Stuck in the Rutt

So the UCI Grand Fondo champs qualifier have been and run and won. Things haven't worked out to get back over to Perth, so that is off the cards this year. That has taken a hit to my enthusiasm a bit, so I've been keen to do some local events. Here is what I have lined up.

The next big ride I have coming up is the Rapha Prestige in Merricks this April.

The Rapha Prestige is not a race; it’s an unsupported and unmarshalled adventure across stunning terrain, and designed to bring out the camaraderie and suffering of road riding.
I've had an opportunity to do a little riding in the area over the summer and it will be a BIG day out no doubt with the rolling hilly terrain.


We need to form teams of 4 women and traverse a 100km+ of gravel, traffic, hills and end up in the magic of the lovely wineries of the peninsula for a lunch to remember.


A photo posted by Nadine O'Connor (@oconnorn) on




On the 17th April there will be a premiere women's only event hosted by Bicycle Networks called The RACV Ascent. The concept is to initiate and grow an event where women will be able to enjoy and flourish. The 50/50 target is to get parity of gender for entries in their larger events.

I've been asked to be a ride leader and ambassador for RACV Bike Assist. The BEST story I have heard to date about Bike Assist was from a lady in her 70's. She said that when the guy arrived to her call out he was a little perplexed as to why she had called from her home. The problem was she had bought new tyres and could not get them onto the rims - so couldn't go out cycling. After a small chuckle he managed to pop them on for her (the last part can be quite difficult to do) and she was out the door in no time!



There are 2 ride options of 65 and 100km and both are pretty good. I've been out to do course recon and had forgotten how lovely it really is out in the Dandenong Ranges. The fact they have closed the 1 in 20 will be a BIG draw card, the remainder of the ride will be partial road closures so it will be nice and safe. I really am looking forward to seeing how it comes together and how they finish it off.

The concept I've heard is a festival atmosphere at the end with BBQ and chill out zone at Cherry Hill Orchards and I am pretty keen to try out the cherry cider that they have been brewing!

Tara and I on Flat Rock Road hosting a training ride with Fondo
It's also been pretty cool to see cycling come along a bit more for women. Here is a post I put up last week on Facebook.

In 2012 I setup my first organised ride for women only under the Kosdown Cycling team banner. I had a ride leader from...
Posted by Veronica Micich on Friday, March 4, 2016


It was great to realise how many of the ladies in that shot are still involved at some level (one of them even turning PRO), however I feel a little burnt and burnt out by the racing scene. This is pretty hard to admit after racing most weekends for the last 4-5 years. Clawing my way to the top to see what it really is - is not desirable to me any more. I am a little relieved that there are still some events that spark some interest for me, and I'm hoping that I can still re-ignite and share with other women all the good stuff that I've gathered along the way.

The very top of Mt William. No words for this effort - 20th April 2014

New Roads on the Gold Coast

I've been pretty lucky to be able to fly and ride a lot of places over the last 12 months. Perth last year was awesome and I was looking forward to my first big trip for 2016 up to Queensland.

I stayed on the Gold Coast in February at the RACV Royal Pines Resort. They didn't blink an eye at storing my Thule bike bag in luggage room for the week, tidying up the room around my bike and clip-clopping through the foyer daily for my rides. I suppose they are used to golfers doing the same.

The women's masters golf was also in practice sessions so it was awesome to see elite athletes wandering through the venue. We didn't get to watch though as it was all roped off from the public, but from the hotel windows it was a beautiful sight.

I met up with my old BCWS teamie Amy Cundy who showed me a few of the local rides around town. It is so great to have a ride-guide with you even when you look up a route on strava, locals know best!

Locals know best! Thanks Amy

The first ride we tackled was the famous Springbrook climb (Strava Ride). I was surprised at the little rollers on the way out to the climb that woke up the legs and heart rate! Then we managed to tack onto the back of a group of about 8-9 masters riders. These guys started to get a bit annoyed that we were still stuck on their tails as we climbed and they dropped off one by one. They were really trying to push us with foul jokes, but I just kept my cool and my own pace as their group shattered to pieces up the climb.

