Avanti Classic - Handicapped Road Race

Lined up on Sunday for my first ever road race in a handicapped format.  What can I say other than holy hell, handicap races hurt.  It is fair to say I had no idea what I was in for.  The last road race I did was so sedate that I expected not to even need a warm up - FAIL.

Now I understand why so many people flinch and say they did the Avanti - ONCE.
It is a really weird, chaotic but ultimately honest way of racing if you put aside the whinging about handicaps.  Sure, the winners of the day invariably come from those dark horses who have jagged a generous handicap - but that is all part of the fun!  You effectively end up racing blind, with no idea where you competition is or what they are doing.  This leads to starting hard, going hard in the middle and finishing harder.

Fellow teamie Sean Dench described it as 'a blind date with your start group where you just come together and pedal like hell, and try to hold off the scratch riders'.  He was on the money!

I was lucky enough that I knew one other rider in my group - regular partner in crime Shannon. We always work well together so it was reassuring.  And of course before I started I figured that it would be a cruise and then get fast.  Fool.  I knew there were 12 girls off ahead so I planned to try and tick them off if possible.  Fool again.  It was impossible to count or remember in a VERY short period of time due to extreme HURT.

One lap down - (photo by Jesyn).

We were off at 22mins after the first riders, with 15 mins back to the Elite A boys on scratch.  As our group of 11 or so rolled off it dawned on me the pace was on when I found myself caught out grabbing for harder gears and smashing just to get on the wheel in front.  We were somewhere north of 40 pretty much immediately.  With a super tough handicapped crit (don't ask) in my legs from the day before I was crying and feeling certain of being dropped within the first 5 km.  I was thinking about what the drive home would be like after getting dropped in 5km... it kept me on the wheel. 
Matthew Gallagher another Uni rider (and brother to our great triathlete Jackie) was in our bunch too and helped me get comfortable when he could see I was in trouble early.  We had worked together in the crit the day before and I had earned some points .... good karma!  We quickly shelled 3 riders from the bunch and became the 8 riders that stayed together and took it tantalizingly close to the end.  The roads were rough, but my Mad Fibers and Koiled Ti frame smoothed it out!

Going Hard - (photo by Ben Manson).

Like most I found the climbs between 10km and 18km hard but could hang on.  These were probably the toughest part of the course for Shan.  I think it was here we lost touch with Matthew.  As we did the hills on the second lap I jumped in front to help Shan when a gap opened to help him through.  We got through the first climb and he came back around to lead on the down.  Then on the second climb he was behind a random we had picked up and was so focused on the wheel he didn't notice the gap forming further up the road.  FAIL. Our guys were up the road!  He gave it everything to get up the climb and then did an animal job to get us back on the bunch peaking at around 57km/hr.  I am pretty sure that effort cooked him and I know I would not have gotten back on without it (neither would have the other guy who sat on us).  Thank you animal.

The dead section of road with the slight headwind, slight uphill (wasn't it??) was the worst. It was hard for me just to hold a wheel let alone pull turns but I somehow managed to stay with the group.  I swallowed my pride and missed some turns the way Jacko taught me in this section knowing the group would be faster if I didn't pull a slow turn, and I did not want to get dropped.  Our bunch worked well for a group of complete strangers and everyone was clearly riding their legs off.  It was only when we would catch the occasional straggler who managed to hold on for a bit that the flow got messed up.  Simon from Uni joined us for a bit before he found the pace too hot and drifted off the wheel.

75km to go the scratch bunch caught us.  I think some legs were starting to blow in our little group then, and I focused everything on making sure I got that bunch - every man for himself!  I moved to the outside and made sure I could get into the passing line of riders.  I upped my speed and somehow got myself in.  Shan didn't make it on, probably because of the dam wall bridging effort and a failure to eat anything in the two hours!

money's worth of suffering.

Instant relief.  Not what I was expecting - but suddenly after a 75km TT with 7 riders I was now being towed by a bunch of 70!  I was reunited Simon and several others but was looking to see if I could see any chicks in the bunch.  Couldn't.  What chaos! Coming into town Dave and Simon offered an impromptu lead out... thanks boys!!  We wound it up but as I took the final corner at speed I lost touch with Dave with only myself to blame...  Still at this point I had no idea which girls were where couldn't see any in front but I couldn't see behind me either so I sprinted.

