2017 Warwick Training Weekend - Day 1

Warwick training weekend means one thing in Smiddy folklore history… the Smiddy Challenge is just around the corner. 

Riding 420 kilometres over two days is a pretty epic weekend, and it is over these two days that a reality check is instilled into the riders. It shows if your training has been neglected or if you are in Tour De France type shape. Well as I sit here and write this after a beautiful, hot, warming, invigorating shower, with the air con turned up to 26 degrees to take the chill out of the room at the Horse and Jockey in Warwick, I can assure you that 100 per cent of the 40 riders attending this weekend are indeed ready to take on Chris Froome in next year's TDF.

We rolled in to Warwick at 4.30 pm with plenty of daylight left in the afternoon, after a good 26.3 km/h average, which is outstanding when you consider today consisted of more than 2000 m of climbing. For 12 years now we have been putting on the Warwick weekend and have always stayed at the Horse and Jockey. They have always supported us over the years and not only provide nice comfy beds and warm rooms, but a great dinner and in the morning open up their kitchen at 4.30 am to have breakfast ready for us hungry cyclists at 5.30 am. 

Over the years this weekend has shared with us every imaginable weather condition known to dog and man. I will not go into details about some of the horror years, but let me assure you that after all those times Warwick made us suffer intolerably, it redeemed itself today with one of the most glorious days on Smiddy Warwick record. A huge thank you to Mother Nature. Please know that we love you, and all us Smiddy riders will think very highly of you for the rest of our lives, especially when you deliver another perfect day tomorrow, along with a tailwind push home please from 10 am.

So this is how the day panned out: roll out was from 6 o'clock from The University of Queensland with the temperature hovering between 2 and 5 degrees, the winter gear adorned by the riders kept everyone warm and in good spirits right from the get go. 

Thank you to the team for allowing me to join the peloton at Blunder Road in Oxley, as it meant I got to spend some time with my eight month old baby girl Estelle before heading off for the weekend.

For the remainder of the day we climbed lots of hills, ate lots of incredibly yummy food provided by our simply amazing road crew, climbed a few more hills, ate more food and just for something different climbed a few more hills. 

Our favourite hill was, of course, the Heifer Creek climb straight out of lunch, with full tummies and TDF tactics taking place there were more than a few riders who got to taste their lunch all over again! 

Congrats to Adrian Cross for taking out the KOM after a bit of a battle with Tony Pratt. I'm so glad Cross won otherwise he would have been cross! Get it ,Cross would have been cross… Sorry but I have to practice my Dad jokes whenever I can in preparation for driving my daughter insane, just like my Dad did with me and my six siblings.

Anyway it's not like me to get off track, so concentrate Shark, you have to get this done before dinner at 6.30 pm. Okay if I get this wrong my apologies but congrats also to Krista and Rebecca who came across the top in equal first place for the KOM. It was a tough battle as they chatted the whole way up, apparently talking about tuna recipes! 

Krista will be the only one that laughs at that I bet?

So a big regroup up the top of the range and holy bloody white man, stone the crows and starve the bloody lizards, the rolling Peloton got a sniff of the steaks being cooked at the Horse and Jockey in Warwick some 60 kilometres away, and the pedal was put to the metal! The pace was on and if you were suffering too bloody bad. 

Everyone was too scared to lose that wheel in front, hang in there, tough it out, don't show the pain, got to get to those steaks! Thankfully between the top of the range and Warwick, Allora was our afternoon tea stop, and a chance to replenish the 2251 calories lost in just 30 kilometres from the assortment of treats provided by the road crew. Hey Krista has it ever been said how much we love the road crew?

The remaining 29km into Warwick went by in a flash. The suggestion at afternoon tea was short turns at the front, with a top speed of no more than 52km/h! This was achieved and the Smiddy Peloton would have won the team time trial for Smiddy riders if it was ever added to the TDF program.

As for the huddle, this honour went to long time Smiddy supporters Mick Young and Jennifer Penfold. Youngy has been involved in an amazing amount of Smiddy events since he joined us in 2008 and that support and belief in what we are trying to achieve through our rides we truly do appreciate. Jennifer has been with us a few years now and hers is such an amazing story that I could write a blog just on this amazing woman. For now, just know she is amazing and we love her dearly.

Okay Kevvy just walked in and said dinner is being served, right on 6.30pm. I love The Horse and Jockey, they know cyclists are hungry beasts. And on that note it's bye from Shark Beast and time to introduce my stomach to more food!

Cheers,

Sharky