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could barely see 200m up the road. Forget about breaking away and using the twisty course to get the “out of sight out of mind” advantage if you tried to break away, the haze did it for you! Over the past 2 weeks I had noticed that I found it a bit hard to breathe when it became hazy but I think even if it had been a clear sky I still would have found it just as hard to breathe because of the damn hill! That all so stupid hill!
Anyway, the race started out not too bad. The first 2 laps were pretty controlled in pace. The only danger was the Canadian tandem pilot that insisted on poking her front wheel into gaps that weren’t there and the Italian tandem that when they got out of the seat would sway from Perth to Sydney! At one point in the race I could hear the Canadian’s rubbing along the metal barriers on the side of the road like a school kid does with a stick along a fence. I went straight to the other side of the road!
It was on the third lap that the skinny roadies decided to hit it hard on the hill. They took off that fast that it looked like Lindy and I had stopped to have a picnic on the side of the road half way up the hill. One second we were with them, the next “pass me the cheese and crackers please”! The bunch split into pieces with Belarus 1 (there were 2 Belarus tandems) and USA getting away together, then Spain, Canada, Poland, Belarus 2 and Italy in a group 100m behind, then Lindy and I another 100m behind, then New Zealand and Ireland another 100m behind. Lindy and I had to do a 2km pursuit to catch back up to the main bunch (this actually happened EVERY lap) and this really put the sting into the legs and lungs!
At the end of lap 3 the break had split and Belarus 1 was away on their own with USA about 20sec behind. The bunch was now 1 minute behind USA. So up the hill we went again, Lindy and I chasing to get back on as the bunch was still hoping to catch up to USA. Then the chief commissaire decided that the men’s tandem race was getting close to catching us so he neutralised our race! The men’s tandems started 2 mins in front of our race and were using then same course. The women’s race was averaging around 36km/h but the men were at 45km/h. Naturally they were going to catch us but the bad thing was the commissaire decided to neutralise our race when the men were still 1km away. This meant our race stopped going at race pace for about 5mins. This was enough for USA to go further away from us and spelt the end of hoping to catch them. This happened again on the next lap when the chasing men’s bunch came through. This time though the commissaire neutralised our race when the men were 2km away. Our neutral zone lasted for 6km!
Heading into the last lap things were still the same except Italy had crashed out. I think they might have side swiped the Indian Pacific when it came through when they were out of the seat! This time up the hill Spain put the pressure on and again the bunch was in pieces. This time New Zealand were with us and we sat on them to catch back up. Then Spain went again and Lindy and I got their wheel. This only lasted for 200m and we were all back together. At the 5km to go mark Spain went again and New Zealand and Ireland went off the back. The bunch was down to 5. This was starting to make the sprint for 3rd a bit easier. Then the pace slowed and I could see New Zealand bringing us back. As much as I like the Kiwi girls I wasn’t going to let them back on so Lindy and I attacked. This shelled Belarus 2 off and kept New Zealand away. Now there were 4 with 2km to go. This is where the road becomes very technical and there are a series of 4 corners to take all within 300m. I was holding my breath as we rode like Valentino Rossi swishing through the bends, praying we all stayed up right! Then onto the stupid blue matting of the finish. We had 1km of this to ride to the finish with a u-turn to take 300m from the finish line. Who designed this course?! As we bumped our way down to the turn Lindy and I tried to keep to the front but it was a four way sprint to the turn. We were coming into the turn 2 nd wheel then Canada came through on the inside and took a ridiculously absurd line through the turn and sent everyone haywire. Canada came out the best of this and had a clear sprint to the line. Lindy and I put the gas on and tried to bring them back but could only get to within 10m of them. We crossed the line 4th. It was over.
It instantly felt surreal. This was mine and Lindy’s last tandem race. I would have loved to have got one more medal with her but it wasn’t to be. Our specific track training had taken its toll on us and this course just wasn’t going to suit us. It also meant all our racing in the Beijing Paralympic Games were over. As much as I was looking forward to this I felt disappointed it was over. I loved the racing but had had enough of the constant preparing to race, race, then recover for the next race. But then at the same time this was it! At least I’ll still have my own racing to continue on with when I get home.
So now I can take the racing cap off and shove the tourist cap on. Mine and Lindy’s family and friends are staying on with us to continue seeing the sights of Beijing, Sian and Shanghai. They have been awesome to have here cheering us on. They have been swept away in the excitement of the games and I’m so grateful to have such wonderful people sharing our racing with us. Today we are climbing the Great Wall and divulging in a Peking Duck banquet. I’m also keen to do some bargaining at the markets and try some weird local delicacies like deep fried grasshopper or scorpion! Can they still poison you of they’ve keen cooked????
Thank you again for all your messages of support and encouragement. I look forward to catching up with you and showing off the medals.
REPORT 6
Forth in the Road Time Trial for Lindy and I. It was one of the hardest time trials I have EVER raced. The temperature was over 30 degrees, there was hardly a breeze blowing and the course was punishing!
Lindy and I were seeded 3rd last out of 10 starters based on our result from last year’s World Championships. We were hoping to ride into the medals but there were a few unknown tandems competing that we knew could shake things up. As with all time trials nothing could be left in reserve and I knew this was going to hurt, A LOT!
We finished our warm up half hour before our race start to allow enough time for the final nervous wees, to get our bike checked, have a timing transponder put on and to get to the start line! Because of the heat we were using cooling methods such as iced towels and ice vests. We looked like the Incredible Hulk wearing the vests and the chief commisaire even thought she had to tell us that we weren’t allowed to wear the vests in our race. As if! They weighed about 5kgs. I didn’t need to lug extra weight up the hill! Oh, that damn awful hill!
The hill is about 1km into the race and lasts for 1km. It goes up gradual then gets steep, then flattens then goes up again. My heart was leaping through my chest and my lungs were about to burst on the first lap up the hill. I was wired up to a 2 way radio with the head coach on the other end. He was very encouraging but I really don’t think he fully understood how hard it was! The rest of the course was undulating so there was no real sections where we could try to get our breathe back. What was encouraging though was the fact that we caught the 2 tandems that started in front of us before the end of the first 12km lap. Plus we caught a few of the women racing from a different category so there was plenty going on for me to think about other than how much my legs hurt.
