So the last time I have posted anything on my blog was September of 2008 and it's now 2009, Happy New Year to you all! Sorry for not being more up to date on here but I have been really busy. Busy you say...with what? Well that's what I'm getting to!
Last time I was thinking long and hard whether to retire or not. Then I got emails from people all over the world asking me to think really hard as they didn't want me to do it...they kept saying just one more season if you have it. I have had a fair amount of time off my bike and I have got that fire back in my belly now, so I'm thinking maybe one more season!
Other than the retirement decision I have made a different career move as well. I'm now working out on mine sites as a Health and Lifestyle Coordinator (HLC). What is that you might ask? I fly out to a mine site and I implement different physical activities, nutrition, training programs and fitness testings on all the mine site workers. This has been one of the best moves I have ever made, besides cycling of course! I have a fantastic roster, 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off, which allows me to get my training in and some rest and relaxation (R&R) too! The mine site I am currently at is Marilana, they mine Iron Ore and the camp is about to expand big time.
Well I think that's about all for now folks, so until next time...
Ciao
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Is it time to move on?
So the word retirement is going through my head! I keep asking myself if I want keep racing overseas anymore; do I want to put up with lies and deceitfulness of team management? But I love the sport of cycling and that adrenaline rush that you get from racing. It has been such a huge part of my life for such a long time now.
So how do you know if it is time to move on? I guess when you keep asking yourself over and over, then maybe it's time. I've had a good month off now from racing in the USA and I love the freedom I have with my training. I don't have to worry about what training I do and when I do it, if I want to go for a run I can, without the worry about injury and racing.
So at this stage I have decided to take some well earned time off and I'll see where that leads!
So how do you know if it is time to move on? I guess when you keep asking yourself over and over, then maybe it's time. I've had a good month off now from racing in the USA and I love the freedom I have with my training. I don't have to worry about what training I do and when I do it, if I want to go for a run I can, without the worry about injury and racing.
So at this stage I have decided to take some well earned time off and I'll see where that leads!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Superweek, Lancaster and Altoona and the Broken Bike!
Illinois, Wisconsin - Superweek
Superweek is always a really hard, full-on and super demanding on your body, there's no getting around it! It was 7 days straight of racing and if you were lucky you might get a rest day. The weather on majority of days was fairly warm, in the 90's and very humid. I think were actually had one day were it was a little cooler and boy did that make a difference!
Most of the racing went like this:- Brooke sprinting with Sherri and Elizabeth leading her out, Leeanne and Dale chasing everything down and not letting a thing get away unless we were in it, Liz moving people through the pack and helping Leeanne and Dale if they need it, Arley looking after Brooke and Sheba hard from the gun. Then if there were people that had a rest day then the plans would change a little but not a lot, Emma would then help with the chasing and attacks.
With everyone working really well together we were able to help Brooke everyday. Dale and I would make sure the field was having a hard time as we both spent multiple laps off the front in most of the races. Sherri and Elizabeth did all the sprint stuff for Brooke and even helped Dale and I went they could. The other girls did a fantastic job in their roles too. All of this then allowed Brooke to be consistent enough throughout the whole week to finish 5th overall for the series and 4th in the Sprint Points. Awesome Job Everyone!!!
Lancaster - Grandview Heights
Grandview Heights is one of those races that we always try and get to. It runs past the driveway of Michelle Bote's (old teammate) house. The course is fairly technical with some off camber turns and a few potholes and bumps along the way. This was a very interesting local race for us.
Firstly, Robin Farina tried to get away numerous amounts of times within the first few laps, but we had somebody on her straight away. I then went with another move but this didn't come off either and actually caused a big problem. I had hit either a bump in the road or something on the road as I went through turn one. I heard a crack and a wobble of the front, it then settled for 100m or so, until I went to accelerate with Robin and I had a flat in the front. I then had to cut through the course to get back to the pits (which is allowed). I got my new wheel then off I went again. I was then in the break with Robin and then Dale bridged across, a couple of others got on her wheel. For the whole time we were in the break there was only 3 of us working, Robin, Dale and Myself. We tried to get the others to work but they wanted to sit in so they could win the "LOCAL" race. I tell ya that's no way to impress other riders when your looking for a team next year! Robin, Dale and myself were not impressed at all...yes we all were racing the next day at Altoona so we didn't want to expend too much energy but we still did what we had to do to keep the break.
Robin finished in 3rd (as she jumped early)
I finished in 6th as I got boxed in and
Dale finished in 9th as she did a huge lead out with 2 laps to go!
