3 Peaks Challenge - Sunday 10 March 2014

This is an epic post to describe an epic ride!

That wasn't the hardest thing I've done, but in some ways it was harder than I expected. My training paid off. All of my logistics preparations went well. The organization and support by the Bicycle Network and their mountains of volunteers was fantastic. And my experience with similar events helped me prepare and know what to expect. But it was a very long and hard day on the bike!

It was a mild morning as we assembled in the darkness in preparation for the start at 6:45am. But as dawn approached, the temperature dropped to a chilly 7 degrees. We started in waves, I was about 3/4 of the way through the field and I started around 7am. I was pretty happy not to be right at the front with the fast riders as I haven't been doing a lot of technical descending lately and I didn't want to get freaked out by riders cutting me off.

My descending was pretty crap. I quickly lost sight of all the riders I'd started with. I think I only passed about 4 people on the descent, whilst I was passed by many. I blame the bumpy unfamiliar road and the cold. Plus of course my lack of practice. I definitely lost at least half an hour on the 25km descent.

We then passed through the town of Mount Beauty, where it was time to remove the warm layers before turned left into the first mountain climb of the day, Tawonga Gap. I figured now was my chance to start making up some lost time.

Tawonga Gap was a relatively short mountain climb, only 12km with 7km @ 7% gradient. It was a nice climb, sweeping hairpins so I took the outside line to keep the gradient low. I passed loads of people :)

Across the three mountain climbs, I think literally only a handful of people passed me in total, so I was stoked with that. Of course I was in the back half of the field, I'm sure the guys at the front would've passed me quick smart, but it is still nice to be strong on the climbs.

I stopped briefly at the rest stop at the top of Tawonga to refill my bottles and scoff some food. A gel. Then zip up the wind jacket and a fun descent down the other side. I was more relaxed for this descent and the road was not so bumpy, so I was more confident and a bit faster.

After the descent was a 20km flat section to Harrietville. Lots of groups formed along this section, and I managed to tag along with some guys who were going at a good pace for me, a pace that didn't require me to work hard to keep up.

I stopped at Harrietville, which was the first of three valet food stops. We packed our own food into bags, which were delivered to the valet food stops along the route. It was a great system and ran smoothly. I grabbed my food bag, refilled my water bottles, and went to the toilet. Then repacking of my pockets and organising all my food and gear ready for the 30km climb up Mt Hotham, which started less than 1km from the rest stop. I unpacked my sandwich and quickly ate it as I rolled slowly to the start of the climb. My rest stop was as fast as I could make it, and it was still 15 min long! I was only 45 min ahead of the Lantern Rouge when I left Harrietville.

The Lantern Rouge is the time cutoff, a Bicycle Network rider who starts at 7:15am and finishes at 8:15pm. There are specific time cutoffs for each section of the ride.

So, onward to My Hotham. I was feeling pretty good and again figured I could make up some time on the climb.

My Hotham is a 30km climb, which was longer than anything I'd done previously. But I'd been told by a guy on the start line that about 10km of the climb was 'false flat' where I'd be able to get into the big chain ring, so I hoped it would be manageable.

The first 5km or so were pretty steady climbing. The next 10-15km were mixed with some false flat and even downhill sections and the rest steady climbing. I passed TONS of people, particularly on the flatter sections as I changed straight into my big chain ring and kept the power on, whereas most people slow-pedalled and took it as a chance to recover.

There was a rest stop about 2/3 of the way up, where I stopped briefly just to refill one water bottle.

In the top third of the climb, the climbing got serious. You know it's serious when there are road traffic signs saying "steep ascent, change into low gear". I took their advice! I was so happy with my gearing combination, compact chain ring and 32 tooth cassette. It meant that for most of the climbing, up to around 9%, I was able to maintain a cadence of about 80rpm.

The top part of Mt Hotham had three sections in excess of 10%, which was pretty hard after already climbing for 20km! But I just decreased my cadence to maintain my power within a reasonable level and continued on.