Then it was onto lap 2. Oh boy, I think the hill turned into Mt Everest! The lungs didn’t burst this time but I think my legs fell off! The rest of the lap was a blur as I think the heat took over and all I could think about was getting to the finish line as fast as I could. We were also being caught by the men’s tandems now and there were a few corners that got a bit too close for comfort. It was like racing a sprint round on the track with a few elbows colliding.
The finish line did eventually appear and 50m after crossing it we were directed into the media zone. All I could do was get off the bike and guzzle a bottle of icy water while having bottles of it also poured over me. I was cooking. As I looked around I was also glad to see that the other women looked as stuffed as me. Over the loud speaker I could hear the announcer reading the results. First USA, second Belarus, third New Zealand. 4th Lindy and me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed at first as we had tried so hard but I quickly changed my attitude and accepted the result. Facing facts; we had really only trained for the pursuit so 4th in the time trial is still a great result!
Now we have the road race to go and that’s it. This will be Lindy and my last race ever on the tandem together. Lindy is retiring from Tandem Racing after the Paralympic Games. I know we will be giving it our best shot tomorrow and I hope I can help Lindy to finish her career on a high note.
REPORT 5
Day Three of competition saw Lindy and I claiming the Silver Medal in the 3000m Pursuit!
The day started off with the qualifying rounds. There were 9 women’s tandems competing, which is about half the number that competed at the World Champs last year due to the fact that each country could only bring a maximum of 5 women‘s bikes. Lindy and I rode in the 2nd last heat of 5. The USA tandem rode first and posted 3min 42sec which is a reasonable time. The next couple of heats saw some pretty slow times so we knew we were looking good to make the top 4. Then came our turn. We rode against a team from Belarus. The important thing in qualifying is to post a time. Catching the opposition is not a priority but in our ride Lindy and I caught the Belarus team with about 1km remaining. This disrupted our ride a bit as we had to go round them and therefore had to ride a bit further but we were able to stick pretty close to our schedule and clocked 3min 38sec. (We were aiming for 3min 37sec!) This put us in the lead for qualifying. Now all we had to do was wait for the final qualifying ride between Great Britain (the current World Champs in the pursuit) and New Zealand (who finished 4th at the Worlds last year). Great Britain took the lead and held onto it to do 3min 40sec which put us up against them for the ride off for the Gold Medal! New Zealand clocked 3min 48sec to qualify forth.
Now we had to try and recover for the final that was 5 hours away. I did a 20min roll on the bike, had a light massage, ate some lunch then chilled out with cold towels on my legs as I listened to Adam Brand (yeah I know that doesn’t sound like my type of music but it’s easy to listen to without getting too pumped up) and tried not to think too much about how to ride the final. I reflected on how I felt in the qualifying ride and was surprised at how comfortable I felt and was hoping I could ride like that again. My legs didn’t get the lactic build up that they normally would This was giving me some quiet confidence for the final but I knew that backing up was going to still be hard.
Eventually 5 hours passed and Lindy and I were on the line again. This time I wasn’t so fidgety and was ready to ride! Our plan for the final was to start like we normally would and ride to our schedule then for the last 6 laps (it’s a 12 lap race) to see where we were in relation to the Great Britains and to try and beat them to the finish line! We knew Great Britain would start fast (as they are kilo riders) but would die towards the finish. Were as Lindy and I would start slower but ride more consistently throughout the pursuit. This was going to be a battle of the minds as well as the legs! The race started and things went as was expected and Great Britain were in front at 6 laps to go by about 25 metres. Lindy and I knew we had to put everything we had into trying to bring the gap back. The gap stayed the same for the next 2 laps then the call was 20 metres, then the last lap was 15 metres. At this point our legs were burning but the glimmer of hope of winning a gold medal made us push through the pain. It wasn’t enough though and Great Britain beat us to the line to claim gold. As much as it hurt I really enjoyed the race as it was a fight to the end.
After the race and medal ceremony Lindy and I did a live interview on ABC2. I didn’t know it was live at the time so I was happy that I got a plug in for Clarence Street Cyclery, NSW Institute of Sport and to thank our coach Tom Skulander. The next day Lindy and I were asked to do another live interview on ABC2 over at the International Broadcast Centre. I guess we didn’t come across too bad the day before! It was a good experience too. Being chauffeured to the Broadcast Centre, going into out of bounds areas of the Olympic Green Precinct, getting make up done, and seeing the behind the scene action of a live television broadcast. Plus getting to show off our medals on TV was cool. We were like celebrities!
Now that the track racing is over and Australia has won 3 gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze medals the attention has turned to the road. Lindy and I have our Road Time Trial on tomorrow (Friday) and our Road Race on Sunday. Yesterday we did 4 laps around the 12km road course. It is going to be tough! We start and finish on the temporary damn wall that the triathlon used in the Olympic Games. It is as bumpy as a goat track and it’s made of an artificial surface that when wet is like riding through quick sand. Plus there are some dodgy corners to negotiate. They have even set up crash pads to help soften the impact! Nice that they thought about our comfort! The legs are feeling good again after a couple of day’s break from racing so I’m raring to go. I just hope I remember which corners to brake hard for!!!!
REPORT 4
Anyway, the race started out not too bad. The first 2 laps were pretty controlled in pace. The only danger was the Canadian tandem pilot that insisted on poking her front wheel into gaps that weren’t there and the Italian tandem that when they got out of the seat would sway from Perth to Sydney! At one point in the race I could hear the Canadian’s rubbing along the metal barriers on the side of the road like a school kid does with a stick along a fence. I went straight to the other side of the road!
It was on the third lap that the skinny roadies decided to hit it hard on the hill. They took off that fast that it looked like Lindy and I had stopped to have a picnic on the side of the road half way up the hill. One second we were with them, the next “pass me the cheese and crackers please”! The bunch split into pieces with Belarus 1 (there were 2 Belarus tandems) and USA getting away together, then Spain, Canada, Poland, Belarus 2 and Italy in a group 100m behind, then Lindy and I another 100m behind, then New Zealand and Ireland another 100m behind. Lindy and I had to do a 2km pursuit to catch back up to the main bunch (this actually happened EVERY lap) and this really put the sting into the legs and lungs!