Altoona - Tour de Toona
So I get to the race and go to place my bike in the wind trainer for warm up. I happen to look down at the bottom bracket for some reason and I notice something....yes a crack! That creaking noise that I heard in yesterdays race was my frame cracking, I was wondering why I felt like I was loosing power!
I then show this to my Team Manager and he said that it is just a scratch and that I should just ride it. He then said if I want a second option to go and see Merlin at the SRAM neutral support and see what he says. He took one look and said "yep that's a crack alright!" I knew it...I have seen plenty of cracked frames in my life time from working at TBE for so many years. Merlin then sets me up on a bike that is too big but is the smallest bike he had....51cm and I ride a 48cm. The bars felt like they were 2 foot wide but that was ok because I can still race!
So the race, First lap Robin did it again, went from the gun and I was right with her. We got away for a lap but then Cheerwine and Colavita weren't too happy with that so they brought us back. I was then trying to recover, and mean while, Dale and Arley were at the front trying to go with everything they could...they both rode like "Rock Stars!" A few riders got away and there was some chasing and some let go, you know the normal things that happen with the big teams there. There was 5 laps to go and Arley tried again to get away but unfortunately was unsuccessful, then Dale counter attacked and still again was unsuccessful, then I countered her and splinter the field (according to Arley) but only had a 2 sec lead and was then brought back. So I then had to try and set up for the sprint....which was interesting to say the least. I had less then 3 laps to recover from my attack and work my way up in the field, people were becoming a little reckless and dangerous, chopping in corners, fighting for wheels etc. Well I finished up 21st which was still in the $$ and hard work on a bike that was too big for me!!!
Superweek is always a really hard, full-on and super demanding on your body, there's no getting around it! It was 7 days straight of racing and if you were lucky you might get a rest day. The weather on majority of days was fairly warm, in the 90's and very humid. I think were actually had one day were it was a little cooler and boy did that make a difference!
Most of the racing went like this:- Brooke sprinting with Sherri and Elizabeth leading her out, Leeanne and Dale chasing everything down and not letting a thing get away unless we were in it, Liz moving people through the pack and helping Leeanne and Dale if they need it, Arley looking after Brooke and Sheba hard from the gun. Then if there were people that had a rest day then the plans would change a little but not a lot, Emma would then help with the chasing and attacks.
With everyone working really well together we were able to help Brooke everyday. Dale and I would make sure the field was having a hard time as we both spent multiple laps off the front in most of the races. Sherri and Elizabeth did all the sprint stuff for Brooke and even helped Dale and I went they could. The other girls did a fantastic job in their roles too. All of this then allowed Brooke to be consistent enough throughout the whole week to finish 5th overall for the series and 4th in the Sprint Points. Awesome Job Everyone!!!
Lancaster - Grandview Heights
Grandview Heights is one of those races that we always try and get to. It runs past the driveway of Michelle Bote's (old teammate) house. The course is fairly technical with some off camber turns and a few potholes and bumps along the way. This was a very interesting local race for us.
Firstly, Robin Farina tried to get away numerous amounts of times within the first few laps, but we had somebody on her straight away. I then went with another move but this didn't come off either and actually caused a big problem. I had hit either a bump in the road or something on the road as I went through turn one. I heard a crack and a wobble of the front, it then settled for 100m or so, until I went to accelerate with Robin and I had a flat in the front. I then had to cut through the course to get back to the pits (which is allowed). I got my new wheel then off I went again. I was then in the break with Robin and then Dale bridged across, a couple of others got on her wheel. For the whole time we were in the break there was only 3 of us working, Robin, Dale and Myself. We tried to get the others to work but they wanted to sit in so they could win the "LOCAL" race. I tell ya that's no way to impress other riders when your looking for a team next year! Robin, Dale and myself were not impressed at all...yes we all were racing the next day at Altoona so we didn't want to expend too much energy but we still did what we had to do to keep the break.
Robin finished in 3rd (as she jumped early)
I finished in 6th as I got boxed in and
Dale finished in 9th as she did a huge lead out with 2 laps to go!
Altoona - Tour de Toona
So I get to the race and go to place my bike in the wind trainer for warm up. I happen to look down at the bottom bracket for some reason and I notice something....yes a crack! That creaking noise that I heard in yesterdays race was my frame cracking, I was wondering why I felt like I was loosing power!
