Double Century Road Team Time Trial

After a brief visit up to Joburg for the 94.7 I was glad to fly out of there for one last trip down south.  My last race of the season was the Double Century, down at Swellendam before heading back to a few months of British winter.  Flying down to PE I stayed with Kev and Lindi and the next morning met the rest of Team Scribante for the 6 hour drive.  

From the moment we set off I knew we were in for an entertaining weekend. I won’t comment on some of the subjects Silvia, Dan and Nick threw back and forth just to say it did get a little milder after we picked Ischen up from George but already my sides were sore from laughing so much.

Once we arrived and signed on we all went for a quick spin before tucking into some lovely homemade lasagna in our bed and breakfast, just outside town on an ostrich farm with some fantastic views of the mountains around us.  After dinner the preparations began making bottles for the freezer, wrapping foil snack parcels for our huge numbered bags and generally taking over the kitchen.  I think some of the guys were packing food for a multi day expedition into the wilderness with smoked chicken and cheese sandwiches, a pot of boiled potatoes, stacks of bread, marmite, jam, fruit loaves and the dreaded whiff of peanut butter!  

The next morning we got down to the start with plenty of time to get into our pens for our 6.38 start.  The Double Century is such a unique idea I’d never seen anything like it.  Teams of 12 set off and 6 have to finish, in our case 3 guys and all 3 girls, as we were a mixed team.  Two teams set off every minute until all 200 teams are on the roads.  That’s 2400 riders, 200 support vehicles and, to add to the chaos, no closed roads.  Within a few minutes we were catching and passing teams, some of which took up half the road, others spread out over a few hundred meters and some that tagged on once we’d passed.  The long pass started after 20 or so km after a good start of rolling through and off in a pretty organized way.  Any concerns about us girls hanging on for grim death were nicely put to rest once we were on the climb.  The 3 of us rode up comfortably and were able to take in the fantastic scenery and the snaking line of riders ahead.  Over the top we tagged onto another mixed team and hung on as a guy in Sky kit dragged them along.  I thought it strange the whole team was in the same kit all except one guy at the front who obviously preferred his off the shelf sky kit until we reached the end and I heard it was Chris Froome.  No wonder they were hard to hang onto!  They weren’t too happy about us tagging on so we tried to do a turn only to be overtook again by them with some of the girls singing songs about beating us while been pushed along by the guys… wait till I get in touch with Dave Miller for next year!!

Mark the main man had the idea we’d attack on the next steep climb where they’d struggle to push the girls, a good plan in theory but didn’t quite work out and by the time we’d crested the top they were half way down the other side.  At least we’d dropped the team behind us. 

At 90km we had our first stop.  Lindi and me made our own enclosed toilet area with a jersey and instructed the guys to focus on their food bags!  We were riding well with all 12 of us still present and more importantly us 3 girls sitting comfortably. 

The distance for me flew by.  I felt strong from all the mountain biking and was really enjoying the rolling hills, fantastic scenery and flying past loads of unseeded teams, half of them members of the Ischen fan club I’m sure. 

By the second feed we had lost Andrew whose spoke had broken but other than that we were all together and those that could work were rolling round at the front while those that couldn’t dealt with the demons just to hang on.  It was far from team TT Tour de France style but considering our heights varied from my 5ft 4 to Mark who was well over 6ft, our age ranged over 25 years and sporting backgrounds ranged from Ischen the pure bred mountain biker, Mike the triathlete, Dan, the ex rugby player, and Silvia a race car driver back in the day we were riding pretty well. 

The second feed was another ‘picnic’ and it was a good three minutes before we left leaving behind a trail of empty coke cans for Kev, who was doing a fantastic supporting job.  After that we turned into a head wind and the hills became tough long drags.  Nick punctured which was a welcome ease up but was soon back with us.  Been one of the strongest we couldn’t leave him behind.  Every time Kev stopped ahead of us more heads would appear in the van as their jobs were done. Lindi went though a bad patch which lasted all of 5 minutes before appearing on the front again in her annoying stripy arm warmers while the rest of us dripped with sweat and Ischen also looked liked she’d been on the road bike years, the endurance from the Pioneer having its effect. 

The wind was relentless as were the hills especially the three after Greg had promised we’d gone over the last, though I was still feeling good and finding them easier than the flats and descents in the wind.  With a few km left we lost our 7^th rider Mike who later had us in stitches telling us how he’d cramped so bad he’d half hobbled, half ran up the last hill much to the amusement of the passing teams!!

We finished in 6hr 3miniutes and after 6hr and 5 minutes Lindi had a cold beer in her hand!  Initially we were all gutted to hear we’d come 4^th by less than 1 minute especially as were sure the other teams in the running hadn’t adhered to the no feed from the car rule as our ‘ride’ time was 5hr 58mins.  We didn’t go to the presentation, which was a shame as the next day the official results had us in 3^rd, 10 minutes ahead of the next team.  However, even without knowing that it didn’t dampener the evenings entertainment what with Dan’s nudity on the sofa (thankfully out of sight), Mike’s magic massage, Earl’s hilarious stories, Silvia’s quality wine which amazingly came without hangover and, as usual in this country, a very tasty braai.  What a great weekend and the perfect way to end the year, it certainly was the most enjoyable time trial I’ve ever done and ever will do I’m sure!! 

Wine 2 Whales Stage Race

11 – 13^th November

Having traveled across the Garden Route, camping and roughing it out in the forests I wasn’t exactly overly keen about heading back into the tents for W2W.  Luckily Ischen let us take over her house and washing machine for a few days and with a couple of nights under a thick comfortable duvet with a real bathroom and some delicious home cooked grub I was ready to get back to basics. 