The top of Mt Hotham appeared unexpectedly and was marked only by a town sign. No rest stop or " congratulations you made it" signs. I wanted to take a photo of the view I had worked so hard to reach, but there was nowhere good to stop. So I continued onto the descent. It was only 12km down to the Dinner Plain rest stop. It was named after the town, but a very appropriate name as this is where lunch was served. It was a little after noon when I arrived here. I was approximately at 11:30 pace, so I'd made up about 30 min on the climb.

Dinner Plain was the second food valet stop. I grabbed my bag and was mindful of having a quick stop. First, sit down and eat my sandwich. I also checked my phone and was stoked to have a few messages of encouragement :)

Dinner Plain was also the only return valet stop. We could put things in a bag, which would be returned to the finish line at Falls Creek. So, the logistics of what to keep with me ... I got rid of my rain jacket but kept my vest. Got rid of my clear glasses. Also a bunch of extra food and drink powder.

However, this is where I made one mistake. I thought I had a bottle with drink mix in it, so I got rid of most of my drink mix. But because I'd filled up only with water at the stop on the way up Mt Hotham, I ended up with two drink bottles with only water. Not ideal. I still had a pocket with lots of lollies, so I had enough carbs. But on the way from Dinner Plain to the next stop I struggled. I got hungry. Not a good sign. I ate a gel. I ate a bar. I figured I should've eaten more for lunch. But I had struggled to choke down my sandwich as it was. I had been scoffing (in my head) at the people picnicking at Dinner Plain, but in retrospect I think I should've stopped for longer so that I could eat and digest more food. Or rolled out slowly and continued to eat a lot on the bike.

It was 45km from Dinner Plain to the next rest stop. No mountains. But this is the hard thing about this ride. The bits that don't involve riding up and down mountains are still harder than a hills ride in Perth! The climbs are longer and/or steeper and even the flat sections are mostly false flat (ie uphill by 1-2%). There were some SUPER FUN descents in here though, and I must've gained some confidence throughout the day as a little group caught up with me but I passed all of them on the descents. Pleased to see that I can still aero-descend better than the average bear, in spite of being relatively light.

Then the road went uphill again and I didn't want to push my legs too hard just to stay with the group. So I continued on my own, counting the kilometers to the next rest stop where I could refuel and recover.

Finally I arrived at the Omeo rest stop, which was a lovely grassy location with some trees. Park bike, fill up water bottles, go to toilet them collapse on grass under tree. A bunch of other sorry-looking riders were there, some in a worse state than me with cramps and a diabetic who looked in much better shape than me.

I ate my turkish delight bar and put drink mix in my water. I also tried to stretch my back out as it was getting sore. After some time, I felt more human again and figured I should carry on or I may not move again! This rest stop was about half an hour. I had lost all the time I'd gained on the Mt Hotham climb, and I was back around 12:30 pace, only 45 min in front of the Lantern Rouge (I started 15 min ahead of the Lantern Rouge, so technically I could finish and do a time of 13:15).

The next section was only marginally better. Less actual climbing but it was all winding roads around the edge of a mountain @ +/- 2% gradient. I couldn't push very hard. I also knew that after the next rest stop was the last climb - which starts at WTF corner (named because this is what you say when you see the gradient of the road) and continues with around 10km at an average gradient close to 10%. My argument was that I was saving myself for the last climb. I was also still trying to catchup on my carb intake, I was still a bit hungry. But I knew I had caffeine gels in my food valet bags at the next rest stop, and I'd been abstaining from caffeine for a week just for this moment!

The next rest stop was Anglers Rest, where I collected my final food valet bag. I took one bite of my sandwich and could hardly choke it down. A lovely girl gave me one of her spare jam tarts, which was great. And I bought a can of coke from the pub. Caffeine and sugar. Plus two caffeine gels. Woohoo! I was obviously feeling better after this as I started to joke with the local blokes who were hanging out drinking beer at the pub, dumbfounded at what we were doing. Anglers Rest was my longest stop. I lay on the grass and stretched my back some more. By the time I left I was only 30 min ahead of the Lantern Rouge, so I was on schedule for a ride of 12:45.

There were two "bike eating bridges" on the ride that we had to walk our bikes across, with good reason (see photo, which shows the bridge just after Anglers Rest). I loved the sign!  My other favorite sign was "rest stop 500m ahead"!

