Mountains and Mole Hills


There have been a few things progressing on the bike lately.

Start Line filling up
I had the opportunity to do the Ballarat Cycle Classic curtesy of the Eureka Veterans on the 10th of Feb and got in a solid 100km day. After working 15hrs the day before I was toasted by the end! I rolled out with the lead riders and have to admit that I didn't really study the route before we took off. I knew that it was going to head out to Mt Buninyong and beyond to Mt Egerton, but road specifics were a little vague. I made it out the first 25km with the lead riders pushing the pace, but by the time we hit the feed zone where the pro riders smash up the National's course on Mt Buninyong, I was struggling to spin with them, I could still see them crest the KOM, then they were GONE! At this point my knight in shining white K appeared and said, "Need a tow to get back onto the group?"
All smiles in my bright and visible long sleeve jersey - Perfect for Ballarat Weather
Shane chased FAST on the downhill but were no match for the group of 20+ riders. He probably could have bridged solo to them but it was his task not to drop me on this ride. We hit the next climb at Mt Egerton and could see the stragglers that had been dropped from the main group. We didn't see another rider for 30kms on the windy back roads that took us slowly and eventually back to Ballarat. At one point the course over lapped the 50km one and we started seeing more people flowing the same way back into town. By the time I got to the lake I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted from the 100km long ride.

There were 2x free beers for every adult entry...
Somehow I ended up with 4 cards. PARTY's ON ME!
The next weekend away to Horsham was for the yearly Triathlon where Shane competes in a mixed team bringing home the bike leg in speed and style. The Saturday morning I managed to get a HOT, windy training day in again with repeats of Mt Arapiles. In the evening team Tripod won their category again (without any stops for wedding proposals or announcements this time).

Team Tripod wins again!
The next morning I got a taste of my first Veterans Handicap Cycling race with Grampians Vets. It was the first time Shane and I were to compete in a race together, normally we're in different grades, categories and times. Shane and I rolled out to start at 7.30am, it was the only time it was nice and cool for the day. This was a fun 46km Handicap where I had a bit of a head start (6mins) in second scratch to try keep the scratch bunch away. 
The official rider board... nice!
As the race unfolded I was with 3 other guys rolling good turns, we caught the next bunch in front of us in the last 10kms and got swept up with Scratch. When I realised they were coming through like a steam train I jumped in with Shane and only 1 other guy Geoff made it into the scratch bunch. 
Finally we dropped the rest of the riders, swept past the limit riders (those that started first) and I rolled turns or sat on with the 4 other riders till Shane attacked with 3kms to go for the win. I popped off the back and soloed home for 6th place. 
Post Race Smiles - like a sunrise!
Earlier in Feb I picked up a Mountain Bike to start practising my bike handling skills for the Mont 24hr race next month in March. Sometimes it seems to flow and I'm in the groove and I've got it nailed, then I freeze up at the top of a hill or at the bottom of a climb and lose all my momentum. 

Is this more machine than I can handle?!
The good thing is that I don't have toe overlap like on my road bike, the bad thing is that it is a little small in the frame size and it feels pretty scary like I'm going to go over the handle bars on any decent descent. So I'm starting on easy trails and stuff that flows, I've checked out the Westgate park nice and slowly, only 1 minor stack over the bars. Shane took me out to some of the trails near home off Kew Boulevard. I found a few in Richmond near the Yarra Boulevard and will keep on looking for some more to practice near home. Seems that people like to let their dogs wander free off leads along these style of paths, which you have to look out for.

There are a few more Criterium races coming up so I managed to convince a few ladies to come along to the Coburg Crits on Saturday 23rd Feb. I registered for mixed C-Grade as I have previously done, then got talked into doing Men's B-Grade by my team mate Emma Pane. I was not really sure what to expect so I just treated it like the rest of the A-Grade Women's races. The pace was high and not too surging which suited me fine. I tried to sit up near the front for the first 20mins of the race to keep out of trouble and go with anything that moved. Not much got away, only 1 or 2 riders and it was all together for the last few laps. 50mins +3 ended up being a little longer. I hope my desperate face and miming to Abby on the side lines got through and we were finally up for the final sprint. I got popped right in the back straight before the final corner as the pace kept cranking up and up! It felt like I was going nowhere once I dropped out of the peloton on the descent into the finish, but I picked past a few stragglers over the line and finished 1st Woman. It was a really good race experience, the wheels were good experienced riders and nobody was doing any dodgy moves so I'd like to see if I could hold in there again and maybe finish somewhere in the final sprint some day.

