Saturday, February 25, 2017

State Championships Win!

I've been a little hyped since my win last Sunday.  Totally unexpected, and not an easy feat, but I managed to take out the Women's 40 - 49 Victorian Cross Country State Championship.  Dora Bettridge (3rd) and Wendy Snowball (2nd) made me work hard for it, but it was worth it.  My new stealth Cannondale Scalpel proved itself totally suited to the course.  







Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Tegan got married. And I fell off my bike.

Tegan and Michael were married on 4th February 2017, so that meant a trip to Sydney.  Though Pippa and Beep weren't allowed in the wedding party, they were pretty girls in their flower girl outfits.  

It was a lovely day, if not a little hot, and we're all very happy for Tegan and Michael.  Next time, can it be a little cooler than 40 degrees celcius?

And, as could be expected, I fell off my bike (twice) in the days preceding the wedding, so I was sporting some pretty awesome brusing and grazes.  Oh well....it had to be either Gav or myself.  But I kept my right hand side clear of injuries for the official photos.

Beep was a little shy in her flower girl dress


Pippa in her flower girl dress

Gavin, mum and myself
 
Tegan photo bombed the selfie Gav and I were taking - great shot!

Bit of an oopsies 2 days before the wedding

Victorian State XCO Rounds 1 & 2 - December 2016

Round 1 was held at Jubber Land on Saturday 11th December and Round 2 at Sedgwick on Sunday 12th December 2016.

I had no expectations, and my race start demonstrated this perfectly!  But as the race progressed I worked with what I had, which relied largely on technical ability, for my 3 laps.  I worked out 10 - 15 min from the finish that I only had 50 min of hard racing in my legs, so suffered hugely but continued to work hard til the end.  A finish in 3rd behind the very strong Wendy Snowball and Dora Bettridge.

Round 2 in Sedgwick was like returning to my old stomping ground.  Though I haven't raced on this course for a couple of years, the familiarity of it helped mentally.  My legs surprised me and I managed to finish in 1st in ahead of Dora (something that won't be happening again any time soon!).  


Round 2 - Sedgwick

Snowies Mountain Bike Festival - November 2016

Gav, myself and the usual Blue Mtns crew returned to have another go at the Snowies Mountain Bike Festival held at Lake Crackenback.  I had a bit of a shocker last time, and though I was no fitter this time, I was determined to just go out and enjoy the riding for what it had to offer.  And the gorgeous surrounds!  

Considering we had snow and 30mm of rain on the Wednesday before the event, the weather surprised us by giving gorgeous sunny days that turned out to be quite hot.  

My times were no faster than last time, but I felt better during and after each stage, and looked forward to the next one.  Both Gav and myself had a great time - Gav beat all of his previous lap times - and we couldn't stop talking about it for weeks.  Ready for the next one in February 2018.  I can only hope that I might actually be fitter for that one.

Snow still above Thredbo

Thredbo River - gorgeous as always

Gavin and myself after final Stage 5 - both buggered but happy

The Blue Mtns crew after Stage 5

Out of the darkness of winter

Emerging from not such a great place during winter and spring, the very lovely (and very fast!) Dora Bettridge invited me to ride with their fun, social group at Bright 24 Hour.  Saturday gave us mixed weather, but Sunday gave us rain!