FOUND: Myfanwy Galloway.

Hi! My name is Miff, you may remember me from such blog posts as ‘Limousin and the little things’ written here over 4 months ago, or vaguely remember my face from races in Europe nudging back closer to 5 – OK, I’ll admit it, I’ve been MIA on the blog front for a fair while.

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my familiar room in Ballarat - inhaling the tortuous fumes of raisin bread from the bakery next door as they waft through crevasses of my apartment.

Damn you Sunicrust Bakeries!!

 I’ve retreated to the home of the Australian National Championships a week prematurely to take time out to screw my head back on and calm myself down before the torrential storm that awaits me in the Jayco Bay Criterium Series and the Australian Criterium and Road Championships. It is only now that I feel as though I’ve finally had the opportunity to take time out to reflect on what really has been a rollercoaster 4 months since I left the tranquil lakeside in Bellano. So what has been happening? People who know me say I talk too much – and I’ll agree, so I’ll spare the gory details and do my best to consolidate my thoughts in a few simple dot points:

1. I sustained an overuse injury in Belgium which forced me to return to Australia 3 weeks early
2. I actually had an offie – 10 days at my parents new holiday house in Bellano on Lake Como (ah-ma-zing) where I dutifully ate my weight in gelato.

Living the tough life in Bellano :)


3. My overuse injury got diagnosed as Medial Band Friction Syndrome – more commonly ITB Band Friction Syndrome found in runners on the lateral side of the knee, but because it would be unlike me to have textbook injuries, it was on the medial side of my knee. 5 rounds of cortisone by Iontopherisis, 1 cortisone injection and a bunch of physio and Pilates later and I’m feeling as good as new and have every intention on staying this way.
4. I had a pretty awesome belated 21st birthday party with my twin sister –21st, been away for 4 months, Playboy theme, seeing friends…Need I say more?
   
   My sister and I at our Playboy 21st
5. I had the pleasure of signing for Commonwealth Games Champion Rochelle Gilmore’s Dream Team for the Summer and hit the ground running with a win and 3rd place at the Subaru Noosa GP in October and am now the proud owner of a pretty damn sexy looking Pinarello Dogma 2 thanks to Pinarello and Campagnolo Europe :)

The BikeExchange.com.au Dream Team


6. I road tripped to Port Macquarie where caught up with two of my closest friends and two pros Carlee Taylor (who recently signed for Vienne-Futuroscope) and Lauren Kitchen (Rabobank) and took a girls weekend away to race the first race of our Summer season – Glen Inness to Inverell where Carlee won and placed 1st in the KOM, and Lauren won the Sprint competition.
   
   Carlee and Lauren contemplating going to 'Paradise' instead of racing
7.  I got 2 new part-time jobs – receptionist at Kingston Physiotherapy and Brazilian Butterfly Canberra City which has been helping to keep my brain ticking over and my pockets full when I’m not training.
8.  8. I raced the NSW International GP with the BikeExchange.com.au Dream Team where Kirsty Broun, the newest addition to the team, took the overall series and I decided to taste the bitumen due to a mechanical, finish the race, pass out at first aid, go home and realise I probably needed stitches, at 8:30 at night. Granted, I have seen the footage of the crash – and it looks as though I decided that throwing myself on the ground would be less painful than racing, it looks hilarious.
   
   What would require my first lot of stitches! yummy...
9. I third wheeled the women’s preseason GreenEdge/AIS camp in Canberra where I tasted more than my year’s intake worth of stem, bled from my eyeballs and somehow didn’t die – and am now feeling a whole lot stronger and better for it!
10. I crammed in my last shifts at both jobs for the year by working 32hrs in 3 days leading up to Christmas and can’t wait for pay day.
11. Christmas has been and gone and was a lovely day spent with my whole family and friends – all without managing not to give birth to food-octuplets by the days end.
    
    Christmas wouldn't be complete without an arvo nap...
12. I am only 2 days away from starting my 2012 season – I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous but excited at the same time in my whole life.
13. I’m scared to have a shower this morning after completely lobstering my back reading in the sun by the pool yesterday afternoon.

Oh, and there is one other little thing I let slide that I think deserved more of a recognition on my part than being put in dot notes – for 2012, I will be riding in my first UCI Professional Team – Team Faren Honda. Based in Italy, the team consists of names such as Nicole Cooke (current Olympic Champion), Rochelle Gilmore (current Commonwealth Games Champion) and Fabiana Luperini (5x Giro d’Italia winner) to name a few and has its eyes firmly set on wins in the World Cups, Classics and the 2012 Giro d’Italia. For the season I will be based in Bellano, Italy (tough life I know) and look forward to using this fabulous opportunity to develop my potential as a rider with the help some of the most successful and established women in the peloton! More information about the team along with recent interviews I have done regarding my 2012 will be posted once my new site is launched!

Although I’m itching to head over to Europe and start my campaign with Faren Honda, Firstly, I have my eyes firmly set on the up and coming Jayco Bay Criterium series (1st-4th January) where I’m hoping to be able to help a very motivated BikeExchange.com.au Dream Team to continue its winning streak with the first win up for grabs in 2012. Watch this space for more regular, I promise, updates on which will no matter what be one hell of an adventure.


Until then stay safe and happy pedalling :)

M xx

 P.S I would also like to say a big thankyou to Jooann at www.tayjooann.com for putting in the hard yards with my new site! It is very much still under construction but I would love any feedback! So please feel free to check it out at http://www.myfanwygalloway.com/ and tell me what you think :)

Limousin and the little things...

