Sweet Ride!

Thanks to the huge intercontinental combined effort of many many people, I am lucky enough to be riding the 2013 S Works Amira for the rest of my time here in Europe. I know that sponsored riders opinions of bikes are usually taken with a grain of salt, however I need to just state - WOW.

I don't know if it's new bike syndrome, or just the bike, but it feels like I'm comfortable riding my bike again. Cornering and descending, where I'd been a bit hesitant lately, feels so smooth. It could be the fact that the bike comes with the sweet as Roval Carbon Clinchers, which I'd had the pleasure of test riding back in Aus, but hadn't had a proper run with them.

To be honest, I don't care if it's the placebo effect. It is just wonderful to feel like when I pedal, the power is going through the bike and making me go where I want.

And really.. It looks pretty darn sweet too if you ask me!

Sparkessen Giro

So the Summer racing season here in Belgium is in full swing. Most weeks there are at least 3-4 Kermesses on, plus there's some UCI racing on the calendar dotted in there too. So after getting back from Limousin it was straight back into it with a Kermesse in Strijpen/Zottegem on Tuesday afternoon. The race was supposed to be 90k, however due to the 35 degree heat they cut 2 laps off the race which gave us about 75k to race. 10 laps on what turned out to be a lumpy course with a nice little kicker of a hill out the back. Although the ride there my legs felt like lead, I knew I'd work into it so I was looking forward to the race! It's not often you get any hills in the Kermesse' here! Had a good race, with each lap feeling better and better and tried to split things up on the hill.. We managed to halve the bunch by the end, both through the hills and the heat taking a toll, and I did my usual trick of avoiding getting mixed up in the sprint and rolled in just inside the top 20. 

On the descent - Strijpen Kermesse

A couple of days later and it was off to Bambrugge for another 90k race! This time we were lucky enough to have Graeme drive us, which we were extra thankful for once the heavens opened resulting in the last 5 laps being in torrential rain. My slow to wake up legs had me sitting too far back early in the race and I missed the break of the day which ended up sticking, and then every move I went with was the wrong one so I rolled in with the bunch happy to be able to dry off..

Lucky I wore my black socks....

The next day we were picked up by Rene for the trip across the border to race the UCI 1.1 race, Sparkassen Giro. This race is an all day festival in the town, with participation rides, the womens race, a Men's Post Tour Crit, Derny races and then fireworks at the end of the night. It was a great atmosphere to race in! Our race was short for a UCI race, at only 78k, and it was very straight forward.. Go around the town centre, head out on a main road slightly uphill for 5k, do a U-Turn, and motor back down the other side of the road. Repeat this 6 times and you've got a sprinters dream race. The team were keen to come away with a result, and having 2 sprinters we were in for a chance. Coryn and Eileen are both on form with some good results lately, with Jane, Lucy, Gaby & myself to support them. With Kirtsen Wild & Chloe Hosking in the bunch, there were lots of teams hoping to force a break away, so it was an agressive race from the start. We were well represented most of the moves, with Lucy doing her trademark solo attack which lasted about 1k before she was reeled back in. In the end the inevitable sprint happened, except the difference being the first person around the corner hit it too hot and came down disrupting things a bit. Coryn recovered well and sprinted to an impressive 5th, with Kirsten Wild only just pipping her on the line. Eileen had a solid 14th place in what was her first European race in a long time. I felt good during the race and made my way into a few moves, but being the scaredy cat that I am when it comes to a sprint, I sat well out of the argy bargy that was going on and stayed safe.

Skinsuit Sunday!

 

So basically from what was a very disappointing start to the second half of my season, I'm happy with where I'm at now. Racing into some form and being active and actually being a part of the race instead of pack fill is definitely good for the head, because I have to admit there were a couple of times a few weeks back where I'd started doubting myself and questioning if I should be here. I keep reminding myself that this is my first season out here and that every race and every challenge that comes my way is a learning experience and will make me a better rider and racer. I feel so young in terms of cycling age, especially when hearing stories from team mates who are almost 10 years younger, yet have twice as many years racing experience!