That evening we scrubbed up and went down to the Cycling Victoria Awards night (categories and nominees). 

Ready for the CV awards night!
Shane was nominated for Male Masters Cyclist of the Year for 2012. He's been smashing records and winning anything on a TT bike that he can find for the last few years and it's been so much hard work driven towards this awesome hobby that he gets so much out of. It was great to see him recognised as a nominee from the state body Cycling Victoria at the awards night.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was the platters of oily fried food in stark contrast to the usual roadie diet. The second thing I noticed after I got past the platters intact, was there was a LOT of non-roadie people here, wait a second - a lot of them are kids and families... we're at the combined BMX awards night! I didn't know that BMX was under the same banner, but it was great to hear about their organisation and the wins these guys and girls have been a part of in the last 12 months.

Shane's category came up early in the list and he was a winner!!

Male Masters Cyclist of the Year 2012 - Shane Miller
He gave a short speech that was touched on by the President of CV later in the evening, that Masters Cyclists make up a large part of the CV membership and it's great to see in 2013 that there are more categories and races catering to them.

One of the biggest draw cards for me as an adult learning a new sport and coming into it later in life (than the teenager/elite groups), is that I can compete against women and/or men my own age in age based events. For me that was a road block in my 20's when I saw that if I wanted to race my bike, I'd be up against the best elite women riders and come in 20-30mins off the pace. There WAS no competition! At that time women's racing was so small the numbers were not there to have skill based grading/categories (A/B/C-Grades) that we can see today at CV and club based competition.

I am proud to say that I have seen this evolve over the short few years I have been racing, and am happy to see my peak sporting body grow and evolve with those changes. Cycling in Victoria is GREAT!

I remember the day I bought my first car - not too long ago. It was it's first long drive and I took it along to one of Shane's races. It was out the other side of Melbourne somewhere, and I was going to pick Shane up at the mountain top finish. I wasn't really paying attention to the route and I was concerned about how I was going to find my way to the finish 100kms away with no map provided by Shane or the race organisers!
As Shane was in A-Grade I just tagged onto the convoy up to the finish line and went, "Wow this must be a tough race, there are guys pushing their bikes up the final climb!"

Welcome to my introduction to Mt Baw Baw.

Only looking a little tired and apprehensive before we began
On Sunday I finally gave it my first and almost certainly LAST attempt. I'm not a natural mountain goat, but I do enjoy a nice ride up in the mountains. Baw Baw is something else entirely and not that. Well, to be fair, I only did the last part from Tanjil Bren to the top. I have to thank The Climbing Cyclist who tempted me out as part of the Hells 500 and 7 Peaks Challenge rides. Highly recommend going on their future events. With their no-drop policy I knew I would be in good hands if I got in trouble up the EPIC climb.

We don't normally head out that way for racing or training, so it was a nice change and I even managed to coax Shane along to something that was not a race!
I had fun sitting on the first few riders to roll out on the 4km descent, and then started a comfortable pace on the lower part of the climb. Riding on 5% grade for a 5.5kms, Shane and I were chatting and sharing lollies while we ticked off the kms. A few serious looking riders over took me and then Shane said "Oh, we're here already!" and took off. I yelled at him to have fun and I looked at my Garmin, we'd hit the start of the 10% + section. I hammered away wondering how long it lasted and then remembered, having done all my homework the night before studying the gradients and nuances of the climb. I thought I was prepared.

