Murphy's Law, the Rule of 3 and Zen on a bicycle

Friday morning is usually a time for a chilled out ride with the Vikings Club crew, cruising around the streets of Canberra before finding ourselves back at the ANU for the obligatory coffee stop before work. 

Normally these rides go off without a hitch, but for me the Friday just gone was anything but smooth.

Prior to the bunch heading off I warned everyone about a rather large pothole that had formed on the road that goes past where I work.  This is the sort of pothole that would bring you out in the Northern Atlantic Ocean (see here) if you were to fall in it!

Of course, as Murphy would have it, I did fall in it!  It was not pretty and it sounded even worse.  Importantly I stayed upright, my bike kept moving forward and the expletives didn't need too much censoring.  And whilst it seemed that I may have punctured (no), or bent my rim (no that's not it either), the final diagnoses was that the brake cable had managed to come dislodged in the housing and jammed the brake on.  This, unfortunately, was not rectified until the Super Soigny came to my rescue, bearing my lunch, at the coffee shop.  There are some parts of Canberra that just aren't fun with only a front brake.

 As far as I was concerned at the time, the hole I was in might have been this big! 

(photo credit)

The rule of 3 applies to most things in cycling- punctures, crashes, dnf's, wins (well I'm not sure about the last two).  Friday's set of 3 was people in cars trying to kill me.  First was the crazy man trying to over take the bunch when we were about to turn and then there were 2 others in the space of 500m as I was getting to work.  Obviously these were no more than near misses 'cause I am hear telling you about it.  It is amazing how defensively you will ride after the first near miss of the day and how that increases after number 2.  On guard everyone!

 Amy Gillett Foundation

What actually made these things from the morning seem totally irrelevant occurred to me on my ride home after work.  Despite the adventure into the pothole, I was still upright and even more importantly I had the company of a fellow Viking for the ride back to the coffee shop.  I am sorry that the bunch got away M Larkin but thanks for cruising back in with me.  Avoiding being hit is always a plus (I have been up close and personal with a car and there are still scars) but it might also have raised the awareness of the people in the cars about bikes.  (The first guy maybe not so much, but you never know). 

As I cruised home late in the afternoon of an early spring day, I was reminded that being able to get out on a bike is one of the most enjoyable things that you can do.  And that, my friends, is probably the greatest reason why cyclists endure so much.

(Photo credit)

Form Finding

There has been some discussion about form and how to get it/keep it/not lose it amongst some of my mates.

The obvious suggestion was that is has to be earnt. Well, derr! thanks Steven!

But my favourite was from multiple world champ Sue Powell*- Form... comes and goes but you know its there.... lurking somewhere.... just waiting for you to bring it slowly and carefully out of its box. Don't want to scare it away again.

The last couple of weekends I have been coaxing mine back (it has definitely had a long enough break!!). First up was a handicap out in Goulburn. Yes we went that far just to get to a flat race!!!

At times race conditions seemed like this! (Photo from freefoto.com)

Whilst the weather was abysmal, the racing was fun. For the most part my legs were at the party, at least until the 52nd kilometre. From 52km to the end (55km) they'd had enough. I really can't complain about that, there were lots of positive signs there and form was definitely sniffing around!

The skies as we headed back from Goulburn. (Thanks to Eric Li for the photo)

The following weekend was a double header of racing for me with the Capital Winter Sports Festival. A 10km mountain bike time trial on Saturday and then a 50km road race on Sunday.

The MTB course wasn't too technical but I am glad I rode it on the Tuesday before (part of that may have been because I was in the sun and everyone else was at work!!). Not being the greatest mountain biker this race was about racing for training and having fun (and getting Matt on his bike). I can't complain about the result (I was 2nd female) and in fact it was one of the funnest races I have ever done! If you haven't done a mountain bike time trial before, go and do one!
(Bit of extra plugging for the Bilbys Triathlon Club who expertly hosted the event.)

Thanks to the Canberra Cycling Club for the closed road event on Parkes Way on Sunday... is it showing my age if I say I miss the Parkes Way TT course?!! I thought I might have got bored on the 5 x 10km course, but that only happened briefly. The course whilst generally flat was made interesting thanks to the block headwind/cracking tailwind! The bunch set off at a cracking pace and for a fleeting moment I thought my form had been spooked and my race was over before we had done too many laps at all. But then we all settled down and found some rhythm. The last lap was probably the slowest of the day and I think the headwind as we sprinted to the end caught a lot of people out. End result was I was 10th across the line and first female. There were lots of positives after the weekend, but as ever, I am still learning in this sport and there were some mistakes made at the end which have left me with the "what ifs". But, there is always next time!

Most importantly, form is returning and racing is where it is at!