Rolling to the start of Sparkessen Giro

 

Next up for the team is the Lotto Cup race Erondegemese Pijl which is a UCI 1.2. Another flat, fast Belgian race where hopefully we can improve on last weekand hit the podium!

Live to fight another day

So, after Krasna Lipa we headed back to Belgium for some R&R before packing the traveling circus back up and heading to the next race. On the way through, Carla & I stopped in Cologne for the night and spent the morning wandering around the beautiful town, getting some proper coffee and doing some window shopping.

In between tours, there was a Kermesse on in Moerzeke, so a few of us headed there for another hit out! It was a good day for the team, with a break eventually sticking with one of us in it, and Jane rode great to stay away and finish 3rd on the day. 

Before we knew it though it was time to hit the road again, and we were on route to the Limousin region in France to race the 4 day tour there. For this Tour we had the Chief Rene, Pamela on her first outing as a swanny (who, mind you, did a fantastic job without having any experience or even the guidance of Mr B!), and Eoin the Irish Mechanic and chief coffee maker was back again. I was even learning how to understand him a little better this trip! The riders were myself, Coryn, Lucy, Laura, Ciara & Anne. 

Limousin - Right in the middle of France

A quick stop overnight somewhere just south of Paris, and by Wednesday we had arrived to our race accommodation.. It's fair to say it wasn't the Ritz. We were basically camping in wooden huts, exactly like what I'd stayed in a few years ago with Alli & Natalie in my first ever Belgian racing experience. The team had been given 2, with room for 5 in each room, which basically had us taking up all available floor space. Thanks to Vienne deciding the accomm wasn't up to scratch, a hut became free and we could spread out a little more. Eoin also decided that the team van would be comfier and roomier and took up residence in there! 

Our little hut

Team presentation was the evening before the race, so we got that out of the way and stopped for pre race Pizza in Le Grande Bourg.. A quaint little town that was filled with random mannequins dressed in different costumes. The forecast for the whole week was hot, and I generally like the heat, so I went to bed that night really excited for the race and ready to get into it! Especially as I was starting the race with my own bike!

Team presentation

 I woke up early the next morning and knew things were not right. I had what is unfortunately becoming the all too familiar feeling of nausea and before long I was ill. Not ideal.. However having felt like this before a few times in the last few weeks, I figured it would pass within a few hours and I should at least be able to start the stage that afternoon and hopefully by the next day I'd be feeling ok. I made it through thankfully, and my motto for the week became 'live to fight another day'. Lucy and Coryn rode a great race finishing up the front of the front group after being active throughout the day trying to establish a break, with Coryn being only 1 place off the Young Rider jersey!

Eoin preping the Bianchi's!

Day 2 was the Time Trial. Thankfully I woke that morning feeling better, but still went in with the idea of trying to save as much as I could for the next 2 days because I knew I would still be depleted from the day before. A stomping ride by Lucy had her finish 7th, and move up on GC into the top 10. 

Outdoor Dining

Day 3 and the aim was to try and move Lucy further up GC and if any breaks went, make sure we were represented. All of the climbs were in the first half of the race, so most of the attacks were going here. There were lots of attempts to get a split in the field, and it was great to race with Coryn & Lucy properly and for us to be able to cover moves and really make a difference in the race. Nothing stuck and it was all together at the end though, and so no change on GC. Again - Live to fight another day!

There were some good points about our Accommodation! Recovery swims :)

One more stage left, 127k and 38 degrees forecast. With only 1 second between first and second on GC, it was always going to be a tough day. I was struggling to find my legs in the first hour, but gave everything I had to help chase back a break and then just couldn't recover in time to make the split over the 2nd climb of the day. As is typical though, about 20 minutes later I felt amazing and did so for the rest of the race, but that's racing. I was disappointed not to be in the front bunch to help Lucy & Coryn, but in a way I was satisfied with the choice I made at the time. I'd prefer to be out the back of the race after having contributed to the team goal, instead of just sitting on the back of the bunch and making it to the finish with them. Coryn managed to finish 8th as well, and Lucy finished 9th on GC in the end, so a good day/week for the team!