It was 11km from Anglers Rest to WTF corner. This was much the same as the last section, winding roads gently up and down around the side of a mountain. Rock wall on one side, trees and views on the other side. I was heartened as my power output was around 20 watts higher than it had been on the last section.

At 199km, I encountered WTF corner. I knew exactly what kilometre mark it would come, so I was expecting it. It was still nasty. The road had been heading slightly downhill, around -4%. We turned sharp left towards Falls Creek and suddenly the gradient was 13% and rising. The first section of the climb got up to 17%. It was basically as steep as Mount St in Perth, probably twice as long. And then we had another 12km of mountain to climb.

The steep section was ok as I was still relatively fresh. The next 8km or so were  unrelentless. Big chunks at 12-13%. Then it would ease down to 7-8%. Gradients as steep as 7% felt flat, and 5% felt like I was going downhill! I couldn't keep my cadence high because the gradient was too steep and I couldn't maintain the power. So I ground up the climb with a cadence of 40-50 rpm, thinking "this is just an S & E (strength and endurance) training session". My dogged determination and sheer stubborn pigheadedness kept me going. There were more people walking bikes up the climb than there were riding.

I'm sure there was some kind of scenery going up the climb. I had a vague impression of trees. Mostly I was looking out for other riders who were weaving on the road, either actively trying to flatten the gradient or just too tired to hold a line. I kept going. Everything happened in slow motion. I would see a rider 5m up the road (I wasn't game to look much further) and over the course a few minutes I would gradually gain on them, then pass them. Sometimes one of us would offer a word of encouragement but mostly I was too tired to think of anything to say. My mouth was occupied by breathing. And short sips of sports drink.

After 9km the road went downhill and I thought the worst was over, but it was only a short reprieve before another kilometre of steep stuff. The total climb was 12km. The "rest stop ahead" sign was unexpected and a relief. A quick stop. Empty drink bottles of sports drink, I couldn't stand another mouthful and I'd even been using two different kinds. One more caffeine gel to get me through the last 23km. I almost gagged on that too. Put on wind vest, as the sun was setting and there had been a few spots of rain. Turn on lights. And away we go.

Although the last mountain was behind me, there were still some undulations to deal with. But I had driven this road and ridden the last 15km on my easy ride a few days ago, so I knew the landmarks for where the last of the hills would be. Now I had the reverse problem from what I'd had on the Falls Creek climb. My legs were so tired that even a 2% gradient seemed onerous.

The scenery was beautiful, low lying Alpine vegetation, sun seeing behind the clouds, and a rainbow to offer hope that I was nearly at the finish! I had to stop and take a photo. I also had to stop as my power metre stopped working. A quick check to see if it was an easy magnet problem I could fix. Nope, the magnet looked fine so I figured the battery had died. Note to self: next time replace the battery before an epic ride.

The final 10km were great fun. Rolling undulations, I rode alongside a fellow cyclist. Bugs in my eyes as I'd had to take off my sunnies. Then up a short hill and down into Falls Creek to the finish chute.

There was a huge crowd. All clapping and cheering, really loudly. An announcer called my name. Said that they were as excited about me finishing as they were about every other rider before me. Several flashes as my photo was taken as I rolled through the finish. Extremely well done, Bicycle Network.

I stopped my Garmin. Note: 40% of battery remaining! Two new records: longest distance 235km and most ascent 4500 and something metres. Not sure how accurate the ascent measurement is, but I will totally take it!

It was an epic and spectacular day. Excellent organization by the Bicycle Network and it was great to share the journey with so many other riders.

The weather was perfect. Mild morning, sunshine before lunch. After lunch some serious-looking clouds gathered but no rain was forthcoming. It was a little humid but cooler because the clouds blocked the sun. The sun came out again later in the afternoon, then a rainbow and sunset that touched the clouds in pink. There was a slight breeze all day but not enough to increase the adversity of the ride!

I'm really happy to have finished in a time under 13 hours. I'm really happy I rode the whole course and I put in my best effort I could at the time. My total riding time was under 11 hours, so all those stops added a lot to my time, but they were necessary for me to refuel, rest my body and allow me to keep going.