It seemed as though it was only yesterday I was driving back with the For Viored Brookvex girls from the Czech Republic when sure enough I was back on the road again – destination the Tour Feminin en Limousin in France.


I had just come off a good ride at Dwars de Westhoek, a UCI 1.2 here in Belgium a couple of days prior where I managed to finish the race in the less than ideal conditions… The race was 120km, included in which was a 10km circuit with 400m of cobbles which we had to jiggle over each lap – and I say jiggle, because there is NOTHING flattering about riding over cobbles!! :-/ I was sitting comfortably in the peloton before about midway into the race when the wind picked up and race turned quickly into a competition to see who could sit as close to the gutter and wheel in front whilst chewing as much stem as possible… Long story short, a lapse in concentration saw me fail at the former at the pointy end of the race and I finished in a group behind the peloton in 34th place – not a great result but it was a UCI 1.2 race, I finished, and considering that last year I crashed 20km in and broke my ribs, I think that is an achievement in itself. I was feeling good (after a couple of days recovery to regain movement in my arms – who needs a shake-weight when you have cobbles!!) and excited about racing Limousin!


Getting my hurt on at Dwars de Westhoek

The road trip was ‘only’ 8hrs and given that the team was already over from the UK after competing in Dwars de Westhoek, we took advantage of the few days in between racing to make a head start on the road trip and get an extra day recovery in before the start of the Tour. We arrived at our home for the night in Gueret (central France) in dark, cold and rainy conditions. I can’t remember what triggered it, maybe it was a combination of the tiredness and restlessness from the road trip, the miserable weather or standing face to face with what I was expected to be sleeping in that night – but all of a sudden I was feeling a long way from home… Scrambling for the iphone, I was nervously awaiting signal from what was one of my main sources of sanity on tour – wireless internet. I sat outside on the steps of the motel in the rain for the next 10min getting my fix, my reminder of loved ones and friends back home and just cried. Being out of your comfort zone in unfamiliar territory makes you appreciate the somewhat ‘simplicity’ of life back home…




I carry around with me a couple of reminders of home everywhere I go – a constant in a lifestyle which, for most amateurs at least, is sporadic and unsettled. I am not alone with my little qwerk, beyond the composed exterior of most professionals lies a regular human being who is just as vulnerable as you or I, and it is sometimes the small things such as this that keep riders going on Tour because every day they are faced with the same tiredness, food and pain and suffering and these mementos from home or Skype chats to the family are the only thing that you have of your own. Sometimes these little things are the only things that keep you sane and focussed on the task at hand.
Allan Piper shows a classic example of this in his autobiography when speaking of his relationship on Tour with Robbie McEwen – for Robbie ‘Crunch Muesli’ for breakfast was his Tour necessity and was one of his only requests on Tour, but Allan knew that ‘it was something [about the muesli] way beyond tasting better than other breakfast cereals, at least for Robbie it was.’

Being on Tour is about dealing with the insane tiredness and the emotional roller-coaster that is bike racing. . Bradley Wiggins is another professional who touches briefly on life on Tour in his autobiography ‘On Tour’ – he says ‘It’s about suffering and somehow getting the job done when probably the more logical and sensible option is to sit up, get off and book the first flight home to your loved ones’. He also advises riders try their best to flatten out the highs and lows experienced on Tour as a means of survival whilst highlighting the importance of simply being able to ‘just keep your head down and try to ride to your limit as often as possible.’

I feel that whilst I may highlight the less appealing aspects of being on Tour, I should remind you that I do actually love doing what I do. My blog was initially a reminder to myself of all my invaluable experiences I’ve had on the bike, but also to provide onlookers a glimpse into the reality of the world of cycling and whilst it may appear all rhythm and routine, organised and for the men at least, glamorous, if you scratch the hard perceived exterior of most professional cyclists you will find a person just like yourself equipped with their own unique strategies for undertaking these extraordinary feats out on the road.



Fix successfully gotten and it was time to wipe away the tears, get out of the cold and get changed for dinner. I was feeling good and determined to have a successful tour and knew that sacrifices made would all be worthwhile in the long run :)

The next day we were able to do a recon of the first stage of the Tour which started the following day – an 18km rather boring circuit to be completed 6 times with a couple of short climbs in it. Recon successfully completed and it was time to head to our race accommodation and home for the next 4 days – another boarding house somewhere in between ‘somewhere’ and ‘nowhere’ in the region of Limousin :) then down to the school canteen for a surprisingly nice dinner and too much baguette bread and off bed!


The team freezing our butts off at team presentation

Stage 1:

The morning of stage one and it was bucketing down, as it had been for the past 24hrs. What a great start to the Tour! Wet weather gear on and it was time to race. The race was rather uneventful to be honest with my goal to use the stage as a tester to hopefully predict good things for the next few days. A couple of attacks went, were brought back and I was happy to be up there for the first few but it came down to the classic ‘miss the break that sticks’ and a small group about 10 rode off the front midway into the race and stayed there leaving me to finish in the peloton behind about 1min down. My legs ended up feeling like poo during the stage so I was happy to make it through with the group!! Without a soigny for the Tour, I knew I had to pull out all devices to try and get the pins pumped for the next few days!