I then show this to my Team Manager and he said that it is just a scratch and that I should just ride it. He then said if I want a second option to go and see Merlin at the SRAM neutral support and see what he says. He took one look and said "yep that's a crack alright!" I knew it...I have seen plenty of cracked frames in my life time from working at TBE for so many years. Merlin then sets me up on a bike that is too big but is the smallest bike he had....51cm and I ride a 48cm. The bars felt like they were 2 foot wide but that was ok because I can still race!
So the race, First lap Robin did it again, went from the gun and I was right with her. We got away for a lap but then Cheerwine and Colavita weren't too happy with that so they brought us back. I was then trying to recover, and mean while, Dale and Arley were at the front trying to go with everything they could...they both rode like "Rock Stars!" A few riders got away and there was some chasing and some let go, you know the normal things that happen with the big teams there. There was 5 laps to go and Arley tried again to get away but unfortunately was unsuccessful, then Dale counter attacked and still again was unsuccessful, then I countered her and splinter the field (according to Arley) but only had a 2 sec lead and was then brought back. So I then had to try and set up for the sprint....which was interesting to say the least. I had less then 3 laps to recover from my attack and work my way up in the field, people were becoming a little reckless and dangerous, chopping in corners, fighting for wheels etc. Well I finished up 21st which was still in the $$ and hard work on a bike that was too big for me!!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
It's Been Awhile
So after Phili, I went back to Beca's place in Lititz, and stayed there for approximately 3 weeks. I was hoping to have a great few weeks training and relaxation but unfortunately that wasn't to be. Instead I was extremely sick, with a sinus infection and the start of Bronchitis. This didn't just last for a week but for approximately 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, which meant that I missed Tour de Grandview in Ohio and Ficthburg. On the positive side though, I did get to race West Chester's Iron Hill.
Iron Hill was my first race back and boy was it fast! It was only a 4 corner criterium circuit with a power climbing hill. In previous years there has been crashes on the 3rd turn, this turn takes us straight into the hill, it is very fast and can be technical if you don't take the correct line. The first lap was extremely fast and we dropped half of the field. There was attacks going left, right and centre, which made for a very intense race. There were times where I was struggling, due to my breathing, but I managed to finish in the top 20.....18th was my placing, and it was great to know, that even though I was very sick I didn't lose that much fitness, intensity yes but fitness no!
The next race to head to was Superweek.....
Iron Hill was my first race back and boy was it fast! It was only a 4 corner criterium circuit with a power climbing hill. In previous years there has been crashes on the 3rd turn, this turn takes us straight into the hill, it is very fast and can be technical if you don't take the correct line. The first lap was extremely fast and we dropped half of the field. There was attacks going left, right and centre, which made for a very intense race. There were times where I was struggling, due to my breathing, but I managed to finish in the top 20.....18th was my placing, and it was great to know, that even though I was very sick I didn't lose that much fitness, intensity yes but fitness no!
The next race to head to was Superweek.....
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Tough Times
So we started off with Memorial Weekend, Saturday was Bike Jam (Baltimore), Sunday was our race -The City Bikes RFK Criterium (Washington DC) and Monday was Somerville (New Jersey).
At Bike Jam - Everything was going really well until we (about 4 of us) went down in a crash at the start/finish line and poor Emma came off worst and could not continue. Her bike broke and her body was very battered and bruised, let alone her head as she hit that too. The rest of us, that crashed, got back into the race. I made sure that nothing got away so that Elizabeth and Brooke could finished it off for the team, and that they did.
The City Bikes RFK Criterium was a hard race in the heat. All day the team was on the attack, we wanted to try and get somebody away. Unfortunately it just didn't happen for us but we still rode a very good race and got Brooke and Elizabeth back up there for the finish.
Somerville is known as the oldest race in the USA, but is always one to remember! Again, Brooke and Elizabeth were there for the finish. I got caught out a bit but still finished fairly well as with the other races. Towards the end of the race was when I was doing more work at the front as the first half of the race I found it impossible to move up.
During the week following I found out that I was going to Tulsa. I had 1 nights notice (found out about 9pm) and had to be packed and ready to go by 10am the next morning. That would have been fine but then I remembered that I had to pack for a few weeks (maybe up to 6 weeks) or more as we are just going to be on the road for heaps of races. So here's how Tulsa went:
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and what a fun weekend it was with Elizabeth. The weather was extremely strange! We would wake up in the morning, it would be cloudy, then it would become really dark and stormy. That occurred on 2 out of 3 mornings that we were there. Racing was very sketchy you could say. Elizabeth was involved in a crash on the 1st day as some silly chick couldn't corner, then I was involved in one the next day and for the same reason. It wasn't our best weekend of racing but was good fun.
