My Background

My current cycling story started in January 2011, when I decided to start commuting by bicycle (mountain bike) to lose weight. I did the 10km commute at least twice per week, and found that I really enjoyed the thinking time. In November 2011, I started riding a road bike for the first time. It was a borrowed bike, Colnago steel frame, and way too big for me. But it was so exciting, the sound of the wheels, the responsiveness of the bike!

Over summer 2011/12, I completed the Santos Great Bike Ride (52km around the river) - this was my first mass participation event on the road bike. I fell off due to an un-clipping issue before the start line, had to walk up one of the hills, and took all afternoon to recover on the couch. 

I also did a triathlon beginners course, and completed two triathlons. These were great fun and brought out my competitive spirit, I poured over the results to compare myself to the other participants and see what I could improve. I figured my strength was that I was not weak in any area. I had always been a runner and a swimmer, and now I was becoming a cyclist as well. 

Over winter 2012, I decided to focus on my cycling, as I thought this was the area I could most improve. I did interval training and group rides with CRT, who had run the cycling component of the beginners triathlon course. By the end of winter 2012, I was regularly riding 3-4 days per week and I had signed up to do the Five Dams event in April 2013. This was a 240km hills ride that is run every year in Perth. 

In spring 2012, I was starting to focus on training for the Five Dams. However, I had always intended to go back to triathlons come summer.... it was decision time. I did a short training run, ended up with blisters and sore calves for more than two days, and decided that running was not good for me. I also was finding that I didn't have enough days in the week for all the cycling training that I wanted to do. So I decided that I would not recommence triathlons, and I would stick with the cycling. 

In late January 2013, the opportunity came up to join a women's specific training group and have a coach. I had been looking for a coach for a little while, as I wanted to get some specific input to my technique and my training. So I joined the Hall Women's Cycling Team, which resulted in a huge change in my cycling. I started doing focused efforts in my training sessions, instead of group rides, and I met a bunch of ladies who would become my friends and cycling companions. 

Around this time, I also started doing some ATTA time trials. In April I did the Five Dams event plus qualified for the UCI World Cycling Tour (UWCT) time trial, which was held in Italy in September. I competed in my first time trial and road race in 2013, which lead to racing almost every weekend.

In September, I travelled to Europe and competed in the final qualifying event for the UWCT road race – this involved a 140km road race with five mountain climbs in the Pyrenees in pouring rain. This still stands as the hardest event that I have completed. I then completed the UWCT final time trial and road race in Trento. The time trial was extremely challenging, with a very fast technical descent through a town and a mountain climb packed into 20km. The road race was also challenging and as I watched the rest of the peloton ride away up the first climb I quickly realised that it would be a day to “enjoy the experience” of riding in Australian team kit, on closed roads, in Italian sunshine, with crowds cheering “allez Australia!”.

In 2014, I started the year with a big event – the Three Peaks Challenge in the Victorian Alps. This was another very challenging event, which took 13 hours to complete, but it was an enjoyable experience thanks to terrific weather and thorough preparation.

After purchasing my first mountain bike, I decided that 2015 would be the “Year of the Mountain Bike”. I have ridden half of the Munda Biddi trail, riding in sections from Mundaring (Perth) to Nannup. This has involved several day trips and two multi-day trips, carrying 20kg of luggage and camping out over several nights. I am also looking forward to riding the four-day Cape to Cape mountain bike event in Margaret River. As well as mountain biking, my main goal for 2015 is to ride Amy’s Gran Fondo and qualify for the UWCT Finals in Perth in 2016.

I am continuing to explore my abilities as a cyclist and to do “epic events” and racing, while trying to maintain some balance in my time commitments. I enjoy developing my skills and knowledge and am passionate about helping others to challenge themselves and develop their potential.

In 2015 I started my own cycling coaching business, Fusion Cycle Coaching. For more information about my cycling coaching services check out my website www.fusioncyclecoaching.com. I also have a separate blog for cycling tips and information, check it out at: www.fusioncyclecoaching.com/blog.