Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Team Presentation

Team presentation, a time for the sponsors to see everyone together. For us to finally show off our new kit, bikes, cars, etc. The calm before the storm! The presentation day although long, is one of them days you cannot help but enjoy. This day was no different and I for one really had a good day, even if it meant at the end of it all, all I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep!

So, this blog is just going to be pictures from our presentation. Because you know sometimes I am lazy but sometimes pictures tell a much better story!



So, here it is, the much anticipated picture from our team photo day. This picture for me, is one of the most important. That is because it is the one that I will have stuck with me for the rest of the year. This picture will appear on the website, on team cards and on all press release things. So although I am not very interested the most of the time in doing my make up and making sure my hair is exactly right for this day I really was!


Presentation day has two main objectives, one to show the world the new kit and two a chance for the sponsors to see what they are supporting. Once the typical introduction of staff and riders is complete generally the next step in a presentation is for the riders to mingle and chat with those who have come. Believe the room was packed and there was a lot of people to talk to! For me this is no problem, I found myself within my element and for sure without a doubt this was the best bit of the day! Time is irrelevant at these kind of functions and you just make the most of the opportunity you have to talk to these people, showing an appreciation to them for the support they are showing the team.

For the year of 2012 I will be riding a Koga bike. Both in the road races and within all TT's. The road bike I have recently received and have really felt at home on it straight away. It is such a positive bike. It handles very well and especially so at the high speeds. I feel happy on it and know for sure when I put it into the corner it is going to react the way I would expect it to. The TT I have also been very lucky to try. Words do not describe the feeling of riding on that bike, words would just not do it justice. It is an amazing bike, super fast, super stiff and just an absolute joy to ride. How many people say that about their TT bikes!! I really look forward to riding it, I just love it so much!



The team bus, what can I say! Not many women's team are blessed with the luxury of having a bus like this at their disposal, so I see myself very fortunate to have such a thing! It certainly is something very useful to have in terms of changing and just having that one place before a race where you can hide out. It is by no means to the scale of that of what a men's team would have, but it is practical and it is going to do a bloody good job, that I am sure of. The colour scheme is that of everything we have this year. Everything matches which is really cool. The colours really grow on you.




Last but by no means least, I give to you Dolmans-Boels Cycling Team 2012. Here's to a successful year for everybody, individually but most importantly as a team!










Cycle Fit



So here I am on my rest day in Spain, again thinking writing a blog is probably the best thing to do!

So, instead of wittering on about the first few days of training camp, that can wait until next week or so, I will write about something also very important for me, and should be for every other cyclist, CycleFit.

A few days before returning to Belgium I found myself on my way to London to visit the guys at CycleFit. This was not my first time, but after last year with the custom foot beds I really saw the benefit and could not understand how people ride with one size fits all. It's important to find a shoe that really fits well but I feel people really miss a trick when it comes to the sole. This is where your foot has direct contact, this is where the power is going to be transferred from leg to pedal. The better the feeling and the better the contact, means a better transfer of power.

So, my shoe choice for the coming year is Bont Vaypor. It is a very comfortable shoe and one of the best on the current market. It is a very stiff shoe but that is something that I like. With the added stiffness of my custom foot beds I feel for the year 2012 I have the perfect combination. As well as making sure you have a perfect shoe and sole combination the cleat set up is also very important. This takes time, and for me this took a lot of time! You can never be in a rush when trying to sort things like cleat position and bike position. It is something that takes time and cannot be rushed. It should not be rushed because a poor position with your cleat or set up or your bike can result in injuries, which is something as athletes we try to avoid like the plague!

I have a lot to thank Phil and Jules for, it took time but you know what we might finally be there. Saddle change and a few changes here and there and the bike now feels great. Cycle Fit are amazing people, it's a great service and I would recommend to anyone, but also the banter you have when there is great!

I am very happy to be able to say that they will be supporting me for the coming year and I am very excited about that. I am currently on training camp and the changes we made to the bike feel very positive. I am on my new team bike and the first time I rode it, it was amazing because of these adjustments.

Monday, February 6, 2012

In typical Emma style it's been a fair while since I updated my blog! But, in my defence things have been busy!

January training camp came and went! Some good miles were put in and the banter did not disappoint. 10 days training and 1000Km were covered, including the famous Emma "easy" rides! As Macsha put it, "It's always an easy ride with Emma!" I just got excited when I was riding my time trial bike, it's amazing, it just makes you go fast! The thing is I didn't realise just how fast we were going until I downloaded my data in the evening! Put it this way, I now go easy! The weather was perfect, it just makes getting out on your bike that much better, riding in the sun! All was good apart from a little bit of sickness. Not great but perfect time to get sick in my opinion. If your going to get sick January is a good time, still a long time until the first race, so a lot of training still lay ahead, if I looked after myself. Which I did, I learnt that from last year. After a few easy days when I got home I was back on it again and putting in some solid training.

So, apart from riding my bike what else have I been up to. First and foremost I attended the Cycling Time Trials Dinner. Always a good night out and especially for a good chance to attend and show my appreciation for the support that they will be giving me this year. I am very happy to be accepting the funding and hope to do them proud with some good results this year. The dinner however again did not disappoint. The food as always was amazing, the whole prize giving thing took a long time but that's nothing out of the ordinary and I suppose that is why you go! But, for me the best thing about the whole evening was the Graeme Obree interview. It was very inspiring and so totally true. It all just made sense, he spoke the truth, it left me inspired. After speaking to him on a one to one after it left me feeling very positive about what I was doing and why I was doing it. Despite what a lot of people think about the man, he is not as strange as people make out, just a very sound man. He knows what he wants and is going to get there his way, which I suppose is why I like him. Maybe in a way I see myself, doing battle on my way, my way or no way!

So, that's what I have been up to. All the normal things as well, riding, resting, sleeping! But, just enjoying life! So until next time, remember, live life to the maximum, never regret anything!