Monster’s diary

[alligatorob]

Took a ride along the busy main roads tonight to mix it up. A couple of very close passes and one extremely abusive driver who questioned my intelligence and politely suggested that I should vacate the road; pointing out is was night time. I didn’t quite catch the rest but it was about 30 seconds of straight expletives. It’s strange really;

It is strange, I have had a few times that I had to slow down until it was safe to pass a cyclist, no big deal really. A small thing compared to some of the problems other motorists can present. I don't see what real difference cyclists make to motorists. Our view of Australians from the US is that y'all are pretty laid back folks, sounds like some of your drivers are not.

I continued to be impressed with your cycling and now some running. I suspect trout must be pretty fit, all that swimming.

 

[Truffle Monster]

It is strange, I have had a few times that I had to slow down until it was safe to pass a cyclist, no big deal really. A small thing compared to some of the problems other motorists can present. I don't see what real difference cyclists make to motorists. Our view of Australians from the US is that y'all are pretty laid back folks, sounds like some of your drivers are not.

I continued to be impressed with your cycling and now some running. I suspect trout must be pretty fit, all that swimming.

I 100% understand where it can be frustrating for a driver to be stuck behind a cyclist BUT on each occasion tonight there was AMPLE room to pass, no congestion AND I was only doing 15km/h under the speed limit (9m/h) so really made no difference but some people just live in their own little world.

I’d say for the most part Aussies are very laid back. You get the odd di*k head here just as you do anywhere though.

Some of the trout we get in the farms around here are obese. You can pay to go fishing in the farms. Combine inexperienced fishermen (is that politically correct these days? I guess I don’t really care anyway) and a smart fish who has survived long enough to get to a decent size and they can basically eat all day every day, no swimming up stream for them either.

^^^
I think I may be reading too much into the trout thing! Hahaha

 

[alligatorob]

Some of the trout we get in the farms around here are obese.

Obese trout, not something I had ever thought about, but you make a good point. I sure hope this isn't the future of fishing!

I don't see why slowing down for a cyclist is any more irritating than for a slow moving car, or tractor, or something. I often drive my tractor down the side of a busy road to get diesel, and have never had anyone treat me that way. As you say that's not the problem, these folks did not have to slow down for you.

 

[Llama]

Maybe cyclists remind them of the fact that they could be taking better care of themselves and so you make them feel uncomfortable/guilty and they take it out on you instead of using that energy to go for a run.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Maybe cyclists remind them of the fact that they could be taking better care of themselves and so you make them feel uncomfortable/guilty and they take it out on you instead of using that energy to go for a run.

I think that may have a lot to do with it in some cases. Of course some cyclists don’t help our reputation. Last night I saw one riding the wrong way down the busy main road wearing black with no lights. We almost had a head on.

 

[Cate]

Here in Tassie trout fishing in rivers & lakes is a big thing. The trout are very fit & active, just like you
I think there is a level of discomfort with some drivers who are being reminded of how inactive they are when they see you. Also, there are the d*%# heads who think they own the road. We were abused for playing golf about 6 weeks ago. A car went past with a guy hanging out the window screaming expletives at us. I was totally mystified. I think there was even the "wog" word in there. Craaazy!

 

[Truffle Monster]

. We were abused for playing golf about 6 weeks ago. A car went past with a guy hanging out the window screaming expletives at us. I was totally mystified. I think there was even the "wog" word in there. Craaazy!

Wow I’ve never been abused playing golf before!

I have a round coming up in a couple of weeks with the boys if the weather stays alright. If not I think we’ll head to the driving range.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Well I did something I never thought I’d do ...

I strained my rotator cuff in my right shoulder vacuuming the carpet! It’s only a very very slight strain so it shouldn’t sideline me for long but I was planning on jogging mount lofty today. I decided not to though because it hurts like hell when I swing my arm back. Instead I went for a ride. Probably a silly idea too though.

I changed my rear cassette on the bike from the original 11-22 gearing to 11-28 so climbing was much easier BUT it did mean that I was constantly in between gears on the flats. I think I should consider a compact chain set and switch back to the 11-22 cassette. The good news from all this is I SMASHED my PB up the Uley road climb by 1:14 to lift my overall ranking to 150/373 @ 15:33 so gotta be happy with that! The blank line in the ranking is me (I’ve removed my name for privacy reasons).

The ride home was into a blustery headwind so that wasn’t overly pleasant but I got home alive.

