Secret's out

Normally I'm a "if you can say something in 10 words, I'll say it in 20" kind of person (my thesis would make a good cure for insomnia) but as the secret's out I'm really happy to say that I'll be riding for Team Velosport-Pasta Montegrappa next year! Lots of exciting times ahead and I can't wait to meet everyone, riders and support team. 

The other piece of news I think I alluded to in my last blog was the sponsorship I am receiving from Senergy for my 2014 season. I am extremely grateful for this support, it will certainly be a massive help to me so a big big thank you to all at Senergy!

Since my last post I've had some time off the bike where I spent a week in the Italian Alps (business) and then a week in New York City (pleasure). In a way it was good to be out of the country for these 2 weeks, removed from all temptation to ride my bike...well I did manage to fit in a wee spin on a "classy" touring bike, for work purposes of course!! I did miss my bike but I realise that this time off was really important to refresh not just physically but mentally too. So when I got back on the bike I was raring to go, even if this does mean time spent in my training shed. Unfortunately not as glamorous as a certain Sir Wiggins, but it does the job! Believe it or not Aberdeen (known to some as the frozen North) has been experiencing some unusually mild temperatures for this time of year, even into double figures degrees C, so I've not been confined to the shed all the time. 

Had a wee mechanical on my Italian "speed machine"...

Last week I had a 4 day Scottish Cycling road race camp. This was great fun, a lot of hard work and good banter. We were based in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh and it was great to ride on new (to me) roads. I am continually learning on the bike and can't wait for the next camp!

So now it's back home and into my December training. As a kid I'd be dreaming of a white Christmas right about now, but this isn't so great for riding a road bike so anything above freezing degrees is fine by me!

Wishing everyone a fab festive season and bring on 2014!

Cheers,

Jools. 

Reflecting

So that's my 2013 season done and dusted and it's been a total blast! I just wanted to use this blog as a way of reflecting on the past 7 months, what I've learned, the highs and lows.

Looking back to my first race of the season, the Scottish Cycling women only APR at absolutely baltic Garlogie (Aberdeenshire) seems like so long ago!! A lot has happened since then...Not long after that was my first National Series race, the City of Perth GP. I was pretty much bricking it before stage 1, the road race. I think I'd put all the other riders on a bit of a pedestal and was worried that I wouldn't be able to hack the pace and get dropped. Even now I think it's important not to get complacent no matter what's gone before. I didn't get dropped that day, although a mechanical with half a lap to go put paid to any hopes of a decent result and I finished 44 seconds down. The following day was a crit in the city centre of Perth. This was a bit of a baptism of fire, having never done a crit before. Let's just say it wasn't one of the most favourite hours of my life but I finished it, with a touch of hypothermia thrown in for good measure!

My first win of the season came quite soon after Perth. This was at the Glasgow Wheelers/Thomsons Cycles women's road  race at Garelochead. The course for this one suited me quite well, finishing up a nice brutal climb with a gradient of 15% or something like that. Maybe my card was a bit more marked after that, especially with the "hilly" Scottish champs the next month!

So to the Scottish champs. Not sure how best to describe this race, bit of a strange one I think. After having our race stopped for the men's race to overtake us (they started 30 minutes after us...) we eventually got to the Suie, the infamous hill near Alford. I attacked at the bottom of the hill and Jen Taylor came with me. It was then a 2-up TT to the finish, going right to the wire and a photo finish. Jen took the honours that day, but I was happy with silver knowing that I'd given it everything in that last few miles and sprint for the line!! 

Training was then focused towards the British champs in the city centre of Glasgow, held on the course to be used for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. I've blogged about this race already so will spare you the gory (car towing) details. I absolutely loved this race, definitely one of the highlights of the season and the atmosphere of the crowd will stay with me forever!! As will learning that wee pre-race adrenaline kicks maybe help my performance, but maybe not Peter's sanity!..

Other highlights have to be racing in France and finishing my first two UCI stage races: The Tour de Bretagne and Tour Feminin en Limousin, where I was invited to guest for DID Electrical Racing Team. I think it was here I learned the most about racing and returned from France feeling like a completely different bike rider, as cheesy as it sounds! I took that new found confidence in my racing, positioning and going on instinct into the penultimate race of the Women's National Series, the Ryedale GP. It was here I got my best result of the National Series finishing 5th.