Stage 2:

Time Trial day. For those who know me, I am not renowned for my ability in the fight against the clock however secretly despite my lack of natural talent in this area, I actually really enjoy them!!!! I’m not sure if it is because there are fewer variables or because your performance is generally dictated by how hard you push yourself but for some sick reason, I like a bit of hurt! I didn’t have any aero gear except for an aero helmet which made me look like something out of Predator, and so expectations were low on me for this stage… I still put in a solid effort and was happy to finish midway down the classy field! The team then decided to hang around in a local pub after the stage to watch Cadel battle out the last 40km of the Galiber stage and between you and me, it was probably the highlight of the day ;)


PREDATOR!!

Stage 3:

Started off well. It was 126km undulating course with a couple of nasty KOMs thrown in for good measure. I was up there in the front group and rode out of my skin to get over the major KOM midway through the race with the lead split when a couple of kms later after successfully doing so, I cramped like I was being shot in my calves and glutes with a tazer. I haven’t cramped like this before and definitely have no desire to do it again. I’m not sure it was a combination of dehydration in the heat or simply my punishment for pushing my body harder than it appreciated but long story short – every time I turned the pedals with any force I cramped and it wasn’t long until the convoy past me, as did the bunches behind and I was creeping at around 20kph..On the flat. With 30km to go and the ambulance behind us DNFed – no excuses, I just couldn’t bear with it any longer.


Stage 3 started off so well...

That was it – Tour over. Just like that. Unclipping from the bike all I could do was sit on the ground outside the van in the rain trying to patch up the puncture in my will to live. Lesson learnt, no matter how boxed you are, make sure you eat and drink and hopefully this Tour served as an increase in intensity my body needed to get me to that next level in fitness… no doubt will see when I race today!


The last day of the Tour was spent at the pub and exploring the patisseries in the host town before commencing the epic journey back to Belgium. I arrived back home at 2am after another eventful trip and one of the first things I did was unpack my suitcase. I didn’t care what time it was but all I knew was that Belgium was home for the next month and all my stuff was going to be unpacked and have its own place in my room – just where I wanted it. Because sometimes, it’s the little things that keep you going :)


My next race is a 90km kermesse this afternoon in Brambugge – the same area which is playing host to a UCI 1.2 next weekend which I will be guest riding for! It will be good to see how the body has recovered from France and see what the area is like before the biggie the weekend after!

Anyway, enough of my blabbering – some people say I talk to much… and I think I’m starting to believe them :p


Until next time,

Take care and happy pedalling

Miff xx

Racing and a little too much information in Krasna Lipa

Over the past week I have been living the high life with my team in the Czech Republic...Not. I hope you've made yourself a cup of tea or at least a strong alcoholic beverage as this is going to be a long one... And it ain't going to be pretty.

The Tour de Feminin in Krasna Lipa, a UCI 2.2, was my first race in the For Viored Brookvex colours, and a harsh reminder that I, along with most women, don't do this sport because of the glitz and glamour.


The team :)
For me the trip started off with a 13hr drive from Belgium to Krasna Lipa with a well welcomed pitt stop at close to 2am in a local hotel in Germany where the team and staff were able to get some decent shut eye and freshen up. Departing again just after 9am, we arrived in Czech with enough time to get to our accommodation and have a quick spin on the bikes before tea. Pulling up to the accommodation we were greeted by a 7 story run down school building. This should've served as the first warning sign for all of us to take extra precautions in relation to hygiene over the next few days...

We were staying on level 5 and the lift was so rickety and old that it could only hold 3 people at a time. We stretched the limit and would sneak 4/5 girls in but the next morning we heard that a team had loaded themselves into the lift and it had gotten stuck between floors - from then on it was strictly 3 people to the lift for us, or 2 if we felt that we had eaten too much.

At 4 to a room, the dorms were actually quite big and the girls and I had thought we'd scored the good room until 11pm on the first night when we could hear a guy snoring...from the next room. This was a trend for the next 4 nights and we would rush to get to bed before our neighbor did, because if we didn't, we were in for a long sleepless night.


Our room...excuse the mess :s

The bathrooms were communal - toilets and showers for use by both men and women. The toilets weren't too bad as they at least had doors but I had forgotten how confident most Europeans are with their bodies until I noticed that only 2 out of the 8 showers had shower curtains. It also wasn't uncommon for you to go into the bathrooms and have a naked person, male or female, happily standing there whilst you brushed your teeth or filled up your race bottles. I'm all for feeling confident about your body but somethings are better left to the imagination... Please. I was going to try get a photo of the bathrooms but couldnt do it without feeling like a dirty perv. And nice try euros but p.s, a face washer does not classify as a towel.

Before i knew it was race day and sitting on the start line after all the debacle in actually getting my butt over to Europe, i was excited about finally starting my first UCI tour. The gun went off and for the first 20 odd k I haven't braked so much in my life. 161 nervous girls meant that positioning yourself at the front was mandatory - if you wanted to live. It took me a while to get settled in the bunch but once I did, I really started enjoying myself and remembered just why I love racing! I managed to stay with the first bunch until the final climb 3k from the finish when i dagged off the back. I rolled in just over 1min behind and in 54th place. I was quietly stoked about my performance given the circumstances and lack of racing and was looking forward to riding into the rest of the tour! What was most exciting was seeing the other Australian teams and super legend Amanda Spratt take out the win with former track sprinter Nettie Edmondson in 2nd!!! It's always nice seeing other Aussies on the otherwise of the World, and doing so well!!

Back to the accommodation for showers and dinner, we were greeted in the kitchen by yet another serving of chicken and potatoes or rice if you thought the rice from lunch would taste better a second time round. In all fairness though, it was edible.