I had felt pretty horrible at the start of the ride but sitting in that climbing zone on Springbrook transported me back to a magical memories of why I like to ride. Legs were working automatically at optimal cadence, heart rate right on the edge of comfortably uncomfortable, cool enough in the humid morning, beautiful mountain vistas unfolding around every corner. Awesome! We stopped at a lookout and took a few pics before zooming down the climb and ramping over those little rollers home. They didn't seem so bad on the way back!

A photo posted by Von Micich (@v0nm) on


Just to strike fear in my heart, we drove up Mt Tamborine to see what that would be like for later in the week... with a 11-25 cassette on the rear wheel, I quickly struck that one off the list.

The next day Beechmont climb was on the menu. There are a couple of different ways to attack this one, so I started with the tougher version. (Strava Ride)

Starting from Sharp Park we started climbing immediately straight UP! It was a good little climb with a few little pinches, (notably the one at the hairpin) that made me work for my coffee. Not knowing the climb too well I was waiting for Amy and yelled out to some passing cyclists about to descend where I had just climbed up. "How far to the top?!" They both looked very confused... "You are on the TOP!"

The top was actually a plateau that had some amazing houses overlooking the amazing valleys from every side. In the time that it took for us to climb up, a BMW car club did 3 laps of the circuit and zoomed past us with plenty of room each time.

Cuppa tea time!
Just before dropping down the other side of the plateau, we stopped for coffee and cake at a little fete. It was super cute and very country. We had the usual conversation with the local ladies that they could not believe how far we had ridden, then took on the 17km descent down to Gold Coast that was AWESOME! I was looking forward to a return journey another day to climb back up that descent for sure!!



The next day I needed to see the beach up close, so I did a recovery roll down to Surfers Paradise Main Beach (Strava Ride). It had been a few years since I had been along there and the traffic was gnarly. Perfect weather for shots in my Ibiza Fondo kit by the water though :)

I only had a couple more days and the weather was a bit patchy in the early mornings, so I shortened the rides to fit in before work. The reverse up Beechmont was first on my list (Strava Ride) and it didn't disappoint. I took a work colleague up with me and he took off up the climb. I would have had a wonderful solo session if it weren't for a recycling truck that I danced with for a good 8kms that slightly stressed me out. I turned around just before it flattened out and made it to the meet up point to get back to work in time. A little worried for my colleague as he was 10mins late back to the meet point, but in the end he was OK (just lost in the majesty of the climb) and we had to FLY home back to the accommodation.



The last morning I met up with Amy again at the local bunch ride where they do laps of a local course (Strava Ride). It has 50 million sets of stop lights around it, but all the left hand corners have slip lanes you can zoom through. It has been a while since I've had to take corners at speed in a bunch and it was initially a little scary in an unknown group, but it was ok after the first few laps. I was super happy to hit the buffet breakfast after that ride and pack up the bike ready to head home.

Beach Time!
I had not really heard much about the cycling up north but it was just magical! If you have a family holiday, pack the bike, send them to the theme parks or beach for the day and go exploring (Disclaimer: maybe I'm missing the point of a family holiday).

Supervising the tyre change

Santos Women's Tour & helping women cycling



The Santos Women's Tour in Adelaide was announced as a UCI event late last year. This is a massive step up for Australia with the points counting towards selection for Olympics and opportunity for riders to get noticed for selection later in the year.

