Only those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly (Robert Kennedy)

Oceania Track Champs
Adelaide SuperDrome
13-15th November

My competitive, over-achiever nature means that I sometimes find it difficult to accept that even though there may not be a result, every time I set out on the bike- either on the boards or the road- it is still a step towards the greater goal. And that is precisely why it has taken a little while to get this post up, I've been trying to find some perspective.

The plan was always for this trip to Adelaide to be about getting amongst the scene, getting time on boards and really more a training exercise than racing for results. So with that in mind, this is how the week panned out.

Thursday 13th: 20km Points Race
This was the last event of the night, and due to crashes earlier in the program we didn't roll away until after 10:30pm!! That is well past bed time for most bike riders so none of us were particularly impressed! The pace was one from the get go and for the first 30 laps it was difficult to tell when the sprint laps actually started we just seemed to be going fast the whole time. About half way through Davina made a move off the front in an attempt to take a lap, initially I had thought I'd try and go with this but was stuck in the middle of the bunch and wasn't able to go. Unfortunately for D this didn't amount to the lap but she did pick up some handy points to put her in 4th at the end of the night. I went off the front with a Kiwi girl with about 15 laps to go. We got about a half lap on the field before they decided that wasn't what should be happening and reeled us back on the sprint lap. The hammer went down for the sprint lap and pretty much stayed down for the last 10 laps. About 4 to go I was spent, had to let the bunch go and call it a night. All things considered, I was pretty happy with how this panned out.

With Davina before the start of the points race

(photo from Davina)

Friday 14th: 10km Scratch Race
Second last race for today's program, but we were away a bit earlier, thankfully! The plan was to race aggressively and see what happened- which seemed to be the plan of everyone else in the race. There was a lot of attacking, chasing and counter attacking but nothing stuck. It was a bunch sprint for the line which I was 10th over. Given my lack of ability to sprint well on the track I was pretty happy with this finish.

Saturday 15th: 3km Individual Pursuit and Women's Omnium
I really should have given a lot more thought to my entries for the final day of competition, I wouldn't advise doing an IP and an omnium on the same day! But rather than think about what could have been, there were a lot of positives from the day (in hindsight :p). I now realise how vitally important a good warm up is for a good pursuit, and how much damage will be done by doing the first 2 laps way way way to fast! I can now say that I have done a flying 200m- I had never done one prior to this one in competition, but hey, you have to start somewhere! Though I never realised they were quite so technical! Reckon I could nail it with a bit of practise though!

Photo with my mum after racing had finished on Saturday night- looking a bit tired!

Despite posting a shocking time for my IP, on the whole I am not too unhappy with my omnium performance, given that I hadn't done a flying 200m or a 500m TT before! I got through it and was 10th overall. Lots of things to improve on but consequently the only way is up from here! I think my overall performance would have been helped if I had had a better scratch race but after the 3km pursuit my legs were a bit cactus and I couldn't hang on for the last 200m of the what turned out to be a 3 lap sprint!

3km IP- looks a bit a lonely out there! (photo thanks to Davina)

Lots of people contributed to this week and I'll try not to forget anyone:

• mum and dad (photo at right) for coming down from Menindee to see me and watch me race
• Tammie Ebert and the NTID program for $ support, chaffeuring and team mum
• The NTID sprint boys- Maddison, Nathan, Boxy and Coops- congrats for your medal haul and thanks for letting me hang out with you
• Hilton and Bob- thanks for your advice and mechanical expertise
• Davina- thanks mate
• Michael Hardy for calling my pursuits and general advice
• Coaches Pothole and Dean- you guys do a great job (one day I'll get it together to make you look good!!)
• Mick and the guys at Onya Belco for everything bike!
• Matt (you know what you do!)
  

Boxy, Madison and Coops lined up for their Keirin final- Maddison (2nd from top) took gold and Coops (bottom of track) got bronze.

Hey, that's me in the paper!

"Barwick's front-running display a winner"

BY CHRIS DUTTON
CYCLING

10/11/2008 1:00:00 AM

While her world-class competitors fell around her, track cyclist Bec Barwick avoided two dangerous crashes to win the 19th Tour de Femme yesterday.