Race ready

So for myself personally it was a disappointing week, but there are still some positives to take from it. For now though it's back to the base in Belgium to regroup and get myself off to the doctor to suss out why I keep getting sick! This week will see us race a couple of Kermesse's too, before heading across the other border to Germany to race the Sparkassen Giro in Bochum.

Holiday over, back to racing at Krasna Lipa!

After a super fun couple of weeks in Girona with Miss America, it was time to get things rolling again and pin a number on! I'm not here for a holiday you know ;-)

Krasna Lipa is the first ever European race that I did, and one that I was hoping to do well in this time around. It's also the tour that I seem to just not have anything go right in...

We began the journey to Czech by dragging our bike bags on 2 trains and a bus to get to Barcelona Airport. Cursing the bikes the whole way, we would come to regret thinking how nice it would be to not travel with bikes when we arrived at Dresden airport to that long wait by the oversize baggage door, and the sinking feeling that our bikes had missed the plane... Our fears were confirmed at the baggage services counter which then led to many frustrating phone calls to Vueling customer 'service' and 48 hours of being told they hadn't even located the bikes yet. With only 2 flights to Dresden a week, the next one landed right when our race was due to start, so we were trying everything to get them to send the bikes to another nearby airport but it was proving fruitless.

The rest of the team pre riding the course.. Coryn and I had no bikes so were in the car..

Queue our Knights in Shining Oakleys.. The Swiss National Team. They had 2 spare bikes which they kindly allowed us to borrow, even though it left them without spares! Coryn at least had a spare pair of shoes and pedals, but everything of mine was in my bike bag.. A lesson well learnt and I'll always carry a pair of shoes with me now! Thankfully Gaby has the same size big feet as me and had a spare pair, so I was on borrowed bike, shoes, pedals, helmet & glasses! Not the ideal way to start a tour, but at least I was starting!

Lunch in Germany on the way to Krasna Lipa

 

So the race.. Day 1 and I felt pretty shitty. After not having ridden for 2 days and all the other factors, my legs were pretty flat and I just didn't feel confident on the bike. Euro brakes, everything a size too big, compact cranks added to a sketchy and nervy bunch and not having raced for a month all combined to make me fairly useless. Just because Murphy was in a playful mood, he threw in a plastic bag getting wrapped around my rear mech and the subsequent chase back on, so when we hit the last big descent my legs just couldn't go any faster and I was out the arse. Yep, dropped on the downhill.. So much for being able to help the GC rider in our team! I grovelled over Vapenka and made it back in to Krasna Lipa a few minutes down on the main bunch.

The best part of the day was getting back to our Accommodation and finding out my bike had made it to Germany! After dinner - the Czech staple of Chicken & potatoes of course - Rene and I headed to Dresden airport where I was reunited with all of my race gear and my Bianchi bike. Happy Dayz!!

 

My Bianchi!!!! So happy to see this :)

Day 2, feeling a lot more confident being back on my bike, but still with legs like arse. Going backwards up all of the climbs, and struggling to move up in the sketchy bunch, it was another day of feeling useless. Carla and Lucy rode well again and maintained their spots up on GC ahead of the 3rd stage time trial.

Day 3 is the double day. A quick trip over the border to Poland for an 18k Time Trial, ahead of an afternoon road race back in Czech. My goal for the time trial was to just try and spin the legs out as much as possible whilst still making time cut, hoping that I'd come good for the afternoon stage. Lucy stomped the TT and came in 8th - moving her up to 13th on GC - whilst Carla succumbed to the stomach bug that had been plaguing her all week. The afternoon road stage yet again had me grovelling and being packfill, but another solid ride by the other girls in the team saw Coryn get 8th! 

Czech staple.. Chicken & Potatoes.