There was a lot of pressure from the event organisers to have entries in early, before Cycling Australia had even announced a formal National Road Series calendar and the details to register teams for 2016. I had volunteered to assist Building Champions Women's Squad to be their team car for the 2 road races. My Subaru with the Thule racks on top and plenty of space in the back for hydration, I knew they would need the assistance out on the road. Plus I love driving behind the race and seeing it unfold :)



Stage 1 - A crazy 95kms looping around Mt Torrens was going to be hotly contested to set up the overall standings and initial jerseys. It was hot hot hot outside and the nervous energy was rolling off all the riders, staff and organisers. We had 2 casualties in the first lap with Margeaux Thompson and guest rider Emma Pane retiring from the race. The remainder of the team (Kate Finegan - guest, Serene Lee, Liza Rachetto - guest) were sitting in well until the attacks came from Orica and Wiggle. Slowly a split happened and the remainder of the team were in a large group that was chasing. Or so I thought until we were called up to behind the front peloton where Esther Borg was still in the game. Esther popped on the last lap to join the remainder of the team for the same time on the stage. Orica's Katrin Garfoot won the stage from a breakaway group of five riders.

A photo posted by Shane Miller (@gplama) on


Stage 2 - Was a 20km Criterium wedged firmly between the Undies Run and just before the People's Choice Classic. With such a short distance, it would take 25-30mins to finish up and a super fast pace on the flowing circuit. The whole course was lined with people and it was Lauretta Hanson that was the star of the show claiming more points from the intermediate sprints on top of the points from the first day and establishing a firm grip on the sprinters jersey and best young rider. There were 2 main crashes and Serene got caught up in one taking a lot of skin off in the process. She was keen to start the next stage, until the next day when she could not mount the bike. Annette Edmondson (Wiggle) won the sprint finish.

A video posted by Shane Miller (@gplama) on


Stage 3 - A scorching 100km loop around Lyndoch in the Barossa Valley. I did not envy the women on this day. Many withdrew with heat exhaustion, cramping, and still the pace was on for the peloton. This day claimed Kate from our group, Esther dropped off with two Wiggle riders halfway through and Liza stuck it out with true grit - dangling off the back of the peloton. They were in just in sight a lot of the way home, but didn't make contact in the end. Both were starters for the final stage. Lizzie Williams won this stage with repeated attacks from a group of seven riders.


Stage 4 - The final criterium! This one was timed for an hour plus 3 laps. The temp was so high I was munching on a cup of ice on the side lines. I don't recall any race incidents, but do remember Tiff Cromwell doing some ripping attacks to bring back break away groups and attack off the front in her own right. The BCWS women finished in the main bunch and were happy the tour finished up. Kimberly Wells(High5) won the bunch sprint.

Wells taking the final stage win. Photo: Kirsty Baxter.

Overall the team finished up as follows:
54.135Liza RACHETTO (BCS)+21:17
55.133Esther BORG (BCS)+23:09

Overall the Race finished up as follows:
1.25Katrin GARFOOT (OGE)6h52:36
2.3Shelley OLDS (CPC)+0
3.33Lauren KITCHEN (HPU)+0

The girls had a great setup at the Siccaso home base in Henly Beach. A big backyard, tents at each stage with food and drinks setup, mechanic to tune everything nicely, Siccaso car following the training rides, BBQ dinner post race and massage every day! Oh and of course brand new carbon clincher wheels to roll on... nice.

The lovely ladies from BCWS

As I take a step back from helping out one team, I've turned my focus to helping out more women in cycling and I've also had more guys ask me "How can I help women's cycling?".

Here is my list things anyone can do:

1. Follow women's cycling - NRS, VRS, or just those participating at club level.
2. Share and talk about what you like about the women's racing as a fan of it.
3. Offer to volunteer to help a team for a race. Teams are often looking to have extra hands on site as mechanics, swannies for the feed zone, just getting riders to/from races with logistics for interstate riders - esp if there are other races going on in parallel, you can still race and help out in some way.
4. Offer to volunteer to organisers for a women's race - lead car, spares car, registration, corner marshals for women's grades so that the show can go on!
5. Race organisers - ensuring that where there is a guys race, there is a womens race available for participation. (This is mandatory in Victoria for races sanctioned by Cycling Victoria, but not for other states/event organisers "Build it - they will come").

Festive 500 Finale and next challenges

Part 1 of my Festive 500 story can be followed here.

Rolling with my homies - Shane and SLane

Day 5 was determined by the wind. Shane is master at devising routes where we would work into the wind and come home with a tailwind.

