Don't die wondering

McDonald's Classic Criterium Wagga Wagga NSW, 13 June 2010

I really like the crit circuit around Wagga CBD. A little bit technical, a little bit undulating and if you can get away the potential to not be seen around some of the corners!

After the handicap the day before, there seemed to be a few tired legs around the place. The race was set to be 30 minutes plus 3 laps, with intermediate sprints at 10 and 20 minutes. After the first 5 minutes I decided that I wouldn't contest the intermediate sprints and would save myself for the final sprint.

The race was without incident, although with such disparity in the skills and speed of the mixed bunch it was imperative to keep alert. On the whole, it was a pretty easy crit as far as they go. I made the mistake of not setting the clock on my computer so I wasn't sure how long we had been going/how long to go, so was hesitant to try and get away for a solo win or at least a solid attack to mix things up. In the end I waited patiently in the bunch for the final lap.

Unfortunately I forgot to pack my sprinter reflexes and when the guys next to me started to organise their 2 man train I didn't react. In fact I waited much too long to launch my sprint, despite being in excellent position in the final corners, and in the end I ran out of course before I made my way up the podium places :( In the end I finished 6th- off the podium and out of the prizemoney!

So many what if type questions... Next time I will remember to pack the sprinter and then I won't die wondering!

Handicap by name... Handicap by nature?

McDonald's Classic- 83km Handicap
Wagga Wagga NSW, 12 June 2010

Again reminded why I really dislike handicaps! They are an absolute gamble- a result very much depends on the rest of the people in the bunch and the days that you are good won't necessarily be reflected at the end of the day.

The McDonald's Classic Handicap was one of those days that could have been so much more. Right from the gun the bunch was a shambles. Everyone was looking at each other as if it was the final 5km and waiting for someone else to make a move. For neither love nor money would a paceline get organised. And the men certainly didn't want to listen to the lone female in the bunch! Needless to say, the bunch blew itself apart within the first 10km!!

That left 73km to go... in the wash up after the hill that killed my bunch, I was in the second group with, I think, 3 further ahead. We chased hard and I think in the end we got back together. It is hard to tell, I found out later that the bunch ahead of us also disintegrated in about the same place as mine. The chase went on until we were caught at about the 35km mark. Making the most of the increased bunch size I took the opportunity to feed, but then we turned into the cross wind... cue a number of us getting flicked off the back of the bunch.

And so it went on. Chasing in small bunches, chasing solo, and ending in a small bunch. The biggest frustration of the day was that I felt awesome on the bike. I went over the "hills" like they were flat and was generally having a good day, I just didn't have anyone sharing that with me. I think that is probably the biggest handicap of these races...

Mini break

I guess you could consider 3 days in a row of the bike a mini-break! My brother got married on the weekend so we headed on up to Queensland (sans bike) for his wedding. It was a lot of fun and I am definitely refreshed and ready to hit the road!

Here are couple of shots of the couple and my super-cute nieces :)



My brother and his girls! (l to r: Janika (bridesmaid, Phil's god daughter), Kylie, Gracey (niece 2) and CJ (flowergirl, niece 1)

Happy couple :D

CJ after we convinced her to smile!!

Sometimes I feel like this!

There is a little bit of content at the start that might upset some...

I know it is advertising, but I actually find this little mouse kind of inspiring :)

Are you faster than...

A triathlete... well, yes. But, I am not faster than myself!!

Vikings ran an autumn time trial series over the same brutal course that we had been using over summer. It was billed as Cyclists vs Triathletes with the intention of increasing numbers at races. I am not sure how successful this aspect was, but it was a nice idea.

I managed to make it to 2 of the 3 races, but as much as I hate to say it, they were somewhat disappointing appearances. The first one out, the inner scientist took over over analysing and holding me back at different parts of the race. The time that week wasn't completely disgraceful, but it was slower than my best times over this course.

My next appearance was at the last installment and unfortunately this happened to be the weekend after the ill-fated Canberra Tour weekend and I was still not 100% recovered from my illness. Needless to say that the time posted this time around was a long off my best. I will also add that rolling away at 8:30 am in late autumn is fraught with peril- the fog from the top of the 3rd sister to the turn around was so thick I couldn't see more than a couple of metres in front of me and for safety's sake washed off a lot of speed on the fastest part of the course.

But, it is not all doom and gloom. I did win the series and laid claim to being faster than a triathlete (is that really something to be proud of??) My name is now engraved on the trophy for the series (I hope the time isn't, I am really unimpressed with it. Maybe they will take my time from pre-Nationals!!) And to top it off I scored a gift voucher to one of the local bike shops. Really can't complain, but... well, the whole over-achiever thing strikes again!

Thanks to Vikings CC for a fun series and TLC cycles for supporting the initiative.

Such a fine line

Canberra Tour
Friday 30 April- Sunday 2 May

This weekend, of all weekends, I lost the battle of the work-bike balance. With no indicators prior, I can only assume that the stress of the last couple of weeks at work finally caught up with me :(

I raced on Friday and even though I was about 4 minutes down (who was responsible for having us finish at the top of Honeysuckle Creek?!!) I was really really happy with how things had gone on the day. I had had some very specific personal goals to achieve and I ticked all the boxes. I was totally geed for Saturday's stage.

