Due to some recent injuries (get well soon Simone!) and other commitments, a slightly smaller-than-normal, but eager and determined Bundaberg Sugar "Sweet As" Team took on the challenge of this winter tour in Canberra. Sal Robbins, Nik Orlic and myself (Nat Langer) flew down early on Thursday morning to help get ourselves acclimatized to the frosty conditions. We were met by our ever-enthusiastic team soigneur Wayne, with his brand new white "Team Bundy Sugar" Mazda 6, complete with 4 bike racks on the roof, spacious trailer, and custom-designed artwork applied to the front doors. Awesome. We were already pretty motivated for the tour by our group ‘pep-talk’ on the flight down, and seeing the car was a bit like the icing on the cake. Thanks Wayne. So after some routine post-travel unpacking and settling into our motel, we went for a preview ride of the TT (time trial) course that afternoon. The sun was out and we warmed up pretty quickly despite the cooler-than-brisbane-temperatures (I think it was about 10 degrees that afternoon). So then after some warm showers, a good dinner, and some more motivating words from Wayne (and some motivating texts from Ang, Brielle and Sim), we were ready to face the first stage on Friday afternoon.
Stage 1 – TT Friday 1st July.
We knew it would be cold that afternoon, and with a small chance of rain, the group decision was to ride the 15km from our accommodation to the TT course at Stromlo, to help us get a better warm up. We left our motel in slightly overcast to sunny conditions, with minimal traffic on the roads. Roads in Canberra are pretty much built for cyclists; wide shoulders, good road conditions, courteous drivers. What we didn’t anticipate were the local wildlife hazards! In single file, Nik, Sal and myself were gently riding past a flock of about 60 cockatoos when, without warning, they took flight and in a panic, went straight for our bikes. I am still not sure how they avoided me, but unfortunately a large number of birds hit both Nik’s and Sal’s bikes. The end result was carnage. Nik’s rear derailleur was bent and a few of her rear wheel spokes were ripped out by one bird, while enough birds managed to impact with Sal that they threw her off her bike, and ripped multiple spokes out from her front wheel as well. Unfortunately the fall re-aggravated Sal’s previous back and hip injuries. However, in true Sal style, she toughed it out, and rode the remainder of the way to the TT course with me, after changing her front wheel over. Wayne had been driving the support vehicle behind us at the time of the incident, and quickly took Nik and her bike to the local bike shop for some immediate repairs (thanks guys – you were awesome to repair it so quickly!). After this daunting freak incident, it was difficult for Nik, Sal and myself to get ourselves into a good head space for the TT. To add to the intimidation, the weather turned on us as well, just before the start of the Elite Women’s TT, and the cold hard rain set in. In roughly alphabetical order, the girls headed out in the much-less-than-ideal conditions. I was first up, but somehow managed to miss my start time by 3 minutes, then Sal and then Nik. Our TT times were certainly not outstanding, but mentally overcoming the earlier cockatoo incident and the freezing rain to simply get out there and complete the TT was a huge accomplishment in itself. Sal came roughly 16th in the Elite Women A category, with Nik in 21st spot. Surely this would be the "worst" day to come and things would only get better from here?
Stage 2 – Road Race Saturday 2nd July.
A "typical" Canberra day which started with some thick fog over Stromlo, and frost on the ground. The 38km road race this day was due to take us down towards Uriarra and then up, down, up, and back through Coppins Crossing. The bunch was quite twitchy in the fog on the way out to Uriarra, but nothing dramatic happened until the turn-around point. The difficulty at this part of the course was getting 60-70 riders to turn a tight 180 degrees within a short space of time. As we had been warned, the riders at the front would have it easy for the climb back out, but the riders at the back would find themselves chasing for dear life. Sal managed to position herself well at the front before the turn-around point, while unfortunately Nik and myself got caught at the back, and from there it was chase, chase, chase. Sal stayed with the lead bunch until the final pinch out of Coppins, while Nik almost got back on before the short descent into Stromlo. Even for the lead girls, it was a bit of a "bad luck" day, with both Jo Hogan and Amy Cure being turned left by a marshall just before the finish, when they should have turned right. That’s racing I guess. In the end, Sarah Cure won the stage, with Sal 22nd in the Elite Women A category, Nik in 25th and myself in 28th spot.
