The "I" in Team work

So recently at work the topic of team work has come up repeatedly so it was no surprise when I found myself in a breakaway at the start of the Value Logistics Fast One Cycle Race and observing how a few of us worked together to get a gap on the peleton, then observing the fine art of how the peleton reeled us in with their mighty power of team work.

Here we were just a handfull of cyclists versus the mamoth peleton. The few of us were probably equivalent in number or even more than the lead riders of the peleton but their sheer volume and team work creamed us and before we knew it we were spat out the back and scrambling to hang on to the back. Joke is, that from the looks of it the peleton fell apart along the road because after we were blown to shreds and the group I was in was blown, I kept passing members of the peleton, including the leading lady of the group. Now imagine if us as a breakaway had teamed up with the workers of the peleton! We would have been amazing. But no, although we were working together we were in silos because we were working for ourselves. At first, it was us in the breakaway, each only helping so we could help ourselves, then the peleton workers so they could catch us so they could individually gain advantage.

So I found myself in no mans land, alone, miserable but trying to hang on when a smiling biker came up and blocked the wind for me - shows what happens when its a former team mate from the Rangers. Oom Johan, you rock! (Sorry, special mention to Skewies who gave my peleton an escort through her zone - friend, having you lead us gave me goose bumps. You and Oom are sterling examples of what real Road Rangers are.)

I then started picking up cyclists from Cycle Lab I knew and before long EPO Lance and I were the 2 workers on a bunch. We hammered the bunch and had fun so I stopped racing and decided to form a team. We had Claudia and 2 other Lab members (so sorry I cant remember your names) and we as a team decided to stop for water, we then continued with me on the front and Lance and Claudia alternating who helped on my right. Was so awesome having a Cycle Lab peleton!! We had a bunch of fellow club members join as we picked them up and many other suffering riders. I rode out front as training but also cause I felt strong and felt it was my duty to help my fellow riders - I now know how Froome Dog felt!!

I didnt do a great time for the race but I had fun being part of a real team that epitomised TEAM work. There was no "I".

The following weekend I raced again and found lots of "I". Up the first hill, I got in a break but the egos were running and the group was shelled. I ended up riding a good 20 to 25km solo, just trying to catch and overtake other riders. Then I heard "Hi Diane". Fellow Cycle Lab member Sam Laidlaw was part of a bunch that was about to overtake me. He gently eased back so I could join the front end of the group and suddenly I was no longer alone. I had a team. It was a bit of a stop start bunch but it was nonetheless a good bunch of people where we had a few of us stronger riders working and the rest of the bunch cruising. We even had Indiana Jones! This guy was wise because he would cream us in the front then drop to the back and rest. Then bolt to the front and repeat. This guy made us all HURT!! Thanks Indiana Jones. Was good fun racing with you. When we hit the Cradle of Mankind it became an all for one and a one for one ride again with a breakaway of us worker bees getting away and riding our own races.

Its amazing how racing really personifies team work. None of us can succeed without the bunch. Now, lets bring this into a work environment. Personally, I find work very solo. Everyone wants glory and are scared to help or too proud to help. Imagine if in a work environment we could work like a peleton: the strong domestiques pulling hard through the race, the climbers working on the climbs and the sprinters sprinting at the finish for the glory of the team. Recently at work we had an expo and we had our yellow jersey worker who obviously worked her butt off but we worked to assist and as a team we gained glory but, we know who was the leader, we know who won. Now imagine every work task had the same....

Special mention from the Berge en Dale race to some awesome folks from Hammond Pole attorneys and Cycle Nation for their hospitality after the race. Guys, thank you! Oh and well done on your race results. I had some really interesting and inspirational discussions at the tent. Was told I am fat, and was encouraged to race elite next year (am looking for a bike sponsor so offers welcome. hint hint..).

Next race is the Dis-Chem Ride for Sight and I am almost scared what thoughts I am going to have on that one!