A crucial breakaway 5km into the race proved the difference as Downer resident Barwick beat triathlete Jennifer Dixon in a sprint to the line to claim her first Tour title.

A record 677 competitive and social riders, aged 10-70, jostled for position in the opening stages of the 20km race.

With her more fancied opponents in a group of more than 50 riders, Barwick made a break and challenged her rivals to stay with her.

Dixon was the only one who chased Barwick and managed to stay with the eventual winner until the last 100m.

Barwick finished in 32min 10sec with Dixon two seconds adrift. Just six seconds separated the top eight riders.

''It was an early break and it went and stuck so that was pretty cool,'' Barwick said.

''We had a little... plan... to be aggressive and I went and that's pretty much it.

''The crash was well behind us so we didn't even know it had happened, that's what's nice about being out in front of the field, you stay out of trouble.''

The top four seeded riders became tangled in the chase group minutes away from the finish line at the Canberra Yacht Club.

Two-time winner Chloe Hosking, Australian elite squad member Vicki Whitelaw, third seed Myfanwy Galloway and junior star Rebecca Henderson fell before they could mount a challenge for the lead.

Whitelaw failed to finish while the other three managed to cross the line in the top 20.

''It's unfortunate but there may have been some riders a little inexperienced about riding in packs,'' Hosking said.

''That's cycling, it's the way it goes sometimes.''

It was a change in luck for 28-year-old Barwick who finished 16th in 2006 after being caught in a similar crash.

She normally races on the track in individual pursuit and will compete at the Oceania Track Championships in Adelaide on Wednesday.

Tandem riders Kerry Knowler and Brandie O'Connor were the first to cross the line in 31.53.

They were bewildered when they finished almost two seconds ahead of Paralympian Lindy Hou.

''I don't know what happened,'' Knowler said. ''I think we went so fast because we were scared and didn't want anyone to pass us.''

O'Connor, who is visually impaired, collected her third Tour de Femme but her first with Knowler as the pilot.

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllAT A GLANCE19th Tour de Femme: Tandem: 1 Knowler/O'Connor 31min 53sec, 2 Hodges/Hou 33:47; Individual overall: 1 Bec Barwick 32:10, 2 Jennifer Dixon 32:12, 3 Gracie Elvin 32:16

Suck it up, Princess

Reality Check (RC): Bec, I think we need to have a little chat.
Bec: Oh, yeah, what's up?
RC: I think you are taking this pursuit business a bit too lightly.
Bec: What do you mean, lightly? I have been training pretty hard and doing everything I am meant to be doing. It's all been going pretty well, don't you think?
RC: Yes, but a little too well. I get the feeling that you are forgetting how tough this race is meant to be. You seem to be getting through your training a bit too comfortably for my liking.
Bec: What do you mean? I've been in the box since Wednesday's crit.
RC: Doesn't count. What you do with your pursuit, that is what counts.
Bec: Oh, what are you going to do about it?
RC: Here, catch this?
Bec: What the...? What's this?
RC: That is a shocking time for your trial pursuit.
Bec: That was a bit harsh. Did you have to devo me that much?
RC: You deserved it.
Bec: Oh, are you sure?
RC: Yep.
Bec: Geesh, alright, if you say so.
RC: Actually, it looks like you are getting over that kick in the pants. Take this.
Bec: Man, what'd you knock me off my bike for?
RC: Reinforce my previous message.
Bec: What?!
RC: You can't take this sport for granted.
Bec: Reality, you suck.
RC: I know, aren't I grand?!
Bec: No, I hate you.
RC: You say that now, but you know you need me.
Bec: You know what Reality, I am so going to prove you wrong. I am going to ride the target time whether you like it or not, and I am going to keep loving this pursuit. You can go to hell. I am so much better than you think.
...
...
...
RC: Told you you needed me. ;)

Wagga Wagga Golden Wheel

Saturday & Sunday 1-2 November
Details and results here: Wagga Cycling Club

Track carnivals are loads of fun- generally lots of racing, racing with the boys and some dollars to win as well. It is a pretty laid back atmosphere with everyone out to have a good time and hopefully take home a bit of coin. The 2007 Wagga Wagga Golden Wheel was my first ever track carnival, so it was nice to head back this year, and thankfully the weather was much kinder. Last year Saturday's program had to be cancelled due to wet weather and Sunday's was drastically reduced to fit in some racing for everyone. This year it was all blue skies, despite the BOM forecasting thunderstorms, and then a bit of wind towards the end of Sunday- good times!

