Lisa's Blog

MOD Chertsey

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:47:00 +0000

MOD Chertsey near Chobham in Surrey

I love racing at Chertsey. Just as well really as I seem to have been there a lot in the last month. After my disappointing TT, I went to Chertsey to race the 3W/4W race on the following Saturday. I was keen to see how I would feel after my last road race in the Women's National Team Series. The Surrey League has put together a series of Women's races using the closed, free from traffic circuit at MOD Chertsey in Surrey. These events are held throughout the year and allow women riders of 4th or 3rd cat level to participate in their own race. The races are Regional C+ and carry points down to 10th place.

In the past, and due to a lack of women's participation generally, race organisers have had no alternative but to group all women together in one big field regardless of category and experience. This has led to less experienced riders getting dropped from the pack early on in a race and therefore ending up riding on their own for the remainder of the event. This is demoralising and the main problem is being deprived of a true racing experience. And who wants to pay £12.00 to ride around on their own! I have had experience of this and you have no opportunity to gain any experience of riding and cornering in a pack, reacting to changes of pace, and trying out a sprint finish.

Here I am tucked in behind Michelle Le Brun from Addiscombe CC

It's great that Surrey League have put together the series to attract more women to the sport. I have to say it seemed to be working at my race in June. 18 girls signed on the start sheet making it the largest field of the series so far. There were enough people to make it an interesting race and Chertsey MOD is demanding enough to make it worthwhile. The pace was certainly quicker than I had experience there before and there were attacks which made it more exciting. I chased every attack but wasn't feeling good enough to work and make anything stick. I came 7th out of the field of 18 so I was fairly OK about the result and I was heading in the right direction again. It was a great race and I really enjoyed it.

I was back at Chertsey for the Surrey League evening handicap a few weeks later for my clubs own promotion. With such a small team we still manage to get enough volunteers for the promotion to allow a couple of us to race. I was the only female rider in the peloton and was set off with the 4th cat men. The rain started as we rolled over the start finish line and it didn't stop for the whole race. I spent a lot of time on my own in the rain but as it was my team's promotion, I wanted to finish and I had lots of cheers from the 'marshals'. No BC points for this one but a Surrey League point for finishing and a bonus point for being first female!

Back to Chertsey on the 10th July for my team's second promotion. This time I was saving my legs for the Saturday women's race at the same venue so I was helping with the promotion. I was lucky enough to drive the commissaire and see one of my team mates get a 4th place.

Last Saturday I did the final 3w/4w race at Chertsey until September. There were 11 ladies signing on this week, again a decent number for this event. It was a windy day and the pace was fairly sedentary. In retrospect I should have forced the pace and seen what happened but I guess I was lacking in confidence to stay away in the wind. Something I lived to regret as the race came to a sprint finish. I couldn't get the wheel I wanted on the last lap and was pretty nervous. In the end the charge for the line came and I got 5th place.

I was hoping for a podium finish at this race so was a little disappointed with 5th. It's about time I won one of these events and I really should have tried and see what happened......

If you can survive there..

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:31:00 +0000

...you can survive anywhere.

My Crystal Palace debut was made on 1st July. I thought I would start the month as I mean to go on. I just needed to get up there and learn the circuit, see it as good experience and become a better rider for it...

It was also the hottest day of the year so far and there was a good atmosphere with spectators and riders sitting on the grass as the junior race began. Riding up to the race helped with the warm up as there was little chance to have a go on the circuit between the junior race and the start of the senior races. I said hi to some of the other girls I knew as I waited to try the circuit. The organisers have given the women a separate race this year which is great, although numbers are quite low.

Me on the Hill

When I did get a couple of warm up laps in, the first great discovery was that the hill that was in the circuit for the Tour of Britain support race last year wasn't part of the Tuesday night Crit circuit. The steeper hill at the Tour of Britain was the scene of me dropping my chain on the first accent and then being brought to a standstill by a crash on the second lap. I kept wondering when we would get to the hill and if it would be as bad as I remembered but it just wasn't there. It's a bit like when I used to walk home from school and wonder if the bully would be waiting in the usual spot. Then suddenly he's not there one day. Bonus!!!

With that gone I only had to tackle the 180 degree 'hairpin' bend. (A few riders actually overshoot this and ride on the grass!); the next 90 degree right hander, a descent and then a sweeping left hand bend between the bushes and trees at the bottom. Get this wrong and you can overshoot and roll down the banking, or even hit a tree. Then finally the 7% climb before the whole thing starts again. Easy really. 1.4km of joy!The 90 degree right hander at Crystal Palace

From what I understand, the ladies race splits almost from the gun. So, I prepared to say goodbye to Charlie Blackman and Jo Munden on the start line and as predicted they went from the gun. I would have liked to stay in for the first few laps in order to watch how they corner etc, as they know the circuit. However I was dropped on the corner by the lake on the first lap. Out of the 7 girls who started one of the other girls, Julia Knox, from Dulwich Paragon was with me and we decided to ride around together. To start with she was stronger than me so I was unable to do many turns on the front. With only 7 girls entering there were points up for grabs so I decided that I would do my best to finish.

Team Scarlett

The circuit itself can be broken down into about 5 sections. Firstly, from about 200m before the start/finish line to the hairpin. This is where the hill eases off and you double back on yourself. This is the easiest bit. Then there is the hairpin. You need to try to get as far to the right as possible, then swing into the corner, clipping the apex making sure that you don't pedal too soon. Then it's basically up to the sharp right hander. This is a deceptive corner, it doesn't look that sharp. But, it's off camber so you have to watch you don't ground your pedals. It is a slower corner than the hairpin. Then you have to get the speed back up into the descent. As you bend right you notice the track disappears away to the left. It's a fast bend, with the E12's going through at about 45km/h and the 3/4s at about 38km/h. But I didn't even think about speed. You need to really cut the bend, almost riding through the bush with your left shoulder. Then as it opens out again be aware the track seems to disappear very quickly as you drift to the right. You could easily end up on the grass here! Then it's one last off camber left hand bend which you can pedal through before the hill starts.

One extra hazard is the sometimes dangerously large group of 3/4s lapping you. What ever happens you have to stay to the edge of the track, and try not to dither. The same applies for the E12's, although as there's less of them and they are much more sensible, with less to prove, they don't swear at you like the 3/4s do or narrowly miss running you off the track! There's really no need for this to happen but I closed my eyes as the 3/4s came far too close, safe in the knowledge that my E12 team mate would kick their ass!

Riding at Palace is much, much harder than racing around Chertsey or even on the road as there is never really any let up in the pace. The corners are really challenging and by the middle of the race there seems to be riders everywhere around the circuit. The Palace circuit is something you just have to keep doing. I know I will have to do it fairly regularly to get the hang of the corners and try to stay in as long as possible. I took all the corners very cautiously in my debut and on some laps they were better than others. My lucky break came when Chris, my husband, who was racing in the 3/4s lapped me and let me sit on his wheel for several laps. I had a great tow and he made me pick up my pace. He even made me sprint past him to the line which was a bit unfair. So because of this I came 6th out of the 7 riders and scored some BC points towards my 2nd cat licence.

