After a few years of racing triathlons and learning a bit about how to ride a bike properly – not pushing the biggest gear possible, and a couple of trips to the world age group triathlon championships, it was injury again which forced my hand in taking up cycling.
I was lucky enough to start cycling in the South Canterbury town of Timaru, where my flatmate and other friends introduced me to many a great ride down there. After juggling a full-time job as a physio and trying to train, I somehow managed to get some performances in that lead me to the New Zealand cycling scene, along with re-meeting a friend from Dunedin who is now my Fiance’!.
My first international races were certainly a shock to the system – how do they go so fast all the time! Needless to say over the years things have improved. During the last 3 years I have been fortunate enough to be part of the New Zealands women’s road team which has a base in Europe. Europe is the home of cycling with mountain after mountain, well nearly. I have certainly learnt a lot and seen a lot of the French countryside which isn’t such a bad thing really. The training in the South of France is pretty amazing and our wee home away from home is a village called Limoux. Some would say that Limoux is a quaint French town, but little do they know about the dodgy dog poo and the coffee. Ok, I know I’m a coffee snob, but NZ really does have some of the best coffee in the world.
Anyway, I’m not proud to say but my French still is a little poor, mostly due to having too many kiwis around to chat to and perhaps the excuse of study.
The most difficult thing about being over in Europe is the time spent away from my partner, my family and friends, thank goodness for skype.
When home over summer, it’s time to catch up, rest and get some work in. Fortunately for me my employers at Ponsonby physio keep asking me to come back when I get home, which is a huge relief and a great place to work. Physio is always changing and challenging, but seems to fit in with my lifestyle at the moment. With the help of the PM scholarship, I have been able to keep continuing my professional development having just completed a post-grad diploma in Sports medicine. Study although a pain at times is also a good way to think about things other than cycling, whether I am getting sick, how my form is and what races are next.
This year I’m branching out from the French countryside to find the cobbled streets of Belgium. I have managed to get a ride with a UK team based in Belgium, so bring on the frites and mayo, chocolate and oh yeah the racing!
In the meantime, you can find me out on the streets of Auckland cruising around on my new pony – the SUBrosa.
See you all out there, whatever you are training or aiming for – enjoy!
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