Local races provided good training opportunities to practice things I'd been working on in training and that I'd learnt in France, which took me up to September and the Ras na mBan in Ireland. I loved this race and guesting for DID made it even better! The highlight, attacking from the gun and being in the breakaway for half of stage 5. The low point or harsh lesson, changing gear in the last 200m of the sprint, having my chain come off and losing time, which probably cost me my GC. I won't make that mistake again, so I guess some good came out of it!!..The Ras definitely reinforced to me that I just need to believe, no negative self-chat and it's good to mix it up! 

Returning from the Ras and it was straight into another stage race the following weekend, the Bike Station Ballater Falling Leaves 2 day stage race. It's funny seeing guys reactions sometimes having a girl racing with them in the bunch and this year I was determined not to get dropped! I finished with the bunch on stage 1 and the following day won the bunch sprint in the chase group to finish 11th on the stage. That meant I was 19th overall and pretty happy with the result. I think it was down to a combination of factors, the main one probably just having that little bit more confidence and I have a few people to thank for helping me with that over the course of the season.

As much as I absolutely love riding my bike, by the time the end of September came I was feeling pretty tired but thankfully training took on a different focus than what I'd been used to, geared towards the Scottish hill climb champs.  I really like hills and so this helped to keep motivation levels up for the 3 weeks before the Scottish Champs.  The hill was a really good one and it turned out to be a very close result, with Kerry MacPhee taking gold and me taking silver only two seconds separating our times!  That was a very nice way to end the season on the podium, although I will admit to being a wee bit gutted to miss out on the top step.  I don't think I could have given it any more than I did though and it was great to see fellow Gold 4 Glasgow cyclist Kerry going so strong!  Chapeau Kerry!

Doing my best impression of a drowned rat in the Scottish hill climb champs...

Now its time for some recovery off the bike.  As much as I hate to admit it, I know its definitely needed to have a few weeks down time.  That's been just over a week now and I am starting to miss my bike!!  Not long till winter training starts though and time to get reacquainted with my shed...

I guess I just want to wrap up by saying a big thank you to everyone who has supported me this season.  Its definitely made a massive difference to my racing!  I've loved riding for Granite City this year, training with you guys has certainly toughened me up and I've learnt a lot from you so thanks!  I'd love to name everyone and say thanks individually but it would make for a pretty lengthy list so I'm sure you know who you are and see you next season!  A few exciting things have happened in the past few weeks so another blog will follow soon to update on that!  Until then cheerio for now,

Jools.

Ras na mBan part 2

Friday 13th, unlucky for some as they say and I was just hoping that this wouldn't ring true!  The morning was the team time trial (TTT) and I'd had this niggling fear of getting dropped that I was trying my best to shake off.  By the time we lined up on the start line my head was in a much more focused and positive place and I was determined to do my best for the team and last the distance!  The main aim for the TTT was to get Amy in the County jersey and limit the time that the Irish National team could potentially put into everyone.  Mission accomplished!  We finished second, just 30 seconds down on the Irish National Team and Amy had taken the County jersey.  It was a very slick performance from Team DID considering we had never ridden a TTT together before, everyone stayed together and we just had this trust in each other, happy days!

Boosted by the morning's performance, I was quite looking forward to the evening's circuit race, which was 10 laps of a 4.2 km circuit.  Peter said to me after the race that it was like a light had been switched on in my head and what had happened to cause this?  My answer: it wasn't a crit!  When I thought back on the race though, I think I'd just said to myself why not have a go and see where I matched up to the strong riders.  So when it came to the 3 sprint primes I just sort of went on instinct and had a wee go at mixing it up.  I didn't take top honours in any of the primes, but finished the race with a big cheesy grin and was even happier that Hannah had taken 2 of the 3 primes plus the stage win!