*Sue will be competing at the Para World Champs in Denmark next week. You can follow the action on Sian's (para super coach) blog or at the UCI pages (links on Sian's blog). If you are especially lucky I might pull something together about Sue for here!

Now that winter is over...

Recent state of my blog, sorry about that.

So much has been happening, but so little as well. Shortly after I wrote the post below, I had my wisdom teeth out. The timing of this was perfect- the le Tour was just starting to heat up and I didn't have to try and juggle training with late nights in front of the tv!!

In case you missed it, perhaps you live under a rock and this is the only thing online you read, Cadel Evans finally got to stand on the top step of the Champs Elysees!! And I am pretty sure the whole of the Australian cycling community stood there with him! (and a whole lot of the non-cycling community too!)

Thank you Cadel! I even enjoyed the sound of Tina Arena's voice

Then we got to the end of July and that was the end of my training break. The 3 weeks off the bike were absolutely essential for mental and physical refreshment. The year to date had been up and down in terms of injury and illness and there had been a lot of frustration from a lack of results. This break was perfect for allowing me to regain my focus and motivation; and work out what I really wanted to do on the bike.

Training recommenced at the start of August and I have been loving every minute of it. There has been some local racing and a whole lot of riding happy (thanks LJ). I have some goals and a couple of potential events for spring and summer and for the first time in a while I am enjoying the company of my bikes.

Admittedly training needs to ramp up a bit now, but I think that I am finding the right balance between work, life and bike and that really is the most important place to be!

Legs for hire

DBR attempted tour, Stage 2

After a good meal post ITT

and a decision that I would try and get to the end of the tour, I offered to help the Suzuki girls. I had nothing at all to lose and if I had something to do I was more likely to focus on the race.

I was duly factored in to the race plan and given my instructions. Easy enough- watch for breaks and cover the front. The first 10km of the race was some of the sketchiest time I have spent in a bunch. I am sure the gusting head winds were not helping our cause. I was also quite bored. Normally when I get bored in the bunch I will try and go off the front. That wasn't part of the instruction so I stayed where I was (boo!).

Things started to split up was we headed down the 2nd sister and even more as we went into Uriarra Crossing. I misjudged where I was in the bunch and ended up much further back than I would have liked. After working very hard out of the crossing and half way along the false flat I was back in the bunch.

Straight to the front I went where Bron was doing an excellent job patrolling. There was an attack from VIS and another rider to cover and then I was left on the front. Not a bad place to be at that point. That is largely where I stayed until everyone started to line things up for the descent back into Uriarra. I drifted to towards the back to take the descent at my own pace (long story).

Allison was just in front of me as we came across the bridge and the poor thing had thrown her chain off. Not knowing what the problem was I swiftly jumped off, offering wheels or whatever was needed. We got the chain back on just as the spares car got to us. A push up the hill to get us going, started well for me, but about half way up my legs just wouldn't shut up and I had to let Allison go on her own.

For me that was my race done. I kept up a reasonable tempo but couldn't bridge back to the bunch. I spotted a rider up the road and set about catching them. That was Skye-Lee, a fellow trackie, she had punctured and was just cruising back to SFP. So we had a nice ride back in with a taily to help us a long!

Allison finished 4th on the stage and was still in the lead at that point so I was happy! Job done!

I didn't start the last day due to an elevated heart rate and a slight sore throat. Rules are rules, and that was my ride done. I watched some phenomenal riding in the women's race, well done to Grace Sulzberger for absolutely dominating the event. Congratulations to all the girls who got through the weekend.

Racing as training

DBR Tour, or should that be an attempted tour.

When the new world coaching order began, this tour was set as a target to see what I was capable of. At last year's addition I was third on the ITT, Amy Cure topped the podium and Jo Hogan was 2nd. I knew what I was capable on the ITT course.

Unfortunately for the month leading up to the tour I wasn't able to train properly. (See the post below about that). I was acutely aware that I was going to be seriously underdone for the tour.

I had contemplated withdrawing, but you know, sometimes you just can't help yourself. With oral surgery set for the following Thursday I set some strict conditions on myself- in particular any sign that I was getting run down or potentially getting sick, I was out. It wouldn't matter if that meant only doing the ITT, I have to be well on Thursday.

The forecast for the weekend was pretty horrendous. Friday morning looked like this outside my backdoor! Fortunately the sun came out and the wind stayed down (relatively) for the women and the disc wheels could go on!

Given the prep that I'd had, I really can't be unhappy with the time trial I rode. I gave it absolutely everything I had, which all anyone can ask for. I saw some good improvements on the flat and descending sections, but there is a lot of work to do on the climbs. At the end of the day I was a little over a minute down on local champ Allison Rice who took the win, and 15th on the stage.

Not a bad result, but I am trying to stop myself asking, what if I had been fully fit and ready, what would have/could have happened then?

postscript

The last post didn't have any pictures. I don't like posts without pictures!

