Moving past the fear

This post is for Linda. :-)

I wasn't allowed to ride bikes when I was a kid. My parents were older than most parents of kids my age, and they encouraged us to do "indoor" activities. My best friend taught me to ride a bike, when I was probably about 8, by showing me how to launch myself down a set of stairs at the school she was living at. Unfortunately my mum also worked at the school, so my lessons were cut short (and there went my career as a professional downhill racer...). My sister and I were given bikes for Christmas one year. They had 3 gears and were cutting edge at the time. I remember the neighbours stopping me as I did my endless laps of the cul-de-sac we lived in (we weren't allowed to ride beyond the bounds of the cul-de-sac) asking about these new fandangled inventions called gears. I was very proud.

But then school and life got in the way, and the bike got relegated to the garage. My bike was finally dusted off again when I moved to Canberra, so that I had something to commute on at Uni. I'd ride my bike into civic from ANU to get me to work, and I vaguely remember a friend at the time commenting that I rode like a mad woman, up and down the pavement, around pedestrians, cars, etc. I suspect that was because I was always running late.

That bike was unfortunately stolen from out the front of the college I lived in at some point during my first year. I was a little bit devastated about my loss, but quickly saw the opportunity it presented: I could get an upgrade! So some friends took me bike shopping, and it wasn't long until I was the proud owner of an industrial yellow mountain bike that even had front suspension. The only problem with that was the expectation that I should take it mountain biking. This wouldn't have been a problem if I had actually known how to ride the thing. Unfortunately I didn't. The first problem was that the brakes were set up opposite to how much little commuter had been set up. This caused me two trips to hospital (not to mention expensive dental work!) in what was practically the first week I owned the bike! Hmmm... these incidents didn't take me long to realise I was in way over my depth. I probably knew at the time that I should have quit while I was behind, but failing is not something I like to do, so I persevered until I could ride that da*mn bike. I would ride it everyday - commuting on bike paths, fire trails, single track, you name it and I would (try to) ride it. I finally got to the point that I felt vaguely competent on it, but I was always a bit too wary to really enjoy riding hard. Unsurprisingly, as life got in the way, my mountain bike got relegated to the garage.

It wasn't until some years later that a colleague signed me up to do the Hartley Lifecare Cycle Challenge. I'd never been on a road bike before (in fact it had been years since I'd been on a bike of any form!), but sure, why not sign up for the ride (which entailed riding from Canberra to Charlotte's Pass and back over 3 days) in just over 3 months time. So I bought my first road bike. Straight away, road cycling gelled with me. It seemed to be more about fitness than skill (at least it was based on the training that I was doing then, which was just to ride my bike as much as I could), so my lack of nerve didn't seem as relevant. I loved the act of cycling, the social side of cycling, the freedom of cycling and couldn't get enough of it. I remember getting back from the Hartley Cycle Challenge and not wanting to stop riding, despite having lived on the bike for basically 3 days straight.

Enter more life interruptions (in the form of a couple of babies) and I was ready to get back on the bike again. I rode with some good friends and then we decided to train up for a few events together. We were eagerly anticipating our first post-baby race, but when the race came, I only managed to stay upright for 1km or so before the person in front of me braked suddenly and I ran up the back of him, coming down hard and bringing a fair proportion of the bunch down with me. My bike was the most serious casualty of that crash, but I also managed to break and dislocate my collarbone. It didn't need surgery fortunately, but it did render me out of action for a good few weeks after the event.

I got back on the bike and started training again. I spent most of my time training alone (either on the wind trainer or just riding solo or with, at most, a couple of friends), so while I was getting stronger fitness-wise, I wasn't doing much to recover my loss of confidence in a bunch. I was very hesitant about the idea of riding with people I didn't know, and I was also concerned that people didn't want to ride with me because of what I perceived to be my lack of skill: I hated the idea of being the person that everyone would tell others to steer clear of in the bunch.

