Monday- frustration, and a near death experience.
We went for a recovery ride after our casual UCI appearance. Hannah almost let me get hit by a car after my sight failed me but changed her mind at the last moment after realising how empty her life would be without me and pointed out the oncoming vehicle in time for me to turn, have my life flashed before my eyes, and brush the side rather than challenge it to a head on. We also went for some cornering lessons with a Dutch fellow, but much to my disgust I received no attention while Hannah had it all, including video analysis. (Really Mr van Kampen did you not teach your daughter better??) Enough said about this day.
Tuesday- Anticipation, Revelations and Exultations
We went training with the local club. We turned up half an hour early after receiving inaccurate information and rode several laps of the industrial area so we didn’t freeze to death. Our informant received severe beatings for his actions. With just 5mins to go before rolling out there was a group of about 20 junior boys, 3 or 4 elite men and Hannah and I to represent the women. How hard could this be? Oh dear, it appears we had found ourselves a hoard of Regan Goughs; riding tempo at the command of a Daryl and sprinting for each village sign with the enthusiasm of Zane, And all at the speed of a Andy and Dan Raukawa Two up Team Time Trial. God help us. Well just me, Hannah is not here anymore.
Wednesday- Cravings, savings and free drinks
The whole village got drunk. We went to see some cows being traded at 7am, it did little to help our cravings for a decent steak as we deal with withdrawals from red meat. It was an entertaining experience and proved enough to tempt us back for the afternoon. We went training at lunch time and found ourselves making our return about 1pm. Little did we know how the perilous the journey was to be. We have managed to hook ourselves up with a couple of old bikes on which we commute..(argh) at least it means we won’t have to go through the hassle of insurance forms if our road bikes were nicked. Anyway, we went to collect those and found that one had no wheels. So we wouldn’t get very far on that. We decided it was a good plan to ride one bike to the bus stop instead, Hannah pedalled and I sat on the silly bag frame thing over the back wheel. Unfortunately there was no bus going to Schagen. So we decided to check the next bus stop. Then the next. Then the next. Unfortunately there was never going to be a bus and the bike was too big for me to reach the pedals so we continued, I hunched on the back, with Hannah experiencing what life would be like if she doubled in size. (I think we have healed her cookie addictions). 
We soon found ourselves sat on the road side 10km from either town, wondering what silly idea had got us here, and what to do with ourselves. AND THEN WE WERE SAVED! Of course, we had the best luck we could have hoped for. As we were sat there, who should ride past with a group of friends? One of the only two boys from the North of Holland, whom we happen to know. We soon found ourselves amongst the crowd of 17,000 youngsters partying it up in the town square, receiving an endless supply of free drinks. I may or may not have tripled my young Dutch boy contact list and received a stern warning from Hannah for my actions. But never mind that now, she has gone away. The clubbing had been going since 1pm and we joined in until dinner called our names. We departed on the one bicycle, in the same fashion as our initial hunt for the bus stop. The 15km home took a loooooooong time, and the puncture with 5km to go did not help. Needless to say we slept well that night, once I turned my phone on silent that is...Thursday- 10 min efforts in a stupid place
We went training with those Dutch boys again, we had 10min efforts on the menu and they decided to test their TT legs against ours. Let’s just say talking smack about Time Trialling with Ashleigh Neave was a boo-boo on their behalf. They did pick the course though, being the locals, it was a stupid place with several busy intersections, where Hannah may or may not have got lost, and we are not going there again. The end.
Friday- Coffee stop, bakery stop, supermarket shop
We spent Friday as a pair of frustrating commuters on fancy bikes. We went to the bike shop to have a buckled wheel (thanks to those pesky cobbles) fixed, did a supermarket shop and fed Hannah’s bakery addiction. That was about it. Oh, and I think Hannah did a few intervals to restore her self-esteem after the challenges of yesterday.
Saturday- Redemption and a bit of a vom
We raced. It was a casual 30km with “wind in the face” to get to the course. We made it with enough time to sign in, pin our numbers up, take off our warm gear and pee (and get caught) behind a shed. The course was 1.5km with 5 corners to make. Because the Dames only had 3 riders they threw us in with the men. Oh joy. I managed to make it into the break for the first 10 laps, and lap the other girl. So now I just had Hannah to worry about in the sprint... hmmmm. Little did I know she was still with us, but doing it the hard way at the back of the bunch and consequently probably having a stronger ride? A few laps later a break went again, I spent a while in no man’s land with a bit of a vom in my mouth going on, until getting swamped in the tailwind straight and receiving the hand of God from some guy who obviously thought I wouldn’t get up to the speed of the bunch on my own accord. I took some time to recover and visit Hannah at the back for a few laps. When I had had enough of the bungee I attacked (the easiest way to get back to the top 20, surely?) and found myself in the sprint. I’m claiming it as my first crit win. Even though there were just 3 of us. And you better not take that away from me. I had yet another warning from Hannah after the post race chatting with the boys who seemed impressed with my gutsy ride. We will leave that there.
Sunday- April Fools!
Race? What race? Hannah has been exiled after her failed Garmin navigation. We never made it to the start of the race, but we did manage to get wet and cold and hungry and very agitated. If you see her, please help her, she is probably lost...again.. or perhaps still...
That is all from me, I am off to learn how to follow the instructions from the Garmin myself... Hope you have had a good week.
Ashleigh
