Forrest Grape Ride

My goals for the Forest Grape Ride were to ride as well as I could and enjoy the event. I wasn't driven to qualify for the UCI Gran Fondo final so that took some of the pressure off, but I did want to do a respectable ride and try to stay with my age group for the flat first third of the race before the climbs started. I knew I'd be riding at my own pace up the climbs.

We found out when we arrived at the race start that men and women from each age group would be starting together. When I assembled in my age category, I also discovered that even with the men it was a quite small group - only 20 riders all up (note to the organisers - it is very helpful to know things like starting grid order and start list before you arrive on the start line, as it can play a big part in race tactics and mental preparation).

We got the 5 sec countdown and then our age category set off! A very informal race start. I started at the front of the grid, but that may have been a mistake as the other women set off very quick and I was hard pressed to keep up with them. I kept expecting some guys to come past and help but they didn't! So I spent the first few kilometres of the race trying to bridge a gap to the front few riders in my age group, who had already started working together and rolling turns. Eventually I eased off as I was just burning myself up and not making any ground. Then the rest of my age group came past and I managed to get on the back.

The first 15km or so was heading east into a headwind. I was the last rider in our group and it was all I could do to stick with them. I was not right at my limit, but I was certainly working a lot harder than I'd intended for this stage in the race! I'd say it was about equivalent to a C grade race, which is a grade above what I normally race.

Then we turned and headed north, with the wind coming from our right. The thing with a cross wind is that you don't get much protection from having a rider in front of you, so you have to work almost as hard as if you are on your own. And they were still riding faster than I could do on my own - which meant I was working way too hard trying to match their pace so I could have the protection of the group, but not actually getting any protection! So I dropped off the back of the group, and another lady dropped off the group a short time after me.

I wasn't close enough to catch up to the other lady, but then a guy from our group who'd been dropped much earlier caught up to me and I got onto his wheel, then he pulled me up to the other lady and she joined on the back of me. The guy was riding a great pace, hard enough that I couldn't come past to do a turn in front but not so hard that I couldn't keep up. He was also riding very steadily so I was confident sitting right behind his wheel. Kudos to you, man in the navy blue kit!

Eventually the age group behind caught up to us (40-44 year old). I managed to pick up my pace and get into their peloton, and said hello to Sam. I stayed in her peloton for a little while, it was a nice big group so I had a lot of protection from the wind. But they were surging and I had already pushed myself hard to try to stay with my group - I didn't have the legs or the mental drive to dig deep to stick with them, so eventually they surged too many times and I dropped off the back.

I then found myself riding behind the guy in the navy blue kit again, so that was quite nice. I stuck with him until approximately the 35km mark where the first hill into Picton started. He got out of the saddle and started sprinting up the hill, but I knew it was too long for me to be pushing hard all the way up, so I dropped off and let him go.

The next 10km or so were the main hilly twisty roads along the coastline west of Picton. I had decided before the race that I'd be riding this section at my own pace, steady up the climbs and cautious down the winding descents. And that was what I proceeded to do. I got passed by pretty much all the other age group riders along this section, but I wasn't worried. Any notion I may have had of getting a podium in my age category had gone out the window in the first 2km of the race, so it was back to Plan A - enjoy the scenery :) And the scenery was lovely, tree ferns on one side and aquamarine mirror-like bays on the other side.

Near the halfway point (50km) the road flattened off for a nice section along the coastline. It was about this point that a lady from my age group caught up to me from behind. It was the same lady that had dropped off the main group at the same time as me back in Blenheim! I didn't realise she was still behind me. So we proceeded to ride side by side along the flat coastline road and introduce ourselves. Her name was Ruth, she'd come from Auckland with her husband to do the ride. We had a nice chat and realised that we were quite well matched in pace, and established an unspoken agreement to ride together.

Closer to Havelock there were some more twisty hilly sections. I slightly backed off my pace so that I didn't drop Ruth, who had confessed that she wasn't so great up hills. We got through that section, through Havelock, then up a nasty little kick to turn left onto the highway and back towards Renwick.

At this point, about ten people caught us up from behind, so we found ourselves in a nice little peloton. It was great to have a bigger group to draft behind for this highway section, but it didn't last long - they were just a bit too fast for me. Plus the wind, which we'd expected to be a tailwind in this section,  turned out to be a cross headwind. Nasty! After pushing to stay with the group, eventually I had to let them go - and Ruth dropped off at about the same time as me, as well as one other guy. So there were three of us, all pretty stuffed and sore, but all willing to work together to get through the next 20km to the finish.

In the nature of cyclists, without any need for discussion, our little trio started swapping off turns, each of us taking a turn on the front into the headwind, then the next rider taking over as we rolled to the back of the group for a little reprieve. We were working very well together, getting a good break between turns, but it was slow going into the wind and on very coarse roads. At least it was relatively flat, but that also meant there was no hiding from the wind!

I was counting down the kilometres by this time, my bum was sore from the rough roads and I just wanted to be finished. But each time I looked at the distance on my Garmin, less than 1km had passed since the last time I looked! We were also working so hard in the wind and on the rough roads that I couldn't get a chance to swap over my water bottles, and I was running out of water in my first bottle.

Then another group caught us from behind. We got onto that group, what a relief! But again, it didn't last long. The front half of the group had been working hard pulling the rest along, and I think they wanted others to help them out. When no more help came through, suddenly the pace surged - I pushed hard to stay on, as I really wanted to finish with my new mate Ruth. But I just couldn't keep up to the wheel in front. Ping - the elastic broke and I was off the back of the group. Then about two seconds later, I saw a gap open in front of Ruth and I knew she couldn't hold the pace either.