So 4 stages down, 2 to go.  I always struggle to get to sleep after racing at night and this was compounded the night before stage 5 as I went to sleep (or rather tried to get to sleep) with the plan for the next day whizzing through my head.  As we rolled out for the short neutralised section, my head was pretty buzzing with what I was about to do.  So as soon as the flag dropped I attacked.  From the gun.  If every day is a school day then this was certainly up there on the learning curve!  I jumped out of the saddle and sprinted off the front, giving it max effort for as long as I could and not looking back.  After a minute or so I saw that another rider had come with me and shortly after we were joined by my team mate Kirsten, which was also in the plan.  I was really happy to see Kirsten and then a fourth rider joined our wee breakaway group.  The next part of the plan was to scoop up as many of the 4 QoM primes as possible and in doing so protect the QoM jersey for Hannah.  The first QoM prime was only 11 km into the race, a cat 3 climb and I managed to take the 5 points for first over the top.  All through the breakaway we were receiving regular time checks from the comm and as we started the second climb, a cat 1, our lead had stretched to just over a minute and the team cars had been called up.  This couldn't have come at a better time as Kirsten was having troubles with her gears and our mechanic Ken got in on the excitement by hanging out the car window to make some adjustments.  All I was thinking about as we continued up the climb was getting over the top first and bagging the 15 points.  I was made to work for it but the sprint was worth it as I crossed the line first and took my QoM tally to 20 points for the day.  Our game was soon to be up as the chasing peloton were closing the gap and only 4 km from the third QoM prime we were caught.  Looking back to see the peloton bearing down on you is quite an ominous sight, but after being away in the break for half the race it was quite nice to seek shelter in the bunch.  I was pretty disappointed that we didn't quite manage to stay away for the third QoM, but ah well we tried!  The finish was up a short sharp climb, which then levelled off about 200m or so from the line.  I learnt a harsh lesson in those last 200m when in my ultimate "wisdom", I decided to change up into the big ring to sprint for the line.  No prizes for guessing what happened, so it made for quite a frustrating finish having to stop to put my chain back on.  However the fact that our plan had worked and being in the breakaway sort of outweighed the disappointment of such a mediocre finish.  I definitely pedalled out of my comfort zone that day!

Me and my breakaway companions.  It was pretty scenic, not that I was looking at the view!  (Photo courtesy of Black Umbrella Productions).

One stage to go and the weather gods were not playing ball, with rain and gales to grace us for stage 6.  So its just as well I'm "nae made of sugar" as my boyfriend Paul likes to tell me whenever I train in the rain back home.  The plan for this stage had been to try a carbon copy of the previous day and attack from the gun in the hope that no one would think I'd be silly enough to try that 2 days in a row.  When another rider went off the front I followed, but after a few attempts it soon became clear that I wasn't going to be allowed to get away again.  Things split on the first climb of the day and I found myself losing the wheel in front and watched as a small group rode away up the hill.  I pushed on, picking off a few riders on the climb and as we started the descent there was a group of 7 of us chasing the lead group.  We were all working quite well together, which was a good thing given the brutal headwind that we turned into on the final section of the race.  About 10 km from the finish we caught 2 riders who had dropped off the lead group and I for one couldn't wait for the finish to come, with the effort from the previous day now taking its toll on my legs.  We were closing the gap on the lead group and had it down to 40 seconds at one point, but it wasn't to be.  The pace ramped up as we hit the finish straight and I put in one last effort to sprint for the line and finish 13th in the stage.  I was gutted to hear that Amy had abandoned the race due to illness but had so much respect for her even starting given the way she was feeling!  I won't give too much mention to what has been called my own little post race "diva" moment, but just say thanks to Pamela, Peter and the medical guys for looking after me!  Oh and to Stew for reminding me of my mantra "rule number 5"!!  :)

So to sum up Ras na mBan 2013, it was a blast!  I continued on my cycling learning curve and loved every minute!  To my team mates Amy, Kirsten, Hannah and Vero - you guys are amazing and it was just ace to ride with you and learn from you all!  To our support crew Stew, Pamela, Ken and Peter - thanks so much guys for everything you did for us each and every stage!  We couldn't have done it without all your help, you guys rock!

Until my next blog, cheerio for now.

Jools.

Ras na mBan 2013 Part 1

Well I'm just home from Ennis, Co.Clare, the location of this year's Ras na mBan and what a contrast to last year!  The 2012 Ras was my first ever stage race and wasn't exactly a smooth ride...a snapped chain on stage 4 and food poisoning the night before stage 5 were certainly character building...This year I was guesting for DID Electrical Racing Team, who I guested for in France in the summer.  Stew, our team manager, had put together a really strong team and it was exciting to be racing alongside such quality riders as Amy, Hannah, Kirsten and Veronique.

