Just have a go

I was listening to the Rich Roll podcast on the way to work this morning and he was doing a recap of his best 2017 guests, he started with David Goggins, click the link and you’ll see pictures of this guy and think, ‘he’s won the genetic lottery what is she on about’?

I’m talking about having a go, seeing something you want to do, signing up for it and just taking a punt that it will be alright and removing those expectations of ‘but I want to do a good time’. In his conversation with Rich Roll, Goggins said, “I don’t care what place I came in, I don’t care that I walked 105 miles of Badwater [Ultra Marathon], I did it. That was the journey, that was the mission, that’s what it was about”.

You can only be so prepared for what stands before you, at the beginning of your journey there is nothing wrong with jumping right in and having a go. You don’t need to have all the gear, just give it a go, find out if you want it even more before you go and invest a heap of time into it. You might do better than you thought you would.

I’m not setting goals this year, part of me would like to tell you it’s because I’m going through a more ‘holistic’ period of my life, but the truth is I want to have a quiet year. Last year was like a blockbuster movie, so I suppose it will be ‘holistic’ by default and that’s cool.

I am always up for the Goggings approach to life.

Ride your bike

XO

 

To share or not to share?

I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should share or shouldn’t share with everyone. It turns out that along with my yeast infection in my tummy, I have a serious B12 deficiency. What does that mean?

• anxiety
• depression
• shortness of breath
• weakness
• tiredness
• memory loss
• behaviour changes
• weight gain

We’re not sure how long I have had this for but we’re thinking at least 1 year, at a minimum I assumed I  was tired because I do stuff. I’d sleep for 9 hours and wake up tired, every day. I should have paid attention to that sign.

I was ‘depressed’ (not clinically, after three B12 shots my happiness went through the roof), but for no reason, I couldn’t find a reason so I assumed that I wasn’t depressed, but I’d never felt so flat in my life.

I couldn’t walk up the stairs without breathing heavily, I assumed that because I’d put on some weight and stopped exercising as much that that was why. It wasn’t why.

I couldn’t remember a single thing my boss asked me to do, I’d forget things all the time, I’m back on it 100% now, but for a while it was like having ‘baby brain’.

I won’t cover anxiety or behaviour changes in detail, but it was certainly apart of the signs and symptoms. It was horrible.

Since I’ve had 5 B12 shots I’m feeling heaps better, I have a good GP, a psychologist and a naturopath to deal with all the damage that this B12 deficiency has caused.

Now that I’ve had a million tests, with only one more to go, I have signed up for the National XCO round in Pemberton this January. I’m doing a power test tomorrow to figure out my base line and I’ll start focusing my riding a little bit, but I won’t be training.

I’ll just be riding with my mates, improving my mtb skills and looking at the numbers if I feel like it.

Love Your Bike

XOX

 

I wasn’t very well, but I wasn’t really sick

For over a year now I’ve felt terrible, I’ve been depressed, I’ve been exhausted, my body has itched all over, I put on weight for no reason, my body bloated from foods it had never bloated from before. Modern medicine provided no answers, I refused anti-depressants because my life is/was good and there was no logical reason for me being unhappy, I wasn’t going to accept a diagnosis of depression. Allergy tests came back negative, symptoms dismissed as “women go through these things”, with no answers from my Dr I headed for google.

At one stage as I was trying to get a diagnosis for my itching body, I would itch at night, every where you can imagine would be on fire and my doctor said, “it’s just going between hot and cold, take cooler showers, don’t use soap, don’t wash yourself as often, take an anti-histamine.” Not just that but I also got, “at some stages in our lives these things just happen, it’ll clear up.”

It got worse, I feared going to sleep.

It wasn’t until late one night when I was googling my symptoms at 2am in the morning because I couldn’t sleep as the anti-histamines hadn’t kicked in yet that I found another woman who experience exactly what I was experiencing. The solution was apparently to take a pro-biotic, something that my doctor had previously dismissed as not overly scientific… three days later my itching stopped completely. 

