Here is where you will find out some information on what the women of SKCC are up to . Please take the time to read through the various sub headings to find out in more detail what is on the horizon.
If there is something you would like to see in the womens column, please contact us with suggestions.
24th November - VIP LICENCE
Ladies, are you under 30 and new to racing? If you haven’t been a club member before and are keen to both start and continue to race then make yourself known to the club.
CSV and SKCC have some VIP licences to give to women entering the racing game.
If you know of anyone that may fit the bill, please contact christineripke@gmail.com for further details.
Don’t forget that the second session of the Ladies Latte Laps is on this Sunday for new ladies to come and learn the skills needed to race.
The other exciting news is that SKCC are looking for expressions of interest to create a women’s team in 2009. If you are interested in either being the Team Manager or being one of the members, please contact christineripke@gmail.com
20th October..As the week draws to a close and we say goodbye to the Jayco Herald Sun Tour, our women have been doing a great job as they tackled the Amy Gillett Cup that was run in conjunction with the tour. Pip Read headed up the She Spoke Team that also consisted of Gen Sutherland, Alison Raaymakers, Lisa Coutts and Sally Robertson. Well done to Jo Hogan who also made it up the mountain.
You can check out the official results on the CSV web site, and we can tell you that Pip, Sally and Lisa finished top six. Unfortunately Sally and Gen had to pull out due to injury and illness. Well done anyway for starting and providing great support to the ladies left in the race!
Here is a snippet of Lisa's race as tackled Mt Buller for the first time.
It was a beautiful day for it - sunny, still and warm. Dave1, Dave 2(Hubby) and I, along with friends arrived in Mansfield early enough to have breaky, which I was almost force fed by the Daves as I was too nervous to eat! First time up Buller - why not make it a race?
Alison and Sally arrived to make up Team She Spoke, and we signed in, pinned on our numbers, and went for a short warm up ride before the race. I was still feeling very nervous, never having done a climb of this length and difficulty before. I received lots of text messages of support which was nice - thanks everyone!
10:50 and we were off - a peloton of about 30 A and B grade women. Looking around I had the least bling bike of all, but thanks to Neil at least I had some nice light wheels, as well as a shiny new 27 cassette which was a real joy!
The ride to the base was a pleasant pootle averaging around 32kph with lots of chatter going on (but only a little from me as I was still very nervous). I was wondering how long this part was before we reached the Mountain. Once we reached the Gate I saw the sign - KOM. At last! Funnily enough this is where my nerves disappeared. A bunch took off fairly quickly and I decided not to chase and risk blowing up. Instead I chose to keep to my pace. I did the whole climb at a nice even pace and speed, keeping my heart rate and breathing under control and settled into a good rhythm. It was hard but I was feeling good and overtaking quite a few girls - and men - along the way.
I didn't know quite what to expect; other than the advice, it's hard for the first 2km, then evens out a bit in the middle, and the last 2km are real kickers! The two Daves were driving up as support vehicles handing more water which was handy - otherwise I would have run out! I saw Sally was now in the car with Dave1. It turned out she was ill and could not continue, so team Shespoke was just Alison and me. As I looked back I couldn't see anyone gaining on me - in fact I couldn't see anyone at all most of the time so felt I must be doing ok!
As I approached the last 2km I could hear the festivities - the commentator on the PA and the crowd so I thought the finish was a lot closer than it actually was. I caught up to another A grade girl who said "nearly there" and gestured to the ski resort to my right - and sort of above my head - oh god! Then I saw the 2km sign. Still, I kept my pace and made my way up, and up; the road just seemed to keep getting steeper! I left that girl behind and rode up past a man who was out of the saddle barely moving...I kept going and hurting! Then the 500m sign and I felt I would not make it, but thought, "I’ve come this far...I must be able to do this bit!" 50m to go sign...OUCH...I felt I wanted to stop when I heard Dave1 yelling at me; I got out of the saddle and gave it everything to cross the line - and I did! I crossed the line which was all I wanted to do, and preferably before the pros arrived! I think I may have come in 5th in B grade with Alison in 6th place.
We were supposed to get ourselves in front of as many cameras as possible in our She Spoke jerseys, but I think we were too tired and too busy watching the pro guys go!
I really enjoyed the race - the Buller Climb in particular. As with most of my races I ended up riding mostly on my own. I still need to work on my nerves which really get a grip on me before and for the start of races.
Thanks to Sally and Freckle for the company and support and of course to Dave2 and Dave1 for all the organising, fixing, driving, watering encouraging and support.
Now to survive the Lygon St crit!
As this article goes to the newsletter...I have the photos but no ride report so here are our ladies in action at the Lygon St Crits!
10th October....
And we are off and racing... Last weekend saw the opening of crit season down at Port Melbourme and the ladies were back. There were lots of new faces around the track and we hope to see some more.