In the end, if I am reading the results right, I finished 3 seconds off the podium in 4th place.... so there must have been a woman right there in the bunch somewhere... Well done ladies!  On pure time I posted the 2nd after our NZ import Emma Ferguson, and did it pretty much all the hard way in a tiny TT bunch.  Extreme Suffering Managed.

Well done to all my Koiled folk - bear, trickle, dave and shan.  100% finish rate, and everyone rode their LEGS off.  Well done boys!!! [now do your job!! ;) ... ]

Tailwind SuperSeries Race Four

I headed out to Murrenbong with an on-the-day, last minute entry to Tailwind's last race of the Super Series.  Having just come back from 24 solo worlds, I am still a little rough around the edges so I opted for a Pairs race with Shannon rather than a 6 hour solo on that pinchy little course!  It has been a while (read: years) since I have ridden a pair - and I had forgotten just how much of an interval hurt session it really is.  25 minutes smashing in the red zone, 25 minutes off. Repeat.  A lot of times.

Shan rode an awesome Lap 1 setting us up with the top handful of riders and in the lead of our category.  From there it became an exercise of seeing how high we could climb on the overall - and for me seeing who could snatch the fastest lap for women.  Erin from NRG is always good competition and she made me work for it, though I owned it in the end!

It may not look it, but I was hurting!

In an effort to continue skills building, I left the Santa Cruz tallboy on the rack - and took my 'hell bitch' (koiled carbon hardtail) out.  She rode so well.  After toughing it out in Italy over those rocks on it - I have obviously reset my rough-o-meter... and Sunday was smooooth as and DRY!!!!  I am sure the pink makes me faster.  Seemed to work on Duggan too....

Getting sideways through the switchbacks....

The atmosphere was great and the Koiled posse was excellent company, Kirstie, Nick, TR, Dog, and Ty were all smashing it out.  Kirstie made sure there was a Koiled jersey on the Women's solo podium and Nick grabbed the third step for SS. 

Emma, Seb and Kirstie on the Solo Podium - well done ladies!

Team Awesome - didn't crash on our faces, and finished a lap up!

Ty had the ride of the day - almost lap for lap with his Dad, attacking Kirstie (cheeky!) and snaking the last lap from Matt Dog as his own to ride.... wooooah, I will be looking over my shoulder very soon!

I loved being able to cheer on other riders and witness a bit more of the race without spending the entire time in my solo box.  What a hoot! 

See you at Logan's Run!
* thanks to tailwind and imagewerks for the blog pics!

New wheels....

Since returning from such a massive race in Italy, I have definitely felt like something has been missing.  I have been on my bikes, both skinny and fat wheeled, but it has the feeling of going through the motions.  This was an emergency.  There was only one thing to do.  Get a new BIKE!!

Craig Calfee knows his stuff.

Bamboo beauty.

And so, the Calfee arrived courtesy of Koiled.  It is a work of art.  I knew it would look gorgeous, but I was unprepared for what happened when I jumped onboard.  Constructed from Bamboo and Hemp wraps it is hands down the plushest ride I have ever, ever had.  The dampening properties and the strength of the bamboo really have made an insanely good frame.  I still have my Koiled custom Ti, but she is in the shop getting some repairs on a busted shifter.  So.  What to do with a new bike?  Ride THE HELL OUT OF IT of course.

A plan was hatched. I went to my usual UQCC club crit on Saturday and then hung around because HPRW are running a women's only series.  This club does so much and in my opinion puts on the best racing on in Brisbane.  I figured, despite my 24hr legs, I would hang around and ride with a view to making up the numbers and supporting a series aimed to support us.

At the end of my club crit I managed to puncture a tubular - a tiny stone ended my race frustratingly inside two laps to go and any chance for a wheel swap.  That's racing!  While we fixed it between races (ex)Coach Tapper helpfully went and entered me into the Womens race.  He did this by handing over my license and money, writing my name down on the Mens B Grade list, and picking up a Womens C Grade number.  Random!

As I rolled over to the start line I learned that they had created club grades, and that meant Elite B were now racing A with the Elite A girls.  The four Uni girls now found themselves as A graders for the day!  I expected this would hurt. I lined up next to Simone Grounds, a rider I have watched and respected many times from the sidelines.  Now I was racing her.  Ok, that's cool!

