More ‘Patio of Pain’ than pain cave. . Leg and arm feeling heaps better after my pre-New Year stackie so figured it was time to jump back on that horse and bank my first ride of 2021. . Brisbane lockdown means breaking out the KICKR Snap and loading up the road bike for some stationary miles. . #lockdown #cyclist #cyclistlife #paincave #fromwhereiride #wahooligan #wahookickrsnap
Moments
Testing out different cleat positions for these new @crankbrothers Eggbeaters on my road bike before a spot of lockdown cycling on the @wahoofitnessofficial KICKR. . Pedals are ultimately destined for my hardtail XC rig, but trying to get a feel for them under controlled conditions before going full-send on the trails and injuring myself again! . #day9 #cyclist #cyclibglife #mountainbiking #xcmtb #lockdown #pedals #eggbeaters
Beer, braai and boerewors before the storms hit. . 🇿🇦🇦🇺⛈ . #day6 #bbqlife #braai #weber #weberbbq #weberbbqausnz
Taking time off from the bike due to injury is a pain in the ass (or leg, in this case). Don’t want to rush things, but can’t wait to get back out on the trails again. . Much #latergram from when I finally got to hit up Nerang National Park a couple of days after storms had been through, and everything was proper filthy. Good times. . #day5 #cyclist #cyclistlife #recovery #mountainbike #mountainbiker #goldcoast
Taking some baseline measurements for the start of the year. . Whilst I probably won’t be back on the bike for another week or so while my body heals up I don’t want to use that as an excuse to not start pursuing some semblance of a healthier lifestyle. Whilst I am by no means obese, I have pretty respectable dad-bod happening and could definitely benefit from a bit of weight loss (even if it just means having to carry less up the hill when riding the bike). . Haven’t really got much of a plan at the moment, other than riding the bikes more, I’m hoping that by laying it all out there for all to see it will make me a bit more accountable when I get started in earnest. . Whilst I doubt I’ll be jumping on the scales every day, I’ll be using my old @withings scale to keep track of my overall body composition throughout the year. So here it is, the Week One weigh-in: . Weight: 90.1kg Fat: 22.7% Muscle: 66.3kg BMI: 27.5 (for reference I am 181cm tall) . Will post a monthly update and hopefully start seeing some of those figures changing in the right direction. . #day4 #weightloss #healthylifestyle #fitness #health #progress #withingsscale #withingscommunity
After a year like 2020, one of my goals for this year is to pay more attention to my mental health and emotional well-being. I’ve always had a less-than-ideal relationship with my mental health, so dedicating time to my emotional resilience can only be a good thing, right? . My wife found this Mental Fitness & Well-Being Diary from @resilienceagenda I was super keen to pick one up and give it a go for this year. . Like physical fitness, mental fitness is all about learning about and deliberately making time for self-care, recovery and developing an understanding of our emotional world (much like we would our physical world). . I’m taking some time today (in amongst cooking a kick-ass Sunday roast) to absorb the theory behind Mental Fitness and the daily strategies for building my emotional well-being, ready to go back to work tomorrow morning. . Expect to hear more about this bright teal vegan leather-bound book - I’ve got a good feeling about it!. . #day3 #mentalfitness #mentalhealth #resilience
Set & Forget . New tee from @hucktheworldco pretty much sums up my maintenance/calibration approach to my full-suspension mountain bike. Apart from an annual service and the occasional pump up of the tyres I pretty much don’t do anything to that bike except ride it. And wash it every now and then. . My hardtail XC bike is a whole different ball-game, but I have another t-shirt for that... . Happy Saturday everyone 🍻 . #day2 #setandforget #shellberight #mountainbiker #huckyeah
Even with the challenges that last year presented, my Strava stats for 2020 were still a little meh. . Despite starting off this lap around the sun pretty banged up from stacking it on the mountain bike over the Christmas break, I’m itching to get back out and start making my 2021 end of year stats much more respectable. . #day1 #strava #cyclist #cyclistlife #stravacycling
Mr Postie dropped off some goodies courtesy of the @pushysonline Boxing Day sales today. Pretty keen to get those @crankbrothers Eggbeaters installed on the hardtail 29er and hopefully up my XC game. 🤞 . Sun sleeves because I live in Queensland and the sun is brutal 🌞 . #cyclist #cyclistlife #mountainbiker #bikeporn