Stage 1 was a relatively short road race of 64 km, with 2 categorised climbs.  I think a lot of people were pretty nervous going into the race given the sketchy moments in the bunch for the first few kilometres until things settled down a bit.  The first Queen of the Mountains (QOM) prime was a short kicker climb and despite my pre-race plan of what gearing to use I ended up in completely the wrong gear and with the fear of a mechanical from changing gear half way up I was forced to grind up it.  Things stayed together to the next QOM, where I decided to have a go at picking up some points.  The speed ramped up from quite far out so it was a long sprint and I crossed the line in 6th, picking up 1 point for the effort.  This was followed by a counter attack from Team Ireland and a big thanks to Laura from Team Pearl Izumi for shouting at me to get on her wheel so I didn't get dropped.  Coming into the last 10 km, for whatever unknown reason, a girl decided to just ride across my line and her rear mech snapped one of my front spokes.  I continued on for a bit in the vain hope it would be ok but when I dared to look down it was clear that my wheel was completely buckled and I would need to get a change of wheel.  Sticking my arm in the air to warn the riders behind, I rolled to a stop at the side of the road.  Seeing the bunch race on past you so close to the finish is a bit soul destroying, especially on the first stage, but I managed to stay pretty calm and pop out the wheel ready for the spare from Ken our mechanic.  One of the things I learnt in France was how to use the cars in the convoy to slingshot you back up to the bunch.  This was on the day in the Tour Feminine en Limousin when I had decided to play "how many times can I get dropped and get back on" (answers on the back of a postcard please!) so I had a bit of practice.  A wee chase through the cars later and I was back with the bunch, breathing a big sigh of relief that my race wasn't over before it had even got started.  I finished somewhere in the bunch with the same time as the winner (Hannah from DID) and was happy enough given I had burnt a few more matches than I'd have liked in the chase.

Stage 2 was the longest stage of the race at 104km, with three category 2 climbs.  The weather was pretty grim, rain and mist and at times visibility was very poor.  As we had the pink jersey from Hannah's win the night before, we knew that the other teams would be on the attack.  There were a few attempts early on but nothing stuck until after the first QOM when a counter attack from  two riders went relatively unnoticed.  This was to prove the decisive move and the two then three riders stayed away for the rest of the stage.  I was in the chase group and we were receiving time checks from the comm, although at times these were a little sporadic.  At the top of the corkscrew climb the leaders were 30 seconds ahead, but with only a few riders willing to chase it became evident that we weren't going to pull them back.  The finish was at the top of the third cat 2 climb and I think I speak for everyone in the peloton that day that it was such a relief to see the finish line and seek shelter in the cars to escape the dreich conditions.  Sitting in the car on the way home, we were all a bit disappointed to have lost the pink jersey but also really happy for Mel (team mate in France) who had taken the stage win!

Photo courtesy of Black Umbrella Productions.

Will update soon with a wee blurb on stages 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Laters!

Jools.

Mopeds, miles and magic times

It's been a while since my last post, things have been pretty non-stop and I haven't really been letting the grass grow under my feet (to coin a phrase from Colin!). 

The best place to start is probably to recap on France. I learnt so much in those two weeks and had an amazing time! Le Tour Feminin en Limousin certainly lived up to its billing of being hilly and added to that racing in 35 degrees it was challenging to say the least! For the remaining three stages of Limousin I focused on my positioning and learned a lot from watching the more experienced riders in the peloton. It was a time of highs and lows but I wouldn't change anything and definitely feel like a different rider now from the experience, in a good way!

So less than 24 hours after returning from France I was off my travels again, away with work for the week. It was then off to Yorkshire for the Ryedale GP, the final road race of the Women's National Series. This was on a hilly circuit that was used for the British Champs last year and was probably my favourite course of all the National Series. 

It seems that I must like adrenaline boosts before big races as en route to the race HQ there was a moped crash right in front of me. Three guys riding in single file along the road, when two of them collide with each other and hit the deck. It was so random and not entirely sure how it happened...Anyway I called an ambulance for one of the guys in particular who my best guess diagnosis was that he had broken his collarbone. It wasn't long before the ambulance arrived and I was back on my way to the race, albeit a wee bit shaky and feeling like I wanted to puke (apologies for the sick reference!). 

