Rapha Women’s 100 Training Rides



Women from around the world have pledged to cycle together on 15/09/18 for this years Rapha Women’s 100 Ride. 

Previously this has been held earlier in Winter when the memory of warm days and long training kms are still fresh in the memory and the legs. 

This year it’s been a struggle for me to get out, with the weekend morning bunch rides cancelled in Ballarat due to weather. So I have been doing a few more indoor rides and planning when I can get out for organised rides and the options around the area for different courses. It’s definitely a motivation to try do more event based rides. 


Last month was the first organised Rapha Womens 100 Training rides for the Melbourne cycling club. I was tasked with leading the intermediate group for a 100km ride along Beach Road. On the morning it was quite windy and fewer riders showed up than registered, so we consolidated groups, shortened the course and rolled with the tempo of the fast bunch. 

It has been a long while since I’ve been out that way! Though it was easy to remember the rolling terrain and corners from frequent rides in a time gone by. 



This month we did a cut down variation of the planned W100 Melbourne course. There were 2 bunches on offer this time and we headed out of the city construction detours to the north. 

As per this time of the year it was a bracing and brisk fresh breeze that smacked us along the bike paths out of Melbourne. Those that came along brought a sense of adventure as I followed my Garmin 1030 with the extra mapping detail. 



It was also good to see a few friendly faces. The most FAQ was how is Ballarat/country life? As I don’t have a social life anyway, it’s just a longer commute to work and a shorter ride out to the countryside to ride! Also my heating bill is higher and I ride inside more over winter. 



The new registeration site is up now for the day. So those that have pledged to ride 100kms can sign up to join me or one of the groups for September. With a focus on participation rather than difficulty, it will be good to see how the final course goes on the day. There will also be a 65km option for those wanting to participate, but cannot make the full distance. Come join us.  Also the coffee is pretty good!

ZA 25% complete




This weekend it was wet and windy out so I set myself up for a double session. First up was a Zwift Academy group ride for an hour and then a group workout for session “3. Under Ones”. 

It was nice to join a team ride with ladies ready to pedal the same watts. The peloton soon split to multiple groups on the road. 



Somehow I had escaped off the front of the group while typing messages to the group on my phone. After a few minutes I realised they were not coming back to me so I waited up for the group. At that time there were a lot of smaller groups so it was hard to tell when the main group would come through. 

All in all it was a good warm up. As best practice I saved the workout and quit the game to restart for the workout session. It needs to do this to create a new file and register as a separate workout. Something I hope to see Zwift fix from a UI perspective. 

Also when I went into the device connections in the companion app the Todays Plan link had disconnected again. I will need to raise a support ticket for that as I have tried on web and via the companion app and it will not stay connected. 



The other interesting functionality was the erg mode disabled on this ride and made for a flaky workout. I managed to salvage some of it once I realised, but I could not get it to re-enable. Some of the sectors could have stayed on erg to make it easier to pass. 

It was good to see a few familiar names online doing the same rides as me too. A big motivation! Thanks! 
Another motivation was the freebie unlocked item of the new ZA socks. Now I will be looking virtually sharp!

ZA structure and setup


In the lead up to Zwift Academy (ZA) this year I tested out the Zwift Fondo training plan.  This was a good start and way to get into a structured workouts at my own time and pace. 

For ZA in 2018 we will need to complete 16 events during an 8-week period to graduate.

- 10 structured workouts

- 4 group rides

- 2 races

The dates are from August 6th to September 30th. The Top 10 graduates will advance to the semifinals, taking place in Oct 15th - Oct 28th. Then the Top 3 advance to the finals, held in mid-November.

Progress can be tracked on the Zwift website to make sure everything is accounted for. 

It should be pretty easy to do 2-3 sessions a week indoors now that it’s deep winter here in Australia. The cool part about workouts this year is that while you can still do all 10 solo, if you want to do it with others around you for morale and motivation, the group workouts count too!! Zwift have already started scheduling the first ones. 

I’ve setup my own Zwift station indoors as it’s way too cold to be in the garage/outside for sessions now. 

There have been a tonne of questions posted up and answered in the Facebook group with lots of interactions to help each other. It’s a great community. 

