The Independent--- Emmen World Cup TT Round-Up (issue 2)

You know what's better than Love Island? Cycling Island! Also known as the 2nd World Cup in the 2018 UCI Paracycling Road Series. Brought to you by me (the team mate of those independents racing their hearts out today in Emmen). They will also be road racing tomorrow and the next day, too.

SIDENOTE: * Emmen is not an island but it may as well be (it is in the middle of nowhere with miles of blissful flat farmland stretching out in every direction).

So who raced today? See my infographic below:

But Hannah, how did they DO?? 

Matthew Faucher MH5

Coming in 14th out of the MH5s Matt must have had a fierce battle with comrade and competitor Justin.  Overall, ~5 minutes down from Dutch winner (home advantage!!) de Vries. Kudos for finishing with you and your kneeler in one piece. 

Justin Davis MH5

Coming in 12th, Justin beat Matt by 45 seconds. He possibly also rolled his kneeler but was able to continue after the crash only 4 mins down from De Vries. Top effort. Here's you looking dreamy on a beach in return for doing a kick ass TT. Welcome back!

Michael Swain MH4

OOFT the tables have turned. Alex beat Michael in the first World Cup MH4 TT (see my other blog) and now Michael comes back fighting and takes it off the lycra leopard. Yesss. I hope your bike is still orange as in a google photo I found. Netherlands victory colours here. 12th and 2 mins 35 secs down on American winner Davis. 

Mark Allen MH4

Mark is the second MH4usketeer coming in 19th and 3 mins 57 secs off USA's winner, Davis. You're brand new to this and have gone up a place since World Cup 1 only a few months ago. Yes, mate.   

Alex Brooke-Turner MH4

GWANNN. Alex, the lycra leopard of handcycling was less than second off Mike coming in at unlucky number 13. Incredible pacing to be only 26 deciseconds off your arch nemesis (ahaha) again 2 mins 35 secs off the winner. So much progress since Ostende!

Dan Hopwood MH3

THE BIKE DESTORYERRR. Not this time. Probably using borrowed parts since your bike destroying crash in Belgium...takes a while to get used to a new bike...27th and 3 mins 32 secs back from gold. 

Luke Jones MH3

Top twenty wahoo. 2 mins 48 secs off gold and 20th. Improved by more than a minute to the top step of the podium since Ostende, strong work.

Elizabeth Anne McTernan WH4

Strong 6th for Liz who is aiming for Kona 2018 and is more an ultra distance triathlete these days! 3 mins 44 secs off gold. Home win for Netherland's gold medal winner Jansen.

Karen Darke WH3

Introducing Karen or Dangerously Strong and Powerful. I took that picture in our room in Rio. Yes, that's right I roomed with a gold medallist. This is her first Paracycling race since then. She also dabbles in triathlon and has been doing adventure upon adventure recently ie she cycled across Australia after competing in the Commonwealth Games. She came 5th today. 1 min 50 off 1st place. America's Alicia Dana flew into 1st place (35 seconds faster than the WH4 gold medallist). V impressive.

Alex Pope MB and Neil Poulton PLT

Can't find any photos. Possibly your first one! Big kudos to finishing. 8 mins back from the podium is a tough place to be but to finish and take full opportunity of the race earns my respect. Well done boys.

Krispin Gardiner MC4

Young un with a big field. Lots to come from KG. 14th and 3 min 38 secs from gold. Very good for the youngest rider out of all the MC4s.

Crystall Lane WC5 

Had all the golds this year in World Cup 1. Poland's Anna got her but only 11 seconds to gold!

Matthew Robertson MC2

You should get a gold just for those highlights, Manny. Great hair that's what the public wants. Hair first, the golds will come. 11th and 1 min 38 off the podium. Closest to gold of all the off programme riders I believe!

Simon Price MC2

Simon back again for more pain. He podiumed in Belgium and today came an agonizing 10 seconds off the podium but Simon'll bring it tomorrow. 

Millie Cass WC4

Am I right in thinking first ever Road World Cup? 6 min 19 off the winner and 6th place but 15 mins faster than 7th place and made it to the finish in one peice. Big kudos. 

David Smith MC1 

10th and 2mins 38secs from bronze but only the second road World Cup as a C1 so still checking out his competitors. Go Dave.

The Competition Series- 1. Packing like a Pro

Really trying to get a weekly blog thing happening.

This one was kind of requested. 'Hannah, how do I prepare to be independent on a competition, especially as I've never been to a big one before'. 

This is a multi-stage process. The first stage is TOOLS or I like to call them- 'life hacks'. Some of the obscure ones are hyperlinked to pages where you can buy them. I'll let you know if my team (Team Storey) is sponsored by any of them.