The start of the fun bit of the route

The Devil's Kitchen loop was on the cards and has a few features that I find interesting. The tree lined climb up the back near Snake Valley, the kicker hills and steady gradients all suit me well.

A little bit of sand on the corners into the descent









Ripping skids along the bottom of the valley
We totalled 77.7km just 11.1km more than what the devil himself would do for that course.

Day 6 - Another Buninyong ride was on the cards and I found a backroad through Magpie (it's a place) that cancelled out a busy section of highway.

Mt Buninyong from another angle
We were plotting out the course for a nice roll out and about near the nationals official course.

We found Yendon No 2 Road and Wiggins Rd
There are some great roads less ridden out the back of Buninyong that roll and flow really nicely.

A shady section keeping things cool and green
A total of 73.4km on this day. My favourite part was coming down Eureka St at over 65kmph past some authorities that were busy doing their job on the streets of Ballarat.

Day 7 The wind had changed direction so there was a slight coolness to the breeze and we headed out to the windmills. There was a fatal error in Shane's route today that took us towards and past the piggery. The hot stench of the facility was bad riding past it, and when we thought it was over we found they were spraying the piggery water across the nearby fields making us wretch and try to pedal faster out of the downwind!

Old school and new school windmills
Shane showed me a new road just off the road we race around for Tour of the Goldfields that climbs up like steps to the home of wind farms. It was pretty gruelling, but rewarding when the view just kept unfolding around us. When we reached the top we were totally dwarfed by the wind farm to generate electricity that is not used to grind grain or pump water. It is pretty controversial in the region.

Hot morning out with Mt Warrenheip in the background

The morning warmed up and I was in need for an icy drink and had run out of water by the time we headed home. When we stopped at the Learmonth general store an old farmer had a chat to us about the wind farms and revenue that can be generated from hosting them on the land.

Where the temp is > 30 degrees I am on #teamfrozencoke
There was talk of lunch by Lake Wendouree, but I was hot, bothered and saw the new link road that headed straight home. We tapped out a steady pace and I got the QOM for the brand new segment on Strava. Total of 67.1km.

Day 8 was going to be a hot one and there was no escaping it. I needed 51km to finish off the challenge and I was determined. My old favourite loop around Mount Pleasant was on the cards and Sherpa Shane was good to go.



It had been months since I had been up the rolling climbs and it was a struggle, but I made it all the way and collapsed from the lack of cardio at the top of the final kick. Shane caught sight of a flash of red and blue as I caught my breath. We chatted to Brendan Canty about 2016 and the Nationals while I composed myself.

Trying to look composed while Shane and Brendan look cool

On the way home the heat got the best of Shane and I helped him back home via the 7-11 for an emergency Slurpee. It hit a top temp of 43!

Cambered climb carrying kegs
I really enjoyed having the time off work and structured rides each day, the challenge of consistency and partnership of reaching the end goal. It's such a great way to finish off the year with a mini training block and (for me) some base kms.

This sums up my #Festive500 HOT but stylish ;)
The Next Target

There are a few things I am looking forward to in the next 3 months.

1) The Nationals! I love going to watch all the events and this year will be hosting a recreation ride up around Mt Buninyong with BCWS on 9th Jan 2016. Check out the route here on Strava. I might be CX over a few barriers to get around the course but it should be great social ride with some flat sections for chatting and easy rolling turns.

2) Tour Down Under! I'll be taking the week off work to do 3 things I LOVE!
   a) Drive my car like a rally driver in the Santos Women's Tour
   b) Ride Rapha adventure rides in the hills (ok any rides in RADelaide hills are good)
   c) Drive the THULE parade car for the TDU

3) Racing again! I'm going to do a few events that I haven't done before for a bit of variety. Tour of East Gippsland is the first. This will be pretty hard going as I haven't raced anything in Victoria for over 7 months so getting up to any fitness standard will be tough.