Whilst the itching had stopped, weeks or months later my mood hadn’t improved, my hormones were up and down, my period was non-existent and I’d heard that there was a women called Dr Libby Weaver from NZ who was talking a talk about Women’s Health, weight loss for women, with a non-diet approach to weight loss with a focus on nourishing your body.

How to choose to nourish your body. It’s a lot more complicated than it sounds.

Through this event, I made a friend who made an appointment to see the naturopath that works with Dr Libby, her name is Jenny.

A quick 50 minute Skype conversation with Jenny confirmed my thoughts, my googling had already pointed me towards Candida. When Jenny confirmed I had a Candida Overgrowth I was over the moon. A Dr friend of mine told me that we all have Candida, some of us have more than others, I clearly had a shit load of it.

This is a list of signs/symptoms that I found online, I have highlighted everything that I experienced in bold for you.

• Persistent, intense sugar cravings
• Cravings for processed carbs, such as bread, pasta, and pastries
• Brain fog
• Anxiety and/or depression
• Mood swings and irritability
• Vaginal yeast infections (itching, swelling, discharge)
• Poor focus and concentration
• Developing new food sensitivities/intolerances
• A white coat on your tongue
• Digestive issues (gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, mucous in stool)
• Skin issues (acne, eczema, psoriasis)
• Itchy ears
• Low libido
• Unexplained fatigue/exhaustion
• Skin or nail fungal infections
• Canker sores
• Flu-like symptoms
• Worsening of symptoms in cold and damp, or humid environments (two conditions that encourage candida to spread and grow, which can aggravate all existing symptoms)

I was given a diet to follow:

• no dairy
• no sugar
• no fruit (blueberries were allowed)
• no carbs
• no root vegetables
• no alcohol
• no coffee
• no gluten

To say it was hard was an understatement, I couldn’t mountain bike or ride for too long as my body hadn’t started using fat for energy, it took three weeks until I felt AMAZING. I suddenly had energy again, my body wasn’t bloated, my mood was consistent and I got my period again!

I was talking to another woman who had Candida and she said that she maintained a similar diet since getting the diagnosis and she very rarely strayed from it. She was diagnosed over three years ago, when she strayed she new about it.

I am still caffeine free, I LOVE being caffeine free. I don’t eat gluten unless someone brings in a home made cake to work, then when I have a piece I know the symptoms I am going to experience. I am able to eat hard cheese again, I’m not a fan of cows milk and haven’t been for a long time, the fact that a dairy cow is pregnant all the time, I don’t think that’s right for our bodies. Think about it. I eat fruit occasionally but not anywhere near the amount I used to.

Things are better. Not perfect but better.

How did I get to the point where I was sick but I wasn’t? Symptoms so minor that aren’t but are. I was given a 9 month course of antibiotics because the doctor thought I might have a fungal infection (on my face), some of you may have noticed that I have a red nose and check occasionally. You may have commented on my face and the redness, you commented on the way that I looked, it wasn’t anything I gave a shit about, but the amount of comments I got from people made me think that I needed to fix the way that I looked so I went on the antibiotics without any questions.

Those antibiotics caused all of the above. 

Thought. Might. Comment. Appearance. 

I have since discovered that with the removal of inflammatory foods that the redness in my face reduces. I have also learnt through my own experience that comments on peoples appearances are wrong.

I’m not against modern medicine, in this instance my Dr wasn’t able to help me, maybe my explanations weren’t clear, I don’t know, I would still go to that Dr again in the future. I could have shopped around for a different Dr who had an interest in nutrition and naturopathy but I found it easier and better (for me) to head straight to a naturopath.

Though out this time what I heard from my friends was:

• “You just have to eat less”
• “Eat healthier”
• “Exercise more”
• “Get more sleep”
• “There’s something going around”
• “Loose weight”

As IF I wasn’t already doing these things to start with, I monitored my weight so obsessively that I was weighing myself twice a day for no reason, with no effect. I had to throw out my scales.