Here begins my list for someone with a kit issue size suitcase (I often don't bring all of these one competition but you can always team up)...


(No. 1 most forgotten item: plug adapters for country you're going to

No. 2 hard cash currency of the place you're going to. Foreign countries still charge a fee when you use your card. On all expenses paid trips you can even forget your bank code...)

Section 1 - food/drink vesicles

1. a mini kettle (actually, I'm not that into hot drinks but your roomie might be and they will love you forever, sometimes the staff will bring a communal one)

2. a big mug (I always need a huge drink of water in the morning and get sick of the plastic bottles, big mugs are great at breakfast time or for hotchocolate time)

3. a porridge bowl sized tupperware with a handle and a lid. Incredibly multi-purpose. Can be both your bowl and your mug and a container.

4. for those that need plastic straws, a lot of plastic straws seeing as they've been outlawed now.

extra info: 
KETTLES, or BIG MUGS or BIG MUGS WITH LIDS so someone who walks like me can carry without spilling. A tupperware with a handle and a lid is also brilliant if you're in a buffet style dining area and don't want to rely on someone carrying your food for you every meal or if you want to make up your own instant porridge because you're Scottish and how are you ever going to look like the porage oat man if your morning porridge routine is disrupted.

Section 2- Bed time/clothing themed items

4. a string bag for washing your clothes AND detergent capsules, usually you can team up with your team mates and go to a laundrette to do washing, usually you don't have enough for one load and usually, you and your team mate have identical kit. Wash in the string bag so you don't confuse your kit. Also if you're lucky enough that a member of support staff gets the job of washing you can hand them the bag and collect it later on.

5. your own pillow or, failing luggage space, pillow spray. This can be any scent that you train yourself with before sleep so that you associate sleep with it. Then, when in an unfamiliar environment a few puffs and you feel at home

6. Ear plugs (silicon swimming ones) and/or noise cancelling headphones and extra batteries. Vital if you don't know if your roomie snores or not.

7. Eye mask, not all curtains are equal and/or your roomie might be scared of the dark

8. All the painkillers/other pharmaceuticals you'll need in case of emergency. Buying pharmaceuticals abroad is not advised by the Anti Doping Agency, even ones like ibuprofen and paracetamol.

9. All the plastic bags or fancy material bags. A lot of times you'll be exhausted or trying to conserve energy. I have a plastic bag packing system of 'all bathroom items' in one so I can just shove it in the bathroom and that's me. One for 'beside the bed' and then one for each type of clothing 'race day clothing' 'leisurewear clothing' etc etc. When you pack up again you always have dirty clothes so you can use them to separate from the clean ones too.

10. Hot water bottle - if you get an injury and need to 'hot/cold/hot/cold' it a hotel will always have ice but not neccessarily something to heat with. Even in hot countries the evening can be chilly. If you have temperature control issues they're a life saver.

11. Leading on from 10 I can never get bloodflow to my feet so keeping them warm and comfy is a must. I also get lots of foot pain. Enter my fluffy slippers which have gone from South Africa, to Rio and now to Italy with me.

12. If you do find standing on a slippy surface like a non-accessible bathroom tricky, try non-slip water shoes or crocs. This means in the absence of a bath mat most falls are avoided. However, my feet often fall out of the crocs and don't even talk to me about flip flops or as I like to call them 'certain death'! Water shoes are the best. If it's a super hot environment (even too hot for my slippers) and everyone else is wearing flipflops, water shoes work too.

Foooooood

13.Treats/snacks and emergency meals. On competition nerves can get to you and stop you eating. You can also feel under pressure eating at certain mealtimes if you aren't hungry and then you get back to the room and you're starving. You can never rely on being close to the shops and the meals at your hotel might be budget or trying to be stereotypically 'health conscious'. Which means no drinks other than water, no desserts apart from fruit and yoghurt and often the same meal every single night. 

I have no problem putting on weight but if you have ataxic or dystonic CP you don't need these restrictions. Also, even if you usually do avoid calorie rich foods, competition environments can be extra stressful. Brains and immune systems use glucose as a fuel source; more so in times of stress. Pack treats. Once my friend Rickard (who has trouble swallowing when he's nervous) ate 2 big bags of sweets the day before his race to ensure he had taken on board enough calories. It's not ideal nutrition but some food is better than no food, especially if you struggle to put on weight and maintain muscle (looking at you, CP boys). In the absence of carbs/fats to use as fuel, the body will breakdown your muscles, yes the ones which you use to do your racing with.

Examples: soreen loaf, tubs of rice pudding, protein bars, energy bars, protein gels, oatcakes, sesame seed snaps, just add water soups/noodles, if you're a meat eater dried meat, popcorn, nutella, treats of choice etc.