My race line up went something like this:
Saturday: 10 lap moto race, 4 lap handicap, 2 lap handicap, 5 lap Golden Wheel heat, 5 lap Golden Wheel final, 15 lap scratch race
Sunday: 8 lap scratch race, 2 lap handicap, 5 lap Rules Club heat, 5 lap Rules Club final, 10 lap scratch race.
NB: a lap around Wagga is ~420m, it is also a flat track.

Results wise- frustratingly I was often 4th or 5th and just out of the dollars for the smaller races, hmm too much pursuit training and not enough sprinting!! Highlights for Saturday: making it into the final of the Golden Wheel for the second year (one of 2 girls in the final, Megan Dunn was the other) and then finishing just behind the boys that won; placing 3rd in the scratch race (I thought I was second but Carly McCoombe was on the bottom of the track and they gave it to her). Highlights for Sunday: making the final of the Rules Club Wheel race and hanging on for 4th place after the train went through! Hence the podium photo! (More photos in the photo album link on the right.)

All up, it was a fun weekend. Made some finals, rode well, won some dollars and had a good time! Looking back at the number of rides I had, no wonder I was a tired bike rider on Sunday night!

Now the focus has shifted somewhat- Oceania Track Championships are next week! And whilst this is not an even that we have targeted specifically for riding target times in the pursuit, it will give me a good opportunity to see where I am at after all this training. Special thanks to Davina for giving me the nudge to go, hope that she is recovering from her broken wrist and is able to ride in Adelaide. I am starting to get a little excited about it!

One of my best friends is...

a bucket.


Another week and just for something different, more training!! There was also a race on Wednesday night, but I already told you about that. For various reasons this week I ended up on the ergo 3 times this week, that is OK, after the time spent together with my broken wrist, the ergo and I are pretty good mates. This week however, we had to introduce someone new to the relationship, enter bucket. I won't go into too much detail, but the sessions this week have all been hard, hard, hard and when the going gets tough, well, things get a bit anaerobic and a bit lactic and a bit messy. So, a bucket is now one of my mates when I am on the ergo, along with my mp3 player.

But, enough of that. It has been a good week of training and it will be much the same for the next few weeks, but there is a fair bit of racing coming up. Most of the events are in the calendar to the right, but here's a preview:
Nov 1-2: Wagga Wagga Golden Wheel Track Carnival
Nov 9: Tour de Femme
Nov 13-16: Oceania Track Championships, Adelaide.

And now for something completely different.

This is a peanut butter and choc-chip biscuit- possibly one of the tastiest post-ride treats. Here's how you make them:

1. Heat oven to 200C
2. Combine 1 cup of brown sugar, 200g crunchy peanut butter, a teaspoon of bicarb soda and a lightly beaten egg.
3. Stir in 250g dark chocolate chips
4. Roll teaspoonful amounts into small balls and place on a baking tray that has been sprayed with a little oil and lined with baking paper
5. Press lightly with fork
6. Cook for 8-10 minutes until golden

7. Cool and enjoy :)

Don't talk to me about the nutritional value (or lack thereof) of these, I said at the start they are a treat!!

Thanks for reading and have a great week :D

Stromlo Ladies Night- Welcome home Vicki Whitelaw!

Women's A grade Criterium
40 minutes + 2 laps
9 ladies on the line, about 9C and blowing a gale!

OK, so first up for the non-cyclists, here is the wikipedia definition which sums it up pretty well:

"A criterium, or crit, is a type of bike race held on a short course (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed-off city centre streets. Race length can be determined by a total time or a number of laps, in which case the number of remaining laps is calculated as the race progresses. Generally the event's duration (commonly one hour) is shorter than that of a traditional road race. However, the average speed and intensity are appreciably higher. The winner is the first rider to cross the finish line without having been "lapped.""