Day One 70km

Starting from the beautiful Lourensford wine estate with the sun shining everyone seemed overly excited and the start was crazy, especially as we were straight into a 10km climb.  Trying to keep the lead Contego girls in sight I let Ischen set the pace while I desperately tried to hang on.  We passed the girls but then lost them on the singletrack descent.  I was pretty rusty going down there and ended up stuck behind an even rustier guy!  After the first feed (sped right through glancing across at the table and hoping I wasn’t missing too many nice treats!), we caught and past the other girls and continued on our own catching a fair few of the overly excited guys who gave us grief early on.  The climbs were tough to our liking and the views over the vineyards were amazing.  We even saw a bit of history going up an old ox – wagon trail.  With some technical but not life threatening tracks we finished shattered but happy and even happier after the Contego girls didn’t come in for 19 minutes, just in front of the Develop team of Yolandi and Catlin.  The campsite in Grabouw Country Club was idyllic, very much like the Lake District at home and a cool breeze that made it comfortable to chill out in.  Where the Pioneer will be remembered for the ostrich, W2W wins hands down for the yogurt and chocolate moose… it was a good job the race was only 3 days long. 

Day Two  64km

With little climbing and 60% single track Ischen and I both knew it would be a hard one to win.  We were also racing blind (not literally thankfully) but in that we were the only girls in A batch.  That was nice in a way, as with 19 minutes lead we knew the other girls would have to catch us and still put 10 minutes into us.  The course was amazing, so much flowing single track it was one of those days that you smile and ride!  Ischen had a couple of small falls but nothing serious and we finished 6 minutes ahead of the Contego girls who took the stage with us 2^nd, our lead now 16 minutes.  Yolandi and Catlin came in 4^th, Yolandi been chased as usual by the male species, this time a young bok… lucky for them both they were only small things as it could have made another u tube hit!! The evening was highly entertaining and we were presented with a 1.5 liter bottle of wine which, without a screw top will obviously have to be finished in one go, fairly easy for Ischen and Pete, slightly harder I imagine for me and Rob!

Day Three

Woke up loads in the night expecting the tent to collapse any minute in the wind and highly aware of the draft coming through the tents broken zip.  At least it was dry as I was about to get up at five.  Spoke too soon, by the time I made it to breakfast I was a drowned rat and it was only 8 degrees!  Warm up was done with some balm in the Caddy with the heater on when we heard the start was delayed an hour.  An hour later it was cancelled.  At first we were relieved but soon hugely disappointed.  The route I remember from last year was the most scenic yet and the last mountain bike race of the year ended up as a hollow victory, though I’ve got to say 8 degrees and raining would not have made the day so pleasant!  There was even snow on the mountains… snow!!  Its not even snowing in England and its our winter!!  By the afternoon the sun was out and I think the race was cancelled a little too quickly but I guess there was 1000 riders who had to get through the day and the risk was maybe a little to great.  The beach finish in Hermanus will have to wait another year. 

Mondo Addo Mountain Bike Race

30/10/11

As a good start and introduction to South Africa me and my husband, Rob raced the Addo Elephant Park Mountain Bike Race.  We arrived the morning before and set up camp on the polo field and found the first thorns underfoot which were enough to puncture my crocs never mind the bike tyres!  After an easy spin around, a few café stops and an early night we woke to nice cool temperatures and little wind. 

I set off first in the 85km race.  Not too sure how the legs would react to a hard race I just rode around the front of the group and found the pace quite steady.  We soon split up on the first climb and I found myself in a chatty group with three or four other guys.  They didn’t contest me for the QOM as long as I lead them out for the finish that I thought was fair enough!  After that climb came a steep one, wet from recent rain and pretty unridable.  The views from the top over the Elephant Park were amazing though there wasn’t an elephant in sight.  I stopped looking at the scenery on the descent.  We were told to walk the first section, which I happily did and watched a guy go straight over the handlebars.  After that I was alone unable to hang onto the guys on the tricky single-track descent.  There were so many ‘Cautious’ signs, which I took too literally and at the bottom it took me an age to catch back up to the guys.  Feeling quite strong by then I followed a 98kg guy on a 29er down hill (couldn’t have planned that better if I’d tried!!)  We (well him really) then caught a rider I’d be racing the Double Century with and we rode together quite nicely through the lion reserve. 

Having dropped the 29er and later a young development rider who wasn’t working with us, me and my DC ‘team mate’ worked our way to 4^th and 5^th overall.  We had caught one other guy up and I was happy to let them fight for 3^rd place happy that I was comfortably first woman and was also one of the very few riders that didn’t go through a packet of bombs!

Riding into the finish funnel I was a few places behind Rob who had completed and loved the 65km despite losing 45 minutes fixing punctures.

6 bombs down, 2 tubes and 4 pretty knackered tyres later we left Addo for our trip along the Garden Route, next stop, a bike shop!!??

DCM Cape Pioneer Trek 2011

17 – 22^nd October

A lot of pain, a lot of laughs and a whole lot of ostrich, leather wallet and all!!

107km Oudtshoorn – Calitzdorp 

Ascent: 2161m

From the ostridge capital of the world (quite appropriate looking back at how much of those birds we ate), a nervous bunch rode out from the high school. Soon the race split on jeep tracks over some steep climbs and me and Ischen found ourselves with Nevelle from Botswana whom we’d met at JBurg2C earlier in the year. We rode hard and, as the tracks got steeper we moved through the field.  With 5km to go and on tar road we just got our heads down and out popped a snake coming up between us… nothing like a bit of adrenalin after 5 hours in the saddle and we probably recorded one of the fastest finishes!  With no idea where the next woman’s team was we were so relieved to not see them for 30 minutes, it had been a hard day but was worth it to get a nice cushion going into the next stage.  A delicious ostrich steak, a very amusing video of the day and the presentation before retiring to the tents at 8.30pm

5hr10 1^st woman, 12^th overall

128km Calitzdorp – Riversdale

Ascent: 2576m

Was awake by 4.30 despite the 7.30 start to guys mixing energy drink which is never a good thing with a full bladder and tangled in a sleeping bag! With the sun already out and with our pink, thick leaders jerseys on I was baking by the time we reached the Rooiberg Mountain Pass.  Luckily the pace in the group we found ourselves in was pretty steady and with a nasty headwind we let some of the big guys on 29ers do the pulling.  Every time I went near the front some guy would complain that they got no shelter so I left them to it!  After the second water point we turned up into the Langerberg Mountain Range.  The climbs were so loose and steep they were impossible to ride far on and the descents were as bad.  Even the top guys hiked a lot and around 2 hours and about 15km later me and Ischen rode out with a complete loss of humor.  After the last feed we put in a massive sprint to tag onto 2 guys from Cyclelab Pretoria whom I’d met at the Epic.  We both blew 50 meters behind them and I shouted for them to hang on in such a desperate voice they did.  Once glued to their wheels the 10km downhill home was fantastic.. tar road with a 6ft, 98kg time trialist sat in front, doesn’t get much better! 