The biggest thing on the horizon is the 2016 UCI World Cycling Tour Perth has been renamed to the Gran Fondo World Series. The qualifying event is in March so I will be back over to Perth for the Road Race. Come along and check out the course with me and qualify for one of the biggest events Australia is likely to see that all cyclists can compete in.

2016 should contain more of that winning feeling and less of the daily grind ;)
Now I know you follow me for the bikes

Festive 500 in progress and workout tracking

Summer is a great time to clock up the base kilometres, building endurance, checking out new routes, revisiting old ones and reminiscing about faster segments.

I've been looking for a few ways to track progress and set new challenges and the first challenge for me is completing the Festive 500! The target is 500km between Christmas eve and new years eve.

I started with a few days off the bike due to a small mishap trying to put my bike together and losing part of the seat post clamp in my frame somewhere.

A photo posted by v0nm (@v0nm) on

The day before the challenge we arrived in Horsham in crazy hot heat and did a leg spin in the early evening. This totally shrivelled my hope that it would be easy to clock up the kms on the flat terrain.

Warming up on the Horsham Track - the only action this track will see this Christmas with the Carnival moving to Ballarat instead.

On Day 1 we knocked out 106km in the morning before it got too warm out. I had to get back to work phone calls and I really struggled in the last 20km. It was the first time I had clocked up that distance in months, and was grateful to have Shane nurse and encourage me to the final petrol station outside of town to re-fill bottles and spin easy home.

A small detour in the works to drain a little colour from the landscape

Mt Arapiles - no vert in this hurt

Day 2 was Christmas morning in Horsham and 52km were complete before present opening! I had picked up a new Fondo kit for myself as a present and it was great to ride in something super aero in the head and cross winds. Shane and I shared the load of work and I felt vaguely useful, but it sure took a little while to warm up after such a big day before.

A photo posted by Shane Miller (@gplama) on

Day 3 We had progressed on our regional family tour to Ballarat and it was cold, raining and bloody windy again! Declaring a rest day - there were no complaints. Shane bought a ultrasonic cleaner in the sales and we all got smooth running drive trains :)

Day 4 in Ballarat and it was certainly a good idea to get some vertical ascent. Stephen Lane joined us and we headed out to Buninyong Road Nationals course. I managed a solo lap before catching up with Serene Lee and friends. We rolled 2 laps and showed her the lay of the land, before settling down for coffee. While out and about Peta Mullens was motoring around the course, sharpening up before the big event of Elite Nationals in a few weeks. We rolled back past the Christmas Track Carnival in Sebastopol and that was enough for me in the wind for one day with 73kms in the bank.

Peta looking pro with Shane and I goofing around

I've completed 231kms total and was looking at ways to continue to plan and track this. A basic Strava account tracks the progress to date for a challenge. In past history I have used an excel spreadsheet.

Basic Accounts
I've used Training Peaks over the last year and started to play with Today's Plan to compare the features. The issue I have is that with the basic accounts for these 2 products, is you cannot plan out any future workouts.

With Training Peaks, if you want to alter the planned daily workout (that you or a coach has setup), you can adjust any of the target values. This is not possible in Today's Plan. It reports on what has been executed against the set regime. If you have not purchased a Plan, you cannot setup a target for the day and then upload a ride to see if you have met it. It will just log whatever you have executed.
Also there are no fancy graphs in the basic Training Peaks, only totals for the week.

Premium Accounts
Strava allows you to compare your workout against your previous workout/rides and what the other products don't offer - comparison against other riders. The premium version of Strava allows further breakdown of other riders in your age and weight class, plus all the other goodies that the other players have.

The other main features for these products are - detailed power analysis, future workout planning and adjustment, canned/generic training plans, progress tracking at workout and training plan level.

There are other little unique features that try and differentiate each product, but they are pretty much all equal apart from the price points. I have years of data in Training Peaks, some backlog in Garmin Connect, and patchy coverage in Strava. I haven't worked out which product to use for myself this next year, so I'll keep tracking the remainder of my Festive 500 in Strava.
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