Ausenco Summer Series #1

Round one of the Ausenco Crestmead Summer Series of criteriums was held on Sunday.  With torrential rain the previous day, the light rain on Sunday almost made the day feel "fine" in comparison.  Luckily the series is held on an excellent circuit, with fast drainage.  This first round was also the Logan Cycling Cup for 2013.

With teams from Pensar-SPM, Campos-Avalon, and QSM Racing, along with women from Crino, QAS, Riders Morningside and Lifecycle, it was always going to be a good race, even in the rain.

Our team goals have changed a bit this year, and we were determined to get a girl in the break this race.  Rather than being on the defensive as a smaller team, we were going to throw everything we could at this race.  With Jemma, Jessica and myself on the start line, we attacked as much as we could from early on.

Surprisingly early into the race, I was already in a break with two other girls (Jenelle from Pensar, and Sally from Campos), and we had a fair gap on the main bunch.  I looked at my Garmin at this point and thought to myself "this is way too early" for a break to stay away, but we kept up the turns just in case this was going to be "the one".  Britt (Crino) bridged to us shortly after, and Jemma (QSM) also.  We still had a fair gap on the bunch at this point.

Sally, Jenelle and Jemma were riding strongly and were determined to keep the pace high.

They each put in some strong turns, and Britt and I soon found ourselves back in the main bunch, leaving the three of them to battle it out to the end.

Since all 3 major teams now had a single rider in the break, there was not a lot of need to chase the break down.  In the last corner, Jemma seemed to be forced to the front to lead out, with Sally putting in a powerful attack to get to the finish line, but Jenelle was firmly on her wheel and came around to claim first in the last few centimeters.  Well done to all for a fast-paced but safe race in the less-than-ideal conditions.

Well done also to our two B grade ladies in the other concurrent race (Jane Youdan and Kerry Westwood) who both had an enjoyable race, and attacked to the best of their abilities.  That's what it's all about.

Thanks also to Brad Gooda for the photos.

QSM Racing Brisbane Blast

After an absence of many years, criterium racing has returned to Brisbane's Southbank.
In its prime, there used to be a series of prestigious criteriums held towards the end of the year involving locations such as Noosa, Brisbane Central (Southbank), and the Gold Coast.

It was always a good time of the year to go watch some fast racing around tight corners, with some big crowds.  Particularly since Qld doesn't have a "big" cycling event such as the TDU in South Australia, these criteriums offered up the rare opportunity to see professional and amateur cyclists racing on local Qld streets.

QSM Racing / QSM Sports initially tried to get this event running towards the end of last year (2012).  Unfortunately due to road closure issues, they needed to reschedule the event and change the location.

Thankfully the new "Brisbane Blast" event at Southbank was a great success, and in the words of women's Pro cyclist Carla Ryan... "Nice to support a local event. #BrisbaneBlast.  Great to see racing return to Southbank.  #letskeepitgoing." (from Twitter).

It was great to see a good turn out of women at the race on Sunday.  Teams represented at the Blast included QSM Racing/Upper Limb/DWBH, Pensar/SPM, Crino Cycles, Campos, Data#3 and Koiled/UQ.

Like Noosa, there was some fierce racing and a few attempts were made by various riders at a breakaway.  One breakaway group of 3 finally succeeded with Carla Ryan, Sam Hemsley and Jazzy Hurikino.

These girls toughed it out to the end of the race, and Sam Hemsley had the legs to outsprint Carla and Jazzy for the win.  Hopefully the feedback from all the races is good enough to get this event going annually.

Thanks to Brad Gooda for the photos.

Bitten by the bike industry bug

Can’t seem to help myself and I am returning to work at a bike shop. After a few months off just doing the “vet” thing, I am back helping out at another new shop.
Why? It’s rewarding work. But isn’t veterinary work rewarding too? Yes, but in a different way.

I spent years and years at university in Australia, and then overseas, to get myself an incredibly versatile degree. I chose to branch out into a small animal referral speciality because it was “tougher”. I thought I’d enjoy the extra challenges. I didn’t just have to know all the information, I also needed to be able to problem solve. Sometimes the problem solving was also “against the clock” because some animals were very ill, and maybe even dying, while I tried to work out what was wrong with them. But then came the stresses. The long work hours, and high pressure situations. The seemingly endless counselling of owners with very sick pets. Would the pet survive? Would the pet suffer? Was euthanasia an option?

