Name: Rebecca Rimmington
D.O.B: 14th January 1983
Website: www.bexrimmington.com
Current Team: Melton Olympic CC
Road World Ranking: 1st

2010 Race Results

1st UCI World Cup Time Trial ~ June
1st Bilbao UCI Cup Road Race Stage 3 ~ May
1st Bilbao UCI Cup General Classification ~ May
1st Bayonne UCI Cup Road Race Stage 1 ~ May
1st Bayonne UCI Cup Time Trial Stage 2 ~ May
1st Bayonne UCI Cup Road Race Stage 3 ~ May
1st Bayonne UCI Cup Road Race Stage 4 ~ May
1st Bayonne UCI Cup General Classification ~ May
1st National Disability Road Race Championships ~ June
1st National Disability Criterium Series Salt Ayre ~ May
1st Rudy Project National Time Trial Series Round 1 ~ March
1st Rudy Project National Time Trial Series Round 3 ~ April
1st Rudy Project National Time Trial Series Round 5 ~ August
1st Wyre Forest Midland SPOCO ~ April
1st VTTA Open Time Trial ~ May
1st Liverpool Century 10-mile Time Trial ~ June
1st Coventry Cycling Club 10-mile Time Trial ~ July
2nd VTTA 25-mile Time Trial ~ May
2nd UCI World Cup Road Race ~ June
6th UCI World Championship Time Trial ~ August
6th UCI World Championship Road Race ~ August

Well as the end of 2010 approaches – what a year it has been! With the highs of winning the World and the Europa Cups to the lows of not achieving the results we were capable of at the World Championships – this year has certainly had it all. Along with the many adventures that have happened on the tandem, in a bizarre way this is posssibly one of the hardest blogs that I have had to write.

I suppose really I should explain why this is so difficult. December closes the end of a chapter for me being on the British Para-cycling Academy. With not achieving the results at the World Championships this year, meant a reduction in funding – which ultimately meant that I would have to go back to work, as well as trying to balance full-time training and racing. Unfortunately being on the academy and in this situation is just not a viable option.

It is a very difficult decision to step away from the academy, but for one it will certainly not stop me going after and achieving my goals and ambitions in 2011. I finished 2010 ranked number one in the world on the tandem, and I have every ambition of being back there again.

At the beginning of the year, Catherine Merry gave us a great talk at the ASDA Sporting Chance day saying that everyone wants to take the direct route to achieve their goals, but as we all know, that never really happens. The one thing is to enjoy the journey, even if you never make it to your destination.

More than anything, this year I have enjoyed and loved every moment of racing on the tandem, and this wouldn’t have been possible without the ASDA Sporting Chance scheme – who have helped fund all those vital preparation races in the UK to enable us to peak at major championships and to purchase and maintain equipment throughout the season. The 120-mile instore ride at Oadby, Leicester was a great day – even if I was riding stationary for 5 ½ hours, the support showed from the staff and public that day was overwhelming.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m never down for long, and I’m certainly not going to stop competing – if anything it has made me all the more determined to succeed. Besides if sport was easy, everyone would do it. There have been numerous athletes who have shown that it is possible, those in UK Athletics who had their funding cut and went on to perform superbly this year, and cyclists who have shown that it is possible to achieve their goals outside the academy set up.

So what does 2011 hold? For the moment I am planning my newly revised season, but I have been offered a place on a new team and will be competing in the UK and in Europe which is exciting. I’ll also be working on developing new and up coming talent on the tandem – and hopefully passing on my experience and knowledge.

So all that remains to be said is a massive thank you to all those at ASDA and those that have followed my season throughout 2010.

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and new year and I hope you continue to follow my progress in 2011.

Bex

Hey everyone,

Well with the snow coming down I thought it was another ideal opportunity to catchup with all my followers. I’m back into full training again now, and been very lucky to have our first track session today, just in time for the white stuff falling out of the sky!

Living in Manchester and being part of the academy, means every Wednesday afternoon we have workshops on the various aspects of top level performance. From there we can take the knowledge and apply it to our own performance. The main thing being on the academy is that we take responsibility for what we learn and use.