One run in with a stupid teenager in a car showing off for his mate but once again they couldn’t stop to discuss the matter ...

 

[Trusylver]

I strained my rotator cuff in my right shoulder vacuuming the carpet!

that's one tough vacuum. Are you sure it is a strain and not an impingement or a tear ? take it easy but if it is still a problem after a couple of days get it checked properly. It may be worth it for you to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles to prevent it happening again.

 

[Truffle Monster]

that's one tough vacuum. Are you sure it is a strain and not an impingement or a tear ? take it easy but if it is still a problem after a couple of days get it checked properly. It may be worth it for you to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles to prevent it happening again.

I think I jerked my arm in a strange motion taking it out of the cupboard. It lives in a little cupboard in my laundry and it’s not a small vacuum (Dyson DC15).

Short answer no I’m not sure but I’ve got a script for anti inflammatories now so I’m hoping it goes away quickly. I’ve been doing clean and presses with the dumbbells, reverse flys and bench press lately so my shoulders have been under a bit more strain than usual. I’ll give the weights a miss until the soreness has gone.

 

[Trusylver]

mostly good movements but bench is notoriously hard on the rotator cuff if form is not spot on. If you have some bands hit some external rotations when your pain level allows, often the external rotators are a lot weaker than the internal especially if they lift weights.

 

[Truffle Monster]

mostly good movements but bench is notoriously hard on the rotator cuff if form is not spot on. If you have some bands hit some external rotations when your pain level allows, often the external rotators are a lot weaker than the internal especially if they lift weights.


View attachment 28568View attachment 28570

Thanks very much. I’ve been meaning to reach out to you for some advice on a good routine to build up shoulders and back a bit. I do have bands and will definitely give this a go.

My other problem (which definitely leads to form being less than perfect) is I have plates and screws in my left elbow. The strength in my left arm is considerably lower than my right so my right has to work harder to compensate.

 

[Truffle Monster]

I really am obsessive when I put my mind to something. I decided I was signing up for the city to bay fun run in September. It’s 12km but it’s been 20 years since I’ve run that distance. 30 minutes later and I still couldn’t get to sleep so I went for a jog.

3km became 5, 5 became 7, 7 became 8, 8 became 10 and 10 became 13. It’s official I can make the distance. My legs are like jelly but I made the distance. Certainly not going to break any land speed records but I’m happy with that. I’ve now got a month to work on speed.

The run looks shorter in the picture because I did 2 laps. The outer one was first then the inner one was second

 

[Cate]

Wowsers TM. Nothing much stops you when you set your mind to it!

 

[Truffle Monster]

Wowsers TM. Nothing much stops you when you set your mind to it!

I’m feeling it now though. I’ve got to go to work with sore legs

 

[Cate]

I bet you are. Ouch!

 

[Truffle Monster]

The weather is still wet and miserable here and I hate cycling in the rain sooo off I went for a jog. 8km tonight. I was still feeling a little sore from yesterday’s jog so didn’t want to push it. I think I’ll do around 5km tomorrow then take a rest day on Thursday.

 

[Cate]

Well done!

 

[bensanon]

The weather is still wet and miserable here and I hate cycling in the rain sooo off I went for a jog. 8km tonight. I was still feeling a little sore from yesterday’s jog so didn’t want to push it. I think I’ll do around 5km tomorrow then take a rest day on Thursday. View attachment 28592

Hi Truffle Monster, Are the screen shots from an app on your phone or a watch with GPS or something? Curious because I'm thinking about a replacement for my Fitbit when it goes and some watches have GPS and I think something that can log similar information like in your screenshots might be useful.

 

[Truffle Monster]

Hi Truffle Monster, Are the screen shots from an app on your phone or a watch with GPS or something? Curious because I'm thinking about a replacement for my Fitbit when it goes and some watches have GPS and I think something that can log similar information like in your screenshots might be useful.

The screenshot are from my phone. It’s an app called Strava. It’s mainly for cycling but it supports walking and running too. My rides are mapped by my cycling computer which I then upload to Garmin connect which then uploads automatically to strava but jogging I just record straight on my phone (cycling computer measures cadence which the phone can’t).

If your Fitbit has gps you can sync to strava and map through the Fitbit without your phone but you need to have actual GPS. My Fitbit blaze uses my phones GPS so on it’s own it has no idea where it is.

I was very hesitant to use strava because I’m somewhat competitive and thought it might take the enjoyment out of cycling but I now wish I’d done it a long time ago.