And then I came off again, unfortunately a little more seriously this time. A car stopped to give way to me at a t-intersection, and then "forgot" I was there when I was directly in front of him and he accelerated into me. I can piece together exactly what happened, but I can't remember much after the initial impact, not so much because I hit my head, but because I closed my eyes to pretend it wasn't happening. My injuries were a little more serious after this accident and kept me off the bike for a couple of months post-accident.

When I realised that physically I was probably able to get back on the bike, I struggled with the mental side of getting back on. I wanted to get back on the bike to prove to myself that I could, but the idea of getting back on and going through what I'd just gone through again made me feel physically sick. I was also struggling with the appropriateness of the level of risk represented by cycling (given what had just happened) when I had two small children at home.

Some good friends organised a nice gentle "return to the bike" ride for me about 2 months after my accident. One friend came to my house to make sure that I would not have to ride any part of the ride solo. We rode super slowly and carefully, largely on the bike path, to meet the others. I was shaking for most of it - everything about riding felt wrong: my body still hurt; my legs weren't functioning the way they used to; I was on a different bike / different helmet, etc. But when I met up with the rest of the girls and we started riding, it started to feel OK again. Over time, I started going out with the girls most weekends. I had a great time when I was with them, but as soon as they turned off and I had to ride those last few kms home alone, I felt like I was constantly holding my breath and trying not to cry - I cannot describe the sense of relief I felt when I made it home to my front door.

During this time, I decided that I didn't really want to get back into training on the bike. I thought that I could probably continue to have the occasional ride with friends on weekends, but that would be enough. It had been fun, but, in my mind, it was in the past. It's only now that I can honestly say that it was the fear talking. Most of you who will be reading this know me and know how much I LOVE riding my bike and what I get out of it. I love pushing myself as hard as I can on my bike, getting fitter and faster, the company, the adventures... Yep, I just love it.

Fortunately for me, Rach started the Valkyries. Despite having reconciled that my bike riding days were over, I was somehow tempted to join: if I had a regular group to ride with, maybe I could just slot in and enjoy some good company on a nice leisurely weekend ride followed by coffee? Maybe? So I turned up to my first PROD and it was pretty fun, despite me still feeling slow and unfit and terrified of traffic and other cyclists...

Then somehow I let Brad talk me into training up for the Tour of Bright with the V-max squad. I remember my first bunch ride with the guys: I spent most of the ride hanging metres off the back terrified that I was going to come crashing down and would not want to get back up again. I kept getting told to push up closer on the wheel in front, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I worked way too hard getting no draught off anyone, despite me being the smallest and least fit person in the group. I remember thinking I was way out of my depth in that group and I think the only reason I persevered was because I knew Bright was an uphill race, and that would mean that I could pretty much do it at my own pace and not worry about other riders.

It's been 12 weeks now since I started training again. I can't say exactly when it happened, but at some point over the past 12 weeks I stopped being scared. Each ride just got a bit easier. I've thrown a few races in during this period as well, which have been great for stopping me thinking so much about "how" I'm riding, and just get on with the job of riding and letting it come naturally.

There's definitely a direct correlation between me losing the fear and my skill on the bike increasing (the more scared I was, the worse my bike handling skill as I think I was basically fighting the bike rather than using it as my tool on the road). I even like going fast downhills and around corners now! I'll never be renowned for my "extreme bike handling skills", but I think now that I'm a bit more confident on the bike again, I'm easier to ride with as I'm more predictable for those around me. I still flinch (and occasionally slow down / swerve!) whenever I see a car coming towards me from the left at an intersection, but I'm quite happy to get up close and personal with other people / their wheels, etc. I think having an awareness / respect for the dangers of what we're doing is very important, as it helps inform us of appropriate levels of risks to take when riding and it makes us better riders.