6hr40min, 1^st woman, 16^th overall

With our massage slot at 2.45 it was a quick shower and food later.  Lunch by Scooters (a cold pizza or soggy pasta) then became a bit of a social event as I dined with about 6 different people and by the time I left there was only 1 hour to dinner! 

106km Riversdale – Albertinia

Ascent: 2379m

Woke to that comforting sound of rain when your snug and warm in bed before realizing that it was actually time to get up and ride for 6 hours in it!  Carrying a gillet was a good option as I whipped it off before the hills and fun technical bits started unlike poor Ischen who lost a gallon of sweat in the first few hours in her jacket until the first waterpoint.  We’d found ourselves in a fast moving group but with a strong tail wind it was tough going to hang on and impossible to stop and take layers off.  The race then went into the Langerberg Mountains, all ridable even though we did find ourselves in a heap together at one point!  On the last technical descent down I heard a loud noise coming from the back wheel that only stopped when I peddled so ended up riding the last 40km as if I was on a fixie!  (Dodgy wheel bearing apparently that was soon fixed by our awesome mechanic, Conrad) With 20km to go we swung round and the strong tail wind turned into a head wind with some horizontal rain to add to the touch.  In the last 10km we definitely lost our humor again and finishing cold and wet at Albertinia High School my mood wasn’t lifted.  The poor kids had been spending all morning holding onto the tents until they gave up and laid our mattresses out in the classrooms instead.   Luckily we arranged a girl’s only room and with only 3 of us in there I had the best sleep of the week

5 hours 16, 1^st woman, 16^th overall

Dinner: Ostrich number 2 in the form of a burnt stew

95km Albertinia – Mossel Bay

Ascent: 1579m

A ‘recovery day’… I’m afraid my legs needed more than ‘only’ a 95km stage to recover!  The race was its usual ‘hectic’ start over sand, across rivers and up some vertical climbs before emerging out onto a long gravel section.  With some strong guys pulling the group along the pace was hard and even my bribe to slow down with a nice Kooksister from my back pocket wasn’t accepted (yes a bit sticky and not really recommended but to much sugar to consume in one go, from past experience I’ve named it the Kooksister Bonk).  Eventually we turned into a nature park with lions in!  Luckily we were with some big meaty looking guys so didn’t really feel too worried and in the end the only sign of wildlife were some huge piles of elephant dung!  On leaving the reserve we had a laugh at the guy ticking off the riders, just in case….!

Riding on our own I struggled along the coastal path, scenic it was but with the narrow path, spiky bushes and sandy tracks I struggled to ride a lot of it and was pleased to find Conrad with coke at the feed followed by a nice downhill ‘home’ on tar! 

4 hours 51, 1^st woman and 16^th overall.

125km Mossel Bay – George

Ascent 2999m

After a neutral zone through town we came to the edge of the beach and 200 cyclists legged it down the dunes, paths and through bushes to get to the sea.  What a sight it must have looked for anyone out walking their dogs on a quiet morning!  Hugging the sea for 6 or so kms was also comical, especially seeing a wave in front nearly wipe out half the group!  It was sticky going though and a relief to get off.  Soon we were on long gravel climbs into the Outeniqua Mountain range and on our own from the first water point we were able to ride at our own pace.  The route was so scenic and parts very English like through woods and along fields though the temperature was a few degrees warmer!  There was a nice amount of climbing to keep it interesting, some good but not too scary technical descents and some lovely flowing single track near George, which we’d practiced the week before.  The thought of a real bed at Ischen’s and Pete’s kept our spirits high and finishing in 6 hours 30 in 11^th place was probably our best and most enjoyable day.  Tonight’s dinner:  Ostrich pie, delicious! 

95km George – Oudtshoorn

Ascent 1594m

It was hard to get motivated this morning waking in a real bed it would have been very easy to role over and sleep the rest of the day!  The ‘easy’ last day first went over Montagu Pass before some tricky rocky sections mid way, slow going and far from straight forward.  We both took the descents steady, no one wants to crash on the last day and with a lead of around 2 hours we had no pressure.  The two girls from Display Mania – Sludge Ladies caught us and we were happy for some female company.  They were having a great last stage and trying very hard to pull back the 12-minute deficit to the European Mountain Heros team.  We didn’t contest the finish riding in 2^nd, 11^th overall on GC and very excited to win another major stage race for Bizhub. 

After a relaxing afternoon in Oudtshoorn we enjoyed a fair bit of red wine, the best ostrich steak so far and was even awarded a tacky ostrich wallet and pen.  Our endurance finally ran out at 11pm and we failed the final ‘stage’ after race party… the lure of a bed all too great! 

1^st Bizhub Ladies: 32 hours 39

2^nd Mountain Heroes: 34 hours 36

3^rd Display Mania – Sludge Ladies:  34 hours 32

Oudshoorn Mountain Bike Marathon, South Africa 30th – 2nd October

Day One

Having arrived in South Africa on Tuesday and with the Cape Pioneer only 3 weeks away a three day stage race was perfect to get the feel back on the bike and get used to fat tyres, constant pedaling and lots of dust!  Ischen promised three pleasant days of scenic riding, which I thought quite amusing 4km in when we were hanging onto the lead bunch flying through the dust at over 30kmph.  20km later and we were still hanging on.  Finally the group split and we rode with a few guys with Pete hanging behind me on the descents.  I’d like to think he was hanging back to help me get back to the group as I took the corners in squares but maybe he just found himself stuck behind me and cursed me all the way down!!  I was just thinking how keen the guys in our group were driving the pace on when I saw it was Ischen leading the way possessed with the need to catch the front group again.  So, 40km in and we were with the leaders again.  One attack a few km later and we were dropped for the final time.  Ischen was eating a bar at the time and I was chatting with one of the many faces I recognize now in the MTB circle.

