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Once again, thanks for the words of encouragement folks!
Good call on the gym work/core strength stuff. I need to work much more on that sort of thing, along with much more thorough stretching. My bad back at the moment is the result of too much driving and not enough effort put into maintaining my core. More sit ups in the morning for me I think!
Just reading the bio's of the TD racers on the Salsa website. Scary stuff!
That blog is bloody good Brakes - cheers for that
please don't copy the dancing videos though.
With regard to core, be careful of burning yourself out. I know that I don't really enjoy it (maybe you will so you won't need to worry, don't let me influence you!), but can hang in with a hard session for 3 or 4 weeks. But that is all I can do. After 3 or 4 weeks I'll find something else to do or kid myself that it's not worth it, no matter how good my intentions are.
That's not the approach you want. Stay modest and underexpecting when planning how many reps of whatever you'll do. Much better to start low(easy :O!) but consistently build up than suffer with something that's tough for as long as you can bare - which won't be the 12 months that you have.
If you have money, then potentially a circuit class or something would be the best medicine, they're much more 'enjoyable' than your bedroom floor and much harder to back out of (in a good way)
very good points above on core strength - this underpins [u]everything[/u]
Thats a fair point - my love affair with the gym comes in fits and starts and it's when I leave it alone for a period of time that I end up with chronic pain. I might join the local gym this weekend as it seems pretty good and they have circuits there that I can partake in. I also have to drive past it on the way home so that'll guilt trip me into going
And think about doing some audaxes, the antipodeans have done this. Martin & I did a few and Mike Hall has done some this year as well. The 300/400/600km ones are excellent for just getting used to massive hours on the bike. Any bike.
The last 3 months particularly try and ride 2 days in a row weekly with all your kit on your bike so that the body is used to it. Good luck, you [i]will[/i] have a great time. And as I said earlier stretch and core;-)
This is a great read about 2 guys riding the divide
about the only book I have ever read cover to cover without getting bored
May as well chirp in here. After the HT400 this year I've fully committed to the TD next year. Already highlighted need for time off next year. Just a matter of riding myself into shape again.
Round is a shape right?
Doing it