Our first workshop of the year was certainly an eye-opener as we all had to sit a Health & Hygiene certificate to ensure that we wouldn’t poison our housemates! It was certainly funny listening to some of the stories in the group, and the one fact I’ll never forget is when you open up a packet of flour and you see it move – it’s because it actually is – because of the mites living in it! Eeeeeewwwww! Alongside that we have had nutrition, physiology, and injury prevention workshops with a whole heap more before Christmas. Its great to learn new things from the best guys in the business.

I’ve also been having some fun doing cyclo-cross which is great for sharpening up the bike handling skills. I think I could become very addicted to this discipline its such good fun and an opportunity to get a bit muddy! However my attentions at the moment are gaining selection for the World Paracycling Track Championships in Italy at the beginning of March, so there is a lot of hard work ahead, and a busy calendar for next year already being planned.

Alongside all the hard work, there has been the opportunity to have a few adventures! Having been given a route to follow, how difficult could it be to follow signposts – except however when somebody has switched the signposts around! My nice 4 hour ride turned into 6hours and I even found out where Lancaster was – by accident of course!

And finally it wouldn’t be the same without a photo! This one was taken from Rutland Water heading out on an off-road adventure. I was also able to pick up a selection of goodies from Rutland Cycling from my 120mile fundraising activities.

So time for some much needed rest and recovery ready for tomorrows session!

Thanks for following.

Bex

Howdy peeps!

Well what a day!

It was fundraising day at ASDA Oadby today and I set myself the challenge of cycling 120-miles instore, which is the exact distance from the store in Leicester to the Olympic Velodrome in Stratford, London. It was kind of cool as well that the 120 also carries the numbers ‘20’ and ‘12’ = 2012!

To say that the public were unbelievable in their donations would be a massive understatement! We set up a raffle and I was very fortunate that ASDA donated a £15 gift voucher, Everyone Active a family swimming voucher and activity pass, Twinlakes leisure park donated a family day out and Rutland Cycles donated a family cycle hire for the day.

After 120-miles on my rollers, in a time of 5-hours 29-minutes and 39-seconds “I did it”! It was brilliant! I met so many supportive customers in store, and the Leicester Mercury even came along to do an article.

So the verdict….. £274.96! I was overwhelmed by the final total! The money will now mean i can enter the national events next year around the UK as well as purchase some new equipment ready for 2011.

I have to say a huge thank you to the companies that donated the prizes, ASDA Oadby for the support and opportunity to do the fundraising, the ASDA lady that was selling cakes at the door alongside me…. she got me through the last 40-miles by selling a different variety of muffins, flapjacks, minirolls and cookies every 10-miles! The announcers on the shop floor who were keeping the customers and staff informed of my progress, and of course my mum for giving up her time to stand on the door selling raffle tickets. As you can see it was definately a team effort and it would not have been possible without the help and support of everyone there today. So a huge ‘THANK YOU!’

Now i’m heading back up to Manchester ready for my next set of adventures so look forward to updating you all soon!

Bex

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to my latest blog! Well whats been happening of late. Well I’ve been enjoying my end of season break and taking part in some new and exciting projects.

Earlier in the year I helped out at the Top Link Schools Festival at the Vale of Catmose College in Oakham – where I used to be a swimming teacher. Primary schools from around the area attended the day and took part in a variety of sports. My job for the day was to choose youngsters that displayed the seven Olympic & Paralympic values. The top sport organisers that arranged the day, awards and sporting program were superb and it was great to see such talent in so many areas.

A couple of weeks ago I also took the opportunity to go to the Cycle Show in Earls Court London. For any cyclist its like being a child in a sweet shop with so many bikes, new equipment and kit around – and all under one roof! I was running from stand to stand – although I’m sure if you see the photographs the problem was actually getting me off the test track trying all the bikes! I even had a go on a penny farthing!