The profile for Friday's stage- what a nice way to finish a race!!

I did all the right things for recovery. Had a lovely evening relaxing with Davina, her Dad and Matt. And got to bed in time to ensure a good night's sleep. It all came undone at about 630 on Saturday morning when I woke up feeling like I was swallowing razor blades my throat was so sore, a resting HR that was through the roof and swollen glands. A phone call to Brian confirmed that I was not to get on a bike. Hello cold, goodbye racing weekend.

I know it wasn't an event that was well suited to me, but I was really looking forward to the challenge of the weekend and learning as much as I could from it. C'est la vie, that is about all I can say.

Well done to all the girls who raced so well. Jo Hogan for taking an impressive win, Lisa Jacobs in second and Bron Ryan in 3rd. Bec Domange has a good write up as well. To the guys that I fed in Saturday's stage, I hope that you achieved what you were aiming for.

Time to rest up and come back bigger and better (figuratively, not literally!)

Almost, Dr...

A quick update on this post.
Today I got word that the examiners had approved my thesis WOOOHOOOO! :D

Some minor changes are needed, but I reckon I can have them done by the 31 May in order to make it to July graduation!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in achieving this.

How many false starts are you allowed?

A couple of club races, a couple of results that I am less than impressed with. :(

One of them was because of a low level virus that was wearing me down, and that sucked, especially when on race day I was actually feeling pretty good. Others were my own doing. Sometimes the analytical scientist in me won't let the cyclist in me just do its job.
These are perfect reminders that cycling is about so much more than just the legs...

We all know the phrase "Shut up legs", I think mine will have to be "Shut up brain".

(I have no idea what this DVD is about, I just wanted the image. Maybe it would be useful!!)

The wheels on the bike go round and round...

The last few weeks have been all about clocking up the kilometres. Most of these have been solo, "secret training" kilometres. Consequently, many things have been observed.

• Goulburn, home of the Big Merino, is not far enough away and the kilometres need to be rounded up. :|
  

• Yass is a perfect distance away. However, it is all uphill on the way home, starting with the hill in the way out. :)

• People who do not know how to ride in a bunch should NOT suck my wheel! Further more, I HATE WHEELSUCKING SUPER COMMUTERS!! :v
  

• I have a very good relationship with my mp3 player, but some tunes are better for the road than others. :) From the current playlist:

• Anthrax- good
• Presets- good
• Peaches- good
• Mr Bungle- not so good (I love all things Mike Paton, but Mr Bungle is a little too erratic for good pedalling tempo, although for this purpose it is better than Fantomas).
  

• I dislike people tossing their rubbish out the window of their car. We are all familiar with the "bogan droppings" (broken glass bottles in the bike lane), but is it necessary to toss a cigarette butt out the window, particularly when I am there? And, did you know that it was clean up Australia when you committed aforementioned crime? :@

• The number of people with complete disregard for red lights, both bikes and cars, is unbelievable! Just STOP! xo
  

• The guys and girls at OnyaBike Belco are fantastically awesome. I am incredibly grateful for all their support! :D

• At the end of the day I love riding my bike! :D

Just like the textbook says

Club Crit Champs, 17.2.2010

When things go as planned and the objective achieved, it makes for a very satisfying ride.

It was club champs night out at Stromlo Forest Park. Being back into the full swing of training for 2 days, I was hoping to get to the end of the race, with a distant thought of defending my Vikings Crit Champ title from 2009.

The race was scheduled to be about 23 minutes plus 2 laps, although that was shortened due to the brown snake taking up residence on the 2nd last corner (credit to Brian and his broom for keeping it off the track while racing happened). The pace was reasonably high, but still comfortable. Bron (Ryan) was attacking regularly but the other girls weren't letting anything get away despite my trying to stop them. At one point, I attacked and Bron came with and we thought that we might have got away with it, but no. sigh.

It was apparent to me that it wasn't worth me trying to go up the road, so I found myself a nice safe spot to be in the bunch and pretended to be a sprinter trying to avoid the front. With about 2 minutes of time remaining, the plan was hatched. Bron would attack once more, and knowing that the bunch wasn't going to let that happen and she would be back with us, she would lead me out.

Two laps to go, away went Bron, and for just a little while, it looked like she might have got a way with it. But the others decided that wasn't right and went and got her. Coming through for the bell, I had myself nicely attached to Bron's wheel and away we went. I can't really tell you what was going on behind me, but from where I was sitting it, the only person who could have stuffed up a podium finish was me!

Being the awesome time trialer that she is, Bron did a fantastic job winding me up to speed. At one point I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to hold the wheel after my recent time off, but there was nothing to worry about there (thankfully!). I stepped off Bron's wheel as we came out of the last corner, just like the textbook would say, and lit it up from there.

As for what happened next...

That is gold, if you can't tell.

Thanks Bron, you're a star!