It’s difficult not to take things personally when an animal can’t be saved. And being a bit of a perfectionist, I would take things too much to heart. Then unexpectedly, my mum died. It was the last straw, and my life was falling apart. I needed to change things. I didn’t want to quit my veterinary work because I still found glimmers of hope that I could get back to being more rewarded by a career I had worked so hard for. So I went part-time.

Then suddenly I had all this spare time. What to do next? I enjoyed riding my bike, so why not do that more often? But somehow, although I enjoyed the extra time to ride, I felt a bit “lazy”. I felt like I wasn’t using my time on this planet very wisely. In hindsight, I suppose I could have chosen something else rewarding like charity work… but for some reason I wanted something “different” as my second job… so I asked the local bike shop if they would consider me helping them out when they were busy. “But you’re a vet aren’t you?” was the response I got. “Yes but I am willing to learn about retail”. So I started the next week.

During my entire time working at that bike shop, the owners (Pip and Shayne) encouraged me and I found I really enjoyed the work. What I also discovered was that it gave me a new lease of life on my veterinary work, because it gave me some new experiences and I was shown some new ways of helping people and dealing with problems. Even my veterinary bosses have admitted to me that my attitude to my veterinary work is much better since I started the bike shop work. So even after Pip and Shayne sold the shop and moved on, I found the work so beneficial that I stayed on with the new shop owners. A few years later, I was still working there. Then some things changed towards the end of last year, and my veterinary work started to demand much more of me, so I gave the bike shop position away.

I wasn’t sure I’d miss the work, but I did. A lot. And fortunately for me, Pip and Shayne have just begun a new adventure with a new bike shop. Thankfully, they have room for me in this new endeavour, and I am really pleased to say that I can once again tell people that “I’m a veterinarian, but I also help out part-time in a bike shop”. :)

All in the mind

Earlier this month I was able to attend a short but very helpful seminar on sports psychology given by Matt Ahlberg from Mental Notes Consulting (held at Revive Studio Ashgrove).  He emphasised that an athlete's pathway to success is in their attitude. 
Some basic aspects of the attitude that successful athletes have include:
-    being hard-working
-    being focused
-    being determined
-    having self-belief
-    being disciplined.

Of these things, it was interesting to hear at the seminar what different people (from different backgrounds such as triathlon, athletics, cycling, water polo, golf, and cricket) found challenging and/or easy.  For me, the hard-working and disciplined bit is easy.  However I really struggle with the self-belief side of things.  Matt explained that if an athlete is going to have self-belief then they need to think about all of their strengths, remember their good performances, and recall all the hard training they have put into preparing themselves.  If an athlete wants to be successful then they need to both think and act in ways that will make them a success.

Leading into race day, an athlete knows what they have to do. They have been training for it.  An athlete has been refining their skills, power, and fitness leading up to the race.  So to perform well on the day should be simple enough... just bring all this hard work together.  However, on the day an athlete’s thoughts and actions can make this process easier said than done.

A successful athlete has set routines and race plans to help them recreate the way they want to feel when they perform well.  They trust in following the process to achieve a successful outcome.  By focusing on the process, it helps an athlete perform to their best because it comes down to what is most in their control – what they think, feel, and do.  By following the process and achieving goals during training, this all builds an athlete's confidence.  This confidence then helps to empower the athlete to thrive under pressure on race day.
- Many thanks to Matt Ahlberg and Allira Rogers from Mental Notes Consulting (www.mentalnotesconsulting.com.au) and Anouska Edwards from Revive (www.revivestudio.com.au).

Off season, off road

Can you imagine my face when my coach tells me that at this time of the year I need two weeks off the road bike?  The conversation went something like this...
Coach:  You need some time off the bike.
Me: Time off from training, or time off the bike altogether?
Coach:  Time off.
Me: How long for?
Coach: Two weeks.
Me: (In my head). TWO whole weeks!?!?
Me: (Bargaining question number #1). Can I still go to the gym? Weights and stuff are still ok?
Coach: Yes.
Me: But no bike at all?
Coach: Looks at me quizzically.
Me:  (Bargaining question number #2). What I meant was, can I use my mountain bike?
Coach: As long as you are not doing it too often and absolutely no efforts.
Me:  Thanks, that's great.
Me: (In my head).  Phew!