This might be a little bit cryptic for some, but that is what you have google for!!

Any of the girls I went to school with should recognise Fred Savage and make the connection!!

With a little help from my friends

It has been a bit of a tough couple of weeks around here. The DBR Canberra Women's Tour was set as an achievable goal under the new world (coaching) order, but somehow that message didn't get through to my wisdom teeth .
Tooth pain is awful at the best of times, but when it is coupled with an infection it is really unpleasant. It was to the point where I had to go home early from work. This also meant that I wasn't training at full capacity. In case you missed it, I am a microbiologist by training, I know what happens when bacteria goes feral and that was not something I was prepared to risk. To make it worse, my dentist was at a conference for the week.

I managed to race the club champ ITT on the Saturday after it had sort of settled down. That was the hardest TT I have EVER raced. It was windy, cold and the course was brutal, and of course the bacteria were still partying in my mouth (just a bit quieter).

The acute stage of the infection had passed by the time I got to the see the dentist, but it was still hanging around. That meant a course of antibiotics. It was an antibiotic I had taken before, but I seemed to have an increased sensitivity to it this time around, further hindering my training.

With my training load down about 40%, maybe more, I wasn't able to defend my ACT ITT championship title. Although I can't be too unhappy with the performance on the day, it still cuts deep. It was tight at the pointy end of the field and there were some positive signs, all things considered.

I am currently scrambling to get some form into me before the DBR Tour kicks off on Friday. And it is with the help of my friends that I have been able to scrape the bottom of the mojo barrel, pick myself up and get on with it! Thank you

To name and shame... Matt (husband, soigny, mechanic, also known as the Engineer); MiffyG (check her out here), Coach Lyn, Hazel from work, World Champ Sue P, old favourites Glenn and Pothole, and anyone else who would listen to my moaning!

Last but not least, and I should have photographed it when I saw it because it has changed now, the Ride Happy site that was subliminally telling me: "Ride Happy- Bec" . Just what I needed to move my sorry self- thanks Lisa! (If you haven't checked out the new Ride Happy site, get over there now, far more entertaining than me!!)

Here's to a fun stage race this weekend and the break that is going to follow!!

Public Holiday Monday GITT

What is a GITT I hear you ask. A GITT is a Guerrilla Individual Time Trial. If anyone asks, it is just a timed training ride. There is no road approval. There are no marshalls. It is just you, your bike and your stop watch. What differentiates it from a normal training ride is that there is a group of you all trying to smash each other like it was a proper race!!

So that is how I spent my public holiday Monday. There were 4 of us, all keen to set a mark for a time trial along Lake George. The start was down the hill from the lookout- although I did suggest that a 200m start ramp would be kind of fun!- and the finish was 20km down the road, just before Collector. About 2km from the Pie Shop- very important to remember!

Lake George- earlier in the year.

With the amount of wind around (btw, it has been an incredibly windy winter so far), I decided to race in the raw, ie with training wheels etc, not me naked- it is winter remember :p

Simon set of first as this is was brilliant idea. He claimed he was only going to be putting in about 85% (I think most guys say this when they are racing a girl, although most wait until after the race to make such claims so maybe Simon was telling the truth ;) ). I gave him about 45 seconds and headed off. Steve came after me on his maiden ride on his newly acquired TT rig, which was decked out in full carbon bling- disc and tri-spoke. Then Oliver, who was the rawest of all on his roadie.

The problem with "racing" like this is that there is no way of controlling cars on the course. I had two cars in the brake down lane to dodge, actually it was 3 if you count the car that the policeman had pulled over! It is difficult to maintain momentum when you are trying to look behind at a highway with cars travelling at 110ph to see if there was gap to slip into! Not to worry, I don't think it really cost me too much time and I know that we all had to get around the policeman.

For the first half we had a cracking tail wind and I was cruising along at about 50kph without too much trouble. As we got further along the lake, the wind started to move around to be more crosswind and then head-cross for the last bit. I was having trouble holding my bike upright at times and I remember thinking it must have been incredibly difficult for Steve with his disc.

If you are unfamiliar with Lake George, it is pancake flat. Apparently there is 38m of climbing in total! You can see it all here. And it is absolutely perfect for cracking times, including girls beating boys!

Story of the day, I won by 2 seconds! With a time of 26'46 for the ~20km course. My computer told me that was close to an average of 46kph! I reckon I might have even gone a bit faster if my legs hadn't been screaming from 3 pretty heavy training days before hand!

The Daily Pie in Collector was tops! The coffee went down a treat and the cakes and pies were pretty good too!

After the pause, back on the bikes to roll back to the lookout to the cars in full TTT formation. It wasn't until we got to the top that I realised I actually had a slow leak in my rear tyre. I wonder if that had been there from the start...

