my club RC Hallein took to the start.
Halfway up before the steep section.
On the final hairpin before the finish.
Reading from the race: heart rate on the top, altitude on the bottom, both plotted against distance.I ended up mid pack, a long way down on the leader. My training has been significantly altered since this race, however. After consulting my old coach, it became clear that my upper levels were not getting the work out they need if I am to race at a decent level. The past few years have been all about enjoying riding and therefore basically just cruising around at a medium level. Therefore my endurance is fine, but I need more higher intensity workouts.
It feels very strange to be so far off the standard I once was, not that I was ever that incredible. But it would be nice to get some of the old racing sensations back again. Schau ma moi.
Enzianhütte at the top. They do a good Kaspressknödelsuppe.
31 July 2008
Tour de France '08 Review - UPDATED
I recently wrote a Tour de France 2008 review for VO2max, a Kiwi endurance sports publication. The magazine should be out shortly, but here's a sneak preview:Carlos Sastre (Team CSC – Saxo Bank) put in one of the rides of his life on the Tour de France’s penultimate day to preserve his hold on the Maillot Jaune and become the third consecutive Spanish winner of the world’s greatest bicycle race.
A well-designed route helped the 2008 event be one of the closest and riveting in decades with Sastre providing the fireworks on the key L’Alpe d’Huez stage to take the leader’s Yellow Jersey. Sastre was expected to lose his top position to Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) in the final 53km time trial, but instead rode brilliantly to limit his losses and defy all predictions.
Evans had to be content with being runner-up for the second year running, while mountains prize winner, Austrian Bernhard Kohl (Gerlosteiner), was a magnificent third, Denis Menchov (Rabobank) was fourth and Christian Vande Velde fifth.
Read the full article here.
Check out the magazine for more cycling, athletics, triathlon and endurance sport news.
28 July 2008
26 July 2008
Wanderlust interrupted
A good friend and ex-work colleague of mine, Jon Duval, is now a staff writer at the Idaho Mountain Express. He's also a big cycling fan and recently wrote a hilarious opinion piece for his paper previewing the Tour de France. Click here.
I'll be posting my Tour de France review written for a New Zealand magazine in the next few days - check back later!
I'll be posting my Tour de France review written for a New Zealand magazine in the next few days - check back later!
10 July 2008
A1 Shops
While queuing in Austria is never much fun in the first place, since most locals think replicating a rugby scrum is the best way to stand in line, the A1 shops take the cake.
One of the country's primary mobile phone network providers, A1 has about 50 shops across the country where patrons can theoretically buy phones, discuss payment plans and get other matters dealt with.
The problem begins with the shop's layout.
Each one has a large rectangle bar type arrangement positioned in the centre of the shop floor where the 'service representatives' work in the middle.
Unfortunately this leaves customers unsure of where to queue, instead milling around wondering who to stand behind in order to try and get served quickest.
Consequently the shops are a nightmare to visit. Usually you get stuck for ages behind some old duffer who put his battery in the phone upside down and can't figure out what's wrong, and without fail someone who came in after gets served before you do.
Once you do get to speak to someone, the service is often hopeless. A friend told me she needed a phone fixed, but the assistant told her there were none available, come back another time. My friend insisted that one was reserved for her, but the assistant merely wrote her name on a scrap of paper and put it in a draw, advising her to try another shop.
At the second shop after another 20 minutes of queuing, my friend eventually got a replacement while hers was sent off for repairs. However the new phone was not compatible with the charger supplied and the battery kept falling out of it. My friend couldn't face going back into the stores again and instead just switched it on only sporadically to preserve power - not exactly an ideal solution.
"With a total of 54 A1 SHOPS in Austria's most important population centers, mobilkom austria offers expert service for mobile phones, mobile phone accessories and applications," says A1 Service rep David Stockinger. "We ask for your understanding that we have a lot of customers who visit our A1 SHOPS and therefore there is sometimes a tailback and time of waiting."
Basically, don't expect a change anytime soon, just the same scheiße service.
One of the country's primary mobile phone network providers, A1 has about 50 shops across the country where patrons can theoretically buy phones, discuss payment plans and get other matters dealt with.
