They think it's all over!

Well that's it. My first season done. Six months of intense learning. This year alone I've done somewhere around 400 hours of training, circa 10,000kms of road covered, just over 50kms of vertical climbing, 15 races, 5 time trials and a 500km ride to Paris later. It's no lie... I. Am. Knackered.

I've been told by Jamie, my coach, to take a week off the bike. Incidentally a week is the longest amount of time I've spent out of the saddle since I first started cycling last March. Jamie originally advised me to take two weeks, because he's sensible and knows what he's doing. Unlike me, the ever zealous newbie, who demanded I attempt to squeeze in one last race after the National Championships. Oh yeah, you're probably wondering how that went aren't you...

Well, it was good fun. The trip was a nice relaxing bit of time out for my partner and I (who also raced alongside a scutch of other lads from the Isle of Man). It was great to get away with other cyclists, all of whom I had only just got to know recently after starting to race on the Island this year. The banter was, of course, plentiful. It was nice to see the Island well represented at an amateur level (the self professed Isle of Man Reserve Team) and just goes to show how much the sport means to such a majority of people here, again reminding me why I moved home. It shows dedication in that so many choose to spend hundreds of pounds travelling on boats and on motorways, putting up with poor weather, cancelled boats and seasickness - all for the love of cycling.

As far as results are concerned, the team came away with two national champions (to add to the two or three others in other disciplines and competitions) (n.b. the TLI races are based on age category, unless you're a women which means you are bundled together because there aren't enough of you), a silver medal and a bronze. The latter belonging to yours truly. "Wow, a medal!" I hear you shriek. Unfortunately this was a bit of a booby prize. There were only three women in the race, all I had to do was finish to achieve the medal....and here lies the beginning of the very end of my season.

My first ever sporting medal! 

Now, my coach didn't let on until after the race but apparently it was sort of expected that I'd go like a bit of a sack of spanners. The first two laps were brilliant, though, I was comfortable in the group, responding to attacks and climbing OK. Unfortunately the hilly terrain was to be my downfall. The circuit was different to the original one we were supposed to be using due to road works and went from being a timetriallers paradise to a rather rolling course. By the end of the second lap the six months behind me began to whinge and wail. I was nestled between two reasonably burly blokes, elbows touching thighs, when the road stooped up... it was almost like I was a giant two wheeled poo, and the peloton was pinching me off to flush me out into the wilderness. Three hours later I crossed the line, alone, to find the organiser was packing the finish flags into the back of his car. My bike and I had fairly stern words and I nursed myself in the easy gear back to HQ. A bronze I got, a victory by any respect I did not. You know what though? I'm still proud. Maybe a bit too proud, as the weekend after (last weekend) I decided to try and do a crit... as such, got my first ever (and hopefully last!) DNF... my legs are well and truly ready for this break.

I am not upset by this experience. I have learned what it takes to race, this season has been the best six months I've ever experienced. I LOVE racing my bike, even when I find myself battling with fatigue, on my own and cursing the saddle I'm sat on, I am not tired of it...in fact I have an un-dwindling thirst for as much of it as I can possibly get. I'm looking forward to starting winter training because I know that last year, the training I did over the winter gave me the strength I've needed to do well this season. I know that while some of my results have been iffy, a lot of them have been more than respectable for someone who's only been riding for a year. My timetrials and mid-season crits have gone brilliantly and now, finally, I know how to ride a race in a bunch and know how to respond to attacks.

A special mention has to go to my coach Jamie at RPC (www.rpc-cyclecoach.co.uk) who has nutured me, my brain and my fitness through the last 16 months, without his unrivaled knowledge and advice I wouldn't be half the cyclist I am right now. Long may this continue, I'm not sure where I'd be without his training plans!

So now I'm resting, there's a social sportive ride on Sunday which I'm looking forward to - just hoping my legs hold out. I'm waiting for one or two important emails as I'm actually hoping for the opportunity to ride for a women's team in the UK next season... I can't wait. I'm ready to start focusing on winning stuff now.

Onward and forward, quickly.