2009 summed up….
I always get a bit philosophical around xmas time and find myself casting my mind back over the year and all the mayhem that has unfolded.
I was hoping to make the Cyclocross Nationals at Bradford the last race of the year for me but I came down sick on the Saturday and ended up in the pits cheering on team mates wishing I could join them. I was so well prepared for this race after getting a great sports massage from Humphrey Bacchus www.humphreybacchus.com along with having a healthy supply of Torq products www.torq.ltd.uk to keep me going. I am totally addicted to their organic mango bars that I could quite happily eat by the bucket load… Plus the course was just soo soo cool with loads of fast sweeping descents and tricky slippery climbs, so I am really gutted I didn’t get a chance to dabble on the dirt one last time before santa arrives, but I’ll just have to wait for the new year.
2009 has been a big year for me juggling life and bikes. Holding down a job and racing nationally and internationally every other weekend takes its toll and I am definitely a little tired, but it has been an extremely valuable building block for the coming years and I’ve had the chance to race all over the UK and also dabble in Europe again. 2010 will see life in a bit more balance so things will definitely not be so manic – that is a huge relief...
I like the racing in the UK, it is well organised and there is always something on somewhere. There is definitely not a sense of ‘oh I can’t find a race to do’, even in the winter months. The cyclocross racing has been a brilliant way to keep my top end on form this winter and I would encourage as many roadies as possible to dabble on the cyclocross bike over the winter as it does wonders for the skills. It sure beats sitting on a turbo for hours on end when the roads are too dodgy to ride.
One of the things I have loved the most about this year is meeting so many new and awesome people, through so many different avenues with racing, training, sponsors or just bouncing ideas off other riders. There seems to be an abundance of cool/sound people out there who are on the biking vibe. It has also been great to see so many fresh faces on the women’s road scene who are all hungry to improve form and keep pushing the body. There has been such a surge in the numbers in women’s road racing over the last 5 years that I have witnessed both in NZ and the UK and this makes the racing soooo much better. So ladies please keep entering the races, because we need you all to make it worthwhile and valuable to keep the sport alive. It means so much more to make the podium when you have raced hard against 60 riders instead of 15!
I hope everyone has a great xmas & new year. Enjoy the overdose of food and hopefully you get the chance to ride it all off again in 2010…
