Back on it like a boss! So here we are again. Another year and another Resolution Ride challenge! We’re keeping the same format as last year with the aim to ride one metric century (100km) each month throughout 2021. With fine weather and a little bit of free time, it’d be rude of me not to come firing into the New Year on all cylinders, so five days into it I’ve checked off ride numero uno.

See Also: Resolution Rides 2020

This morning I’d planned to give my fitness a good test with an all-out effort up a local Cat 3 climb, before joining the Tuesday Bash ride to the cafe with the regular crew. I hadn’t actually planned on 100km, it just kind of happened!

An early 20km warm-up from Sorell to the base of the climb gave me a guide to how my legs were feeling after a rest from completing the Festive 500 (a little fatigued still, but otherwise in good form, since you asked). My chosen climb today was Mount Rumney, one of Hobart’s Top 10 Climbs. It’s not super tough, more of a constant 7-8% gradient all the way with a couple of steeper pinches.

View from the top (a previous ride, too tired for a photo today).

Rounding the turn at the top of Tunnel Hill and hitting the start of the proper Mount Rumney climb, I upped the power to a level I call “unsustainably painful” to see just how long I could hold it for! I engaged full hill climb race mode and dug deep, absolutely emptying the tanks right to the top of the climb, going as hard as I could with legs burning all the way. I think I may have even tasted blood…

I held decent power (for me) all the way, only fading slightly in the final 100 metres or so. Collapsing over the bars at the top I checked my Garmin and sure enough, I’d set a new and all-time personal best FTP (functional threshold power). A great start to the New Year! I guess all that endurance riding through December was doing something after all. I descended the mountain, happy with that result! My legs were shot though. I’d given it 100% full gas, so I soft pedalled the rest of the way to meet the Tuesday Bash crew, hoping they’d take it easy on me today.

Today was an extended ride down to Clifton Beach, then back to Lauderdale for coffee. One thing that can sometimes annoy me with bunch rides is the amount of stopping. Sure, I totally get regrouping at the tops of climbs or intersections, but I find it hard to get going again after a stop so assuming I’m not last to the top (lol jokes I’m never last) I tend to circle back down past the final rider then up again. It adds some extra climbing and distance instead of waiting by the roadside. 

After coffee in Lauderdale I said my goodbyes, locked it into time trial mode and put my head down for the final 25km to the car. I arrived back with a few more kilometres than I had planned, but some days you’ve just got to take full advantage!

Distance: 110.7 km / 68.7 miles
Total elevation gain: 885 m / 2900 feet
Average speed: 28.1 kph / 17.4 mph