Cyclosportif Pedali a Pickering - CycleOther

this is team time trial type event. suppossed to be a ride not a race but everyone races it really. As soon as I got on my bike on the start line I got very nervous. I felt completely incapable of doing the whole race. We started and the roads were really bumpy just all blue metal roads. the start was mostly downhill for about 5km's with a few rolling uphills and I was feeling really uncomfy and nervy. Tried to calm down and enjoy the scenery, but a about 10ks in these two dogs off leads came screaming out of nowhere and ran in front of us. (I swear my luck is crap at the moment) luckily we all managed to avoid the dogs had to slow down and unclip and actually stop but we avoided casualties.
Started back up again up a nice hill. the course was just rolling hills and some long gentle climbs but still long climbs.

There were some really dodgy potholes along the way too. alot were in shady spots so very difficult to see and most of them were on the downhills. A great big group of motorbikes passed us at one point and a cycle team also caught up to us a the same time and passed us. so there was a fair bit of confusion and I got very nervy, breathing in motorbike smoke really didn't help much either.

our team really dind't work as a team at all. I had warned them all that I wasn't back to my usual speed/fitness but they still encouraged me to be on the team and that they were only doing it for fun not to compete. However they seemed to have a diff attitude on teh day one of the other girls was struggling alot more then me and so I hung back to pull her back to the pack after most of the hills. however we were gettingh littl to no support from the rest of the team so it was frustrating for us and obviously it was frustrating them. More about that later.

I was really not feeling like riding after 10ks but the k's ticked by and the weather was absolutely fabulous for riding a little wind but not the usual perth wind, and beautiful spring sun! I had a gel at the halfway mark and I think that got me through the rest of the ride. I actually picked up my pace a bit at the 40k mark and the girls all commented that I was picking up the pace going up a big hill. I think my brain realised that I wasn't gbetting off the bike till the end so it better just get there as quick as it could :)

On the return loop the cars must have started to get a bit aggravated by the number of bikes on the road and a couple of 4wd's started getting narky. On came seriously close to clipping my back wheel, so close that on reflex I actually smacked the car with my hand when it went past, they had their hand flat on the horn and pulling the finger at all of us. so the got a mouthful back from the girls up the front. Very scary ride altogether for me.

Lots, I would train more for a start, and do some hill training. I really need to get some bike nerves back, I seem to have become very nervous on my bike. (possibly because stuff jsut keeps going wrong for me, I just kept picturing myself crashing and b ringing others down with me. I gotta stop that coz I've never felt like that before)
I'm also not so sure about racing with these girls again. but maybe I'll reconsider that later on.
also riding with a sore back is not a good idea. my back was giving me trouble from the start to the finish of this ride.

milled around in the sun chatting, it was a gorgeous day, I was so glad to get off the bike as my back was really hurting me. got some ice on it as soon as I could.
the lunch after the race was fabulous the best part of the day for me~!


lack of training, lack of team working together.


Great race and great way to spend fathers day with my dad, I just had a crappy time but eveyone else enjoyed it!