At the end of lap 3 the break had split and Belarus 1 was away on their own with USA about 20sec behind. The bunch was now 1 minute behind USA. So up the hill we went again, Lindy and I chasing to get back on as the bunch was still hoping to catch up to USA. Then the chief commissaire decided that the men’s tandem race was getting close to catching us so he neutralised our race! The men’s tandems started 2 mins in front of our race and were using then same course. The women’s race was averaging around 36km/h but the men were at 45km/h. Naturally they were going to catch us but the bad thing was the commissaire decided to neutralise our race when the men were still 1km away. This meant our race stopped going at race pace for about 5mins. This was enough for USA to go further away from us and spelt the end of hoping to catch them. This happened again on the next lap when the chasing men’s bunch came through. This time though the commissaire neutralised our race when the men were 2km away. Our neutral zone lasted for 6km!
Heading into the last lap things were still the same except Italy had crashed out. I think they might have side swiped the Indian Pacific when it came through when they were out of the seat! This time up the hill Spain put the pressure on and again the bunch was in pieces. This time New Zealand were with us and we sat on them to catch back up. Then Spain went again and Lindy and I got their wheel. This only lasted for 200m and we were all back together. At the 5km to go mark Spain went again and New Zealand and Ireland went off the back. The bunch was down to 5. This was starting to make the sprint for 3rd a bit easier. Then the pace slowed and I could see New Zealand bringing us back. As much as I like the Kiwi girls I wasn’t going to let them back on so Lindy and I attacked. This shelled Belarus 2 off and kept New Zealand away. Now there were 4 with 2km to go. This is where the road becomes very technical and there are a series of 4 corners to take all within 300m. I was holding my breath as we rode like Valentino Rossi swishing through the bends, praying we all stayed up right! Then onto the stupid blue matting of the finish. We had 1km of this to ride to the finish with a u-
It instantly felt surreal. This was mine and Lindy’s last tandem race. I would have loved to have got one more medal with her but it wasn’t to be. Our specific track training had taken its toll on us and this course just wasn’t going to suit us. It also meant all our racing in the Beijing Paralympic Games were over. As much as I was looking forward to this I felt disappointed it was over. I loved the racing but had had enough of the constant preparing to race, race, then recover for the next race. But then at the same time this was it! At least I’ll still have my own racing to continue on with when I get home.
So now I can take the racing cap off and shove the tourist cap on. Mine and Lindy’s family and friends are staying on with us to continue seeing the sights of Beijing, Sian and Shanghai. They have been awesome to have here cheering us on. They have been swept away in the excitement of the games and I’m so grateful to have such wonderful people sharing our racing with us. Today we are climbing the Great Wall and divulging in a Peking Duck banquet. I’m also keen to do some bargaining at the markets and try some weird local delicacies like deep fried grasshopper or scorpion! Can they still poison you of they’ve keen cooked????
Thank you again for all your messages of support and encouragement. I look forward to catching up with you and showing off the medals.
REPORT 6
Forth in the Road Time Trial for Lindy and I. It was one of the hardest time trials I have EVER raced. The temperature was over 30 degrees, there was hardly a breeze blowing and the course was punishing!
Lindy and I were seeded 3rd last out of 10 starters based on our result from last year’s World Championships. We were hoping to ride into the medals but there were a few unknown tandems competing that we knew could shake things up. As with all time trials nothing could be left in reserve and I knew this was going to hurt, A LOT!
We finished our warm up half hour before our race start to allow enough time for the final nervous wees, to get our bike checked, have a timing transponder put on and to get to the start line! Because of the heat we were using cooling methods such as iced towels and ice vests. We looked like the Incredible Hulk wearing the vests and the chief commisaire even thought she had to tell us that we weren’t allowed to wear the vests in our race. As if! They weighed about 5kgs. I didn’t need to lug extra weight up the hill! Oh, that damn awful hill!
The hill is about 1km into the race and lasts for 1km. It goes up gradual then gets steep, then flattens then goes up again. My heart was leaping through my chest and my lungs were about to burst on the first lap up the hill. I was wired up to a 2 way radio with the head coach on the other end. He was very encouraging but I really don’t think he fully understood how hard it was! The rest of the course was undulating so there was no real sections where we could try to get our breathe back. What was encouraging though was the fact that we caught the 2 tandems that started in front of us before the end of the first 12km lap. Plus we caught a few of the women racing from a different category so there was plenty going on for me to think about other than how much my legs hurt.
Then it was onto lap 2. Oh boy, I think the hill turned into Mt Everest! The lungs didn’t burst this time but I think my legs fell off! The rest of the lap was a blur as I think the heat took over and all I could think about was getting to the finish line as fast as I could. We were also being caught by the men’s tandems now and there were a few corners that got a bit too close for comfort. It was like racing a sprint round on the track with a few elbows colliding.
The finish line did eventually appear and 50m after crossing it we were directed into the media zone. All I could do was get off the bike and guzzle a bottle of icy water while having bottles of it also poured over me. I was cooking. As I looked around I was also glad to see that the other women looked as stuffed as me. Over the loud speaker I could hear the announcer reading the results. First USA, second Belarus, third New Zealand. 4th Lindy and me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed at first as we had tried so hard but I quickly changed my attitude and accepted the result. Facing facts; we had really only trained for the pursuit so 4th in the time trial is still a great result!
Now we have the road race to go and that’s it. This will be Lindy and my last race ever on the tandem together. Lindy is retiring from Tandem Racing after the Paralympic Games. I know we will be giving it our best shot tomorrow and I hope I can help Lindy to finish her career on a high note.
REPORT 5
Day Three of competition saw Lindy and I claiming the Silver Medal in the 3000m Pursuit!
The day started off with the qualifying rounds. There were 9 women’s tandems competing, which is about half the number that competed at the World Champs last year due to the fact that each country could only bring a maximum of 5 women‘s bikes. Lindy and I rode in the 2nd last heat of 5. The USA tandem rode first and posted 3min 42sec which is a reasonable time. The next couple of heats saw some pretty slow times so we knew we were looking good to make the top 4. Then came our turn. We rode against a team from Belarus. The important thing in qualifying is to post a time. Catching the opposition is not a priority but in our ride Lindy and I caught the Belarus team with about 1km remaining. This disrupted our ride a bit as we had to go round them and therefore had to ride a bit further but we were able to stick pretty close to our schedule and clocked 3min 38sec. (We were aiming for 3min 37sec!) This put us in the lead for qualifying. Now all we had to do was wait for the final qualifying ride between Great Britain (the current World Champs in the pursuit) and New Zealand (who finished 4th at the Worlds last year). Great Britain took the lead and held onto it to do 3min 40sec which put us up against them for the ride off for the Gold Medal! New Zealand clocked 3min 48sec to qualify forth.