Back with Pete and two others there was chance to take in the fantastic scenery of the little Karoo.  Even if my legs didn’t feel 100% I had to smile seeing so many Ostrich running around in circles and lambs in the field while we are approaching winter at home. The area has had plenty of rainfall too and so looked so green and bright, not what I expected of a semi desert. 

After a long climb we stopped for a drink and my beloved Kooksister before we continued down to the finish working together with the group into the wind and crossing the line joint 1^st, 107km in 3hr50.  Catlin came in next having dropped another girl right near the finish so 1-2-3 for Bizhub on Day One. 

Day 2

With the temperature only 8 degrees first thing we set off with extra layers that were later pushed deep into my pockets as both the temperature and the pace increased.  For the first hour the bunch rolled along quite steady then it gradually got both faster and hillier.  We were a group of around 20 or so when the front 5 rolled off up a long climb.  Some of the guys obviously wanted to be back in the action in front so the pace was pretty high.  Mid way through we turned into the veldt and the track became narrow, rocky and sandy.  The guys were still putting in big digs at the front so at the back it was a constant yo yo and trying to hang on wheels while also hanging onto my bike was becoming a bit of a mission.  I was thirsty, hungry and had had more than enough of juddering over rocks and slipping in the sand, in fact I nearly shed a tear!  Finally the elastic snapped on one of the rocky descents and I dropped off.  Ischen backed off and I followed her wheel to the feed where Pete was waiting for us.  A muffin saw me right and the three of us rode steady for the last 20km to the finish. 97km, 3hr45. Can’t say it was my favorite 4 hours but is all good training and practice for the Pioneer, which goes through some of the tracks from today.  The scenery was urm… apparently very nice though I could probably tell you more about which tyres the people in front of me were riding! 

Ischen, my training and racing buddy

Not a bad place to ride!

Day 3
Forecast was a light drizzle so I was happy enough that the day started overcast but dry and a little warmer.  The bunch stayed together until the first big climb 15km or so in.  We got to the top in our usual group of 10 or so with 5 up the road.  Turning onto dual track through a nature reserve I stayed comfortably near the front and could see the tracks much better. Our bunch stayed pretty much together with the pace pretty high and yo yoing along as some of the men kept putting in huge spurts then dying off.  Nearing the end we came out on a main road and found we’d gone wrong and had 17km left on the tar, by then in a cold drizzle!  Pete saved my life with a bar and luckily I had much better legs than yesterday so didn’t really mind, unlike the other guys who were clearly not impressed!  We finished with 109km, 9 or 10km longer than the route and behind a few other groups but not affecting the overall positions.  Caitlin also went wrong and her group was turned round but she kept 3^rd overall with Ischen and I taking 1^st and 2^nd.

World Road Championships, Copenhagen 24th September 2011

I was selected for the British team to race at this years World Championships in Denmark, a country I’ve never visited unless you count a quick drive through on route to Sweden.  One week later and I still haven’t seen any more of Denmark other than some suburb near Copenhagen! 

My teammates arrived from various points in Europe on the Tuesday and we had chance of a good catch up over dinner cooked by the Sky Team chef.  Only the elite riders were allowed to sample the chef’s food and use his deluxe coffee machine which felt a bit odd as everyone else came down to eat buffet food and we were presented with homemade breads and salad with cucumber shavings and a red sauce spread neatly around the outside like something off Masterchef!  It was all really nice and healthy though we all added bits from the buffet when he wasn’t looking!  He always made dessert too, which was usually a healthier version of the buffet dessert just to stop us straying which I’m afraid I did on more than one occasion to avoid the nuts he seemed to add to everything.

Training leading up to the race was mainly out to the circuit and round splitting up to fit our own intervals in.  I always hate tapering for a big race as you spend the entire week analyzing your legs, how did they feel?  Tired from a massage?  Sore so in need of a deeper massage or a lighter one to avoid making them sore?  Too much training last week?  Too little?  Plus all the sitting around the hotel makes you feel so lethargic its hard firstly to get going on the bike then once going to keep it steady and not use all that nervous pent up energy! 

Despite the nervous moments the team was in great spirits with medals flying in every day, a bronze and silver by Emma P and Bradley in the TT and a gold and bronze for the junior girls and U23 guys. The days were also filled with massages and physio sessions digging deep into my problem shoulder and taping it up with Union Jack tape.  We also painted our nails, Sharon and Lizzie managing the full Union Jack on each finger while I still made a mess of making mine dark blue. 

Finally Saturday came.  Holding off breakfast till 10 I filled up on cereal and bread and felt stuffed right up to the 1.30pm start time.  Arriving at the race we were taken into the Sky bus… what a bus.  It was huge yet only had about 10 reclining chairs each with ipod docking stations, an area for all your stuff and a choice of clear or frosted windows.  The toilet had a Dyson hand dryer in with a shower opposite and a room at the back for leg rubs and cupboards full of snacks and energy drinks.  At the front was a TV with a huge screen behind and surround sound music system.  I could have hidden in there all day but instead went for an early warm up as I guessed once we’d signed they’d be little time. 