On this trip were fortunate to have 6 staff members accompanying us. Each night Jody and Ian were the Soignys in charge of tricking our legs into thinking the day's racing never happened. Gerard from Rouleur was our own personal photographer for the week, stalking our every move for an article about soigneurs on tour ( i can't wait the see the pictures he took, they are definitely uncensored) Then there was Steev our mechanic and assistant mechanic Boudewijn and last but not least, Rene our DS.

Day 2 and on paper it definitely looked rough. We had to climb that same set if climbs I had gotten dagged on the previous day 3 times before entering a 20k flatter circuit. My goal for the race was to finish first bunch. Up the climb for the first time, dagged. Chased back on on the decent and caught up through the cars a few k before starting the climbs the 2nd time. 2nd time up the climb, dagged again. This time got into a rhythm and got over the top in the cars and so managed to get back pretty quick. 3rd time up the climb and i somehow hauled my ass over with the first group, thank god. Rode in the bunch and crossed the line at the back of the first group - one happy camper :) Aussie Jayco rider Mel Hoskins took the win with Nettie again taking 2nd spot ahead of Aussie National rider Belinda Goss! Spratty again put in a huge effort to keep the jersey.

It was from the moment we got back to the accommodation that things started to go downhill... Having dinner I instantly felt ill. Attributing it to carbooverlading, I went for my massage and laid in bed thinking nothing of it. It wasn't until 1am that I knew something wasn't right, I rushed to the bathroom and felt sick. I emerged from the toilet and saw a handful of other riders including another one of our own, Gabby Shaw sitting out front. About an hour later the German National DS walked in from the lower level and said 'oh no, not you too' - turns out there was a bunch of us who had felt the wrath of dodgey fish night at the canteen.. I stayed up crippled with a fever and stomach ache until 5am when i crawled my corpse into bed. 6am and the alarm went off for breakfast as we had a double stage and had to leave just after 7am. Needless today, I wasn't feeling it. I felt as though I had a horrible hangover, without the awesome memories from the night before - I got ripped off big time. I hadn't felt that ill for a LONG time.

I couldn't even lift my head from the pillow let alone get myself out of bed and I quickly came to the realization that there was no way I was going to be getting on the bike today. I was filthy to say the least. Having to pull out of a tour is a hard and frustrating enough decision as it is, made even more so when it is due to unnecessary things outside of your control.

Welcome to the perks of lower level women's cycling. The higher ranked teams were put up in hotels whilst us club teams were in these dorms. Riding tours are hard enough as it is and after each stage it is particularly important to put extra emphasis on recovery strategies. Most higher level teams have staff to look after meals, washing and even booking different accommodation when the set accommodation it isn't up to scratch. Unfortunately this isn't the case for most other women club teams. Once we get home from the stage, it's into the open communal showers with hot water if your lucky (don't forget your thongs). Next its time to hand wash your kit in the sink and cross your fingers that it will dry in time for the next stage, otherwise you're riding in a wet chamois - yummy. Down for dinner and if it looks slightly poisonous or unappealing then tough luck, looks like you're going to starve unless there is a supermarket nearby where you can buy pre-made meals. After dinner you have to walk up 5 stories because the rickety lift has finally given way when legs burning, you eventually reach your bedroom and realize you've forgotten your room key on the table downstairs...Finally to bed where getting bedding provided to you is optional, I always bring a pillow and a towel so I don't have to use my backpack and paper towel or a face washer.
Before you know it, it's ridiculous o'clock at night and you shouldve been in bed hours ago but now you're lying awake because a dog is barking or the staff members of another team are all having a grand old time drinking beers - it's 2am and you've got 4hrs until you get up and have to do it all over again.


Our accomodation...

Welcome to pretty much women's cycling. And this was a UCI race!!! But what keeps me coming back year after year is the joy and excitement I get from racing and the people i meet along the way. I know if I continue to work hard my efforts will pay off and I will get the results which will enable me to eventually ride for a professional women's team and make all of this seem worthwhile. In the meantime, I'm trying not to stress too much and enjoy the ride - otherwise I'll never make it out alive :p

A big thank you to all the team at For Viored Brookvex for the support and a special mention to Jody Leach our swanky for sitting up with us and listening to a bunch of girls being sick. If you think being a male swanny for a team of girls would be the best job ever - ask this man. You definitely deserved a medal.

My eyes and ears will never be the same after this trip but i'll leave that all for another post. I'm now sitting in the van on te epic journey back to Belgium. I'm still feeling slightly average but I'm looking forward to getting back home, recovering and getting my body ready for my next race Dwars de Westhoek, a UCI 1.2 in Belgium. I broke my ribs at this race 20km in last year so here's hoping for some better luck!!! Lol...


Lost in translation in the race manual... I LOLed.

Until next time,

Stay safe and take care

Miff xx

Let the adventures begin :)

Arguably one of the most enjoyable perks of being a cyclist is that as part of your job, you are required to follow the sun and the warmth all year round. For most Aussie cyclists, the drop in temperature, increase of clothing required to maintain bodily function and the ritual of strapping lights to your bike for early morning rides marks the time to jump in the big sardine can and venture North with the sun and your tanlines in tow.




This year, winter has decided to waste no time in gracing us with its presence. Those living in Canberra would be forgiven for forgetting what it felt like to ride with toes and fingers, waking up with the sun to ride to morning bunches and being able to show off those ripped calves you’ve worked so hard to obtain.

Unfortunately for me, this year I am also going to over to Europe to start my overseas campaign a few weeks later than usual. As I’m writing this post on the first leg of the long haul journey, one thing I’m not missing is religiously checking the weather in some vague attempt that it’ll increase the minimum temperature for my morning’s ride. It’s like standing in front of a bare fridge, shutting it, and opening it again to see food magically appear – don’t act like you haven’t tried it!