So Ruth and I found ourselves together again, this time with no one else to help. We were both getting quite tired by this stage, about 10km to go, so we just kept taking turns and doing what we could. We could see a few riders in front of us but neither of us had the power to try to bridge across to them. Then eventually we caught up to one guy who I'd seen pass me about 60km earlier. He got onto the back of Ruth and I, and he took the chance to recoup some energy.

After regaining some energy, the guy came to the front to do a turn, but he surged as he came though and I couldn't follow his wheel. Then Ruth tried to bridge the gap but she couldn't do it either. Somehow I got past Ruth then managed to get onto the wheel of the guy, but Ruth just couldn't quite stick there.

Then I saw the bridge that I knew was just up the road from the winery - only a few kilometres to go! This guy was moving pretty quick but he provided a good slipstream so I managed to stay on his wheel. We turned into the winery road, then another big group came past and it all got a bit messy on the twisty road into the winery. Anyway, I wanted to sit up a bit so I could finish close to Ruth.

I came across the finish line and pulled over - I was so happy to be off my bike! Then I saw Ruth finish only moments after me. She came over to me and we exchanged big hugs and thanks and contact details so that we could keep in touch.

Ruth and I finished fifth and sixth out of six women in our age group, which I'd expected. When I looked at the results I was surprised to see the fourth rider in our category was only ten minutes in front of us.

I found the ride surprisingly tough - I attribute this to the rough roads, which are hard on your body and sap your energy, as well as the hard first 20km of the race when I was pushing to stay with my age group.

I was happy with my ride, as I met my objectives to ride hard and pace myself well, plus enjoy the scenery. As a bonus, I got to meet a rider who was almost perfectly matched in pace to me, and have her companionship through most of the ride.

Letape Australia - 3 December 2016

My big comeback ride this year after recovering from my cycling accident in January was L'etape Australia. A distance of 157km with 2,800m of climbing, including two "KOM" climbs - it was a tough one.

I'd been feeling a bit nervous the day before, so I decided to try some visualisation. I spent half an hour or so the day before the race picturing the start line, riding at a comfortable tempo pace up the first climb, working in a group along the flats, and descending with confidence. I also pictured how much I'd eat and drink and which feed stations I'd stop at. The visualisation helped with my nerves as I felt like I had a plan for the race, and more control over the outcome.

It was an early start in the morning, up at 4:30am NSW time to get ready and get to the start line before the road closures kicked in. Good thing I had arrived a few days earlier to adjust to the time difference. Carol and I made our way to the start line and found Sam and Richard, then we were off!

Right off the start line, there was a 3.5km climb to get warmed up. Good thing really, because it was a bit of a chilly morning with fog on the mountains still when we left! The climb also split up the peloton very nicely - I had been worried about starting in groups of 800-1000 riders, but it was very well managed and not congested at all. I settled into a nice steady pace for the climb and was pleased to see I was holding my own - getting passed by some people but passing a number of people myself.

After the climb, we had a lovely 15km or so of mostly downhill, where I recorded my max speed of the day - 75.3kph! I'm super pleased about this highest speed as it has been a bit of a mental barrier to go downhill fast after coming off.

We then went through Jindabyne, and up and down a few more climbs. By this stage I had more people passing me than I was passing, because the groups that started behind me had caught me up. At some point Chris Frome passed me as well but I didn't see him as it was just a blur of fast riders.

After turning into the Eucumbene Road, the road was relatively flat for 30-40km until the sprint point at Berridale.

My race plan was to ride the first section at my own pace, then hopefully get into a group with a few other people for the flatter sections between 40-75km. Thankfully, I was able to execute this plan. I had a group of half a dozen guys pass me on a climb at the start of the flat section. As the road flattened off, I managed to catch back up to them and join into the group.

It was a good group, with the guys in front working in pairs at a solid steady pace then peeling off. I was a bit worried about whether I'd be able to hold the pace when it came to my turn on the front, but the guy next to me was great and we just rode at my pace.

When we peeled off the front, I realised how big our group had become. It was at least 30 people by this time. I went to the back, relieved my turn was over. It was a bit more chaotic at the back though, so I spent the next 20km or so trying to keep a safe distance from the bikes in front and save my energy. I watched the wind direction and tried to stay on the side out of the wind. There was a bit of yoyo-ing - they would speed up going downhill or be a bit strong going uphill, then I'd have to work a bit harder to catch them back up, then I'd be on the brakes again. But I decided it was worth it to stay protected in the group, as most of the time I was spending very little energy.

Then we went around a corner or maybe up a longer hill. The group got away from me and although I was working at around 75% pace, I couldn't catch them. There was me and another girl off the back, and we looked at each other and realised that we weren't going to catch them. This was only about 5km before the sprint point at Berridale, so I wasn't too worried.

We continued to work together and chat a bit until we got to Berridale. I did the slowest sprint I've ever done through the 350m sprint point - I was the 10th slowest female through the sprint segment overall! But I figured what is the point in sprinting when I have mountains to climb, I decided to save my energy.

Berridale was my first planned feed station stop. I considered continuing on, but with the chaos of being in a group I hadn't been able to eat anything much for the first 75km (2 and a bit hours) and I was getting hungry. Good thing I'd done some carb loading the day before to get me through.

So I stopped at the feed station, scoffed a quarter of my vegemite roll, filled my empty drink bottle with water and mixed in my drink powder. It was a quick stop and I was soon back on the road again.