The Lake at Crystal Palace Park

Another Bad Day at the Office.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:12:00 +0000

On Tuesday 24 June, following my DNF at the Women's National Team Series, I did my second claim club's 'Jack and Jill' event. I was pretty disappointed with this to say the least and after Sunday's DNF, I was making noises that the bike was going on eBay.

The Jack and Jill is a 2-up time trial event in which one of the riders is male and one is female. The 'Jack', which in my case was fellow Trisportnews.com rider, Dave Palmer, tows Jill around the course in the fastest time possible. It's usually a very social event with all abilities of riders pairing up. The event also ran a Gentleman's 2-Up event and I'm pleased to say Chris came second with his 'Gentelman' Hugh. Again, I wasn't on form and I didn't understand why. I didn't feel ill, I just didn't feel strong enough or quick enough out on the course. I got dropped a couple of times by Dave who hadn't realised I was gone and we came in with a time of 26.29. The trip to Pizza Express following the event numbed some of the disappointment and the following day it was time to focus on the weekend's race at Chertsey.

DNF at the Women's National Team Series

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:02:00 +0000

On Sunday 22nd June I rode for the Surrey League in the third round of the Women's National Team Series at Chobham, close to Chertsey, Surrey. This was to be my second outing for the Surrey League Women's Team, so I was keen to prove my worth. I always get varying degrees of nerves before races but with a team event I feel the extra pressure as I don't want to let the team down.

I arrived at the HQ at our scheduled meeting time, with only one wrong turn. The event was held on the Windlesham circuit, with its unique finishing laps of the smaller Valley End course. We had 10 laps of a larger Windlesham circuit, followed by 3 laps of the shorter circuit to complete. The Surrey League girls got together in the village hall to get issued with our over-sized Surrey League jerseys ready for the race start at 11am. The team rode a warm up lap of both the Windlesham circuit and the Valley End circuit. I knew as soon as I got on the bike that my legs weren't feeling good. It always worries me when I can't account for the way my legs feel. I hadn't over trained. My spin out on the Turbo the day before had been good. The weather was dry and getting sunnier although breezy. But my legs ached and ached. It felt like I had already done the race instead of just doing a recce of the course.

I sat at the back on the fairly subdued warm up and told myself that when my legs have been bad in the past, they always come good. I liked the circuit, it was fairly flat, not too many tight bends and just one climb which lead out of Chobham where the primes were to take place. It wasn't a good sign that I got dropped on this climb in the warm up, not by much but enough to show that I wasn't going to go too well today. Following the race brief and me telling myself my legs would come good the 40 strong peleton rolled out of the HQ car park to start the race. There was no sign of my fan club who were riding down from Reigate to watch the race. It's funny how I'm never short of male supporters at any women's road races. Hmmmm.

On the first lap I started to feel pretty rough. I felt queasy, very hot and started to have chills, oh, and my legs still ached. I never really got a good position in the pack either. I was towards the back and kept telling myself I had to get a better position but there didn't seem to be a way to get through. After a first lap in which the peloton stayed together, and cheers from my three Trisportnews team mates, who had made it down in time (including my husband, Chris) among the spectators, the first digs were made. We climbed the hill leading out of Chobham, there was a power surge and I was gone! The surge also proved a bit too much for the non-climbers, so a few people were off the back with me on the second lap. I got together with a QCP rider who seemed willing for the two of us to work for the rest of the race.

Usually, I will never ever not finish a race. Even if I am miles off the back in the pouring rain. Oh yes, there might be some thoughts of stopping and a few tears even, but I always try to finish. Today, however, I just didn't feel up to it. So all the build up, excitement, the team, the guys riding down to watch and the fact that I had just found a surprise present in my helmet case didn't help. Two laps and I packed. It's horrible going back to an empty car park, the race is still going on and if you feel slightly better (just because you have stopped) you wonder why you couldn't go on. I started to get the shakes in the car park so things weren't right. My head was so hot but I couldn't get warm. I eventually got changed and hooked up with Chris, Dave and Nick, apologising that they had ridden down for nothing. I watched the girls complete a couple of laps before being driven home for a lie down.

The race was won by Rachel Osborn (Newport Shropshire CC). The podium was completed by Dorothea Cockerell (Twickenham CC) and my team mate, Rebecca Curley (Surrey League/London Dynamo). Surrey League Women's Team are leading the series (with no help from me today but some great riding from the other girls)

It was a bad day in the office for me and not one I'm going to dwell on.

Ah Summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 20:01:00 +0000

Q: How do you know it's summer if you are a South East Road Racer?
A: Crystal Palace Crits are cancelled due to rain.

My cycling seems to be dominated by the weather lately with the bank holiday weekend being a write off and evening riding being interrupted by the rain. I haven't raced since the Women's Regional Champs where I came 12th as I have got back into some training and technique work ready for the second part of this month. I'm doing lots of intervals at the moment on the road or the turbo so I'm feeling quite tired. The sessions hurt but I like them. It's nice to have something to think about. I've finally got my provisional calendar together for the rest of the season and it looks very packed kicking off next Tuesday with a 10 mile TT organised by my second claim club, Addiscombe CC. One of my goals this year is to get a PB over 10 miles but to be honest, road racing has taken precedent this year and so far I have only done one TT which was back at the end of April. I'm therefore not sure how the 10 will go and it's probably my worst distance. It's anyone's guess, but the evening 10s are fairly social events in a 'safe' environment.

I was hoping to make my Crystal Palace debut on Tuesday night but rain stopped play for the second week on the trot. In fact, I don't think there has been a race there since my team mate, Adam got a great result coming 7th in the E,1,2 race a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't had much luck on or off the bike since then so maybe we'll both be lucky on our next visit to Palace. There will be a separate women's race which should present an excellent opportunity for good racing for women of all cats. I personally am not expecting to stay in for my first race there as it's a technical circuit and not for the faint hearted. The circuit is apparently tighter than the one used for my first and only race there, the Tour of Britain support race, last September.

On Saturday a group of us headed up to the Smithfield Nocturne in London to see the British riders Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas taking on the home based riders such as Dean Downing, Tony Gibb, and Chris Newton (a particular favourite of mine). I missed the event last year but I'd heard it's pretty spectacular. And it certainly was. Geraint Thomas won the elite event and was in a small breakaway, which included Dean Downing and Rob Hayles. Now part of the British Cycling National Circuit Series, the elite criterium was the second race in this year's competition, featuring racing on a closed 1 km, extremely technical circuit for one hour plus five laps. The speeds were really something else and to be so close up to the riders was really exciting. The race kicked off at speed and only got quicker towards the end. A huge effort by Dean Downing who wanted to win his Rapha sponsored event but it wasn't do be, with Thomas just having the edge fresh from the Giro d'Italia. There was also the Cycling Weekly support race in which I recognised a few familiar faces from Surrey League through the bottom of my beer glass.

Next Thursday, my team are fulfilling our obligation to Surrey League by promoting our first event at Chertsey, part of the Surrey League handicap series. Hopefully, if enough of us turn out to marshal I should be able to get a ride. I've never done a handicap at Chertsey so it will be interesting, if not trouser filling, to say the least. Fourth cats are notorious for crashing at Chertsey and as a woman I will undoubtedly be set off with them.