The last day sees the race go up a solid climb on a big lap, and then tackle 3 laps of the infamous Vapenka. With Lucy in 13th, we wanted to move her up in to the top 10 if possible so the plan was to try and split the bunch on the first climb and for her to hopefully get away in a small group on the final laps. Riding to the start of the race I felt better then I had all week. Better late than never I guess! My finish line was at 42k, the top of the first climb, and as we hit the first ramp things were going to plan. The bunch was lined out until we got over the crest of the first pinch where the lead car put out the red flag and the race was stopped. A bunch off the back had been sent the wrong way, and then the Aus & Koga team cars couldn't be located. In the end we were stopped in the middle of the road for 45 minutes before being sent on our way and then told that the race would be shortened by 1 lap. Sticking to the plan I led up the climb and split things up, and then blew near the top and lost the bunch. It was a beautiful day and so I enjoyed the weather and scenery and waved at all the families who were out watching the race and rolled in to the finish.

With the stop and one less time up the climb, the race was changed a fair bit and we didn't succeed, but at least we tried and I found a glimpse of some form coming back.

Riding to the start of the race

So the week didn't go as I'd hoped, but I have to take the positives and focus them on Limousin in a weeks time. Things would have been much harder at the race if it weren't for the tireless efforts of our support crew..

Eoin (Owen) - Our team mechanic. At times I could barely understand a word he was saying because of his accent, but he was great with the bikes and the added pressure of setting up our borrowed bikes was all handled without a worry.

Mr B & his apprentice Lucy - Our Swannys. These guys were rock stars. Food shopping, bottles, feeding, and the best bit - the massages. Lots of laughs too kept the mood light when things weren't going to plan!

And Rene - Manager/DS, having the contacts to get us some bikes to borrow and following us around in the team car for 4 days! Added trips to Germany and Prague (for Coryns bike), plus the drive from London and back, I'd say he'd have had to have clocked up about 50 hours behind the wheel in the space of a week, at least!

Rene, Mr B, Eoin & Lucy enjoying a well earned Vino! From cups made from empty water bottles.. Classy.

Next up is a week back home in Belgium before heading to France for Limousin!

Oops.. Been a while!

Half Way update!

Yet again it's been quite a while since an update.. And of course so much has happened since then!

I raced the Holland Hills Classic, Wodecq Kermesse and Gooik-Geerardsbergen in the last weekend of May, and had some mixed results. Wodecq went well with a top 10 finish, but I had a bad day at Holland hills and then some mechanical problems at Gooik. I just chalked the weekend up to experience and then started a nice mid season break off the bike. Unfortunately at the end of the week off I came down with a virus, so was layed up in bed for half of my break :(

The following week my month at home in Belgium came to an end and it was time to head back across the channel to England! There were 4 crits lined up for the team to race, including the London Nocturne and 2 of the 'Tour Series' races. Still suffering from the virus, but not wanting to let the team down, I took to the start line and experienced a whole new world of creeping. It was a great experience though, with the Nocturne being raced in front of huge crowds, and the Tour Series races being fast and furious, similar to the Bay Crits, but it was quite frustrating feeling completely useless in most of the races. Even when I did start to feel a bit better and find some legs on the final race in Aylsham, the torrential downpour and tight course saw me hit the deck (and barriers) hard after someone came down in front of me. 

Roast Lamb and Potatoes care of Chefs Amy & Coryn in London!

Tour Series start line. Heaps of fun racing with Ella & Coryn, despite how bad I was going!

Mid ride  Calippo Frosts in the Spanish heat with CT

After all of that was over, it was time to set sail once again, this time to the oh so sunny Spain! Getting back to Girona felt like coming home. My Yankee team mate Coryn and I arrived for 2 weeks of training & we couldn't have been happier. Thanks to the generosity of Dan Jones we had an amazing apartment to stay in (or rather, to take over) right near the centre of town and with zombie blinds which made sleeping through the early morning sunrises very possible. The weather was perfect, the training roads are always great, we got to catch up with heaps of friends and even made some new ones, and we even managed a couple of trips to the beach! It's fair to say that we could have happily stayed there for the rest of summer, but soon enough it was time to leave and get back in to racing.

