Andy Schleck may have narrowly missed out on the Yellow jersey, but it turns out he prefers pink instead ;)

Yesterday was my first race back from my crash at Dwars door de Westhoek just over a week ago. Unfortunately since then, my ribs have made little to no improvement, however, I have still been training everyday (although confined to rollers and the ergo) and equipped with painkillers I thought i’d take a crack at the first Post Tour Criterium held in Stiphout.


I found some nice smooth bike paths to warm up on then went to go suss out the course. When I saw the course, a little piece of me died when I realised the whole circuit (1.7km) was bricks and that there were multiple corners which no doubt would require me to get out of the saddle and sprint out of (something which i haven’t managed to do yet :s) but I was itching the to ride and the pain from my ribs was nothing compared to how badly I wanted to race so after taking my spoonful of cement and sending myself some HTFU vibes – I was on the start line ready to roll.

The gun went and from then the pace was on. I managed to complete 2 laps sprinting out of the saddle coming out of the corners with the bunch but soon after my arm started going numb and equipped with the constant vibrations from the bricks, I could no longer sprint out of the corners and dropped back off the bunch. Determined not to give up, I TTed the race for about 20min before getting lapped by the field. At least I got some good training!!! When I got pulled from the race i could barely move my arm and the pain was a constant stabbing in my ribs....which is why I’ve decided not to race for the rest of the week and train instead.

Yep, that's starting to hurt :s (photo courtesy of Bart Hazen from dailypeloton.com)

Part of me knew that I wasn’t fully recovered to ride but I needed to race to prove to myself that yes, I did get injured and that injuries take time to heal. It’s a fact of life. I can still turn the pedals over so I consider myself fortunate but it looks as though i will be spending more time on the rollers/ergo and doing SEs uphill and avoiding potholes like the plague so I can be fit and ready to go for the Holland Hills Classic, a UCI race on the 8th of August!

Luckily for me the night only got better post race. After my team mates finished the race (Davina got a very respectable 5th place and Emily 15th) we went out to dinner to a pretty classy pub to get ourselves something to eat. I am still working on my Dutch so the menu might as well have been written in pretty little symbols...It managed to decifer the word fish and vegetables so that’s what I got! Although one thing i didn’t expect was it to come out on a dangling kebab stick waving in front of my face :S I litterally laughed out loud when it came out but it tasted delicious and turned out to be a very pleasant meal out with the girls!

Davina dropped us back at the race to commence her immense TomTomless journey home (when she said she used a map to get here, part of me was like.. what on earth is a map?!?! Haha) the fun really started to start :)

The Pro riders were racing later in the evening and Tracey, Emily and I went over to the registration to see if we could catch a glimpse of Contator and Schelck. There we were fortunate enough to meet up with Bart Hazen, a photographer for the Daily Peloton and the person responsible for the majority of these great pics! When Andy Schleck walked passed, equipped with our SwABo Ladies jerseys, Tracey asked if he would be able to get a photo with us. He willingly accepted even saying ‘Nice jerseys girls’!! pretty sure that made my night.



If that wasn’t enough, Bart said that he could get us a photo with Contador as well! Before we knew it, we were on the course with all of the photographers with the Pros. We had just walked onto the course and were now literally in arms reach of some of the best cyclists in the World! Contador was presented on stage and moments after, standing with us getting a photo. What a legend!

photo courtesy of Bart Hazen from dailypeloton.com

People may say that bike riders are just like average people, and in one sense they are. What makes these people so incredible is what they do. People like Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador and Mick Rogers put their bodies through incredible amounts of pain and display such strength, determination, dedication and passion for what they do. This is what makes them Idol worthy, and why us girls weren't ashamed to have red faces after meeting them :P

We spent the rest of the night walking the course, cheering for random riders and getting some very odd looks – but making a douche of yourself is half of the fun right??? There was even a DJ playing, an all too friendly reminder of nights out at home...verrrrry tempting, but taking one look at my outfit and unbrushed hair, I quickly was put off the idea of hitting the town! That’ll just have to wait :p

So what's next? Well I head to Belgium tomorrow to see my Dad. We were originally meant to be racing a crit down in Herentals but we didn’t realise it was on invitation only but i’ll probably still go have a look at it as Dad hasn’t been to one before! Then I will stay with Dad in Liege until the team recon of the Holland hills Classic course on the Saturday. In Liege i’m going to see if I can ride part of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege course...would be awesome!


A week and a bit later I’ll be off to Italy for just over a week – will be good to see some hills again! So a very exciting few weeks ahead in my standards which will make it even harder to make myself do my Uni work...Meeting pro riders, riding in the hills or learning about OH&S...hmm tough choice! I would much rather be on the bike than learning about the importance of washing your hands... :p

So until next time, stay safe and take care
xx

Pain's not bad, it's good. It teaches you things. I understand that...

