Sunday, May 25, 2008

Not quite10

Hey

Well I think the last time I was on this thing we were about to head into the mountains for 2 pretty darn hard stages of the tour, and long story short I survived both days, and actually almost enjoyed the hardest mountain day, the peleton split into two and for most of the was I had a bunch of around 40 riders to ride with!!  One American girl even came prepared with her camera for some happy snaps, we were joking round at the start and I didnt think she was for real, but once we a steady bunch she whips out the camera and starts clicking away, quite funny really….the scenery was pretty amazing with the snow etc…..

The following 2 days were pretty up and down, as in the terrain and what was going through my body and mind !!  Anyway, day 7 rolled round and that was is for me this year, had to make a decision and it was to pull the plug…. a bloody hard decision but I was going nowhere.. pretty stink really knowing I’ve done this tour twice and finished both times with some good goals achieved….

So today is the last stage for the girls 71km in the local area of Limoux!! So I’ll be there cheering them on! Then there is the “dinner” tonight which can be rather amuzing, the entree of fish eggs and some sort of pate thing are always a good snack before the plastic pasta ….. but the cake rocks!!! hehe…

 Anyhow…….We drive home in the morning, 12.5hrs depending on the pee stops, but it will be nice to just relax a day or two then look forward to the next race!!

Righto people hope everyone’s good, dont be shy, drop me a line!!!!
Have fun!!
Marina :)

Posted by Duv Duv at 11:56:17 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sunday, May 18, 2008

3 Down = 7 to go!!!

Hey

Well we arrived in Limoux safe and sound!!   Oh it was so cool coming back to the house I spent almost 6 months in last year! Kinda felt like home really. Tones and I were both pretty excited about being back and hanging out at the square, sipping away on our hot chocolates, people watching, did I mention there is like 2 mental institutions in this town……..

We are here to race the Tou de l’Aude 10 days..

Anyway, so… Friday evening was the first stage,
The Prologue 3.9km, same course as last year… there really isnt much to say really, you just go hard and see where you get, if you happen to save 3 or 10 seconds today really make no difference. There was a bit of drama on the way to the race though, thank god we were using time trial bikes, as on the way to the start we managed to lose a road bike off the roof racks….. not quite sure how it happened but  basically there we were driving along, and all of a sudden a loud ripping noise and we all looked back to see the pink/white machine doing cartwheels along the motorway. Luckinly the team van wasnt too close behind and miraculously the 4 Truck and trailers managed to miss it, the only thing that was close to running it over was this little white fiat/tiny wee thing that just managed to avoid ramming it, altough I think the car would have been more damaged then the bike….  Anyway we pulled over and the mechanic went sprinting back to get the bike.  Poor bugger was so upset (they take ALOT of pride in their work) think he might have acually shed a tear…  the only thing on the bike that was obviously stuffed was the forks!! Anyhow, luckily we have spare equipment and there was a brand new bike waiting for the rider the next day!! no problemo!!

Saturday: 113km   The first 50km were pretty flat, then it started climbing, oh my god it hurt!! Horse Cat climb (pretty much the hardest category climb) the steep part was only 5km, but the overall climb would have been around 12km ish… Not the best day for the team. Start was awesome Helen got in a break for like 30km, but then the climb started and we didn’t quite make the front bunch, so lost a bit of time.. I guess one bad day, will have to put it behind us and re-asses our goals for the race!!

Team Time Trial :27km  (my favourite day of the tour) It was a pretty windy, and mainly cross winds so we went with standard bikes, helmets and wheels….. Basically with the way they do the timing here the most time we could lose is 2min 5 sec, even if we were 6 min behind the fastest time… long story short, we rode pretty well considering everything, and used it as a bit of a recovery day…  We are all in one piece and set for tomorrows stage, which is apparenlty “flat-ish” yeah… believe it when I see it!! hehehe… should be wicked looking forward to it!! Then we drive down to the mountains for the next 2 days….

I wont be taking my computer with me so wil be a coulple of day till you hear from me!! 

Over…..  :)

Posted by Duv Duv at 20:18:18 | Permalink | No Comments »

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Team work = Win!!

Hey

 

So, right now I’m in the team van 10 hours into our 12.5hrs trip from Belgium to southern France, Limoux to be exact. This will be my home for the next 2 weeks where we are racing in the prestigious Tour de’l Aude starting on Friday. 10days…

I’ve managed to take over the whole back seat of the van and actually sleep most of the way only to wake up for lunch and the essential pee stops…. So time is flying by!!

I thought I’d better update this thing and let you guys know how the last 2 races have gone for the team.

