Monster’s diary

[Truffle Monster]

I fully understand, My mother is in the same situation, just started palliative care after a 4 year cancer fight with no more options left.

I’m sorry to hear that.

I lost my mother 21 years ago next month after a 5 year battle.

Unfortunately it’s the curse in my family. It gets all of us. Some quickly some slowly but it gets us.

Really highlights the importance of looking after yourself and really enjoying the time we have together.

I’m just very grateful I’m not still with my ex wife now. She’s be making this VERY difficult.

 

[Truffle Monster]

In the meantime I went for a ride tonight. Trying to keep myself busy. Stopped at the shops because I had to replace my water bottle so it’s in 2 sections tonight. On the way back I had my closest accident encounter yet. Some stupid woman got sick of waiting for traffic to move into the petrol station so decided to do a u turn from the parking lane on the left right in front of me. I had to slam the brakes on and skidded to a stop JUST before hitting her drivers door head on. Boy did she cop a mouthful!

Can’t wait until the GoPro arrives.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Ok so that escalated quickly.

I was actually assaulted tonight while riding my bike. A car load yelled out to me as they were overtaking. It didn’t sound like the normal smart arse or abusive yelling so I thought it was legitimate. I stopped because they stopped (in a driveway), walked over to them and they started abusing me and one actually threw a punch; while I was looking in the other direction mind you. Made a good enough connection that I dropped. I got up straight away and the third guy stepped in and kept the other guy away. Well away I toddled to ... to the police station armed with his car registration and address. 20 minutes later the police have a full report and will be paying him a visit tonight. Charges WILL be laid.

Funnily enough I was a boxer in my younger days so I can definitely take a punch. A small cut to my lip and some minor swelling is all he did. Hitting a guy with his back turned ... real hero.

Other than that my ride was actually quite good. Quite a strong north easterly wind was blowing so some of the ride was quite difficult but otherwise it was ok.

 

[Cate]

I'm glad you are laying charges. What a gutless prick. I couldn't find a better word. Riding a bike where you are is maybe more dangerous than most places. What is it with these pathetic people?

 

[Truffle Monster]

Ok after a couple of days of; spending time with Dad then my partner I hit the road tonight.

I did a few short rides around the block because I upgraded pedals and had to keep adjusting them until I was comfortable with the way my cleats were clipping in and out then one normal ride.

What I’ve noticed is I didn’t get any more speed from the new pedals but I was certainly more efficient. I can’t make up my mind if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand it means my rides will get better and more comfortable but on the other hand I won’t be working as hard so I won’t get as much out of it.

I think HIIT is going to be the goer though. Maybe I’ll do 20km a day but instead of slugging it out at a constant mid pace I’ll go hard 5 mins, easy 2 minutes and so on for the same distance.

In other news I’m officially 30kg lighter than 6 months ago.

 

[Cate]

30 kg in 6 months? Wow, TM. That is fantastic!

 

[Truffle Monster]

30 kg in 6 months? Wow, TM. That is fantastic!

Thanks. Yep 116 to 86

 

[Truffle Monster]

Another good ride today.

I’m a little confused though. I did some calculations a little while back and worked out that my speedo calculates average speed not on total time but only moving time so time standing still at traffic lights shouldn’t affect the average BUT today I tried for a speed record of sorts and at 7km I was averaging 29km/h. 2 minutes at the lights and I was at 27km/h. Finished 21km on 25km/h which is my normal average speed. I DID however clock the highest flat section speed I’ve done so far ... 49km/h (maintained for 1 minute until a 90 degree turn) which I accelerated to (from 17km/h in 12 seconds so I’ve definitely got some pretty impressive power in my legs! (That was after 15km of riding too)

 

[Truffle Monster]

As I’ve said a few times I don’t really have a weight “goal” in mind but for the purpose of tracking I’ve been going for 85kg. This morning I weighed in at 85.7! I now need a new target. I’m thinking 80 to start with then go from there. I don’t think I’ll get below 80 as although I’m quite short I’ve got a lot of muscle bulk and I don’t really want to lose that.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Wow that was a tough ride. 20km/h winds and I took a different route which included an 8km climb up quite a steep slope into the Adelaide hills. When I left there wasn’t much wind. Half way through the wind picked up and was blowing me around quite badly because it was hitting me on an angle which made keeping a straight line difficult.

Just under 30km in total tonight and incident free again!

 

[Truffle Monster]

Oh and I think I may have finally got my clear adjustment right. I’ve been getting quite bad medial knee pain in my right knee (long standing pre existing knee injury here so i need to be careful). I THINK I might now have my clear positioning correct because I just made a few adjustments and went for a ride around the block now and it felt much better (except the wind has REALLY picked up now so it was like riding through a brick wall).

 

[Trusylver]

Have you ever considered doing a big muti-day group ride ? they are great fun, the one I completed when I was younger went from Sydney to Surfers Paradise with a solid week of riding.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Have you ever considered doing a big muti-day group ride ? they are great fun, the one I completed when I was younger went from Sydney to Surfers Paradise with a solid week of riding.

Hey,

Wow that’s a decent trip!

No can’t say I’ve ever considered it; I kinda prefer my own company on the bike.

I was planning a week long hike with my dog in June through the Riverland but with what’s going on with my Father that’s put on hold for now.

 

[Truffle Monster]

No ride tonight BUT my go pro arrived today ...

 

[M2M]

Oh my - a GoPro of your rides is gonna scare ME!!

 

[Truffle Monster]

Oh my - a GoPro of your rides is gonna scare ME!!

Hahaha it’s not THAT bad. I got cut off once today but I don’t think the angle was good enough to get the number plate.

The battery died within 40 minutes from a full charge so I’ve ordered a replacement battery under warranty. In the mean time I’ll view the footage from tonight. I suspect it’ll be a lot of black screen (recording in the dark).

Tonight’s ride was good. I’ll adjust my cleats slightly and maybe head out for a quick sprint before bed.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Another ride another puncture.

Rear tyre gone again now. Decided to go for a quick ride after adjusting the cleats and got 15km before it gave way. I just walked it home and I’ll repair it in the morning. Grrrrr

 

[M2M]

Another ride another puncture.

Rear tyre gone again now. Decided to go for a quick ride after adjusting the cleats and got 15km before it gave way. I just walked it home and I’ll repair it in the morning. Grrrrr

Oh that sounds frustrating!!

 

[Truffle Monster]

Oh that sounds frustrating!!

Luckily I was pretty close to home so it wasn’t too bad. I had a puncture repair kit with me but because I was so close I decided to take it home first.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Good ride tonight. Uneventful and smooth.

This morning I bought a new reflective cycling jacket but out of habit I bought without trying on. I’m swimming in it and it billows out behind me like a parachute. I guess it adds resistance which will help the training though