Yesterday was really one of those days where I would have been better staying in bed and emerging when night had fallen and the day was definitely over.

We left just before 9am to start the 3hr journey south to Boezinge in Belgium (pretty much spitting distance to France) for the Dwars Door de Westhoek a UCI 1.2. About half way we stopped for a bathroom break at a hotel just off the highway in which i’d learn upon arriving at the race start, i’d left my wallet equipped with cycling license. Luckily for me I still had my passport on me so I was allowed to race as I had proof that I was an actual person. It is probably also one of the only times where it is good to be a poor student – pretty sure if someone had stolen my wallet, they would be disappointed to find no money in it and a very limited amount on the credit card!!

Crisis avoided, I got to the start line in what I thought was pretty good shape! Stayed in the first few rows of the bunch until the first climb where my lack of hill climbing definitely showed... a 1.7km climb 16% at the bottom and av 4.8%. After I successfully hauled my butt up it, there was a little decent with a left hander...Coming into the left hander, a girl moved out and I told her I was on the outside of her.. She swung out a bit more and I got pushed out, my front wheel getting caught dead in one of the joins on the road. My front wheel pit stopped and i flew over the top of the bars, landing hard on my left side. No skin off, so I can still bathe with little pain – bonus! Just landed straight on my hip, elbow and ribs... In total, my race was just over 15km.

I was kindly helped out by the Red Cross team who loaded me up with ice packs and made me a nice comfy bed whilst I waited for the race to finish and the doctor to come and have a look at me. They even washed my jersey for me as it was covered in gel after both of them exploded on impact in the back pocket of my jersey!! Talk about quality service :P

They insisted that I got my elbow and ribs x-rayed so went to Hospital when i got back to the Netherlands. Another doctor said that my elbow probably wasn’t broken and my ribs could be fractured but I didn’t want to get an x-ray done as treatment would be the same regardless if they were broken or not.. PAINKILLERS! And lots of them... So fingers crossed that they are only bruised and I will be able to laugh and live a lie full of humour again in no time :P

It now looks as though my left hip is pregnant (slight exaggeration but you get the idea), i’m able to move my elbow more comfortably :) but my ribs are still a pain...oh well, at least I still have one un-injured side of my body to sleep on, so not all is bad!!!


So looks like some R&R is on the agenda for the next couple of days, but hopefully i’ll be back fighting in no time :) I’m going to take some of my own advice and HTFU, its going to take a bit more than a couple bruises to set me back!
My next race is meant to be on Wednesday but think I may be giving it a miss for safety’s sake. The post Tour crits are also on in the next couple of weeks so really excited to ride those, it should be massive!




I’ve also just finalised a little trip to Italy for a week to ride the bergs with long term mentor and friend Vicki Whitelaw in lovely Luino before she heads off to the Plouay WC in France! Can’t wait! I will also be able to see my coach who will be over there watching another one of her athletes Ed Bissaker riding the Jnr World Track Championships! Will be good to see another friendly face and show her my improvements!


Until next time, do some extra km’s on the bike for me :)
xx

‘It’s not wether you get knocked down, but whether you get back up’

Since the TDF prologue, I have done a couple of races although without much success. Unless you call getting dropped within 10min of a 60km criterium or not even making it to the back of the peloton before getting pulled from the race being successful – then in that case, you could say that I’m undefeated.


That was until Sunday when I competed in 60km criterium up in Obdam. After another disappointing ride on Friday, I was determined to finish this race at all costs. I was on the front at the start line (one of the lucky days when we weren’t asked to line up according to our race numbers, where i was always called up last...) And stayed there for the 1st half of the race where I was following a few moves and trying to get good position. The aim of my race was to finish. After my first races here in Europe, I wanted to prove to myself that I could actually still FINISH a race... pretty handy thing to do if you want to be a world class cyclist. I started struggling during the second half of the race and got dagged off the back once but clawed my way back on where I was physically sick in my mouth (yes, i know.. gross.) but the point was that I made it back on. I stayed tucked in the group for the rest of the race, going with one more move then deciding not to get ahead of myself and stick with my plan. I finished with the group at the end of the sprint = successful day in the office. With an average HR of 203bpm and max HR of 213bpm for the whole race, it was also a hard day in the office, for me anyway– OUCH.


I know the result on paper doesn’t seem like anything worth sticking on the fridge but looking back of the past few weeks I have to admit I may have nearly had my own Cavendish moment, like he did after he won his first Tour stage this year. It may seem odd to get so worked up about finishing a crit, but when you put so much time and effort into something you love because you desperately want to be successful at it, than any positive feedback you get in return feels like you’ve just won the lottery.