Then last weekend, I had the honour of helping coach at the Para-Triathlon open day and performance weekend. It was great to see so many athletes attending the day, and I really hope that come 2016 Para-triathlon is introduced into the Paralympics. The guys at British Triathlon are doing a great job in raising the profile of the sport. My roll for the weekend was helping the pilots and VI athletes on the tandem giving them a few hints and tips along the way. In such a short space of time there was a massive difference from everyone from start to finish! It really was a great weekend – so thank you to British Triathlon for the opportunity to attend.

So onto this week and I’m fundraising with my local ASDA store in Oadby – so if your around please pop down to say hello and see what we’re up to!

Stay posted! Bex

Hi all,

Well it was certainly an eventful week at the British Track Cycling Championships in Manchester. As I mentioned in my previous blog, there have been a few changes made of late, and one of them is that I was to be riding the Championships with double Paralympic gold medallist Aileen McGlynn.

For me, it was a great privelage to be riding with someone of Aileens calibre, and I’ve learnt so much in such a short space of time riding together. With only 6 sessions together we went into the championships to put down a baseline performance time.

On the Wednesday we competed in the kilometre time trial, for me I’m not renowned for being a sprinter, however we produced a time of 1.11.086 which was a 1.5 second best time for me, so a massive step in the right direction! The para-cycling national championship medals are awarded to the category closest to their world record, so on this occasion we finished 4th. However, with such a short period of time together on the bike we were more than pleased with our performance and know that we can take this forward to our next competition.

After the kilometre time trial, we were down to compete in the pursuit which we had paid a lot of attention to in our training sessions. Unfortunately though, the team doctor was called down to me after the kilometre time trial and I was advised not to compete in the pursuit and to take some time off the bike.

This came as a bitter blow, but I respect the team doctors decision, and hopefully I will get the all clear shortly to begin training and racing ready for 2011.

All that remains to be said is that 2010 has been a great year, in my first as a full-time cyclist. Sport is like a rollercoaster with its ups and downs – but if it was easy then everyone would do it right? I’m spending my time off putting together some fund raising activities with ASDA Oadby so look forward to reporting on that one soon!

Over and out for now, Don’t forget to stay tuned! Bex

Hi everyone,

Well I’m back into the groove again after returning from my surfing trip to Newquay. It gave me some much needed reflection time, and now that I’m back in blighty I feel that I can move on to the next phase of my training and racing.

Next week we are competing at the National Track championships, this is my first track competition since the World Championships last year – so I’m really excited about getting back out there racing on the wooden boards again. There have been a few changes made of late – but I’m going to leave that until my next blog!

This weekend, I took the opportunity to go and follow the Tour of Britain along with some of my Paracycling teammates. Even as a full-time cyclist, I am a massive fan of the professional cycling scene, and the opportunity to go and meet some of your favourite riders, see them in action, and learn from them, is my idea of a great day out.

So our adventure began. We headed out towards Buxton and then turned up the big climb to the highest village in Britain, a place called Flash. I couldn’t believe our luck when the viewing spot I’d picked had a strategically placed café – a cyclists haven! It was great to see so much support for the event!

We went out in support of Team Sky (naturally supporting the British team) who had changed their kit from the blue stripe to green in order to raise awareness to climate change and the Brazilian rainforest. As part of the Team Sky cheering brigade for the weekend, I set about putting my creative skills to some use making a banner to cheer on the guys. It must have done some good, as by the time they reached 100km’s of the 160km at Flash there was a break away of 18 riders with three Sky riders in! I had intended on taking lots of pictures, but got so excited with cheering and seeing some of my idols I completely forgot to press the button! Oops!

After seeing the peloton come by, we then made the decision to head on down to Stoke to catch the finish. It was brilliant timing, we managed to find a parking space and was right round the corner from the finish! So we quickly piled out the car, banner as well! And headed to the finish! It must have been the banner naturally, as Team Sky’s Greg Henderson took the win in Stoke-on-Trent! After watching the finish, we then headed round to the team area where the riders head to their buses, which is a great opportunity to meet the riders and get some photos! This time I actually managed to get some snaps!

So after a great day out, it was back to Manchester to think about our own preparations and racing over the coming weeks.

So will update you with all the latest goings on next week – keep tuned!