The build up to this trip has been less than ideal to say the least and looking back on the last few weeks, I can’t help but wonder how the hell I got to be sitting in this seat.


A month ago things were going perfectly, I had good form and was feeling strong, was healthy, had secured funds, was happy and excited to come over and try and make a name for myself. It all seemed too good to be true really, and unfortunately it was!

The week before I was heading down to Wagga Wagga to compete in the Wagga Motors Handicap and Criterium (7/8th june) I started showing signs of getting a cold – the muscle aches, sore throat, runny nose and excessive tiredness. Originally I didn’t think it would be anything that an extra dose of cement on brekkie wouldn’t fix but after a couple of weeks with no signs of the symptoms regressing, I got some blood tests back which gave me some unexpected surprises. It turns out that I have a ‘severe allergic reaction’ to something in the environment, but no one knows what. I went in to anaphylactic shock last year after crashing out at Stromlo Forrest Park and proceeded to get tests to determine the cause to no avail, I was then told just to carry an epipen around with me wherever I went ‘just in case’. Little did I know that the allergic reaction would return in the severity it had! I was getting allergy induced asthma and my muscles weren’t having a bar of it. Or anything for that matter. With 2 weeks until I was due to fly out, it was good to determine (hopefully) the cause of my ‘creepingness’ and equipped with an assortment of inhalers and nasal sprays (eligible bachelors, please line up in front in an orderly manner…) fingers crossed they will no longer be a limiting factor when I hit the big smoke!


One of the reasons I am able to here now is that I’m very lucky there are so many generous people out there who support me and want to see me do well. When I got an email during that same time saying that my accommodation had been double booked and that I no longer had a place to stay in Belgium, Drapac Professional Cycling rider and fellow Canberran Stuart Shaw threw me a lifeline and with less than a week until this day, I had somewhere to call home again! I was hoping I wasn’t going to have to resort to renting a window in the middle of the Red Light district but thanks to a bunch of friendly people, my European season will see me based in Oudenaarde, a fast becoming cycling mecca and home of the World renowned Spring Classics! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A week ago to this day, I took my bike in for a last minute tune up and when I asked the mechanics to call me if there was anything wrong – I didn’t expect them to tell me that’d found a crack in my chain stay and that there was no way this little bike was getting on a plane to Europe. I guess it is better they found the crack here as opposed to me finding it for myself when my bike collapsed under me during a race (Self-conscious much????) but a third big blow to my overseas trip in as many days saw me suddenly doubt everything I was doing – it seemed as though someone, somewhere out there reallyyyyyyyyy didn’t want me to jump on this plane! Fortunately for me, the great team at Cervelo, MaryAnn Simpson and the team at the BikeShed Canberra – I received a brand spanking new Cervelo R5 frame under warranty, yesterday. Better late than never right?? Lol. I am still yet to ride it and I can’t wait to rip the copious amounts of bubble wrap/foam off the new machine and take it for a spin!!! The new black and green frame got pimped thanks to Jason Chalker at the BikeShed Braddon and with lime green lizard skin bar tape and equally green Maxxis Refuse tyres – if nothing else, at least I’ll look good ;)



To top it all off, the return of the Volcanic ash from Chile grounded all flights from Canberra yesterday and it wasn’t until this morning I was able to find out if my flight from Canberra to Sydney was actually going to be flying. It didn’t, but after a quick trip to the Jolimont centre, I was on the next bus destination Sydney.
They say things in life worth having don’t come easy - and these slightly unnecessary inconveniences definitely haven’t made things a walk in the park. But despite the lemons life has thrown at me, I’m still sitting here now with a big smile on my face ready to make myself some lemonade :)

I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead, learning as much as my brain can absorb, meeting new people and doing what I enjoy.

My first race with the For Viored Brookvex UK based team will be the Krasna Lipa, a tour in the Czech Republic starting the 7th July but first stop will be the UK Nationals tomorrow where I will be able to cheer on the girls and hopefully make myself useful (or most likely pass out quietly in the corner as to not disturb anyone).



So watch this space and hopefully I will have more good news to report in the not too distant future!

Until then, stay safe and happy pedalling

Miff xx


p.s because my sole purpose in life is to embarrass my sister, I’d just like to give a shout out to the better half in the relationship – my gorgeous sister Bron. Happy 21st Birthday. I’m so glad I was able to celebrate even a few hours of it with you, it’s been too long. I hope you have a safe trip to the US and I’ll be on the sidelines in your own custom cheer costume, barracking for you the whole time (although I won’t be doing the splits, there is no way in hell that could end well.) I don’t know anyone else who would get as excited as you about spending your winter holidays doing more Uni but I know your hard work is going to pay off. Watch out for this name people, this girl will run the country one day (and buy me a car with her first million ;) ). Love you long time and miss your face already – Miff & Raoul.

B&M Photography

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot with B&M Photography! Bonnie Elvin and Michael Phelan are two very talented and accomplished Canberra models who are using their expertise and experience in the industry to venture into the field of photography! I had a great time working with them and admired their professionalism and their creativity! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend B&M to help you build your portfolio! Thanks guys :)

Check out a few photos from the shoot below!