The race started in front of a large crowd including some friends from Whitby, Rene from Rapha and a few other friendly faces.  It was a nervous peleton with attacks from the first lap though they never lasted long enough or hard enough to split up the field.  I guess all the top nations had one thing on their minds: a big bunch sprint.  No doubt many girls were given the same jobs as myself, Sharon and Emma which was to make sure nothing went away without one of us in and not to drive any breaks away.  While exciting for us to do those jobs, it maybe wasn’t the most exciting race to watch and with the fast rolling roads only one Canadian managed to get away for a lap.  I was feeling great and concentrated on staying round the front, which felt far safer than in the middle.  Working hard I was on my last legs when a girl rode into my back wheel breaking two spokes so I had to stop to change wheels. With no help allowed from the car I had a long chase back.  I got right up to 3^rd car before realizing they’d all just slowed down for a bend and once round they all sped back off.  The second corner though I got even further up and hugged the back of any car I could find before catching my breath and darting round to the next one.  Nearly a lap later I was back on and got back to the front in time for the last lap.  My last effort was made chasing an Italian back 3km to go.  Once back I drifted back with her while everyone sprinted past at which point a crash went right across the road stopping me and Sharon in our tracks.  We didn’t fall but I do remember having to pull my foot from someone’s wheel no doubt breaking a few of their spokes which I found quite ironic!!

All we could do at that point was roll to the finish listening out as to whether to celebrate or not.  Unfortunately there was no GB mention in the medals with Nicole 4^th again and Lizzie hugely disappointed with 7^th having been caught up behind another crash. I had mixed feeling; pleased with my legs, massively disappointed for the team, relived that we were all at least in one piece, shattered from my efforts and drained from concentrating so much so I had instant bags under my eyes!

I didn’t make the night out (in fact me and Katie nearly didn’t make dinner getting ourselves stuck in a lift). The caffeine wore off enough to make me feel lousy but not enough to let me sleep till 2am, plus while it was the end of the season for most, mine was just getting underway!  

Deep in concentration!

Tour Cyclist Feminine International de L’Ardeche 5-10th September

 With no team and some nice European tours coming up I got in touch with the organization in Ardeche who were putting 2 mixed teams together.  That sorted I then found flights were so expensive the trip was looking unlikely until my folks decided on yet another holiday and we drove down.  Splitting it into 2 days made the journey more holidayish especially with some nice food in an Irish bar in Calais and a bargain smart hotel in Valance.  Arriving first at their campsite and enjoying a quick dip in the pool and pain o chocolate (the only French I know so thought I’d better buy one!!) we headed over to our campsite. Our team consisted of 3 Brits and 2 French girls and we joined forces with the other mixed team making it a pretty sociable group.  With a small static caravan for just two of us accommodation was very good, any race where you get your own room is luxury!

That evening we headed to the prologue, a 2.4km loop that was over quick enough to give you a real lung burner and for me not to lose too much time despite a position in the 60s.

The following day from La Pouzin was a pretty flat 112km day, seems odd to be given easy stages early on when everyone is fresh and we wouldn’t mind a few climbs to split up the usual nervous first day bunch.  I attacked a few times and was in a few very short lived breaks but the race came down to a bunch sprint where I came in 16^th, glad to survive as it was twisty and there are a number of Russians in the bunch who don’t seem to value their lives all that much!  It was a good job it wasn’t too windy as the only jersey I was given was an extra large!

Day two was a split day, all be it only 100km of racing in total but out of the campsite from 6.30am until 9pm.  At Val Les Bains we raced a 3.5km time trial, up and down a small mountain.  Without turbos and with our flapping jerseys there was no time trail stress and I paced it pretty well and actually quite enjoyed the twisty descent.  Surprised myself with 28^th.  After a long wait we started again at 3pm.  The pace was flat out from the off up and down narrow roads and before long a break was away with all the major teams in.  Having just missed it our group got bigger and the pace became very slow.  Racing began again up a long 8km climb and feeling good I hung onto the pace set by HTC on the front.  3km from the top I was yo-yoing and just dropped off before the top.  Luckily I was in the cars soon enough and with a little help from the convoy drafting and sprinting past to the next one before finally tagging back on to the group.  Joining in the work to get to the finish I came in 16^th, moving up to 21^st on GC.

Day three and the legs felt like they were in a stage race and again eating at the venue meant we were out of the campsite pretty early.  At least its good food, plenty of salad and fruit and not the usual soggy French pasta and green beans.  We get a plastic tray with 5 different compartments, which is all good and well until you overfill one compartment or add a heavy peach on one side and it all gets pretty tricky to balance!  Today was 127km with 3000m of climbing so all the compartments were pretty full!  Along the valley on a false flat we averaged 43k an hour until a HTC and Garmin rider got away with a couple of others.  That settled the group down and it felt like we crawled up the first cat climb to over a 1000m altitude.  The pace up the next climb was again comfortable as I was well positioned at the front.  Only on the descent to the last climb did I slip back and before I had chance to come through the attacks came and I was left fighting round riders.  I ended up at the front of a group of 12 or so pretty annoyed that I’d felt so good all day and had missed the big move.  To make for it I got away on the flat headwind with two others to the finish but just got caught 200m from the line by the group I was with.  Still in 20^th and up to 20^th on GC. 

The penultimate day from  St Marcel D’Ardeche was 123km and the temperature by the time we started at 2pm was in the 30s.  The first climb was up and along a huge gorge, scenic if you had time to look but I was going through a bad patch that lasted for about 80km!! It didn’t help that my spoke broke 2km in and I had to chase back.   After drinking a ton I felt better by the third climb and at the top was just off the lead group, so in my usual position: not quite strong enough for the first 20 but ahead of the next group.  I was pleased to be there as I had a free run down a very tricky descent and caught the front group at the bottom.  With 5 girls up the road and 2 at 5min 30 Emma Pooley’s lead was in danger.  Feeling good at last I helped both her and Ashleigh from the other mixed team who was in 2^nd overall for the last 30 odd km, bringing the three back and the leaders down to 3 and a bit minutes with some pretty shattering through and offs!!  They both thought I worked for them when really I just wanted to get back to the campsite and jump in the pool before it closed!  Managed that with the British Rapha team, seeing all 7 foot of Rene launching off one of the slides made all the effort worthwhile!!

