CRESWICK 'FRED ICKE'

After the effects of the Tour had worn off, it was time to get back on the bike. I had decided to spend the week in Bendigo, and as a result, saw myself borrowing Pete Moroni's MTB on Wednesday morning to join Jarrod and the boys for a casual ride. As if I wasn't holding the boys up enough with my lack of bike skill and useless climbing abilities, I was having some serious problems with my road shoes thanks to the downpour of rain overnight. When it was over, I was so unbelievably grateful :) In comparison, my power profile test at the VIS the following day was like a god send! Despite consuming fish and chips for dinner and four(!) bowls of coco-pops for breakfast, my results weren't half bad. My results show that I've retained a great base fitness, but my pure power is very much lacking. Luckily pure power isn't that highly required in a handicap...

As Jarrod and I drove to Creswick it wasn't raining, but that was probably the only thing that went right all day. I rolled off in the 18 minute bunch, turning the first corner of the 44km circuit to face a 4km climb. With three laps to race, it was understandable that I was a tad nervous when our rather large group of 25 dwindled to 16 immediately. Strong cross winds saw us catch the 35 minute limit markers after 60k, so as the second lap came to a close I began to contemplate the possibility that we wouldn't be caught. At that moment, while feeling great, karma kicked in and I suffered a puncture! With CSV races not providing spare wheels, I decided to rim my Bouwmeester to the finish in search of the Moroni's van and a training wheel. When the van was nowhere to be found, I assumed that Jarrod had withdrawn from the race. As the rain started to come down, I jumped in a commissaire car in the hope of finding him somewhere on the road...

Instead, after watching the leaders splinter on the climb, my car was allocated to follow the one and only woman left in the handicap, Radele Berriman. When I arrived at the finish 15 minutes after the race had finished, Jarrod (pictured above) was sleeping in the van, having ridden 4kms, enjoyed lunch in Ballarat and completed a spot of shopping! I was emotional to say the least! When we arrived home, it was straight to the pub to feed my hollow stomach and celebrate Jarrod's newly announced retirement. After many hours of celebration, and very very little sleep, I fronted to the Inglewood Classic Club Race the following morning. To cut a long story short, I was put off 7 minutes, saw nothing but scratch flying past me, and spent the remainder of the day in a hunger flat state...not recommended!

Results: 50th Creswick 'Fred Icke' Road Race, 133km Handicap