Melburn Roobaix 2016 - The Cold One #MelburnRoobaix

On Sunday 26th June, I joined in for my 4th Melburn Roobaix (hosted by Fyxo). If you want some more reports on previous years, you can find them here:


2013 - The First One
2014 - The Wet One
2015 - The (not) Wet One

A Roobaix is not a Roobaix unless a donut (or two) is involved

I had a (sick) cold starting from Monday last week and was off work for about 3 days after that. I didn't end up doing the EllaxMaap ride due to being sick but thought Roobaix ride was not too intense so I should be ok to do this...


What I couldn't account for was that Sunday was soooooooo (temperature) cold...we are talking 2 degrees (with tops of 11) and being outside, riding a bike = my (sick) cold intensified!


So the day started like the previous years where the Canadian and I would park the car in Abbotsford (kinda in between Hawthorn and Brunswick). If I was doing a normal ride, I would have on my long sleeve base layer and maybe a short sleeved jersey with arm warmers. This day required extra layers and the most I had ever worn in my life (of cycling). I had on my Macpac long sleeved base layer, my extra thick long sleeved cycling jersey I bought from Japan, never worn as it is stupidly thick and over that, my new Rapha wind jacket. I wore knee warmers with my knicks, two pairs of socks, wool gloves, my BIKE LOVE cap with ear warmers and my buff.

At Three Bags Full

We arrived around 9am and instead of riding to Hawthorn, we decided to have a coffee at Three Bags Full to warm ourselves up first before the quick ride down to the velodrome.


We arrived just after 9:30am and the line to pick up the musettes were already stretched out alongside the field. As the registration was far more straight forward this year (exchange ticket with musette), the line moved very quickly.

The Canadian and I sussed out the first stop and we ended up riding with large groups to the first stop. It was packed as usual and we answered the first question and then moved on.


What I had noticed with this year's Roobaix route is that it was shorter compared to previous years - less stops and shorter distances. We didn't end up venturing much around North Melbourne/Flemington way and the furthest was Ascot Vale. The route this year did include the trails along the Eastern Freeway which was fun (read: muddy) on the CX bike. I can't imagine how I would have handled it on the roadie.


There were some steep sections after the Eastern Freeway trails - I walked up "the walkway" of Marshall Street which had a gradient of 30-40%. It was impossible for me to ride up that road especially with so many people around...The Canadian rode up the climb and luckily he had a good path in front and around him that he was able to do it.


We stopped for lunch after "The Brewery" stop (Temple Brewery) and had lunch at The B*East. I had a vego slider and the Canadian had a burger and we shared a Poutine together.

Still freezing...

After lunch, it was an adventure towards Ascot Vale, ride along the "drains" (?!) and then the donut stop at Brunswick West where we once again caught up with friends (who work at the bike shop), we then rode together to the last stop before heading towards the Brunswick Velodrome for the finish.

We spent the rest of the time at the finished area chatting with friends, collecting free stuff and handing in our finished manifests. Personally, I felt that due to the finish line not being at the Velodrome (due to repair works), the finished line atmosphere wasn't as good as previous years. The crowds were more spread out amongst the field. I wasn't as engaged in the "voting" process for the costumes, maybe because my sinuses were blocked and I didn't even realize that the draw for the final prize happened.... but I still had a great time and loved the whole day.


My cold has gotten significantly worse after Sunday but it was worth it!!! Can't wait for next year and hopefully the finish line will be back in the Velodrome.

Cycling and Stuff Update

It has been over a month since my last event and I have just been doing a few rides here and there. My next cycling event on the calendar is the Ella x MAAP ride on the 25th June and Melburn Roobaix on the 26th June.

I haven't signed up for Peaks Challenge yet. I am still not committed to it. Although I enjoyed the training, I look back at all the hard work, money spent travelling and paying for accommodation and just not being at home and then stressing out about the ability to meet the 13 hour deadline is not something which I look forward to. So for now, I am going to work on manageable goals in getting stronger on the bike rather putting myself through that realm again until I am ready, both physically and mentally.

I enjoy cycling, don't get me wrong. It is something which I have carried on doing after my stint with triathlon-ing. I have continued with cycling to keep me fit and the impact on my joints has been minimal so that's a benefit.

Looking ahead, after Melburn Roobaix, I have my sights set on Ol'Dirty on the 28th Aug, Amy's Gran Fondo on the 11th Sept (main event), Dirty Gran Fondo Gembrook on the 18th Sept and then I may or may not do Around the Bay in October. I had such a great time last year and the weather was just pure-100% perfect so I just don't want to ruin my experience.

I have changed things around a bit. I am trying out new spin classes to work on strengthening myself on the bike. I am sticking with the Wattbikes but I am mixing things up a bit as different classes use different watt bike types and training types.

Without being too specific:
Class 1 - Often work on technique, we actually look at the pedal efficiency, work on the core. When we work on strength, the cadence is very low and I crank up the fan all the way up to 10 and the magnet to 5-6 and can be pedalling from 50rpm all the day up to 65rpm. We do a few max efforts along the way. The efforts are based on % of max efforts so it will depend on what you determine your max effort is.

Class 2 - They work with the zones based on your MMP test. I attend more KOM classes so during these sessions they work mainly on low cadences and maintaining particular zones. This class has a combination of Wattbike Pro and Wattbike Trainers. I have only used Pro bikes by mistake. The cons about this session is the distance from home. The drive alone is about 40km and the class which I do starts at 5:30am (4am alarm) I really enjoy working within the zones as it is different for everyone.

Class 3 - They only have Wattbike Pro and the difference is within the recovery periods where you want to be able to spin the legs out. I haven't done too many of their sessions. The first session, they instructor based it on W/kg which was hard to maintain for long periods of time especially when your fitness and strength is not quiet there. Everyone had to ride on the same gear and maintain the approx the same cadence so it was hard to maintain especially when the gears of the bike is harder than what I am used to. I am going to attend more of these classes as I feel that I am not part of the main group and therefore, plenty to improve. The location is also great as it is around the corner from work.

I haven't done too many road rides. I just haven't been motivated enough to do them myself as I haven't got a group to do it with and I am not pressured to do it if I am not with a group. If the weather is shit, I stay indoors. I do replace those outdoor rides with spin classes so I am still working on my riding muscles.

Fingers crossed this weekend will have good weather as I would like to complete the Crucifix before the Ella x Maap ride.

Too cold to even smile (4 degrees)

Friends of Tribal Ride (28th May)