It has been a while since my last blog, I know. Life continues to stay as busy as ever but I have been determined to finish writing about my World Cup trip in May. Belgium for me, was by far the better of the two Cups. Writing this now has been good. It has helped me to get excited for World Champs (I leave tomorrow) and it has also motivated me to race well at World’s.
The alarm woke us up at just after three on the Monday morning after the World Cup in Italy and we got up to leave the hotel at four. It was a new feeling for me to leave for another competition straight after a competition - I had never done more than one competition in a trip. Leaving the hotel it was raining and just as freezing as when we arrived. I sat in the hotel in my wheelchair (because at that time of day I am not as co-ordinated as I normally am) in the foyer while the others put the last things in the vans. By the time we arrived in Rome the sun was up and it was rush hour. Definitely not the time to lose the lead van in the traffic and land up with no way to communicate with the team manager! We tried to navigate by using a gps in the van and after getting lost and a few detours we eventually found the airport which had wifi, so we could reconnect with the others.
Arriving in Brussels we once again rented the cars but had a real battle getting the bikes and luggage in the vans because we couldn’t remove the one row of seats in the one van as we had done in Italy. Once we got going everyone was on edge and some tempers were hot. Having one GPS in each vehicle that don’t correspond with each other added to the confusion, tempers flared and we got stuck in mid-town Brussels in rush hour traffic! Not a recommended thing to do. Eventually after more than eight or nine hours we reached our hotel in Ostend. We headed straight to the dining room after checking in and decided to unpack later.
Both Anet and I were really looking forward to our time in Belgium. Firstly, we looked at the hotel online and we couldn’t believe than were privileged enough to stay in a hotel such as this. Secondly, we knew all the teams participating in this World Cup were staying together at the hotel. For us, who had to stay out of town and away from the hub of the action both last year in Italy and this time, we were really excited to be in the midst of everything. One of my goals for this trip, apart from the obvious, was to meet more cyclists and make friends. Yes, we are there to race for our countries but part of the experience is being able to meet people from other countries and build friendships. Often in my life I am the only person with a disability in my circle and I have always longed for friends that can really relate to a particular part of my life, that some of my friends cant no matter how hard they try, and I know they try. So to sit in a dining hall where I am not the only one who needs their food cut up, or a wheelchair to move around is such an accepting feeling.
The first few days of the week was fairly the same as in Italy and our days were mostly occupied with building our bikes, hiring a bike for Anet, getting some training in, and so on. During the Tuesday I had the privilege of giving back to the sport that has given me so much and I took part in research that will hopefully improve the classification system. At this World Cup they were doing tests on the T (trikes) and H (handcycle) classes. Although it will take a few years for the research to hopefully be implemented, I am glad that they are looking into the T classes. With only two trike classes there is great differences in the abilities and disabilities of people who my cycle in the same class. For example, I think there is only one other lady with Cerebral Palsy in my class. The other riders are people who have had strokes or other accidents. This may create an unfair advantage due to the fact that some athletes may have all their limbs affected, where others may only have one or two limbs affected.
The competition got into full gear on the Thursday as we started the time trials. I had the morning to relax and just slowly get ready for my race. I was one of the first riders out on the course for the afternoon. Despite the fact that this would be the longest time trial I had ever done (18km), I was really hoping for a good times trial as due to the course in Italy I didn’t feel that I had ridden to my best ability. With the course being almost totally flat I thought that maybe I could ride a good speed so that I could qualify for selection for the World Championships in September. Unfortunately for us who were racing in the afternoon the wind was really pumping and as a long section of the route was right on the beach, wind from the front really played havoc with our racing. On the section on the beachfront I felt like at times the bike was moving backwards instead of forwards. About three quarters of the way through my first of two laps when I started to get a cramps in my left thigh. I didn’t know why I was cramping. It had never happened to me before. Was it from the effort I was putting in against the wind? Was it the intense cold? I had no idea but I knew after withdrawing from the race in Italy and the difficulty on the route with the Italian route during my time trial, I had to push through and do my best.
By the time I crossed the finish line I was so sore and cold I was almost in tears. I asked Anet and the others to just get me off the bike as fast as we could. They could not have known what was happening in my mind and body and I think they were expecting me to get off and head into the warmth of the hotel. What happened in the next moments surprised us all. As soon as I was free from my bike I was lying on the pavement! I couldn’t go any further than that! I think they brought a blanket and that’s where I lay until someone could bring my wheelchair and I think three people lifted my freezing and sore body into the chair. Anet, having known me for so long and having a good understanding of my body by now, knew where she had to take me immediately. Thankfully the finish line of the time trial was just outside our hotel and about five minutes later I found myself in our bathroom about to get into a hot shower. Later when my body had relaxed and I had warmed up, we had a good giggle. Years ago when I started cycling, a mentor Mike, told me that if you had anything left after a time trial you hadn’t gone out hard enough. I thought lying on a Belgium pavement after my time trial would definitely count as giving my all! Sadly, my odometer didn’t agree with that statement as I had a low average speed again but my odometer hadn’t meet Mr Wind!
After the race once we were relaxing Anet admitted to me that even she was struggling to keep her bike moving against the wind. She told me later that during the race she was trying to hide behind me to shield herself from the wind but it didn’t really work. Later down in the dining hall I met my fellow trike riders and there was one topic of discussion – the wind and low average speeds! I found some comfort in that we had all suffered together.