The final day was only 72km but with another 3 climbs was never going to be easy. The theme song from Chariots of Fire on the start line obviously acted as some inspiration to some riders as the pace was fast from the off and soon a group was away.  I jumped across with two others and it was soon back together.  The main climb was my worst… long, open, hot, not steep just a long, long drag.  I blew and crawled past mam, dad and a small group of Brits 1 km from the top but luckily tagged onto 4 others.  We were all keen to bridge back so all worked when we could.  30km later down steep gravelly descents, up nasty short climbs and through tiny villages we finally came back to the cars and tagged onto the main field of 20 or so right at the bottom of a steep 3km GPM.  I rode my own pace.  The leaders blew the field apart and dribs and drabs arrived at the finish 10 km later.  I came in pleased again for the good work out and glad the next group didn’t sweep us up. 

My overall position was 18th probably the best finish in a tour full of big climbs and top riders thanks to some good training over the summer back home and a needed break from racing.

Sorry for the long blog… 9 hours in the car is a pretty long way! 

Enjoying the time trial!

My team mates

Cooling off in a fountain!!

Mountain Bike Marathon Event, Selkirk in Scotland

Bruises upon bruises, scars on scars!!

With the bruises from the National XC coming out nicely I ventured up to Scotland with Rob for a weekend of riding and camping. Arriving on Saturday I took part in a coaching session and learned a little more in what is becoming an extremely complicated sport.  As well as been taught about braking, climbing and attempting wheelies pretty badly I also found my tyre on the wrong way and a worn our brake block all of which were sorted before Sunday’s Marathon. 

Although these series of rides by Chain Reaction aren’t actual races it might well have been with a mass neutralized start and fast blast up the first of many climbs.  Approximately 85km and 3000m of climbing meant the course was either up or down.  I was climbing well and descending ok for me, pretty slow but considering how steep some of the single track was I was pretty proud of myself to be riding most of them.  Once on one of few downhill open tracks I got into the biggest gear and flew straight through what looked like your standard small puddle… trouble was I think it was more of a crater and I came out in full superman position.  Lying face down I did a kind of ‘body check’, i.e. nothing feels broken best get going.  With a little help from a guy fixing his puncture I rode on and gradually assessed the bits that hurt.  As well as a few bloodied bits my shoulder was agony and I considered taking the 45km course with it not been a race and all.  However that never happened and once riding hard again the pain subsided and, filling up briefly on biscuits at the feed station, I rode the full 85km.  It was an amazing last climb, up for ages then onto a steep single-track climb before popping out onto a rocky barren top that could have been the moon the time we’d climbed for!  The views were amazing and taking them in I missed a turn and rode down an extra single track (yep me getting carried away and wanting more single track!!) I eventually found the right track and continued down to the finish.  By then my shoulder was giving me some stick every time I stopped and scooted off which was quite often near the end with lots of mud, rocks and a fast bumpy descent. 

I finished 1^st woman which obviously doesn’t matter it been a ‘non competitive’ event but you try telling the rest of the guys I was riding near that.  I was worried that this country didn’t really have marathon events apart from these sportives but sportive or not it was a still a good race in my eyes!!

Hopefully the shoulder will get better… sleeping in a tent with a deflating mattress wasn’t the most comfortable and typing now is a mission but it seems I can rest my arm on my bars to ride so that’s the main thing!!

17 July National Cross Country Championships, Aske near Richmond

A month ago I had that feeling of ‘what am I training for now?’ I searched the website and found that the National XC Championships were on my doorstep at Richmond.  Ok so my XC experience consisted of trying to hang onto Michelle in Guisborough Woods and the wonderful dry fast flowing single track out in South Africa but hey it can’t be that hard…or can it…

On Friday night I went to see the course and take part in a coaching session.  2 hours later we’d done most of the course, I learnt a few invaluable tips on positioning and that my tyres were perfect for the dry plains of Africa and I was terrified, throw in a day of torrential rain and I arrived on Sunday to find a mud fest and I was a nervous wreck! 

At 2.30pm we set off behind the senior and junior men.  The first section was probably the scariest and hardest.  Through a steep wood I managed to skid the back wheel in the general direction I intended to go but the next descent got the better of me… 3 times in fact!  It reminded me of dropping of the edge off  a black run on a ski run except with a few wheels underneath instead of some nice secure skis.  The descent wasn’t scary, wide and thick with mud surrounded by nice soft fern.  My error was that each time I went down it I locked up both wheels and was apparently one of the fastest down…would have been impressive had it not been for the corner at the bottom which sent me flying each time and sent my bike even further into the bushes.

Following that the course entered two sections of wood that twisted around: slippy roots, muddy descents, steep uphills and a few man made obstacles thrown in made it a little tricky for me and by the 4^th time round I decided that running the technical bits was way faster than my other technique: riding, slipping, falling, running, riding, slipping, falling etc etc!! 

Starting off at the back of the grid I’d moved up a few places straight away with a crash to my side.  After that I moved through to yoyo in 5^th place with a friend Gabby.  Even though she was also struggling with the technical bits she caught me up on these before I pulled away on the uphill tracks to finish in 5^th.  I was pleased to a) survive all be it with legs looking black and blue, b) not look like a fool by pulling out cos I was scarred and c) finish smiling and planning the many ways that I can improve with a bit more confidence and practice. 

Right, where’s the race calendar…

Tour Feminine Krasna Lipa

Tour de Feminin Krasna Lipa 7^th to 10^th July

Having found a last minute slot on team Forvioed Brookkvex, a British based team run by a long time friend Rene Groot I started the tour in Czech Republic for the 3^rd time.  The opportunity came up to race at the National Championships the week before just as I was looking for some more races and missing a bit of rough and tumble of Europe racing.  Last time I raced with Rene was years ago but could have been last week as I waited round the corner of King Cross down in London armed with plenty of reading material for the long drive.  Long would be an underestimate.  From leaving Whitby at 6.30am Tuesday (early enough for an anniversary breakfast on the river in York) we arrived at race HQ in Krasna Lipa 5pm Wednesday after stopping in Germany at 2am for a brief rest.

Our accommodation for the race was in an old boarding school with a dodgy lifts, paper thin walls and  shared unisex bathrooms with no curtain in sight.  It was a far cry for the luxuary I’ve grown accustomed to in South Africa and I did wonder why I was back here in my ‘off season’ out of choice!  However all things have a plus side and the girls on the team are definitely that, all really nice, interesting and always a laugh.  It was a pleasure sharing a small room with three others! 

