Give a Girl the Right Shoes................

I got into cycling about four years ago, I can't remember the date exactly because nothing really matters before that. But basically, I've spent too much time not riding so now I try and make up for it - ever day. I simply decided to give it a go for the occasional short ride with my husband, Chris. Chris did everything he could to encourage this and now he has created a monster. Now I eat, drink and breathe cycling. I time trial, road race, do the odd cyclo sportive and follow the Pro cycling scene. I guess the majority of my friends are competitive cyclists, triathletes, duathletes or Ironmen. Which isn't easy because they are all very good at what they do.

I'm really pleased with how this season has gone. I've achieved some big goals. And I made the classic mistake of racing and riding in the summer and not training after about May, so my season peaked early on this year. I started off with the aim of getting a 1 hour 10 mins for a 25 mile time trial, probably by September this year. I got that in May but didn't quite go as quickly again this year. However, this time knocked 3 minutes of my personal best and there were a pair of white Sidi Ergo's at stake if I hit the 1:10. And as Bette Midler said "give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world".

So over the summer I went on to get my 3rd Category Racing licence. That was a sort of wildest dream achievement so I am really proud of that. I competed in the South East Women's Divisional Road Race Championships against some very good ladies and held my own and the final race of my season was the women's support race at the Tour of Britain. I dropped my chain, got involved in a crash and almost killed myself taking one of the corners too quickly in this big event at Crystal Palace - all in the space of 35 minutes. A steep learning curve but a great experience.

All my birthdays and Christmases came at once in July when 5 of the Tour de France Pro teams were staying at a hotel 3 miles from my house. Not only did I see Team CSC, Barloworld, Caisse d'Epargne and Credit Agricole doing their thing but I got to go out on two training rides with Liquigas. I spent most of those two days pinching myself but I do have the photos to prove it. The week before I did the London to Canterbury sportive which was stage one of the Tour de France so I obviously gave the boys in green a few tips as we rode along. I also got to do some of the big Alpine climbs in September with a cycling holiday to Grenoble. Alpe D'Huez, Col de Telegraph, Col du Galibier, Col de La Croix de Fer, Col du Lautaret, Col d'Ornon all made famous by my sporting heroes of the Tour. So this blog should chart my progress from this year's winter training to next season's goals and beyond.

My first big goal is to complete full distance (259 km) De Ronde next April. Almost half the climbs are cobbled, with big gaps between the pave that can spell disaster. Fortunately the short but monstrously steep climb of the Koppenburg has been left off the menu again next year. So all I have to do between now and April is learn how to climb, learn how to ride cobbles (which isn't easy living in Surrey), learn to ride the two together and learn to spend 10 hours at least in the saddle - simple. Watch this space for Project Flanders. After that I would like to get a 1:08 over 25 miles, improve my 10 mile TT time and try for my 2nd Category Road Race licence. And of course support my team in any way I can as they go for their goals this year.