Anyway, the point of this is to encourage you to stop commenting on people’s appearance, find something else to say. Say, “How are you?” and actually wait for a response and hear it. I told so many people throughout this time that I was unwell or that I wasn’t doing very well and my comments and thoughts were dismissed.

The Last Specialized Women’s Rides on Mondays

The Specialized Women’s Rides (Monday) have been great fun, held for over a year with good attendance rate (anywhere between 2 to 16) and only one small little bingle through the entire time between riders with nobody hurt, just a little owie. It’s a great result, as we have had such an amazing array of abilities and nerves on this ride at any given time that there were times that I felt I might get taken out. We survived and we all got better.

There has been a few standouts, Gretta and Amanda from the She Rides Course that I coached with Kerry Wilcox early 2016 were by far the biggest successors. They constantly showed up to ride and to learn. I clearly remember having to stop one cold winters morning because Gretta couldn’t feel her hands to brake. A mixture of nerves and weather, descending in the dark of winter was certainly a challenge but we now have a much more relaxed Gretta.

Pam is another success, she found us through a recommendation when she was injured and couldn’t row, Suzy started of incredibly nervous and has relaxed on the bike becoming a steadier rider. So many women have joined us, there was never any requirement to come every week, just when you could, I’d be there, unless the weather was forecast to be bad.

There are so many more stories to tell, but mostly, many of these women made friends with each other and are continuing those friendships which was the most important thing as far as I was concerned. It certainly wasn’t about selling bikes or kit, the most beautiful thing about working with Specialized was that they were happy for me to keep doing what I was doing. No pressure. Have fun. Help other women have fun, create networks and most importantly be myself.

Specialized changed the format moving forward for 2017, there will be 6 rides throughout the remainder of the year. They’re going to be more fun and more relaxed if that’s even possible.

• We’ll be going Mountain Biking in August, Toni Burbidge and I are planning something fun, so find your local Specialized store and grab a demo bike for that one (Mountain Biking is my new favourite thing)
• Our Christmas ride will be super casual, we’ll check out some bike shops so you can make your Christmas lists and my favourite chocolate chip cookies along with some murals. The cookies are on me as is the coffee, the ride might take all day, so you can just come for as long as you can come, I’ll sort out a rough plan closer to the time with estimated times. We’ll be taking pictures of walls and you and your bike against walls.
• We’ll be doing two rides in October and one of them might involve some train travel, we’ll be adventurous and see what happens.

Enjoy the pictures below, this is only some of them, please don’t feel offended if you missed out or didn’t get a mention, I have ridden with so many women in the last 14 months each with a unique story to tell.

Keep up to date with all the Specialized Women’s Ride’s Perth HERE. 

The things I learnt in 2016

Every year I learn a lot, its very important to me that I learn more and expand my knowledge and understanding of things and stuff. This year has been no different to all the others, except that I have been able to step outside of my comfort zone, more than ever and start doing the things that I have wanted to do for so long and being apart of the Specialized family has been instrumental to achieving many of my goals this year.

I have been told so many times to work within the system, or that there is somebody else doing that and I can’t be involved that it was time to start my own business (Girl Bike Revolution). I march to my own beat and I’m not overly concerned about other people’s opinion of me, I once read somewhere that it wasn’t any of my business what other people thought of me and I try hard to live by that.

I believe in change, growth and improvement. From my point of view most systems are dated, dull and ineffective. I have done many different administrative jobs and every job I have ever walked into has required improvement and change. If you think that it isn’t then you are probably wrong and whilst there is no perfect system, the system can always be improved and we should never be happy with, “it’s good enough”. I apply these exact same thoughts to myself and my own self improvement, whilst understanding that the goal is not perfection it is simply an understanding of who and what I am; how and when am I my best self?

My achievements this year have been significant, receiving the Ambassador role from Specialized Bikes Australia has meant a lot to me, I will be forever grateful for the belief that Specialized has had in me. Their belief has given me the confidence that I needed to start Girl Bike Revolution and I am confident that it will grow.