Rambing over.

Road Safety

Now that the hype over Burry Stander has started to calm down, I think it is safe to do a blog posting. I tried to research the stats between how many injuries there are cycling on the road vs mountain biking and I cannot find anything (its probably a conspiracy created by those mountain bikers) but a factor of 1 (as in myself), I can solidly prove that road biking is 99.9% safer than mountain biking. After 8 years, I have fallen off my mountain bikes on a very regular basis with varying stages of injury and off my road bike once where I got a tiny boo boo.

So with this concrete research in hand, lets head out onto the road. Now I have been told that us roadies should reconsider cycling on the roads so lets look at this quickly: As Tessa points out on this topic, just go check the Road Traffic Act. Cyclists are permitted to use the road as legal road users.  So as much as you may hate us, we have as much right as you to be on that piece of tar. Actually, if I want, I can utilise the full lane and have no obligation to squish into the litter and glass ridden yellow lane (which technically we should not use as it is for emergencies only). But, as kind fellow road users we share the road and get out of the way.

There has been so much debate and arguments about cyclists obeying the rules lately and yes, we have to shape up.  On Saturday morning I got up, put my club shirt on, got on my bike and road to Design Quarter. On my way, I came across the dreaded Red Robot. 5:30am, no cars around. As I approached this robot I realised I had a few options. 1: No one was around so I could skip it or 2: Stop and wait for the robot to change. I could have done option 1 since no one was around but I picked option 2. I didn’t pick it because I was in club kit but rather because LEGALLY I am obliged as a road user to stop. I got to the club after another 5 red robots (argh!!!), reported for duty as a  club marshall.

We went out into the cradle and as a group we did our best to stick to single lane, single file, double lane, double file (ok, perhaps at the bottom of the dip we may have bunched a bit but the laws of hills and speed dictate that there is almost no way to prevent this). Let me explain why it is impossible: cyclist 1 goes down the hill at 69km/hr and hits the uphill, their speed is immediately decreased to say 30km/hr. Now the cyclists behind have had the benefit of drafting so have less wind resistance so hit the uphill faster  so lets for argument sake say their decrease is only to 35km/hr. This is compounded the further back in the bunch that they are. So, you have cyclists hitting the same apex and have to go somewhere and the obvious is sideways by 2 or 3 riders or so until order can be restored and they can get into lines of 1 or 2 depending on the road. Then, you will naturally get cyclists overtaking others on the hill (which is legal) so you will get an extra one on the side as this happens. We obeyed each road rule and stopped at all red robots – this got entertaining for the bunch as we would approach a green robot and slow down cause we would try predict the change.

Ok, so it sounds like the perfect ride right? Well not. I have to admit something (hope this does not get me banned from the club): On my way home, crossing Douglas drive I approached a robot which was green, about 1m from the white line it turned orange and I continued through. I felt gutted!! I was only going about 45km/hr so I could have thrown my bike down into a skid to stop. But then again, I was safely through the robot by the time it had changed to red so I suppose it doesn’t really count. But, all it takes is 1 motorist to complain about the cyclist and take it out of context.

The point of this blog entry? Well, good question. I suppose what I am trying to say is that its so easy to blame motorists for getting cheesed off at us when they do not understand the dynamic of a bunch of cyclists but at the same time it is our responsibility as cyclists to obey the rules of the road to the letter. As a motorist it is your duty to accept that we also have the right to use the road and we can be in a lane. As a cyclist, it is your legal obligation to obey the rules of the road.

This is by far my most serious posting but, on Saturday as I approached that little moral dilemma I realized that I am sure I am not the only cyclist who has had to make this choice and well, I thought I should share the ramblings of a club ride….