Day One started at 1.30, a hot afternoon but I felt good and made the racing more interesting by attacking as often as I could and sitting in the first 20 as much as possible.  Unlike last year I was never quite in contention to try for the combined jersey of climbing and sprinting which I held last year for 3 days, my closest been a 4^th in a sprint.  However just like last year the racing was controlled, nothing got away and groups were constantly coming back.  Over the last climb I was near the front and with 1km out was perfectly sat in 3^rd wheel.  However an Australian went down the side and I ended up 6^th, unable to move back up and unwilling to risk my life on the last few bends.  We lost 2 girls, Emma Trott had a bad leg and Sofie was out of time.

For the third night running I ended up with sleeping tablets due to a guy snoring so loud next door he might as well have been in the room.

Day 2 was another aggressive one for me, attacking with the GoGreen girls but never getting any real distance.  The longest was a few minutes out front before been hauled back.  Over the same climb in Kransna Lipa three times the group split the last time and it looked good until another train stopped us and everyone tagged back on.  I made one more last ditch attempt 5 km out, attacking then looking up to see a pretty big hill in front!  With no choice I kept going and had two girls for company.  Looking back was quite satisfying to see the whole peleton strung out but the Australians were controlling the race well and it was another bunch sprint downhill.  I nearly came off on a 90 degree bend then ran out of gears with my compact and came in 16^th.  That night we had fish and rice then celebrated Rene’s birthday with a drink down the local. 

Another sleepless night… this time because of the fish or rice or the whole unhygienic communual thing, or just a bug… whatever, half the floor was up ill.  I wasn’t sick but by morning had the other extreme. 

Day three and another two of our riders didn’t start due to the bug.  I managed to ride a Personal Worse ever 18km time trial finding myself out on a windy road overtaken by all 5 riders ahead of me on GC while I felt drained of all energy.  I’m pretty sure a full carbon time trial bike would have made any difference and I impressively slipped from one end of the GC to the other! Looking for anything highly calorific that I only needed to swallow once I started the afternoons 93km on the middle of a donut!  It was a desperate ride, demorilizing to find myself slipping to the back on every hill after been attacking off the front yesterday.  However I kept myself entertained playing the slippage game, descending as fast as possible to the front then slipping to the back on the climbs.  It worked and I finished with the main field. The whole day I’d managed a bowl of cereal, jam sandwich, a donut and some bread at dinner and lots of electyryte but at least felt human after another quality massage and solid sleep in the back of the van.  Going out for the toilet in the night I had to laugh when I’m pretty sure I heard next doors snorer despite him been 5 floors up!  Speaking of which those 5 flights were becoming a stage in them selves now the lift was broken, oh the luxury of woman’s cycling!!

Day 4 saw only 2 of us start and only 114 starters out of 190 odd 4 days ago.  Out of all the tours this one is one of the hardest for new teams and cyclists as once your dropped the hills are relentless and whats more you’ve got to survive rough accommodation, masses of staires and dodgy food all on a suffering immune system!  Today was the hilliest day as we did a loop further south into the longer hills.  Luckily I felt a bit better and, while I was in no state to attack I did hang onto the front group which split a fair few times.  Still with a stomach that made me looked pregnant I failed to eat anything and by the finish laps round Kransna up the same climbs again I started to blow.  I knew things were going bad when I had to chase back on with a huge Lithuanian, however I made sure I did more turns as she smelt like she’d ran out of wash powder on Day One!! The last time up I sat up and rolled down to the finish feeling pretty dizzy and totally spent. 

Not the best tour I’ve done by a long way, in fact one of the worse but sometimes you need these illnesses to make the next race feel better and easier!  It was a real shame the bug wiped out our team as we were not only doing pretty well we were also have a great laugh riders and staff together and I’ve met even more great characters. Now just the epic drive home, wheres Ryan Air when you need it!   

South African National Mountain Marathon Championships

Having been away from England for 2 months now I’m finding anything English like very exciting so was pretty chuffed to find the KwaZulu-Natal area full of rolling green fields, thatched cottages and Tudor style houses, the only difference been the humid weather.

The race was down at Inanda Dam, no longer English like with looming mountains and a couple of Zebra wandering around the start area.

Our race started at 7.30 and by 7.35 I was sweating and out of breathe!  The first 30km were mainly jeep tracks up and down the hills surrounding the dam.  The area known as 1000 hills should be renamed a 1000 mountains!! 

1000 mountains/hills later I was riding on my own.  I’d stayed with the leading group of Cherise, Yolandi Speedy and Candice for as long as I could but found that chasing after the descents and after a few single track sections took its toll and I dropped off.  Along a section with one of those persistent headwinds and some dodgy looking locals I missed the company of the other three when I heard I was actually in front.  I argued there was definitely three in front but was told they’d gone wrong.  Not for long I thought as I made a hash of the single track we’d now turned on along the edge of the dam.  

Though a definite improvement in my technical skills I’m still struggling to get through single tracks with a lot of speed and am still stuck with the ‘Right Foot Syndrome’ whereby my right foot clips out as soon as I see a few sharp rocks! 

60km in and I was still in the lead and was now pulling back a fair few of the men who had set off 5 minutes before us.  I was priding myself on getting this far without falling when suddenly I looked to my right up a short steep climb and seeing a big drop down into the bushes immediately found myself down there.  Unhurt apart from jarring my neck it took a while to scramble back to the track.  It’s so true that you normally end up where you look!!

Unsure how the terrain was I stopped at the last feed for more water and was still in the lead.  Panic had long since set in about been at the front and I was looking back at every opportunity dreading seeing the lead three chasing me back.  With 12 km to go I think the final gel kicked in and on a jeep track I started going as fast as possible.  Then we turned onto more single track.  Blowing now the terrain was constant up and down, steep climbs that were just about ridable and downhills that I didn’t even bother trying to ride!  On top of that the whole course had been very difficult to follow with only small bits of chalk on the floor and loads of different goat tracks around.  Four or five times I went the wrong way so wasn’t surprised the lead three had gone wrong.  When your alone you quickly realize there’s no more chalk and turn round but when your with 2 others its easier to just carry on.