I had the evening and the whole of the next day off so we could use the off time not only to relax but to enjoy ourselves and have some fun. During the off times there was a foosball mini round robin, a visit to the other games room, time in the Jacuzzi. There was also time to grab a cooldrink with a fellow tricyclist from America and strike up a friendship. Anet and I also spent some time watching the other SA riders, amongst others, doing their time trials from the warmth of the hotel’s lounge.
My road race was on Saturday morning and again I was thankful not to have a huge rush to get to the start line. We left the hotel by foot (or rather Anet walked and I cycled) and arrived at the starting area about ten minutes later. Once again it was quite chilly and we kept the blanket around me for as long as we could to keep my muscles warm and prevent them from cramping up. As they started calling us up in our groups I found some space on the right hand side of the nice wide road and waited as they let the other groups start. As we slowly moved towards the start I noticed that my two competitors were lagging behind me and I wasn’t sure why. But I turned my attention to the start officials and just decided to focus on their instructions.
As we started I totally surprised myself with the fantastic start and found myself not only the first T1 woman out the blocks but I found myself passing some of the T1 guys! My starts previously had not been my strongest suit so not only did I surprise myself but poor Anet who tried to film my start! Unfortunately she did not get me in her shot as I had just started to fast! As we headed to the first corner trikes slowly passed me and I found myself in my usual spot at the back of the pack. However, I was not alone! I had a male T1 rider with me and we had quite a race for the first half to two-thirds of the first lap before he managed to drop me.
The nice wide road for most of the route made me feel quite safe and I was able to just focus on my racing and not worry about being in the way of the faster riders. My race was three laps and I was determined to finish at least two of the three before I was lapped and pulled off the circuit. So you can image my joy when I approached the line for the second time and there was no one to pull me off and instead I was given the bell to go for my last lap. When I eventually finished my race the joy of being allowed to finish the whole race was overshadowed by a bigger joy of seeing a new personal best average speed staring back at me!! Yes, I had raced three races on this trip to Europe and I had got nowhere near a medal, but I was going home with a new PB!
In competitions winners and losers are often judged by whether you had a medal around your neck, and although it is nice, for me to come away with a new PB was almost better. A PB meant that I had beaten myself and that I had gone faster than I had gone in six years! It meant that I was still improving, that I hadn’t yet reached my limit, that all my hours of training were paying off, and that the time and money invested in getting my splints were worth it. To do a new PB on a course which might be the same or similar to the World Champs 2020 route inspired me and I was ready to go home and continue training. I had some special moments just after my race firstly with Anet, then with O’ryan, our manager and director, and then with Carol, my friend from Australia. All of them realized that I had just raced the race of my life and were glad to celebrate with me. I think those moments and things that were said to me there will remain treasures I will hold dear. The year so far had being a difficult, emotional, and stressful one but I had kept my focus and come out on top.
The day after my race was the last day of racing and the weather was reasonably bad with rain coming down, we did slip out and go and watch some of the racing out on the course. Unfortunately it wasn’t the day our SA cyclists had hoped for with Gary having a mechanical early in the race and Juan having an hard race. As soon as Juan and Gary were ready to leave we had to rush off to the airport because somehow whoever had booked our flights had booked it for the same evening. Not very convenient.
As soon as we starting booking in at the airport’s ticket counter we knew this would be an extra long trip home. We were informed that due to a delay in England (where our plane was coming from) our plane would be delayed for quite some time. It didn’t take us long to figure out that this delay would result in us missing our connecting flight in Addis Ababa. The mood and spirits of the whole party deflated. We had just rushed to the airport, straight from two of our guys racing, only to sit waiting for a delayed flight. Furthermore the woman who had booked us in didn’t give us food vouchers that other passengers received. We sat around waiting for our flight and some of us found a way to entertain ourselves.
Landing in Addis Ababa we weren’t really sure want was going to happen. The guys flying to Johannesburg could catch a different flight back to SA but for us going to Cape Town, we had missed the one and only flight for the day! The airline said they would put us up in a hotel in the city for the evening. Unfortunately I had only packed enough medication for the flight back (and not for a whole extra 24hours) in my hand luggage so before we could leave for the hotel we had to wait for the luggage to be unloaded. It felt like the case would never come. We even looked between the lost luggage to see if my bag was there. Thankfully when it did I could not only get my medication but some other essentials for the next 24hrs. (I was the only one in our party of four who got to get in my bag). The next few hours we knew we were in deep Africa! The taxi ride to the hotel was an eye opener in terms of our surroundings, very limited and weak internet to let family and friends know where we were, electricity that would suddenly just go off, food that we didn’t know what we were eating, and the like! By the time we got to the airport the next morning we just wanted to get home but first we had to negotiate the airport once again. Pushing and shoving, shoes off, shoes on, where’s a wheelchair, all in a mornings activities at Addis Ababa airport.
Our party of four was glad and relieved to put feet back on South African soil. Surely we could just meet JC and go home? Alas! My head dropped as I saw what had happened to my wheelchair during our separation. Somewhere between Belgium and Cape Town (I didn’t get my own wheelchair in Addis Ababa) the one arm rest had been broken off. So while the rest of the party went home, Anet and I had to stay and report the breakage. (It was the second wheelchair that had been broken on this trip as my fellow team mate also had hers broken by the airport staff or during transport.) By the time we saw JC our hearts’ cry was for him just to take us home!
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