Rapha Festive 500

I am a sucker for punishment! Whilst most of the world winds down at this time of year and indulges in food, wine and festivities, 15 248 avid cyclists around the world signed up for getting fit instead of fat and were forced to endure less endulgences (or perhaps more because of the exercise) and I was one of them. What I am I jabbering about? Well, there is this website called Strava (I am not going to go into it, but check out www.strava.com if you are interested) and on it I saw a challenge called the Rapha Festive 500 which was 500km between 24 and 31 December. In short, you do a ride and make sure your gps is with you and tracking you, then every evening you upload your gps data and knock off kms to your 500km goal.

I had no idea how I was going to do this but, well, I signed up for it so gave it a bash. Here is my diary of the 8 days...

Monday 24 December

4:00 - Stupid alarm is going off! 5 more minutes
4:30 - Argh!!
4:45 - Oh bleep! I had better get up or I am NEVER going to get these stupid kms done. What the heck amd I doing????????
5:01 - Off to ride....
6:30 - Home and showered. Nice 23.27km ride. Glad I got up for it. That sunrise was AMAZING!!! Seeing it rise over Lonehill was priceless. Why dont I do this more often? Now to get ready for work....

Tuesday 25 December

1:00 - Just got home from dinner. Bed time
1:30 - Dog is mif, can hear my brother talking loudly in room next door. I need sleep!!!!
5:00 - Dog wants to go outside to relieve himself, suppose I must get up.
5:05 - Just 5 more minutes....
6:00 - Time to move it!! The road calls
6:56 - Off to ride. No idea where I am going but off I go! I am so tired.
10:30 - Got a bit carried away!! Eeeeek. 30mins to get ready for lunch. 78.32km done. Legs are so sore. Hope the lunch venue doesnt have stairs and has lots of food. Mom fortunately making my recovery drink whilst I shower.

Wednesday 26 December

6:00 - Tired. Not riding. What am I doing?
12:00 - Enough slacking. Need to ride.
13:00 - Off for a quick ride.....
16:30 - Recovering on couch. 60.24km done. So much for a "quick ride"! Poor woof is upset with me. Going to so have to make it up to my boy. Rode with some guy I met on Facebook named David. Really nice ride if you exclude the major rain downpour. Oh... and the puncture - on Jan Smuts, in the pouring rain!! At least we werent the only suckers out there in the rain - Chris Froome was also out there. Saw him on William Nicol Drive, must be cool to have a car matching your kit following you......

Thursday 27 December

6:00 - Work today so no ride
16:00 - Ride or walk dog... Walk dog
17:20 - Back home - still light so can go ride
17:30 - Argh!!!!! Bryron gps battery is flat. Mutter mutter. No ride. Lets see how much charge I can get in 15 or 20mins.
17:56 - YAY!! Off for a ride. time to chase the sun.
19:00 - Awesome ride!! 20.08km  - every km counts. That sunset was special. Really enjoying this challenge - getting to see the full day. Now what is for dinner?

Friday 28 December

4:00 - Dont wake up at this time for work. Take a day of leave and I wake up at this time. Insanity.
5:51 - Time to ride. Meeting up with some kiddo named Josh from thehub forum. Hope he isnt a real racing snake or I am going to die!!!
5:58 - Oh poo!! Forgot to put sunscreen on.
11:00 - Ok.... I am dead.
11:02 - 115.24km done in insane heat and I am roasted
11:15 - Recovery drink in system. Ok, so Josh was a racing snake - he is a Junior from Cape Town. Seriously hope the dude goes somewhere in his career (he deserves it after riding with me). I got stung by a bee out there - was quite entertaining: bee hit my shirt and landed in my shirt, actually in my bra (sorry if that word is tmi) and stung me. Had to stop and well, remove stinger and the suicidal bee. Think I will name him Achmed the suicidal bee. Not going to lie -  THAT HURT!!!!
11:45 - Time to get ready for lunch with Mom. Suppose I should take bicycle to get a few more kms
11:54 - In jeans in this heat, bike ready. Off to lunch
15:30 - Hmm... that was a total of just over 10km added for day. Red wine makes you faster (only had 2 glasses but liking my theory here!). Been a long day on the bike, am tired. Tomorrow will be a bit slower.