The track nationals are running from Tuesday 21st September to Saturday 25th September – so for anyone who’s a cycling fan its not only a great opportunity to come and see some Paracycling but also catch a glimpse of Olympic gold medallists in action at the Manchester Velodrome.

Over and out for now, Bex :)

Hi everyone,

I think maybe this is one of the most difficult blogs I’ve had to write – a reflection of our World Championship performances. I’ve been back in the UK for four days now, and I’m trying to keep positive about the performances we gave, but also can’t help but feel disappointed at the results after what had been a great road season. For whatever reason, and the process I’m going through now of analysing what happened, we did not achieve our objectives.

We started off with the 22km road time trial, after our World Cup win earlier in the season, I think it would be fair to say we thought we might be able to do well in this event, but we only managed sixth place, despite clocking 90kph on the descent and giving absolutely everything. Something just didn’t happen. The race was won by the Dutch tandem, with the Canadians taking the remaining podium places.

Onto Sunday, and the road race which we achieved a bronze medal in last year, it was a case of racing smart over the 7-lap course. From the first lap the Canadians and Dutch pairings who had two tandems were intent on working as a team and stretching the group out over the mile long climb. After the second lap, and the steep climb, the group had reduced down to 7 tandems. As the race went on, the Canadians began to counter attack each other and going over the climb on the 6th lap we eventually lost contact with the group. The Canadian pairing then attacked the leading group to win alone, whilst the New Zealand tandem went on to take silver and the other Canadian pairing taking the bronze. The two dutch tandems then took 4th and 5th, leaving myself and Lora to sprint for 6th and 7th against the French tandem which we took 6th place.

We did everything we possibly could out there last week, and I’ve learned a great deal. From here, we will sit down and reassess everything, right now it’s really hard to accept two 6th places after what had been a great season on the road. Next year we’re coming back here for a round of the World Cup, the bar has been raised massively this championships – if anything it has given me the motivation to go back and work harder than ever before!

For now though, to help get some clarity back, I’m heading down for some surfing again, ready to start the track season on 1st September.

Thank you to everyone for all their support in the lead up to the championships and during them. The coaching staff, mechanics, soigneurs, all the guys behind the scenes at British Cycling, as well as all my friends, family, and my support network back home. It really means a great deal to know your all supporting us – chasing rainbows was always going to be a tough challenge, but one which I will keep pursuing…………

Over and out for now,

Bex

Hello from Canada!

Well this is it now, the last couple of weeks have been the final preparations for our world championships. We did our final race at the Rudy Project National Time Trial series at Wyre Forest, it was a good hilly course and we were really pleased to have won. From that race, it was packing suitcases and bikes ready for our travels to Canada!

We left on Friday 13th – of all days! With all 32 bikes and 39 bags! British Airways did a great job of sorting us out as we were checking everything in. I’m sure you can imagine the look of horror when we turned up with all our equipment! We took our first flight from Manchester to Heathrow where we met with the remainder of the team, and then embarked on our long haul flight to Montreal. It was a chance to catch up on some movies that have been on the watch list for a while. We arrived in Montreal and managed to collect all our bags, even on a prolonged Friday 13th! We then had an overnight stay before taking our internal flight to Baie Comeau. We had to chuckle as we arrived at our charter plane, the pilot was also the receptionist, security guard and safety tester! The plane was so small we had to weigh all our hand luggage to ensure the plane could take off! All our bikes and bags went via a 10-hour road trip whilst we stayed overnight. The take off and landing reminded us of the Krypton Factor when they used to go in the simulator at the end and had to land the plane, we could all see out the front window, one minute you could see the runway, then you couldn’t, then we were over to the left, then the right. It was certainly an adventure.

After an hour in the sky we finally made it to Baie-Comeau. We spent the afternoon building the bikes and then headed out to the course to see what was in store for us! Wow! Its possibly one of the toughest courses we’ve ever come across, straight from the start it climbs uphill, it mostly goes through a residential area, and as the week has gone on the locals have been coming out to show their support with drums, tamberines, horns, megaphones, and that’s just for training! Once through the houses, the fun really begins with a 1.5km climb with a 10% gradient! Tough is one word to describe it. Then what goes up must come down, as we descend back into the small town of Baie-Comeau.

