My First Blog

Okay, so I've been a bit slow on the blogging. Sorry Rach, been a bit busy organising the Vollies for the DBR Tour... ;)

We had a good turn out this morning, enough to split into two groups once we got to Old Parliament House to start our drills. We had wonderful support and guidance from Chris K, Andrew Thaller and Michael Milton.

I was happy that I improved my sklls at jumping on the end of the train this morning, although there is still some work to be done. I also felt more comfortable and capable this morning, not running out of puff until the last lap.

I'm looking forward to Wagga on Sunday. I'm just going to treat it like a training ride so I don't get too nervous about it all. If nothing else it will be a social event so should be great.

Planning on a ride Tuesday morning with Linda H and Megan so let us know if you would like to join us for a slow, social ride around the city.

Red Hill Repeats (why oh why?)

So the morning started well, I got out of bed easily (strange, but it is getting easier), it was a pretty warm morning and it was still – especially compared to the gale on Stromlo on Tuesday morning!!

Having completed 3 repeats of Stromlo on Tuesday, staying in the saddle the whole time and being chuffed I made it once let alone three times I was pretty confident this morning would be just as manageable… I was also convinced that since it was a lot shorter than Stromlo it was most likely going to be easier which is why we were down to do 6 repeats and not 3……. hmmmm.

Only three of us rolled up the hill at 6am, incidentally just as Tony Abbott was finishing his last repeat, and the other Valkyries arrived a little later. My recovering quads noticed straight away that the hill pinched up very quickly and before I new it I was dropping gears to try keep my cadence right… until I couldn’t drop them any further! Hats off to you girls that managed a harder gear! I welcomed the ‘flat section’ at the turn off half way up the mountain – didn’t feel all that flat to me! And before I knew it the hill pinched up again. I had some time out of the saddle during the last straight before the top, not sure how much it helped though! I was stoked to get there– and the view was well and truly worth it – its been a long time since I’d been up red hill at night. Brad took us around a little loop at the top of Red Hill as a bit of a recovery before we rolled back down the mountain. I’m looking forward to joining the v-mobile boys for their descending skills session on Saturday morning because it was a quick and tight descent, and sure enough, there were pedestrians and bikes everywhere.

My second lap was an effort. Had to stop on the flat at the turn off this time – surprising what a little rest does – but unfortunately was out of the saddle for the most of the ride up to the top and had to recruit every muscle and bit of heart I had… It was hard!! We passed Rach and Cheska on the way down – both in fine form I must say – and I’m sure there were other Valkyries but I called it a day there. Not sure I went home with one rep left… maybe a half… but either way, I’m stoked with my effort - sure I have a bit to go but am certain it wont be nearly as hard next time; and fingers crossed, next time I’ll be punching out three.

Time trialling on a windy Saturday morning

A belated report.

Saturday was day eight of my life as a member of the Valkyries squad
and it was time for my first time trial effort. And what a great time to
do it - I'm as unfit as I've ever been so I can only improve.

I got to Stromlo Forest Park in plenty of time to do a few warm up
laps around the crit track. I expected there would be other Valkyries
doing the same thing but instead I was all alone. At 9.25 I rode up to the
gate expecting to see someone there but still I was alone. I have to
admit it was about this time that I started to doubt myself. Had I
gone to the right place? Did I get the time right? Then I spotted
Simon. He was as perplexed as me at the lack of starters and we just
agreed to carry on when Francesca and Anna turned up. Yay, some company!

Simon took us down to the track to do some drills. The first was one
legged pedalling. I had heard of this before but I hadn't realised how
difficult it would be. Not just the coordination element but the pain
factor - my thigh started to burn almost instantly! The second drill
was fast pedalling. We put the bike in the lowest gear and tried to
pedal without bouncing - without much success. More practice is
definitely needed.

And then it was time for the time trial. Francesca and Anna went off
first and after some nerves over Simon holding the bike for my start,
I was off too. Up until this point, my only experience of time trials
was watching Fabian Cancellara cruising along some lovely cobbled
streets or similar at about 60 kms an hour. Mine was not like that.
I struggled badly on all of those hills. Luckily the saturday morning riders where
very friendly as they overtook me. Waiting at the six km mark was a
cheering Anna and Francesca - thanks guys. We were met by Simon half
way along the ride back to the gate. And he was kind enough to give me a
little push up the hills so I could keep up with the other girls. I
could have used the help during the trial :)

We made it back to the gate and then came the bad news. We had to do
it all again! My legs were very tired and not surprisingly my time
was slower the second time around. We were even slower on the way
back riding into a horrible headwind. It was about then that I was
thankful I hadn't ridden from home and I was very happy to put the
bike in the car and head home for a nice warm shower.