The next 30km until the first hard climb of the day were more undulating than the previous section, so I wasn't too worried about riding on my own. But I was soon passed by three guys who I tagged along with, and for the next 25km I was riding in small groups - moving up to the next group on the climb, or getting dropped on the descent, but mostly managing to stay out of the wind and ride at my tempo pace.

There was a feed station 2km before the hard climb, Col de Beloka. I decided to stop because I needed to go to the toilet and my lower back was feeling a bit sore. Having done a recon ride of the climb a few days earlier, I knew it would be taxing on my back so I took the time to get off the bike and stretch while in the line for the toilet. With relieved back and bladder, I extracted my bike from the bike racks and went on my way.

Everyone was trepidatious approaching the Col de Beloka. At least I knew what was coming: a slight downhill riding in the big chain ring, then a slight corner and suddenly the road points upwards at close to 18% gradient. At this point you really want to have good control of your gears and be able to quickly get into the small chain ring and your easiest gear. You also want to have even more gears!

I'd been having some trouble with dropping my chain in the past few weeks, but I'd worked out how to manage it, so thankfully I had no troubles clicking down through my gears. I was also riding my bike that had been set up for climbing, with compact chain rings and a 32 tooth cassette on the back. Even with my (easy) gearing, my cadence going up the climb was around 50rpm. I was doing much better than a lot of people though - about 2/3 of the riders were walking up! And some of those that were riding didn't look that comfortable, doing the zigzag across the road to try to reduce the steepness of the gradient.

I just kept going at my steady-steady pace, reducing my cadence to keep my power within manageable levels. I did record my highest heart rate for the ride going up this climb though! It was getting quite warm by this time, around 30 degrees, and there wasn't much shade.

The climb is very tough for the first 1.5km, then flattens off for around 1km. There were some people sitting in a ute and cheering at this point, which was very welcome.

The spectators and volunteers were outstanding throughout the course. You'd be riding along a road in the middle of nowhere and there would be a small gravel road with a volunteer stationed there to make sure no cars entered the road! All the driveways in the middle of nowhere also had sandwich boards up to tell the residents that the road was closed. And at all the small towns and major crossroads there would be a group of spectators, most of them dressed in yellow (the colour of the Tour de France) with cow bells and kids yelling "you're doing a great job!" It was a fun distraction from the challenge of the ride, and very appreciated.

The last 800m or so of the Col de Beloka kicked up steeply again to around 10-14%. But it wasn't as long or as steep as the bottom section and I knew it wasn't far to the top.

At the top there was a drink station. I hadn't planned to stop here, but I was hot and I knew the heat could impact my performance. So I stopped, finished off the last of one of my drink bottles, then refilled it with water. I squirted some water over my back and neck to cool off, had another quick bite to eat, then continued on my way.

As soon as I started the descent down from the Beloka Ridge, there was a headwind. I kept down in my drops, trying to stay aero and keep my speed up. I noticed that when guys got to the top of a climb, they would stop pedaling, sit up and have a drink. Whereas when I got to the top of a climb, I'd get straight into my big chain ring, in the drops, and keep pedaling. So I was passing a lot of people on the downhills in this section.

It was about 25km to the base of the next BIG climb, the Col de Kosciusko. I keep up a good tempo pace, riding mainly by myself. My goal was to drink a whole water bottle of drink mix over those 25km, then refill at the last feed station at the base of the Col de Kosciusko. I also planned to get a few snake lollies at the feed station to give me a sugar burst as I was going up the climb.

At the feed station I saw Sam and Richard! It was the first time I'd seen them since they rode away from me heading up the first climb of the day. Sam said she was struggling a bit, and they were just leaving the feed station, so I let them go and got on with refilling my drink bottles.

On my recon ride I'd made it up this climb in just under two hours, so I figured I could do it with one sports drink bottle and one drink bottle of water. I thought I'd appreciate the water to cool myself down or to drink something that wasn't sweet!

Sadly there were no lolly snakes at this feed station, so no extra sugar hit for me. Oh well, nothing to be done but head up the mountain! Looking back at my data after the ride, I was pleased that with four stops at feed and drink stations I was only stopped for a total of 25 min.

So up the mountain I went. I was still feeling ok - not a bundle of energy, but everything was still working well. I knew from my recon that the first half of the mountain climb (12km) would be tougher, with little reprieve, and in the second half there were a couple of downhill sections for a bit of recovery. So I set off at a conservative but steady pace.

I caught up to Sam and Richard somewhere in the first 5km of the climb. I rode next to Sam for a short while, but there wasn't much help I could offer her at this stage. I told her that the smoothest bit of the road was the yellow line markings, I thought this would help her psychologically and give her something to focus on. I then continued on at my pace, sticking to the yellow centre line where possible.

Heading up the climb, I had the pleasure of passing most people. There were a few who kept pace with me, and a few that I played leapfrog with - I was riding at a steady pace, but they would ease off and I'd pass them, then they'd speed up again and pass me. But most people were struggling by this point - quite a lot would stop for a break on the side of the road, and I saw at least two guys vomiting - yuk! I also was very satisfied to recognise a few guys who I'd seen riding away from me in the first 10km of the race - now I'd caught them and I was riding away from them 😃

It wasn't easy going though - I was in my easiest gear, and every so often I'd get out of the saddle for a bit of relief. It was hot, so I'd also spray myself down with my water bottle when I got the chance. There were also SO MANY flies that I was riding holding the handlebars with one hand and swatting flies with the other hand. Then I'd turn a corner and be confronted by a headwind. The wind was actually nice because it was cooling, and it was strong enough to blow all the flies away.