I think females are generally less confident on bikes than men, whether that's because we don't tend to "grow up on a bike" as much as our male counterparts or something else I'm not sure. We over-analyse things when we can't do them, thinking over and over and over about our perceived lack of skill rather than celebrating the skills we actually have.

So my tips for moving past the fear:
* don't beat yourself up about being scared - everyone gets scared sometimes and you don't have to be brave all the time;
* try to figure out what it is you're actually scared of (eg, physical pain of falling off generally, a specific "skill" on the bike, such as cornering / descending, etc) and talk to other cyclists (preferably ones that actually seem to know what they're doing!) about how they handle particular situations;
* when things go wrong, try to remember that these are the best learning opportunities you'll get on the bike;
* take a moment to think about how far your bike skill has progressed since you first started riding and be proud of yourselves for every inch of that achievement;
* keep riding your bike - nothing can help more than time on the bike (particularly if it involves good company and good coffee (aka the ride debrief) afterwards);
* remember that everyone has a bad day now and then (for whatever reason), and that this doesn't mean you're a bad rider; and
* when you are having a bad day / patch on the bike, remind yourself of what it is you love about riding your bike - don't let a few bad incidents get in the way of all the positive things you get out of riding your bike.

Why I think its good to start racing early, even if you arent likely to win

Firstly, I have some bad news for you, you are probably not going to win the Tour de France. I only found this out recently and I was pretty shocked I must say, I thought I was a dead cert for getting the yellow jersey on one of the mountain top finishes next year.

Seriously though, is there any point entering races when you aren't going to win?

I think so, and here is why.

Sage advice would tell us to train and train and not enter any races until we are really ready to do so, because we might suck, and it might make us feel bad.

I have another theory that worked for me and may work for you, please remember that I am not an expert and don't know what I am talking about half the time, - so take this advice with a grain of common sense.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, here is my two cents on why I think its good to have a go at a race early. Note that - this doesnt apply if you aren't safe in a bunch. If you aren't safe (ie you get scared and wobbly when someone pairs up close next to you or you cant hold a wheel within a wheel length, then you really probably arent ready and should practice that, in training, A LOT).

Even if you are riding slowly on the Sudnay or Friday training rides, you should always practice being a good, steady, communicative bunch.

Once you are pretty comfortable in a bunch, I have found for me that there are SO many new skills involved with getting to and through your first race, that its worth starting to practice them early.

I have made a list of some of these new skills below, and as you'll see, there is quite a bit to get your head around. Hence your goal for your first race should just be to experience all of these things. Maybe your second race goal will be to finish the course if you DNF'd the first  time.

Maybe your third race goal will be to stay with the bunch for two minutes longer than you did last time, or when you feel you are about to drop off - just try and do two more turns through the pacecline. Maybe you'll practice gatekeeping before giving up.

Setting realistic goals is SUPER important to staying positive and seeing your own progress. You cant expect to win at your first race (although the turn out for womens grades is generally pretty low so you can often bank on a top ten finish for smaller races), but all of the skills below are worth mastering and celebrating as you master them.

But my point is we rarely get the chance to practice all of these skills in training, so - to get good at racing, at some point you'll have to start racing.

New Race Skills

- getting over the first race hurdle

- having a well serviced bike and remembering to lube it/check tyre pressure the night before

- choosing kit to wear in a race

- being nervous, and dealing with it

- turning up

- registering

- remembering your licence

- pining your number on correctly (believe it or not there is a wrong way) 

- having nutrition

- warming up

- getting to the start line

- starting in a race start 

- going lactic

- trying to hold the bunch for 3 minutes

- dealing with people you don't know in the bunch*

- getting dropped
- having a good old cry if it all goes horribly wrong, and still finding something to learn from it

- finishing the race

- eating the right food immediately post race so you dont bonk, and so your body can refuel (not doing this hurts you a lot more than you realise)

- stretching and recovering properly

- having a beer
- making a list of all the new things that happened and how you went with them
- turning up to your next race, even if you didn't win this one.