Thanks again to Simon for the session and thank you to Anna and
Francesca who were happy to keep at a pace I could handle.

LK's first training session

Well, Rach was brave enough to post about her first training session, so I thought I'd have a go at describing mine. Some of you have met me, some haven't, as I'm a bit hit and miss with training at the moment, thanks to two small people (AKA kids under the age of 4), work, moving house, stupid cold, etc, but I'm hoping to rectify my slackness in getting out on the bike v soon. Anyway, enough of that...

I actually started cycling in 2006 so am soon to celebrate my 5th anniversary of road cycling. One of the guys at my work suggested that we put in a team for the Hartley Lifecare Cycle Challenge and I was one of those who put up their hand to participate. Sure I'd never been on a road bike, but surely I would be able to ride 454km over 3 days in just over 3 months time. First thing was first - I needed a bike!

After probably not enough shopping around, I settled on my first road bike. I remember the guys at the shop telling me to take it for a spin around the block to see how it felt. I couldn't figure out how to change gears, let alone use the brakes. It was pretty lucky that I managed to stay upright! Anyway, I took it home and thought I was halfway to Hartley already. Hmmm...

Next issue was kit. I had a pair of knicks and a jersey. It was August in Canberra. Yes, that's right, I didn't even own any gloves. I did a few solo rides on weekends in my knicks and jersey and got a few strange looks from passersby, including the odd comment about my level of optimism re the temperature. Yes, I was a complete gumby.

Then someone suggested that I should try some of the bunch rides with the Bilbys (local triathlon club for those that haven't come across them yet). So I turned up one Saturday morning feeling eager to get cracking as a real cyclist. I intended to do a short ride, but there were no takers for the short ride, so I joined in the slow medium-distance bunch, which (no offence to anyone who was there at the time!) seemed to be populated with people largely over the age of 60. I felt fine for the first 25km and contemplated turning around, which was what I intended, but decided to keep going with the group because, as I say, I felt fine. Little did I know that 5km further up the road I would experience bonking in a way I've never experienced since. I had nothing. I couldn't turn the pedals over. I could barely speak to the people around me. And I still had 40km of hills in front of me (yes, I chose Cotter-Uriarra as my first bunch ride!). I remember getting to Uriarra crossing after the 3 sisters descent (we did the loop counter-clockwise that time) and I had to get off my bike and walk it up the hill. I was so embarrassed. Here was I, somewhere between a third to half the age of the people in my group, and I just could not keep up. I kept trying to tell them to go on without me, but they refused to leave me out there on my own (probably good in a way as I had no idea how to change a tyre, let alone where I was!). Someone asked me what I'd had to eat, and I remember thinking what a strange question it was. I had never contemplated needing food on a 70km+ ride so certainly didn't have any on me. I guess that explains why I had bonked so badly. Still, I took it as more evidence of how terrible I actually was.

I distinctly remember limping home up Northbourne Avenue, being so relieved that the bunch ride had actually ended so that I could stop having to try and keep up. I had never and haven't since experienced such exhaustion. To give a good indication of how exhausted I actually was - a friend had given me a ticket to the Placebo concert in Canberra that night and I actually fell asleep in the middle of the concert...

I probably would have thrown it in right there and then if I hadn't already committed to doing Hartley that year. It was a bit of a rude awakening to what cycling actually entails, but I can say retrospectively it was a welcome awakening. I went on to riding solidly - got up to riding 5 times a week by the time Hartley was on. Not only did I manage to do the entire event (which was my initial goal) I ended up being one of the stronger ones in my team. I was totally chuffed each time someone commented how much stronger I was getting. Believe me, it was only another fortnight before the "slow medium-distance" bunch of the Bilbys was too slow for me! The first 2-3 weeks were the hardest but then it all started to work. Yes, I'll probably always wish I was a bit faster / stronger (and had more time to train!), but riding doesn't seem to be a struggle for me anymore. I hop on my bike and feel strong and free - it's the only time I really get to just be me in the fresh air, no airs and graces, just me pushing myself to the limits and see what I can do, not to mention the fantastic company I have on my rides (cycling is my perfect sport as I can talk and exercise at the same time!). I've spent a fair bit of time off the bike since I first started in 2006 (in fact, I've unfortunately spent more time off the bike than on), but it's been easier and easier each time to get back on.