 

On Saturday we raced a kermese, 16 laps of a 6.5km circuit. This time we had 5 riders in the race and things went pretty well…. As a team we are starting to get more and more control of these races to make sure we are either attacking the crap out of the bunch to create breaks and are making sure that at least one of us is in each one!!! Today started off pretty good, I got a little too excited and straight up managed to create small breakaways they never quite stuck…. But it did set up my team mate Ina who got in the 1st group and ended up 5th , Tones covered the 2nd group and got 10th, Helen, Lein and myself did a bit of a lead out for the bunch sprint (my first one ever yay!!!) and we did pretty well with Lein winning it and I ended up 3rd!! Nice…. 4 in the top 20!

 

Sunday was a pretty easy 2 hrs with compulsory coffee stop!

 

Monday was a holiday and of course there is a bike race on, another kermese, this time just outside of Ghent, little town called De Pinte. 13 laps of 7.4km circuit. Same 5 team mates!! Today I was taking is easy and took my time getting to the front… by the 2nd lap Helen had managed to get into a breakaway of 5 that in the end stayed away for the whole race!! We pretty much took over the race today, AA drinks and Lotto had a few riders up the road too which meant they were not gonna chase, so we had to make sure no one else got away and a few time randoms would start a chase but nothing that actually stuck. The gap kept going from 1.5 min to 2min and in the last lap a mere 20 seconds and by the time the bunch sprinted in it was down to 12 seconds…. How cool is it though when you find out your team mate out sprinted 2 AA girls who clearly had the upper hand on Helen but couldn’t organize a piss up in t a brewery let alone a leadout for one another….. Ha ha… suckers!!! So there ya go a win for the team and our biggest payout so for a whopping $24 EACH!!!!!The milky bars are on me!!

 

Righto so back to reality, we are now 2.5 hrs from our final destination today and I’m starting to feel a tad sick from looking at the screen…. Will keep you guys posted!!

 

Have fun!!

Marina J

Posted by Duv Duv at 08:22:03 | Permalink | No Comments »

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

5 Races : Part 2

Back again…. (hope you read the part 1 first)

 

Right, so Thursday is another criterium, this time in Belgium, and its 60km. I’m thinking yesterday was a good introduction, Holland is harder so today will be our day!! Beautiful day….. To start with… 35 min before the race black clouds roll in, it pours down, even hails, temperature’s gone from 18 to 3 degrees!! What the!!?? I pile on my thermal, wind breaker, jersey, knee &arm warmers and booties, I didn’t have my long gloves so while struggling to take my watch off with completely blue and numb fingers one of the helpers sees I’m struggling and getting angry so helps me with it!! Anyway, The course is 2km long and its 30 laps, 6 corners and one of them is cobbles right round , not good…. And neither was the wet paint and nor the 2m wide roads at the back of the course…. Today was a day that the rider with the best wet cornering skills ….. Or just plain biggest balls… would win!!! Unfortunately it wasn’t me.. The team ended up with 3 in the top 12 (I got 12th) with the only rider not being able to finish is Tones with her 2nd round of bad luck and getting a puncture, and apparently Belgian rules, you get a flat you’re out!! Stink…. We do however make another $15 each!! Yeeeeaahhh!! Another hot chocolate !!

 

Friday is a good day!! Its nice weather, I feel slightly recovered and spend my day lounging round talking crap and watching a movie!! Helen and Stef are away for a week so its just Tones and myself from the house racing tonight…. Luckily Mike’s staying couple of days and has offered to help out with feeding. We raced in what they call a “kermise” here basically a circuit race between 5-15km per lap. Today we’re doing 13laps of a 7.5km circuit.

 

Both Tones and I weren’t exactly over the moon about racing tonight(4pm start) and struggled to get psyched for it! But once it started I was on a mission to attack , make or be in anything and everything that was happening. For the first time I was able to do stuff in the race and make others hurt!! I probably spent 10 out of the 13 laps in breaks up the road with a few riders joining us later on, in the end we had 10 or so riders up for the win!! I was pretty smashed and had Debbie my Dutch team mate with me, we agreed I’d give it a crack in the sprint as she was munted herself. So for the first time this season I’m going for a sprint finish and…….. I cramp………… far out!!! I got out of my seat for the sprint and I swear I had a top 3 placing in the bag, then I just couldn’t pedal any more, both my hammies just went spastic and I couldn’t do anything but roll over the line 8th spot… gutted!! We still managed to get a bit of prize money tho, $14 each!! Hehehe guess what I spent mine on!!!