Saturday 29 December

5:30 - Time to get up and ready
5:53 - Off I go into the known universe called The Cradle. Looking forward to riding with Pappa Yates!
6:20 - Waiting with coffee at Broadacres...
6:32 - Off we go!
11:30 - Ride done. 120km. Got stung by a wasp on my thigh - think these insects have it in for me!!! Actually didnt feel too bad today.
12:30 - Recovery drink at Hogshead - Can see the end of this challenge - only about 78km to go I think

Sunday 30 December

6:00 - Ride? Good joke. Will go later.
8:30 - Ride wins, will mow lawn later
10:00 - 30km done and dusted. Feel much better for it. Now, will the lawn please mow itself???

Monday 31 December

5:00 - Hello last day of 2012!! Time to get up for my last ride.
6:04 - Off to adventure and breakfast with an old friend
7:00 - 20km done, linking up with Ilma
8:00 - Breakfast at Fresh Earth Food. Gluten Free French Toast with Halloumi Cheese and a Chai Tea. Really great to play catchup with Ilma. Think my bunny Rex needs to move onto the bike again. But thats not race snake. Hmm.....
11:30 - Rapha 500km done and dusted!!!! 71km done today. 529km in total. That was a blast. Actually, stopping the ride was tough. Been an awesome adventure.
12:30 - BANG! The Rapha Festive 500 gun goes off... Nope... Shouldnt have left bike in the sun. Front tube just blew. Ooops.

Cannot believe I achieved the goal!! Was supposed to do another ride this arvie but decided to chill rather. For me this challenge was initially a good training camp for Liege - Bastogne - Liege sportiv but ended up being even more. I went into it scared of the amount of riding I would have to do alone. In the end, I rode my biggest days with people. I advertised on social media and on thehubsa forum for people to ride with. On Wednesday a friend of a friend joined me and I hope I gained a new cycling friend. Thanks David, I really enjoyed riding with you and thanks for helping with the puncture. On Friday I rode with Josh from Cape Town who I hope goes far in his cycling career - dude, I hope to see you on a podium in France. Pappa Yates rode with me on Saturday. Was great to do a full ride with you, get to know you better and I hope I have gained not only a new cycling partner but also a new friend. Thanks also for lunch. Next time Francis must join us!! Ilma joined me today. Ilma my old friend, its great to reconnect! Thanks for marking the 500km mark with me on our adventure. I have no idea how we did not get lost!!

To all 4 friends who rode with me this week: you were all awesome and each taught me something this week. Thank you. Hope you all have many safe and happy kms in 2013.

This week was amazing. Bring on the next one.

 

The next great adventure is revealed!

On 18 April 2013 the next adventure begins! This one actually scares me because its such a great adventure. On the 18th April, Team GSS will be flying to Belgium. Yes, you read right. Belgium. After arrival in Brussels, we will be fetched by Sports tours international who will take us to the little town of Liege where we will prepare for the next day. On 20 April I will climb onto my faithful roadbike and race the Liege-Bastogne-Liege sportiv (I am going to be doing the 155km version as I am not quite brave enough to do the full 271km).

Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the oldest Classic cycling race in Europe and is known for being tough (notorioiusly for the second half) as well as for having bad weather. The first race was run in 1892 and had 33 riders (all amateurs), with only 17 finishing! The winner completed the race in 11hours which is quite a difference to this years winner who won it in 6hrs 43minutes. Its an interesting race filled with climbs and history racing through beautiful scenery and historic areas.

The sportiv we are doing is the amateur version of the race and is run the day before the professionals do the race. The sportiv offers 3 choices for distance: 80km, 155km, 271km. From what I have read, the 155km is not easy by any means! With 2500m climbing, its not a flat race and I have read it includes steep cobbled climbs. Eeek. The 271km is for real cyclists! It offers not only the insane distance, but also over 4500m of climbing. So ja, both distances are going to offer challenges to Team GSS!