On top of the world! Or at least on top of Rocacorba - with Miss USA

Rocking out to Acca Dacca with a Cameo in the new Green Edge video.. #neardeathexperience

Dinner by the beach with new friends!

Next update will be all about Krasna Lipa! Missing bikes, bad legs & an overdose of Chicken & Potatoes..

Time for some more racing!

After the other girls and Graeme all left to head back to their various countries, I was on my own for a while. I had a nice relaxing time, setting my own schedule and catching up with James and Jake who are living only about 40k away. A roast night, and a night out in Gent, some sopping wet, muddy rides, and the week flew by. Already it was time to race again, another Kermesse in De Pinte, just south of Gent. No car, so I had to ride there and back, which meant for a long day in the on/off drizzle & rain. The race was uneventful, I was feeing a little flat, but I got through ok and thankfully had a tailwind home! Thanks to Bart for holding my stuff while I raced! 

 

My best friends over the past couple of weeks.. Becoming an expert bike cleaner.

Soon enough everyone starting arriving back to the house for the next block of racing, 3 x 1 day races in Holland and Belgium. Due to some injuries and illness, the team was down to just 4 of us, myself, Anne, Jane & Gaby. 

It's fair to say that summer is currently no where to be seen..

First up was the Boels Holland Hills Classic. As the name suggests, there's actual hills in this race! Most of them made famous by the Amstel Gold Race, including the Cauberg which featured in last years World Champs Course. I had a rough day, not feeling the best and struggling to get power down. Things went ok on the hills, but once I found myself having to jump around some dropped wheels in the crosswinds, I only had so much and found myself in a group off the back. We were pulled by the Broom Wagon just before the feedzone/Cauberg, and then had an adventurous ride back to the start finish with a big group. Things were fine while the sun shone, but about 10k from where we needed to be, things got a bit cold and everyone started getting rather hungry! After several stops to ask for directions, we made it back to find out how the race had played out, and it was time to head home.

Holland Hills.. Yep, in the gutter yet again!

Day 2 was set to be in Aalburg in Holland, however the team decided to instead race the local Kermesse in Wodecq, only 15k up the road. Anne's knee wasn't feeling the best, so only 3 of us raced, however we all started because they were offering bags of cookies, coffee and some start money to everyone who raced. It was a really nice course, with some gently rolling hills, and I was back to feeling myself. I kept active in the first part of the race and managed to get in a few breaks, but nothing that stuck, and whilst I was having a bit of a rest a breakaway managed to go. 2 girls got away and the race from then was quite negative with no one wanting to chase the break, and a lot of people trying to go across. I had a crack coming into the last corner with a fast finish, but just proved to be a good leadout for 5 other girls.. I held on for 8th, so not so bad in the end, but it's fair to say I was disappointed with missing the break.

 

Gooik Team Presentation

Day 3 it was time to get the climbing legs back on again and tackle Gooik-Geraardsbergen-Gooik. This one had some of the most famous Flanders climbs including the Muur, which unfortunately was taken out of the race due to roadworks. I was feeling good again and looking forward to the race. Things were going well through the first few hills and I'd made the front half of the race, until we hit the long cobbled section and I went backwards so fast it was quite laughable. Next time I'll run a bit less pressure in the tires and will get some more cobble practice - which shouldn't be hard given the area we live in! I was just off the back of the main group with one of the Argos Shimano riders, but we weren't able to close the gap and were reeled in by the chasing bunch behind us. With 5 local laps to go, we were again pulled from the race as there was a small group off the front and the short laps meant to continue would mean we'd be lapped. Another disappointing end to the race, and the weekend, but there were some positives to take from all of the races.

 

The 'Bosberg'. My first cobbled climb in a race... ouch.

The racing eases off now for a little while, so I'm taking a short break before starting the 2nd half of the season. Things will kick off in London on the 8th June for the Smithfield Nocturne which I'm looking forward to racing, although a 35min crit will be a rude shock to the system. Then followed by a few of the Tour Series crits that same week. Should be a fun week back on the left hand side of the road, and I'll definitely be hitting up some good cafe's and outlet stores when I get a chance! For the next few days though it might be time to play tourist for a little bit, if only the sun would come back out...