I know I have mentioned in this blog a few times over the years that I understand the importance of a rest period between training blocks, but boy am I glad to be allowed back "off road" for a bit.
The first few rides on the MTB last week have already made me remember why I took up this hobby in the first place and wonder why I have done so little of it in recent times.

There's no cars or trucks to contend with, no traffic lights, no noise. There's just me and the bike, and the occasional friendly wave from another rider as they disappear back into the tree-lined trails as quickly as they came out of them.  There's just those nice MTB "feelings" that are much less frequent on the road bike.
The next challenge?  Getting smooth and flowing again while on the bike.

Aptly, this is an excerpt from the new "Flow" mountain bike mag by Chris Southwood...
"I can't bunny hop, I have heard riders say.  What?  Does this mean you have special gravity?  Of course you can bunny hop.  It just takes practice.  Practice may not ever make you a perfect rider but when you reap the rewards of your practice out on the trail, well, there are few more perfect feelings."

And I am ready for more of those nice experiences "off road".  And I have a feeling that when my two weeks are up, I may find it hard to get back on the road!

Noosa Subaru women's cycling criterium

We are lucky in Qld that we have an event like this each year.  Noosa's annual cycling "grand prix" was staged on Saturday afternoon, and as usual, it was fast and furious. 

It is a real privilege to be able to race with local Aussie professionals on this circuit. 

Lining up for the "Dream Team" this year included Rochelle Gilmore, Miffy Galloway, Lauren Kitchen and Carlee Taylor; while the local Pensar Hawk squad entered a strong team including Ruth Corset, Nicole Moerig, Zoe Watters, Kat Garfoot, Jodie Willett and Sam Hemsley.  Also along for the ride included Orica-Green Edge professionals such as Jessie Maclean, Gracie Elvin and Shara Gillow.  The specialized team was out in force with sprinter Loren Rowney supported by another four strong riders including Amy Bradley and Rebecca Werner. 

Amy Gillett 2012 scholarship holder Jess Allen also made the trip to Noosa.  Boss Nutrixxion women's team made the trip up as well, and were often seen on the front of the race.  QSM racing was well represented by Jemma Brown, Claire Trembath and myself.

It was always going to be a tough race.  Most laps averaged between 40 and 45 kph (and trust me 40kph felt comparatively slow), with a tail wind on the first section, and a head wind on the finishing straight. 

It went pretty much something like this...  sprint, sprint, sprint, cruise, brake, corner, sprint, sprint, sprint, cruise, brake, corner, and repeat. 

Many of the teams attempted to send a rider or two up the road during the race, only to be quickly brought back by the bunch. 

Close to the end, Lauren Kitchen (Rabobank) and Ruth Corset (2012 NRS series winner) finally got away and made it stick, with Lauren out sprinting Ruth for the win.  An awesome afternoon of women's racing. 

Thanks to USM for continuing to hold this event each year!

Also thanks to: Claire and Jemma (having team mates makes the race more enjoyable), my coach Steve George @ Crankstar, my gym PT Suzy Rutten @ Breathe, sports massage therapist Jason Tinnock, as well as Brad Gooda, Robbie Reid, Craig Briant and all the QSM cheer squad.  :)

QSM at ladies masters nationals

From Oct 3 to 6, the Cycling Australia Masters Champs were held in Goulburn.  Despite adverse conditions and some strong competition, the QSM women's team did more than hold their own after their recent victories in the Qld State Champs.

Medals of note included:
* WMAS2 Jessica Toghill - bronze RR (- Jessica is also our newest QSM recruit!)

* WMAS3 Jane Walker - gold criterium, gold RR

* WMAS5 Jane Youdan - gold criterium, gold RR.

(and I will also mention Simone Grounds from the Bicycle Riders women's team... another Qld'er winning medals down south!)

What else can I say?  Well done to all!  All those early mornings and consistent training have paid off.  So nice to see effort rewarded.

Meanwhile criterium season is ramping up a notch in Qld, with Jemma, Claire, Jessica and myself looking forward to upcoming events including the Northshore criterium, Noosa, and the Brisbane Blast criterium.