Since the TDF prologue I’ve started making a recovery from my ‘flu’ which turns out wasn’t really the flu at all but ‘severe hay fever complications’... which I guess is a good thing? So after a trip to the doctor, I’ve stocked up on medication which has already enabled me to smell and taste food again! Bonus.

I’ve also been watching the World Cup Soccer on TV... Not really one to watch soccer, you can’t help but get into it over here! Everywhere houses are draped in orange flags, posters, streamers... and this was before Holland made it to the final! On match days, people were seen wandering the streets decked out in orange shirts before retreating home to watch the match. You can’t compare the Dutch’s love for football to any kind of sport back home...They had to deter people from coming to Amsterdam to watch the final because they physically couldn’t fit any more people in the city! No other country has made it to the grand final 3 times without winning... and unfortunately the Netherlands broke a new record, although not the one they had hoped. They are now unluckily the only team to have made it to 4 WC finals, and not won once... Maybe 5th time lucky??

My next race is on Wednesday and i’ve been doing everything to make sure my legs will be feeling minty fresh :) All I know is that whatever happens, i’m not going to give up. You don’t get stronger by giving up when the going gets tough...

Also i’d like to take the opportunity to thank Dylan Cooper at Conceptis for designing and hosting my new website! and to my sister Bronwyn Galloway for doing the graphics! Great work guys – much appreciated :)

Now time to work extra hard on my tan - for those in Canberra, this is for you :p


Until next time
xx

TDF prologue wrap up - and 100th post!!!!!

Yesterday, along with thousands of other cycling enthusiasts, I made the pilgrimage to the Mecca of cycling – that is, the Tour de France.

This year, the prologue was held in Rotterdam (50km from where we are in Oosterwijk) and in a mere stroke of good fate the race we were due to compete in was cancelled so it was off to the Tour!

When we arrived we were greeted with less than ideal conditions for the riders. The heatwave from the day before had disappeared and rain and cold temperatures were making it everything but comfortable for the riders. Luckily for us, the rain appeared to deter some of the crowds and we were fortunate enough to be able to get right up close to some of the biggest names in cycling. For the majority of the first wave of riders I was up at the ‘départ’ and saw riders such as Wesley Sulzberger, Stuart O’Grady, Adam Hansen and Bradley Wiggins roll up to start what will no doubt be a very long 21 days to Paris.
As the race went on, we made our way over to the finish and ended up at the finishing shoot where riders were picked up by their soignieurs and pounced on by the media. Just as we arrived, Mark Renshaw was making his way over to the media and I was a bit starstruck. Sofie’s boyfriend Boudewyn noticed this and proceeded to go over to Renshaw and say that an Australian girl would love a photo with him, and like a true pro he agreed and I had my first photo with a TDF rider, arguably the best leadout man in the World – Australian Mark Renshaw :)



I was buzzing with the contagious energy which seems to follow the travelling circus as we made our way around to the warm up area where all the team buses were parked and the riders were warming up. I made my way past the team SKY bus, pretty much the most badass bus out there, equipped with jaguars and enough bikes for a third world country – it looks like they really do get treated like rock stars! And made a b-line straight to the HTC-Columbia bus where I was hoping to get a glimpse of Michael Rogers before his start. I was fortunate enough to see him warming up surrounded by his support team before he disappeared into the bus for final preparations. I got talking to a lady next to me who was another HTC fan from Holland. Turns out she knew the bus driver of one of the HTC-Columbia buses and he gave her some HTC-Columbia caps – to which she proceeded to give me one!!! I was stoked – my first bit of free Tour memorabilia!



Equipped with my new cap, I wandered around the other team buses and got snaps of Contador, Basso and Andy Schleck, perved on the incredible bikes (i managed to spot a tiny looking Radioshack TT bike sitting on the roof racks – i’m pretty sure they’d have a spare they wouldn’t miss... right???) and soaked up the indescribable atmosphere that follows the Tour. Everyone shares one passion, that is for bikes, and when you’re there it is like everything is forgotten and it doesn’t matter where you are from or what you believe in.




When the last few riders rolled off, the crowds had grown and the best view we could get was off the big screen as the riders were going so fast we saw them for a split second before they vanished again. When Cancellara went over the line to clock the fast time by 10sec, it was though the big Swiss rider had lived up to his expectations as the best timetrialist out there and the crowd went wild!

Seeing some of the biggest names of cycling in person made me a bit shell shocked. Sure, one could say that they are simply regular people, but to me what makes these people so incredible is the lengths they go to and pain they endure for their sport. They are definitely another breed of human and their commitment and dedication to their sport is definitely something to be admired!