After a quiet first week, congratulations to Alberto Contador (a particular favourite of mine) for wining the Giro. Now please somebody let him rightfully defend his TDF title. Cav did the Brits proud and Ricco's comments caused amusement. The Dauphine starts today so all eyes on the Tour contenders.

SE Region Women's Championships

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Mon, 26 May 2008 21:00:00 +0000

I'm late with this update as life has somehow got in the way in the past week but last Saturday, 16th May, I raced in the South East Regional Women's Road Race Championships. The race was 42 miles over 7 laps of the flattish Ellen's Green circuit in Surrey, a course which was going to suit someone with sprinting talents. I did this race a year ago as a last minute decision to see how I fared. I got 19th place out of a field of 22 or 23 so this year I wanted to improve on that.

After a few laps of the circuit the previous weekend with my team mate, Adam, and practicing a few corners too (and also finding a decent pub for my mini fan club to watch the race), I felt I could at least hang in with the peloton as long as I got my positioning right. A small field of only 17 started the race which was a little disappointing for the organisers but it had quality riders with 1st cat Charlotte Blackman of London Dynamo supported by 2 other London Dynamo riders and also last years champion, Jo Munden of VC Meudon. I'd ridden with the Dynamo girls a few weeks earlier at Bedford as part of the Surrey League Women's Team so I knew there would be some tactics and some fast, fast riding.

I was still surprised though when the attacks started on the first lap and to be honest I wasn't expecting it to go that soon. I kept myself near the front but I was worn down by the constant sprinting out of corners. I have to say my cornering was definitely better today but I got myself in a poor position into one corner and by the time the field had sprinted out of it I was out the back. I tried to get back on but just didn't have the strength. When the race split on the 2nd lap there was a front group of 8 riders and they piled on the pressure and opened up an ever growing gap on the rest of us remaining riders. I quickly formed a chase group with three other girls and we worked a very drilled, efficient through and off for several laps. Our group was then joined by Rebecca Curley of London Dynamo who had punctured and worked very hard to catch our group. Rebecca soon did her share of the work as we pounded on, efficiently working through and off. We were told that we were about 40 seconds behind two girls who had been dropped by the main group so our new goal was to catch them.

Rebecca was strong and I stayed on her wheel, coming through when I could. We dropped two of the girls from our group and replaced them with the two girls we caught from the main group with a lap or so to go, at which point we lost the rhythm of the through and off. Rebecca told me she was going to attack on a particular corner of the final lap and that I should go with her if I could. I tried but failed. She was just too strong for me. So we were back to 4 again for the final lap. I have to admit it wasn't very organised. On the run in two girls passed me on the fast, straight, run up to the finish and I came in in 12th position. I had hoped for a top 10 finish but I don't think I could have ridden any harder and viewing the race as a whole I was pleased with how I had ridden.

We were pulled from the race to allow the main field behind us to have a clear run in to the finish line so I got to spectate the dramatic sprint finish. First year U23, Emma Patterson of Agiskoviner.com sprinted from the 8 rider lead group which had gone away on the 2nd lap. But on the line Michelle Le Brun of Addiscombe seemed to get blocked as she crossed the finish and had nowhere to go. The result was a finish line crash which engulfed her along with Charlie Blackman. The two of them fell heavily and their bikes flew in front of them causing a few spectators to run for cover, me included. Amazingly, after attendance from the paramedics they thankfully both walked away from the crash. It's the first crash I've witnessed in a women's race and it wasn't nice to see at all. With everyone on their feet we headed back to the HQ for the prize presentation.

The event was really well organised and it was a shame about the low entry numbers. Thanks to Chris and Neil who came to support me. I was really tired at the end of this race which marked the end of a big period of racing for me in the first half of May. I have 15 BC points which is more I got in the whole of last year so my plan to do more road racing this season is definately going in the right direction. This is the most I have raced so early in the season and I'm returing to training now for a few weeks. I need to increase my watts and work on that sprinting and cornering. My next major event is the Women's Team Series at Twickenham in June when I will be riding once again for Surrey League, although I'm also hoping to make my debut at Crystal Palace next month.

First Podium of the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:08:00 +0000

Following my three stages in two days at Bedford last weekend I had Tuesday and Wednesday off before entering an evening handicap at Nutfield on Thursday. Like a lot of evening handicaps I was the only female rider but I wanted to see how I would fare with the guys following my two days of hard racing with the ladies. I know half the course well but the other half was twisty and again, I was let down by my cornering. I finished a disappointing last and thought I might just as well stick with time trialling after spending £12 for the pleasure of riding round on my own for most of the race. I got a Surrey League point for finishing but it was little compensation on this occasion.

Saturday at Chertsey was a different story however. I was a little tired but I was eager to race with the women again and on a fairly straight forward and familiar circuit. The race was competitive in parts and I had to stay alert to any attacks. I had one dig off the front early on to test the water but the group came up behind me and there was little point in me hanging out in front. I rode a sensible race and kept in the front four or five riders. On the final lap, just before the hill I dug in and two of us got to the top first. After that dig we didn't look back. Four of us came out on to the finishing straight and I time trialled it to the finish line getting third place by half a bike length. Finally, from 5 races in 6 days I finally had a result and 7 BC points.

My next road race is the Women's Divisional Road Race Championships at Ellen's Green this Saturday. It will be a competitive field and a tough race if the standard I saw at Bedford is anything to go by. I have had a couple of rides around the course now so I have no excuse that I don't know what to expect. I'll be taking it fairly easy this week but keep the legs turning over.

Bedford Report

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:23:00 +0000

This bank holiday I took part in the second round of the Women's Team Series held in Bedfordshire over three stages, proudly racing for the Surrey League Women's Team (although the jersey was somewhat large).

Fifty plus women started the event on Sunday and I was racing with some of the best women in the UK, including pro riders and first cats as well as 2/3/4 and juniors. I knew this weekend would be a baptism of fire for me and it certainly didn't disappoint. I have never been is such a big field of riders on the road and I was the most nervous I have ever been (even more than at the start of Flanders).

Day 1

Stage 1 on Sunday morning was the Team Time Trial which was won by Belgium based Global-Swift who put 42 seconds into the next two teams - Team Luciano-Kuota and FatBirds Cycling Club who tied for second. Unfortunately, getting the first stage over and done with by late morning really didn't cure my nerves and I felt quite sick in the afternoon from all the energy gels, drinks and food I had to get down between stages. The whole experience was brand new to me and it's hard to judge how much to eat and how your body will react to fuelling and re-fuelling for two stages in one day.

After the first lap of the afternoon stage I was ready to quit. I have never experienced riding like this. Breaking into corners, riding on the wrong side of narrow country lanes. I was surprised nobody was pulled over for this or even worse, hit by a car. I know of a local race that was stopped recently for much less indiscretion. The group that did ride on the right had side of the road pulled back into the bunch when vehicles approached forcing us to brake to let them in or be forced off the road. I was dropped on the climb which went up to the finish. I managed to get back on but was dropped again after a left hand corner and the sprint out. This was poor group positioning on my part despite being told to stay in the top 20. My excuse is lack of experience and fear (and I really need to work on my cornering). However, our rider, Susannah Osborne, defeated Elite rider Helen Wyman in the sprint and Surrey League Women's Team won stage 2. That evening I was grateful we were staying in Bedford and I could just go back to the room and lie down. It was a great excuse to do nothing.

