The Alpes for my Bday

I should have written a new entry sooner, but I was busy ... nursing wounds and stomach flu's and trying to cycle before night fall ... but it was quite tough.
I turned 29 on Oct 2nd and what would be better than a spin ... up the Alpes! Ivan, mark, Tom, Al and I managed to rent a Chalet in Bourg d'oisans in the French Alps, at the bottom of Alpes d'huez for 5 days.

The Alpes, my 1st time and i was blown away by the scenery. Just mind blowing, amazing, great superb and all these words that I can spell properly right now because ... I'll tell you later.

The Alpes D'Huez, to me was the unclimbable. I never thought I, of all people could cycle it ... I am a sprinter after all ( yes it does sound good to say that, to imagine that's a good enough excuse ) I am not an experienced cyclist, I have no testosterone, and I am lazy b**** who hates pain. My time: around 1:40 ... My personal best :) We reached the top in a snow storm and I decided to head straight down back to the chalet as my hands were starting to freeze. Al followed and lent me his gloves, what a gentleman ... Tom, Mark and Ivan continued on and came home to a nice fire and tea.
The Galibier, the highest Col in Europe ... for those who consider it as a col, as I heard there are much debate on that subject. I was going at an easy pace. and the view was just ... cyclist heaven. I was starting be get sick, but I didn't know it yet ...
The boys!!! The cool kids Vs Mark.

There are so many things I'd like to write about this trip, like for example, that it was best cycling trip ever, but really, it was my 1st one / or that I wish I had been in a better mood, but I had a stomach flu and more problems haunting me from back home ...

I am not in a mood for writing as, the 1st day I get back on my road bike after the stomach flu and the alpes, I crashed and I am now suffering from massive knee road rash and a broken thumb ... which really stinks ...

I am off to try and get rid of the break hoods on my fixie and add another one ... or maybe I'll just go to bed.

New Fixie!

My new fixie!

A 2009 Giant Bowery. I love you fixie!

Bikes Mechanics ...

My bedroom is the new local bike workshop ... 2 bikes were dismounted there yesterday, I was trying to fix a couple of buckled wheels just a second ago but got frustrated and moved to project "remove and clean cassettes off all sets of wheels I own" ... however that also became a pain in the bum when I was not strong enough to undo the bloody cassette off the Roval Fusee ...

Tomorrow, project 'Let's build that new fixie ... again' should also take place in the workshop ... I am lucky enough to have a large room ( that's actually the biggest room in the house) ... also equipped with an ensuite bathroom I just repainted today after work as well ... ( right now I have both white paint and grease all over me ... )



Yesterday I set up the iPod that Al gave me. All my newer CDs are in my car at the garage, so i was only able to upload the few albums I had on my PC not updated from a couple of years. I was amazed to find some of my favourites tracks ... I know it's not very Rock & Roll, but Sting's Mercury Falling has to be one of the greatest albums that I had in there, just because it reminded me so many things. It was released in 1996, I was 17 years old ... this album is a true 'Winter' CD', a truly deep album , with aerial sounds and beautiful lyrics ... it's about the winter turning to spring, the rebirth of love, life, nature. I am not a music critic, the only I can say is that I listen to the album twice in a row today in work ...

I can't wait for the weekend and the cycling .. as usual, hoping to cycling a few hundred Ks :)

And the Girly paragraph of the day: OH MY GOD Trinny and Suzannah are in Dublin ... I wonder if they know about Blanchardstown Shopping centre ... I think they'd give up and hang themselves ...

... I hate waiting

Maybe I should have updated the blog earlier about this, but I was a 3rd party in this car/bikes incident, we got money for 3 new bikes, and my car is also being fixed as we speak. Al already got himself a 2008 Specialized Langster and is now has the nickname of 'Last year's Tom' or ' TKTOMM ... ( hehe sorry mate ), Tom ordered himself a new Cannondale Capo CAAD5 2008 which he should get this friday ( fingers crossed ) and I have order the new Giant Bowery 2009 that's just out tomorrow!!!! So we are all pretty pleased... My little car is at the garage for now and I am being given a rental, a Opel Corsa, brand new and it feels great to drive!! the only thing is that I have nowherer to drive the car to ... hehehe
Now ... I want my new bike!!!!!

Sunday Spin

Sunday spin! Al, Tom and moi, 142km, SallyGap, Kippure, Rounwood ... lots of talking, lots of remembering our fixies ... even thought my fixie's life was a short one ... the James Dean of bikes ... Good spin! These guys helped us along the way :

We got Spotted on 3 different occasions along the spin thanks to our boards jerseys.

