Happy (Belated) Australia Day!

What a day it was! And how was the day spent by most in Melbourne? Well, by doing the activities that we do best - eating, drinking and not working. Followed by 'chucking a sickie' the next day. Quintessential Australian stuff.

The other activity that hundreds and hundreds of people partook in on Australia day? Riding. It was great fun to be part of a massive and varied group of people out on the road from the moment the sun rose.

I set off at about 7am with the plan to ride a 60km circuit that was 2/3 flat and 1/3 small to mid size hills. This was my longest ride to date so whilst I did have a general speed in mind (over 25km/hr avg), I was really wanting to see what my body could do. As I was grabbing all my gear to head out the door, my Garmin, in typical Garmin style, which I had put on the charger the evening before, was dead.

An open letter to Garmin;

Dear Garmin-makers,

Your charger is sh*t.

Regards,
Emma

So once I got over the Garmin-rage it was time to just get over it and get out the door. The ride conditions were pretty ideal - sun shining, about 20 degrees, light to med wind. What was not pretty ideal was that I started having problems with my gears again where I can only be in either the lowest or the highest gear and nothing in between. So helpful. After swearing for 5 minutes I used all the zen I had to assure myself that my legs would be getting mighty strong as I rode up hills in the most difficult gear my bike had to offer. I don't know if I believed myself. I don't know if I was right.

The other thing I trialled was using fruit pouches instead of 'gels'. Anyone who has done a lot of long riding or running will be familiar with gels. They are a hideously sweet, gooey, manufactured source of carbohydrates to ensure you don't 'hit the wall' or at least that you don't hit it so early. I used them a lot in marathon training and they are just horrid - not only do they taste bad but when I have one it feels like a little bomb has gone off in my belly. Yuck. I have been trialling using, of all things, pureed fruits in pouches that are made for babies.

They are great because you can get organic varieties that have nothing but fruit in them. They have a screw cap on them so you can have as much or as little as you want, they are inexpensive and taste quite nice. They are mostly carbohydrate and most importantly they are REAL FOOD. Now if you are into sports nutrition you will likely be saying 'but they are mainly fructose and glucose is easier to break down'. And you might technically be right, but lets look at the commonsense of it. Your body knows what to do with real food. K.I.S.S.

They worked a treat. I had energy all the way till the last 10 minutes of my ride.

Now I just need to get my bike fixed...