Cyrus Monk

Tour of Shanghai 🌆
Gambling of any kind is banned in China except for the national lottery. Bought the maximum number of tickets in breaks on all three stages but never got the right combination. Still a spicier than expected 3 days of racing and good signs for the squad for the next three weeks. 3 stages down, 16 to go.

Week 36 stats:
🚲: 7, 523km, 1653m, 13h 28m
🏋️‍♂️: 1, 49m
🏁: 3
🛏️: 4
✈️: 2, 13h 19m
🚙: 6h 45m
🍜: 4
🌨️: lots

Final interval and heat sessions in the bank, all set for the September Chinese Grand Tour.
19 race days coming up over 26 days.

4-6 Tour of Shanghai
9 Tour of Binzhou
12-16 Tour of Taihu Lake
20-29 Tour of Poyang Lake

Physically prepared for the races, mentally unprepared for the transfers 🚙 🚅 ✈️

Week 35 stats:
🚲: 7, 571km, 10508m, 20h 3m
🏋️‍♂️: 2, 1h 18m
🛼: 1, 26m
🥖: 4
🍕: 1
🍊Ina: 4

Cooking on the Cote.
Digging a big hole toward the September race block in China. No issues searching for heat training. Also a few storms to top up the favourite fountains 🫶
Feels like there’s been a grand tour in town every few weeks lately. A*O really trying to drive up the rent around these parts.

Week 34 stats:
🚲: 7, 759km, 14029m, 25h 51m
🏋️‍♀️: 2, 1h 16m
🎙️: 1
🥖: 5
🍊ina: 5
🍱: 12
🍼: 40

Intensity 📈
Volume 📉

Layering on the top end work after spending the last month too high to do over 400W for more than a few minutes at a time.
Been stupid hot during the fourth heatwave of the summer and even though I’ve missed a few of them it’s hard to remember not finishing a ride here in a puddle of sweat.
Back on the move this week for another bike race 🇨🇳

Week 31 stats:
🚲: 7, 544km 9951m 19h 20m
🏋️‍♀️: 3, 2h 19m
🥖: 5
🍊ina: 5
🍕: 1
Average road temp: 37°C
Max: 42°C

Back in baguette land.
Last two times I did Qinghai I got properly crook and took about 3 months to fully recover. Already feeling human a week later this time around so fingers crossed for a fully functioning Monk for the rest of the season.

Week 30 stats:
🚲: 7, 536km, 9298m, 19h 7m
🏋️‍♀️: 3, 1h 49m
✈️: 1, 2h 22m
🥖: 5
🍊ina: 5
🏊‍♂️: 2
🥾: 1, 8.4km

Another lap of Qinghai Lake done 🔁
Magnificent at times, horrific at others. Always a crazy hard race even with good weather but this year was off the charts.
Not many times during a bike race that “trying to survive” is the very literal meaning of the word but there was plenty of that in the back end of the tour.
Caught out a few times with not enough jackets, a few times with too many jackets, lost a few soldiers, gained a few extra spotty jerseys for the team.
Invested a lot in my own altitude preparation this time around which helped make it the most successful edition of the race I’ve been a part of, even despite losing more than half our team to hypothermia/hypoxia/hypoglycaemia.
Still a grovel most of the time and once again didn’t get into a break that made it to the line (but the stage that was cancelled with 190km to go we would’ve held on easy…)
Right now I’d be happy not to see the race or core temperatures that low ever again but memories fade. We’ll see.

Week 29 stats:
🚲: 810km, 8843m, 19h 45m
🏋️‍♂️: 0
🏁: 6
🛏️: 7
✈️: 2, 14h 24m
⛰️ max: 3848m
🌨️: lots
O2 💼: 1
💉🩸: 2

4 stages done, 4 to go at Tour of Magnificent Qinghai ⛰️

Yet to be in a break lasting more than 5km yet so the powder is fairly dry even if the roads are mostly wet. Team has been going strong with a few boys near the top of the GC list at the halfway mark.
Feeling better than ever above 3000m so hopefully can get off the leash before the tour’s over.

Week 28 stats:
🚲: x7, 581km, 6346m, 15h 36m
🏋️‍♀️: x1, 38m 22s
🛏️: 5
✈️: 3, 16h 4m
🍜: 6
Breakaways: 0
Near misses 💥: 3

Second week haemomaxxing ✅
Finessed the storms and the dicky knee to get in some quality work. Don’t really know how possible it is to prepare for racing at 3900m while living at 2100m but if the goal is maximising RBCs then we’re on the right track.

Week 27 stats:
🚲: x7, 657km, 14863m, 24h
🏋️‍♀️: x3, 2h 13m
🛏️: 2
⛈️: 3
🍕: 1
🥖: 4
🍊ina: 3

Living up to the name.
Monk mode locked in for a good old fashioned altitude camp, just with modern day carb intake.
Expected to be battling the thin air but it’s been more of a battle against extreme weather events and a dicky knee. Solid foundations being laid. Watts:RPE ratio is horrendous most days but that’s just part of the game.

Week 26 stats:
🚲: x6, 687km, 18866m, 27h 39m
🏋️‍♀️: x1, 25m
🥾: 11.6km, 3h 9m
🛏️: 2
⛈️: 4
🏠: 2050m ⬆️
Max road temp: 41°C
Max core temp: 39.5°C
🍼: 30
🍕: 1
🍝: 5
🍜: 4
🍚: 4
🥔: 6
🥖: 2
Voltaren applications: 14