02 Sep Training Block Nailed – Time to Race

The past month I have spent training here in California preparing for a block of races in Europe starting in September. The riding here continuously surprises me, I’ve experienced some of the best riding in the San Francisco area from Fairfax to Santa Cruz to Menlo Park, there’s no shortage of cool paces to explore and hills either. All of these places have been great for training it’s hard to pick favourites but I am really enjoying Menlo Park at the moment. The roads are in great condition and don’t feel like you’re bikes going to break every time you hit one of the many pot holes like other parts of San Francisco. I definitely can’t complaint about the weather either, only my tan lines. Being mid-way through the University semester is also keeping me very busy, who doesn’t love trying to manage group assignments with people half way around the world, just to add a bit of extra stress into your life.

Although I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here in the states I’m excited and ready to head to Europe. Team Illuminate has lined up some tough races for us. To kick things off we are doing Giro di Toscana Femminine in Italy, certainly no easing into things with this one. A three day tour with some challenging courses should set us up nicely for our next race on the calendar, Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche. This is a six day race covering 709km featuring multiple hill top finish’s and mountain stages. I look forward to seeing what we can pull off as a team and can’t wait to experience everything that is European racing.