Festive 500 in progress and workout tracking

Summer is a great time to clock up the base kilometres, building endurance, checking out new routes, revisiting old ones and reminiscing about faster segments.

I've been looking for a few ways to track progress and set new challenges and the first challenge for me is completing the Festive 500! The target is 500km between Christmas eve and new years eve.

I started with a few days off the bike due to a small mishap trying to put my bike together and losing part of the seat post clamp in my frame somewhere.

A photo posted by v0nm (@v0nm) on

The day before the challenge we arrived in Horsham in crazy hot heat and did a leg spin in the early evening. This totally shrivelled my hope that it would be easy to clock up the kms on the flat terrain.

Warming up on the Horsham Track - the only action this track will see this Christmas with the Carnival moving to Ballarat instead.

On Day 1 we knocked out 106km in the morning before it got too warm out. I had to get back to work phone calls and I really struggled in the last 20km. It was the first time I had clocked up that distance in months, and was grateful to have Shane nurse and encourage me to the final petrol station outside of town to re-fill bottles and spin easy home.

A small detour in the works to drain a little colour from the landscape

Mt Arapiles - no vert in this hurt

Day 2 was Christmas morning in Horsham and 52km were complete before present opening! I had picked up a new Fondo kit for myself as a present and it was great to ride in something super aero in the head and cross winds. Shane and I shared the load of work and I felt vaguely useful, but it sure took a little while to warm up after such a big day before.

A photo posted by Shane Miller (@gplama) on

Day 3 We had progressed on our regional family tour to Ballarat and it was cold, raining and bloody windy again! Declaring a rest day - there were no complaints. Shane bought a ultrasonic cleaner in the sales and we all got smooth running drive trains :)

Day 4 in Ballarat and it was certainly a good idea to get some vertical ascent. Stephen Lane joined us and we headed out to Buninyong Road Nationals course. I managed a solo lap before catching up with Serene Lee and friends. We rolled 2 laps and showed her the lay of the land, before settling down for coffee. While out and about Peta Mullens was motoring around the course, sharpening up before the big event of Elite Nationals in a few weeks. We rolled back past the Christmas Track Carnival in Sebastopol and that was enough for me in the wind for one day with 73kms in the bank.

Peta looking pro with Shane and I goofing around

I've completed 231kms total and was looking at ways to continue to plan and track this. A basic Strava account tracks the progress to date for a challenge. In past history I have used an excel spreadsheet.

Basic Accounts
I've used Training Peaks over the last year and started to play with Today's Plan to compare the features. The issue I have is that with the basic accounts for these 2 products, is you cannot plan out any future workouts.

With Training Peaks, if you want to alter the planned daily workout (that you or a coach has setup), you can adjust any of the target values. This is not possible in Today's Plan. It reports on what has been executed against the set regime. If you have not purchased a Plan, you cannot setup a target for the day and then upload a ride to see if you have met it. It will just log whatever you have executed.
Also there are no fancy graphs in the basic Training Peaks, only totals for the week.

Premium Accounts
Strava allows you to compare your workout against your previous workout/rides and what the other products don't offer - comparison against other riders. The premium version of Strava allows further breakdown of other riders in your age and weight class, plus all the other goodies that the other players have.

The other main features for these products are - detailed power analysis, future workout planning and adjustment, canned/generic training plans, progress tracking at workout and training plan level.

There are other little unique features that try and differentiate each product, but they are pretty much all equal apart from the price points. I have years of data in Training Peaks, some backlog in Garmin Connect, and patchy coverage in Strava. I haven't worked out which product to use for myself this next year, so I'll keep tracking the remainder of my Festive 500 in Strava.

Progress at snails pace

Instagram: May have put on a few kg being sick and not riding my bike... All the better to fill out this RAD kit!
Thanks to @petamullens for the kitInsiration. Only in my wildest dreams and about 10yrs younger would I ever get to ride for Wiggle Honda #aussie #champ
But I could still kinda wear it for TTs? #motivation #fitspo

I've been to doctors, specialists, had sinus surgery, gone through a round of infection and am on my 2nd round of antibiotics. I think I am on the mend and promising my Mum to take it slowly.