Happy TTers at the Daily Pie in Collector! (Photo thanks to Simon.)

You can also read Simon's write up here

Dear Brain, shut up!

The following is "borrowed" from Daniel Gilbert's blog

One of the ironies of human psychology is that desperately wanting something can make attaining that thing all the more difficult. When stakes go up, performance often goes down. In one study, subjects practiced sinking a putt and got better as they went along — better, that is, until the experimenter offered them a cash reward for their next shot, at which point their performance took a nosedive.

This is because we pay close attention to what we’re doing when what we’re doing matters, and though close attention is helpful when our task is novel or complex, it is positively destructive when our task is simple and well practiced. Golfers in another study were told either to take their time and think about their stroke or to step up and swing as quickly as possible. Although novice golfers did better when they took their time, expert golfers did worse.

The lesson from the laboratory is clear: thinking about tasks that don’t require thought isn’t just pointless, it’s debilitating. It may be wise to watch our fingers when we’re doing surgery or shaving the family dog, but not when we’re driving or typing, because once our brains learn to do something automatically they don’t appreciate interference. The moment we start thinking about when to step on the clutch or hit the alt key, our once-seamless performance becomes slow, clumsy or impossible.

It pretty much sums up my crit at the Wagga Classic at the weekend*. I had cruised the whole 30 minutes of the crit. Perhaps I was in a grade too easy, perhaps I had underestimated my form, whatever the reason I had been largely in control of the race. That is until the last lap and a half.

All of a sudden I started thinking.

Thinking about not pushing through gaps that were there, because maybe that would put me on the inside when we got to the corner and we all know "inside suicide".

Thinking about timing of when I pushed for position in the bunch and hesitating when there was a blatant opportunity.

And worst of all, thinking about winning the race.

Apparently this sudden "brain activity" was apparent on the sideline. No longer was I one of the stronger more dominant riders in the bunch. I was some nufty who was suddenly disorientated and bewildered by the surroundings.

I managed to pull myself together a little bit and did hold up a bike that had a rear wheel sliding and skipping more than once. I think I was 7th over the line.

But, the disappointment and "what if" still lingers...

Image Credit

*We are not talking about the road race because, well, I just went out for a training ride to get ready for Sunday- OK?!

My very own pilot fish!

According to Wikipedia, there are several etymologies for pilot fish.

Pilot fish swimming with an oceanic whitetip shark

One story suggests that sea-faring people believed that pilot fish, which would appear around the bow of their ships when they were close to land, were leading (or piloting) them back to port.

An alternative etymology is that pilot fish were once, erroneously, thought to be piloting sharks to food, or even (as legends have it) piloting ships, whales and swimmers to safety.

Both of these are pretty good analogies for the lead out man (or woman) for the sprinter in a bike race. And the Coolamon Handicap saw me in a position to have my own pilot fish.

After a shocking appearance at the Rutherglen Classic 2 weeks before, chief Riverina handicapper, Barry O'Hagan, obviously had taken pity on me and stuck me in the limit bunch. I wasn't sure if I should be insulted by this, but I was happy enough to take it as a gift- that doesn't happen very often in bike races! Actually he had put all the women in limit, so it kind of made sense.

The first 40kms of the race were pretty uneventful. I was mindful of the fact that I really was in the wrong bunch and tried to encourage the others in the bunch without blowing them apart. Although I don't think they saw it like that- oops!

At the 40km mark we were caught by all the back markers, except scratch. This made for a rather large surging mass of riders on a fast, largely downhill stretch of the course. It was the rush of being in that bunch that reminded me why I love racing my bike.

At what I thought was about 10km to go fellow club member, Jeremy Rhind, turned to me and said "I want to lead you out". I couldn't believe it. Offers like that don't come along too often. And after the offer was repeated, I was glad to accept it!

From there I was well expertly escorted to the finish line. Jez made sure I was on his wheel at all times, which took a bit of co-ordination as we were both still swapping off to ensure we held a good spot in the bunch. And Jeremy spent an awful lot of time in the wind for which I am very grateful.

I wish I could say that this worked out perfectly, like you see at the end of a Tour stage, but that was not the case today. I knew the finish was uphill, but I had blocked out the steepness of it!

A group of 4 that obviously knew the course jumped early and attacked over a little roller at the base of the main climb and got enough of a gap to hold it to the line. Having missed that, I went not far up the climb, but found it was just a little too steep for the gear I was on and faded badly over the last 100m. By my count I ended up 10th over the line, and first female which was the primary goal.

The irony of the situation was that Jeremy had enough to come back over me on the line and take 9th! oops!

Big ups to Jeremy the pilot fish. It was nice to be supported and delivered to the finish line so capably!