Bergen-Voss 6 days away

Today I was joined by Beathe and Terje and we had one last ride before Bergen Voss (I might do a short easy ride on Wednesday as well).

Today we did a short trip with full intensity over 35km. This is the same route as we took about 2 weeks ago and today we finished 7 minutes quicker then last time with and average speed of 23.2 km/h. Considering it was quite windy today this was again very encouraging and I am starting to look forward to the race on Saturday.

I picked up the start numbers today and I have got start number 128. As Beathe and I start in the second group our official start time is 05:03 Saturday morning. The package includes stickers with the start number to put on the helmet in order for the official photographers to recognize all riders. Not sure a picture of me "half dead" riding up Skjervet is something to look forward to :)

Karin's low-carb bread

Freshly baked bread made this afternoon.

My wife and I have been looking for a low-carb bread and finally we found one we really liked:

http://forum.lavkarbo.no/showthread.php?t=25639

I decided to share the recipe here and send a big thank you to Karin for sharing her recipe for a fantastic bread :)

Short ride with Beathe

I have been fighting a cold the last 3 days, today I was much better and decided to take a short ride. I drove out to Beathe's place and she joined me on a ride to Skjellanger and back to her place. Even with the wind and rain we did it in 1:25 with an average speed of 23.2 km/h. This was 21 minutes quicker then last time we did this trip about 6 weeks ago, so the hard work has payed of.

 I had the bike in for service last Tuesday and they changed all the wiring for the breaks and gearing system, breaks both front and back, and new tires. IN addition to the usual adjustments of the gearing system.

Today the bike felt like new :)

We had a minor incident today, we were meeting the bus at a very narrow place close to Skjellanger. I was two meters in front Beathe and I braked hard, with all new breaks I stopped MUCH quicker then her so she ended up driving the bike into the ditch. Luckily both she and the bike was OK afterwards and we could continue after I had helped her back up on the road again. Sorry Beathe, I will be a bit more careful next time :(

Final test prior to Bergen - Voss

At 07.30 I left home to meet up with Beathe and Terje at Takvam. We had planed to start at 08:00 but as Terje had gathered three other friends as well we waited for them to arrive so the 6 of us did not start until 08:30.

From Takvam we took the old road to Trengereid and then continue up Gullbotn, by many considered to be the hardest climb on the Bergen - Voss route because it is quite steep (Except from Skjervet towards the end of the race of coarse).

Going up Gullbotn was indeed tough but with a steady pace I made it in a decent time. After Gullbotn there is a long steep decent and then some easy terrain until we get to Tysse. In this part I took the opportunity to fill up with water and some energy gel to prepare for the climb up to Kvamskogen. From Tysse there is a 10km continues climb to the top of Kvamskogen at 40.5k and 464m above sea level. Again I ignored the fact that the others started the climb at a quicker pace then myself and instead concentrated at getting into a steady pace that I felt I could keep over time, since this climb is, at least for me, very long I felt it was important to not start to hard.

Half way up to Kvamskogen three of the others stopped and decided they had enough and turned around to start the decent back down to Tysse and towards the cars. I think Terje also wanted to turn but my determination to "go all the way" made him change his mind. So Terje, Beathe and myself continued. After almost reaching Eikedalen, about 2km from the top, Terje had enough and he also turned and started the decent down. Again, Beathe and myself continued and climbed all the way to the top of Kvamskogen :).

If anyone had told me at Christmas time when this whole thing started, that I would go on a ride with 6 others from Takvam to Kvamskogen AND back again, I would not believe them. When I was one of only two who actually made it to the top of Kvamskogen this felt like quite an achievement for me.

After a 5 -10 minutes break because nature was calling and to refill with water we started on the descent down to Tysse. When we reached Tysse I made sure to fill up with energy gel, this time containing extra caffeine to recharge the batteries for the climb back up to Gullbotn again.