It turns out that the impromptu crash-induced adrenaline boost maybe helped me as I finished 5th in the race, my best result of the National Series. It was a great race, getting into a breakaway group of 13, which split on the last lap. The finish climb was tough into a cross headwind and all credit to Hannah, Emma and Anne for really strong rides to take the 1, 2, 3. 

So from France to Yorkshire it was then off to London the following weekend! DID offered me the chance to race for them in the Prudential RideLondon Women's Grand Prix. This was a 1.3 mile circuit in St James' Park, an amazing setting for a bike race! Its not every day you get to race past Buckingham Palace and other historical London landmarks. Having only ever done two crits in my short time racing, I was very nervous to say the least! It's full gas right from the off! The line up for this race was one of the best for a women's race in Britain, with Olympic Gold medal winners, National Champs and international stars. Lining up next to such big names was exciting if a wee bit daunting!

Warming up before the start of the RideLondon GP. 

After a delayed start, the race got underway. Having been stood on the start line for quite some time, all the good of the warm up had pretty much gone and my legs felt quite heavy. I spent the first 5 or 6 laps chasing to get into a good position and went into the red sooner than I'd have liked! Finding a good wheel proved to be key and I was then able to sit mid bunch for some shelter to recover a bit. There were a few attacks going off the front, but none really stayed away for too long, being reeled back in by the bunch.

Our race had been shortened to 45 minutes and with only a few laps to go I was preparing for the inevitable ramp up in speed. I'm not entirely sure how the next bit happened, my instinct sort of took over, but going through the start/finish line with 2 laps to go Anna Schnitzmeier from Wiggle Honda attacked off the front taking Charline Joiner from MG Maxifuel with her. I saw a gap had opened up and without thinking jumped off the front to get on Charline's wheel. We had a small gap going along Birdcage Walk, but as we turned onto Horse Guards Road the effort of the chase hit my legs and I lost the wheel. Approaching the start/finish for the final lap I was caught by the chasing peloton. Determined not to get spat straight out the back I dug deep and got on a wheel to complete the last lap. Unfortunately there was a very nasty crash about half a lap from the finish, which resulted in Joanna Rowsell breaking her collarbone (get well soon Jo!) and several other riders coming down. Luckily I managed to dodge the crash but was held up a wee bit and the front of the race was gone, sprinting for the finish. Rolling across the finish line I was happy for trying something and going with my instinct, now just need to work on staying there!!

It was ace riding with DID again (thanks guys) and the team all rode really well! Special mention to Miss Mary for her solo attack and top 10 place, awesome stuff! And to Amy for her first crit, she certainly picked a good one and put in a strong ride, narrowly avoiding the crash at the end and doing really well to stay upright!!

Looking back on the past few weeks its been a totally amazing time, a whirlwind and so much has been learned! I think it'll be a few weeks at home, training and doing some local races before the next adventure...

Cheers,

Jools. 

Le Tour Feminin en Limousin Stage 1

With four days of racing in the legs it was time for a few days recovery and some tourist rides. 

Post recovery ride cool down. 

Le Tour Feminin en Limousin had been billed as being hillier than Bretagne and this was certainly the case!

The Tour de Bretagne was a massive learning curve and one of the main things for me was positioning. Positioning is key!! Getting yourself in a good position in the peloton is one thing, staying there is another!! You can't switch off for even a second or you'll have drifted back 4 or 5 wheels. So going into Limousin, positioning was one thing I wanted to focus on. 

Stage 1 started off steady, but the narrow roads made moving up the bunch quite tricky. It was a case of see a space and put the power down to get into it before someone else beat you to it.  Around 6 or 7 km from the second QOM prime, I managed to get right onto the front, joined shortly after by Mel. This proved to be good timing as not long after came the customary ramp up in speed by the contenders for the mountain points. Being up the front allows you the safety net of drifting back a wee bit without being right off the back, but it's actually much easier as you kind of get sucked along surrounded by other riders. The fast descent that followed had the peloton strung out, with a few riders involved in a crash on a small bridge at the bottom of the next climb. I had to dig deep to stay on the wheel going up the climb and the small group of us chased back through the convoy to rejoin the main bunch. 