Approaching the first proper downhill section on the climb, I was a bit nervous as on the recon ride we'd had a crosswind on the downhill sections and it was strong enough that I'd been nervous and on the brakes for fear of getting blown off the road. But today we had a proper headwind - I'd never been so pleased about a headwind! I wasn't getting blown off the road, and if I felt like I was going too fast I could use the wind to slow me down. No braking on the descents for me today!

I enjoyed the brief respite on the downhill sections. At the 5km to go mark I was still feeling good and thought about starting to push on harder. But 5km is a long time when you're averaging 13kph going uphill, so I contained myself and kept on at a steady pace.

At 2km to go we went through a small town called Smiggin Holes. There were groups of people sitting in deck chairs on the side of the road, cheering us on with the good news that it was only 2km to go, and the last 1km was downhill.

Another 500m or so up the road, I looked at the time - it was 1:59pm. We'd started at 7am so I thought "now it is time to push hard and see if I can get under 2 hours". I didn't have a lot of extra energy at this point, but I picked up the pace gradually to the top of the hill. Then the downhill started - I was straight into the big chain ring, into the drops, and pushing as hard as I could. I didn't have the legs to get out of the saddle to sprint, and it was 500m to the finish line, so I just went as hard as I could.

I finished at 2:01pm, but as we had a rolling start for 500m or so before the start line this morning, my official race time was 6:58. This put me in the top 40% of females in terms of total finishing time, but for the two KOM sections I was in the top 27% of females (ranked 33 out of 132). Across the whole field (including guys), I was in the top 46% overall finishing time, and the top 28% for the two KOM sections. I was super happy to finish under 7 hours, and even happier to see that my climbing was my strong point in the ride.

This was a very well organised event and the local community really got behind it with decorations in the towns and lots of cheering as the ride went past. There were also loads of volunteers who did a great job. The other highlight of the event was the course, it was very scenic, diverse and challenging, and it was such a pleasure to ride on fully closed roads.

Things I've Learnt Since my Cycling Accident

The accident I had on Australia Day, a month ago, was the first serious accident I'd had. Until that time, I'd never had a broken bone, never had stitches, never even had a dental filling! I have learnt a lot of things since then, so I thought I'd write them down so that I remember, and to share with other people who may have a similar experience.

This is a random collection of thoughts, not in any particular order of importance.

Private health insurance is valuable. You never know when something is going to happen to you. I spoke to a lady in hospital who broke her leg from fainting. She was young and healthy. Higher level hospital and extras private health insurance policies give you more options.

Bicycle insurance is also valuable. I'm still waiting on the outcome of my claim (not in any particular hurry as I can't go bike shopping if I can't ride). However, I'm relieved to know that my bike was covered by insurance while in use, that it is a new for old policy including all fixed accessories on the bike at the time, and my insurance company paid out my previous claim with no questions asked. Anyone who owns multiple valuable bikes, I have found that BikeSure is the most cost-effective and comprehensive bicycle insurance policy. 

An ambulance subscription through HBF is the only way to have full coverage for emergency ambulance trips in WA. Otherwise it is $900 per trip, minus whatever contribution your private health insurance fund will make. If you want coverage for non-emergency ambulance trips then you'll need to take out HBF private health insurance and add on the Ambulance Plus option.

The Australian public health system is excellent and so much is covered by Medicare. But be prepared to wait. There is no such thing as a scheduled appointment time in a hospital. Always bring a book.

The best thing about toilets in the hospital is they have single sheet toilet paper so you don't have to tear it off. Much easier to use with one hand!

It is hard to do stuff when you don't have usage of one hand, but it is surprising how much you can adapt. I look at something and think "there is no way I can do that" then I try to see how far I can go and surprise myself when I figure out a way to do it.

Using my left hand for everything has made me realise how much of our society is geared towards right-handedness. For example, go to a restaurant and the cutlery is set up right handed. Even in a café when they bring out my bowl of muesli, it is placed so that the spoon faces my right hand. Don't even get me started on right handed scissors. It does make sense, as the majority of people are right handed. But it still feels like discrimination, and gives that little frission of irritation.

My face and dental injuries and repairs were more traumatic than my broken wrist and grazes, which I attribute to their proximity to my main control centre, and what I identify as "me". Damage to my teeth (before they were repaired) affected how I thought others would perceive me and it significantly changed my pronounciation. 

Having a visible injury like a cast creates an instant bond with other people in the same situation. I've stopped and talked to a complete stranger in a supermarket because we both had casts on our arms. It also (usually) makes people give you a bit more space and be more considerate in public places.

There is no such thing as too much emollient.

The public hospital system has everything divided into different departments, each with their own specialty, and they don't seem to communicate with each other. They are very good at looking after their own disciplines, but not that good at anything else. And there is no one looking after me as an entire person and helping me figure out how to manage the rest of my  body while everything else is healing. You need to ask a lot of questions - they are happy to help and give answers, but it is like they have been in the hospital system so long that they don't realise you don't know the answers. I don't even know the questions! I have realised I need to be more assertive in understanding what is happening now, what is happening next, and what is the plan after that. I also need to be more assertive in seeking outside sources of further care - which has it's own challenges when I have restricted transport options.

On a related note, people who have some experience with the system are often willing to help with advice. While this is appreciated, each person's circumstances are different, and the advice doesn't always apply. Plus, in the first month things are changing so quickly. I just figure out one routine, then a few days later there is a new development in one area and I need to understand and consider the implications and come up with a new routine. It is exhausting and each time I am reminded of restrictions that are still there, which I feel limit what I can do. 