After 1.4kms I was coooked! I didn't know if I could go slower and stay upright on the bike, but there was no way I was stopping for a breather as there was no starting again. I had a gel at the left turn thinking "I don't think I'll get another chance to eat this". Good thing I did because it got stuck in my pocket and the next part of the climb was HELL! Horse flies were biting me on the butt and for the next 2km guys were weaving across the rd in front of me, sweating buckets, seated didn't help, standing was horrible. 1km from the top Shane drops back down to "talk me up the climb" it was helpful and at the same time I wanted to kill him. I was frustrated I couldn't spin faster or hold my power higher - it was survival.
Recovered and ready for the descent. YAY! WOW that is fast.
I did make it to the top and sure enough felt fine after a cool drink and a light snack. The descent was super fun and fast. Glad I didn't need to pick my way through other riders to get down as the road surface was not the best and you needed all your concentration for it. Here is the official write up from the climbing cyclist (we get a mention).

All I could think about during the drive home was the trifle I was planning on making when I got home for the Kosdown Performance Cycling BBQ that night.
My first attempt at Trifle - All flavours were there.
Need to work on the custard consistency
More crits and fun times to be had this coming weekend to work off the trifle. Another trip to Horsham and Cykel round 3 - the return to Casey Fields.

Kew Crits

When I first started following Shane Miller's racing, I'd walk up from the tram stop or ride past the Kew Criterium track and stop to watch a handful of riders dive around a hairpin corner and sprint up an impossible climb over and over again. As things progressed he moved up quickly from D to B grade.

I remember the conversation we had one night when he said "I'd really like to make it to A-grade but it's going to take a LOT of training and effort to get there and maintain all of that!" I'd go watch him race and see the marginal gains each week and cheer the guys on. He's now racing A-grade and maintaining it - something I aspire to do this year.

These days Kew Crits are BOOMING! With over 25 riders in each grade, finish line videos online, a coffee van, and new surface so the hairpin is not a total cheese grater and the bumps in the back fast section have been smoothed out a bit.

Each week the ladies are mixed in with the men to fight it out on the circuit. Last week it was tough windy 35degrees and I managed to talk a few ladies to join me in D-grade. We battled it out and dropped off then the pace picked up at 3 laps to go. Eventually I wore them down to come across the line 1st woman. Results

Out sprinted at the finish, but that's okay - Janet Keily (right) congratulates Von Micich. Photo by M. Vaughan.
 I'm just warming up for the criterium season that runs through till about April. I've been very excited that Hawthorn has put on a Women's series at the Kew Crits. Spaced out over the season and with a later time slot it makes it a little easier for everyone to get out of work and to the start line. It also filters out the guys from the racing and with 2 grades on offer you can work your way up on this difficult course. In D-grade mixed, there is always a few junior boys or newbies still learning to hold a line and while they might be as strong as the ladies, it makes for some interesting times on course!

I've competed in B-grade and A-grade in the ladies races and there is a big step up between the two :) The comments from my coach were ringing in my mind last night as I worked my way through the A-grade bunch to get good positioning into the hairpin early in the race.
Von on the front into the hairpin at Kew Crits. Photo by Liz Hall/Gavin Wright.
But it was the attack about 15mins in that popped me off the back just as we crested the long drag to the finish line. The comments from Shane were ringing in my mind last night as I worked at trying to close the gap and I felt it in every fibre that it was going to take a LOT of training and effort to get there.

In the end I found a group of 2 other riders and we worked together into the head wind and up the climb to finish up the race. Things got a little competitive in the final 3 laps and you can see the final sprint to the line here.

It was great to see so many women enjoy the racing and stay for the presentations by HCC, Liv/Giant, and Drapac Professional Cycling. I'm going to do a few more races at Kew this season with the guys and hope to move up and maintain it.

Cykel Women's GP - Division 2


It was a long day out at Bendigo but the racing was worth it in Division 2! Attacks, brake-aways, sprints and good bunch time.

Cykel Women's GP Prologue - Bendigo


Just a nice 2 lap cruise around the course

Tour Down Under - RADelaide adventures


Sometimes things just fall into place.
I have had a pretty amazing adventure and Summer so far, going from a pretty busy work schedule training up in the hills for Tour of Bright, finishing 7th on Women’s B General Classification, getting really sick, preparing for wedding, getting married, Christmas, training camp up in Falls Creek till new years day, Ballarat for the Australian National Cycling Championships, work for a week, then over to Adelaide for the Tour Down Under.