These are all new skills and they are worth practicing early.

The more you get comfortable with them, the better you'll do as your fitness increases, particularly because being less nervous leads to better performance.

Imagine if you've mastered all of the above, over say a period of months, and during that time your fitness also increases. What this means is that within six months of training, that includes races, you'll suddenly find yourself not only fit enough to be competitive in your grade, but you'll have a world of confidence and feel like a bit of an old hand, instead of totally petrified.

Plus, having a few bad races makes you really appreciate the good ones, and more able to take it in your stride when things go wrong.

So enter a race soon, get dropped, get past the 'it's my first ever race' hurdle. There is really only one way to practice racing, and thats to race.

On one of the above I have some extra thoughts.

Dealing with people you don't know in the bunch*

We are super lucky in that within Valkyrie, we have a great bunch of sensible girls, all practicing good bunch skills and riding together.

Occasionally we also ride with the Vmaxx boys or other Vikings who are all super supportive and really really nice to us and look after us.

This is not racing.

Sooner or later, you are going to find yourself in a bunch where any number of these kinds of things (and more) might happen - and the first step to dealing with them is being prepared:

Things that will happen at some point

- lots of really loud shouting

- totally disorganised bunches

- one person telling everyone what to do and it's not what you planned before the race or think should happen

- people riding unsafely / half wheeling

- people surging, dropping too many off the bunch on hills so that the bunch goes from 8 people to 2 people in a matter of kms (and loses the value of a bigger bunch draft)

- people not pulling their turns

- people gatekeeping who don't communicate to the riders rolling through

- people yelling at you

- people telling you to do things you haven't done before/ arent cmfortable with (eg echelons, pacelines)

- people in the bunch who don't know where they are going and are likely to go the wrong way (like me)

- people bump into each other (shoulders touch, wheels touch)

- someone falls off their bike

Ways to be prepared:

- practice communicating in your training bunches, make sure you use your 'outdoor voice'

- get used to feeling like you have the authority to speak up if a bunch isnt working well and you think it could do better (note, there is no Scout Badge for this, you just start doing it one day, so practice it in training). Or if you'd prefer - I hereby give you all the authority to tell a bunch what to do.

- use your skills practice to learn about riding safely, practice more hands on shoulders, shoulders touching etc

- always remember the don't look back rule. If you hear someone crash behind you in the bunch, keep pedalling forward, wait till its safe before stopping. Don't slam the brakes on and look back - thats a classic way to get yourself to fall off too.

- stand up for yourself, if someone is telling you to do something thats uncomfortable for you, Say So!

You have every right to speak up in the bunch.

What you'll get out of practicing standing up for yourself in this way, under pressure, when your blood is pumping, is a kind of resilience that translates through to the rest of your life.

My first cycling tick – an ITT

Saturday’s time trial was over the same course as last weekend’s club time trial (see Rach’s post from last week). The women’s elite course started at the top of Urriara Crossing, headed straight down Uriarra road, past the homestead with a hotdog turn at 7.5kms near Condor Creek. This made for a 15km lap which we completed twice.

I was sooo nervous as I parked my car at Uriarra Crossing but was greeted very quickly by Pat from the V-Mobile crew and he helped put me at ease and helped me find my way up the hill to the registration desk. One by one the rest of the Valkyrie’s arrived – I was really pleased when I saw Linda as I knew this was her first ITT as well. In keeping with their excellent form Verity and Ches rode out to the start and Rach arrived a little later.