To put this further in perspective, what I've described is the horror of my first bunch ride, which was actually not even a training session. There was no real pushing to limits or anything like the girls would have been doing this morning. To Megan and all you other ladies who chose the Thursday session to make your debut with the VVs, my hat goes off to you - the Thursday session is (from what I understand) the hardest of the VV sessions and to get out there and give it your all, well, you ladies will go far. :-)

Go Team VV!

My First Training Session

I've touched on this in a few other posts, but I thought I'd have another go. This one goes out to Megan, our newest recruit, who did an awesome two loops on her first session this morning.

...

My first training session, it was about 17 degrees, and I was really excited but had never ridden my bike at 6am before. I was sure I'd be freezing so I put on all my extra warm winter gear.

I felt like an idiot when I saw that everyone else was still in their summer riding gear, shorts and short sleeves. I had two pairs of gloves on. Fail.

Someone gave an explanation of what we were going to do - and he may as well have been speaking french for all I understood of it. There were some street names I recognised, something about two bunches and something about one bunch doing 'TTT's' whatever that meant. There was also talk of spewing?!? WTF?

Were people going to be throwing up along the way?

We rolled away and immediately it was hard, just riding near all these other people (all blokes except for two women, both of whom looked pretty professional to me and looked MUCH fitter than me).

I felt like a big ball of over-heated, over-dressed nerves compared to them.

We set off from the ANU and then got straight on the road to ride over the bridge. I was immediately terrified, I hadn't ridden on the road in a bunch more than four times in the Novice program and these guys were moving fast.

I was at my maximum heart rate just trying to keep up, and we hadn't even gotten to wherever it was we were supposed to be going.

We stopped at the New Zealand embassy and the coach gave another spiel about climbing and something to do with gears, which again made no sense to me. I felt like if I asked questions, people would realise exactly how much of a beginner I was and they would politely let me know I wasn't good enough to be riding in a squad. So I kept my mouth shut and hoped I'd be able to just copy them.

Half the group then disappeared to do whatever a TTT was, and I felt mildly relieved that I was obviously in the slow group, as we rolled away.

But shortly after we rolled away I realised we were starting to go up hill and It Was Hard.

Really Hard. Within what felt like seconds, I couldn't see anyone and my bike felt like it might tip over because I was having that much trouble just keeping the pedals turning.

I burst into tears at the realisation that not only was I slow, I was way too slow for even the slow group. Plus, I was probably going to get lost since I hadn't even understood the directions, let alone what the hell the drill was all about. Was this training? It seemed horrible.

Eventually I made it to the top of the hills after what seemed like an eternity, riding all by myself. To my horror, some of them had waited for me - I felt so embarrassed that they had seen how slow I was.

We rolled away and then, the only thing more scary than climbing hills was that now we were going down them. It was night time, and I felt totally terrified so I stayed on the brakes and again within seconds - couldn't see a soul.

I turned the corner at the bottom to head towards the lake, wondering if I was even going the right way. I sort of hoped I would get lost, so that later I could blame my lack of direction for my inability to ride as fast as the others. But there they were again blinking away up front.

As I got to the corner they were rolling away except this time there was a new horror. The Coach started yelling at me. "get on that wheel, get up there, get moving, keep it up".

It took every effort not to burst into tears again. I felt like he was just pointing out that I was really terrible. Some of the other riders said some encouraging type comments and I just thought they must really be thinking 'oh no, this girl is TOTALLY not ready for a squad'.

I decided that once we got around to the embassy again, I would go home. This obviously wasn't for me. I was getting yelled at, I was having a horrible time and I very clearly wasn't good enough.

Unfortunately, when I got to the roundabout, ready to sneak away and go home, they'd slowed down again. DAMMIT. I figured they'd probably laugh at me extra hard if I didn't even finish the session. So around we went and the same thing happened all over again, within two seconds everyone was gone, except the coach who this time had hung back to yell at me, and I was again battling to keep the crying and swearing under wraps.

Around we went again and this time I was shattered, and determined never to come back to training again.

I think what saved me though, is that right at the end, there was discussion of the next training session as being along a flat course rather than one with hills.

I went away, feeling totally defeated, but over the next two days wondered if perhaps I shouldn't try just one more time, at least on the flat session. We'd been told that on our second session for the week we would switch and the coach would do the hilly loop with the fast bunch, and the slow bunch would just ride out along a flat course - without the coach. I reasoned that at least it might be slightly better if I wasn't getting yelled at.

