To be perfectly honest, I didn’t believe I had enough to fill this update as I haven’t left the state in the past month. Despite this, April proved to be filled with ups and downs, literally and figuratively.
I definitely started the month on a high with the release of the May issue of ‘Men’s Fitness Magazine’. Considering how much effort went in to putting together my article, I have a grown appreciation for magazine editors and their organisational skills. Thank you to Simon Butler-White, editor of Men’s Fitness who showed interest in me and quickly sorted out a photoshoot to catch the eye of the reader. This has definitely raised my profile and I have felt the love through social media with 100+ Facebook friend requests and a substantial number of followers on Twitter. Now that I have more than my training partners and family following me on Twitter, I feel the need to thoroughly analyse my tweets to ensure they are quality!
In a more literal sense, I have been experiencing the ups and downs on the saddle of my bike. The focus of this training block has been my cycling strength and there is no surprise here when I say this involves a lot of riding. I have ridden up mountains that I have enjoyed and mountains that have nearly made me fall off my bike. Without a doubt, I have appreciated this a lot more since I received my brand spanking new Giant Bikes Australia, Envie! I would be lying to say it was easy to see my TCR from 2012 go, but it was an amicable separation and I am very happy with my Envie. A huge thank you to Jo Hall and Martin Clucas from Giant Australia, The National Talent Academy for building a first-rate relationship with Giant, Spearman Cycles for their mechanical assistance and support and Aaron Lean for setting me up nicely with ‘Cadence Performing Cycling’.
New Giant Envie at Sandon Point – Bulli
A popular route for my training partner Tamsyn and myself has been leaving the ‘Gong’ and riding up to the Southern Highlands, my hometown. On one occasion Tamsyn’s chain snapped in the first half of the ride, leaving me to complete 80km ‘el solo’. This day happened to be ANZAC day and my arrival to my hometown, Bowral happened to be at 10:30am, the start of the ANZAC day March. Feeling slightly patriotic, I took some time out and remembered the soldiers who fought for us.
My two older brothers; Thomas (24) and Andrew (22) teamed up to surprise me with an early 21st birthday present. As we will all be in different countries come the 18th of June, they organised a 20minute aerobatic flight with ‘Southern Biplane Adventures’ in Wollongong.
Pre Flight
Post flight with pilot Chris
One Saturday morning, Andrew had faked a flat tyre on his car and me being the kind-hearted sister I am offered to drive him to work (at Southern Biplanes). Upon arrival I was shocked to find all my training partners as well as my parents waiting in the hanger to watch me experience the ‘G-Up’ flight. Words cannot even explain the sensation of hitting +6G’s above the coastline of beautiful Wollongong. I wanted the pilot to take me to the limit and that he did, via vertical rolls, tail slides and snap rolls. Despite feeling a little sick by the time landing came around, it was an awesome experience and recommend it to any thrill seeker. What I don’t recommend is attempting a swim session an hour later!
The ‘G-Up’
So April wasn’t so boring after all, it was actually quite exciting!
I don’t want to end on a low point but I can’t go without mentioning my amazing friend and training partner, Ashlee Bailie. One afternoon we were out riding and she was the victim of some reckless driving, something as an athlete you never want to witness. Considering her impact, the resulting injuries proved that she is one very lucky girl. We could all learn a thing or two from her daily positive attitude and I can’t wait for her to be back in the full swing of things which I am sure will be very soon. Moral of this incident being; motorists, please watch out for cyclists and cyclists, ride with an exceedingly defensive attitude!
Until next time, when in Spain,
Grace
gracemusgrove 