Day 2

The race moved on to Millbrook Test Track just north of Amptill (Bedfordshire) for stage 3 for an 11am start on Bank Holiday Monday. The temperatures were already in the 20's and at last there were no decisions about whether to wear arm warmers, knee warmers or take a waterproof. I rode the 3 miles by myself to the start along the lanes and felt quite optimistic as summer really did feel like it had arrived!

Millbrook test track is quite something, it's a huge, awesome area with a banked speed oval and in the short time we were there it felt like a special circuit. It was twisty and hilly measuring 9 kilometres with a 7% climb and a 14% climb (the Horseshoe). Luckily for me the 21 per cent climb was not used this year but I have to confess when I saw it in the distance on the warm up lap I thought we were going to have to race up it!

The race began quietly and we were all together as we passed under a bridge on the circuit. Our rider and Round one winner, Charlotte Blackman, attacked over the climb and for me the race split apart. I chased on the descent to catch a Welland rider just ahead of me so I at least had some company. We were later joined by a third rider and we worked well together to the finish. With 13 minute laps being knocked out by the girls, there were riders spread out over the circuit and we passed some riders who had DNF'd so it was encouraging that we were still going and going to finish. My team mate, Naomi Anderson, crashed heavily during the stage and had to abandon via A&E. She is OK now, thank goodness. Charlotte's breakaway didn't last as the rest caught up to her and it was a bunch gallop to the finish after 7 laps of the course.

It was a determined race by everyone on a tough course and a fantastic example of how good the standard is in women's road racing. I felt really privileged to ride in that event and although I didn't set the world on fire I'm proud of my first experience of that level of racing. I didn't DNF and I didn't come in last. I'm more motivated than ever to train harder and iron out all the flaws in my race technique that are holding me back right now.

Thanks to my team mates who I only met on the day. They were a pleasure to ride with and always encouraging. Thanks to Chris for driving me up to Bedford and for being our team manager, mechanic, Soigneur, etc for the weekend. Thanks to Adam for riding up from Epsom to see the stage on Monday, his race tips, arriving on time, and shouting me up the climbs.

2 Days of Bedford

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:12:00 +0000

This coming Sunday and Monday sees me take part in the only women's stage race in the country. I will be making my debut for the Surrey League Women's team in the Women's Team Race Series (Round 2). The Women's Team Race Series is unique in that, as the name suggests, it is for teams of riders with no individual riders and features the only women's team time trial.

I will be competing against elite, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th cat riders and one of the big names to mention are Swift Global team who have Helen Wyman as team leader. Charlotte Blackman (Surrey League) who has organised this year's Surrey League team won the first Women's Team Series event at Nottingham a couple of weeks ago. She attacked what was left of the main field with three kilometres to win the race on her own. Really impressive riding and so in my debut race I am also supporting the current series leader. No pressure then!

Women's Series Road Race Round 1 Report

Day 1 starts in the morning with the 9.7 km team time trial. In the afternoon we have an 80km road race which includes a hill competition and sprint competition. Sounds just like the Pro Tour so far. If I survive day one then day two (stage 3) is an 85 kilometre circuit race around Millbrook vehicle testing track and that is the major stage. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive. This will be the toughest and most high profile event I have ever done and as it gets nearer it's difficult to focus on much else. But at the same time I am really looking forward to it. It will be the most amazing experience and I will learn a lot and have to be prepared to work harder than I ever have before. I'm really looking forward to racing as part of a team and racing as part of an all women's team for the Surrey League is even better.

Since Flanders I raced at MOD Chertsey in the women's 3rd and 4th category race. The race was pretty comfortable and I came 6th, so bagged my first British Cycling points of the season.

I did a 25km time trial on Sunday around what I would describe as my 'home' course and did a course PB. Two minutes off my 25 PB but still quicker than at the same time last year by about 3 minutes, so not a bad ride for the first 25 of the season. Obviously it would have been nice to amaze myself and pull out a PB but I didn't do too badly. It was just great to ride at 7.30 in the morning in a short sleeve jersey and shorts. I'd forgotten what that feels like. It was also great because I was wearing my new design team jersey which I have to say looks really professional.

The Women's Team Series begins a busy month of racing for me which includes the Women's Divisional Road Race Champs at Ellen's Green in Sussex, another Chertsey race, a couple of TTs and maybe even a Crystal Palace Summer Series race. Maybe summer will finally arrive too...

Well and Truely Flandered!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:35:00 +0000

After not much sleep on Friday night it was still dark when I went down for breakfast at 6.30 on Saturday morning. I'd woken up every hour remembering Jimmy Casper crashing on the cobbles last year in the Gent-Wevelgem after a film I saw that day at the Flanders Museum. I'd been fairly OK up to then nerve wise.

There had been rain over night but it wasn't raining when we arrived at the Market Square in Brugge to get our numbers checked for the start. With various delays our 7.00am start became more like an 8.00am departure. I had one of the worst attacks of nerves I've ever had standing in the cold at the start and noticing that there were hardly any women at all doing the full distance event. Perhaps they knew something I didn't! Between the start line in Brugge and the finish line in Meerbeke lay 259 kilometres of some of the toughest roads of northern Belgium. In addition to this, we were required to negotiate seventeen of the regions toughest climbs, the hellingen that make the Tour of Flanders so special.

Trisportnews.com set off as a group and to be honest nothing much seemed to happen in the first 50km to the feed stop apart from a few showers and a touch of wheels that didn't seem to cause any harm. And I lost my check card while getting some food out my pocket which my team mate, Adam, somehow managed to miraculously retrieve from goodness knows how far back down the road. Nobody thought I would ever see it again, or Adam for that matter.

But by the second feed stop I was thoroughly soaked through and cold and it was this that killed off my chances of finishing. Even when it wasn't raining the surface water just kicked up from the back wheels. My head ached from the spray, my fingers were painful with cold and my feet were soaked through. Our group had split by now and I was with Chris and Steve as we crossed the border into Wallonia and hit the first climb, the Kluisberg, at 99km from the start. We actually cheered when we saw the sign for the climb. Flanders had really begun. 1250m of asphalt with an average gradient of 5.3% and a maximum gradient of 13%. A pussy cat. This is the first time it's been climbed from this side. It's usually much later in the race too. It's longer up this side and a much more even gradient. At the top of climb which wasn't difficult at all there was yet another feed stop.

This is where Chris and I lost Steve as he ploughed on and I stopped to wring the water out my gloves in Kluisbergen. At this point we were in a shop doorway shaking with the cold. It was scary to see Chris so cold and not being able to text Steve because his fingers didn't work. We decided to take a detour to find a cafe which had some bikes outside (people had already given up, a lot of them locals) to get some hot coffee and warm up a little. After the third checkpoint we came to climb 5, the cobbled Oude Kwaremont and this is where I gave up.

This stretch of cobbles seemed to go on forever at 2200m and an average gradient of 4%. My head felt like it was going to separate from my spinal cord. There were quite a few people lining the route but even this and the caricatures of the local favourites at the side of the road didn't make me want to carry on. The weather had broken my spirit and I hated the cobbles and just wanted to be out of it. It's not my ideal way to pack; no team car by the side of the road just a 60km ride back to Ninove for the car without a map. Another downpour, a stop for a puncture and some cyclo cross over a road that was being dug up added to our enjoyment on this last stretch. My cleat also got so full of mud that I couldn't clip in for the last 30km. We got back to the car at about 5.30 and went to the finish village to wait for our guys to come in. It was a long wait, with the final two rolling in when it was almost dark.