On and off these single tracks we went, my feet were both cramping up and my hamstring was threatening to until finally we approached to finish field and I crossed as first woman much to the surprise of the spectators as to myself.  I’m sure people say that when you win you don’t feel how tired you are, well that wasn’t the case here, I was completely shot,  a warm down didn’t enter my head with the only activity to follow was a float in the dam! 

Karien van Jaarsveld came in 7 minutes later to take the National Title very closely followed by Cherise then Candice whom I was pleased to see take a medal even though I’m sure it wasn’t the color she had in mind. 

ABSA Cape Epic 2011

When you are racing you get up every day and, despite the odd bit of cramp while struggling to get dressed in the tent then the feeling of hip flexors about to snap as you eventually stand up, you can get on your bike and within 10 minutes feel ‘normal’ (ish) again yet when your finished your body completely switches off.  That is how I found myself writing this.  The thought of walking to the gate to board a plane home seems a mission and trying to carry bags, forget it I’ll pay good tips for a helping hand today!!

9 days ago I met my partner, Carel Bosman for our first ride together, before the Epic began with a tough prologue.  Off early we had a cool ride and I was glad to follow Carel’s wheel up the technical bits when the sun was blinding us.  Climbing well together he then had to wait an age as I crawled down the single track that was full of drop offs, rocks and roots.  The crowd was amazing and I had to laugh passing a group shouting “ride it, ride it” and when I climbed off my bike to walk down they then shouted “good choice, good choice”!!

After been introduced already to a mass of Carel’s friends I was sorted with some camping buddies once at Tulbagh which made the camping experience one of the best parts of the event. Carel  got us VIP treatment in the SuperCycling Club lounge which meant after every day we got to relax on the most comfortable bean bags after a soak in an ice bath and the best bit: fresh cooked sandwiches, multiple cups of tea and many, many rusks and cookies!!  After that closed I’d drop my nicely cleaned bike off  to the Specialized guys who looked like they were surviving on Red Bull and beer but were doing a great job as I had no mechanical issues all week.  Once that was done I moved into the Absa lounge for Internet and the joy of Skype.  At 6pm dinner started and I’d go there, find someone to chat to and have some really good home cooked food.   After the daily presentations, guest speakers, talk through of the next day, a bit of socializing over tea and usually second helpings of dessert it was pretty much bedtime.  I slept well every night and woke around 5 to a cold, damp tent, long queues for the toilet and breakfast but all worth while for a big bowl of hot porridge. 

The start every day was crazy. Starting in group B meant we were around 200 riders back and once riding it was either stupidly fast with everyone wanting to move forward or, as happened on stage 2 and 3, we went straight up a single track mountain so it was down to a sedate walk while the leaders shot off.  No point getting annoyed, as everyone was the same and it was a good chance to take in the scenery and save energy for later on. 

By day four despite loving the camping routine I was very glad to sleep in a real bed thanks to Nicolene’s mam in Worcester.  The ride that day was my worse too with 4km of walking in traffic on the climb then on and off the bike over rocky river beds and deep sand.  It wasn’t just me, that stage got a lot of bad press.  The finish was the best part, catching another mixed team we had a full on race through the golf course and sprinted down the single track to the finish, dropping them on the way and nearly knocking a few other teams flying in the process!  Having a house to relax in meant I could massage my legs, do a stack of washing and not have to walk a mile around the campsite, not to mention the delicious mountain of food we got! 

For the first time ever the Epic then had another time trial.  The 32km loop went through a reserve and the hills were steep, long and narrow which suited us both as it wasn’t suited to the mixed teams that relied on pushing the woman along.  We finished 4^th mixed team, which was our best yet. 

Following that slight rest bite was 2 ‘hectic’ days starting with a daunting 145km, far longer than any road race I’d ever done and with about 2500m climbing!  Despite been a ‘roadie’ the worse bit was the fast road to start   With a nasty side wind I spent a long time riding in the gutter imagining I was back in Holland. I was much happier once the hills started and the groups split up.  I hit a record of 6 mini muffins, savory snacks and marshmallows yet still found plenty of room for the mincemeat and sweet bread after in the lounge.  All energy needed for the next big stage and another 7 hours in the saddle with 2000 odd meters climbing.  As with a few mountains that had scary descents I got a bit of a head start which was a good job as, scooting along too slowly, I still managed to go over the front of the bars, into a press up position and very slightly scuffed my chin.  Within minutes Carel caught me and I was much happier following him down enjoying the rest of the single track even though he also went flying.  The last 15km went round and round which cracked a lot of teams with the steep climbs but with Carel setting our pace spot on again we enjoyed it and pulled back a few struggling teams.

One of the most surreal things of the whole Epic was waking on the last morning to Rolph Harris blasting out next to my tent!  ‘Tie me Kangaroo Down” was then in my head the entire 69km!  It sounded short but with a stack full of climbing to do it was far from over and with a nasty sandy section to finish I was glad to cross the line in one piece and collect my well earned medal down in the beautiful setting at Lourensford Wine Estate.

Below are a few things I have leant over the last 8 days, 39 hours of racing and climbing the equivalent of Everest twice:

1) Eat lots of garlic snails if you want your partner to take the head wind

2) Banana muffins in back pocket works, avoid blueberry ones as they are too sticky and end up clumped to your Allen keys only to be found hours later

3) Avoid 2 bowls of porridge on a stage that starts with a mountain

4) Put glasses on when going to the portaloos in the night to save bumping into men dressed only in underwear

5) Analyze bottle tops before drinking, mud is fine, cow s****t is not

6) Trying to teach mountain bikers the joy of an echelon in a side wind is like teaching me the art of a wheelie

7) Choose the right partner and the Epic is such a memorable, fantastic, fun yet most challenging experience you’ll ever have.