So after being here for 5-days, we’ve just completed our final session and it’s the time trial tomorrow. We start at 10.44am Canadian time which is 15.44 UK time. Will update you on how it goes, but you can be 100% sure that we will try our best out there.

Thanks for following, Bex

Hi everyone,

Well another blog from another location this time cruising at 37,000 feet on a British Airways flight returning from our trainnig camp in Italy. At the moment we are in quite an intensive block of training in our build up to the World Championships. Its been a great camp for us and certainly one with an adventure or two involved!

We returned to the same venue we used last year at Lake Maggiore in the foothills of the Alpes. Its an absolutely stunning location and great roads for training on. Our first adventure happened on the first night in the hotel, when the fire alarm went off! Taking our pillows with us, we all evacuated the building and camped out on the lakeside until we eventually got the all clear. However, with some riders sporting some interesting jersey and shorts tan lines I think we entertained the other hotel guests.

Mid way through the camp, we had arranged to take in one of the big Alpine climbs – the Matterhorn! With the summit standing at a whopping 3800m this was going to be another unique challenge and something new for the tandem to conquer! Whilst the road ended at 2700m we were under no illusions as to what lay ahead. We rolled out together riding in GB formation, and headed to the foot of the climb. The temperature was soaring at 38 degrees and so hydration and pacing were vital. Our support car met us at various check points en route to hydrate us and offer encouragement on some of the steeper segments of the climb. Apparantly the views going up the mountain were sensational, I only wish I could have enjoyed them instead of being a picture of concentration following the road ahead! The descent however was something else! The speed of a tandem is so exhilarating, when it flies it is poetry in motion. We even had cars pulling over to let us pass! After a great days riding in th e saddle, we were indeed treated to an Italian ice-cream in a local café and the opportunity to watch the Tour de France.

So after a great week of training, its time to head back to Manchester for a few days of recovery, and then resume work in the Derbyshire Peak District and get back into racing – which I’m really looking forward too.

So stay tuned for more action and adventures! Bex

Hi everyone,

I’m back again! Its certainly been a hectic couple of weeks since returning from my mid-season break. Let’s start with some awesome news! We received official confirmation of our selection for the 2010 World Para-cycling championships in Baie-Comeau in Canada on the 19-22nd August. So its all systems go here now!

I briefly returned home to Melton Mowbray for the local Sports Awards last week, although I didn’t win this time, it was a great celebration about local sport in the area and how much talent we have in our small town.

As soon as I arrived back to Manchester, we were straight off to camp in the Lake District for 3-days. We encountered some great challenging, technical, not to mention STEEP hills. We certainly accomplished a lot. Lora achieved her longest ride to date, and never in a million years did I think that we would be able to get the tandem up a 25% climb! So we have certainly taken a lot of positives from the weekend.

So back home from the Lake District, and it was back to business as usual. In an adventure style way. We had arrived to take the tandem out, only to realise I didn’t have the spares pouch containing all the vital breakdown gear such as inner tubes, tyre levers and a multi tool. After some much smiling sweetly at every person we possibly met at the velodrome, we managed to piece together a saddle pack. Phew! So off we set our ride and just when we were returning from our session, the chain suddenly jammed. Hmmmmm. So we stopped and I did a brief examination to find that one of the links had split on the chain, and sure enough the one tool we didn’t have with us was a chain splitter. So now we were over 20-miles away from Manchester, in the middle of nowhere! We set about trying to ring our coaches, who were all in London! So we couldn’t get rescued by them. They set about ringing as many people as possible who might be able to help whilst we started our long walk back, when suddenly we got a call from the Para-cycling events organiser saying he was coming to rescue us! After walking in the rain for over an hour, sure enough we were saved! Hoorah!