The problem begins with the shop's layout.
Each one has a large rectangle bar type arrangement positioned in the centre of the shop floor where the 'service representatives' work in the middle.Unfortunately this leaves customers unsure of where to queue, instead milling around wondering who to stand behind in order to try and get served quickest.
Consequently the shops are a nightmare to visit. Usually you get stuck for ages behind some old duffer who put his battery in the phone upside down and can't figure out what's wrong, and without fail someone who came in after gets served before you do.
Once you do get to speak to someone, the service is often hopeless. A friend told me she needed a phone fixed, but the assistant told her there were none available, come back another time. My friend insisted that one was reserved for her, but the assistant merely wrote her name on a scrap of paper and put it in a draw, advising her to try another shop.
At the second shop after another 20 minutes of queuing, my friend eventually got a replacement while hers was sent off for repairs. However the new phone was not compatible with the charger supplied and the battery kept falling out of it. My friend couldn't face going back into the stores again and instead just switched it on only sporadically to preserve power - not exactly an ideal solution.
"With a total of 54 A1 SHOPS in Austria's most important population centers, mobilkom austria offers expert service for mobile phones, mobile phone accessories and applications," says A1 Service rep David Stockinger. "We ask for your understanding that we have a lot of customers who visit our A1 SHOPS and therefore there is sometimes a tailback and time of waiting."
Basically, don't expect a change anytime soon, just the same scheiße service.
4 July 2008
Bikes again
Image from a recent photo shoot done for a work client. In the 'official' photos you just get to see my legs and feet. This one was a bonus shot courtesy of photographer Mauricio Ramos, who also did the photoshop effects.
Unfortunately the bike was only on loan..
29 June 2008
Cycling..
I'm working on a small project for a client at work which involves me recording my bike rides and taking a few snaps along the way. Here's a few images from this weeks rides, more details on the project soon.
Mondsee early Friday morning. A beautiful 60km ride round Mondsee lake, with a couple of tricky mountains at the end.
Sunday's 150km club run went over a reasonably large hill, the Haunsberg which came after 70km, and rewarded our efforts with an incredible view and super-fast descent into Bavaria, Germany.
The Bavarian roads are something else, consisting of endless rolling hills, small woods and immaculate fields peppered with tiny farm communities. One of my club-mates, Sepp, grew up in the area and knew exactly where we were, but to me it felt like a maze of left and right turns and I completely lost my sense of direction.
It was definitely tough going. Sepp is one strong dude and was on a mission charging through the lanes like he was in the Tour of Flanders. The rest of us were constantly sprinting out of corners and over the lumpy bits hanging onto his wheel.
Thankfully we took a break at his favourite pub for a Radler (Meaning ‘cyclist’ in German, a Radler is the drink of choice for cyclists in Austria and Germany who want the taste of a beer without the full effects of a 5% alcoholic brew.).
The last 25km home were definitely a bit of a slog. The temperature was approaching 30° and it was mainly uphill but I’d made sure I’d eaten and drunk enough (four litres of water in total) throughout the day and finished up at home after 150km not totally wasted.
Mondsee early Friday morning. A beautiful 60km ride round Mondsee lake, with a couple of tricky mountains at the end.
Sunday's 150km club run went over a reasonably large hill, the Haunsberg which came after 70km, and rewarded our efforts with an incredible view and super-fast descent into Bavaria, Germany.
The Bavarian roads are something else, consisting of endless rolling hills, small woods and immaculate fields peppered with tiny farm communities. One of my club-mates, Sepp, grew up in the area and knew exactly where we were, but to me it felt like a maze of left and right turns and I completely lost my sense of direction.
It was definitely tough going. Sepp is one strong dude and was on a mission charging through the lanes like he was in the Tour of Flanders. The rest of us were constantly sprinting out of corners and over the lumpy bits hanging onto his wheel.
Thankfully we took a break at his favourite pub for a Radler (Meaning ‘cyclist’ in German, a Radler is the drink of choice for cyclists in Austria and Germany who want the taste of a beer without the full effects of a 5% alcoholic brew.).