2018 Zwift Academy - the beginning




The Zwift Academy starts this August as a great training block to get me moving again this winter. 
I need all the motivation I can get with a lack of cycling, I’m in need of some weight loss and healthy diet. 
This will be perfect for the upcoming adventures I have planned:
- Creswick Gravel Grinder 110km
- Rapha Womens 100km and training rides
- Sufferfest Knighthood approx 10-12hrs riding
- Bali cycling holiday
- Gears n Beers 130km gravel fondo
- Rapha transfer ride 160 + 180km
- Mt Arapilies Cycling event 130km
- Victorian Masters Road Race in Ballarat
- Ride Daylesford 146km

It’s going to be a solid few months so I will need to be in top performing condition on and off the bike. 
Let’s get moving!!

2017 on the bike

It's been a big year in many ways. Here is a quick rundown and review:

January 2018:
Mars Nationals Gran Fondo
Les Mills RPM class in Sydney
Cycling trip to Tour Down Under inc Rapha Women's Ride ADL


February 2018:
Herald Sun Tour Prologue Ride
Cycling/work Trip to Seattle, USA and snowboarding in Canada
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides

March 2018:
Ella Cycling Tips Ladies Ride
Lots of commuting via bike
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides


April 2018:
Memorial Ride for Mike - Indian Pacific Wheel Race
Cycling Trip to Vegas
CVR World CUP - 5th in the WORLD!
Whittlesea Challenge
First KISS Australia-East eCrit Series Races
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides



May 2018:
KISS Australia-East eCrit Series Races
Rapha Giro Transfermento
Thornbury Washboard ride
Horsham Weekend rides
SKCC Women's Annual Ride and Luncheon
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides
June 2018:
KISS Australia-East eCrit Series Races
Rapha Women's 100 training rides
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides
Magnetic Island Trip

A post shared by Von Micich (@v0nm) on

July 2018:
Rapha Women's 100 training rides and ride leader on the day
SKCC Trophy Race
Cycling trip to Perth with Shane and Slane
KISS Australia-East eCrit Series Races
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides

A post shared by Von Micich (@v0nm) on


August 2018:
LamaPaced up Deans Marsh climb with personal best time!
Final Zwift - KISS Australia-East eCrit Series Race (1st overall woman)

September 2018:
Cycling trip to Adelaide with Nik
Fondo Pie Ride
Zwift Academy Rides/Races
Rapha Women's Thursday Rides

A post shared by Von Micich (@v0nm) on

October 2018:

Rapha Women's Thursday Ride
Zwift Academy Rides/RacesMove house to Ballarat
Ride to work Day - Ballarat to Melbourne
Bowral Classic
Crash on Black Hill - first gravel rash :(



November 2018:
Unlock of Zwift level 25 (5277km & 53,700 m climbed indoors)
Fight MND Charity Ride all month long (1538kms)
Bass Coast Challenge
Introduction and first rides with the Ballarat Hummingbirds

A post shared by Von Micich (@v0nm) on


December 2018:
Final Rapha Women's Ride with Nadine <3
First Ballarat Crit on the new surface
Ride to SuperCrit - Ballarat to Melbourne
FESTIVE500



With 2x USA and Canada trips and 2x Adelaide trips, 1x Perth and 1x Sydney there was a good amount of variety. I met and made some great connections with women from all around the world.
Special mention to Kate V who I rode with at TDU and we met up in L.A. Lindsay G who I met in Vegas and set the next level as SUPERMUM rider inspiration. Anne-Marije who took me out on a massive adventure in Seattle. Nicole M who got me back on the bike and re-motivated after I got sick in August and after my crash at the end of October. Nadine for the weekly Rapha Women's ride that anchored my week and added some social to my week. Shane for towing me, motivating me, sharing the latest bike tech with me plus a few cameo appearances on the YouTube series - LamaDrives.
While my whole year has been less kms than ever before, November was a bigger km count than ever before! It was my first charity ride that I wanted to get involved with and I want to thank ALL of you for the donations and support to keep me going. Last but not least - Thanks to Go Active Outdoors that supports my cycling and keeps Australia in THULE products.

A few hints at what 2018 will bring:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)