As the elevation map below shows, climbing up to Gullbotn in this direction contains two steep climbs with a short plateau in between where one can get at least a little "rest". During the first climb I ran out of water (which is not good I can tell you) and after a short while I got cramps in my left thigh. In the second climb I think the left thigh told the right one to start protesting as well. So these climbs went VERY slowly on my behalf. Beathe was a trooper and waited for me at the top of each of the climbs, thanks :)

Now finally at the top of Gullbotn the second time I was relieved that we only had a steep decent and then 7 easy kilometers back to where we park at Takvam. After stretching soar limbs we got into the cars and drove home.

Arriving at home Janicke was finishing dinner that was ready for me after long warm shower. Thanks, and also thank for letting me go out early and spend the day on the bike, I know you got back home late after partying with your friends and would have preferred to sleep longer this morning. 

Below is an elevation map of today's ride, and luckily during the Bergen - Voss race we do not have to climb Gullbotn twice :)

Short ride today

Today it was hard to get out of the coach and onto the bike. I had almost decided not to when Simen said "I think you are a very good bike rider daddy". After that I did not have much of a choice now did I :)

Since we had a long ride Yesterday I took a short trip today. 20km around Olsvoll and Sæbø and even with terrible wind and tired legs after Yesterdays ride I did the trip in 56 minutes. My personal best from the last time I did this route early this spring was 1:04. So there is no doubt I am getting in better shape.

Tomorrow the bike need some rest and then Saturday morning I will have a short low pace ride preparing for a 82km ride, crossing 3 mountains, on Sunday. I am riding together with Beathe and Terje to see how we perform during the two toughest climbs on the Bergen - Voss route. Since we park the car this side of the mountains we will have to climb one of them twice giving three tough climbs during the 82km's.

I am not really looking forward to it as I am certain it will be painful, but hopefully when we finish I will feel confident that I am getting ready for the race on June 4th.

New record on the 54k route

This afternoon Beathe joined me on my 54k route and we did it in 2:26. This is 9 minutes quicker then my previous best and considering we had a typical Autumn weather today with rain and wind, this was a big improvement. I think Beathe would have done it under 2:20 but she was a good companion and waited for me on top of the steepest hills. I can not match her speed going up, but I am closer now then a month ago so hopefully after the summer I can almost keep up with her :)

Our average speed today was 22km/h which, if we can keep all the way to Voss will give us a total time of 8 hours. I am not sure this is doable, but I am starting to feel that it is within reach.

I know, 54 km is just about 1/3 of the trip to Voss, but I still plan to look at the positive feedback from this trip.

54k route: Hilland-Bøvågen-Manger-Hilland

First trip together

Since the three of us decided to try Bergen-Voss we have actually not had a single trip together on the bike. Today, however, we finally got together for a nice Sunday ride.

We decided to take my usual 34km route and did it in 1:32 with an average speed just above 20km/h. Beathe managed to get away from us towards the end so she did it a couple of minutes quicker.

This trip showed the benefits of riding together, psychologically. As we were half way up the longest climb I usually stop and take a 1-2 minutes break. This time we all pushed each other and with Beathe 50 meters ahead there was no way I was going to stop. So for the first time I did the entire climb in one go.

Hopefully we can get more of these trips together, at least for me, it is a very good way of pushing myself.

Thanks to Beathe and Terje for a nice trip today.

:)

New post, finally

Finally got around writing a new post. Unfortunately I have not been on the bike for two weeks. I have had trouble with the gearing and it has been impossible to get any of the bike-shops to look at it. They are all fully booked for weeks. But I have finally got around fixing it myself.

So today I was back in the saddle and the trip this evening was hard.

I did my usual 34km route and did it in 1:29 which was a great surprise as it was 3 minutes faster then my personal best :). I hope to push this down to 1:25 in the next 3 weeks as that was my goal before the LOOOOOOONG ride to Voss on June 4th.

Hope to updated the blog a bit more frequently the next three weeks.