The last 25km home were definitely a bit of a slog. The temperature was approaching 30° and it was mainly uphill but I’d made sure I’d eaten and drunk enough (four litres of water in total) throughout the day and finished up at home after 150km not totally wasted.
13 June 2008
200 Dollars
Back in May 2005 when I was working as a bicycle courier in Auckland, W3Films New Zealand followed me for a few days for a documentary called The God Machine.
The footage didn't make the final cut, but I recently obtained the tapes and am in the process of editing it into a small film with aim of showing to the kids one day to explain what daddy did when he was young. The title, 200 Dollars, refers to each day's target earnings. Above 200 bucks was a good day, below.. well, not so good.
Anyway, check it out. A higher quality version can be viewed here. Check out W3Films' God Machine trailer here.
The footage didn't make the final cut, but I recently obtained the tapes and am in the process of editing it into a small film with aim of showing to the kids one day to explain what daddy did when he was young. The title, 200 Dollars, refers to each day's target earnings. Above 200 bucks was a good day, below.. well, not so good.
Anyway, check it out. A higher quality version can be viewed here. Check out W3Films' God Machine trailer here.
27 May 2008
Radmarathon
Last Sunday (May 25) was the date of the Mondsee Radmarathon, a 200km jaunt around the Salzburgerland and Oberösterreich lakes district, and I was happy enough with a 71st placing and time of 6hr 6min 52sec.
It was a beautiful ride, with a peppering of serious climbs along the route. I hung onto the lead group until the first major mountain which was the Postalm, which at 1300m and 13km long was the biggest peak of the day. After a 80km/h descent, I jumped in with the second group until about the 140km mark where we hit a steep nugget of a hill and I got blown out the back.
The next group didn't take long to come up to me and I stayed with them until the finish, despite the hideously steep and seemingly never-ending final mountain. I ended up crossing the line with the owner of my local bike shop, although I didn't tell him about the annoying rubbing noise caused by my front deralieur that he didn't fit quite right the previous week.
Next targets will be one or both of these two rides:
The Trattberger Stier
The Eddy Merckx Classic
It was a beautiful ride, with a peppering of serious climbs along the route. I hung onto the lead group until the first major mountain which was the Postalm, which at 1300m and 13km long was the biggest peak of the day. After a 80km/h descent, I jumped in with the second group until about the 140km mark where we hit a steep nugget of a hill and I got blown out the back.
The next group didn't take long to come up to me and I stayed with them until the finish, despite the hideously steep and seemingly never-ending final mountain. I ended up crossing the line with the owner of my local bike shop, although I didn't tell him about the annoying rubbing noise caused by my front deralieur that he didn't fit quite right the previous week.
Next targets will be one or both of these two rides:
The Trattberger Stier
The Eddy Merckx Classic
13 May 2008
Postalm
Since Austria only makes international news when someone is caught storing things in cellars other than wine, it seemed only fair that I re-familiarise myself with what the country is also known for: the Alps.
Cycling through this great landscape is something else. The mountains never fail to look anything less than impressive, but its their ease of access that makes them so inviting. You are never far away from humanity, mobile phone coverage is almost everywhere, and there are ancient huts or old farmhouses sprinkled across the meadows that serve hot food and drink .
And yet you can still feel completely isolated, surrounded by silence as you count hairpin turns in your head.
It was one of the first days of Spring warm enough to head into the high mountains and I decided to check out the Postalm. It's a climb that begins near Abtenau, about 25km from where I live, and drops down the other side to Strobl in the beautiful Lakes District. I will be racing over it in just a few weeks in one of the many "Rad-Marathons" that are held across Europe throughout the summer, usually over distances topping 200km.
A popular winter and summer recreational area, the Postalm lies within a small group of mountains that reach around 1700m. A privately owned piece of asphalt (cars and motorbikes must pay a toll) the road itself peaks at 1325m above sea level, a full 800m higher than the valley floor.
Since the race I will compete in approaches the climb from the Strobl side, I wanted to ride over it from Abtenau, descend into the valley to Strobl, then turn around and climb it once more in the opposite direction.
The road from Abtenau is steady enough, not getting much steeper than 10%, but it goes on. And on. The whole thing is drawn out over 15km, with a few downhill sections that give a brief respite.