Becoming an instructor for She Rides has been delightful and I love watching women around me go from saying “I can’t” to “I can try” followed by “I can do this”. Watching women go from 20km rides to 100km rides. Taking a group of women to the hills who had never been and watching none of them stop half way because, “they can do this.”

The R&D Speed Shop Womens Ride sold out and it was a success, well I haven’t had any bad feedback which I welcome at any time because as I have said, I am not against improvement and it means understanding criticism and knowing it’s not personal.

I was never going to be a mountain biker, yet I lined up for Cape to Cape and enjoyed it. I liked that it was hard, failure was highly likely and it had been a long time since I had done something really hard that I really wasn’t prepared for. Hopefully in 2017 I will be a little more dedicated to my training, however the Girl Bike Revolution and Specialized calendar is pretty full. Either way.

Being an Ambassador for Specialized has meant that I have met really great women who are leaders at what they do, they are smart, they are kind and they are ALL DIFFERENT. These women have been great role models and many of them have become friends because of the rides that we put on with Specialized. Women who haven’t ridden in ages are coming out to ride in a place they feel comfortable and I am very glad to still be able to do this again in 2017.

In 2016 I managed to throw my scales out, quit dieting and stop counting calories. I put on some weight but I can still climb hills. My self-worth is not a number and neither is how I look, one of the things I am trying to do in 2017 is to compliment friends on achievements that aren’t associated with looks or weight loss. Or simply, “how are you?”. The evidence associated with this action is damaging, diets don’t work and praise to do with looks and weight loss is teaching us, our children that a number and a clothing size is our self worth. It is not, we are so much more.

I stopped restricting food and I stopped calling chocolate bad, most of the time I eat chocolate that I enjoy therefore it must be good. I went to see Dr Libby, a bio-chemical nutritionist, and her comment was to nourish your body. Sometimes that nourishment is a chocolate bar, other times it’s a beautiful colourful salad with a nice thick piece of bread.

I eat carbs, superfoods are just food, refined sugar tastes better in brownies than dates and cauliflower rice does not taste like rice. Zucchini as a replacement for pasta is a disappointment and your still hungry. Your body does not understand the differences in the different types of sugar, your brain needs sugar (carbs) to survive and the only difference between dates and white sugar is nutritional value, there is still sugar in dates.

A random thing about your period, the biochemical reaction that makes a woman gets her period involves putting on weight, please tell your daughters and friends so that they understand that this is a normal reaction that every woman experiences. Whilst we all know we put on weight before our period because we feel bloated, did you know that its actually a requirement? If not, please tell another girl.

So as we head into 2017 with expectations of self-improvement and resolutions remember that self-improvement takes a significant amount of time and dedication. It is likely that you will fail at your attempts to improve yourself along the way, yet the more we try the more we understand. To be clear, when I talk about self improvement, I mean the mind, not the physical form.

The biggest and best highlights of 2016 are:

• Helping mum ride her bike
• Riding from Ballarat to Adelaide
• Cape to Cape (thanks Paul)
• Starting Girl Bike Revolution
• Specialised Ambassador
• Getting a kitten
• Riding with each and every one of you
• R&D Speed Shop Womens Ride

My favourite podcast this year:

• Life: Unrestricted with Meret Boxler

The most significant books I read this year:

• Health at Every Size by Dr Linda Bacon
• Womens Wellness Wisdom by Dr Libby Weaver

Be nice to yourself and treat yourself with respect in 2017.

It’s a wrap.. surviving Cape to Cape for newbies.

That was hard. Really fucking hard. Probably the hardest thing I have ever done. 4 days of mountain biking over 220km in Western Australia South West, it was unreal and I loved every minute of it.

How to sign up for Cape to Cape:

1. borrow a demo bike from a shop or borrow a mates bike
2. have an experienced mountain biker show you the ropes
3. do some practice
4. buy your own mountain bike
5. sign up for Cape to Cape with the mentality of “whats the worst that could happen?” 
6. do some more practice

Preparing yourself mentally:

A never say die attitude is a really good place to start, you also have to accept from the beginning that it will hurt and that every section will be a challenge. It will also be long and you’ll be tired and you won’t sleep well, you’ll be wired on caffeine and sugar. For me as long as I know the distance I’m going I know it will be okay. For example the first day of Cape to Cape was 41km’s.