Von and Stephen Lane back of Falls Creek. Photo: Shane Miller
It was a pretty organic organised holiday - I wasn't sure if I could get time off work until the week or so before and the first one for a while where Shane Miller and I were going to ride each stage, enjoy the weather, take the pressure off from racing big events and just R E L A X.

Work slotted into place, accommodation sorted out the week before and suddenly my husband decides to enter a Veterans race series around Adelaide! OK, it didn't take too much to convince me to throw my hat in the ring - but I drew the line at bringing my Time Trial bike!

When we arrived in Adelaide it was nice and warm Saturday afternoon and we got to go for a walk on the beach and look at the shops along Glenelg. Somehow our hosts for the week had gotten the dates mixed up and we were waiting for a meet up on the wrong day!

SUNDAY
Going on the memories of the awesome rides last year we headed out for a reconnoissance of the Mt Barker Rd hill climb the SA Veterans had in store for us later in the week. We went up the climb and then somehow got lost in Stirling going up to Mt Lofty. We found it in the end and ran into a few Stay True racing guys. Always a nice surprise to see a familiar face in a random place while cycling around. The descent was good fun down and alllllllll downhill back to Glenelg.  http://app.strava.com/activities/38199234

Top of Mt Lofty. Photo: Shane Miller
That night we went into town to watch the criteriums. It was pretty warm and made it JUST in time to catch the TDU promo caravan and get AWESOME swag of freebies. Noise makers from Europcar, Bike Exchange, The Advertiser. Hats from Santos, SA Uni, Skoda. Adam Internet blow up ball, Skoda drink bottles, Bupa sunscreen, Santini Lanyards, Jayco Thongs, Hahn Superdry keyrings, Oakley blowup hand, and a supply of Loreal for Men products for Shane :)
The first Santos Women's Cup race was fast and furious. It took a few laps for the big-screen to kick in and I cooled off with a slurpie on the side lines. It was great to wave to ex-team mate Lauretta Hanson on the start line and I saw Jenny Macpherson waving too. There were a few other local Melbourne racers in there that I've ridden with before, Nicole Whitburn, Amy Bradley. A few international riders like Rochelle Gilmore, Jo Hogan, Emma Mackie etc.

We had a healthy dinner from an awesome burrito joint on Rundell St. We also met Durian Rider the vegan cyclist & Freely the vegan banana eating machines.

MONDAY
SA Vets 22km Individual Time Trial from Woodchester to Langhorne Creek and back

A welcoming and well organised setup of rego, road signage, automated timing, Baker's Delight goodies afterwards, and prizes for all (yep, those that didn't place got door prizes!).  I came in first for 30-34 women with clip on TT bars. It was my first TT since TOB and it was just as hard as I thought it was going to be. OUCH!

Picking up the 1st prize in SA Vets TT. Photo: Shane Miller
That evening we went into Santos Women's Cup round 2 at Prospect. I can still remember the heat from last year, must have been closer to 45degrees! A balmy low 30's at 6pm and the racing was HOT from the start. The tiny hot-dog or footy frankfurt course was max sprint each lap from each corner. NO REST for the wikkid riders. You have to be in sharp form and not let anything go in this one. In what seemed like 10 mins half the field was gone, and over the rest of the race more were whittled down to a select few as Jo Hogan soloed away from the field and time trialed to victory. It was impressive to watch and very inspiring.
Jo driving the pace early on. Photo: Veronica Micich
TUESDAY
Woke up and rolled to the start in of TDU in Prospect. After waiting 25mins for coffee, I snaked the line when the announcers started calling up the riders and everyone went to spectate. We then went to explore the famous corkscrew that the TDU were to race up the next day. It's so nice to ride the roads in the warm weather straight out to the hills and you're warmed up. Out Gorge Road and straight up the corkscrew. Shane had to remind me we had a hill climb TT the next day and to back it off when I got to the bottom. A little excited we enjoyed the views of the steep sides around us, the house with a moat, lemon trees with fruit rolling down the hill and then the +5% start. Tapping it out into a rhythm and the road kicks up again into tighter gradients and switch backs that reminded me of some of the climbs in France that I did last year. I had in my mind it was 6km climb and was wondering what else it had in store for me when the gradient backed off and a Euro tourist called out to me that we were nearly there! WHAT?! I asked him if he was sure and he replied in a thick accent that it was just around the corner and sure enough 500m and we'd popped out on the main road. One quick word to Shane and we climbed up again from there to the church look-out above the corkscrew. Amazing! The fast descent back in town was Soooooo much fun. I like the flowing speed and relatively open corners to then zoom straight back into town.
Corkscrew Road... Ouch! Photo: Shane Miller
The first stage was still in progress, so we grabbed some lunch and rolled into the Tour Village that had been setup with big screen TV's showing the final 2hrs of each stage. Thule (pronounced Tooola) is one of Shane's sponsors and they had Valet Bike parking where you could lock your bike up and wander the village or just hang out and watch the race. We caught up with them and enjoyed our lunch in the shade watching the end of the stage.