If you'd like more information on B&M Photography, please don't hesitate to contact me or check out their Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/61373552@N06/


Until next time

M xx

The Result of a Sports Gels/Caffeine Induced Insomnia

It’s 1030pm and I’m still awake. Normally by now my head has hit the pillow and I’ve passed out for the night… But no, not tonight. After gorging myself on a variety of gels, caffeine and sugary foods accompanied by the constant throbbing of my legs, I have a feeling it is going to be a longggg night. And to top it all off, I am busy trying to rehydrated after forgetting to put on sunscreen in all the excitement resulting in my skin getting a little more than a ‘kiss’ from the sun :S… For those cyclists out there I’m sure you can sympathise with me – this is anticlimax you could say of finishing a Tour.



In 2010 I was watching the Canberra Tour from a lot more comfortable position in the commissaires car as I was still undergoing rehab for various injuries and so was excited to finally be able to race it again in 2011 under the new name of the Loop Canberra Tour. New name and new management meant a new format and for us women, it meant longer distances as well having a 50min crit on the Friday, 114km (it wasn’t 109km-lies) road race Saturday AM and 20km time trial Saturday PM and to finish us all off (literally) an 80km road race on the Sunday with not a meter of flat roads. 4 intermediate sprints and 2 QOMs on the Saturday morning, 2 more sprints and QOMs on the Sunday as well as the very generous time bonuses given on the finish line meant that anyone had a chance to be in the money! I was just out to make sure that ‘anyone’ was the Canberra Cycling Club Team.

The Canberra Cycling Club team on which I was racing on behalf of consisted of Jessie Maclean, who is about to represent the Australian National Team in Europe later this month, Gracie Elvin a ‘mountain biker’ who does more than hold her own on the road and who is also competing in Europe this month and junior rider Alice Wallett, who we are still trying to convince that cycling is better than triathlon :)

It was an epic few days to say the least but I’ve done my best to try and briefly recap all of the stages:


Friday Stage 1: 50min Criterium

There were attacks, people chased them… more attacks and yet more people chase. Despite it being one of the most aggressive races I’ve been in with some threatening attacks from the Victorian Institute of Sport team (VIS) and a solo effort by team mate Jessie Maclean, from midway into the race it was obvious that it was destined to come down to a sprint finish. I tested out my sprinting legs in the intermediate sprint prime but got a bit excited and started my sprint way to early, getting pipped by Loren Rowney from the Bundaberg Sugar team. I figured that I didn’t have the sprinting form to win a race so I decided that I’d help Jessie Maclean out and shadowed her wheel as we came into the last few laps as she is pretty self-sufficient when it comes to finding a lead out. When the sprint opened up, people were going everywhere on the track. Jessie jumped right and I saw an opening on the left and it was a drag race to the finish with Loren Rowney taking out the win followed by Canberra’s Beck Wiasak and Kendelle Hodges from the VIS. I came in in 4th whilst Gracie Elvin picked up 6th and Jessie 7th. Although we didn’t win, we were in the time bonuses and put ourselves in a comfortable position leading into the road race the next morning. Since Loren Rowney was the overall tour leader and sprint winner, it also meant that I would be wearing the sprint jersey going into tomorrrow’s stage – don’t worry, I had a bit of a laugh too :P

Sprinting for intermediate sprint points, photo courtesy of Greg Long

Saturday Stage 2: 114km RR

For all those Canberra riders, you would be all too familiar with the Uriarra-Condor loop. If this wasn’t bad enough, we had to complete it twice and since I was in contention for the sprinters jersey I also had 4 intermediate sprints to contest…It was going to be rough to say the least!

Descending down into Uriarra crossing for the first time, it dawned on me that wearing the sprinter’s jersey (although I have to admit, it did look pretty awesome) was going to be more of a burden than a privilege, it meant that I had to contest the intermediate sprints. Luckily for me I had the best wing woman in the peloton to lead me out for them – Jessie Maclean gave me leadouts that Mark Renshaw himself would be proud of and as a result, I accumulated enough points to hold onto the sprinters jersey for another day. I was happy with how I was feeling on the climbs especially after the sprinting and so decided to try my luck in the QOM points as well, I scored some in the first 2 at the turn around and then again at the top of the 3 sisters where I got into a break of 3 riders until midway back to Stromlo Forrest Park but I soon realised that maybe trying to contest both competitions AND make it to the finish alive was a bit too ambitious and so settled for grovelling up the climbs instead.

Going into the last lap it was pretty much a repeat of the previous one – we contested the sprints, the pace was set up the climbs, Jessie Maclean and Kendelle scared us all sh!tless on the descents and by the time we knew it we were climbing the 3 sisters for the last time. I have to admit, I was very surprised to see that we still had such a large bunch, maybe it is just a reflection of the quality of women riders we have coming through at the moment, but all I knew was I didn’t like it…It is common knowledge that I time trial like a brick through water and so I needed as much advantage going into the afternoon’s stage as possible. Having lost their sprinter on the final climb, the VIS were launching attacks in the last few kilometres to try and get a break but to no avail – coming into Stromlo Forrest Park it was going to be another bunch kick. Gracie rolled up to me and said she was feeling good and it was like music to my ears – by that stage I was feeling like poo and so I told her to stick on my wheel on the crit course and I would follow wheels to get her lined up for the sprint. Coming into the final corner, it was the same sprinting ‘tactics’ as the crit and there was no way that I was going to make the same mistake happen twice, I kicked off the wheel in front later with Gracie still attached and sprinted for home – Grace Sulzberger was just ahead and when I rolled past her a few meters for the line, I realised that in my lead out gone wrong – I’d actually won. I’d freaking won a bike race. And not just any bike race, one in my hometown in front of my friends, family and coach.

the win :) thanks Brian for the photo!!