The day after our race, we will get to watch the professionals race for glory and see how they tackled the climbs we did the day before. After 2days of obsessive cycling behaviour, we will enjoy a few days of exploring in Belgium and eating waffles and chocolate.

The next few months will be filled with training, eating, sorting out stuff for the tour but I will try and blog about updates and other adventures. (I will also try find interesting stuff about the places we will be going to.)

Route 62 Videos

Ok all, I finally had a brainwave and instead of loading 1 too long video, I have split it into 2. So, here is a taste of what I experienced.

Day 1 to 3

Day 4 to 7

Joburgs Toughest Race

Every year I cross the finish line and say never again. I know hate is a strong word, but I hate that race! In 7 years of cycling I have managed to miss 2 and done 4. This year was number 5 and I decided I was going to do what I had wanted to do last year - go sub 3:30.

For those of you who do not know the route or Joburg let me run through the route... you start on a slight uphill by Makro in Woodmead, thereafter you zom onto the M1 highway where you ride as slow, if not faster than what cars do in peak traffic. After your moment of thinking you are a speeding car, you are then taken off the highway at Joe Slovo Drive where you meander through town to the M2 which you ride on for a bit before going back into town, though Gandhi Square,  then back onto the M2 where you then head onto the M1 (I think); then you head to the Nelson Mandela bridge, then onto Jan Smuts Avenue. From here you fly through picturesque suburbs to the first real climb that is in Randburg. This is perhaps where the unfit wonder if they should have trained. After the cimb, the flight resumes as you go through Bryanston and Douglasdale, as you creep up to the next climb. The section through Bryanston and Douglasdale makes you feel like a pro cyclist with hundreds of people cheering you on! Then comes Witkoppen road. You are now just over half way and you start climbing but the crowd support is still there so its not really that bad. The section after Witkoppen is where it gets hard as you now in an industrial area and its boring. This bit starts with Malibongwe road, then takes you onto the N14 Krugersdorp highway. Anyone who has ever ridden this race will tell you that this section is why it is called Joburfs Toughest race. Wide, open road with no shelter from the elements, endless rolling hills and perhaps the most boring scenery ever! Yawn. After what feels like 100km of highway, the route then kicks it with a nice little hill called Summit road. Its actually not a bad section but this is where plenty people cramp after the highway. At the top of Summit road you get a nice rolling flat bit that's a relief, this is followed by a turn onto the R55 (I think) which gives you an awesome downhill before Heartbreak hill. This is a short but fairly steep section of road that is the true test of fitness. This little monster will tell your muscles if you are unfit, fit or a super hero. From the top of the hill, its a gentle cruise to Kyalami, a sweeping downhill past the race track, then a short pimple up before a quick downhill finish to the Waterfall estate.

Ok, back to race day. This year I have been training hard but this race still scared me. There is something about Joburg weather that makes this a toughie because no race is the same and the weather is insanely unpredictable. I actually think the organizers order random weather patterns for the race! My alarm was due to sound at 4am but I was awake before it. I got u, got ready for the race and my trusty soigner (Dad) drove me to the start. Being typical me, we were there super early so I had zero stress and we could get fairly close to the start. The only negative with getting there so early is the long wait but I endured and before I knew it I was standing like a cow in a cattle crush moving up the start pens with my batch. Whilst waiting the one holding area some oomies were chirping me about my split time calculators on my bike (I had stuck 2 stickers with where I should be at what time if I was aiming for 3hrs or 3:30), so when the commentator who we all know from various runs and races said he needed something to talk about, I offered my split times as a topic. He accepted and I became famous. For the next 94km, people would come up to me or I would pass them and they would say "so you are the lady with the split times, how is it going?" Well, I think that's gonna be my new trade mark: split time calculators. Anyway, eventually we were released from the cattle crush and set free to race. I started flying and at the 1st split time check point I was a minute or 2 ahead of the 3hr split. It remained this way right into town, up until after Gandhi Square when the wind hit. It honestly felt like I was riding in Cape Town! Wham. So, despite feeling strong, I was forced to hide in a bunch which meant riding a touch slower than I would have liked but it was the only option at that stage which didn't involve being battered and wasting energy. Anyway, fortunately that bit ended and the fun bit down Jan Smuts began and I could try catch up a bit of the time I had lost.