Now we had to try and recover for the final that was 5 hours away. I did a 20min roll on the bike, had a light massage, ate some lunch then chilled out with cold towels on my legs as I listened to Adam Brand (yeah I know that doesn’t sound like my type of music but it’s easy to listen to without getting too pumped up) and tried not to think too much about how to ride the final. I reflected on how I felt in the qualifying ride and was surprised at how comfortable I felt and was hoping I could ride like that again. My legs didn’t get the lactic build up that they normally would This was giving me some quiet confidence for the final but I knew that backing up was going to still be hard.
Eventually 5 hours passed and Lindy and I were on the line again. This time I wasn’t so fidgety and was ready to ride! Our plan for the final was to start like we normally would and ride to our schedule then for the last 6 laps (it’s a 12 lap race) to see where we were in relation to the Great Britains and to try and beat them to the finish line! We knew Great Britain would start fast (as they are kilo riders) but would die towards the finish. Were as Lindy and I would start slower but ride more consistently throughout the pursuit. This was going to be a battle of the minds as well as the legs! The race started and things went as was expected and Great Britain were in front at 6 laps to go by about 25 metres. Lindy and I knew we had to put everything we had into trying to bring the gap back. The gap stayed the same for the next 2 laps then the call was 20 metres, then the last lap was 15 metres. At this point our legs were burning but the glimmer of hope of winning a gold medal made us push through the pain. It wasn’t enough though and Great Britain beat us to the line to claim gold. As much as it hurt I really enjoyed the race as it was a fight to the end.
After the race and medal ceremony Lindy and I did a live interview on ABC2. I didn’t know it was live at the time so I was happy that I got a plug in for Clarence Street Cyclery, NSW Institute of Sport and to thank our coach Tom Skulander. The next day Lindy and I were asked to do another live interview on ABC2 over at the International Broadcast Centre. I guess we didn’t come across too bad the day before! It was a good experience too. Being chauffeured to the Broadcast Centre, going into out of bounds areas of the Olympic Green Precinct, getting make up done, and seeing the behind the scene action of a live television broadcast. Plus getting to show off our medals on TV was cool. We were like celebrities!
Now that the track racing is over and Australia has won 3 gold, 4 silver, and 6 bronze medals the attention has turned to the road. Lindy and I have our Road Time Trial on tomorrow (Friday) and our Road Race on Sunday. Yesterday we did 4 laps around the 12km road course. It is going to be tough! We start and finish on the temporary damn wall that the triathlon used in the Olympic Games. It is as bumpy as a goat track and it’s made of an artificial surface that when wet is like riding through quick sand. Plus there are some dodgy corners to negotiate. They have even set up crash pads to help soften the impact! Nice that they thought about our comfort! The legs are feeling good again after a couple of day’s break from racing so I’m raring to go. I just hope I remember which corners to brake hard for!!!!
REPORT 4
Day One of the track cycling has been completed and Australia has claimed 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. One of those bronze medals went to Lindy and me!!!! What an awesome way to start the Paralympic Games!. Lindy and I raced the 1km Time Trial. We started 3rd last so we knew we had to post the fastest time to that point to be guaranteed a medal. Going into the event we weren’t putting pressure on ourselves as this is not the event we have been training for but I was still hoping that we would be standing on the podium at the end of the day. That’s why I was competing after all!
So, I’m not sure how many of you watched us on TV last night but I was not wiping away tears when I buried my head in the manager’s t-shirt before I got on the bike at the start line. Even though the thought of the pain I would be going through in the 3 rd and 4th laps are enough to make anyone shed a tear, I was actually wiping away the sweat that was coming down my forehead. Those aero helmets are like ovens! And yes, I have been told how much I fidget when I’m on the start line. But have any of you ever worn a skinsuit? If it’s not sitting properly they can ride up into places that they shouldn’t go!
The ride goes so quickly when you’re out there yet it feels like everything is in slow motion. I crossed the finish line but wasn’t sure if I still had one more lap to go. I had to look at the big screen to see if we had a time recorded. That’s when I saw we had the fastest time. Yahoo! We would be getting a medal! Now we just had to wait for the other Aussie tandem (Felicity and Katie) and the Great Britain tandem to ride.
The final result worked out the same as the World Champs last year with Great Britain taking 1st and the world record (1:09.066), Felicity and Katie 2nd 1:10.465 and 3rd to Lindy and I in 1:12.463. Not our quickest kilo time we’ve ever rode but we did ride the quickest last lap out of everyone. Yet again we proved we are endurance riders not sprinters. So now the focus is on the pursuit tomorrow. Fingers crossed again!
I was in a pretty good mood after the presentation, especially after going up into the grandstand to share the excitement with our family and friends. Lindy and I were surrounded by all these Chinese people wanting our photo or autograph that we literally had to push through them to get to the people we really wanted to see. It was hugs and kisses (and a few tears from Mum) all round. Later that night when I was in the food hall. I joined in the conga line the Brazil Vision Impaired Football team had going. Kicking my legs out to the left then the right. Oh no, hang on, my team mate has just informed me that they weren’t in a conga line. It was how the whole team got about with only one person who could see. The leader would be the one with the sight and the rest would place one hand on the person’s shoulder in front of them. And here’s me thinking that these guys liked to party wherever they went!
Now I’m focusing on having a good recovery day watching my team mates on TV pick up more medals on the track. Yesterday morning I couldn’t handle watching the cycling before I went to the track. My nerves were going through the roof. Hope you all got to see us race on TV. I heard it wasn’t shown live in Australia so I guess you’ll just have to fluke it to see our racing.
REPORT 3
Lindy and my family and friends flew into Beijing late last night. Their hotel is only 2km from us so we started our training ride this morning by calling into their hotel. It was fantastic to see them all. Even though they all got to bed way after midnight they were buzzing with anticipation at the sight of us in our Aussie Paralympic Cycling gear (plus from a few too many coffees at breakfast to wake them up) . It helped pick us up and I felt so good on the ride today. I’ve stored the feeling in the vault to use it again tomorrow.
All the final preparations are being done around Beijing. Lindy and I have painted our nails the patriotic green and gold, our race bags are packed and our heads have been screwed on the right way. At the velodrome yesterday the organisers ran through a dress rehearsal of the entertainment. I don’t think any of the boys will have to do too much of a warm up to get their hearts pumping, the skimpy little outfits the cheerleaders are wearing will do it for them!