Then at the weekend we competed at Coventry Cycling Clubs open 10-mile time trial. This event was certainly one to blow the cobwebs out and highlight that we still have a lot of work to do coming into the World Championships in 7 weeks time. We won the event, a full 30-seconds ahead of a local men’s pairing which was a good start in our build up.

This Saturday we fly out to Italy for a 10-day training camp so I look forward to reporting all the latest goings on from there.

Ciao for now everyone,

Bex

Hi everyone,

Well its another week and another location. I’m currently on a mid-season break in Newquay doing my second favourite love, surfing! However, I still wanted to update you on what has been happening.

Last Sunday was the British Para-cycling Road Race Championships at the Horwich carnival. It was a great opportunity to promote para-cycling on the 2km town centre circuit. Once again the event was run off a factoring system and whilst we had 16-laps to do, we still had to unlap ourselves from the numerous other categories.

We started off in our group, however within half a lap we were by ourselves, so it was a case of settling into time trial mode and slowly but surely, one by one, we caught the riders and unlapped ourselves. Sixteen laps later – Lora and I had won our first British championship! Coming into the finishing straight it was great to have the support of the locals and my parents who had made the trip up to come and watch.

It was a great feeling pulling on the British champions jersey and wearing the gold medal to go with it. After posing for a few photos – it was then off to doping control – one of the beauties that come with winning, before eventually heading off down south for my break.

So where from here? Well once I’m back in Manchester we begin our preparations for the World Championships in Canada, so its back to the drawing board after a great refreshing break, and let the hard work begin!

Over and out for now, Bex

Hey everyone!

‘Wow’ is one word to describe this weekend’s event!

We’ve just returned home from the first UCI Paracycling Road World Cup held in Segovia, and what a weekend that’s for sure!

With nations from all around the world competing to score points that will make places for the London 2012 Paralympics the competition was fierce. Our first event took place on Saturday evening which was a 66km road race around the villages outside of Segovia, on a mainly flat course, each 22km lap consisted of a kilometre of cobbles. It would appear that this particularly week that the rain in Spain, certainly didn’t want to leave the plain! However, just as we took to the start line for the weekend, the clouds cleared and for the first time in the week the sun shone! Hoorah!

The road race was certainly active from the off, with the 2008 Paralympic Champions from Belarus competing as well as the 2009 World Champions from the USA. On the first lap crossing the cobbles, the first victims were claimed when the Belarussians and Germans punctured, however both teams made it back to the peloton to bring the race back together again.

The next two laps brought the action thick and fast with every nation trying their hand to establish a break, but no-one was willing to let anything escape. Coming into the narrow finish, we found ourselves in a strong position and coming into the village we made our bid for glory……. However just on the line, the Dutch tandem managed to sneak ahead of us to take the win, leaving us to claim the silver and the Belarussians the bronze.

A short recovery overnight then saw us up bright and early, to head off to the village of Valverde do Manjo for the 21km time trial. We had a good ride, and pushed hard throughout the whole race. Once we made it back to the pits, it was a case of waiting to find out the results……. Eventually they came……. We WON! We were absolutely ecstatic! And when we phoned our coach Jayne who was back home, I think she was secretly as excited as us, though she definitely did well to control it. The Irish tandem pair had a great ride to claim silver 40 seconds behind us, with Canada taking the bronze. It was a really proud moment to be stood on the podium watching our Union flag being raised up and the National anthem playing, I think I was beaming the whole time!

For the team we claimed 6 gold medals, one silver and one bronze in total, which is the best ever performance by the GB Para-cycling team on the road…. So far! Once again I just want to take the opportunity to thank the support team, Gareth our manager, Tom & Chris our coaches, Vicky, Kirsten and Claire our soigneurs for the week and our mechanic Martyn who sorted our bikes out all week.

This week Lora and I are supporting the Deloitte Ride Across Britain for Paralympics GB alongside James Cracknell and Rebecca Romero. Then competing at the National Para-cycling Criterium Championships in Horwich town centre on Sunday.

So that’s all for now, Bex

Howdy everyone,

Well it’s Sunday evening, and we have completed our final UK preparations for the World Cup in Segovia next week. All the training miles have been clocked up, the painful and seemingly endless lab testing sessions have been done, and our preparation races have gone really well. So now its just a case of getting out there and doing the best that we can against the rest of the world.