At Dunkeld, I eased off a bit to greet a friend and as usual, she was there. As was the mystery person who greets me every year - mystery person, if you are reading this, please let me know who you are. Then I started flying again, up Jan Smuts hill where I actually passed a lot of riders (which is a first for me and was quite a shock to the system as I am normally slow at this point), then down through Bryanston, through Douglasdale and to Witkoppen road. At Witkoppen I had a bit of fun and cheered the supporters, chatted to other cyclists and just generally clowned around until we hit Malibongwe where some of us formed a proper bunch again and got some speed. Whilsy cruising along Malibongwe a fellow cyclist commended me on having so much spirit. To think: I am by nature introverted, so ja, this other side of me is quite funny. By the time we hit the N14, a guy came up to me and said we were set for an easy sub 3:30 and although we were 5mins ahead of the 3:30 split, I tried not to believe him.

The highway was rough with the wind and at one point I had no group to hide in and I had my misery moment. My legs felt tired, I felt tired and my bike felt heavy. Ugh. I needed this insanity to be over. I decoded to stop being an idiot and get my head together. I ate half a banana, drank some juice and told myself to stop this. Was tough. Then a spectator gave me dry wors. I ate half of the piece, tucked the other half in my pocket and continued onto the next bit: Summit road and its challenges. Nearing the top of Summit I decided I needed more liquid so I stopped to get a bottle of coke and water which ended up being diluted coke and water. Yuck!!!!! This top although brief is exactly what I needed because I got back on track. I was at this point about 5 or 7 mins ahead of the 3:30 timing but I kept telling myself I wasn't going to make it. I turned onto the R55 and knew there was 1 hill left. Heartbreak hill. I enjoyed this climb and cruised up it, even looking back at the top to see where the real climb was. The give going up was great!!! Felt awesome to be there. At the top I looked down at my GPS and knew: I had made it. My eyes welled up with tears. I had finally conquered not only a sub 4 but a sub 3:30!!!!

I was brought back to reality by a guy on my left literally falling over from cramps and being unable to uncleat. Fortunately some other cyclists stopped to assist him. Poor guy.

The next few kms were a blur of surreal as I hammered it to get to the finish. Then came the last 1 or so km. I was having a blast and enjoying the moment and a fellow Toyota Cycle Lab club member turned to me and said "lets go" and off we went in an attack.  Was tough but we sprinted to the finish. Hands off the bars, I crossed the finish line. Number 5 was done. 3hours 21minutes. I had not only achieved my goal but I had smashed it.

This was the first time I enjoyed this race. I conquered the race and had fun at the same time.

After the race I headed to the amazing club tent where I got a clean shirt, a neck and back massage, food, beer and a coke. The club really went all out with such a great tent and it was what I needed.

Race positives: a coke at the finish. Plenty water points. The spectators.

Race negatives: stickers instead of the normal numbers. City centre is probably still filled with that carnage. Only 1 exit out of the finish venue.

Me at the start in my Kitty Puppy Haven cycle shirt:

A not so slow ride

So on my race calender I have a few races planned that are key races for me. This weekend was one of them.