So after a couple of days of feeling disappointed, mixed with relief that it's all over after a long time in the pipeline it's a bit crap to be the only one who didn't finish. I sort of always thought I would. The funny thing is that the distance was never a problem. I did 200km in the end and I wasn't that tired. I wasn't prepared for the rain and the cold and had been lulled into a false sense of security after seeing Chris complete the event last year in the 20 degree sunshine. And the cobbles were just something else. I hated them and I think they hated me.

The worst part is that I will have to go back next year to put it to bed. But that's a long way off. I now have my racing season to concentrate on, which kicked off at Chertsey yesterday with a respectable 6th place in the women's race and 4 BC points. Next I have a 25 mile time trial at the end of the month and a full race programme for May, including a two day stage race in the Women's National Team Series for Surrey League and the Women's South East Regional Road Race Champs.

If it's Saturday it must be De Ronde.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:43:00 +0000

So here I am. Project Flanders seemed such a long way off at the end of last year, just like the finish in Ninove. Most of the team leaves today for Belgium with a few others joining us tomorrow. We're all doing the full 260km.

But the big day is on Saturday and I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be. There is always that extra ride that you could have squeezed in but it's too late now and I'm on an easy training week. My training bike has been stripped down and rebuilt and acquired somewhat larger gearing ratio. Lets just say if I need the bottom gear I'm in a lot of trouble and it's probably already too late. The weather forecast is not that great for Saturday so we'll see what happens on the day. It's a long time to be out there if it rains not to mention the state the cobbles will be in. I'm stupidly excited about the event and that has been mixed with a few restless nights wondering what the hell I've let myself in for. I can't remember who said it but it seems appropriate for this occasion "You don't need good luck in this race, you just don't need any bad luck".

I'm looking forward to standing on a berg on Sunday with a Juliper and watching how quickly the Pro's fly across the cobbles knowing it's all over. Knowing if I made it or not. The event is going to be a real line in the sand for me and I'm looking forward to concentrating on racing again. My race schedule is planned for April and May and I received great news last night that I'm racing for the Surrey League Women's Team in May at a two day stage race. This is a great opportunity for me to get loads of experience and work for a women's only team. I really have something to aim for when I get back.

But my final thought as I leave for Belgium is this 'nothing can ever, ever prepare you for the cobbles'.

Snow and Falling Trees

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Last Easter I was in Belgium standing on a Berg watching the pro's race across the cobbles in the sunshine. It was 22 degrees on that Sunday. This Easter my race was cancelled due to ice on the course at Dunsfold Park. I guess you know your race is going to get cancelled when the Boeing 747 in the middle of the course almost disappears because of the snow shower that's falling.

This weekend was cycling all the way supporting my team mate, Adam, in the Surrey League Easter 3 day and racing in the women's support race at Dunsfold Park on Sunday. Sunday's race for me had an added incentive as I have signed up to join the Surrey League women's team to race the Women's National Team Series. At the moment the women's team is oversubscribed which is a real positive step for women's racing in the South East. I wasn't that sure how I would go as my legs haven't felt good all week after my soaking on the Hastings ride and they only really came good yesterday. But it would have been nice to find out.

So I didn't really rack up the miles this weekend as on Saturday I did a few laps of the Milland Hill circuit to save my legs for Sunday's race that never happened. The weather played havoc with the Easter 3 day. The third cat's raced on Saturday morning on the Milland Hill circuit in strong, gusty winds and snow showers but in the afternoon the 1/2/3 race was cut short when a tree fell on the course. On Sunday the 3rds race was cancelled along with my race and the 4th cat men's race due to ice on the course. Yesterday morning's 3rd cat race went ahead in the freezing cold on the Lingfield circuit but the afternoon stage for the 1/2/3s was cancelled due to various problems, including the weather. But despite the weather and the disruption Adam finished in the top 10 on GC and gained his 2nd cat licence. So a big well done cause he really deserved it, and I still owe him a beer!

This Sunday I have the Sussex CA (2up TTT) in which I'm partnering my favourite wind break, Dave P. It's a hilly course and having driven it a couple of years ago I vowed never to ride it! And in less than two weeks I have Flanders. I think I said I would never do that either. Typical female.

Battle Commando

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:45:00 +0000

Tell me why two people using a page ripped out of an atlas and no particular idea of a route set out to Hastings at 7.30 am on a wet Sunday in March! To watch the 2008 Hastings Half Marathon of course - which we missed - but what else? Because neither of us would admit that we no longer fancied it -maybe? And because we were only going one way - yes and we needed to get another 100 kms in for De Ronde - definitely. Neil was already wet when he arrived at my house from 5 miles away but that didn't seem to put us off and it probably should have done. We knew we would have warm, dry clothes waiting for us in the car at Hastings. Obviously the marketing on Gortex really does work. We set off at about 7.45 in the end and arrived in the middle of Hastings at about 11.45.

We were supposed to be in Hastings for about 11.30, an hour into the Half Marathon. It was a war of attrition and appropriate that we were heading for Battle. By Ashdown Forest I knew we'd made a mistake but I didn't like to say anything that would make Neil feel like I was losing it. The forest was eerily quiet (and wet). Every time the map came out it disintegrated more and more and became papier mache. Almost time to start getting the toys out the pram at the point where our excursion down a road on the map turned out to be a bridlepath with more potholes than my Easton EA90-SLXs would like to mention and Neil saying something about it being good Flanders training as he rode away. The toys coming out is not an unheard of occurrence, just one of the things about me my team mates know and love. At this point we were outside Uckfield and decided to get on the A22 to get back on track, ending up on the Maresfield 25 TT course. Another scene of pain. We were outside Uckfield for a very long time because we kept seeing signs that said it was 5 miles away and we never seemed to get any closer.

I was't aware that Battle and Back has the reputation as a hardcore ride. There were lumpy bits followed by downhill bits, then by more lumpy bits and a couple of nasty bits. The colder I got the slower I got too. The uphills were never quite long enough to get warm and the downhills made you even colder. Arriving in Hastings we were starving, soaking wet and freezing cold and there were no signs of anybody or anything to do with the Half Marathon. "You'll pick the signs up from outside Hastings" they said, "it's so well signposted to the parking" they said. "We are on the second car park with the grass on it!" 45 minutes later we found the car with all our warm clothes in it after stopping to ask directions several times and phoning for directions even more times. We were even more starving, soaking wet and freezing cold by now, I'd started to vibrate from the cold. We stopped at a junction to ask for final directions. There were three alternatives from that junction, straight on at sea level, turn around and go back at sea level, the sea itself or climb Hastings' equivalent of the Mur de Huy. When Neil came back with the directions I knew from the look on his face that the car park was up the bloody climb. I don't know why he should find this amusing.

Lots of things went through my head on that ride. I didn't take enough food, I didn't drink enough en route, I didn't wear enough clothes to keep my core warm and I wouldn't do Flanders if it was this wet on 5th April. I can't say it was an enjoyable ride yesterday but we just had to get there I guess. There was no bail out.