Even though I look a bit different on the outside (with my cast and repairing gash on my lip), even though I don't have full use of my arm or teeth (yet), I still feel like the same person inside. I imagine people who have much more significant injuries and permanent disabilities must feel the same way. 

Yes I will ride again. No I am not concerned about getting back on my bike. 

A support network is priceless. 

Australia Day Antics

Well this was not exactly what I had in mind for Australia Day 2016.

I did the ATTA Hill Climb Championships up Canning Mills Rd. Tough event and I was really pleased to come 7th overall in the women's category - which included National and World level riders.

Coming back down the hill after the time trial I was riding with Annie and Sam Bolton. We soon lost sight of Annie as she was faster than Sam and I. I was riding my hill climbing road bike, which I hadn't been riding that much lately so I wasn't that confident with how it was handling. I was telling myself to relax and it would be fine. Then we came up to a corner that was sharper than we expected and as we got there, a car was coming in the opposite direction so we had no runoff room on the other side of the road.

Sam was in front of me and I could see her braking and struggling to stay on our side of the road, then her bike fish tailed and threw her off into the road. At the same I was trying to brake and avoid Sam and the car. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air then rolling many times across the road and ended up on the gravel on the far side of the road. I sat up and there was blood dripping from my face.

The car had stopped up the road and the two guys came and helped us until the ATTA first aid arrived. Then Janice took over with Jenny assisting. Big thanks to Janice, she got two ambulances on the way quickly and got us patched up and cleaned as best she could.

Then into the ambulance. I went to Armadale hospital as at this point it didn't seem as though I had any broken bones or major trauma.

Sam went to Royal Perth as her shoulder/collar bone was quite sore. Ended up being a dislocated shoulder.

At Armadale hospital I got x-rays and they realised that my scaphoid (bone in my wrist) was broken. Also I had quite a big laceration on my cheek/lip. So they transferred me to Royal Perth hospital to see a plastic surgeon and an orthopedic surgeon.

At RPH the first thing they wanted to do was give me a tetanus shot. Fair enough. But I'm not the biggest fan of needles and bear in mind by this time it was after 1pm and I'd not eaten since breakfast at 5am nor had anything to drink since before the time trial at 7am. They had me fasting in case I needed surgery. So my blood sugar was pretty low and I came close to passing out.

They got me onto a bed and a drip with some liquids. Then eventually I got my Tetanus shot. Eventually the plastic surgeon came and cleaned up my face and stitched it up. That was quite traumatic.

Then a bit more recovery before being moved to the observation ward. Then some soft foods - finally! Mousse and jelly never tasted so good. Then more waiting for a doctor to give the ok for me to leave. Meanwhile I'd been in a hospital gown with gauze underwear since I had a shower at Armadale hospital so I had to scavenge some clothes and underwear from RPH.

Finally we got the ok to leave at about 6:30pm. Headed to chemist on the way home to get supplies then home after 7:30pm.

So that was my Australia Day!

Summary of injuries: broken scaphoid, 4 chipped front teeth, stitches in my lip and big graze on my chin. Lots of grazes elsewhere - both shoulders, both elbows, and right hip are the worst, plus back, knees and hands a little grazed.

I want to say - make sure you wear protective gear when cycling! My gloves saved my hands from any more major damage - grazes on my hands even through my gloves so if I'd not had gloves on the grazes would be much worse. Also my helmet is cracked on the back all the way through, so that saved me from massive head trauma.

Tour of Margaret River - November 2015

One of the things that makes the Tour of Margaret River a special event is that everyone has their own stories to tell. Four stages over three days, with 71 riders in the women's category and 448 in the open category - it is an epic event. And with each rider busy trying to recover and prepare for the next stage, many of these individual race stories don't come to light.

This is my story.

I had chosen not to register for the Tour of Margaret River, as it was close to the end of my road race season for the year, and I knew I would be ready for a rest by that stage. I was going to go and support my good friends in the Roues Chaudes Cycling Club, helping them out by cooking meals and anything else that was needed. Then two of their team members were hit by a car when participating in a charity bike ride in Esperance. They were unable to compete - this was less than two weeks before the race. So I decided to step up and fill in one of the places in their team. We had a team of five in the end (the teams are supposed to be six).

Finbar RCCC Women's Team, with RCCC President Dan O'Donoghue

Stage 1

The first stage was a prologue, a very short individual time trial. It was only 7.5km long, but included a lot of climbing up to the golf course at Augusta. It was an unusual format for an individual time trial - it was actually more like a team time trial, as each team started together, but each rider would be given an individual finishing time. It was a good format to start the race, as our team could suss out who was where in terms of climbing ability. One of the strengths of our team was that we were quite well matched. However, as I expected, I was the weakest in climbing ability. As soon as we hit the climb, I dropped off the back of our team and watched them ride away. I knew I would have to ride the climb at my own pace. 

I kept climbing, and about halfway up the climb I caught up with one of my teammates, Annie. We are fairly well matched - today, she stuck on my wheel as best she could up the climb. I just kept going at the fastest pace I could sustain. Then as it flattened out I eased off a touch to let her catch her breath, and she then took over some of the pace making. We also caught up to our teammate Jen not far from the finish, she had had some trouble breathing or we never would have caught her. The three of us finished close together. 

I was very happy with my efforts for Stage 1, and also pleasantly surprised to see that I was ranked third in my age category after the first stage. 

Stage 2

Stage 2 was the team time trial proper. It was 50km, undulating along Caves Rd from Augusta to Witchcliff. The team time was taken from the 5th rider to cross the finish line - so with only five riders in our team, we had to stick together. Stage 2 was held in the afternoon after Stage 1 in the morning, so it was a tough day. 