F*** Off Galway Sept 08

Once upon a time in Dublin, Tom, Al and Caroline decided to take a Fixie trip to Galway:

They packed up the bikes and the bags in the Caromobile and headest West ... Braving 12 km of floods and roundabouts, M50, and Red lights ... until ...

Depressed and sad ... we headed back home, with dead bikes and a broken car ...

Ice cream and shoe shopping afternoon was the only way to make us feel better ...

Tea and ... no Rock and Roll

September has kicked in ... and I need to get mudguards. I had to drive into work this morning to avoid getting wet for a work photo we are supposed to have taken today. Rain doesn't really scare me though on any other day I would have cycled in. I'm afraid I'm becoming old ... My 29th is fast approaching, ending all my dreams of becoming a rock star and touring the world with my bass guitar .... I miss those days when anything was possible ...no ESB bill, no car down payments... all I am looking forward to when I get home nowadays is a nice cup of tea ( remind me I am out of milk ).

Here is the recipe of a nice cup of tea.

1/ Use Barry's as Lyon's doesn't make good tea ( yes bog standard tea bag tea )
2/ Boil you kettle and pour you water in your mug, on the tea bag ( do not Re-boil water!! Use new water each time)
3/ Use a spoon to stir the tea bag up and down the mug in a dipping motion
4/ Repeat 13 or 14 times
5/ DO NOT SQUEEZE THE BAG
6/ Add a bit of milk and sugar according to your tastes
7/ You can serve your tea accompanied with Fig rolls or biscuits of your choice.

This tea recipe is a family tradition that has been passed on to me from an older generation ... not my own family though ... someone else's family...

Sorry I had to do a tea post ... as my blog is also about tea. I will be sampling different bikkies over the winter as well, and maybe some different tea shop in Ireland. I will start the 1st ever Tea Shop Star rating ( not sure if I'll write a book about it just yet :P )

Oh dear ... I am still suffering from Post ToI depression ...

* Here is a photo of my 1st ever fixie ( above )

Withdrawal ...

I am in serious Tour of Ireland withdrawal at the moment. I pedal in my sleep, dream of running to the finish to get the results from the tour referees ... and, I can’t get that HQ STAFF pass off my neck. I was still very happy yesterday and this morning, but tonight it has started to hit me hard. Went for a short spin with a couple of my cycling buddies ...which felt great, but right now I am just depressed and I just want to get out on my bike again... I don’t even know what to type... I need a weekend away with my bike... somewhere else than Dublin, to breathe some new air and cycle different hills...

On my flight back to Dublin, I was sitting beside Magnus Backstedt from team Garmin Chipolte, whom I had been tracking all week to check how massive he was... ( on that picture I was on my tippy toes ). We talked about everything and anything and I can tell you, he reads Cycling Weekly too! He mentioned that the ToI roads weren’t great and that even if for us, the views looked amazing, the only things these guys were looking at were the arrows pointing which direction to take on the road. “Ah yes Magnus, these shitty roads are ours and these are the conditions we have to cycle in over here ... and we never complain” ... or do we.

On the topic of food “ Magnus, what do you eat after a cycle?” ... “High Protein Drinks and eat more proteins after”. Which is probably better than a pizza or some Chinese curry chips... ( yes lads, this is directed to you ). Made me think that my weekly training egg white sandwiches that I stopped eating when I ran out ketchup were not bad after all... I think I will get more ketchup tomorrow.

On a complete different topic ... my winter training has started today... and that means: lights, reflective vests, Low calorie weekdays food to get rid of the stubborn 10 lbs I have left to lose ... and I will (as soon as I come back from Alpe Dhuez) go for morning swims and cycles before work + gym after work! ... I am determined, I think ...

Last day of the Tour Of Ireland

I am at the hotel lobby right now, feeling a bit blue and depressed. Today is the last day of the tour of Ireland and I am flying home at 7:30pm.

This has been the best experience I have ever had, the best week, I have ever lived and ... if you thought I was a cycling nut then, well now I am even worse. Life on tour is quite unique, staff, teams, volunteers seem to all stick together, we all have breakfast, dinner together, drinks at the bar, chats in the hotel lobby, with our tags around our necks, and great big dark circles around our eyes ... I think I haven't slept more than 5 hours since I started the tour.

I was having breakfast in the restaurant this morning, trying to look at what the riders were having for breakfast. They eat anything and everything, in large quantity, from coco pops to muesli, pasta, bread fruits.

I haven't found the courage to ask them for an autograph just yet... I don't really want to be seen as a 'groupie'. Today though, as it is my last day I will try and get my race manual signed...