With a load of good sessions at Bunya under my belt I decided to mix things up a little and break out the 29er hardtail. Whilst the steeper head tube angle, shorter travel and lack of suspension in the rear made some of the descents a little more butt-clenching, I definitely appreciated the larger wheels and better power transfer through the clip-ins on the climbs (even if I didn’t have as much traction with the XC tires at times). I even managed the climb out of Bunker Road (officially called ‘I Hate This One’!) without having to get off and push - which is definitely a first! Such fun - reckon I’ll be riding 50/50 on the 29er and full-suspension rig moving forward. . #mountainbike #mountainbiking #mountainbiker #cyclist #cyclistlife #wymtm #fromwhereiride #outsideisfree #worklessridemore #strava #stravacycling #singletrack #xcmtb
Love your work @hucktheworldco - order to fulfilment in less than two hours. #huckyeah #ecommerce #indiebusiness #mountainbiking
Great couple of days getting out on the bike - was determined to venture out of my bubble of favourite trails. . Yesterday I ventured south to Gap Creek Reserve behind Mt Coot-ha for the first time in almost seven years. Hills were still as brutal as I remember going up, and equally as fun going down. . Today we ticket another one of the bucket list and finally hit up Sugarbag Road in Caloundra. That one definitely exceeded expectations and is going to be added to the regular roster. . Blistering heat both days, even at 7 in the morning, but the great thing about drinking non-alcoholic beer is that I could enjoy a frosty frothy one (currently my fave @heapsnormal Quiet XPA) back at the trailhead with a few envious onlookers (maybe I’ll pack a few spares in the esky next time!). . #fromwhereiride #outsideisfree #lifebehindbars #mountainbiking #mountainbike #mountainbiker #wymtm #trailstoke #cyclist #cyclistlife #nonalcoholicbeer #alcoholfree #alcoholfreelife
Took the old @goproanz Hero Black 7 on the trails with me yesterday and have been tinkering with stories in the GoPro iOS app. . Not exactly the fastest or most elegant run you’ll see at Bunya this year, but I pushed pretty hard and got a few PRs on Strava. 🤙🏻 . #latergram #gopro #fromwhereiride #cyclist #cyclistlife #outsideisfree #video #mountainbike
New tee from @oneupcomponents is my entire mood today. 🚲 . #worklessridemore #cyclist #cyclistlife #lifebehindbars #ratherberiding #mountainbiking
Starting the day right! It's been at least 5-6 years since I last rode Jurassic (2) and Carnivore (6) at Bunya - both black diamond trails. Partly because of the scary names 😜, but mainly due to lack of fitness. . The fitness still isn't there, but today I put on my big boy pants and gave them both a go. Will need a couple more practice runs before I do either of them at speed, but managed to get through them both without any spills. . Also my first time riding up the rock garden out of Creek Track (4) - small victories 💪🏻. . #fromwhereiride #outsideisfree #mountainbiking #cyclist #cyclistlife #wymtm #mtb
Maximum effort on the trails rewarded with a trip to @cleanskincoffeeco on the way home. . #cyclist #cyclistlife #mountainbikinglife #mountainbike #mtb #fromwhereiride #outsideisfree #getoutsideridebikes #coffee #maximumeffort #strava
At the beginning of October I decided to go alcohol-free for at least a month - no mean feat when you are a self-professed beer enthusiast. I did this previously in August, and it felt great, but I was finding that my options at the local bottleshops were sometimes a little limited if you wanted something other than a non-alcoholic lager (hoppy ales is more my jam). I was stoked to discover @craftzeroau and have just received my first delivery of a selection of beers from around the globe. .
#craftbeer #craftbeerdrinker #alcoholfree #craftzerolife #mindfuldrinking #sober #boozeless #nonalcoholicbeer #ocsober #soberoctober #alcoholfreebeer
First time out riding at Bunyaville in forever - reminded me how unfit I have become. Quite glad to have had to have stopped mid-ride because of a slithery boi across the trail 🐍. Still good fun though! . #fromwhereiride #mountainbike #cyclist #cyclistlife #outsideisfree #snakes #strava #gianttrance
Loving the new plates for the Ranger. 🙌🏻🚲💪🏻 . #PPQplates #PPQwin #personalisedplates #bike #fordranger2020 #wildtrak #mtb #gianttrance #cyclist #cyclistlife #fromwhereiride
The suburb I live in is called ‘Griffin’, named after the Griffin family who migrated to Australia from the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland, so this is a fitting birthday tipple from @bentspokebeer. . #craftbeer #craftbeerlover #birthdayboy #barleygriffin #hops #wattsandhops