Will I do it again? Not sure. Maybe when everything in my body doesn't hurt I'll give it some more thought .... Who knew that you could get sore hands and fingers from riding a bike?

I certainly plan to return to this part of the world for some more riding. Spectacular scenery, great weather (at least it was this week!) and altitude training without having to fly to Europe. Now if only we had the population density to support the cafés and restaurants that Europe has .....

3 Peaks - Final Prep

I have lined up with loads of other cyclists, almost all men, and had my bike checked and registered. I drove to the last climb and did a short 15 minute recon ride. I am snacking throughout the day to keep my carb stores topped up. I have charged all my electronics.

Now I just need to pack my food valet bags, which will be delivered at three spots along the ride. And attend the rider briefing this evening. Then I shall be ready to ride!

The weather forecast is as good as we could hope for. Ten degrees overnight, so it will be a chilly first descent. Then 26 degrees in the valleys and 18 degrees on the peaks, and sunny!

I will be starting around 6:45am Sunday morning (3:45am Perth time!). I hope to finish in around 11 hours, plus or minus 30 min. So I should be done around 7:45pm! (4:45pm Perth time)

I am looking forward to the start!

Pemberton Classic Road Race - 2 March

The day dawned cool and cloudy for Part 2 of the Pemberton Classic, the road race. I was racing in Women's B Grade, and for the road race we were grouped in a peloton with boys under 15s and girls under 17s. Because of the younger categories, we had a neutralised start up to the top of Pump Hill for the first time. So, we started on the edge of town near the Caravan Park, rode west out of town up Pump Hill, stopped at the top, regrouped, and then started our race.

We did one short lap, which was only about 8km, and we all stayed together for that. We had about a dozen women in B Grade, plus about 3 under 17 girls and 2 under 15 boys. We then went through the start-finish line again and back up Pump Hill, this time at race pace.

I started the hill at the back of the group, but I could see that a few of the women near the front were taking off pretty quick, so I got out of the saddle and quickly made my way up to about 4th wheel. It was a pretty hard hill, probably less than 5 min but pushing as hard as I could the whole way. When I got to the top, there was a small group of about 3-4 riders who had broken away down the road ahead of me. This included the super lightweight under 15 boys, and a couple of ladies. I couldn't tell if they were in the women's grade or under 17s - it turned out only one of them was in the women's grade.

I found myself with a nice little posse of three riders: Margo, Jane and myself. We have raced and trained together so we were all happy to work together. However, after I had done about 2-3 turns on the front I realised that I was going to struggle to keep the pace. Margo and Jane were good enough to ease back a bit and keep pulling turns, and let me rest on the back. This was going ok, then another rider or two joined us and sat on the back. I decided it wasn't fair to let Margo and Jane keep doing all the work, so I pulled through and did another turn, and the rest of the group came through and worked as well. Unfortunately for me, I just couldn't keep the pace. I stopped doing turns and sat on the back, but even that was a bit too much. Gaps kept opening between me and the group, and eventually the gap became two bike lengths, and then I was off the group.

I still had more than half the race to go, I think I'd only done about 15km of the 42km race by this point. I figured the rest of the race was going to be on my own, so I just hunkered down in the drops and pushed on at just below time trial pace.

After a while, I heard Nat behind me, telling me to jump on the wheel. She had three other women with her, but after I sat on the back for a minute I could see that the other three women were either not capable or not willing to work. By this stage I was feeling pretty ok, so I came through to the front and worked with Nat.

This was my favourite part of the race, Nat and I were working hard, working together, swapping off turns on the front. It was great to be working with a teammate, even if we weren't in contention for podium positions.

We worked well together, then there was a tough slightly steeper and longer 'undulation'/hill that we had to contend with, and one of the ladies who had been sitting on the back the whole time decided she wanted to breakaway up the hill. We clawed her back and caught our breath, then prepared to start our little group working together again. Nat went to the front and pulled a strong turn. Unfortunately, a bit to strong for me, I just couldn't hold on, so I found myself on my own again.