I was a little bummed we didn’t start until 1030 (the juniors started first), especially as I had to be showered and at work by 1pm, but it was really good to have a group of Valkyries and V-mobile guys to wait with. The guys were called up pretty quick and before I knew it we were on. It was my first ever held start (hadn’t even practiced one!) but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

I had read Rach’s post from last week so I was in the know about the “soul destroying” false flat at the start, so I didn’t find that as too much of a shock... I also may have driven the course during the week to see what was in store for me ;) haha. What I found really surprising, however, was that most of the ride out to the turnaround point was really hard! I don’t know if there was a wind or if it was up hill but I was about ?500m away from the turnaround point when I started to think I would not be able to make two laps of the course. I was feeling pretty disappointed but I think that only lasted about a minute as I saw Pat and Brad coming towards me on their way back from the turnaround point and, with the loudest booming voices, they both yelled “GO MAJA GO GO GO!” It was so encouraging!! So I had a bit more heart pumped into me and once I turned around I was surprised at how easy the return ride was. I held a good speed, not quick enough, however, as Ches and Verity managed to catch and over take me, always in fine form these girls!! I also saw Rach heading out on her first lap after starting late – she was so focused!!!!

By the time I got back I felt strong enough to do it again. I couldn’t remember seeing Linda (she started a fair bit after me) however I found out later she missed the turnaround point at the end of the first loop and nearly rode down to Uriarra crossing. It wasn’t until the final turnaround point at the Condor Creek end when I again heard Pat and Brad’s booming encouragement for both me and Linda that I realised Linda was right on my tail. She passed me at some point on the way back but this just gave me something to target, and for the last k or so I got down into the drops and gave it everything I had and managed to just pass her near the end. She obviously still got a better time but I wouldn’t have pushed that hard if she wasn’t in front of me – thanks Linda, you were my rabbit to chase!!

Things I learned:

1) Just because there are signs everywhere on the road indicating a cycling race is on and the speed has been changed to 60kph doesn’t mean a crazy 4WD with a trailer wont race through the marshalling area at 100kph and knock out a witch’s hat. In short - stay off the road if you’re not riding.

2) I can ride at 30kph and drink at the same time

3) I can do both a held start and a hotdog turn

4) It is so good to be part of a squad and have the V-mobile guys to mentor us

5) Linda – missed the first turn around point and still got an awesome time for her first ITT; she may be quiet and sweet but she’s a tough little gem on the bike!! (Though this is becoming more and more apparent)

6) I need more ks in my legs!!!

A great morning at OPH (and the new one!)

Ok, ok, so it's a bit late..... :)

We had a great ride Thursday morning, with Gribbles, Maja and Leonie it was a nice small group. We started with a couple of warm up laps around OPH. Then Gribbles introduced us to "Skin the Rabbit?", or was it "Chase the Rabbit?", well lets just say there were rabbits involved and not the Hungry Jacks kind!

As it turns out I really like skinning (or chasing) rabbits. Okay so you know when to make the jump but the competition with each other is fun and it'd been a while since I'd gotten out of the saddle for a sprint.....

After warming our legs up on this Chris then kindly showed us where the hell Federation Mall is! I personally was clueless that it was the circuit between Old and New Parliament House. I now have a love hate relationship with it. Again I enjoyed getting out of the saddle and sprinting (for me!) up towards NPH, meeting Chris and Maja at the top for a recovery then cruising down the easy side. The next time up I pushed to see if I could beat my last effort and was happy to just sneak past it. This was hard, but fun!

I think by the time we were finished everyone had gotten something out of the morning. It catered to all abilities but also covered the social part of riding together. We had a good debrief at the Purple Pickle where we all decided we would repeat that session again in a heart beat, it was great fun. So much so that I'm proposing we repeat it Tuesday morning!

Climbing Reps - Variation

This morning was an awesome and really fun training session.

Maja showed some great gains on her hill fitness, Anna and Verity were attacking each other on Redhill then sprinting it out in the end, and I put in six efforts - most of which I was pretty proud of including one real attack that managed to surprise our brilliant mentor Brad.

New skills tried today were sprinting up a hill whilst holding the drop bars - thought it would be really shaky but actually wasnt too bad.