Not long into the finishing circuit, where we were to do 5 laps, a small group of us were again distanced from the main bunch. The pace was pretty fast as we chased to get back on the main bunch and I was having to go some to stay with them at times. As we crossed the start/finish with 3 laps to go, around the 90km mark I think, I lost the wheel and later heard from Stew that it was like it was in slow motion. Stew pulled alongside me at this point and said to chase so I put the hammer down and gave it everything I could to get back to the group. After several "almost but not quite" attempts I had to resign myself to the fact that I was off the back. Stew pulled alongside me again and (although it took a few tellings) I followed his advice to sit up and wait for the group behind to catch me. This was something I found mentally quite hard to do, as I was extremely frustrated at having lost the wheel. The remaining laps were a much more comfortable speed and seeing the 1km to go marker was such a relief! 

The next few hours were spent doing some self-reflection (code for beating myself up, but not literally!!). However after some good chats with Peter, Stew and my team mates, I was feeling much more positive and focused on the next day's stage, the individual TT. More on the other stages in my next post...

Cheers!

Stage 2 of the Tour de Bretagne was the individual time trial. Full TT gear was allowed and there was some seriously nice bike kit on show! The team had individual plans on how to ride the TT, be it full gas or saving the legs for the remaining stages. I had decided to give it a good go (gie it laldy as they say back home) and made my road bike as aero as possible with deep section wheels (big thank you to Mark for the loan of such sweet wheels) and clip on bars, every little helps I guess!

Another first for me, rolling down the start ramp and as I did so I could hear cheers of "go Julie"! Never did I expect to see a familiar face in the crowd so far from home, but here was George Findlater and his grandson , definitely a much needed boost and great surprise - thanks George! I concentrated on staying nice and compact on the bars and focused on finding a nice rhythm to tap away on the pedals. I was fairly happy with the way I'd ridden it and then made the most of the extra few hours of recovery before Stage 3 the next day.

I had been contemplating whether to write anything at all about Stage 3, mainly because there's not much to say as my memory of it is pretty hazy to say the least! No, I hadn't got a temporary bout of amnesia, but such hot temperatures and adrenaline aren't really a good combo for a 124km race!!  Peter (my coach) had taken a day out of his hols to come and support the team (another big thank you) and he was in the team car with Stew for the race, after watching (and laughing) at Stew's creative moment that involved me recreating a photo that a certain Mr Cavendish had once posed for.



So this is where my memory gets a bit fuzzy and other than a few sections of the course, I don't remember much of how the race unfolded other than having to dig very deep to stay with the bunch.  At times there was some sharp braking, at one point causing my neck to click and leave me unable to put my head back.  I guess this served as a distraction from the pain in my legs but made it a very uncomfy ride. I lasted with the bunch up until we hit the finishing circuit, when I dropped back to try and get a bottle from the team car. Little did I know that poor Mary was having a total nightmare of a race, having punctured and then a brutal chase to get back on, only to hit the back of a car after it braked right in front of her. When asked what this was like, Mary's response was "it was just like a bird hitting a window". Thankfully Miss Mary was able to get back on her bike and chase back on to the bunch, albeit a wee bit dazed!  Mary then joined Bricey, who was also having a pretty tough time of it, suffering from multiple cramps and delirium!! Meanwhile I was riding in TT mode round the circuit, receiving updates from Amanda about how far Mary and Amy were up the road.  My ultimate yet misguided wisdom made me think it would be a good idea to chase to join their group, I think delirium had also started to set in and all advice of saving the legs and cruising home forgotten. Eventually I made it up to Mary and Amy, all of 3 miles from the finish. They were greeted with a "hi guys" as I moved through to take a turn on the front, just wanting the race to be over...

Adrenaline is a weird thing. It's great during a race to help push into the red and dig deep, but almost immediately after crossing the finish line its gone, leaving me unable to do much other than roll down towards Stew and pitifully attempt to turn the pedals.  The next wee while is a blur, but apparently the finish area resembled a crash scene with bodies everywhere, me included.  It's safe to say that the whole team put in a monumental effort on that stage !!!  So three stages down, one to go...