Ham, egg, chips and beer helped in Battle on the way home. But the final insult had to be having to get changed in the back of the car in the centre of Battle and losing my pants somewhere. While the guys were showing me their finishers medals (and impressive times they got too) I was looking for a hairbrush and underwear in the back of a damp car. Is it only the Italians who make cycling look glamorous!

Not an ideal start to the week.

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:00:00 +0000

After racking up the miles at the weekend I had to visit A & E with the pain in my ribs on Monday morning. The pain had become unbearable by Sunday night and I haven't slept properly for almost a week. I thought it would be quicker to visit out patients than wait to see my doctor, who might just send me along there anyway. However, apparently this is no longer how it's done. After waiting for a while and being assessed I was told that I should have gone to my doctor first and had to wait while the nurse got me an appointment with my own GP. I really wasn't impressed. I mentioned the fact that what if my doctor sent me back to A & E (this has happened to me in the past) and I was informed that it was a possibility. Eventually I was told that there were no appointments available with my own doctor that day (I could have told them that) and I should wait to be seen by someone at A & E. I was confused to say the least.

However, I was seen by a lovely nurse who, after a long examination, informed me that I had a soft tissue injury in my rib cage. The treatment is rest, prescription strength pain-killers, anti-inflammatory drugs and avoiding activities that aggravate the injury, such as sport. It can take anything up to 12 weeks for a soft tissue injury to heal so I must have returned to training too soon after my bout of flu, which caused the sore ribs in the first place. I didn't mention to the nurse that I had ridden to Brighton and back at the weekend.

I'm taking a couple of days off training to rest and see what happens but I expect to be back on the bike sometime this week and out on the road at the weekend. I'm sure if I keep going along sensibly without losing too much fitness, the Belgian cobbles will sort me out one way or the other. I'm really getting excited about Flanders now and I'm also excited about getting back to some proper racing after the big event.

Telegraph, Galibier, Ditchling Beacon..

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:27:00 +0000

Brighton for Breakfast. Well not quite, but a 7.15am Grand Depart did mean that, in true Hobbit style, I was ready for my second breakfast when we got to Cafe Nero in Brighton yesterday at 10.30. Another windy Saturday in Surrey and West Sussex mean't that the weather wasn't as conducive as we hoped when we decided to do Brighton and back at lunchtime in different, warmer Cafe Nero during the week. I have to confess that my only two attempts at Ditchling Beacon have failed.

Walking on the first occasion and stopping for a rest the second time about a year later. So 'the Beacon' has always been in my mind as something I haven't managed to conquer in my cycling career. Ditchling Beacon is the third-highest point on the South Downs in south-east England with the ascent rising from 90 metres above sea level to the summit at 248 metres in just over 1.6 kilometres (one mile). I approached the bottom mentally ticking off the the climbs I've done since my last visit to Ditchling Beacon; Passo dello Stelvio, Madonna di Campiglio, Passo Pordoi, Telegraph, Galibier, Alpe d'Huez, Col de la Croix de Fer...

I was pretty confident I'd be OK this time.

It's not a pleasant climb up to Ditchling as the gradient changes and you can't get into any particular rhythm, but I did keep wondering when that one, really awful bit was coming. Luckily they must have moved it on this occasion. I just hope they haven't moved it to Belgium for next month.

The weather was very grim at the top with strong winds and drizzle. Waterproofs went on at the summit and we proceeded in a gale the 4km to decend into Brighton. Almost at the sea front, Chris picked up a nail in his rear wheel, but as that was the only puncture of the day for 5 riders, we couldn't really complain. Devil's Dyke on the way home was more grim than Ditchling had been with a chilly cross wind and thick drizzle. But we had a good ride and clocked up another 152 kms worth of Flanders training. Being tired at the end of the ride, the inevitable crossed my mind. It would take another 100km on top of what I had just done to complete De Ronde in about 3 weekend's time. But I clocked up another 65km on Sunday with tired and sore legs, sore ribs and a late night on Saturday.

My two turbo sessions this week have gone very well. I have done some intervals sessions and my watts have been higher than before Christmas. Unfortunately, my ribs are still hurting and I wasn't able to do any run or weights sessions last week. I guess it will be a trip to the GP if they don't improve soon.

Does What it Says on the Tin

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:10:00 +0000

The CTC Hilly 50K does what it says on the tin. It is 50km if you start at Ryka's Cafe car park, finish at Box Hill car park - and it is hilly. Even some of the roads leading to the hills are hilly. The 'tin' doesn't say hilly and windy, but as anyone who ventured out into the Surrey lanes on Saturday knows, it was very windy.

So there I was on Friday afternoon thinking about Saturday's club run when an email pops up from my team mate, Neil, asking if I fancy doing the CTC hilly 50K route on Saturday. As hills are now my friends after getting back from Mallorca and as there were a couple of hills on the CTC route that I had yet to do, I thought it would be ideal Flanders training. Especially as I have now officially entered De Ronde, the full 260km route that it. Oh yes! Even the hotel and ferry are booked.

So we set off to Box Hill into a head wind on Saturday morning and clocked up 100km by the end. I was determind to get up over all the climbs but I was very apprehensive about White Down Hill, an 18% climb with a nasty reputation. I've done Ranmore Hill a few times now and Leith Hill and Holmbury Hill. As well as being a White Down 'virgin' I've had problems with Friday Street in the past but not on Saturday. White Down isn't nice I have to say but it didn't kill me.

All hills were completed and we finished with the ZigZag at Box Hill in the sunshine. The most interesting stretch was Logmore Lane which had a few stretches where the road surface had been completely removed with no warning. A whole new off road section, in fact. Well, it was Flanders training after all.

Now Sunday's ride, that was a different story all together!

First Race Done and Dusted

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:22:00 +0000

Today, I did my first road race since last September and the first of 2008. I have to say I didn't set the world on fire. I got back from nine days in Mallorca last Sunday with some renewed strength and a big bag of confidence (reports to follow). I knew there was a women's race at Chertsey on 24th February and had it in the back of my mind while I was away. If someone had said to me 5 weeks ago when I had flu that I would be up for an early season race at Chertsey I would have laughed, but today I got the race bike out and hit the circuit.

An early start for a 10.00 am race as Chris and I set out a bit earlier to collect our DS for the morning, Adam. We arrived at Quinteq just before 9.00 and I signed on for the women's cat 3/4 race and Chris for the men’s 4th cat. It was good to be back at Chertsey again after the fears at the end of last year that the land would be sold and there would be no more racing there. It was good to see people in the car park getting their bikes out and preparing to race. It's only February but soon the season will be in full swing and the familiar faces will be back on the racing circuit. It was also good to see our Surrey League organisers back after a winter break.

There were about 20 ladies in my race. The first couple of laps were just a warm up with some controlled through and offing. Unfortunately, I missed the major move of the race and got detached from the bunch. The group was riding at a reasonable pace but my bunch positioning was poor and when I tried to get back on I'd hit the back straight and a head wind. Positioning is something I'll get used to as time goes by. So as my team mate who won at Upavon last weekend tells me "watch for the gaps to open, look who's strong and who's not. And be on the strong girls' wheels'."