For me, after I had such a lame week last week - with bad weather in the first few days and then total lack of motivation the rest of the week (although our Coach did remind me I did pretty well in the ITT on sunday so not all bad), but it felt good to be training properly and with the group again today.

Post training coffee at Double Shot in Deakin was a nice catch up and we all agreed that having people to ride with makes it so much better - the dual effect of friendly company and the competitiveness of thinking "she's doing training, i'd better go too so she doesnt out pace me" are pretty beneficial!!!

There has also been a bit of Secret Janing* although we might have to rename it Secret Veritying, I did extra hill reps on Mon and Tues to make up for last week (which is why Coach is currently threatening to confiscate my bicycle unless I promise to rest on Friday) so I thought I was leading on secret hills, til Verity revealed she was doing secret BLACK MOUNTAIN reps yesterday!!!!

Super hard woman award goes to Verity attacking hills and sprinting with needles in her legs?!?!? Jens Voigt isn't even that hard.

Thanks Brad for writing a training report on Facebook for me to plagiarise.


Note:
Secret Janing*

*The not very secret practice of doing extra hill reps because you are hardcore. Usually involves inviting people along and telling everyone about it afterwards. May result in climbing hills like Lisa Keeling, who is an expert at Secret Windtraining.

Descending Skills session

Please note - this is not Mount Stromlo ;)

It was a small group of us (6) that met up on Mount Stromlo on Sunday 12th June to do a descending skills session with Michael (Doc :) ) Hanslip. Aaaah, long weekend in Canberra!

Attendees: Liz, Verity, Rach, Anna, Eleanora & Linda.

As we negotiated more traffic than I expected on Stromlo - I guess it must have been the cafe plus there was apparently a downhill MTB race next door at SFP - and a strong wind, we cycled up and down the hill (mountain?)several times learning how to descend using Michael's techniques and advice for safety and stability.

Before our first descent, Michael explained to us firstly the importance of using the drops, rather than the hoods, for descending. There are several reasons for this, including increased stability due to a lower centre of gravity, more braking power when needed (with the emphasis on when needed!) and to protect the bars and brakes when riding close to others. The idea of this was somewhat discomforting for some of us, who were used to riding the hoods mostly.

Michael also explained about the judicious use of brakes, as he said it is actually safer to brake as little as possible when descending in a bunch. He told a story of women that he recently coached in the same spot being disbelieving when he said that he set them a challenge to roll down to the bottom without using the brakes at all if possible. I was disbelieving too, and didn't quite manage to do any brake-free descents, but was using them a lot less by the end of the session.

Some techniques we learnt that help with keeping off the brakes, and maintaining stability, are looking ahead rather than down (this sounds familiar doesn't it!) as this helps with feeling more in control and a change in perception of speed, and using the front brake mostly when needed rather than the rear, 'feathering' rather than grabbing it hard.

Some other things that Michael got us to practice were following a 'good' line through the corners and keeping our feet level on the straights rather than coasting down with one foot up, one down the whole time. I think I need to do lots of work on remembering this one! Also on this point was the tip to practice with a different foot forward each time, as we tend to favour one leg over the other, which becomes the stronger one.

One final, very useful piece of advice passed on to us - if you get the 'speed wobbles', a phenomenon where the front end of the bike sometimes 'shimmies' in a very scary manner at higher speeds when descending - clamp your knees against the top tube. This dampens the vibrations that cause this to happen.

While I wouldn't say I'm now a great descender, I definitely felt more confident and safer doing descents at the end of the session, and more at ease with riding the drops, than I did at the beginning.

Thanks to Michael for running the session!

Linda H.

Skills session photos

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.

I got Skills....

"...I got skills, they're multiplying

I'm not looooooosing control.

And the power, I'm supplying....It's Electrifying!!!"

Ok so now we have a lame theme song.

This morning was our Skills Session with ACTAS Coach Glenn Doney, and I for one, think it was fantastic.

