Coach Radek

Shortly after moving to Manly, a number of people suggested I see Radek Valenta for help with my cycling. Radek is from the Czech Republic and spent a year in Austria before moving to Australia 19 years ago. I resisted the advice until the cycling situation became quite desperate in May and I finally submitted myself to a threshold test. Radek is involved in a number of activities through his business, Zoom In Zones, but primarily provides lactic acid testing and coaching services, and agreed to take me on back in early May when I first had my test done. Radek has a huge amount of coaching experience, coaching the Australian Paralympic team in 2000 - 2003, and coaching Jan Rehula to a bronze medal in the Men's Triathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The above picture with Radek and Jan on Manly Beach, showing off the prized medal, was taken at the time for the Manly Daily News.

For anyone planning on training for an athletic event, I cannot say enough about hiring a coach. The training gets exhausting, as does reading through endless volumes of available information on training and nutrition philosophies, and it's difficult to analyze yourself objectively sometimes. Having the watchful eye of a coach direct your program can be a huge help. It certainly has been for me and I am worlds ahead on the bike had I not had Radek around...especially on those long rides listening to: "You're not eating enough", "You're not drinking enough", "Get in the aerobars", "Use your head", "Watch your gears", etc. Here are some pictures of a town called Brooklyn, a pretty little place on the water, like so many others, that we bike to and bike back from on those days when long, all-day rides are necessary. A nice man was kind enough to stop feeding the pelicans some leftover fish parts for a moment to take our picture.