I was about 12km from the finish at this point, because I remember thinking "its just a commute distance to go". So I just pushed on at almost time trial pace again, not going flat out, but still working hard. I continued in this fashion by myself for the rest of the race, with the obligatory out of the saddle effort to the finish line to please the crowd.

I was happy with my race. I had no expectations prior to the weekend. I decided I just wanted to go down and race, have fun, and what happened. I was really happy to be near the front of the race at the top of Pump Hill. Now if I can only stay at the front until the end of the race .......

The Pemberton Classic was a great event. The road race route was quite scenic, karri trees on the way up Pump Hill, and cows and wineries through the rest of the course. The locals really get on board - there were tons of old painted bikes hanging up outside cafés in town, and there were hay bales with big signs on the course "viva la Pemberton Classic". There were even hay bales arranged in the shape of a teddy bear!

Well done to the organizers and all the sponsors - there were many of them!

Pemberton Classic Criterium - 1 March

The Pemberton Classic started with a criterium up the main street of Pemberton, in the late afternoon on Saturday of the long weekend. It was a hot day, but cooled down to a pleasant temperature by race time.

I raced in women's B Grade, we had a good sized field of about 9 women. The race organizers started 3 different race groups together: B women, C men and under 17 boys. We started all together as one peloton, but spilt up quickly and were quite spread out even after one lap.

Each lap started with a downhill into a right hand corner, then a flat back straight with a tailwind but on a bumpy pot-holed road, then a nasty little climb back up to the start line.

I was riding in touch with a small group with two other women and a couple of under 17 guys. However, with the downhill and uphill each lap the gradient controlled each person's pace and we weren't really able to work together in a bunch.

I finished fifth in Women's B Grade, not far behind 3rd and 4th, who I'd been in touch with for most of the race. I was very happy with this result, as I have not raced many crits lately and I've been training long distances for Three Peaks, which is next weekend!

It was a great atmosphere, terrific watching all the grades racing at dusk through Pemberton. We had a big group of guys and girls from Hall Cycle Training so it was a fun social afternoon.

Yanchep Crit Race Report - 2 February 2014

The ride up to the crit was pretty good, nice tailwind the whole way and I rode up with Katie Joyce so I had company and someone to share the work with. However, I didn't do a specific warmup, which may not have helped my race outcome.

The Commissaires were concerned about the final corner into the sprint finish, so immediately before the race we did a group recon lap of the course. I got dropped on the hill on the recon lap, which I figured wasn't a good start!

We then re-assembled for the race start proper. I made sure I was in the first third of the pack as we hit the hill - and I quickly went backwards through the pack and was spat out the back before the top of the hill. Nasty! That was basically it, I continued racing by myself, not at 100% pace but still working hard to get something out of the event. The corners on the course were great, nice to do something different from Tech Park. After about 15-20min, I caught up with one of the other women who was off the back, she had slowed down a bit, so I slowed my pace a bit to ride with her. We pulled off with 2 laps to go, as we had been lapped and we knew there were four B-grade women in front of us, so we were not competing for the podiums and we didn't want to interfere with the race for the front contenders.

The ride back from the crit was hell. I had been eating and drinking throughout the morning after my race, but by the time they finished the presentations it was 1:30pm and we hadn't had any lunch. So I was running low on energy. And there was a killer south-westerly cross-head wind. Thank goodness Katie was still with me, I got some protection riding basically next to her in the wind shadow, but there were not many places to hide. And I could maintain only about 150 watts, so it was slow going. We averaged 23kph to Jindalee, where we stopped to get some food and replenish our energy stores. I was practically shaking by this stage. We were both hating the wind, the sun, being sand-blasted and the fact that we wouldn't get home until after 4pm. So we phoned a friend and got a lift the rest of the way home!

It was a well-organised event by Northern Beaches Cycling Club, and a great but challenging circuit. Also loads of spot prizes from the sponsors so it was worth hanging around for the presentations! Sponsors included Just Ride It (fixie bike), Goodearth Hotel and Bike Force Joondalup.