I was fairly petrified leading up to it, just knowing I was going to work on things where I might fall off had me totally apprehensive, along with all the usual things I feel in training - that I will be slower/less skilled than the other girls.

Glenn put us at ease, beginning with some simple, easy and totally non scary drills learning how to clip in and out without looking, and how to come to a stop, resting our clipped out foot on our heels (which are less slippery and provide better stopping power).

We did some work next on wheel tapping. Wheel tapping is a Scary Thing To Avoid, so the aim of the drill then was to have it happen and practice not freaking out, over correcting, over-braking and coming off and - as promised, it turns out that when someone taps your wheel, you feel it, it makes a buzzing noise and isn't so scary.

Doing the tapping was a lot harder for me, I tend to lose wheels and fall off the bunch because I am scared of following closely - so actively trying to ride along with overlapped wheels went against my good sense which was telling me to go home and have a nap instead.

But we practiced it and soon everyone was able to maintain an overlapped wheel reasonably comfortably and then tap the rider in front's back wheel with confidence.

Francesca gave it her all with some quite confident bumps and so she tested out the astroturf first (and also second and third). Being indoors on soft springy ground made it a lot easier to try the drills and not feel cold and worried. Despite some riders feeling apprehensive about wheel damage, the bumping was fairly minimal.

We were lucky too to have Bec Doolan - one of the Vikings' star A Grade women riders along to help give us pointers.

Next up was some really fun bunny hopping and manual jumping practice which I loved, having the chance to practice these on the soft ground meant i was able to try bunny hopping with much more speed than i would normally attempt on the road, thus giving me added practice and confidence.

It was at this point that a group of male athletes gathered upstairs to spectate because basically a group of chicks bunnyhopping their road bikes looked pretty fricken cool!!

We did some figure 8 drills which were hard at first, then harder still when we had to do them one handed, but funnily enough the third time when the figure 8 distance was reduced, having two hands again made it much easier.

So a little bit of practice went a long way.

We then had a discussion about descending do's and dont's - which was something all the riders were interested in, we got some great tips and I think all the girls are looking forward to a future session practicing descending positions on Mt Stromlo on June 19 with Doc Hanslip as our coach.

Our final drills included some practice breaking (using front only, back only and then both) and then the Bumping your arms and shoulders into another rider drill. Basically, in pairs we got our upper arms connected and then rode a slalom course.

This sounded terrifying but was actually reasonably comfortable once we got a good contact.

For the finale we stepped it up to riding in threes with the middle rider boxed in. This felt the most unsafe for me and really challenged me - it was during this drill that I focused on talking myself through it in my head and practicing what we had learned earlier about picking a line to ride and watching that line, looking ahead and keeping the communication going.

All in all it was a challenging session that I know I got heaps out of - I am looking forward to seeing all the women commenting below and noting:

• how they felt before, during and after
• what they got out of it
• what they liked the most
• what was most challenging

Welcome to newcomers Angie and Pat, great to have more women on board!

Lastly - team members - if you use twitter you can follow the training schedule & updates through @ValkyrieVikings

And now for a nap before tonights Crace Race!

Valkyrie Vikings have technology!

Ok! I think I have managed to configure everything correctly now so that posts on the blog will upload to the Facebook page and also the Twitter account....

In other news, we are looking forward to a Skills Session this Saturday, led by ACTAS coach Glenn Doney where we will be learning about staying upright and not panicking on the bike if we bump into other riders or touch wheels while riding in a bunch.

I know all the girls have some level of apprehension about riding in bunches so I think this will be really important for increasing our confidence and getting more of us participating in events and races.

Also on this weekend is the Crace Nocturne Criterium which will be heaps of fun for competitors, spectators and BBQ enthusiasts alike! Several of the Valkyrie's are nervously looking forward to entering the Women's C grade race.

Following that, three of us - Dees, Weaves and myself are heading to the country to compete in the Coolamon Classic! Wish us luck.

And finally - see you all at training tomorrow!