Legends ...

Wednesday was stage 2 of the tour of Ireland, from finishing in Loughrea co. Galway. I travelled straight to the finish line, from Thurles ... long long long ride. We drove in the convoy going to the start with a Police escort some of the way. I am really loving the sightseeing as much as the Press Officer Job. This is such a wonderful country we all live in! Set up the press office, ran to finished, couldn’t take photos this time around I had to run back to the office with the fresh results. Cav won ... not a surprise. Greet the journos, give out results, run from one place to another to get more info, make tea, buy papers, cut papers ...
After work, I just about made it to the Press Dinner organized by Failte Ireland. All the press was there ( not that many, just about 28 people, including David Duffield, Phil Ligget, Paul Sherwen, Dave the announcer from Colorado, my boss Gerry and Amanda, a couple of an post people, Jimmy Maggee whom Irish audience will know from his TV sports commentaries, the Photographers. Everyone was there.

On our way to the restaurant that was about 20k from Galway, me and Amanda had to drive with David Duffied and Dave the announcer. Duffield may be a legend, but he is a real pain in the backside as a co pilot... especially when he has been drinking most of the day. Poor Amanda was driving and Duffield was going mental, panicking about the way we were going, telling us it was the wrong way, making us turn back, when we knew exactly where we were going. Me and Dave the announcer were trying out best to calm him down ... but he still made us stop 3 times.... Yes legends can also be pains in the bum.

Caroline does the Tour of Ireland

I never though I'd ever live to experience such a Buzz: Being part of the organization of the tour of Ireland. I got a cab into the hotel, straight to the race HQ: 'here are your race tshirt's', Straight to work in the press room to get the badges ready, print some race info, get it all nice and ready for the press people... Was in there until 2PM, starving to death sucking on free mints, waiting to be given a break. I had to mind the fort while the Boss was out with some TV people. Once I was freed to get fed, as I was almost dead under the table from hunger, I headed to the bar where ... I had a toasted ham & Cheese sandwich and tea ... 11quid ... for that price I ate the decorative salad too. It was good tea though I was to say, I was not disappointed.

Oh yea I need to mention my little episode with David Duffield. Here he comes, in the press office: 'Hello, how are you', I am introduced to him by the boss. And I have the great idea to ask Dufield if I can get a photo with him, and I pull up my my camera phone. He agrees and says it would be great to do it properly, there in the corner, with the poster in the back, and then, he pulls up a chair and says I have to sit in his lap ... I went red. The boss, obviously was laughing ... and spent the whole evening telling everyone how David Duffield got me to sit on his lap ... *me=cringing* ...

The press conference in the afternoon was pretty quiet, O'loughlin, Martin, and Penotti, and Martin's bike. I had to set yo the press office which involved a lot of running ...I am really tired now ... early start. I have to get up at 6 ... What a great week off work I am having!

Oh yeah, Sean Kelly like lots of salt in his food, or it could have been pepper, either way, he was shaking that shaker like mad...

* Blogger isn't letting me post more photos right now, I will add some new ones tomorrow evening :)

Fixie!!!

Got it last thursday and I love it!! Put it together with the help of my cycling buddy Tom (**thanks**) ... well I only assembled the handle bars and the bottle cage ... This thing is amazing to ride. Went on a nice spin with it last friday and I had a blast! I can wait for the end of the tour of Ireland to cycle it again ... and again ...


* I have since got rid of the reflectors

'Caution Cyclists'

Yes ... I have experienced life after death... about 4 times. Just back from the Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford, a pleasant little 160km stroll in the Comeragh mountains in Waterford. Looks like heaven, hurts like hell. A few of us were there for event: Ivan, Mark, Peter, Laura, Mike and 72oo (whose name I cannot remember just now ) plus a few more.
So, yes, Seskin Hill is a torture, but once you get up there, you realise, it's actually not "that" bad ( I did curse a few times going up it ). Laura, me, Mike, and 72oo stayed together during the 160k ( thank you guys!) ... There were tears, laughter and hallucinations ... 'is there a water stop, yes, no, is that the end of that $$%£&^ hill, where are all the sandwiches gone ...? Every 30k, I wanted to take the short cut back home ... I am happy I didn't. These hills were tough, but the sight was amazing, and that was such a great reward! My time on the saddle 7:12 ... Maybe next year, I'll do it on the fixie!
With the help of Mark, we managed to get us boardsies with Sean Kelly the Man Himself in a photo ( After the event, so we all look tired )!!!
Anyway, amazing climbs, great descents, wonderful scenery, friendly sheep !!! I hope you like the photos!!

