Monday 27 September 2010

What a weekend!

We have a three day weekend, with Queen's Birthday public holiday on Monday. WA is the only state in Australia to have it now, and not in the middle of June with the rest of the country, as it coincides with WA Foundation Day. Also, it was the AFL Grand Final weekend, which resulted in a historic draw, only to have a rematch the following week.

I started the weekend with a plan to do a 160km ride on Saturday. There were moderate winds, and it was pretty sunny that day. I averaged 30kph for most of the ride. Took a pit-stop at about 113km, triple cheesburger stunner meal for only $6.95 at Hungry Jacks!

I helped myself with the unlimited refills of soft drink. Probably wasn't a good idea, as I felt a bit bloated after that. I continued my ride, the winds had picked up a bit and the sun was getting hot. My eyes kept on tearing from the glare. I had to stop a few times to wash my face. When I got near UWA, I decided to call it quits and skipped the small loop near Dalkeith. I clocked 152.7km, averaging 29.7kph. I noted to myself to put on my sunnies for my next long ride.

Sunday, I did no training but did some weeding near the small patch of green at our driveway. Li-Ann did quite a bit of uni assignments marking. We did get out of the house eventually. In the afternoon, we had a stroll at Trigg Beach, about 10 minutes drive away. The winds were howling, I was glad I wasn't out cycling that day.

I decided to ride again on Monday morning, as I'm still avoiding running for my shin to recover. The plan was to ride 100km, making the weekend's mileage of 250km. This time I had my sunnies on. The wind was much stronger, along with slightly tired legs, I aimed for an average of 29kph.

Here's where it happened. After cycling for about 1.5 hours, at the infamous slopes of Point Walter, I was tailing an SUV attached with a boat trailer behind, where I hit a road bump. My bike handling is pretty average but I'm normally able to control this bend. My sweaty hands must have slipped off the bars. Down I tumbled and bike skidded along.

I suffered lacerations on my left shoulder, left hip, right knee and both my palms.

My poor bike, suffered scratches on the left gear shift and left brake lever.

I called Li-Ann for rescue. I was feeling really frustrated and seriously contemplated withdrawing from Ironman WA. But as we drove home, and I calmed down, I decided that this was a minor setback. In fact, it would have minimal impact on my training, nothing's broken. Thank God for helmets! Although I was screaming like a baby when I was taking my shower after that.

Looking forward to better week's ahead.

10 comments:

reitak said...

hope its only external injuries...be careful on the road!

Frank Chong said...

Good news is that you are all right. Bda news, the bike. Sigh...

Kevin Siah said...

Reita: Thanks for your wishes. Yeah only external. A bit sakit sakit lah when mandi, when my skin touches my clothes.

Frank: Yeah, that's why helmets are a necessity! Bike, what to do. Scratches only lah, still functioning. Have to touch up with marker pen hehheh.

sofiantriathlete said...

Go on the trainer more. I believe you have one.

Spoke to your Dad before the Newton run. Very sporting of him to take part.

Kevin Siah said...

Yes, I do have a trainer. Spin on it twice a week, 30 minutes each time. No patience to be on it so long lah. Also, need to train in the outdoor elements to get used to wind, heat etc.

Yup, my dad was very impressed with your slim look, fast running, and striking Skins outfit hahhah.

sofiantriathlete said...

ha ha

EnAikAY said...

I read this entry before, and yesterday i had my share of a bike crash.
I had same lacerations 'style' as yours, minus at the hips portion.

Let's enjoy the shower-baby-screaming while we can.. yeehaa...

Kevin Siah said...

Alamak, I hope my blog didn't jinx you! Get well soon, Nik. My wounds now starting to harden but making it difficult to move about.

cRAzYtoMatOmaN-D said...

Ouch!
Look at it this way...somebody up there don't want you to over train. Time to go slow for a while before powering up again...soon. :)

Kevin Siah said...

Yes, taking it easy now. Slowly getting better. Will just have faith in my limited mileage to get me through this race.