So I wasn't strong enough to bridge the gap and I teamed up with an Agisko Viner rider to work with for the rest of the race. We had about 5 laps to go by now. On the last lap I launched my attack on the Chertsey 'hill' on the back straight. I knew I had been stronger than my competitor on the hill so I went for it. I stayed away for a bit but she eventually caught me on the back straight and I couldn't push the pedals hard enough when it really mattered. She passed me on the line and beat me by a tyre's width.

So, the first race is done and dusted. Work to do, but certainly not a disaster. I need to train to my weaknesses and race to my strengths. It's not something I have done in training so it's not just gonna happen in one race but at least acceleration is something that I can train for. It was great to be racing again and I have two things to think about in the coming weeks.

1. bunch positioning/anticipation

2. acceleration/explosive power

Next weekend I'll be getting down to some serious long rides for "Operation Flanders".

Welcome Back 'Cipo'

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:30:00 +0000

OK, so I should be blogging about my recent training camp in Mallorca but love him or hate (and I'm in the former category) one of the best things that's happened in cycling for a long time is that Mario Cipollini is back racing. Ok, so I guess he will only be around long enough to pay off his tax bill, show off a few outfits and entertain a few podium girls but frankly, I don't care!

After all the rumours and the will he or won't he, he's back and holding his own with the big boys. This weekend in the Tour of California prologue, after arriving at the start in a Rolls Royce and with body guards, 'Cipo' was six seconds in front of Betinni and 8 seconds faster than Oscar Friere. At 41 he still looks like an athlete and went on to bag a podium spot behind Tom Boonen and Heinrich Haussler on Stage 2.

There has been some speculation on exactly what make and model 'Cipo' is riding as it's certainly not the Rock Racing team issue De Rosa. In fact, he has gone for Shimano Dura-Ace rather than Campagnolo Record and Lightweight deep carbon wheels instead of the other riders'. The frame is covered in Cipollini decals and even his helmet is a Specialized rather than LAS. He is getting a lot of coverage on cyclingnews.com at the moment and that can only be a good thing.

Welcome back 'Cipo'...mediocrity is dead...for a little while anyway...

Watts Down, Stress Levels Up

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:31:00 +0000

Nine weeks and counting...

I think I'm finally better apart from sore ribs (pulled from all that coughing this month) but the watts are down. I haven't been able to do a weights session yet this year as my ribs are too sore. Of course Ibuprofen helps with the pain but it's not recommended for asthmatics. Can't seem to win at the moment.

And now I've been reminded that it's nine weeks to the Tour of Flanders. Not a good situation to be in at the moment as I really should have the watts up and be getting some long, hilly rides in. Last weekend's riding was OK. I managed 90km on Saturday but I'm not up to speed yet.

On Sunday I had my first proper experience of mountain biking with a 30km ride. My old Specialized Rockhopper frame from about 1997 has been revamped with new forks and disc brakes in order for me to get some "off road" experience in preparation for Le Ronde. Although, I'm often reminded that nothing prepares you for the cobbles! Off road is scary, so is having a triple and so is having mud in my cleats. But my old frame looks pretty and I'll do some commuting on it as soon as it gets a bit lighter in the evenings. I haven't gone to the 'dark side' yet but I did enjoy my experience and will definitely be trying it again. Maybe this time with fewer stops to stare at the mud and announce 'I can't ride through that!'

One week tomorrow and I'm off to Majorca for nine days to get some long rides in and follow the 5 day Pro Race, the Vuelta Mallorca. I'm really looking forward to escaping the cold to the spring like conditions and almond blossom, oh and Alberto Contador. I guess a photo of me in team kit with Conti should satisfy the sponsors for the year.....

15 mph and Gaining....

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:23:00 +0000

Well, I took my first trip out on the bike last Saturday since 27th December. I don't think my doctor would have recommended it so soon after just getting upright but psychologically it was so nice to get back on my bike and into my Saturday morning routine that I think that outweighed any consequences there could have been. Bikes in the car and a short drive with my super-domestique allowed me to hook in with my local club run. I race for Trisportnews.com (which is our name this season) but I'm still a second claim member of my first and only cycling club, ACC.

When I first joined ACC as a complete novice I started off with managing to hang on to the 15 mph group most of the time. ACC accommodates all speeds from 15 mph to the racing group, which is usually in excess of 21 mph. Most people start in the 15's and I was no exception. In fact, I stayed in there for about a year on and off but I generally go out now with the 18 mph group or the 17's if I'm looking for an easier ride. I'm hoping to upgrade to the 19's soon. But, it was a real eye opener to go back to my "roots" last Saturday and get dropped on anything above a 1%gradient.

The most alarming experience was that when I stood out of the saddle, my legs didn't work and I had to sit right back down again. I couldn't stand up at all! But I stayed upright to the cafe and rode back some of the way with the club. And I really enjoyed it. I was far from better but I was out and it was a great atmosphere in the 15 mph group. It was refreshing to be amongst people who were so enthusiastic and just enjoyed being out riding their bikes whatever their ambitions or ability. Unfortunately, that ride coupled with a late night at the club's annual dinner completely wiped me out for Sunday and I spent a long time asleep.

I had a couple of easy spins on the turbo during last week. Just half an hour sessions at a low heart rate (nothing above lower level 2). However, my lungs just didn't want to cooperate and I had to have breaks to get my breathing under control. As an asthmatic I knew this was more an asthma related breathing problem than something like a chest infection. I am now on a short course of steroids to get my lungs working again. Now to the uninitiated the steroids used to treat asthma are called corticosteroids. They are not the same as anabolic steroids. So I would like to point out to my fans that my voice hasn't got deeper and I'm not yet shaving twice a day.

This weekend I managed to ride two days on the trot since the weekend before Christmas. It was a hard slog on the second day but a nice long cafe stop and thanks to Chris and Adam for not getting too fed up for having to hang around for me. (They didn't show it anyway!) My pace has crept up from 15 mph too but the uphills are still very slow (not that they are ever that quick). I don't think the steroids are doing their job properly just yet. I aim to turbo train twice during this coming week with a structured session on both days. My plan is to get back slowly (no matter how frustrating) so that I don't slow down my recovery or, even worse, have to go back to square one.

Christmas Cheer and a Happy New Year!! I think not!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:47:00 +0000

Well, Christmas was OK. Even the threat of the in-laws was managed to a two night affair and went off very well. I'd had a cold leading up to Christmas, so to be sensible (which is unlike me) I didn't train in the week leading up to Christmas. Well, I did one run and that was it and I even left my work Christmas Do early. I was thinking of those twelve days off I had to just ride my bike. Get the winter miles in, see some cycling buddies, ride on the tarmac in the week instead of just weekends. I was really, really looking forward to it. No Christmas visiting or days away. No, this year I was going to ride the bike. I planned a group ride down to Brighton and a ride down to see Stevo, a team mate at Ardingly, among other things.

Well, I felt fine by Boxing Day and set off to Hillingdon to cheer on my husband, Chris, who was hunting out the BC points and my new team mate, Adam, mixing it with the E123's in his first race for Trisportnews. The next day a few of us did a ride to Edenbridge, about 65km with no break. I even had a couple of texts from the guys that evening to say I had ridden well, I had dug in and it was all good. Then that evening the temperature hit. I felt like I had been on a sun bed too long and couldn't get off. Oh well, at least the cold was making its final exit, I thought. Sadly, it was the Flu making its entry.