This week we took part in two 10-mile time trials, the first one being a mid week event on the Rainford bypass and it was a glorious, hot evening for a race. The competition was used more as a training event, and we posted a pretty good time.

Then on Saturday, we were back to the same course at Rainford for Liverpool Century’s Open Event. Whilst the sun was shining again, the wind had come out to play in the afternoon, however this certainly didn’t deter us and we posted a time 13 seconds faster than Wednesday’s effort, both Lora and I were really pleased with our time, and we also clocked another win catching our main competitors for 2-minutes!

Then onto today, Lora and I went out into the pouring rain and into the Peak District to take in my favourite climb – Long Hill! Its great to get out into the openness and nothing more satisfying knowing that you have braved the elements to get in a good solid training ride.

So tomorrow we head to the velodrome nice and early to pack up all the bikes, then we fly out to our destination on Tuesday lunchtime. We will be competing in a 66km road race on Saturday and then a 22km time trial on Sunday. I’ll give you all a quick update when I’m out there, but for now it’s a case of double checking everything’s been packed in the bag ready for the off.

Bye for now, Bex

Helloah!

Well, another weekend of racing in the bag! With the current length and breadth of the country and Europe that Lora and I are travelling at the moment we are becoming quite good at living out of our new SKY kitbags! Today being a bank holiday Monday, I’ve had the luxury of a rest day – phew! Which means its been a great opportunity to pop to my favourite shopping centre in Manchester, and do the weekly shop at ASDA.

This weekend we competed at Salt Ayre in the second round of the National Disability Criterium Race on the Saturday, before heading south of Manchester to Stafford for another round of the Midland SPOCO (Sporting Course Series) on the Sunday.

I’ll start off with the criterium race on Saturday. Each category has a factoring system based upon the times at the latest World Championships, from that the number of laps each category has to complete over the 1.3km circuit can be calculated. Although we had a 4-lap advantage, we started off 30 seconds behind the other categories, being determined not to be lapped we put in a really solid ride only to catch the other categories within 4-laps! Much to our surprise and everyone elses. For us then it was a case of sitting in, and ensuring that any attacks didn’t get away – which we did successfully and took another win!

Onto Sunday morning, and a 5.30am start greeted us. We headed down to Stafford and setup the bike, changed and began our warm up, to then find out that the course had changed due to road works. Being the first riders off, it was a case of finding out what was going to confront us on the challenging course as we went along. It certainly was a sporting course, firstly we met a dual carriageway full of stone chippings, followed by a flurry of blossom which was more like a blizzard when cycling through it, plus with the strong wind that was blowing I got hit on the head with a branch – another reason why helmets are a necessity when cycling. However, I think the one thing that on reflection when writing this, slowed us down more than anything was when one of the rival supermarkets lorries decided to dawdle out infront of us at a roundabout leaving us no choice but to slow right down. Now the ASDA lorry would never have done that – right! But all joking aside, we had a really good ride over another sporting course – they certainly gave us more value for money by changing the distance from 22-miles to 25 as well! We took the win in the tandem event for this event too – which is more good news!

This week we have our final competition in the UK before heading off to the Para-cycling World Cup in Segovia – so we are putting in all our final preparations now.

Just to finish off on a funny story, I like to think I have a positive outlook, so the other week when we were warming up at a race we had the tandem on the turbo, sometimes the bike can decide to lean to one side, and after my previous antics of falling off a turbo (a turbo is a stationary trainer you can put your bike on, to make it similar to an exercise bike in the gym). On this occasion I happened to say “if we’re going to fall off, we must fall to the right”, Lora enquired why, and most of the passers by were also intreged, “well at least then you can fall in the vast supplies of cake that are in the headquarters!”. Sure enough, the organisers of the event had supplied the biggest supply of cakes you could imagine – every cloud has a silver lining.

Well I better continue planning for my week ahead, and get packing that kitbag again!

Thanks for following my progress, Bex :)