Stage 3 – Criterium Saturday 2nd July.
After a solid morning of racing, the team was motivated to give the criterium at Stromlo our very best. Again, this 40 min + 3 lap race was not without incident. At least we had clear skies and sunshine for once. We were starting to think that anything above 5 degrees was warm! Even on the opening lap, one of the competitors had difficulty clipping into her pedals and managed to bring a few other girls down with her. Some fierce attacks from VIS, ACTAS, NTID and NZ kept the pace high for most of the race. Another crash involving three girls about midway through the race (at a part of the course known as "Collarbone Corner") made for some interesting race maneuvers also. Our own Nik Orlic lead the bunch out for a lap before being quickly reeled in again. The course was way too fast and flowing for any breakaways to stay clear. With less than ten minutes left on the clock, nature was at it again when two kangaroos decided to hop across the track, which again interrupted the smooth flow of racing; but not long after that, the 3 laps-to-go sign came out. Kendall Hodges won the tight bunch finish, with Sal 10th in the Elite Women A category, and Nik (22nd) and I in the remainder of the bunch. With Wayne’s steadfast support, we had survived the first two days! So with the comfort of lots of "good-luck-for-the-last-day" texts from friends and family, we were soon soundly asleep after another early dinner in town.
Stage 4 – Road Race Sunday 3rd July.
So if Saturday was cold, then Sunday was freezing. We packed up and left our accommodation in minus two degrees temperatures. Warming up was challenging, but I think that each of us was determined to finish this last, icy 72km race. Thick fog once again played havoc with the start of the race (it was difficult to see even 3-4 bike lengths in front of you at some points). This time we had to descend into the depths of Uriarra, climb out to the Homestead, then go back down into and out of Uriarra, before then climbing in and out of Coppins Crossing, and then back over the first day’s time trial course before finishing back at Stromlo. I would estimate that a third to a half of our original bunch did not even get to complete this final stage due to the wintry conditions, various mechanicals and/or injuries. Sal positioned herself fearlessly again towards the front of the bunch, but the injury to her back from Friday was to cause her too much distress to finish the race. After climbing in and out of Uriarra all the way to the Homestead, she elected to pull out of the race at Stromlo to help avoid worsening her injuries. Smart move Sal, you will live to fight another day. Nik on the other hand was on fire, and she wholeheartedly chased the lead bunch all day after just missing out bridging onto them through the fog at Uriarra. However, as luck would have it, she didn’t quite close the gap before the finish, but this was fortunate because the bunch Nik might have bridged to, had a crash on the finishing straight! Amy Cure won the stage, with Nik in roughly 25th place in the Elite Women A category. At a guess, I would have finished the day in roughly 29th spot, had it not been for a broken chain 5km from the finish and a lengthy walk home to Stromlo! All in all, despite the unpredictable, almost overwhelming challenges that this 3 day tour had thrown our way, Nik, Sal and I found the trip quite a humbling experience, and I think we have learned a lot about ourselves and why we do this! As Wayne explained to us, not many people do the Sydney to Hobart yacht race for the sheer enjoyment and pleasure of it, yet many come back to do it for the challenge again and again. I think that each of us have found this sort of ‘relationship’ with the Canberra Women’s Tour too, and as crazy as it sounds, I think we all want to come back next year, to do it all again!
Thanks again to our loyal support crew back in Brisbane, and all the Bundaberg Sugar ‘Sweet As’ Cycling Team sponsors. Without you, we would not have had this "character building" experience!