We agreed on some call words: "ease" if the pace was too fast, "up" if the pace was too slow, "on" - every rider to call when they got back onto the back of the paceline, and "off" if a rider dropped off. We also agreed on the order of riders in the paceline, to protect the slower riders from surges after they had done their turn, and try to position people behind riders they were comfortable to follow. This worked really well, as we all stayed together for the whole stage. I was one of the slower riders, so I did have to call out "ease" a few times, but the ladies were really good and kept a nice consistent pace up the hills. I also did shorter turns that the other ladies to protect myself and so that they could keep the pace up. 

One of the things that I took away from this stage is that I can push myself harder up hills that I think I can. It was really great training to force myself to stick to the wheel in front of me going up the hills, to manage my effort so that I could still recover but push myself harder than I normally would. I got to know Leila's rear wheel very well, as sometimes that was all I could focus on. 

Towards the end of the Stage, we turned into Redgate Rd. There was one hill on this road, it was tough work to stay with them up this hill. After the hill, I was third rider in the line. Then Margot pulled off and it was only Leila in front of me. I was thinking "please stay there Leila" - I didn't know if I would have any energy to do another turn on the front. Then Leila pulled off, and it was my turn. We still had 2km to go, but I knew I couldn't pull off the front as I would never be able to get back on. Leila had picked up the pace, so I just kept going as hard as I could. I know there was a motorbike cameraman taking photos at this point, but I couldn't even lift my head to glance at him. 

We were very happy with the outcome of this stage, as we finished 4th fastest women's team. 

Me leading our team (briefly) in the team time trial 

Stage 3

Stage 3 was the longest and hardest stage of the tour. It was a little over 100km, a circuit starting in Nannup, heading southeast to Greenbushes, Marrinup Ford, Balingup then back to Nannup. It was very undulating, with two long and challenging climbs. The first climb was only 2km into the race, but luckily for me the women didn't race up it too fast, so I could stay within contact of the peloton. However, they punched out the last 200m and over the top of the climb, so me and a couple of other women had to work together to chase back onto the peloton. 

The race organisers set off the women's teams first, in two groups with 30 sec gap between groups. Then the men's teams set off, with only 30 sec between the slower women's group and the fastest men's group. As expected, it became somewhat of a handicap race - when the fastest men's group came past our peloton, less than 10km into the race, the women's peloton merged with the men's and those that could hang on, did. 

I stayed with this group for only a couple of kilometres. I was towards the back of the group, which makes it harder as the pace fluctuates more. Plus, every time they went up a climb it was a hard effort for me to maintain their pace. Keeping pace with my team in the team time trial in Stage 2 was good training for what I had to do in Stage 3! 

So about 10km into the race, I dropped off the back of the women's peloton. I was then riding solo for a while, trying to catch my breath and happy to be riding at a strong but consistent pace, rather than the surges I was experiencing in the peloton. Then the next fastest men's group came past. They were too fast for me to catch onto solo, so I let them go. But when the third group came past, I was ready and I got into their group. Unfortunately, after I'd been in this group for a little while, a couple of the guys to my right and in the front of the peloton when down. I could see it happen and I braked hard and looked for an exit to the left. But by that time guys behind me had come around me and crashed in front of me and I had nowhere to go. I tumbled sideways, but luckily I didn't have any serious injuries or bike damage. My knee was a bit grazed and I was a bit shaken, but after a couple of deep breaths and a quick check that my bike was in one piece, I jumped back on and took off, to minimise my time losses. 

Most of the rest of the race way spent riding solo, getting caught from behind by groups, and sticking with them as long as I could. I felt like I did a lot of riding by myself until about halfway along South West Highway towards Ballingup. Thankfully a group caught up with me on that road, as it was quite hairy riding along the major highway by myself with only a narrow shoulder to ride off the carriageway. I stuck with this group until we left Ballingup and headed up another hill. I had been working pretty hard and I just couldn't stay with them up the hill. 

I found myself with two other guys, one of whom was riding at a perfect pace for me. We stuck together and swapped off turns as best we could, playing leapfrog with the other guy whose pace was fluctuating a lot more - he would power up a hill and then slow down. After a while, the three of us were caught up by another good-sized group of about 10 riders. This was a terrific group for me as they were riding at my pace, and there were quite a few strong guys driving the group. The terrain was also a little more forgiving, as the hills in this section were quite short, so I could power up the hills with the group, then recover a bit on the downhill. I actually found I was a stronger climber than a lot of the guys, so that was a nice change for me. 

Breathing hard uphill

It was a relief to be in a peloton that was riding at my pace, finally. However, I was getting hungry and it was hard to find a chance to eat anything on the undulating terrain, so I was getting a bit grumpy. I really wanted this stage to be over. I managed to get in a gel at about the 80km mark, which was a good move. As we got closer to Nannup the hills started getting longer and steeper. I managed to stay with the front guys from our peloton for a little way up the hills, but then I couldn't push any harder and I got dropped. I found myself in no man's land, faster than the slow climbers but not fast enough to keep up with the front guys. Riding by myself again, I couldn't see anyone else nearby so I just stuck to my pace up the hills. Some of the hills were so steep I ran out of gears, and I was mentally telling myself "just pretend it is an SE training session", with a cadence of 60rpm. Then on the downhills I would aero-descend, trying to catch my breath and give my legs a rest. 

I didn't know exactly how far this stage was, but I started to see more farmland and homesteads, so I figured we were getting closer to Nannup. Thank goodness! I finally finished, in a time of 3:20:30. To my surprise, I was only two places behind the lady who was first in my age category, and I had jumped ahead one place on the General Classification, to be second in my age category. 