So that’s pretty much it with the racing side of things!! I’ve done 5 and am looking forward to some more!! Racing this season will be a lot different. Last year a lot of the racing was wither 3-10tours with about 3 one day races, but this year most of it is hard, fast flat-ish type of racing and I’m really excited about getting better at this style, don’t think the French Alps are my friends…L

 

Its pretty quiet at the house right now only Tones, Lou and myself here… pretty cool!! Will take some photos of the house soon and try post them on this!!

 

That’s all for now…

 

See ya

Marina J

Posted by Duv Duv at 19:38:14 | Permalink | No Comments »

5 Races : Part 1

Hey!!

 

So, I’ve managed to race 5 times since the last time I wrote on this thing!

 

Last Saturday was my first race in Europe for 2008 and first race since tour of Wellington in March. What a better way to start off with a good introduction to racing in Holland, pro race!

 

Omloop van Borsele 5 laps = 125km. I got given a bit of advice about this style of racing… It’s gonna be HARD and FAST major gutter action and don’t let them Duchies push you round!!…oh and HANG ON!!!! Hahaha.. Easier said then done I tell ya that much!! Things started off pretty good on the wide roads then we turned left and what do ya know…. It was strung out and if you could find half an inch on the road spare to get away from the wind you made sure you held that spot!! I started off pretty good actually I wasn’t nervous nor was I panicking with 180women on 1.5mwide road, I held my position!!! At one point it was all so strung out I could see riders about 300m up the road turning while I was still coming round the last corner, a few riders were starting to let wheels go in front of me and although I could close a few gaps I got tired pretty quick and ended up lasting 3 laps…I rode with a group of about 50 riders and for 1 more lap then that was is race over we still managed to average 38km/hr….. Not too bad for a first race and I was looking forward to racing the next day!!!

 

Sunday, GP Stad Roeselare Belgium, 1 massive circuit = 120km. I was pretty excited as I felt good yesterday so today I was hoping to build on that and give something a go!! I ended up feeling a bit stuffed and was struggling with the shit Belgian roads and trying to hold my position, my team mate was up the road for about 15km which was good for us, just sit in and see what other teams respond but once things started happen and roads became more like driveways I found myself stuck behind riders who were struggling and gaps were forming….. To be perfectly honest couldn’t wait for the race to be over… Not the best race I’ve ever done. Two of my team mates had a bit of bad luck with punctures……. The euro girls today were riding on the road/ footpath the cobbles between the road and the footpath anywhere really just to try stay out of the wind and try move up!!! It was pretty insane, a couple of nasty crashes!!!

So, as I’m riding along hating today and daydreaming I was thinking how its pretty random that you drive over the border which is basically an imaginary line, and all of a sudden the roads go from nice smooth tar, with perfect finish (Holland) to concrete slabs 10m long by 2m wide that have gaps anywhere between 3to 10cm … and you sure as hell don’t want your tyres stuck in one of those apparently during summer it gets so hot that they join and even make a bump … bit of useless information for ya.

 

 

So, Monday and Tuesday were pretty full on at the team house, we had some of the people that were renting rooms come and go… for 2 nights we had 3 Kiwis, 1 Ozzie, 2 English, 2 Canadians and 1 American. It was pretty cool!! Some funny stories at the dinner table, but its pretty funny how no matter where you’re from conversation always turns to bodily functions like farting and burping……oh and chocolate!!!!!

 

Wednesday rolls round and we are off to Holland again for a nice little 66km Criterium!! Now I’m supposed to be pretty good at these….. Back home, but they are usually only between 20min-45min, here its 1.5hrs. Again the advice I get your ass to the front and go with anything…. So feeling pretty confident, and trying to line up early to get a good starting position I’m getting all excited, when the official dude tells us all to wait as he lines everyone up from number 1 to 112.……. Well take on guess what number I was, 112!! The absolute last rider in the bunch!! Far out!!! This will be fun trying to move up while going 45km/hr from the gun!! Anyway, Tones and Helen are machines at this type of thing and are up the front within 4 laps, I’m slightly wacked by the time I get ¾ thru the bunch and seem to stay there for a wee while… eventually Helen gets into a break and I for once or twice get tot the front of the remaining bunch to try help Tones out with whatever’s going…. Anyhow we finish up in one piece and a bloody good workout and even made $13 with the split prize money so I blow mine on a Kebab and Hot chocolate!! You know splash out!!!

 

 

 

Right now I’m excited about my dinner Lou is cooking and we’re having Vegeburgers!!!!!!!!! Mint!! I will finish update on the other 2 races, after dinner or in the morning, can’t think on an empty stomach!!!!!

 

Stay tuned J

Over

Posted by Duv Duv at 18:57:19 | Permalink | No Comments »