The funny thing is that now exercise is no longer a habit that I could indulge in and spend ALL my time planning training sessions and the next race... I am at a bit of a loss to what to do!

I've been helping out the BCWS get organised for 2016 and we were tracking along pretty good until Specialized pulled out at the last minute and our major sponsor did not come to the party. I've pushed my social networks to the limits with organising a wine drive that was 2x as successful as last year.

Wine Fundraising Drive

It's still something I feel very passionate about - providing opportunities for women to race at all levels in cycling in Australia. I've about exhausted my limit for helping though for the next few months and need to get back on the bike myself. So for 2016 I will be focusing on my riding again and will not be joining BCWS.

Pack er up! Let's get back riding with Tara Tarmac!

Work has been going pretty well and I'm hoping it will continue to do so next year as organising myself and my bike has not been an issue for me in the past and work is flexible - apart from the travel side of things, but I'm not complaining as winter in Perth was just lovely!

Work session in Kuala Lumpur

I've also been keeping busy participating in a spine study with Deakin University and received a free MRI of my spine, looking forward to seeing the results of this.

Next challenge is also investigating which tracking tool to use for my riding? Strava, Todays Plan, Training Peaks? There are so many options with different benefits and price points.

These are not my numbers, mine are much worse

Next year I will also be part of Bicycle Network's - The RACV Ascent. A women's only premium event for cycling that has setup a 100km gran fondo style event in Melbourne's Dandenongs - closed roads, mad beats, delicious goodies, free RACV Bike Assist for the year and free training sessions to get ready and confident for the day. Sounds like a great initiative to me, I doubt they will get large numbers, so it will be an even better experience this first year to get in when it is not crowded.

https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/the-ascent/


In the mean time I am also looking forward to the Rapha Festive 500 informal challenge this holiday season. Something about publicly committing to the effort makes it worth going out in 40+ degrees to pump out the kms worth it. Or I might be slightly crazy... Bring on 2016!

A photo posted by v0nm (@v0nm) on

Starting Again




One concept that is pretty familiar to every competitive cyclist is starting again. There are always set-backs to any grand plan and some re-adjustment needs to occur or sometimes you don't quite meet your goal, so it's back to the drawing board to reassess and give it another go. I've observed this in a few occurrences this year.

There have been many failed Everesting attempts that I have read blogs on that have outlined the journey, what they did to prepare, how they went on the attempt, where things started to go wrong and the final decision to pull the pin. Some re-attempt, or try another hill or find another challenge.

I've been involved in and watched massive pile-ups in the National Road Series this year. Coming back from injury is only one part of the equation that is pretty logical, the other part is the mental toughness and psychology behind putting yourself back into race mode, putting yourself back into the danger zone.

This year has been a total rollercoaster for me. Unlike every other year I have raced, I haven't achieved ANYTHING of note on the bike. My biggest victory was a C-Grade Vets win over the guys in Bacchus Marsh. Between, my initial crash in Jan I've been continually sick, so I've focused on work to the point of relocating for 3 months and totally losing all momentum and base I had one the bike.

So, I'm starting again. I've just come out of successful sinus surgery this week. I'll have a few weeks off the bike to recover that I will not fill with work and extra stress and I'm starting from scratch.

I've got all the baggage of winter weight, sickness, failed attempts, crashing, travel and the passage of time to overcome. Not to mention a new home base suburb to find bunch rides to join in Melbourne again!

I haven't set an end goal yet or even my first target, I'm doing that over the next few weeks. But I genuinely do look forward to starting again.

Interested in the sport side of cycling?

At some stage recreational road riders think about dabbling with the sport of cycling. I was asked to present on this subject on panel at a forum in Perth and I thought I'd share my notes so you can gain an insight from my perspective.


From recreation to sport
You know the benefits of cycling, what does pinning a number on mean?

* For me it's about setting a goal (Does the course interest you, would you like to complete a tour, mastering a tough crit track, or set a PB on a TT course).
* It makes every session on the bike relevant and working towards a goal. I have limited time outside of work/family.
* I want to achieve something outside of work/family time and in competing this hits the target of personal satisfaction and achievement.