I was amazed to find that I had finished only 20sec behind my teammate Leila, and my teammate Annie was only 50sec behind me. These time gaps seem so small over 100km, but I certainly didn't see these ladies on the road once we split up. I was amused to learn after the race that Annie had seen me crash, and actually stopped and asked me how I was. Quite a few people were asking me how I was, and I guess my focus was on checking myself and my bike over and getting on with finishing the stage, so I never even looked behind me to see who was asking. Maybe if I had, we could've ridden out the stage together and had a much more fun day! 

Stage 4 

Stage 4, thankfully the last stage, was a 64km road race from Yalingup to Witchcliff. This was another undulating stage, heading down Caves Rd, but thankfully there were no really long climbs like we had in Stage 3. 

The organisers had changed the start order for this stage, the women's groups started behind all the men's groups. I guess they didn't want the women drafting off the men; instead we had men drafting off the women. We passed a couple of slower groups of men and a few of the riders tagged onto the back of our peloton. 

This stage started with a climb out of Yalingup. I got tailed off the back of the peloton on the climb, but I wasn't too far back and I quickly rejoined the main group. It was such a relief to be able to ride with the main women's peloton for the majority of this stage. It was also interesting to witness some of the race tactics. There were 2-3 teams who were stronger than the rest of us, so there were a few breakaways who were then dragged back by the other strong teams in the peloton. At one point, one of the riders from the team who was leading the General Classification came down through the peloton and asked if any of us wanted to work. I thought that was pretty cheeky, considering we were working hard enough thank you very much just trying to stay with them. Everyone was pretty tired by this stage, particularly after the grueling Stage 3. 

Riding at the tail end of the peloton

The organisers had brought into the race a few pro riders, which various teams had bid to have riding on their team. On Stage 4, we ended up with Luke Durbridge riding in our peloton for about half the stage. He was riding with one of the slower men's teams so when we passed them early in the stage, he and a few guys from their team sat in with our peloton. I was thankful to have him there, as on one of the tougher climbs when I had been dropped from the back of the peloton, he towed a lady from his team back into the peloton, and I sat on her wheel and got back in as well. It's not every day that you get to sit on Luke Durbridge's wheel :) 

My legs were too tired to get out of the saddle and power up the climbs on this stage, so I was climbing in the saddle and using a high cadence to generate more power. On the last climb on Redgate Road before the finish line, the peloton pushed hard so I got out of the saddle and powered up the climb as hard as I could. I stayed with the peloton up the climb, but I didn't have anything else left to give, so they dropped me as they crested the climb. I also knew it was less than 5km before the finish, so I figured I could manage that on my own. Then a few other riders came past, and we worked together for a couple of kilometres, but as we were all so stuffed by this point, we couldn't push hard to hold the wheel in front. Our little group splintered, and I finished the stage solo, only 45sec behind the main peloton. I didn't realise I was actually the first woman in my age category across the line on this stage, beating the lady who was 1st on GC by almost 2 min. 

In the end, I finished 2nd in the General Classification for my age category, only 2:06 behind 1st place. I was very happy with this result, particularly considering I hadn't actually planned to do this event. I was in good form but I was also still a bit tired from doing Cape to Cape less than two weeks prior. Funnily enough, after the final stage, my teammate Annie and I had exactly the same time in the General Classification. She managed to stay in the peloton on the final stage, so that offset the time that I was in front of her on Stage 3. I finished 23rd overall in the women's category, out of 68 finishers. 

Podium for my age category 

Pretty chuffed with my rather large medal! 

Cape to Cape Day 4 - 25 Oct 2015

Final day of the Cape to Cape today. Only two phrases needed to describe today's ride: road pedaling and forest singletrack. Two very different facets of mountain biking.

We started today at Colonial Brewery just east of Margaret River, and finished in Dunsborough. So we had quite a lot of ground to cover. The stage was 65km all up, by far the longest distance of the four days.

The weather today was relatively good. No rain, which was nice, and not too hot. There was a strong wind but luckily it was a south easterly so mostly it was a tailwind. However, it was very cold waiting at the start line for our start. Being in the last group on the road (Gold Class!), we don't start until about 8:30am as there are five minute time gaps between all the groups.

Eventually we headed off. The first 15km were road-based (tarmac and good gravel roads) before we got to the singletrack. Our plan was to ride at a good pace to warm up, then stop and eat something before the singletrack so that the more technically confident riders could get back in front of us. This plan worked well, we warmed up within about 5-10 min and we were passing pretty much everyone. We weren't going flat out but we sat at a good tempo pace.

After our little stop for a picnic (homemade muesli bars) and pit stop, we got into the singletrack at Middle Earth. I had been a bit nervous about this section, as I'd heard that Middle Earth was quite technical and had some challenging / scary obstacles. However, it was not as bad as I'd thought and just about all of it was rideable. The really tricky stuff had "B" lines around it. There were a couple of steep rocky drops that I walked down but otherwise I was brave enough to tackle most things.

The trail had lots of whoopdies, particularly sand ramps constructed over logs. Also quite a few berms and table tops. It was also quite twisty and narrow in places, weaving in between tight trees. Narrow bits of track are not my most favourite thing but I definitely got more confident at this today, just by doing it. Four days in a row out mountain biking has improved my confidence a long way, so I'm more willing to try stuff, and then I improve my skills and have more success at the things I try. Positive feedback loop.

My skill level is on par with riders in approximately the bottom third of the last group. There were definitely some riders who were slower and less skilled/confident than me through the technical stuff. Not many riders, but there are a few!