And so 12 days later I'm finally able to sit at the PC. I couldn't get out of bed, I had to be helped to the loo, I coughed so much I threw up and I had my first visit from the GP since I was about seven years old. I never thought the flu could be so debilitating. I've even had my flu jab this winter as I'm asthmatic. It's so weird how your needs change when you are helplessly ill in bed. I went from wanting to ride down to Ditchling Beacon and back to just wanting to be able to get to the loo. It took about as long to prepare for. I left the house for the first time this year yesterday and went for a walk around the block. I wasn't very steady on my feet. It is the block I usually run around twice a week

Of course, when you get slightly better you start to think about all the training that's been missed. I think with the cold I had previously, I've missed about 3 weeks. Not only am I left with the disappointment of just not getting out on the bike but the worry of how long its going to take to get back to where I was, will I get back, do I want to make myself hurt again after hurting for the last 12 days?

The only good thing out of it all is that I've lost 2.5 kilos and am already down to race weight for the 2008 season. Unfortunately, I have also lost what I feel is a lot of muscle in my legs oh, and I look like the corpse bride. I feel very weak at the moment but want to relaunch myself into the world this week if I can. I'm hoping for a return to work by the end of the week and a return to the bike by the weekend. I'm not sure what any of it will feel like. It's odd to think that the New Year has come and gone and I haven't seen any of my cycling buddies. I'm a bit scared I will catch something else or won't be able to make it to my local cafe stop on Saturday, but all I can do is see what happens. So the road to Flanders is now also the road to recovery.

How to Get Yourself Noticed...........

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 15:24:00 +0000

It's not been a great week. I've been sick, sore throat, cough, the usual winter problems. Nothing really bad but I've erred on the side of caution as I want to get some miles in over the Christmas break. So I haven't been on my bike much this week which is fairly unheard of and it's not been good. But it's given me time to think, well more make an observation. I've noticed lately that it's not easy being a minority in a minority sport i.e. being a female cyclist. For example, winter training isn't glamorous, neither is breathing through your arse up a hill. Team kit seems to be made to measure for my male team mates and the guys always seem to look like they've just been on a winter training ride when the weather is cold and wet, not dragged through a hedge backwards and got hit with the ugly stick on the way through.

But I've noticed something more than that lately, I've noticed that to get noticed and appreciated in this sport, you just need to get your kit off (or wear very little). It's been enlightening really and it makes life so much easier. You can reduce training by at least half, if not more. In fact, you only need a basic knowledge of being able to ride a bike and my niece can do that and she's eight. No more turbo training in a garage in the freezing cold, no more sacrificing a drinking session after work, no more eating fairly sensibly or justifying to your work colleagues that all you did at the weekend was ride your bike (and you were more than happy with that). No, you see I have discovered that less is literally more.

Take Vicky Pendleton as my first example. This year alone she has achieved gold in the Women's Team Sprint at the World Track Championships, Majorca, along with gold in both the Women's Sprint and Women's Keirin. A superstar. I'm a huge fan. However, she has become a hot topic of conversation among my male peers lately as she did a photo shoot for Oakley and wore a Basque. Now she looked great and good for her but its funny what it takes to get noticed in this sport. She hasn't had to do any more time on the track or sacrifice anything to get the guys talking. I wonder how these same guys would feel if she turned up to their training ride and left them for dead. Would Miss Pendleton have as many admiring comments or some middle aged fat bloke in Lycra profess that he would like to "give her one"? I don't know.

Another tip I'd like to offer to the female cyclist is to turn up to your regular club ride wearing very little in sub zero temperatures. If you can do this without succumbing to hypothermia you've cracked it. Nobody will comment on the BC points you got this year, your new PB over 25 miles, or the fact that you were the only member of your team to race the Tour of Britain. No one will notice that you are still out there in the freezing rain when they decided to get the train back from the cafe stop 'cause it was a bit chilly'. No! less is more.

When viewing the Cycle Passion Calendar 2008, which of course is the ideal Christmas gift for any cyclist, how many guys know that Irina Kalentieva is the current world MTB champion or that Gunn Rita Dahle is a former world champion. I'm not certain, and I'm sure they don't care but it's certainly not what I have heard these lovely ladies talked about for anyway.

So there we are. Having this week off the bike has been nothing to worry about. In fact, I might take next week off too. Perhaps a couple of months and then rock up to Flanders in April in a pair of pink hot pants and a Wonder bra. I'll certainly fulfill the team obligation of publicity. And as it seems the only way to get noticed, it will save me a lot of sweat, tears and sacrifice. And I'm sure when the guys in my team have to wait for half an hour or more in the freezing cold at the top of the Muir, because I was in the Topshop sales in January instead of out on the bike, it'll be fine - won't it? I'm sure I'll still be really popular when they are stuck at the finish, tired, cold and muddy waiting and waiting for me to be delivered in the broom wagon. I mean, me finishing Flanders won't be remembered when Cycle Passion 2009 comes out, will it?

Project Flanders Starts Here....

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:14:00 +0000

The first of December started with my first long training ride in preparation for Flanders and its clear there is work to be done. Since October I have been doing about 2.25 to 2.5 hours on the road before a break. Riding fairly flat roads at my lower level 2 HR zone (143 - 157 bpm). On Saturday I notched up 106 clicks, with about 3.25 hours before a well earned coffee stop and the roads were far from flat. In fact, the whole ride seemed to be up hill with a few fairly hairy descents. Luckily most of the road had dried out after Friday night's awful weather but there were a few puddles and wet patches along the route. Six of us set out at a steady pace. In the final hour of my ride I started to get quite a severe pain in my glutes. Maybe because it's the longest I have spent in the saddle since I came back from the Alps in September. But I had to stop not very far from home and push the bike for a short while to ease off the pain. Off the bike I ached but today it's not too bad at all. Which is more than can be said for the weather.

For the statisticians among you, I did 106km, 4.34 hours ride time but spent a whole 1 hours 6 minutes and 57 seconds of that doing absolutely nothing. Maybe there was more downhill than I remember!!!! But the best thing about the whole thing other than a good excuse to sleep for two hours in the afternoon was burning 1,763 calories, which meant I could stuff myself silly in the evening.

But today, getting out of bed was a struggle. Two cups of filter coffee and toast and marmalade in bed was all I could manage. The weather was not conducive to riding on the road. Ended up doing a 40 minute spin on the turbo at Lower Level 2 to get some rubbish out the legs from yesterday. I still have a slight niggle but nothing serious.

This has been my rest and test week. On Thursday I did a 20 minute threshold test on the turbo trainer. The test consists of 20 minutes flat out to measure my average watts. I'm currently training with a PowerTap, kindly lent to me by my team mate, Mike, who is off travelling this winter. In fact, its going to be expensive when I have to give it back!! The test went well, although I at the end I didn't know if I was going to throw up or cry. I didn't do either but if I ever get to that state at the end of race I will be crossing the line to lie in the nettles. My training plan for this month will include one long ride per week and an easier ride the other day of the weekend.

Best burn some more calories as our Trisportnews team meal is only two weeks away!!!

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

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Scarlett) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 15:02:00 +0000

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.