What went through my head? Well when I put my arm in the air the first thing I thought was ‘bullsh!t. I didn’t just win a bunch kick...’ Then when Grace Sulzberger rolled up and congratulated me I burst out crying – I’m a girl scout I know but winning a race in your hometown is something you dream of doing and it was great for me to finally repay all the people who have stood by me and helped me out by giving them a win. Gracie held on for 3rd and picked up more time bonuses which gave her a good advantage leading into the time trial that afternoon.


Photo courtesy of Greg Long - check out other awesome shots from the tour here

Saturday PM: 20km TT

The only thing I could’ve hoped for was for the time trial to be tomorrow afternoon, so at least I could have been leader of the Tour for longer than 2hrs… and gotten a pretty slick white leader’s jersey too. But alas, just when I was feeling on top of the world after my win there’s nothing like a time trial to knock you down again. Although I was riding on one of the fastest time trial bikes available, a tiny Cervelo P3 at 48cm and equipped with 650c wheels, I knew I was going to have to ride the time trial of my life if I was going to stay in contention in the tour. I enlisted the help of super coach MaryAnn Simpson and my twin sister Bron to follow me in the car and yell abuse/encouragement at me to help me stay focused on the 20km solo journey ahead. I was feeling strong going down to the turn around and was happy to be able to turn around without unclipping/hitting my foot (those of you who don’t ride tiny bikes won’t appreciate this luxury…) and on the way back had my eyes set on reeling in the few riders who were ahead of me. I was about to turn around and hit my coach and sister when I figured that if I rode faster, they would probably stop yelling – so I did. I rolled home and am happy to say rode the time trial of my life. I’m not known for my extensively long attention span and this was the first time trial where I didn’t think of what I was having for dinner, count, or even sing to myself. Although it wasn’t enough to match the big hitters, I was stoked and ended up finishing in 7th. Beck Wiasak smoked everyone for the win followed by Allison Rice and Jo Hogan rounded out the podium in 3rd. Gracie Elvin had an awesome ride and held her own for 4th putting her 3rd in GC leading into the final stage, a great position for us!

The tiny TT machine - and new kit!! photo courtesy of Greg Long


Sunday RR: 80km

Waking up Sunday morning, probably the first thing I said to myself was ‘thank god we don’t have to race 130km like then men’. Today’s stage was ‘only’ 80km but you’d be hard pressed to find more than a meter of flat road anywhere out on course. The GC leading into today meant that the race would surely be aggressive with 1sec margins separating 4 riders and a big 54sec gap to Beck Wiasak who was now tour leader. With the help from my teammates, I had accumulated enough of a lead in the sprinters competition to have secured the jersey however we weren’t going to let anything go to chance and so sent our junior rider Alice Wallett up the road to ensure no one got in some sneaky extra points. Although the pace was on up the significant climbs, the bunch still remained intact for ¾ of the race. Our priority was to keep Gracie up/improve her position on GC and if possible, get myself further up as well but to do this, we had to drop Beck Wiasak and Allison Rice on the climbs. Luckily for us, the other teams had similar ideas and gradually the elastic band was snapping. Going back up Mt Macdonald with less than 20km to home, Grace Sulzberg and Kendelle Hodges attacked over the top of the climb. I was sitting on the otherside of the bunch and all I coul do was watch them ride away. I knew that if they were still away going down into Uriarra, the race was over. It took a while for the bunch to respond but then a paceline was formed going down into Uriarra with our work horse Jessie Maclean driving it on the front. I found her wheel going down into Uriarra before she swung off and didn’t realise how much speed she had launched me down there with…that girl is crazy. I have never descended that fast in my life and at one stage I was convinced I was going to die. But I didn’t. I couldn’t let Jess down after she busted her ass for us and so maintained that speed going into the crossing and drove it up the 1st sister to try and get rid of some driftwood and to hopefully start to close the gap and keep Gracie up there on GC as for the moment, we were sitting in 4th position. Frustratingly, the bunch soon lost interest in chasing and it wasn’t until about 5km from home that they put in another last ditched effort. I decided it was better to have one of the team finish up on GC as oppose to both of us finishing lower down and so jumped on the front and gave a last ditched effort to bring it back. Once I blew, I knew my race was over. All I could do was the riders who were left roll past and keep my fingers crossed that they would catch Grace Sulzberger and that Gracie could hold her own in the sprint. When I rolled into the park I heard that Grace Sulzberger had held on to win by 30sec and had consequently take over the lead of the tour. Gracie Elvin got 3rd in the bunch kick and unfortunately dropped down to 4th in GC – by only 2 seconds!!!!


Despite the Canberra Cycling Team not finishing on top spot on the podium, I couldn’t have been happier. We haven’t raced together as a team before and I was amazed at how easily we all clicked and how dedicated everyone was to achieve a team result. In addition to Gracie’s 4th on GC, we held onto the sprinters jersey and so still made a nice profit for the weekend.


Although I only finished up 7th on GC, given that this time last year I wasn’t able to ride, I was pretty proud of myself. I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I fly out to Europe on the 22nd of June to start racing with the UK based Viored Team (post on that to come) but I’m happy with how things are going :)

A big thank you to Jason Parkes, Nathan Spillane, Peter Gough and the rest of the Canberra Cycling Club committee as well as SportsMaxx marketing and all of the voulnteers for another very succesful Tour :)and of course my coach MaryAnn Simpson. you rock.