Fakenger ... me? No way ...

When a women is feeling a bit low and blue, she buys a pair of 300quid shoes ... Me ... I just bought a fixie ... go figure. I swear though I am a woman!!!!

This is it there, a Giant Bowery ( awaiting delivery ). All my cycling buddies are getting them at the moment ... the fixie extravaganza among Dublin's road cyclists. There is a rule though: Do not attempt to look like a messenger... the only thing I want to change on mine is the Saddle and the bar tape ... to make it look more 'me' ... but people don't think I should ... as always I can't make up my mind.

I'd like some brown Brooks handlebar tape and a Charge saddle in brown leather too. OR some army green handlebar tape and a black saddle ...

Back to Dublin ...

Yeah ... well I'm back to Dublin. I'm not even disappointed much ... just a bit. It's always hard to leave mum and dad behind. Especially that mum has now permanently moved away from Bordeaux, I am having to split my vacation time between the 2 parents, between Bordeaux and Biarritz... and at 28 years old, I think it's harder than if I had been 12. As an adult, having divorced parents really sucks and even if they have been for a while they always lived a close distance from each other which was brilliant. It's still great to spend time with them, I miss them often even after 10 years of living abroad.

I did cycle up to Spain yesterday, just a 70km spin in the hilly Pyrenees Atlantiques... which is both the sea side and the hills. I have one good advise, do not think that you can avoid a hard climb ... the alternative route ( especially if you're just 'guessing' it will be less hilly ) is often worse than the original climb you wanted to avoid ...

A few photos:

Do Never Show Your Mother Your Nintendo DS

... she saw it ... took it, played it and now won't let it go. Brain training every second that god sends, reaching a low of 47yrs old ( so far ) and getting better every minute ...

I was supposed to cycle to spain today, but instead ... watched the cycling on TV, and the swimming and fencing ... and the rest ... you got to love the Olympics :) I am addicted... so I am cycling up there tomorrow morning :) if the weather stays dry, it was crap uptil 3pm today ...

My Bike Loves France!!

I decided to taeke my Trek 1000 for a well deserved holiday in France. As you can see in the photos, it looks very happy and relaxed.

Here in Bordeaux:

Now in Saint de Luz:

We wished our Dear Specialized Ruby Pro was here too but the trip would have been to hard on him ... still a bit scared of flying...

I know this is my home, Bordeaux is, I still find it an amazing place to be in and I always feel very sad when I leave.

The basque country is not my home as such, even though most my mother's family still lives around there.

Me and the bike are cycling up to spain on wednesday. We almost reached spain today but had to turn back to meet my mum back in Biarritz and only cycled a short 51km... it was quite hot though.

Will post more photos again soon!!

Here, outside the St Jean de Luz Church ->

Sunday Spin

Ahhh ... Sunday spins! Tea stops... sprinting tired cyclists and being yelled at by motorists for not using the cycle lanes! Bliss! The rain was intermittent but didn't really bother me ... if we were to wait for the weather to clear to do anything in this country, we'd be all indoors 24/7.

I think this is Donnadea Forrest in Kildare... I am not too sure.Easy spin bang on 100km.

Irish TV

Oh My God! Winning streaks is gone and has been replaced by ... The Big Money Game on RTE one! I wonder is that's going to lower the average age of the players ... ah wait ... 1st contestant? .. Marie from the arse hole of nowhere in the middle of Waterford. You gotta love that giant fake touch screan though, they kept that one from winning streaks, well done!
Ah yeah, great uncle Paddy and his 2 single sons are there too from West Cork, cheering for Mary with ' Go on Mary! printed tshirts ...

This has to be the most exciting way to make money on telly ...

Tea, Bikes and Rock & Roll

.... yeah, that's what I have decided to call my blog page... why? Because everyone who knows me ( and those who don't know me as of now ) know that they are my 3 favourite things.

I was chatting to my buddy Al earlier about the myspace and facebook and the like, and how nonsense & crap that they are. I still won't delete my facebook though... as most my good friends are there. Yeah my 'good friends', those that I actually know and speak to regularly, those whom I left when I moved away from Canada a few years ago. I was living there about 4 year, south of Toronto Ontario. Great country, amazing people and great quality of life.. I actually passed my driving licence in a snow storm. Anyway, we discussed how 'blogs' are better! I'll give it a try. I am not a really the best writer, so be nice.

Anyway, here I am... 28 yrs old cyclist who likes riding her bike while listening to Rock&Roll, and loves her tea.

More in the next episode!!