After almost 10km of fun at Middle Earth, it was back onto the roads. The next approximately 35km were pretty much on roads. Gravel roads, sandy roads, tarmac, bike paths, and a few short sections on grass. It was not much fun, and by the last 15km I was starting to get a bit tired. We stopped and had some more food, then continued to press on towards the promise of more singletrack near Dunsborough.

Well, there was more singletrack but it was only a few kilometres. The last 2-3km went through the mountain bike skills area at Dunsborough. This felt like the trickiest piece of singletrack in the whole four days - maybe cos I was pretty tired by this stage. It was quite twisty, and the trickiest bits for me were the rock gardens and the really narrow track between trees. I walked a few bits, but I also tackled some "A" lines that I wouldn't have done previously - a narrow bridge and a couple of small log overs and ramps. I also was really pleased with how I rode the narrow winding trail, I'm getting the hang of keeping my weight back and steering lightly. The downhill section was pretty fun too, although I was taking it at my sedate pace.

Finally, we reached the finish line. And none too soon as they were starting to collect some of the track signage. My hayfever kicked in straightaway after we finished in the grassy golf club, so we didn't hang around long and soak up the atmosphere and achievement of finishing.

I'm really happy to have completed this event, to finish safely, have no major mechanical issues, no concerns over fitness or nutrition, and to maintain a happy friendly attitude through the event. My preparation was good, and it was definitely ideal to ride with a buddy and stick together the whole way. As a bonus, my mountain bike skills have improved a lot and we got to experience some of the best trails in the south west of WA. This event looks like it will be on the calendar for next year!

Cape to Cape Day 3 - 24 Oct 2015

Three phrases to sum up the third day of the Cape to Cape: drizzly rain, berms and whoopdies, and forest singletrack.

Today was a super fun day. We started en masse from Xanadu winery and all 1100+ riders formed a peloton for a procession through the centre of Margaret River. Bussell Highway was closed for an hour on a Saturday morning, and the locals were all our cheering us on. Terrific experience.

We stopped the other side of Margaret River and re-started in our speed groups with gaps in between. I was very happy to be at the back today, knowing there was a lot of singletrack coming up.

The rain had started before we left the winery this morning and didn't really let up all day. It was just a matter of whether we had heavy drizzle or a few spots of rain. Hard to see through glasses, which were covered in muddy rain drop, and fogged up when we were going slowly uphill. But glasses are important for eye protection when mountain biking.

There was a short section of gravel at the start, then into the singletrack. We were in a long line of riders and I was happy to stay at the back - until we got to some uphill sections. Then we started picking off the riders in front of us until we were at the front of the line with three other women. A few comments from the guys about "girl power" :)

So it was all going great at the front of the line, then we reached some tight twisty trail. I was just taking this easy and trying to stay smooth and not brake too much. Then we got to the first proper obstacle of the day, a log roll over. As it had been raining, the logs and roots were a bit slippery so I got off and walked this one. Then I decided it was time for a break to have something to eat and let the line of riders past. We have become known amongst our fellow riders as the picnickers :)

After our picnic we continued on our merry way. More twisty singletrack between trees in the forest. Then we got into The Pines proper. For anyone who rides a mountain bike in WA - if you haven't been to the Pines you must get out here. Some of the most fun trails I've ridden, and they won't be around much longer once the logging starts. Lots of berms and whoopdies and flowing trails. We did a recon out there a couple of days ago and I was a bit grumpy and freaked out. But after the last two days on my mountain bike my skills are improving and I loved it. I was brave enough to ride most of the berms without braking and whoopdies are my new friend, super fun.

After the fun non-technical trails we did a few of the more technical trails in the Pines as well. Rock and Root (yep, there were lots of rocks and roots) and the Chimney Trail (including a nasty short steep climb with rocks at the top). I walked the tricky obstacles but didn't feel too bad about that as it was still damp and slippery and hard to see out of my glasses.

We then left the Pines and rode some sections of rail trail and bridges to connect to the next section of singletrack. It was all so much fun it's hard to remember which bit was where. Some downhill twisty bits where we had a guy on our tail. He asked to get past when we got a chance to move over. Next thing we heard "bang, crash" behind us and "nevermind about that passing". He was okay, he did come past later on. Then we passed him on an uphill section. Leap frog :)

The last 10km were quite undulating. Three longish and toughish climbs, they were rideable but required a bit of pacing and in some places the riding line was quite narrow. One of the steep points was at least 18% gradient. Of course with all the uphill there was also plenty of downhill. Most of it was flowing downhill and around sweeping corners. One section was quite straight and fast with a few little roots and rocks. Normally I would take this type of track at a safe sedate pace. But after three days in a row on the mountain bike my body position, skills and confidence are improving. So I went "flying" downhill (relatively speaking) and fully got some air off one little obstacle. I also didn't even hesitate to jump over a couple of logs.

On the last hill, we caught up to and passed another lady. We called to her to join us and kept a steady pace up the climb so that she could keep up. She stuck with us til the end and we had a sprint finish through the grass at Colonial Brewery to the finish line. She was very happy to have our company for the last few kilometers to pick up her spirits and her pace. This is what it's all about. It is great seeing the same riders each day and we get to see them multiple times, as we pass them uphill, then get passed on the downhill or when we're stopped having our picnics (mmmm homemade muesli bars).

Today was a great confidence boost as I had been nervous about the singletrack. Tomorrow is lots more road riding plus more singletrack so a bit of a mixed bag.

Great to finish with a gourmet burger at Colonial Brewery - a terrific atmosphere with lots of riders and spectators still cheering for the last few riders coming in.