The purpose of Stromlo Ladies Night was to introduce local women to Crit racing on our purpose built track at Stromlo Forest Park. Despite the atrocious weather there were heaps of women out to have a go, which was great to see. This was a great initiative by Vikings Cycling Club, and hopefully we'll see a few more in future.

On to the race report. Being the "premier" grade they saved us until last . Originally we had been scheduled for 40 minutes + 2 laps, but earlier in the week it became apparent that there wasn't going to be the daylight to go that long, so we were down to 30 minutes + 2 laps. At 7pm we rolled down to the start line, only to realise that the the majority of the girls who normally would race A had stayed home, did I mention it was freezing and windy! So with 9 of us on the start line, it was decided that 20 minutes + 2 laps would be more than enough in the conditions- that worked out to 1 lap per person, + the 2 laps at the end!


The race unfolded like this, Vicki attacked, we went with her, Vicki attacked, we went with her... someone else might have attacked, we covered... you get the idea. Then Susie attacked, we covered and Vicki promptly counter-attacked- nice move Vic. So, Vicki took Chloe Hoskings and Bron Ryan with her and I decided to let that one go. Individually, bad move Bec, but Bron is newly recruited to OnyaBikeBelco, so nice team move Bec ;).The rest of the race involved Jessie McLean, Susie and I rolling around together, while Vicki, Chloe and Bron did the work up the road. In the end, Bron did too much on the front, and Chloe rolled them both. Official results:
1. Chloe Hoskings
2. Vicki Whitelaw
3. Bron Ryan
4. Bec Barwick
5. Susie Boer
6. Jessie McLean
7. Myfanwy Galloway
8. Laura Medley
8. Kathleen Miles

Welcome home Vicki and thanks for shaking up our bike race!

The highlight of the night was watching the twins- Jacqui and Alex- in B in only their second crit having no idea what to do (I shouldn't laugh, that was me 12 months ago really) and coming home with a win and third place!

Photos (top to bottom): Contemplating the weather at the start with Laura; Chloe getting the better of Vicki; Jacqui on the way to her first crit win, Alex took third (this photo from Vikings Photo Album).

Smile :)

(I "borrowed" this from the daily webcomic blog Kitten and Snake.)

Made me smile, hope it does the same for you! Have a great day!

Riverina Championships

10km ITT + 42km RR
Wantabadgery (near Wagga Wagga)
Sunny and Hot!


The focus for these 2 races was obviously the ITT with the RR being a bit of a bonus while we were there. The ITT course at Wantabadgery is perfect for me- false flat, being slightly downhill on the way out and then uphill after the turn around. Running fixed, the only concern was the wind, which seemed to be a head wind both ways- not sure what was going on there!

The race itself was pretty straightforward, I was racing in D grade, since there was only 2 women competing it was against the men or nothing and I was 4th away. The main competition for me was actually the U17 boys that were racing. I had a cracker of a start and remember thinking how much fun this was (hmm, did I mention it was hot? :p). I had passed 2 people in front of me within 2km and picked off another one after the turn around. U-bolts on a fixed wheel are a bit of fun and I certainly lost a bit more time than I would have liked at the turn around, but that didn't seem to worry me too much. The SRM output showed that I finished fast up the "hill" and I certainly felt strong despite the wind. Official time for the 10km was 16:09.07min, which gave me first place (and would have had me in the top 8 of the other 3 grades as well!). I had hoped for a 40kph average, but the wind made that a bit ambitious for me today.



Unfortunately I didn't get as long as I would have liked between the ITT and the RR, but that is the fun of double header racing and you take what you get I suppose. There was about 18 started (I think) and the pace initially was pretty sedate, that was OK I needed to ride the ITT out of my legs before the going got going, unfortunately 6km from the start there is one of the steepest, nastiest little pinches I think I have ever encountered in racing, it just kind of went straight up. This is when I realised that my legs really did a bit longer to recover from the ITT, and slowly the bunch got away from me as they approached the top of the pinch, and with a long fast descent on the other side, all I could do was suck it up and chase! So this became my second TT for the day! (of course I could have just turned around and rolled back to the start as I really wasn't going to catch them, but where would the fun be in that!) So chase I did. And I kept chasing slowly picking up other guys who had been spat out, first one and then another 2. A four person paceline is so much more efficient than just me in the wind! As we covered the last 15km our little time trial team had become about 10, a mix of D and C grade. By the final 1km we had spat a few of those out and the final sprint was the 4 of us that had come together after the KOM. After some poor positioning, I really need to learn how to make others come through and take a turn/get off the front!, I ended up 2nd in our little sprint, which worked out to be 7th overall. Not too unhappy about that at all, given the disaster at the start!