Cruising behind Simone - (Adam Harrison Photo)

The weather was horrendous but the racing was fun.  I ended up on the front often, I knew I was doing it but the pace was a lot slower and I was interested in keeping it moving.  I am sure I did too much work (mountain biker guilt) but who cares, I enjoyed it.

laughing down the straight.... must work on race face! (Adam Harrison Photo).

The Uni girls all took their turns staging breaks, but nothing stayed away.  Nic was strong off her double metros victory and new girl Brit was showing she is going to be awesome!  Anne in particular made the best solo break of the day.  I would have liked to have jumped across to her to see what we could do, but my acceleration is AWOL (24 hour legs!) and I didn't want to drag everyone to her.  Eventually the bunch decided to bring her in and that they did.    Coming into two laps to go I expected everyone to jump on the pedals.  Nope. Last lap - surely now they will go.  Nope.

Coming into the chicanes on the back stretch I was about 3rd or 4th wheel.  I suggested to the ladies in front if they didn't want to be sprinted down perhaps we should go now.  The pace started to pick up a little.  I was really unsure racing up a grade, so I had just waited.  Then Jess made her winning move.  I jumped and got her wheel and we rode to the front up the straight.  I had no chance of coming around, but gave it a shot - as you do!  It was pretty close.  Simone came through in the last few metres for 2nd but Jess held onto 1st.   Amy finished just behind in 4th.

 

HPRW Race One - A Grade Podium - a happy 3rd! (Adam Harrison photo).

First thought through my head - Miff will love this.... Followed by I guess I will race the rest of the series then..... no longer lost.  Who would have thought just getting out there was the cure? 

See you out there!

Race Day : WEMBO 24 Solo World Champs

Race day dawned and I woke from a surprisingly solid sleep.  Usually I am terrified under the blankets all night thinking of what was to come, but this time around I thought about smooth flowing lines and next thing it was morning!  Sweet.

Packed and ready to go

As I looked out to the amazing blue Mediterranean and put in my race braids I found myself actually looking forward to getting out there.  Putting on my kit I felt a sense of being prepared and ready.  I don't know if Shan would say the same thing after being forced to live in close proximity with a shebeast for the week, but all in all I think I was calm.  Focused yes, intense yes, particular yes - but not flipping out of my mind race hate.  I was in Italy to race my bike - life is GOOD!

Koiled is coming.

As we set up the pit area I waited for the usual sick, kick in the guts nerves but they never really came. We just set up.  I chatted to a few people, organised some gear and sat down and ate. All the Australians had been pitted together and Matt Dog and I shared a tent - perfect.

chilling pre-race

The organisers provided us with powered tents, tables and chairs for no charge - that's a first!  Somehow, even half a world away we managed to have enough stuff with us that it looked like a Koiled shop.  Soon enough it was time.

Koiled Pits home of Pain Master Duggan

I lined up next to Jess on the start line and exchanged a few words.... the music was pumping and the countdown was on, I was smiling and ready and soon enough Novo, Otto, Sette, Sei..... UNO!!!  The le mans start was your standard affair.  Elbows out and keep the big boys from running you down.... a quick ankle twister pit row lap and we were onto the bikes.  The first lap was super congested and I found myself getting frustrated and impatient.  People in front were stalling, hesitating, randomly unclipping and generally making the trail harder than it needed to be.  There was no passing. Dog was somewhere close because I could hear him cheering and yipping - as you do.  My impatience led to a dumb crash, something I seem to do pretty regularly on first laps in big races (note to self: CURE THAT!).  Little did I know I had knocked the rear wheel out of the drop out.  Unaware, I tested levers and one pulled to the bar.  Damn! Had I broken a brake??  Went to spin my wheels and realised the back was not where it should be. Tried to put the back wheel in and no go. Was it buckled (prayer time) was the rotor bent ... Nope my beloved Industry Nine was perfectly true... then I realised.... because the wheel was out I had pushed the pads together when I checked my levers!!!! I lost about 10 to 15 minutes at this point as I struggled to part the closed pads with a plastic tyre lever.  It was hard to stay calm but I focused on doing the job and shut everything else out.  I had smashed the hell out of my lower legs too, but no time to think about that.

Rolling again.... rubber side down.