I turned up on the Wednesday, and again the explanation of the drill was all nonsense to me except for one thing - the drill included an instruction that the thing we were doing was in groups of four and there was a rule, we could drop one rider, but not two. THAT part I understood, if I could just hang on, they wouldn't be allowed to drop me. I was determined not to be the first rider to drop.

Somehow, the rider behind me dropped off first and I realised that meant the other two guys had to wait for me! I was partly thrilled and partly felt really embarrassed that they were having to ride so slowly. I spent the whole ride apologising.

Now here's my key points:

One of those riders was Chris K - a committed mentor to the Valkyrie Vikings, and less than a month or so later, I beat him to the finish of a 105km ride, the Amy Gillett Ride, which included two laps of the Cotter / Uriarra loop including real hills.

Regular training involving hills was hard, but I saw incredible improvement in two to three weeks. The reason I was able to see that improvement, was because I was in a squad and it was really clear. First I could still see them at the top as I was climbing, then I was getting to the top still able to see them, and finally I started actually climbing with them.

To be clear, this first training session was in late February, 2011.

It's now June. My average speed has increased from around 18km/h to 30 km/h. I can ride up Mt Stromlo in 12:15 and (somehow) I am the Captain of a 20-women strong Novice Racing Squad.

The sense of achievement I got the first time (and really every time) I notice an improvement like beating Verity up a hill, or making Chris bust a gut to beat me to the finish at Bathurst is really, truly incredible.

I've since learned that the Vikings Cycling Club is chock full of people who are all super encouraging. I realised since that they weren't laughing at me on my first session, they were just glad that another chick had shown up! I LOVE riding my bike with people from my bike club, and with other riders in the Valkyrie and V-Mobile squads.

I'm so glad I gave it one more go and didn't give up, and I only wish I'd joined sooner - I rode my road bike for two years by myself before joining up because I never thought I'd be good enough.

What surprised me then (and still does):

• Everyone gets dropped, all the time, on every ride someone falls off the back. Don't feel bad - we're all doing it.
• You always assume when you've been dropped, that you're the only one. The more you ride (and get to talk to other riders at a post ride coffee) - the more you realise that people are dropping off all over the place, you just can't see them.

People drop off and then the next time they try to just hang on a bit longer. If that didn't happen, we'd all be the exact same pace and there would be no racing and no way to improve.

• It's ok to say "This is more than I've got today". Tell someone, and go home. The key is to keep coming back and doing as much as you can and you'll improve. I find that once I've given myself permission to only do a little more, I can usually then do a lot more.
• You'll improve SO much faster than you think you will. I think you'll only really believe this one when it happens to you. But I swear, in three weeks of regular training you wont know yourself.
• Everybody feels like they are wearing the wrong gear/don't quite have a flashy enough bike/might not have the look. (That's how the industry makes so much money).

And the big one:

• Everyone has days, rides and races where they feel lousy. If you stop or drop off - no one is looking at you, no one is laughing at you.

They are all looking at themselves, guaranteed and may have no idea that you're struggling - because they're struggling too.

I've seen A Graders fall off the bunch in races and burst into tears, riders who I thought were a bit superhuman.

I've seen A Graders DNF (did not finish) out of a race because they just didn't have the stuff. Or didn't want to. Or whatever. I see that and just assume they are doing what's right for them. I never look at them and think 'oh they're so terrible'. And its the same, they're not looking at you either.

What I really respect, are the beginners who get out of bed at 5am, turn up to a training session in the cold of winter and give it a go.

Because that's pretty fricken hardcore.

Valkyries - show us your mad skillz!!

It was a cold and windy morning that greeted us today for our skills session at Stromlo Forest Park crit circuit. As the ominous clouds loomed and intermittently gave us a sprinkling, we staved off the chill by concentrating on our tasks at hand - bike handling and bunch riding skills.

The lovely Simon D was our coach, and led us in a whole lot of useful and slightly challenging exercises, including the proper way to start off a bunch ride or race (no looking down at pedals, make sure to squish up shoulder to shoulder at the start line!!) and slalom/figure of eight courses.

We then started practicing pacelining, with the less confident of us starting off with single pacelines before moving to doubles after a little while. I found it quite surprising how quickly I got more comfortable with riding close to others, and was even able to eventually put my hand on Rhiannon, my riding partner's shoulder with only a few wobbles!