All in all it was a good weekend for Onya Bike Belco- my results here, and also at the Scott 24hr Mountain Biking: first in the Male Musketeers (team of 3) and the Mixed Musketeers, fifth Mixed Team of 4. Nice work everyone!

Training, training, training

As the title suggests, that is about all that has been happening on the bike in recent times (and I figure you probably don't need to hear about that, it is not that interesting!). Though I have to say it has been lots of fun for me- seriously! It is a lot of fun being on the bike, and especially fun, and rewarding, to see improvements.

The last couple of weeks has been all about building strength- hill sessions, track sessions and weight sessions- all with the aim of making me stronger and it is such a buzz to see the results (thanks Pothole). I have gotten faster up Stromlo on a bigger gear each week.

Here is the view I get at the end of my SEs on Stromlo. I do like cycling Canberra.

My pursuit efforts on the track have gotten faster on the massive gear I have been pushing around BundaDome, and the power output is approaching the target average of 400W (thanks for the SRM Tammie).



Photos: Canberra's Velodrome- Bundadome, home of brown snakes, speed bumps and grass growing on the surface (!) and with the recent birthday wishes from the locals!

Weights wise, all my strength exercises are using weights exceeding my body weight (thanks Dean). All in all it is looking promising for a good track season-fingers crossed!

A quick update from last post, I have beaten spring! My asthma has settled down and the season didn't get the better of me! Bec 1- Spring 0.

After all of this we figured it was time to go racing. The race this Sunday will be the Riverina Championships at Wantabadgery (near Wagga Wagga)- first up will be a 10km time trial, which I will do on the weapon which has now been converted for track, so I'll be riding fixed!, followed by a 47km scratch race not long after that. Then there is a well earnt recovery week.

In updates off the bike, wedding plans are coming along well- we had meetings with the Minister and the caterers last week and everything appears to be on track there. I had a job interview last Thursday with the Department of Health and fingers crossed they will give me job! And my thesis is progressing, maybe not as fast as it could but surely!

Next up will be a race report and photos from the weekends racing in the spiffy new Onya Bike Belco kit (thanks Mick)!

Spring loves me, Spring loves me not...

Spring loves me:
The days are getting longer so I don't have to have lights on my bike all the time.
It is getting warmer, so I don't have to look like the Michelin man to keep warm on my bike.
It is windy- but for every head wind there is a tailwind at some point of your ride.
The magpies start swooping, but it is warmer, you don't need your lights to get to and from work, and dodging them increases bike handling skills :P

Spring loves me not:
The flowers are starting to bloom and the place starts to look alive again, but this is where it all goes bad for me... The pollen upsets my asthma and makes it difficult for me to ride my bike :(

It has been week of good solid kilometres, and I'm feeling pretty happy with my effort for the week in fact! This was my first solid week back on the bike for base kilometres since the accident, which, incidentally, was 4 months today. Admittedly we are still finding the right balance of work and rest, but on the whole I am feeling pretty good here on Sunday night after a good number of hours training this week.

The problem however has been my asthma. Normally the pollen and dust and the other spring time enemies don't bother my asthma too much at all, but this year is different. Unfortuately on Saturday's ride there wasn't much I could do to overcome it, I'd taken my puffer but there was not much else to do except just keep tapping at my own pace, which was VERY slow, to get over Mt McDonald. It all settled when I got home and out of the pollen-laden wind, but it was still very frustrating nonetheless- it is an odd feeling when your legs want to go but your lungs just can't! Not surprisingly, it happened again today. Hopefully it will pass soon and I can get on with riding my bike, although until then I think I'll have to stock up on anti-histamines as an extra help to my normal meds.

So, spring loves me not, but it is not going to have its way and I am going to beat it into submission! Stay tuned to see how I go with that one, but 'til then, take care :)