I sorted it and jumped back on - but I wasn't getting all gears the way I should ... bent hanger to be expected I suppose! I made the most of it with the front derailleur and managed like that for a good 9 or so hours.  My Santa Cruz Tallboy really is my dream bike, and the idea of swapping it for my Koiled hardtail weapon on this rough course was not something I wanted to do. Don't get me wrong, my hardtail is a wicked little ride, but she makes me work hard.... and conservation on this course was going to be survival.  My Tallboy is my comfort blankie!!!!

Finale rock. Cruel after 24 hours.

I settled into a good rhythm and rode everything.  My legs felt great (thanks Coach Cupcake), I got over being upset with having lost time, and I looked around simply loving that I was here and doing it.  The light rain we had started with had cleared and it was a cool, clear afternoon. 

eLoad and a banana - go go go.

For the first few hours we did feeds without stopping.  We meant to practice it, but we never did.  Worked out fine. Shan ran along side as I threw a bottle and took a new one, and he shoved something in my pocket.  I ate what I was given and kept it rolling. I had some quality pain in the first few hours from my crash, but once that settled I felt good and found myself picking up the girls like Giuliana as I moved up the field.  Within a few laps I had caught the other age group girls and was putting time into the them every lap.  I'd climbed everything in the first few laps, but quickly found the horror loose dirt pinch climb was better to walk - riding just took too much out of me and left me on the creep when I crested it.  Almost everyone else seemed to be doing the same.  My pit had instructions not to give me placings until 12+ hours, but Jason came past and told me I was in third overall and asked me what I was doing in age group.  Fair question, but not one I expected to have to answer!  It was clear to me I was now riding a step up from my last worlds performance.

riding the corner, with two people standing on the line!

The first 6 hours passed fine and it wasn't long until the sun was setting. Confession: I had done no night riding since the last 24 hour race I did.  Naughty I know, but almost impossible to fit in amongst the training, recovery, work, family balance.  As such I was tentative switching to the dark and my lap times show it.  Adding some night riding to my next prep is something else I know will give me free lap time bonuses.

Sunset and settling in.

 As the night came on it was clear the difficulty of the course was taking it's toll.  I watched Dog suffer, and left him on a climb wishing him well yet totally focused on my own struggle.  I started to suffer around the 10 hour mark. I think transitions were turning into a creep off the bike if my support crew weren't looking or blocking the door.  They did a great job of keeping me moving.

I know what's coming..... the hard tail!

I had got to the point where I was having to get off and fix chain suck several times a lap because of what I had done lap one.  It was time to fess up.  I was allowed into the tent while Shan and K cleaned the chain and looked at the bike.  Good news - Shan could fix it.  Bad news - he needed time.

Good news and bad news... sounds like bad news and bad news.

Hardtail it is.  I rode it.  It wasn't actually that bad.  While I completed that lap (or half lap really) Shannon worked feverishly to swap out the hanger and readjust the whole rear mech - with no workstand and next to no tools. He really is one of the best in the business and when I came round he had it ready to go.  Thank you.

Fixing the hanger.

Honestly from here things get blurry.  It hurt. It really hurt. I suffered.  I struggled to stay awake. I suffered some more. Then Shan and K pulled out the italian coffee. I ripped out a 10 minute quicker lap for the promise of an espresso only to find they weren't expecting me so soon and didn't have my coffee! That hurt my feelings :)  I started to notice the bikes of other competitors sitting by the tents, where people had retired for the night or to take some rest.  I was jealous, but I didn't come here to sit on my ass.

The night.  Long and lonely.

I guess I made it through.  And I guess when I suffered so did the others.  I was close to an hour up at this stage and holding steady.  Somewhere in there I had a kit change which eased the suffering at least temporarily.  All solo riders pray for the dawn, this race was no different. 

Bring the dawn!!!!

Dog found his way out of the hole he was in and came back all cylinders firing!  That helped me lift too.  As the day brightened and I was no longer under lights I started to hit it a bit harder. Having to race all the way through to 1pm was tough! 

18 hours in and still trying to find some pace....

My crew started doing calculations about how much was left, and I desperately wanted them to give me a goal.  Show me where the gate was so I could ride to it and get OUT!  In my altered state I didn't really understand what they meant, because our first lap was actually a half lap so we werent counting the same things. It started to rain.  And I mean RAIN. Sections of the course turned into clay slides studded with sharp ugly rock. I was uncomfortable with it, but I rode it.  I came in thinking I surely I was nearly done, and they told me no, there was more. What the hell!!! I thought they were telling me I had to another full figure eight, but thankfully it was only one loop.