Lindy and my race schedule will be this:
Track Cycling: Sunday 7th 1km Time Trial (between 2.55pm and 3.35pm)
Tuesday 9th 3000m Pursuit (Qualifying between 10.40am and 11.25am)
(Finals between 4.50pm and 5.05pm)
Road Cycling: Friday 12th 24km Time Trial (about 3pm)
Sunday 14th 72km Road Race (about 3pm)
The time difference from Sydney to Beijing is 2 hours so 10am in Sydney is 8am in Beijing.
ABC1 and ABC2 (on high definition) will be showing the Paralympic Games. ABC1 will show 2 hour highlights (check your local TV guide for times) and ABC2 will show up to 8 hours a day live! So if you haven’t already done so go out and buy your HD top box! There might even be some footage shown on the ABC website. I haven’t checked it out so I’m not too sure of details.
The Telstra Hero Messages can be done through the website www.hero.telstra.com/paralympics. If you have trouble getting to the site just google it. You can look up any of the Australian athletes and send them messages.
You’ll be pleased to know that I took back the guy’s wheelchair I borrowed. He was a bit cranky but once I gave him an Aussie pin to say thanks he was okay. Pin trading is all the rage here. The Aussie team members were each given 6 official pins plus Lindy and I bought some of our own. It’s a good way to meet people from other countries as it’s an easy way to break the ice. It’s interesting to hear the non-English speaking people asking for a pin. Words get muddled up. One guy asked me if he could “trade me”? Trade me for a pin? I’m not sure who would get the better deal!
So time is ticking by towards the Opening Ceremony tonight. I won’t be going as I have to race tomorrow but the Aussies staying in the village will get together to watch it on TV. I’m sure it will be fantastic to watch. I hope you get to see it live on TV in Australia.
So, I’m not sure how many of you watched us on TV last night but I was not wiping away tears when I buried my head in the manager’s t-
The ride goes so quickly when you’re out there yet it feels like everything is in slow motion. I crossed the finish line but wasn’t sure if I still had one more lap to go. I had to look at the big screen to see if we had a time recorded. That’s when I saw we had the fastest time. Yahoo! We would be getting a medal! Now we just had to wait for the other Aussie tandem (Felicity and Katie) and the Great Britain tandem to ride.
The final result worked out the same as the World Champs last year with Great Britain taking 1st and the world record (1:09.066), Felicity and Katie 2nd 1:10.465 and 3rd to Lindy and I in 1:12.463. Not our quickest kilo time we’ve ever rode but we did ride the quickest last lap out of everyone. Yet again we proved we are endurance riders not sprinters. So now the focus is on the pursuit tomorrow. Fingers crossed again!
I was in a pretty good mood after the presentation, especially after going up into the grandstand to share the excitement with our family and friends. Lindy and I were surrounded by all these Chinese people wanting our photo or autograph that we literally had to push through them to get to the people we really wanted to see. It was hugs and kisses (and a few tears from Mum) all round. Later that night when I was in the food hall. I joined in the conga line the Brazil Vision Impaired Football team had going. Kicking my legs out to the left then the right. Oh no, hang on, my team mate has just informed me that they weren’t in a conga line. It was how the whole team got about with only one person who could see. The leader would be the one with the sight and the rest would place one hand on the person’s shoulder in front of them. And here’s me thinking that these guys liked to party wherever they went!
Now I’m focusing on having a good recovery day watching my team mates on TV pick up more medals on the track. Yesterday morning I couldn’t handle watching the cycling before I went to the track. My nerves were going through the roof. Hope you all got to see us race on TV. I heard it wasn’t shown live in Australia so I guess you’ll just have to fluke it to see our racing.
REPORT 3
Lindy and my family and friends flew into Beijing late last night. Their hotel is only 2km from us so we started our training ride this morning by calling into their hotel. It was fantastic to see them all. Even though they all got to bed way after midnight they were buzzing with anticipation at the sight of us in our Aussie Paralympic Cycling gear (plus from a few too many coffees at breakfast to wake them up) . It helped pick us up and I felt so good on the ride today. I’ve stored the feeling in the vault to use it again tomorrow.
All the final preparations are being done around Beijing. Lindy and I have painted our nails the patriotic green and gold, our race bags are packed and our heads have been screwed on the right way. At the velodrome yesterday the organisers ran through a dress rehearsal of the entertainment. I don’t think any of the boys will have to do too much of a warm up to get their hearts pumping, the skimpy little outfits the cheerleaders are wearing will do it for them!
Lindy and my race schedule will be this:
Track Cycling: Sunday 7th 1km Time Trial (between 2.55pm and 3.35pm)
Tuesday 9th 3000m Pursuit (Qualifying between 10.40am and 11.25am)
(Finals between 4.50pm and 5.05pm)
Road Cycling: Friday 12th 24km Time Trial (about 3pm)
Sunday 14th 72km Road Race (about 3pm)
The time difference from Sydney to Beijing is 2 hours so 10am in Sydney is 8am in Beijing.
ABC1 and ABC2 (on high definition) will be showing the Paralympic Games. ABC1 will show 2 hour highlights (check your local TV guide for times) and ABC2 will show up to 8 hours a day live! So if you haven’t already done so go out and buy your HD top box! There might even be some footage shown on the ABC website. I haven’t checked it out so I’m not too sure of details.
The Telstra Hero Messages can be done through the website www.hero.telstra.com/paralympics. If you have trouble getting to the site just google it. You can look up any of the Australian athletes and send them messages.
You’ll be pleased to know that I took back the guy’s wheelchair I borrowed. He was a bit cranky but once I gave him an Aussie pin to say thanks he was okay. Pin trading is all the rage here. The Aussie team members were each given 6 official pins plus Lindy and I bought some of our own. It’s a good way to meet people from other countries as it’s an easy way to break the ice. It’s interesting to hear the non-
So time is ticking by towards the Opening Ceremony tonight. I won’t be going as I have to race tomorrow but the Aussies staying in the village will get together to watch it on TV. I’m sure it will be fantastic to watch. I hope you get to see it live on TV in Australia.
Kurt and Drew settling into the Village:
The local fellas in the Aussie Kit, and Kurt getting ready to go out for the openning ceremony.
