Category Archives: Bike Log

Reasons to be cheerful in June…here’s the 2020 UCI schedule

Dear Rouleurs

Let’s face it the last 3 months or so has been bloody awful without competitive cycling. Watching the fairly boring replays of the Paris-Nice 2020 on SBS, is no substitute for a fully fledged spring classics season. So it was with some excitement that MMT heard through his favourite podcasts that the UCI had published a revised 2020 event calendar.

It looks like this. MMT hasn’t figured out how to show the Women’s events yet, so accusations of sexism please.

RaceCountryDate
 Eschborn–Frankfurt Germany1 May – Delayed due to COVID-19
 Strade Bianche Italy1 August
 Tour de Pologne Poland5–9 August
 Milan–San Remo Italy8 August
 Critérium du Dauphiné France12–16 August
 EuroEyes Cyclassics Germany16 August – Delayed due to COVID-19
 Bretagne Classic Ouest–France France25 August
 Tour de France France29 August – 20 September
 Tirreno–Adriatico Italy7–14 September
 GP de Québec Canada11 September
 GP de Montréal Canada13 September
 BinckBank Tour Belgium  Netherlands29 September – 3 October
 La Flèche Wallonne Belgium30 September
 Giro d’Italia Italy3–25 October
 Liège–Bastogne–Liège Belgium4 October
 Amstel Gold Race Netherlands10 October
 Gent–Wevelgem Belgium11 October
 Dwars door Vlaanderen Belgium14 October
 Tour of Guangxi China15–20 October
 Tour of Flanders Belgium18 October
 Vuelta a España Spain20 October – 8 November
 Three Days of Bruges–De Panne Belgium21 October
 Paris–Roubaix France25 October
 Il Lombardia Italy31 October

Now a few aspects of this schedule are immediately obvious, such as the enormous overlap between one day races and grand tours. Spain has lost all of its races, except the La Vuelta. MMT reckons that cyclists being earmarked for the Tour Guangxi would be looking for danger money.

But what’s interesting about this compressed season is the impact that it may have on the grand tours. It seems to MMT that teams will be forced to choose which races to prioritise. For a team like Ineos, they may choose to skip many of the one day events. For a team like Quickstep, MMT guesses that it will write off the Giro. The French and Dutch based teams will have serious thinking to do. One wonders which of the tours, Mitchellton-Scott will prioritise?

Either way its going to be fascinating to see how this turns out. Speaking of fascinating – MMT has completed his bike log for the first in years on time and May was a great month. The last week or so meant the Zwift-Tacx Neo trainer was pushed aside for some time outdoors. Some days were actually delightful for cycling.

So until next time, stay safe, ride safe

MMT

MMT’s 2018 Annual Report

Dear Rouleurs,

MMT has finally got around to reviewing his effort in 2018 and generally seeking to tidy up his blog.

Overall, 2018 was interesting year in the life of MMT.  MMT continued to be amazed by the development of his first daughter, the Ginger Ninja. 
Towards the end of 2018, Team MMT commenced a very exciting project.  The Team Manager, Mrs MMT, became pregnant with team’s second daughter.  At the time of writing, May 2019, that project is at the 33 week mark and progressing well. 

MMT’s efforts through out the year where fairly even, except for the last 3 months, where a 4 week holiday in Spain and the UK, clipped the end of October and start of November.  MMT finished December in style with a 1200km effort, mostly on the back of a Festive 500 effort.  MMT managed to attend 2 people’s rides, the Cadel Evans in January and the MS Cycle April. MMT didn’t really ride much with RCC. The Southside ride seemed to become a 40Km/h smashfest suitable for younger or lighter riders.

MMT’s beloved AFL football team, Richmond Tigers won the minor premiership, but ran out of gas against an impressive Collingwood in the Preliminary Final.  Going home at half time is a very bitter memory.  The alternative of sitting next to the Collingwood Cheer Squad at the city end was not an option.  Damn you Mason Cox!!!

So onto cycling, here’s bunch of pretty charts to present.  The first one shows MMTs yearly worm.   The dip at October and November reflects Team MMT’s northern hemisphere holiday.  The sharp kick at the end is the Festive 500.  The overall total of 8,269 kilometres was the first time MMT has managed more than 8,000 kilometres in a calendar

The second, has the same data set, except its month by month.  This graph shows how MMT’s efforts seesawed between months of 800+ km and 600+km for the first 9 months of the years. 

The final graph shows my ride activity month on month.  MMT averaged nearly 30 rides a month, through a mix of commuting, early morning circuits and longer weekend rides.

So in summary the numbers for 2018 look like this:

So in an average month MMT, does 29 rides, for 689km, which takes about 29 hours and burns 16,428 calories.  His overall average speed was 23.15 km/h.  MMT wonders what he could achieve if he were 10kg lighter.

Until next blog, ride safe

Marv

Marv’s June bike log

Dear Rouleurs,

Sometimes cycling and everything else you do life just don’t mix.  June was a busy month for Team MMT.  His adorable half-pint daughter, turned 2 years old in mid-June.  The very lucky/spoiled toddler received 2 birthday parties, one in Perth and the other in Melbourne.  This combined with a minor YAFF, meant that MMT spent some time off the road bike.  MMT would have loved to ridden a few of the coastal bike paths in Perth.  However, given how infrequent his family’s visits are to WA, it just didn’t seem to be the right priority.  Oh well, may be there will be another time.

The other thing about June was the weather has really turned on ‘Antarctic’ mode with icy gales and rain coming from deep south.  Those northerly winds that lead in the high pressure zones after a cold front are just as nasty, providing chilly head winds on most of MMT’s favourite routes.  MMT’s weekly washing has almost trebled with multiple base layers being needed per a ride.  Anyhow whinge over…here’s the log.

MMT’s June 2018 log can be found here.

The graphic form of the log is presented below.  It pretty obvious where the gaps are in the graph, that this was a disrupted month.  The total of 567 km was about 57km short MMT’s monthly target.  Based on MMT’s usual routine, he lost about possible 6 days in the month, that he would have usually ridden.

 

MMT is now preparing for extreme sleep deprivation with the Tour de France underway.  MMT is really looking forward to Stage 9, which looks like a mini-Paris-Roubaix.  Let’s see how many of these GC riders/grimpeurs survive that day.

Until next time, ride safe.

MMT

Marv’s May bike log

Dear Rouleurs,

May was a productive month for MMT on the bike, generating over 800km and 39 rides. Yes its one of those 5 week months, but it was still a good effort. The weather became progressively colder and occasionally wetter in May. MMT had to break out all the woollen long sleeve jerseys and his Castelli Perfecto.

MMT’s April 2018 log can be found here.

The graphic form of the log is presented below.  Overall it was a fairly even month for kms ridden.  MMT passed the monthly target on the 24th May 2018.

 

MMT managed a couple of rides with RCC this month and now has a few new followers on Strava.  Its a constant source of self-amusement and a bit of mystery  to MMT that anyone would bother to follow him.  Oh well….

Until next time, ride safe.

MMT