Concentration 20 hours in.  Is there such a thing?  There better be or it hurts!

I crossed the line in 23.43, with 16 laps and 8000m climbing under my belt and as a World Champ for my division. I finished as the 5th woman overall - a ride good enough for the elite podium if I had only backed myself to do it.   I had time for another lap but no need, I had maintained my gap over 2nd.  Shan opened to door to the hurt locker and I was free.  I joined Dog to congratulate him on his win and we shared our race bonding thoughts.  I had ridden an awesome race, and it was such a big step up for me.

Belted in blankets.  It's the way we roll.

Ilaria Balzarotti (Ita), Rach Edwards (Aus), Jane Chadwick (UK).

Koiled World Champs - I loved sharing this ride with my top mate Matt Powell.

Thank you Shannon. For every training ride on which you joined me, for the encouragement.  For every bit of support through Koiled, and for everything you did to make me successful during the week we were away - you made my win possible.

24hours is hard on pit crews too!

Thanks to Neezy and their Santa Cruz bikes for my awesome Tallboy, I won't race a 24 hour on anything else.   Toby from Endurance Store also kept me fuelled up with eLoad - thank you!

So what next?  A bit of  R&R .... a bit of road racing, a bit of AR, a bit of rogaining maybe.... and then a lot of preparation for 2013. WEMBO Worlds. Home turf.  All my gear, exactly how I like it, no 27 hour flights.  It is going to be epic.

WEMBO 2012: 7 Aussie WCs (and a ring in).

The lead up : WEMBO 24hr Solo World Championships - Finale Ligure, Italy

Get comfortable.  This is going to be a long one. I'll try not to skip bits.

The trip over to Finale went smoothly and was reasonably comfortable.  Despite 28 hours of travel and an attempt to board the wrong plane in Heathrow (what airline has two flights going to the same place at the same time!), we landed in Malpensa, Milano belted but still functioning.

Where is my BIKE!?!

That quickly wore off when I realised only one bike appeared to have made it.  Time for a crash course in Italian. After an hour or so of queuing we discovered the bike was still in fact in London and would be placed on the last flight of the day (it was about 10am at this point).  In no mood to spend the entire day at an airport, I was relieved when they said they would courier it to me the next day in Finale, a 2.5 hr drive away.

We managed to find the hire car, get out of the airport and head generally in the right direction.  Shannon was responsible for driving, which was a good thing as road rules don't seem to apply and at 150km/hr down the Autostrada I would have lost my mind.

308 goes ... and we were in the SLOW lane!

We drove straight through and it wasn't long before the hills turned into mountains, I supposed we were getting close.  It was the first inkling I got that this was going to be a tough race. 

The next challenge was to find Casa Barbara, our accommodation for the week.  The streets were so tight, and the switchbacks were hard on a bike....added to the fact we had a street address that accessed from a walking only lane - well, let's just say it took a while.  After 30+ hours of travel it is a miracle no-one (Shannon) wasn't killed but I am pleased to say there was no blood spilled.  The weather was overcast and it was blowing a gale.  I said a few quiet prayers that the wind was not the prevailing conditions for the area or it was going to be horrific.

The apartment was pretty awesome and spacious by european standards.  That is to say, no beds pulled out of walls and there was a real table and chairs.  The view from my room was stunning.

Once unpacked we headed down to the town to find some food.  Stupid foreigner moment #1 followed.  We walked into several cafes trying to get service and wondered why no-one seemed interested in us.  On the third attempt I realised what was going on .... siesta!  Oops!  We settled for gelati's and headed back. 

Streets of Finale - simply gorgeous.

We found some pizza early, and some milk and bread and crashed early.  I listened to the wind howling against the roof and thought about what was to come.

Finale's alleys.