That night we had a dinner party with our hosts and their sailing friends. They were so inspired by our racing tales that they were going to join us at the hill climb TT the next day.

WEDNESDAY
Up early and out to Mt Barker Rd for the SA Vets 6km Hill Climb competition.  I warmed up and did the last 3 kms with Shane at a moderate pace, then dropped down to the start and tried to think calm zen thoughts, but all I wanted was a coffee! I took off and started up the very narrow track and had to come around someone JUST as another rider took that moment to drop back onto the bike path coming right for me. Close call, you might be able to see the moment on my strava file I hit the brakes and then crank it up the hill with gusto.  
Shane met me off the course further up the climb as I pegged my power. Head wind all the way it was nice to have someone shout at me during segments - a bit like how GreenEdge had race radio all the way at the Nationals TT.
I came in 2nd in my category and with a power PB which was really a bonus that lifted my spirits after not being on structured training plan for the last few weeks.  When we got back in town we rode back into the city to the village to watch the pros climb the corkscrew - like it was FLAT! Riding home it was hot and we were happy to get a few more kms in - but nearly got wiped off the road 2x from turning vehicles not looking or even indicating before turning!
Drinks and watching the finish on the big screen TV in comfort. Photo: Shane Miller
That evening we went into Unley for the Hyde Park crit final. I got some GOOD curry from the street festival and found a spot on the inside of the track to watch the women. Each year this crit is messy with crashes. It is another small tight block with pave tiles and 2 long speed bumps that add a crunch each time. The women fought it out with a breakaway from Nicole Whitburn and another rider that was brought back to another bunch finish that Kimberly Wells won. The Specialized SA women are looking strong with her form in their team this year. The elite men who were on afterwards had a hideous stack in the final lap with broken bones, carbon and a real mess. I was horrified that the riders continued after the race official told them to STOP very clearly several times - including the crowd screaming at them to stop!

THURSDAY
This was the fun part of the trip. I had been waiting to see what this would be like - parade car for Thule. We didn't have any cool things to throw out the window, or massive kms to drive on our day - but we did have full aircon and mad tunes on a 37 degree day in Stirling. 
Looking official in my "Who's your Caddy" - Thule tshirt. Photo: Shane Miller

 We missed the briefing due to a cyclist vs truck vs bus accident on the Anzac hwy, but made it just in time to take a few happy snaps and jump behind the wheel. Full turbo diesel around the corners and hanging on for dear life! We had to keep formation and not slam into the back of the Loreal car :) We made it to the start line and I grabbed coffees and lunch from the Unley bakery and wandered up to the start line to take pics. I got a phone call from Shane to let me know the engines were running and it looked like we were rolling 30mins before the riders!! EEeek! I sprinted back to the navigators front seat just as we drove off in formation. 
Thule Parade Car in formation - ready to Roll! Photo: Veronica Micich
We took off honking the horn at receiving waves from the crowd and zipped out the course to stop a few times for the other cars to hand out freebies. We make it out to Stirling and its HOT! I watched a few laps live, and then sit in the aircon in the car trying to keep cool and eat lunch. Then I think Shane remembered the chaos of getting home on the bike last year - and we took off early back to the TDU village to watch the finish. Glenelg Beach was a nice place to cool off that evening. I made my first even Bread and Butter Pudding out of leftover fruit bread from the Vets race. It was SO GOOD!