1. Pick your first distance, I always go with 10km, once you’ve gone 10km you can decide on how your day will go.
2. Take 10km away from the original distance, wow, that’s cool only 31kms to go.
3. It also means there will be a water stop at halfway, so that get’s you to 20 or 21km’s and it’s only an extra 10km’s on top of what you’ve done.
4. Get to the rest stop, if you’re like me, I carry electrolyte in a bottle on my frame, drink all of what you have left, refill with electrolyte and go pee in a bush.
5. From here you’ve only got 20km’s to go and since you’ve already done 20k’s then you’re totally capable of another 20kms.
6. Just take it easy, focus on your breathing and remember to look around you, say hi to someone and introduce yourself to another person.
7. The 10km’s to go sign is your saviour, the minute my Garmin hits 9.9km I automatically say “Less than 10km’s to go”.
8. Back yourself. Be a believer in you. 

I know this all sounds simple, but sometimes for someone else it isn’t, you’ve got this.

Things that you shouldn’t focus on:

1. Other people’s ability in comparison to yours, just ride your ride and get through it the best way that you can.
2. Negativity, don’t be that dick walking up the hill who is complaining about walking up the hill, check out those trees and remember how lucky you are to be out there having a go. There are a billion other shit places to be.
3. Winning. You’re probably not there yet and you’re probably not reading this if you’re at the pointy end of the race.
4. Don’t worry if you hold everyone else up on the single track, if they want to go faster they should have trained harder to get into a better category.

Preparing yourself physically: 

Sorry, what? My training for Cape to Cape? Crickets…

1. To be honest I relied a lot on fitness left over from last season… that actually might have been the 2015 season. I would highly recommend using the Western Australian September long weekend to ride your mountain bike every single day.
2. Do single track, there’s lot’s of it and 2017 there is going to be even more, I scheduled in training with Brian today at Calamunda Camel Farm but he didn’t show.
3. Hill repeats.
4. Can’t do any of the above? Ride your mountain bike everywhere.
5. What’s the worst that can happen?

Random things that I did everyday

1. Wear what you’re used to wearing.
2. For those who wear bibs, I do recommend any bibs that have a clip so you can easily go to the toilet, there are more blokes than women, personally a bum is a bum to me, but you might me a bit more precious and if you don’t want to remove the jersey and camel-back then this is helpful. I like the Specialized ones, I haven’t worn others so I can’t comment.
3. Electrolyte in the morning on the way to the start line (the whole bottle).
4. Big breakfast and make sure to eat something you enjoy, every morning I had 50grams of oats, chia and cacao soaked in Almond Milk and a minimum of two pieces of raisin toast with Nutella and black coffee.
5. Coke at the end of each ride.
6. Butt cream for riding.
7. Shower when physically able to after the ride, don’t wear undies, just find some loose pants and put some bepanthanen on any tender area’s.
8. No undies for the duration of the entire time you’re away.
9. Beer or Cider or Wine.

My favourite things about Cape to Cape? 

1. Day 1 was awesome! Everyone thinks I’m mad but I loved how unexpected everything was and just how challenging it was. It was so fucking hard.
2. Mates at the finish line with hugs and stories, thanks Nina, I think those hugs broke me more than the crashing, thanks Nina and Raechel’s team!
3. Crashing with mates.
4. Paul being so proud of me, thanks honey.
5. Paul’s work mates for looking out for me, I won’t name them here because I’ll forget one of them and then they’ll get upset.
6. Day 1.
7. Cider!

Coming away from it I can say I have really missed just messing about on my bike, when I first started riding we rode for bakeries, we didn’t know the profile, well my mate Ken knew the profile but I didn’t understand it. Times have changed. Power meters were for pro athlete’s or rich people and people went on adventures that weren’t organised by Rapha… I’m not having a dig about Rapha. I’m heading to the Prestige this weekend and I’m super excited.