Looking out towards the world famous Schladming ski resort and the mighty Dachstein Glacier, the views on the way up are quite outstanding and, for the last few kilometres, walls of snow line the route.
Before you know it, the winding pass opens out to an alpine station area, complete with dormant ski lifts and the obligatory snack hut with odours of cooking sausage wafting out.
Down towards Strobl and the hairpin bends are conveniently numbered and marked with their elevation. It's an exhilarating descent, with plenty of vision ahead to safely cut corners.
Strobl isn't the most exciting village, so I didn't hang around, u-turning back up the mountain and beginning the hairpin count. The ascent from this side was certainly more consistent, covering 10km including the lead-up through the valley.
Once it gets steeper, the road maintains a relentless 9% the entire stretch with just the ever-so-slightly flatter edges of the bends to recover on, but wasn't long before I again spun past the chairlifts and begun the rapid descent towards Abtenau and home.
This is Europe afterall, so I rewarded my efforts like every good alpinist: with a cold beer and a couple of frankfurthers with mustard, horseradish and bread. The Alps don't get better than that.
The facts:
Start/ finish: Hallein, 15km South of Salzburg, Austria.
South to Golling on the B159, then turn left towards Abtenau on the B162. Take a left in Voglau onto the Postalmstrasse. Follow the road over the top and u-turn in Strobl, retracing your route.
Distance: 110km
Vertical climbing: 2000m
Cycling through this great landscape is something else. The mountains never fail to look anything less than impressive, but its their ease of access that makes them so inviting. You are never far away from humanity, mobile phone coverage is almost everywhere, and there are ancient huts or old farmhouses sprinkled across the meadows that serve hot food and drink .
And yet you can still feel completely isolated, surrounded by silence as you count hairpin turns in your head.
It was one of the first days of Spring warm enough to head into the high mountains and I decided to check out the Postalm. It's a climb that begins near Abtenau, about 25km from where I live, and drops down the other side to Strobl in the beautiful Lakes District. I will be racing over it in just a few weeks in one of the many "Rad-Marathons" that are held across Europe throughout the summer, usually over distances topping 200km.
A popular winter and summer recreational area, the Postalm lies within a small group of mountains that reach around 1700m. A privately owned piece of asphalt (cars and motorbikes must pay a toll) the road itself peaks at 1325m above sea level, a full 800m higher than the valley floor.
Since the race I will compete in approaches the climb from the Strobl side, I wanted to ride over it from Abtenau, descend into the valley to Strobl, then turn around and climb it once more in the opposite direction.
The road from Abtenau is steady enough, not getting much steeper than 10%, but it goes on. And on. The whole thing is drawn out over 15km, with a few downhill sections that give a brief respite.
Looking out towards the world famous Schladming ski resort and the mighty Dachstein Glacier, the views on the way up are quite outstanding and, for the last few kilometres, walls of snow line the route.
Before you know it, the winding pass opens out to an alpine station area, complete with dormant ski lifts and the obligatory snack hut with odours of cooking sausage wafting out.
Down towards Strobl and the hairpin bends are conveniently numbered and marked with their elevation. It's an exhilarating descent, with plenty of vision ahead to safely cut corners.
Strobl isn't the most exciting village, so I didn't hang around, u-turning back up the mountain and beginning the hairpin count. The ascent from this side was certainly more consistent, covering 10km including the lead-up through the valley.
Once it gets steeper, the road maintains a relentless 9% the entire stretch with just the ever-so-slightly flatter edges of the bends to recover on, but wasn't long before I again spun past the chairlifts and begun the rapid descent towards Abtenau and home.
This is Europe afterall, so I rewarded my efforts like every good alpinist: with a cold beer and a couple of frankfurthers with mustard, horseradish and bread. The Alps don't get better than that.
The facts:
Start/ finish: Hallein, 15km South of Salzburg, Austria.
South to Golling on the B159, then turn left towards Abtenau on the B162. Take a left in Voglau onto the Postalmstrasse. Follow the road over the top and u-turn in Strobl, retracing your route.
Distance: 110km
Vertical climbing: 2000m
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