FRIDAY
A massive tailwind up the coast road to try find the Vets crit track in the industrial back blocks of Adelaide. The circuit was quite similar to National Boulevard except dead flat. It was hard to get to on a work day so we kept on going out to Modbury for the TDU start. I was feeling a bit cranky with all the trucks and uphill headwind for 20kms. After a coffee and break to watch the start of the stage we tapped out the climb up to Millbrook Reservoir. Shane was getting a bit impatient and started pushing me past the Bupa riders and over my limit. When the road started flowing into rollers and downhill, he had to chase to catch up or even overtake. It was a long roll from there downhill, down gorge rd and back into town. We had lunch at the Village and watched the stage end. It was hard to watch all the crashes in the final kms. 
We had a nice dinner out with the sales guys and sponsored athletes from Thule. Somehow we got talking about mountain biking and agreed to do the Mont 24hr race in Canberra this year. 

SATURDAY
We rode out to Willunga Hill on the bike path that followed the hwy. At one point we stopped and saw the team cars and vans head out. I got a wave from the GreenEdge car full of riders - that made me giggle. There is a lot of road works where they are duplicating the hwy and i was glad to have a steady stream of locals to show me the way through the detours!
Coffee in McLaren Vale, watched the start and hunt and gathered for lunch. Today was Australia Day and I was excited to see 1 last lamington left in the bakery. It was a mini fancy one with jam and cream, not often found and I presented it to Shane (one of his favourite bakery treats) when I came out with the rest of the lunch to go.
We rode to the top of the hill and napped under the trees while we waited for the race to come by and tried to get to the finish line but missed out on a view of the big screen. 
Nearly at the top of Willunga Hill. Photo: Shane Miller
When we saw Gerro sprint across the line for the last time we were shocked and stoked that an Aussie wont he iconic stage on Australia DAY!  
A few years ago we came over to do the Masters Games in RADelaide and knew the back road down to McLaren Vale, it was awesome to zoom down with no traffic and jump back onto the main road as the pro bunches rolled back toward town. Last year I tried to sit on one bunch as they took the main hwy back to town and didn't make it over the first hill with the bunch (and resigned myself to the bike path home), this year I was easily keeping pace and overtaking a few guys. We filtered to the front of the bunch as more and more people couldn't keep pace with the Garmin Cervello and Astana riders on the front. I think we had the BEST Coke Float on the way home :)

SUNDAY
Got up what seemed like super early and drove out to the Vets crit course. Without much time for a warm up I jumped on the bike, pinned on a number for the D grade race. I was feeling a bit excited on the bike, final race, long car trip home, let's expend a lot of energy and see how many times I can attack or chase them down. I got a few half lap leads but in the end my last attack on 2 laps to go, wore me out and I couldn't shake them. I rolled in with the bunch for 8th place, happy with all the efforts until the one other woman in the race who I hadn’t seen in the second half of the race rolled me on the line... after I’d stopped sprinting when the first 3 places were finished. http://app.strava.com/activities/40534318
We stuffed ourselves with Bakers Delight goodies and hot coffee for the presentations and it was great that our hosts for the week came down to watch us race. As part of our thanks, we game them all the local cafe vouchers to enjoy. 
Taking the corner at speed. Photo: Shane Miller
Packing up our base camp and finding a good park to get out of town, we then made our way into the professional Tour Down Under for a real lunch in the Corporate stands. Thule had very generously given us 2 passes to a free buffet lunch and bar. I was not sure exactly what we were going to be able to see/do in there, but when we settled in there after a good feed we met up with the guys and then checked out the media section.  We saw all the even luckier ones jump into team cars and zoom off down the main straight. I then realised there were a few seat spare near the finish line in the stands and we settled down to watch the race unfold. The dessert buffet came out and we were set for the day! 
2 Lammingtons for the Llama. Photo: Shane Miller
It was great to meet the owner of Adelaide Euride stores and hear his perspective of the new tech coming out and his plans for an NRS team in 2013. Griepel won the day and we travelled the long road home without event back to normality. 
A little overexcited with the seats right on the finish line!! Shane keeping his cool in the heat. Photo: Veronica Micich (selfie-lol)

I'd love to say that all my holidays are this good, but sometimes things just fall into place.
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