World champion supporters –
As can be seen from the attached news item, Geoff, Elaine and the crew are enjoying being there in the thick of the action. Apparently they have fitted nicely into the Chinese lifestyle, which is pretty handy as the rumour is that since arriving in China both Elaine and Geoff have lost their Passports. More details.. Also Ceck out Mark Diary below...
As can be seen from the attached news item, Geoff, Elaine and the crew are enjoying being there in the thick of the action. Apparently they have fitted nicely into the Chinese lifestyle, which is pretty handy as the rumour is that since arriving in China both Elaine and Geoff have lost their Passports. More details.. Also Ceck out Mark Diary below...
Brendan Dowler & Nicole Kullen.
Who seen the Aussie Rollers first Basketball game on Day One of the Beijing Paralympic Games. The 1 point victory over Brazil maybe the best Basketball game I have ever seen. Keep an eye out for former Bathurst resident Brendan Dowler.
Who seen the Aussie Rollers first Basketball game on Day One of the Beijing Paralympic Games. The 1 point victory over Brazil maybe the best Basketball game I have ever seen. Keep an eye out for former Bathurst resident Brendan Dowler.
Another of the local areas stars at the Beijing Paralympic Games is Nicole Kullen, whom competes in the Equestrian events. Nicole was 6th in the Equestrian Team Test - Grade Ib event on day 1 at the Shatin Equestrian centre in Hong Kong. Then 2 days later was 11th in the Individual Championship Test after her horse got a bit of stage fright in front of the big crowd.
Kurt Fearnley big program:
Of Course everyone loves Kurt Fearnley: Kurt has trained and raced with the club, his effort in the B2B a couple of years ago will go down in folk law. There was plenty of drama in his first final (4 x 100m relay) when one of the Aussie Team rollers crashed in the change. Kurt will be hoping for a bit more luck in his next final the 5000m on Thursday night.
Kurt was sensational in the 5000m heat, stickin it into them early, and breakin the field up, before bankin them up down the back with 200m to go, then Kicking right on the point of the curve to clear out in the straight for a great win.
The final will be tough
Of Course everyone loves Kurt Fearnley: Kurt has trained and raced with the club, his effort in the B2B a couple of years ago will go down in folk law. There was plenty of drama in his first final (4 x 100m relay) when one of the Aussie Team rollers crashed in the change. Kurt will be hoping for a bit more luck in his next final the 5000m on Thursday night.
Kurt was sensational in the 5000m heat, stickin it into them early, and breakin the field up, before bankin them up down the back with 200m to go, then Kicking right on the point of the curve to clear out in the straight for a great win.
The final will be tough
Gallagher/Hou now focus on the Road Events:
After winning a Silver and Bronze in the Paralympic track cycling at the Laoshan Velodrome, Blind cyclist Lindy Hou and her Bathurst pilot Toireasa Gallagher are now looking towards the Road Events at Beijing’s Ming Tomb Reservoir for that elusive gold medal.
After their Bronze medal ride in the 1000m Time Trial on day 1 of the track competition Gallagher/Hou started the Blind &Visually impaired “Individual Pursuit” as favourites after Qualifying fastest in the heats. However arch rivals Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter of Great Britain got away to a quick start in the final, and although Gallagher and Hou finished strongly the British pair again took the gold.
Gallagher/Hou next event is the Women's Individual Time Trial B&VI 1-3 on Friday evening with their final event being the Road Race on the Sunday.
After winning a Silver and Bronze in the Paralympic track cycling at the Laoshan Velodrome, Blind cyclist Lindy Hou and her Bathurst pilot Toireasa Gallagher are now looking towards the Road Events at Beijing’s Ming Tomb Reservoir for that elusive gold medal.
After their Bronze medal ride in the 1000m Time Trial on day 1 of the track competition Gallagher/Hou started the Blind &Visually impaired “Individual Pursuit” as favourites after Qualifying fastest in the heats. However arch rivals Aileen McGlynn and Ellen Hunter of Great Britain got away to a quick start in the final, and although Gallagher and Hou finished strongly the British pair again took the gold.
Gallagher/Hou next event is the Women's Individual Time Trial B&VI 1-
The opening ceremony was fantastic with the Birds Nest being very impressive and the show was really great, nobody does fireworks like the Chinese! They where like thunder! They even had a wheel chair athlete hoist himself up with a pulley system to the roof of the stadium to light the paralympic flame, it looked like bloody hard work!!
The girls have picked up a bronze medal so far in the 1k TT with the British team breaking the world record, they are so strong at the moment and reckon they will break just about every world record. The girls rode a great race and after analysing each lap of the race they where getting faster and faster, setting the fastest lap of everyone on there last lap, things are looking good for the longer races. Overall the Aussie team is doing really well with some gold already on the score board and a couple of world records, better than the olympic team! lol
The people here are so friendly and helpful, some speak english thankfully and will go out of there way to help you. Beijing is so big and the pollution is terrible! I do not know how they live with it. Humidity is no worries. We have had some very exciting taxi rides with a couple of close calls, reminds me of go kart racing. The traffic is incredible and there seems to be very few rules, you just honk your horn and move over or change lanes. Having said that we have not seen one accident and no one speeds at all! At the moment they are still on the odds and even system so we are only seeing half of the traffic!!!
The food has been really good so far, our hotel is fairly westernized so the food there is not really different to home but we have eaten at some really nice restaurants and the meals have been fantastic, the duck is awesome and a lot of the dishes are very spicy or full of pepper seeds! hot! I'm getting pretty good with chop sticks also. The beer here is not bad, its cheap and there version of a stubby is huge! nice!
We have had one minor hiccup on the first day, Toireasa's parents had there passports and credit cards stolen so today we have been running around Beijing organising some new ones, we have had to go to two police stations to report them missing and then try and get a police report and new passport photos. We have seen parts of Beijing that I think we where not expecting but that has added to the fun!
The girls have picked up a bronze medal so far in the 1k TT with the British team breaking the world record, they are so strong at the moment and reckon they will break just about every world record. The girls rode a great race and after analysing each lap of the race they where getting faster and faster, setting the fastest lap of everyone on there last lap, things are looking good for the longer races. Overall the Aussie team is doing really well with some gold already on the score board and a couple of world records, better than the olympic team! lol
The people here are so friendly and helpful, some speak english thankfully and will go out of there way to help you. Beijing is so big and the pollution is terrible! I do not know how they live with it. Humidity is no worries. We have had some very exciting taxi rides with a couple of close calls, reminds me of go kart racing. The traffic is incredible and there seems to be very few rules, you just honk your horn and move over or change lanes. Having said that we have not seen one accident and no one speeds at all! At the moment they are still on the odds and even system so we are only seeing half of the traffic!!!