Posted by Veronica Micich on Saturday, November 30, 2013


Making the step from cycling for recreation to competition?
* Find events that suit you (Age based, terrain, race type - eg: criterium).
* Read up on the basics of racing and Race Rules (eg: no crossing the middle line, pin your number on low and visible to the officials, take your license to all events as they can use them as leverage for timing transponders, no drafting in an individual Time Trial).
* Watch videos and read up on race craft (how to use the teams and groups on the road to your benefit in a scratch race, find out course wind/conditions).
* Up-skill with essentials – criterium corners, TT start ramp, getting a bottle from a car, bunny hopping, using the car convoy in a race safely.
* Race etiquette - eg: don't sprint for more than 10th place or overlap wheels.

Criterium Cornering

Why women should race/Motivators?
* Achievement
* Be awesome role models to other women and girls
* It's a great support network and strong camaraderie. Racing women are so encouraging of each other
* The options to travel to unique places and seeing the nature and surrounds
* Teamwork aspect
* Hard work pays off (what you put into it- training, organisation, gear)



Camaraderie, hard work and teamwork wins races

Major barriers to women’s racing and how they can be overcome:
* Recognition in races. Events must have women’s prizes for races held.
* Perception from others that women shouldn’t race or be competitive.
* Women’s events don't matter or are not equal to the men’s races or not competitive enough to showcase.
* Biggest barrier is the lack of entry numbers

Different levels of racing- club, state and national:
* Age (junior, senior open, masters) vs Ability (A, B, C) race groupings.
* Each state has road, TT, and criterium championships.
* Other race events are held around Australia and New Zealand: Masters Games, Oceania championships.
* You don’t need to qualify to enter the Australian National Road Championships (Road race, TT, criterium), however you will typically be racing against elite trade team riders.



Posted by Cycling Victoria on Sunday, June 28, 2015

Zwift Indoor Cycling



I've been playing around with ZWIFT for the last few months and I've clocked up a few kms, won a few jerseys and generally enjoyed my ergo sessions on both the Kickr and Lemond a lot more.


Shane suggested we sign up for a hot lap at the product launch at Bike Gallery in Melbourne. I was not too keen to sweat it out under the watchful eye of a room of drinking cyclists, but there was a chance at $500 for the fastest lap.

Shane was invited by the creators to meet the night before the event and I was curious to see what they were like, how serious and far along the development of the product they were and how far they wanted to take it. Working in IT, I had a good appreciation for the effort, budget, logistics and magnitude of the task ahead of them. Good Luck!


Seda looking cool while I am half-dead from my hotlap

I was a little late the next day and arrived with the event all in full swing. I got changed and knocked out a PB on the lap by a few minutes. I had not tried to do a full lap before and it was great to do a solid time. Later in the evening, Trek Fondo rider Seda Camgoz completed a great time and piped me for first place.


Posted by Zwift on Wednesday, May 13, 2015


Shane set the best time for the night and took home a massive cup and a cheque for $500. Surprisingly the Zwift guys asked if Shane could attend the Sydney event to take on the riders in NSW with an expenses paid trip! The answer was YES! Overwhelmed and over tired it was a big day.

That Friday afternoon we travelled up to Sydney for the finals. It was my first visit to the Rapha Cycle Club and they have a lot of stock on the floor and a great setup. I spoke to Matt Keenan when he arrived and was eager to set another time as I had not had a chance to ride that day with working as well.


I ripped out a better time than in Melbourne, but was taken to the cleaners by the Champions in Sydney who I was in awe of their stamina and awesome power! Shane won the men's time and we had a great dinner afterwards with the team before flying out the next morning for normality with his oversize novelty cheque and trophy.

A photo posted by v0nm (@v0nm) on


It was a pretty early one morning when I woke up to do my workout indoors before work and it was with some trepidation I booted up my laptop with the fresh version of Windows 10 I'd set going overnight. I logged in with my fingerprint for the first time ever and the first thing I loaded was Zwift. It ran on first launch! As I sat warming up for the hill session I had planned for on Watopia I had to reflect that it was pretty cool that something we make for work at Microsoft was awesome to play with too!

All in all it has been an awesome rollercoaster ride with the Zwift team, good fun indoor eSports, healthy competition, and constantly changing virtual worlds to ride on. I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.
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