We finished off with a great couple or so laps round the circuit in one bigger bunch, and it was fantastic to see how much more confident and smooth we were riding as a bunch. Before and after photos to come - thanks Paddy!

Thanks so much Simon for your expert guidance, and cheers to all the ladies who came today - it was fab to ride and learn with you all :)

P.S - I'm doing this crazy ride tomorrow called 100 Miles of Nowhere: http://www.fatcyclist.com/2011/04/10/register-now-for-the-4th-annual-100-miles-of-nowhere/

So, it's 160 mindless kms up and down Dairy Flat Road near Fyshwick for me tomorrow. If you feel like swinging by at any stage and riding with me for a bit, donating $$ (money raised to go to Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group) or just hangin' (probably not for too long - cold and windy tomorrow too!) and keeping me sane, that would be really cool!

See you all soon,

Linda H.

Newbie : )

WOW! I had such a great time this morning! Such a friendly bunch you all are! And it is really great that you have a couple of the blokes riding with you to encourage, hone your skills and push you through the harder parts.

I think it also helped that it wasn’t too cold this morning... probably not warm enough remove leg and arm warmers like I saw some crazy cats do... but was still really nice. As I said in my other post it was my first ever bunch ride and it was really good to get the down-low of dos and don’ts of bunch riding from Michael on the warm up to Yarralumla and then talk them through again with Rach and Brett during one of the recoveries... (it is Brett right? I am so bad with names – apologies if its Luke.... or Graham..... or Bob! ; )

I found the circuit itself was really good... got harder each time but a really good combination of effort and recovery. Think I will need to work on my pacing though – felt pretty strong on the first lap (mind you I honestly don’t know how I got to be beside Rach at the front of the group for part of the first lap) but boy did I feel it in the second lap..... and third lap...... and fourth lap.

Although the third was probably hardest for me – lucky I had both Brett and Michael by my side for one of the longer climbs! Tell you I could feel the power draining out of my legs with each stroke.... but it was still a really relaxed and fun atmosphere (go figure!). And funnily enough the group was never really spread too far apart which was excellent. I am really surprised I ended up doing a fourth lap – bit of encouragement I think did it - and I guess if you’re rolling along at the start and so is the rest of the group you’re kinda in it. I think I was carried a bit by Michael on this lap as I followed his line a few times– thank you!

All in all a great morning and not as bad as I thought. Was challenging – but not so hard I will be dreading getting out of bed next week! Thanks again! See you all at the skill session on Saturday (will be kind to my legs and bail on tomorrow :)

Maja

Newbie : /

Hi,

My name is Maja (or Mya.... or Myer – like Grace Brothers...) and I’m joining Valkyrie Vikings for a training session for the first time tomorrow morning. Rach has asked me to put a few lines together re my previous experience with cycling and what I’m expecting or nervous about.

Well I’ve never been part of a cycling squad and only took to the road bike after breaking my arm coming off my mountain bike late last year. My first ride on the roadie after getting some range/strength back into my shoulder was the Big Canberra Bike ride – so have only really been on a road bike since then. I’m mainly riding alone – although occasionally I can pull some of my girlfriends or collegues out. I’ve never done a group or bunch ride and have been doing a bit of a mix of path and road.

I initially enquired with the club as I was finding it difficult to find someone else who was interested in regularly riding, training, setting goals and possibly competing with me... (one of the (many) goals I set while wasting away in a shoulder immobiliser after the break, was completing either the 50 or 100km ride in the Fitz’s in October) - big hopes especially when the sound of hill repeats as we do laps around Yarralumla tomorrow makes me SOOOO nervous about joining you girls!!!

I’m mainly worried that I’m going to run out of steam, or fall way behind. One of the benefits (if not the only benefit) of riding alone is that you set your own pace (the downside of which is not pushing yourself)... so riding alongside girls that train all the time and participate in club events/races... makes me a little queasy – let’s hope the intensity doesn’t make me feel queasy tomorrow too!!

I was worried that it would clicky and hard to fit in, but I must say is that I am impressed with is the level of support I have already received from members of the squad. I haven’t met anyone but have received so much encouragement over so many emails that I feel like I kind of know you already. I got a response right away after I enquired which was great as it’s gotten me really pumped to start and is making me think that maybe I will be able to make some of these goals happen... So yeah... guess I’m excited and nervous at the same time!! : /

Will see you all tomorrow morning, am sure it’s going to wake up my legs!

Maja