On Friday morning I set off to Durban for the Amashova. The trip down was uneventful with th only noteworthy thin being the masses of trucks we saw heading to Joburg - clearly the strike was over. There was a constant stream of them with hadly a gap between them and massive abnormal load trucks overtaking normal trucks. Anyway, after dropping the person who got a lift down with me in Durban, I joined up with friends at Umhlanga where a weekend of fun, laughter, food, sunburn and cycling were about to begin.

After a great Friday and Saturday of fun (which although great fun, this is a cycling blog so wont go into the antics of building a sand fortress and getting sunburn and all the fun we had) the alarms went off at 3:30am and we were up and getting ready for Shova. By 4:30 we were on the road the Pietermaritzburg which is a solid hour away. Once we were safely at Maritzburg, the 4 of us cyclists went through our routine of getting ready for the race. Shoes on, spare tubes in pocket, bombs and levers in pocket, tissues in pocket, cellphone and credit card in pocket, food in pocket, bottles on bike, gps on bike, helmet on head, gloves on hands. Its a lot of things to remember! Anyway, once we were all ready we said goodbye to our support crew (Andy's folks whobwere driving the cars back to Umhlanga), then we were off to our start pens.

The start pen of a race is quite similar to a cow pen. You get filtered in, then once you cointed down for your race, you go through in a cattle crush fashion over the timing mats. Fortunately our timing was good and it was not too lon a wait for the start of our races.

Before I knew it we were released from captivity and set free on our journey to Durban. I managed to lead E batch to the start of climb 1, then I got dropped so up I went, overtaking plenty riders as I went. I even saw some familiar faces I know whoch is always cool. About half way up this hill there was a crowd of local kids standing around ahd signing Shosholoza and high 5ing the passong cyclists. This was a major highlight of the race for me and gave me major goosebumps. As we crawled up the hill, I joined forces with some fellow Cycle Lab roders and we worked together along with some other cyclists as a mini bunch. Near the top, we saw a big group and 2 of us ( co-incidentally it was the 2 ladies in the bunch) pulled our mini group tp the big batch. As we got there however, a massove super bunch came up and swallowed us. Imagine a 300 cyclist strong bunch growing as it passes smaller bunches.

This was the Westdene train and was a highly organised batch with a ride captain telling all what to do. Being in the bunch was actually really scary and claustrophobic. We sped along at high speed and I didnt see much other than the wheel in front of me. At Cato ridge I think I sat up for a second too long with my banana break because the bunch split into 3 with the first bump and I was left between batches 2 & 3 and was unable to rejoin 2 and 3 was way too slow. So, I rode a bit alone before the first major hill where I linked up with Trevor from the dog park who rides wit Club 100 and Driekie who rocks on climbs but is a snail on downhills. The 3 of us kinda worked together and rode together until about 75km when we found others also forming a group. Once the group was formed, we started flying again! Was awesome!! Up until then, I was seriously concerned about making my goal of 3:30 hrs but with this bunch, I was able to regain time.

Whilst cruising along and pulling the group for a fair amount of time, I saw a moron who wasnt concentrating touch his wheel with another riders wheel. Actually, this guy was a moron and couldnt hold his bike in a straight line. Anyway, I was nervous and pulled hard right just in case. I was fortunate that nothing happened but I decided to get away from that dude so upped te pace and dropped him. The next few kms went by fast and for the 1st time in any Shova, I was working hard at the front of a bunch in the last few kms of a race. The last 2kms I pulled back into the bunch and enjoyed the ride in. Ok, my legs couldnt hold the pace anymore as well.

As I crossed the finishline to the beep of my timing chip, I looked down and knew I had hit my goal. Was quite emotional clobbering that time as I had honestly doubted myself. I got my medal and headed to the Cycle Lab tent where I met with Andy and waited for the other friends of ours.

Was pretty awesome achieving this goal! Normally I rely on mental strength to achieve this goal but this race I relied on something different: the training I had done. Odd thing is that I think it worked!

Next big race is 94.7 but before then there are some training rides to do. Am scared for 94.7 as my goal is huge.