Back to the flatlands!

Well it's hard to believe that I've been in Belgium for 2 weeks already. Time flies when you're settling in to a new place, racing, riding, and playing far too much Candy Crush..

 

I arrived in to Belgium on my Birthday, and the first thing I did was buy myself some Belgian Chocolate at the Airport while I waited to be picked up - "when in Rome".. as they say! It was a fairly long day, with a trip to Ikea in Gent necessary, and then going for a birthday dinner in town, pretty happy to report that the sushi in Gent is good and I can't wait to go back 

Birthday Sushi!

In terms of presents, it was a good day, getting a house to live in and our team kit having arrived finally!

 

Racing Knokke Heist

After a bit of a late night getting things sorted, and then a reasonably early start to get up to race Knokke Heist - Bredene, it's fair to say we were all pretty tired. But spirits were high and we were looking forward to racing in our new kit for the first time! We arrived to a reasonably nice day, but as we got ready the wind was picking up and getting colder by the minute. We knew that just 13kms in the race hit small country roads, before about 20k later hitting a 2km long cobbled section. When I heard about the cobbles I was a bit nervous.. that's the longest cobbled sector I'd ever done. 

 

Julie, Ann and I post Knokke Heist. Pretty happy it's over.

The race went from 0 to 50 straight away, and it turned out predictions were right, and things blowing apart in the wind on the small roads. I was tantalizingly close to making the front split, but again was just that little bit too far back. This made for a long hard chase with a small group, finally rejoining the front with about 30k left to race. A few more local laps down, nothing too eventful, and I was happy to make it to the end, as were Julie and Ann who had made the front bunch also.

 

The next day we were off to Sinaai for a local Kermesse. Jane wasn't well and so had decided to sit this one out, so the team for the day were Kayleigh, myself, Ann & Julie. It was lots of fun racing a bit of a shorter race with a slightly smaller bunch than we'd been in for the big races. Getting to make an impact on the race and practice bunch skills is good for the confidence. It was a good day, nice weather and a good race until 1k to go where a crash brought down Kayleigh, and got my adrenaline pumping to the max after it happened right beside me. Ann and I tried to do a bit of a lead out for Julie, but the crash made things a little hectic, and with the long straight finish, it was hard to judge when to go. Julie ended up just off the podium in 4th though, so not a bad result!

Living the 'shit covered' dream.. One of the hazards of racing in Belgium.

 

A few days of rest, recovery, & exploring the new training routes, and it was time to race again. This time it was 3 Kermesses back to back, in my own mini Tour of Belgium.

First was North East to Begijendijk. A flat fast course with only a couple of real corners, a break went early and almost stuck. All the girls in the team had a go at getting across to the break, with only a few groups successfully getting any advantage, although all were brought back by the end. A bit of fun and a good way to start the weekend off.

 

Saturday it was off to the West, over near the coast to Snaarskerke. Belgium is usually windy, but over by the coast it's worse, and this was in full force today. Winds had to have been about 60-70kph and when I hit the crosswinds I had a couple of CX moments getting blown off the road. The race split early on and thankfully Julie had made the front selection of 10-12 girls, so I got to tap around with the second bunch until our group had the final lap called a few laps early. Fair to say I was pretty happy to end the race when we did, I was kind of over the wind...

After Saturdays race the Scot's headed back to the UK to participate in our team sponsors big charity ride, the Ribbon Ride, whilst Julie and I headed back to the team house to get ready for day 3.

 

Training in the small amount of sun we've had!

