Blogs
Wed, 12 Jan 2011
Moving on from 2010 into 2011 with Ella
By Ella Sadler-Andrews - Horizon Fitness Racing Team
Well the time is here (nearly) for when I depart for my lovely hot, sunny ten weeks in Australia and New Zealand. Not going to lie, not going to miss any of you. The only person I will miss is my cat, Paddy. I reckon he knows I'm going soon; before when I was having a post-ride nap, he came and joined me, positioning himself so I had no other option but to spoon him. The cutest thing ever.
I'm pretty organised. Friends are picking me up from the airport, I have made some cycling contacts and I have some money. I still have to get dollars, arrange what I'm doing when I go to New Zealand, get my broken camera fixed (courtesey of NYE...) and amongst 500 other things, pack. Packing is proving a major difficulty. I'm still waiting to hear if my bike can be excluded from my baggage allowance, meaning I can take 30kg of clothes over. If not, I'm gonna have to be real careful with what I pack. One bra, one pair of knickers, one pair of shoes... that sort of thing. Fingers crossed I get to take more than one of everything, if not, double days are going to be fun.
Since my last blog I've basically been ill. On and off for about five weeks, and if I did feel better, I'd get outside and fall straight on my ass due to the snow and ice. I've cracked! Went out yesterday with my friend James and literally couldn't feel anything from my bum downwards. Mega cold. But hey, I'll stop my bitching because in 10 days I'll be moaning how hot it is in the Sunshine State. YES!
Things are looking good for the 2011 season. I would say that I've got a pretty awesome recipe for success. Ten weeks Down Under, then two weeks in Italy. Then it's out to Belgium for the majority of the road season (thankyouverymuch Dave Rayner)! Plus I have the support of one of the best women's teams, Horizon.
On this note I'd like to talk about a blog my friend and local boy, Ben Greenwood wrote last week. It got a pretty big response over the Twitter networks and he challenged the likes of Emma Pooley, Lizzie Armistead and Laura Trott to respond. Although I'm not any of the people he mentioned, sod it.
It stumped me somewhat; I've never really talked to Ben much and especially not about women's cycling. However the majority of male cyclists I know care little for the women's scene. 'It's boring' & 'So much easier for women' are comments often brought up. So, I'd like to say thanks for writing a blog which has provoked such responses and got people (hopefully men) thinking the same questions as you asked yourself.
I'm not going to delve into the details of the blog; it would just be a mad scramble of arguments with no logic. As much as I wish I would change the way women's cycling is percieved, there is only so much I can do about it. My wise (old) friend Sticky told me to focus on training and racing. As simple as it is, it's good advice. I guess I'm one more woman out there, raising awareness.
2010 wasn't the best for me. I was struck with some awful bad luck with my knee injury and delayed operation, my Grandad dying, my Gran being mega ill... the list goes on. On the other hand there were some amazing times, like finishing the Three Peaks, finishing my last ever exam at 6th Form and being part of Horizon Fitness.
I'm considering 2010 a write off, 2011 is where it's at (this sounds like some massive cliche, apologies). BUT I am so excited for it. I won't list all the AMAZING things that WILL happen or it'll make you all turn green.
For now it's just Australia, Australia and Australia. Bring it on!
PS-Only one more blog time until I get Down Under!
For more information on the Horizon Fitness Racing Team, visit www.onthedrops.com.