You can read more about the race at VIS stomper Lisa Jacob’s ride happy blog and Bundaberg Sugar Rider Amy Bradley’s blog and full results can be found here

Next up is one of my favourite races – the Cootamundra Haycarters Handicap this weekend! It should be a slightly more relaxed atmosphere than Canberra tour and I can’t wait to try and mix it with the big boys :P

Next stop for these bad boys - Europe :)

Until next time stay safe and happy pedalling,

Miff xx

B2B - Bathurst Weekend of Racing

History has shown the Bathurst weekend of racing to be one of the most popular weekends away amongst ACT/NSW cyclists. This year, it was no different with around 2500 cyclists said to have participated in the weekend of events. This year was my first trip up to Bathurst and mum and I road tripped up together for what turned out to be a pretty pleasant and successful weekend away :)


Saturday morning was the NSW hillclimb championships at Mt Panorama. The day before the race I went to go ride what I thought was the hill climb up ‘Mt Panorama’ on the race course... I was cutting laps of the Mt Panorama V8 track in both directions just to make sure I was familiar with lines and knew the climb up both directions as I wasn’t sure which one we were doing… and when I got home to double check start times, it turns out the course wasn’t on the race track at all – it was right next to it up a climb actually named ‘Mt Panorama’ – rookie mistake, dammit. So I went into the hill climb pretty much blind after only being able to drive up it once before the start but I don’t think knowing the climb would’ve helped me much anyway because with such strong girls on the start list and after making some stupid decisions pre-race, I had pretty much been beaten before I got to the start line. Oh well, as they say –‘shit happens’ and I definitely won’t be doing that again! Hats off to India Maclean, Elizabeth Tenney and Rebecca Wiasak for picking up the medals!

Start of the hill climb

A few hours later we had a crit which was held on the inside of the race track. The crit was only 25min and after my disappointing efforts of the morning, I was keen to hopefully redeem myself and get on the podium. For the first few laps I tried to be aggressive as I knew I wouldn’t be the only one with tired legs from the morning’s hill climb and besides, how much damage can you do to yourself in 25min?? My tactics worked – just under half way into the race a break including Rebecca Wiasak, India Maclean and myself broke clear and stayed away for the remainder of the race. I was confident leading into the sprint and knew that if I was patient, I had a good chance of taking the win. After a blistering last lap on the front from Beck, I edged over her for the win with Inidia picking up 3rd. I was quietly pleased with my win as I haven’t won a bike race in Australia before and even though it wasn’t by scale a large race, a win is a win and I was stoked :)

KOM/QOM presentation with Drapac Professional Cycling rider and another Canberran Adam Phelan, check out his site here


Waking up on Sunday to an icy cold, foggy and wet morning mum and I drove to Blayney for the real race – the Blayney to Bathurst or B2B. I was doing the long course event of 110km and each rider was seeded and to set off in waves according to their estimated average speed. I decided to try my luck with the elite men in the 40km+ wave and see how long I could last with the big boys! It was raining when we set off and the damp and miserable conditions hung around for the whole race…Once I got settled in to riding in the bigger bunch I felt quite comfortable until I started to suffer up the first pinch about 20km in the race, I couldn’t hold the wheel in front over the top and so got dropped on the decent and was left to be picked up by a smaller bunch of about 6people a bit further up the road. Jessie Maclean stomped her way over the top of the climb and stayed with the boys whilst India was in the bunch which caught me. I thought the race for fastest female was over until I saw Jessie’s pink jersey on the side of the road – she was one of the day’s many suffers of a flat tyre and although it was unfortunate for her, it meant that the race was still on! India was riding strongly in the bunch as we approached the KOM about 20km from the finish. We were climbing side by side when she suddenly asked if she had a puncture – I looked across to see her rear wheel was flat. Luckily for her she had 2 club team mates in the bunch who gave her a wheel and being aware of this, I quickly put the pressure on and road off up the climb. I got over the top of the climb solo and then was joined by 2 other men from that group. Together we all swapped off for the last 20km and crossed the finish line at Mt Panorama wet, covered in mud and just relieved that we’d made it through relatively unscathed. I had to wait a few minutes for some women who set off in the other waves to cross the line before I was able to find out if I had won the title of ‘first and fastest female’ but when I heard Paul Craft announce my name over the loudspeaker covered in mud and drenched with every inch of my life - I was over the moon! I would love to say that I won the race on pure strength, but I must admit luck did play a part in it – although it feels good to be the lucky one for a change :)

photo post race thanks to the Bathurst Western Advocate newspaper, just a little bit excited :)


I completed the 110km in 2:57min and the two wins in two days served as a good confidence booster leading into the first round of the National Road Series in Tasmania next weekend. Now time for a little Opera moment - Perhaps the most satisfying moment of the weekend was when I spoke to my coach and told her that I’d won – that all her time and energy she invests in me, and has for a long time, was starting to pay off again. I hope that there will be moments like these in the not too distant future where I can thank all the people who have stood by me and thank them for their continual belief in me :) – you guys rock.

Full results can be found here and a few pictures can be found on the NSW cycling site here.

Next up racing wise is the Mersey Valley Tour in Tasmania which is also the first round in the Women’s NRS. Although the field isn’t large at only 26 women, they are all of our best riders in Australia and each and every one of them will be a contender for the tour! I have never done the tour before as for the past 3 years I have been sick/injured but from what I’ve heard it is the hardest NRS for the women – let’s just hope my performance at the NSW hill climb champs wasn’t a real indicator of my hill climbing ability otherwise I will be definitely tasting a lot of stem :s

Until next time,

Stay safe and happy pedalling :)

Miff xx