Thursday's race was in Reading and this course is so bumpy....ouch! Again it just wasn't our teams day, so our next focus was Sunday the BIG RACE Liberty Classic!!!
So the big race is now over. What a race it was....I was fighting every lap to keep myself in the race. From the 2nd lap there was just 2 of us left in the main field, Arley and myself. Every time we hit the wall I just didn't have enough in the tank to kick over it completely and I had to chase back on over the decend and before the next climb. So on the last lap I was taken through a massive pot hole and my handlebars dropped by over an inch, my rear wheel started to come out of the frame and my gears were jumping around, so it was like riding up the steapest hill you have ever ridden up on the flat! I had to watch the field ride away from me on the wall (17% for 1 mile) as I couldn't get out of my seat or I would have crashed, so it was a solo ride back in on a broken bike, I finished though, a bit disappointed but oh well these things happen.
Now I'm back in Lititz having a few rest days, which have been well earnt! I will find out next week if I'm going to Austin, Texas so until then I'm just resting up and then training hard.
At Bike Jam - Everything was going really well until we (about 4 of us) went down in a crash at the start/finish line and poor Emma came off worst and could not continue. Her bike broke and her body was very battered and bruised, let alone her head as she hit that too. The rest of us, that crashed, got back into the race. I made sure that nothing got away so that Elizabeth and Brooke could finished it off for the team, and that they did.
The City Bikes RFK Criterium was a hard race in the heat. All day the team was on the attack, we wanted to try and get somebody away. Unfortunately it just didn't happen for us but we still rode a very good race and got Brooke and Elizabeth back up there for the finish.
Somerville is known as the oldest race in the USA, but is always one to remember! Again, Brooke and Elizabeth were there for the finish. I got caught out a bit but still finished fairly well as with the other races. Towards the end of the race was when I was doing more work at the front as the first half of the race I found it impossible to move up.
During the week following I found out that I was going to Tulsa. I had 1 nights notice (found out about 9pm) and had to be packed and ready to go by 10am the next morning. That would have been fine but then I remembered that I had to pack for a few weeks (maybe up to 6 weeks) or more as we are just going to be on the road for heaps of races. So here's how Tulsa went:
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and what a fun weekend it was with Elizabeth. The weather was extremely strange! We would wake up in the morning, it would be cloudy, then it would become really dark and stormy. That occurred on 2 out of 3 mornings that we were there. Racing was very sketchy you could say. Elizabeth was involved in a crash on the 1st day as some silly chick couldn't corner, then I was involved in one the next day and for the same reason. It wasn't our best weekend of racing but was good fun.
Monday morning we had to get up early (4am EST) to fly out. We eventually make it back to our home bases, Elizabeth in Florida and me well I had to get straight into a car and drive to PA for Philli week. It was close to 9 hours of travel for me that day and boy was I tired! Our destination was Lititz pronounced as "Lid its" which is where my team mate Beca lives. It is the most amazing little town with a fantastic coffee shop called "Cafe Chocolate". Selina is the owner and what an amazing lady she is. She previously worked for Wall Street and then decided that she wanted to open a coffee shop. This place does not only serve coffee but yes loads of really good quality chocolate! I have never been one for dark chocolate but this is truely unreal!!! There is no words to describe this place, it has a real feeling about it.
So the first race of Philli week was Allentown and well I just shouldn't have even raced as I was sooooo tired from the travel and the weekend inTulsa. This was one of the fastest races I have ever seen....well that's the way it felt...maybe because I was so tired! I decided to pull out as I had nothing to give and need some legs for Thursday and Sunday.Thursday's race was in Reading and this course is so bumpy....ouch! Again it just wasn't our teams day, so our next focus was Sunday the BIG RACE Liberty Classic!!!
So the big race is now over. What a race it was....I was fighting every lap to keep myself in the race. From the 2nd lap there was just 2 of us left in the main field, Arley and myself. Every time we hit the wall I just didn't have enough in the tank to kick over it completely and I had to chase back on over the decend and before the next climb. So on the last lap I was taken through a massive pot hole and my handlebars dropped by over an inch, my rear wheel started to come out of the frame and my gears were jumping around, so it was like riding up the steapest hill you have ever ridden up on the flat! I had to watch the field ride away from me on the wall (17% for 1 mile) as I couldn't get out of my seat or I would have crashed, so it was a solo ride back in on a broken bike, I finished though, a bit disappointed but oh well these things happen.
Now I'm back in Lititz having a few rest days, which have been well earnt! I will find out next week if I'm going to Austin, Texas so until then I'm just resting up and then training hard.
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