Monday the wind died off and the sun came out.  We unpacked the bike we had (the tallboy) and Shannon built it up.  Amazingly the airlines had managed to ding a rotor even though they had been taken off the bike.  Still ride-able, but not ideal. We began sussing out where the bike shops were in town, and visited our first.  This joint was the roadie store, but we were able to get CO2s and Stans - two things which we high on the list.  We also found out where the others were.  Job for the afternoon was to get some serious food into the apartment.  Stupid foreigner moment #2, we didn't weigh and label any of the fresh stuff like vegies and fruit and held up our whole aisle while someone went back from the checkout and did it.  Oops! 

The food was sensational.

Shortly after Matt Dog and Kirstie arrived safely and we made them coffees and pastries at our place until they could check in.  My Koiled hardtail (hellb!tch) showed up and the airlines had done a number on it.  It had been hit so hard they had managed to pop the back end out of the protective metal frame, bending the derailleur hanger and gouging the drop out.  Unreal!  Shannon had several hours of sorting that out so it was in some semblance of rideable order but got it working well enough to come riding. We headed out to the general area of the course for a ride and found some random tracks - it was rough, constantly steep and fairly technical.  Ouch.

Koiled + views forever - if you can handle the climb to get there.

We got the internet working and hooked up with Jess and Megan,...we organised to meet up the next day so Megan ('the local') could show us the actual course.  Generous chick.  Bike shop visit #2 was to Ultimate Bike, run by Matteo, who kindly let us use his workshop and tools to sort out the issues.  These were the guys who also created an awesome impromptu army to support Megan Dimozantos.  Nice one!  We asked after rotors and he came out the back with a handful of dinner plate 230's as the smallest they had. My brain set the alarm off (how BIG are the hills here??!?).  Never mind.  Still one more bike shop to try.

Preriding with a couple of randoms :D

Tuesday we headed out for our first real look at the course with 'the local'.  I found myself riding with both the current world champs. I knew I was in for a cracker of race, when I was able to stay calm and not feel like I didn't belong.  I rode super easy, as I am sure did everyone was and enjoyed it.

Sessioning the corner - Shannon and his front brake.

We found a gnarly corner.  The pictures never do it justice but the section went like this - leg ripper rough gnarly pinch climb followed by a rock garden, followed by a rough step down left hander - lined by cliffs.  Lines were discussed and it was sessioned by all.  I walked the line, and opted to come back with less of a famous audience.

Wednesday we sorted brake rotors and headed out for another practice at the course. We rode the first loop and stopped at a number of things I wanted to session. By the time we left, I felt we had it nailed along with our race faces.

Hurt times TWO.

We met our regulars Dog and Kirstie for dinner and generally got overly excited about the course, riding with the other aussies and what was to come.

\

pizza and vino - I <3 Italy.

Thursday was a trip into Varigotti to check out the beach and enjoy lunch with Matt and K. After that I opted to go back and put my legs up instead of more pre-riding.  They were smashed.  I thought it was the 500 stairs between our apartment and the village but in hindsight I think it was the difficulty of the course.  Turns out Shannon's were smashed too but he thoughtfully kept that to himself!  I also discovered the forks on my bike had blown!!! This was sorted by Shan with the third bike shop, Riviera Outdoors - who also had some 160 rotors.  Nerves were still under control.
 

super cool - I can't believe you are allowed to walk through!

Friday, rego day.  We spent the morning in Savona at the Giro stalking the hell out of GreenEdge.  Wow - how awesome was that!  Soon enough it was time to head back to Finale and up to rego. Usually at this point seeing transition really amps up the adrenalin - but I still felt calm.

Rego done and it was time to head home for dinner and an early night.  Tomorrow was race day!

24 Hour World Champs are just around the corner.

From this ....

To this .....

The gap between those pictures is about four years of hard work. 

Looking at them I just figured out that race or no race, I've already won!

This weekend I head to Finale Ligure, Italy to race in the WEMBO 24 Hour Solo World Championships.  It will be my third worlds.  Each time I have improved and I hope to do so again. 

Technical, steep, hot and dusty - 18km and 500m of ascent.... check it out...




I am fitter than I think I have ever been in my life.  I am certainly faster.  I have killer bikes.  My skills are better.  I am more experienced.  I have an awesome pit support crew (Shannon Duggan and Kirstie Bowe).  I am part of a kick ass Aussie contingent going, and Koiled team mate Matt Powell is racing.  It's a good place to be as I take on one of the most gruelling sport events you can attempt at it's very toughest - 24solo World Champs.

Packing List: Engine, Nutrition, Will. 

Job's on!