The food has been really good so far, our hotel is fairly westernized so the food there is not really different to home but we have eaten at some really nice restaurants and the meals have been fantastic, the duck is awesome and a lot of the dishes are very spicy or full of pepper seeds! hot! I'm getting pretty good with chop sticks also. The beer here is not bad, its cheap and there version of a stubby is huge! nice!
We have had one minor hiccup on the first day, Toireasa's parents had there passports and credit cards stolen so today we have been running around Beijing organising some new ones, we have had to go to two police stations to report them missing and then try and get a police report and new passport photos. We have seen parts of Beijing that I think we where not expecting but that has added to the fun!
Mark Gallagher’s Dairy
Made it to Beijing via Shanghai (bloody airlines, was suppose to go directly to Beijing but they changed things at the last minute! even changed boarding gates several times on the run) and everything is going great. We are having an awesome time so far and have seen some great sights.
he opening ceremony was fantastic with the Birds Nest being very impressive and the show was really great, nobody does fireworks like the Chinese! They where like thunder!
Made it to Beijing via Shanghai (bloody airlines, was suppose to go directly to Beijing but they changed things at the last minute! even changed boarding gates several times on the run) and everything is going great. We are having an awesome time so far and have seen some great sights.
he opening ceremony was fantastic with the Birds Nest being very impressive and the show was really great, nobody does fireworks like the Chinese! They where like thunder!
BECOMING A TRUE CHAMPION
There is always much discussion “When does a champion become a champion”. Clearly a real champion is not just someone that wins, but there is an additional requirement to inspire and simply exhibit class.
Of course “Our Kurt Fearnley” has proved to be a champion many times in the past, however he demonstrated to the world last night in the 800m final that he is real deal.
For those that don’t know the story an administration blunder seen a number of lane draws for the 800m final, resulting in Kurt being allocated a new inside lane at the last minute. Of course this had a huge impact on the event when the outside competitors crossed over, and Kurt was
There is always much discussion “When does a champion become a champion”. Clearly a real champion is not just someone that wins, but there is an additional requirement to inspire and simply exhibit class.
Of course “Our Kurt Fearnley” has proved to be a champion many times in the past, however he demonstrated to the world last night in the 800m final that he is real deal.
For those that don’t know the story an administration blunder seen a number of lane draws for the 800m final, resulting in Kurt being allocated a new inside lane at the last minute. Of course this had a huge impact on the event when the outside competitors crossed over, and Kurt was
pocketed on the inside. The rest history, with Kurt only able to switch to the outside to sprint for the gold very late in the finish straight, and a silver was the best he could possibly do.
The Aussie Team of course protested, with the obvious administrative mix up looking certain to cause a rerun of the final.
Now maybe Kurt cannot stand up literally, but metaphorically the boy from Carcoor stood taller than everyone when he stated that he had been beaten, and he needs to accept it and move on.
I have never seen him so upset about loosing as he was at the end of that 800m final. Yet as emotional as he was, he didn’t criticize nor down play his English opponent,
The Aussie Team of course protested, with the obvious administrative mix up looking certain to cause a rerun of the final.
Now maybe Kurt cannot stand up literally, but metaphorically the boy from Carcoor stood taller than everyone when he stated that he had been beaten, and he needs to accept it and move on.
I have never seen him so upset about loosing as he was at the end of that 800m final. Yet as emotional as he was, he didn’t criticize nor down play his English opponent,
he simply demonstrated his Class, he showed the Class of a true Champ.
The profile, betting, greed and wealth associated with televised sport means that winning is more important than ever. These days cricketers don’t walk, and no one can understand why Lance Armstrong waited for arch rival Ullrich after he fell in the Tour de France. So therefore no one raised and eye lid when the commentator said at one of the Paralympic Venues over night “There is no prizes for second in this Game”. In the 800m final Kurt Fearnley proved that statement Wrong, as second in this event tagged him as a Real Champion, and sadly in this age of professional sport our superstar performers cant afford to achieve this status any more. Hail Kurt Fearnley a real old fashion Champion.
The profile, betting, greed and wealth associated with televised sport means that winning is more important than ever. These days cricketers don’t walk, and no one can understand why Lance Armstrong waited for arch rival Ullrich after he fell in the Tour de France. So therefore no one raised and eye lid when the commentator said at one of the Paralympic Venues over night “There is no prizes for second in this Game”. In the 800m final Kurt Fearnley proved that statement Wrong, as second in this event tagged him as a Real Champion, and sadly in this age of professional sport our superstar performers cant afford to achieve this status any more. Hail Kurt Fearnley a real old fashion Champion.
REPORT 7 - Another 4 th for Lindy and I this time in the 72km road race.
The day started out with a clear sky which was a blessing as there had been rain predicted which would have been a nightmare on the course but by the time our race rolled round the “haze” had come in and you
The day started out with a clear sky which was a blessing as there had been rain predicted which would have been a nightmare on the course but by the time our race rolled round the “haze” had come in and you
The Girls finish up in the frustrating position.
Its always tough to come 4th in a championship, sadly local athletes Toireasa Gallagher / Lindy Hou and Nicole Kullen all got to go through the experience in the Beijing Paralympics.
On the positive side maybe Nicole Kullen’s 4th placing in the Equestrian Individual Freestyle Test (Grade Ib) at the Shatin Equestrian centre will give her extra drive, strength and focus to strive through the next 4 years. Yet it is debatable that an inspiring athlete such as Nicole could have any more drive and focus than she already has.
For Gallagher / Hou who where having there last Paralympics their 4th placing in both the road events at Beijing where tough pill to swallow. Toireasa Gallagher disappointed at the conclusion of yesterdays Road Race which sadly used a course that didn’t suit the Aussie (B&VI 1-3) tandem. After the event Toireasa said;
“It instantly felt surreal. This was mine and Lindy’s last tandem race. I would have loved to have got one more medal with her but it wasn’t to be. Our specific track training had taken its toll on us and this course just wasn’t going to suit us. It also meant all our racing in the Beijing Paralympic Games were over.”
Read the full story in Toireasa’s Diary below
Its always tough to come 4th in a championship, sadly local athletes Toireasa Gallagher / Lindy Hou and Nicole Kullen all got to go through the experience in the Beijing Paralympics.