When the race was over we headed back to Boudewyn’s mum’s place conveniently located 2km from the start of the Prologue to have a dinner of pancakes. Long ride in the sun in the morning, Tour de France in the afternoon and pancakes for dinner – pretty awesome day if I do say so myself!!

Unfortunately I woke up sick again this morning, I think the rain and the cold wasn’t exactly what the doctor had ordered in terms of my recovery, but it was worth it. I’ll have the day off today and try and knock this thing on the head for good! Fingers crossed i’ll be fit and fighting for my next race on the 9th!

Until then, I will be religiously watching the Tour, focusing on my recovery and enjoying living my dream :)

On a side note, i've been informed that this is my 100th blog post. Wow. that's basically like a short novel! It has been 2 years since I started this blog from a little house in Kutztown, Pennsylvania... boy i've come a long way since then!

Take care
xx

Off to Belgie, a whole other country in half the time it takes to get from Sydney....

My second race in Europe was Heusden-Zolder GP Ward van Ende; a 114km road race which saw us travel across the border to Belgium which, from what I saw, was pretty much like Holland – except there were more cobbles. Although this race had only about 75 or so entrants, the weather conditions (it was 36 degrees when we were on the start line – felt like the Australian National titles all over again!) and the short sharp hills meant that it was still going to be a tough little race. Under normal circumstances I think that this race would have suited me wel but unfortunately 2 days prior, I got a nasty flu which saw me pretty much confined to bed for most of the day... I woke up on Sunday feeling better and keen to race so I thought i’d give it a crack anyway.


The first 40km of the race went well for me, felt really comfortable up the front of the bunch, strong up the hills and even went with a little chase group... but that’s where my good ride ended. I think given my current level of fitness, I was a little too keen... got a bit excited :p After then I started having trouble breathing when the pace lifted and think I let the heat get to me a little bit... I got dropped just before the peloton entered the finishing circuit at 50km (they completed 9 rounds of the circuit afterwards) and the commissaries pulled me from the race. Not exactly what i’d planned to happen, but an improvement from my last race – step forward in the right direction! The other SwABo Ladies girls found the weather conditions a bit difficult and another was also coming back from illness but our latest recruit Emily Collins from NZ represented SwABo in the 2nd bunch across the line – very respectable result from someone who has only just arrived in the country!


My next race was due to be yesterday (Tuesday) except I woke up Monday morning sick as a dog again – surprise surprise. Turns out it probably wasn’t my brightest ever moment deciding to race so I decided not to repeat it and sit out the race in Noordwijk.


My next race is a 60km crit in Epe tomorrow evening, about 1hr15 away from us. One thing i’ve noticed is that anything over 60min is considered ‘a long way’ to travel to races here... I’m just grateful if it takes less than 2hrs!!! Mind you, our newly acquired car has no radio or air-conditioning in it, so i guess the least amount of time we can spend in there the better!! So hopefully my tonsils will stop trying to dig their way out of my throat so that I can race :)


On a side note, I was getting my stuff organised for the race today and was looking at my Zipp 404s when Sofie said to me – I don’t think that is a good idea... there are cobbles – i quickly banished my Zipps back to their bags. You can definitely tell who the tourists are at races by looking at the people who rock up on carbon wheels to cobbled crits! Either that or they are people who are obviously quite comfortable wiping their noses with spare $100 notes... It appears I am still on my “L” plates when it comes to racing here in Holland but by the end of my stay I am sure I will be a fully qualified Dutch racer :)


Apart from training, the rest of my days have been spent catching up on things back home, reading and discovering my long lost love in “Underbelly” – all I can say is “where have you been all my life!!!!” Sadly I have nearly finished the season and am looking for something new to latch onto...any suggestions??


On Friday the Netherlands are playing Brazil in the Soccer WC so we might head into Gorchiem to a pub and watch it with the locals on the big screen.

Personally, I’m looking forward to Saturday – the start of none other than the Tour de France, the Mecca for all cyclists. This year the Prologue is in Rotterdam – that’s only 50km away baby!!!! So guess where i’m heading??? TO LE TOUR!!!!!! If things go well, I will hopefully be watching my idols and some of the biggest names in cycling compete in the biggest cycling event in the World. I will definitely be cheering extra loud for the record amount of Aussies competing this year – Awesome stuff!!! Will also be taking my camera for sure, so expect some happy snaps!



Fingers crossed i’ll be racing tomorrow, i’m super pumped! I know it may sound cliché, but I really am enjoying ‘living the dream’ . To the average person, training for hours a day, punishing yourself in races and travelling for hours to races may seem stupid and somewhat crazy– but for those keen cyclists, you know what i’m talking about :)

Until next time
xxx