Carly Hibberd RIP

Like many Brisbane cyclists, I heard the sad news this morning that Carly Hibberd had died after being hit by a car while on a ride in Italy.  I didn't know her personally very well, but I do know she has many close friends and family in Brisbane who will dearly miss her. 

For me, she was an amazing role model and an incredibly nice person.  She was already strongly riding in A grade (competing locally and in NRS events) while I was struggling to advance from C to B grade.  I remember watching in awe as she raced at local events such as the Noosa and Southbank criteriums. 

In particular, I remember the two person breakaway with Carly and Kirsty (Broun) in the 2007 Australian Criterium Champs (Southbank Grand Prix), that stayed away to the end of the race, despite all odds that it would end up being "just another" bunch sprint. 

Carly seemed to me to be a gutsy rider who put everything into her racing and training.  I was fortunate enough to race with her a few times at local criteriums at Nundah and Murrarie, and even though she really had no idea who I was, she was always happy to say hello and even offer some racing advice.  I will always remember after one race at Murrarie, out of the blue she said to me, "You raced well today, but remember to keep your cadence up during the race since it will help a lot with your performance."  There was no "reason" for her to give me the slightest time of day, but she did it all the same. 

I know Carly was also friends with many local female Brisbane cyclists, and was a mentor for those moving up from the junior to senior racing circles.  A kind hearted, beautiful person. 
Thanks to Ben Manson for the photos.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/cycling/cycling-community-rocked-by-rising-stars-death-20110707-1h384.html

Aussie in Pink for first time

As many of you are probably aware, over the weekend Shara Gillow (local Queenslander... originally from the Sunshine Coast!)...

secured a magnificent Stage Win at this year's Giro Donne

and this gave her the overall lead and the Pink jersey (apparently a first for an Australian female). 

Nice work Shara!  Hopefully this is just one more success in a very rewarding professional cycling career.

Photos thanks to Cycling News and Adrian Rumney.

East West 101

Not the SBS mini-series, but a good description of what's been happening in SE Qld... 

progressively more and more training for me on the Eastern "coastline" north and south of Brisbane...

while there has been more and more racing on West of Brisbane...

most notably the Tour of Toowoomba a few weekends ago (which even received some really good TV coverage by SBS's Cycling Central http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/ ), and the Avanti Classic this last weekend.

Now that we are passed the Winter Solstice, soon it will be July, and even more cycling events are on the horizon... both locally in Australia... and of course, in France!

Fraser coast cycling

As a result of our continuing education seminar/lecture series for work, this weekend we found ourselves (along with the bikes of course) in Hervey Bay.  There was "just enough" time to get some exploratory rides in, on both Saturday and Sunday...

although Saturday morning started with thick fog,

it finally lifted at about 9.30am to reveal a glorious sunny day, with amazingly blue skies and crystal blue water. 

Sunday was slightly cloudier and cool, but it was still a great day for another investigative ride... we managed to navigate our way to the quiet bayside suburbs of Toogoom and Burrum Heads...

and then back to Torquay for coffee and breakfast at Enzo's...

and then back to the hotel at Urangan Pier.

Simply a beautiful weekend.

Real recovery

"Resting hard is the part most athletes screw up." - Joe Friel.

Yes I know this.  Resting properly is important.  I have learnt this before.  I got sick multiple times last year because I didn't "rest" enough.  But just because I know what to do, does it mean I really do it?...
Even though I use a training program that is "set" for me, I recently realised (with some help - thanks MW and BG) that I am still not resting "enough".
In contrast, my workouts are done correctly; all in the right zones and for the right amount of time.  But I have become "slack" on my rest/recovery days.  I went back through my training data and HR files, and I have noticed an increasing trend to go too hard on my easy days, simply because I feel "good" on those days.  So rather than recovering and feeling truly "fresh" for the next day of training, I am building up an endless amount of endurance on my rest days... something I really don't need!

I guess I have been a bit "lucky" so far in that my lack of rest has not led me (yet) to illness and injury this year... but hopefully now that I am a lot more conscious of what it really means to go "easy" on a recovery day, my training and racing days will feel even better.

"Training must be either hard or easy - never in between. 'Hard' is related to the event for which one is training. It doesn't mean maximum effort all the time. 'Easy' means zone 1. If you make the easy days easy, the hard days can be truly hard. And race fitness improves. 
If, on the other hand, easy becomes moderate, then hard also becomes moderate. And there is little progress." - Joe Friel

Autumn shadows

It's only May and already Brisbane is experiencing early morning temperatures of less than 10 degrees! 

I know it's not really that cold, but after a particularly warm April, it is a bit alarming that I am already wearing almost every bit of "winter" clothing when out training this week.  Only two weeks ago, we were still in just jerseys and bike knicks, not even a vest!

On Sunday, we rode with lots of friends to the outer reaches of Logan, but not quite as far as Mt Tambourine... and it was cold enough that many of us wanted to 'shelter' inside a local petrol station during one of our brief rest stops. 

Sandra (http://competitivecycling.blogspot.com/) and Alberto (http://amrcycling.blogspot.com/) took some nice 'on the road' photos that day... the one I liked most was her "shadows" photo... (hopefully she'll put it up on her blog)... a line of the shadows our bunch cast in the early morning sun.

That led me to do an internet search later... and yep there is a flickr page dedicated to photos of bike shadows.  :)

Wouter Weylandt RIP

So in the excitement of watching the first few stages of this year's Giro d'Italia, I forgot how dangerous this sport really is.  Yes professional riders crash sometimes...  they get some road rash, some bruising, some broken bones... but I often take it for granted that they'll heal up again and be back racing soon.  Because they are "pros", they can seem to be immune to anything 'really bad' happening to them... but they're not.

Like anyone, they can come off their bike in an unlucky way, and get much more 'serious' injuries... spinal injuries, head injuries, and unfortunately, pro cyclists can die (even when wearing helmets).  It's not something we like to think about, and I don't think anyone watches coverage of a race expecting to see someone die that day.  When the news came through about Wouter early this morning, it was difficult to grasp the concept that it had really happened. 

And like many who have sent their best wishes to Wouter's family today, I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to be his mum, his dad, or his girlfriend right now.  Maybe some 'good' will come from this tragedy... it's just very hard to see that happening right now.

"Miss me, but let me go
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free
Miss me a little - but not too long
And not with your head bowed low
Remember me, miss me, but let me go."  - Anon

Thanks to Kristof Ramon and Cindy Trossaert for the photos.