On the positive side maybe Nicole Kullen’s 4th placing in the Equestrian Individual Freestyle Test (Grade Ib) at the Shatin Equestrian centre will give her extra drive, strength and focus to strive through the next 4 years. Yet it is debatable that an inspiring athlete such as Nicole could have any more drive and focus than she already has.
For Gallagher / Hou who where having there last Paralympics their 4th placing in both the road events at Beijing where tough pill to swallow. Toireasa Gallagher disappointed at the conclusion of yesterdays Road Race which sadly used a course that didn’t suit the Aussie (B&VI 1-
“It instantly felt surreal. This was mine and Lindy’s last tandem race. I would have loved to have got one more medal with her but it wasn’t to be. Our specific track training had taken its toll on us and this course just wasn’t going to suit us. It also meant all our racing in the Beijing Paralympic Games were over.”
Read the full story in Toireasa’s Diary below
REPORT 2
Today I saw the bird's nest. No hang on, that was just myself looking in the mirror at my hair when I got out of bed! No really, I did see the bird's nest and the water cube. They are only 2km from my front door away. They look even more impressive in real life than they do on TV. We did a 60km road ride around a 5km loop that surrounds the main stadium and swimming pool. It was almost like racing a crit with the 2 on the front tapping out the tempo out at 40km/h. Lindy and I happily sat on.
It is very green around here which is a total contrast to the whiteness of Athens. The Chinese are busy beautifying the gardens and mowing the lawns in preparation for the opening ceremony on Saturday night. They must have planted enough trees to allow the whole world to leave their cars running while they're parked in the garage. Global warming won't be caused from green house gases! China has saved the world from cooking itself!
I was randomly picked by a roaming reporter from China radio to do an interview today. I don't think he realised I wasn't an athlete with a disability and he didn't quite understand what a tandem was so I actually got to do the whole interview. When he goes home and does his research he'll probably delete the interview but hey, I got to feel special for a few minutes!
I'm going okay with the eating thing. I did learn at lunch today though that I have to leave before I feel hungry. I almost went hunger flat on the walk to the food hall. My team mates had to tip a wheelie out of his wheelchair and push me to the hall. Oh bugger, that reminds me, I'd better go and give his chair back! The poor guy would still be lying on the side of the footpath!
I'll send some more info about my race times and days in my next email. And also some info about Telstra Hero messages.
REPORT 1
The Paralympic Village is cool. Very similar to Athens just done better. It's so exciting having all the athletes here. It really gets the vibe going. The Aussie precinct is very close to everything. No more than a 5 min walk to anywhere in the village. It's awesome. I'm in a 3 bedroom apartment with 5 other girls from the cycling team. Lindy and I are sharing a spacious room with a really good balcony. There are places everywhere to sit outside and chill out or catch up with mates. I've seen a few familiar faces from Athens. The language barrier stops anything more than a friendly smile and a quick 'hello' being said.
Trained at the track this morning. It's similar to other major velodromes I've been to. Looks a bit more impressive than Dunc Gray (velodrome in Sydney) and the fact that it's a new track means it has fresh boards that haven't been filled with putty from crashes so it should be fast once I find my legs. I think they went awol on the flight to Beijing.
Had a meeting with the AFP today. I don't think they recognised me with my new haircut so I won't be deported back to Australia! They were here to tell us that if we get into trouble, pretty much you're on your own for the first few days then maybe they'll be able to organise someone from the Embassy to see you and offer some help. My plan is to keep my mouth shut and just following the crowd. No trouble from me!
Today I saw the bird's nest. No hang on, that was just myself looking in the mirror at my hair when I got out of bed! No really, I did see the bird's nest and the water cube. They are only 2km from my front door away. They look even more impressive in real life than they do on TV. We did a 60km road ride around a 5km loop that surrounds the main stadium and swimming pool. It was almost like racing a crit with the 2 on the front tapping out the tempo out at 40km/h. Lindy and I happily sat on.
It is very green around here which is a total contrast to the whiteness of Athens. The Chinese are busy beautifying the gardens and mowing the lawns in preparation for the opening ceremony on Saturday night. They must have planted enough trees to allow the whole world to leave their cars running while they're parked in the garage. Global warming won't be caused from green house gases! China has saved the world from cooking itself!
I was randomly picked by a roaming reporter from China radio to do an interview today. I don't think he realised I wasn't an athlete with a disability and he didn't quite understand what a tandem was so I actually got to do the whole interview. When he goes home and does his research he'll probably delete the interview but hey, I got to feel special for a few minutes!
I'm going okay with the eating thing. I did learn at lunch today though that I have to leave before I feel hungry. I almost went hunger flat on the walk to the food hall. My team mates had to tip a wheelie out of his wheelchair and push me to the hall. Oh bugger, that reminds me, I'd better go and give his chair back! The poor guy would still be lying on the side of the footpath!
I'll send some more info about my race times and days in my next email. And also some info about Telstra Hero messages.
REPORT 1
The Paralympic Village is cool. Very similar to Athens just done better. It's so exciting having all the athletes here. It really gets the vibe going. The Aussie precinct is very close to everything. No more than a 5 min walk to anywhere in the village. It's awesome. I'm in a 3 bedroom apartment with 5 other girls from the cycling team. Lindy and I are sharing a spacious room with a really good balcony. There are places everywhere to sit outside and chill out or catch up with mates. I've seen a few familiar faces from Athens. The language barrier stops anything more than a friendly smile and a quick 'hello' being said.
Trained at the track this morning. It's similar to other major velodromes I've been to. Looks a bit more impressive than Dunc Gray (velodrome in Sydney) and the fact that it's a new track means it has fresh boards that haven't been filled with putty from crashes so it should be fast once I find my legs. I think they went awol on the flight to Beijing.
Had a meeting with the AFP today. I don't think they recognised me with my new haircut so I won't be deported back to Australia! They were here to tell us that if we get into trouble, pretty much you're on your own for the first few days then maybe they'll be able to organise someone from the Embassy to see you and offer some help. My plan is to keep my mouth shut and just following the crowd. No trouble from me!
Looking forward to competition with a bit of apprehension. As it's been 12 months since I raced these girls you never know how anyone's going. Plus there are a few new faces on the scene. I guess it doesn't matter though because there is nothing else I can do now to make me go better on race day. I can stay away from the all you can eat McDonalds and icecreams though.