I’m sure I could have done heaps better if I had trained for it but sometimes it’s just about going out on a limb and saying, “Whats the worst that could happen?” So you come last? Someone has to come last. I’ve been last before. I’ve even walked up hills and gotten back on at the top.

Keen? Get into it and sign up now! 

Disclaimer: I have a fair bit of riding experience when it comes to long distances, so I understand what it is like to be uncomfortable, so whilst I’m a newbie mountain biker I’m not new to cycling.

 

Cape to Cape

Cape to Cape is about two weeks away, I’m not entirely sure how far away it is, but I know I registered myself, I know I put in my leave request for work and it was approved. I started training on my birthday weekend at the end of September. It’s now early October so you can see how prepared I am.

I signed up for Cape to Cape very early on into my mountain biking adventures on one of my favourite motto’s, “what’s the worst that can happen?” I’m not making a list.

I’m a big believer in those words, I’m not fussed about not finishing, not being the best and not getting a particular time. I’m just looking forward to getting out and riding in the bush, having a few good chats and laughs along with some quality cider. You’d be horrified if you knew how I drank my beer… Worst case scenario if my race (ride) ends early I’ll pull up a chair at Gabriel Chocolate and work on getting a job or sponsorship.

It’s a four day stage race (ride). I have my Specialized 6Fattie that will make the sand bit easier for me on the first day and I’ll hopefully maintain some of my single track confidence that I’ve been gaining and loosing and gaining and loosing depending on the weather, the track or the day of the week that it is.

I’m hoping my fitness will carry me through, although I’m pretty time poor at the moment so I’m getting in as many trainer session as I feel like… see that? As I feel like?!?! My dedication to training isn’t what you would call dedicated but I am having fun which I haven’t actually been having fun all winter and it’s been a bit of a chore so it didn’t happen.

I was on my trainer 3 times last week and I loved it, I even did a two hour session and loved it. I did a session last light and you guessed it, I loved it!

It was really important that I start or end the year with some fun, it’s been such a hard 9 months with some significant health issues that I’ve been battling its really taken a toll.

So next up Cape to Cape, Rapha Prestige and Busso IM (Teams)… essentially for the remainder of 2016 its just some fun before I commit myself along with rebuilding my body so it’s happy.

Adventures from my birthday weekend, thanks to everyone who shared it with me!

 

“I don’t like getting dirty and I’m never getting a mountain bike,” said nobody ever.

“I am never going Mountain Biking!” With my hands on my hips, a foot stomp and a stubborn pout I know Paul and Sabine can confirm that I once uttered these words with the same described actions. Recently I’ve started to embrace mountain biking, I started by borrowing Sophia’s dual suspension mountain bike… beautiful bike. I then borrowed a demo bike from R&D Speed Shop and then I bought my own. It’s much cheaper than Sofia’s bike but it will do me for now.

I chose the Specialized Ruze 6Fattie, mostly because it helped me get better quicker, the bigger tyres meant I had more control in pea gravel and it rolls over rocks and stuff really easily which is a great confidence builder. Picture of the bike is below – I’m having a great time on it, I’ve signed up for Cape to Cape and I’m having the best time. It really is a great bike for a beginner, Specialized don’t require me to say that, it really is based on the experience that I’m having.

I don’t know any of the cool mountain biking terms, so don’t expect to find them here as I’ve very much got my L plates on. I’m so excited about it that I’m going for my drivers test so I can get my permit to drive and not have to rely on my partner or friends.

My first time out at the Camel Farm I didn’t crash. #winning

My second time out we went to Jarrahdale and I crashed in the car park… no idea how but good of you to ask. I cried. I crashed on the trail, or was I stopped by a tree, stopped by a tree sounds more accurate. I cried again and we went home.

My fourth time mountain biking was at Jarrahdale and it was fine, there was nothing to report. Positively dull by the sounds of it.