Race report - Smashfest Crit Sunday 12 Jan 2014

I got to the race in plenty of time to register, warmup, etc for the B Grade women's race, which had been at 10am the previous week.  Unfortunately, this week the B Grade race was at the same time as the C grade race ... which was about 15 min after I arrived. I registered and went for a quick warmup, but my 5 min warmup wasn't quick enough - the race had started by the time I got back.

After all the effort of getting to the race and mentally and physically preparing, I wanted to race. So, I figured I would do A grade. I had raced C grade the first crit, then B grade for my second race, and now A grade.

It was stinking hot, about 40 degrees, so it was hard to know the best thing to do for a warmup. I needed to warmup my muscles ready to work hard straight off the line, but I didn't want to overheat too much. So my warmup was shorter than normal and I didn't feel that great after warning up. This time I made sure I did my warmup with plenty of time to get to the start line before my race.

There were about 12 women in the A grade race, including two of my fellow Hall Cycling Training riders. Due to the heat, our race duration was reduced to 25 min. Thank goodness. Unsurprisingly, it was a fast hard race, with sprints and attacks several times each lap. I had a good awareness of the race and was able to respond quickly to each sprint. But with the pace and the heat, I didn't know how long I would be able to do that for.

The first five minutes were quiet hard, then I felt okay for the next five minutes or so. I was really glad to still be with the pack after ten minutes. My next goal was to stay with them for 15 min. I almost made it .... But after a couple of attacks in quick succession, it was taking me longer to get back on each time. Then there was an attack while I was still off the back, and that was it.

I lasted 14 min with the bunch. The rest of the race I was on my own, working hard on the start-finish straight into the headwind and trying to recover on the downhill and back straight. The heat was oppressive, my heart rate was really elevated. Thank goodness I had some water with me that I could spray on myself to cool down. It was also easier going at my own pace, without the sprints off the front of the bunch, and taking my own line into corners. I discovered that I was more confident cornering by myself than in the bunch.

I did the last 10 min of the race, counting down until the finish and trying to work hard to stay ahead of the bunch. The group passed me on the last lap, halfway around, and I had a great view of them preparing for the sprint finish.

It was great to do an A grade race, to see the difference between A and B grades, and to realise that I could actually stay with them for half the race. This time last year, I did my first crit ever, women's B Grade, and I had the same result as today - I stayed with them for about 10-15 min. It's really pleasing to see the progress that I've made in a year, which I attribute to the training that I've been doing with Hall Cycle Training and the race experience I've had in the past year. It bodes well for ongoing development for next year!

This was the last race in the Smashfest Crit series. Thanks to Hall Cycle Training and Vic Hotel for sponsoring the women's races, we had A, B and C grade women's events for each race which was a great opportunity for women of every ability to race in their own grade - or to try out every grade like I did!

Smashfest Tech Park Crit - Women's B Grade

I was feeling good on the warmup on the way to the race, but then sat around for two hours before my race started. I was quite nervous about moving up to B Grade and I realised when I got onto the start line that I had too much nervous energy and I really should've done a quick pre-race warmup to settle the nerves. Not a great start to the race, I missed cleating-in and then the pack (of five other riders) got away from me off the start line. Once I got my cleats sorted out it didn't take me too long to catchup with them though.

It was a very surgey race, lots of little sprints off the front and having to sprint to catch up, but then lots of times no-one wanted to work on the front so the pace dropped back down. Having a group of only six people racing there were not a lot of places to hide. Moving up from C grade, I found that my cornering was not as good as it needed to be (more practice required!). Also I had to work hard to chase down the little sprints - I did not have the instant power response that I needed.

However, that didn't hurt me too much in the sprint finish. I started the sprint at the back of the pack, but quickly passed two riders, then one more rider, and I was catching up to the second place rider as we crossed the finish line. Very happy with third place in B grade. The sprint training with Brad Hall on our Wednesday group session this week definitely paid off. Next time I will be more confident and I will continue to work on my cornering and sprinting to do even better.

Thanks to Hall Cycle Training and Vic Hotel for sponsoring the women's race series. Great to see another great turnout of women riders, and special mention to some of the up-and-coming Hall ladies - Conchita with a convincing win in C Grade and Roberta fourth place in C Grade. Kicking ass!