Sunday we headed east in to the very French town of Dinant. As we got closer the terrain changed more and more, and I was so happy to see that there were hills in this race! And not just little rolling hills as we'd been told.. It seemed the course would have about 3 x 1-1.5k climbs each lap that would have to be tackled 7 times. In Belgium, that's a solid amount of climbing. Because of this, the start line was definitely less crowded, with only 39 starters at this race and quite a different set of faces from the last couple of days of flat races. Right from the gun the pace was on, with one of the local girls from Topsport Vlaanderen rocketing off up the first hill. I gave chase and was surprised at how good my legs felt given the last couple of days racing. The first lap was rather damp still, and we went down a descent at 60+kph and then had to do a hard right hand turn.. There was a point I wasn't sure I was going to stop in time! As it was only Julie and I in the race, we made sure that between the 2 of us we tried to cover everything to make sure if a move went, we were in it. Early on, a Sengers rider got away solo, and it wasn't until the 2nd last lap that a group finally got away, which even though we missed the move initially, we were able to get Julie across to it. From the break, the Wiggle Honda rider Mayuko got away solo and went on to win, with Julie sprinting to 5th.

 

So a good solid weekend of racing under the belt, and time for a bit of recovery this week before gearing up for next weekends Holland Hills Classic & Gooik. This week I'm going to explore the local area a bit more and do some of the famous cobble climbs from the Tour of Flanders etc! We live in a great area for training thankfully, with some hills and nice roads, now if only the sun could come out a little bit more.....

Girona

I was lucky enough to get to go back to Girona for a couple of weeks between races to try and get in some good training in the sunshine. Being that it's the place I've spent most of my time since getting to Europe, it felt like coming 'home' and I was happy to be there, even though most of the people I knew were away racing. Getting the chance to chill out by myself was quite nice, and gave me the chance to do a bit of exploring.

Beautiful blue skies and sunshine around Girona. Except for the few days when it was like a Melbourne winter..

Exploring the coastline from Tossa de Mar

One thing I've noticed about Girona and staying in the Old Town, is the Church bells. It's hard not to notice them. They chime every hour, on the hour, twice. Plus they also signal the quarter hour, 24/7. I did some googling to find out the reason they chime on the hour, and then 2 minutes later, and it turns out it's because back in the day, before wristwatches and iPhones, if you were out in the field working you might have missed the first ring and wouldn't know the time. So 2 minutes later, the time chimes again. That way you've never got an excuse to be home late for dinner! I like that thinking. So there's your Spanish history lesson for the day!

One of the other great things about Girona is the Creperies. There's about 5 or 6 of them, and most of them serve Glutard friendly Crepes! My favourite would have to be the Banana and 'Black' chocolate one I had from Crepedeque, where Lotti the dog resides with his owners who have been making crepes since forever. Thankfully the riding around the area is amazing so you can work off all the crepes!

Crepes!

I'd splurged a bit and got a car for the time I was there, otherwise I had no way of getting home from the airport when I arrived. It meant that I could meet Jo at the airport when she came back from Lux though, and we headed straight to one of my favourite places ever, the Boqueria Markets in Barcelona, for brunch. The Tortilla was even better than I remembered it to be and I can't wait to go back again for another one.

A happy place

Getting to have a pre-Birthday dinner on Thursday night with Jo, Loren & Carlee, before jetting back off to Belgium early Friday morning was so nice. Nothing like getting to spend your almost birthday with good friends on the other side of the world! Now it's back to Belgium for some more racing and to move in to home, which is where I am now.. Belgium update to come later!

Dinner (and colouring in) with the girls

Ronde van Gelderland Ride report..

It was finally time to get this Euro season underway and meet some of the rest of the team! Flying in to Amsterdam and meeting the other girls was great.. Scoring myself a mega sized mug thanks to Penny, and then off to 'Rabbit Hill' holiday park which we would be calling home for the next few days.

Lucky we met Esther along the way and she could take us on a nice ride instead of us heading in to town and getting lost!

Pre race roll through some nice Dutch countryside. Tailwind home was a ripper!

Once Julie arrived Saturday lunch time, we went for a spin around the area and managed to run into Esther our old team mate who took us on a really pretty ride. The sun even came out and made us all happy and smiling! This wasn't at all what we were expecting coming to Holland given the previous few races had been next to freezing.