My fifth time out I was with Kat and Paul and we did Jarrahdale trails again, I totally smashed a trail all by myself and I was confident about it so I signed up for a race.

My sixth time out on the mountain bike was a sighting lap at the Collie XCO race, oh boy did I crash (3 times)  and I cried and I got hugs from Nina and Raechel and got told that it was okay. Paul also said it was okay. Most importantly I made some friends, met new people and actually had a great time.

My seventh time out was last Saturday and it was pissing down, Paul and I went to Forsyth Mill to meet up with Nina and Raechel and they were going to help me out. Help me out they did. It was really good to ride with Nina and Raechel, they waited for me every time I wanted to re-try an obstacle and they talked me through it. I now have Raechel’s voice in my head saying, “look up, look up.”

Let me explain a trail in a step-by-step guide as seen by me

1. Ride trail following Raechel
2. Brake hard at any/all obstacles with Nina following closely behind (sorry Nina)
3. Discuss obstacle with Raechel and Nina
4. Try obstacle again and brake suddenly before obstacle
5. I roll my bike over the obstacle and then pick my bike up run back up the trail yelling “I’m not sorry” because I got into trouble for saying, “I’m sorry.”
6. Try obstacle again and NAIL IT!

This process was pretty much repeated all the way through a 5.5km trail which took about 1.5 hours because of all my back and forth. However by the end of that session it was all smooth flowing and I was awesome!

My tips for beginers are: 

• have fun
• relax
• don’t have any expectations
• be ready to learn
• get back up when you fall down
• remember that #imnotsorry and neither are you

I found a video that will explain perfectly what learning to ride a mountain bike is like.

Video Explaining EXACTLY What Mountain Biking is Like on a Specialized Ruze Comp 6Fattie

P.S. I haven’t seriously hurt myself from crashing, I have a lot of bruises but nothing serious

P.P.S Thanks Specialized Australia!

P.P.P.S. Thanks Honey 😉

Winter… bah humbug!

I didn’t move to Perth thinking it would ever get cold, yet here I am in my lounge room with the heater on, slippers and a jumper. I am refusing to get out my knee warmers just yet, not just because they’re too big but I’m in denial about summer being gone. My golden skin is slowly disappearing but I know longer have a need to shave my legs. I’ve got my base layer out, the wind vest, the arm warmers and I’m still freezing my arse off. Paul says there is nothing cool about being cold…

My business Girl Bike Revolution is holding Western Australia’s first ever women’s only ride; a fully supported ride from Claremont to Yanchep (return) in groups that have dedicated ride leaders to help you meet your goals. Check out R&D Speed Shop Women’s 130km Ride for more information or if you’d like to support the event then let me know.

Hopefully, we also make some new connections and challenge ourselves in a supportive and inclusive environment.

Thus far the organisation is going well, there’s still a lot to do, our coaches from VeloCoaching are on board to answer questions.

I myself have been finding myself broadening my horizons and my friendship group, I rode north and south on Saturday with Fi and Aisha. We all agreed that it was a wicked ride with some nice rolling undulations, we followed the same path as the R&D Speed Shop Women’s 130km Ride for some fun out on the road.

The tail wind north is mint and the headwind heading south wasn’t too bad but we left before 5.45am so it isn’t likely that we will be so blessed come July, we will experience a headwind from one direction or another. Somehow before I left that morning I managed to forget my water bottle and bars meaning we had to stop on the way back for coffee and a bagel because I was hungry.

Our north south ride also cemented the decision that riders must travel from The Hillary’s to Scarborough via the bike path, whilst this will lower all our averages we do increase the safety for our riders. The road is just too tight and I don’t want to risk any issues with motorist on that particular stretch of road.

We’re hoping to somehow make the north south ride something new in Perth, mostly because nobody does this ride, it’s different and you can really smash it in certain places for some great rolling turn action. Naturally, there will be re-group points and after ironing out a few directional issues we may or may not release it to the public. Interested in trying it out? Ask me how.

Ride a Bike You Love

xo