Race day - So I'm calling this a ride report, because I can't really say I raced today. I was there, it was a race, but I was just 'rolling' around at the back of the bunch trying to stay upright and hold the wheel in front..

Team Presentation - Photo thanks to Anton Vos
Me, Ann, Laura, Jane, Julie, Penny

As my first race of the season in Europe, it was a decent sized one.. 170 starters, racing over 139kms plus 7kms of nerve wracking neutralization. Mostly flat, although thankfully there were a few small hills early on in the race to keep me happy. I even managed to get up the front of the bunch for a brief period of time, only to shit myself as I got swarmed from all directions with girls going everywhere and 'nekkminit' I was at the back again..

Controversial sock choice it seems.. They were either loved, or hated. Of course I loved them!

The bunch split on the hills, and whilst I had no trouble with them, being at the back meant I ended up 3rd bunch. I rode across to the 2nd bunch on the bigger hill, but 2 and 3 came together by the end of the hills and then worked to bring back the leaders.

We went through lots of narrow twisty roads, lots of corners, constantly coming to close to a standstill to get around them. There were at least 3-4 crashes, all just right in front of me which I was thankfully be able to avoid, but still had to get around the carnage on the road to get back to the bunch. Thankfully my Bianchi was rock solid throughout and that was one thing I didn't have to even think about!

Coming in to the last local lap there was a group of maybe 90 or so left with Shara Gillow from Orica away solo. The chase began properly with about 10k to go, and a few kms later I looked up to see someone up the road had dropped the wheel and there was a gap. Completely my fault for being where I was, but knowing that and doing something about it are two completely different things. Much the same as someone standing on the side of a crit telling you to move up.. Everyone knows they have to, it's just hard to do it sometimes! It was a little frustrating feeling quite strong and being able to ride in the wind/the gutter for almost the entire 3.5 hours, yet not having the balls to be up the front being a part of the race. At least I know my weakness and can work on it over the coming races!

Move up? Where......?
Photo from the Gallery by Bart Hazen at Peloton Cafe

Julie rode awesome and was in the front bunch all day. She came top 30 and is hoping to improve on that next weekend at Borsele and Westhoek. So my goal is to stay near Julie!
For now the 2 of us are staying with a lovely Dutch family not far out of Amsterdam, so we're planning on trying to fit in a day trip at some point for maybe a little bit of shopping and sightseeing :-) Then the rest of the team arrive back on Friday for us to race at Omloop van Borsele in Holland Saturday followed by Dwars door de Westhoek in Belgium on Sunday!

Hola Espana!

A few days after landing in freezing cold London, it was time to head to a warmer climate to get settled in to the new time zone and get back into some training.. So I jetted off to Girona to stay with Jo - thehealthycyclist.com.au for a couple of weeks.

I'd spent an afternoon in Girona last year when I was holidaying in Barcelona, and I knew it was a place I'd love to go back to. Given that a good portion of the Pro's from Aus/NZ choose to make Girona their home, you know it's got to be for a reason, and this past couple of weeks I've found out why. Whilst the rest of Europe is struggling to even hit 10 degrees, some parts still snowing, I've been riding in the sun almost every day. The roads are fantastic, there's flat if you want it, or hills of any length and gradient, and the traffic is very light and accommodating. It's fair to say I've fallen in love with training in Girona and really don't want to leave!

Just chilling with my mates in L'Escala

Climbing to St Hilari, a beautiful, beautiful climb.

However the time has come to get out of holiday mode and get down to the reason I'm here.. To race! I'm off to Holland now to meet with my Breast Cancer Care team mates, where we will be racing the Ronde van Gelderland UCI 1.2 race. Having minimal experience in Dutch one day races, it's fair to say I'm a wee bit nervous given the size of the field (just a lazy 170 starters..) and some of the names on the start list. Having said that, I'm super excited to get into it and start getting that experience. It's what I'm here for! I know it'll be tough going, but every race I do will help for the next race.

Holland is even turning on a relatively warm day on Sunday for the race, so things are looking good already!

Race report to follow next week..