14. Protein

Especially if you're a veggie/vegan or a pescatarian like me and are going to a country where that's not really a thing, bring your own protein. I always bring ready to eat lightweight tuna pots for meals where there's not an option for me or peanut butter or protein powder to supplement with (Storey Racing gets sponsored by Secret Training who also do protein gels, yum). When I started eating fish it was easier.

Liquids

15. Diluting juice, hotchocolate sachets, hydrotabs. Always a must in case the water doesn't taste nice or you are in a hotter climate.

16. Coffee/tea bags- most places won't have your fav type of tea bag. Overpack these because other team mates will have forgotten their ones (easy way to become 'team legend'. I'm not a tea drinker but I am a coffee cretin. Coffee is harder to get. Either ween yourself off coffee (good to do if you want the max effect of caffeine for your race) OR invest in 'coffee bags', vaccuum sealed coffee bags that you just add water to. Storey Racing gets sponsored by Black Circle coffee who make these. I'm one lucky cyclist.

15. Nutribullet- I know a teammate who blends all her food (like literally her chicken and veg) due to swallowing issues and won't go anywhere without her nutribullet. Remember to also pack a mini bottle of detergent and a cloth to wash it with, if you bring it! I don't do this because I really struggle to wash out stuff in hotels. It never seems to get clean and can stink a room out.

Entertainment

17. Kindle. Go electronic for books. I've done a muscle trying to haul a bag with 3 books through hand luggage. In stressful environments, your brain might want something totally different to what you normally read and you can have fifty options on something that weighs next to nothing. If you have a kindle with a light you can also read under the duvet so you don't disturb your roomie.

18. The cable that connects your laptop to a TV (everyone always forgets). You need a VGA cable and they are different for different laptops but the TV connection is always the same and a 3.5mm audio lead. You'd need a laptop for this too obviously.

19. Download films from netflix or from elsewhere. The wifi is always bad. Always download or bring a portable DVD player. 

20. If you're lucky enough to have a portable sound system, bring it. Music always changes a tense atmosphere. At the commonwealth's, in their goodie bags Team England athletes got one for free! Mentioned headphones in the sleep section but in case your roomie does not care for every episode of Love Island, bring them.

21. Cards! Get back to basics and get your team together to play old school card games (shout out to Beth on Storey Racing).

22. Adult colouring books and pencils. Very stress relieving (shout out to Beth and Monica).

23. If you have school/uni work, download it and ensure you won't need internet access.

24. A sharpie. Most kit is the same and to stop bottles or items getting mixed up this is always a go to. Also you can doodle on your kitbag in times of boredom or label your plastic bag organisational system. Or you can draw instructional phrases to remind yourself of things you might forget in the heat of a race.

25. A plug extension cable so you don't have to argue over plug access to all the electronic devices.

26. A swimming costume/trunks (unless you're on a swimming competition then you'd have one, right?). Some fancy hotels have hottub/sauna access, way to decrease spasticity or what...

Vital and yet such forgettable things

27. Suncream. One of my coaches once bought glitter suncream on purpose (cyclists love making their leg muscles look shiny) and then I also brought some along and we had great fun without getting skin cancer, yayyy. I actually favour sprayable suncream (ie an aerosol type so you can spray it upside down) so you can do your own shoulders but not need to reach anywhere tricky.

28. Sunglasses This was hard to rememeber when I lived in Scotland and it was always grey and cold but now the UK has turned into Spain maybe this'll be a silly reminder.

29. Tampons!!/period product of choice Nothing more stressful than forgetting these, hey gals. 

30. Plug adapter (saying it twice so we don't forget)

31. Foreign currency (did you know you can pre-book to pick up foreign currency when you get to the airport? Super quick and easy and cheaper than the post office)...(and again).

32. Scissors! So many things are made easier with scissors but put them in your main luggage...

33. Plasters. Those of you whole fall a lot like me (the downside to being ambulant with CP) or who get a lot of blisters/rubbing from wearing splints. Your team'll have some but maybe not the amount you need. 

Phew. Did you make it to the end. Think reading this is hard...trying packing it all into a suitcase!

Till next week...

Hannah xx

RaceRunning Guide- Don't Run Away From Saddle Pain

A friend recently wrote a guide about saddle health here which I highly recommend. However, I have the privilege of a Para perspective and tailored specifically to my fellow RaceRunners. Here you go you wee beauties. 

EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT and there is a vast array of anatomies out there but if you rely on a saddle to do elite sport you'll probably have some variation of: chafing/skin abrasion, oedema (swelling), saddle sores, blistering and general pressure pain on *your peritoneal area*. 

If you weight bear all the time through a saddle like me, there's no complete freedom to saddle complaints but there are ways to manage it. ((Four steps to be specific)) and if you're not doing any of them it's likely you are in for way more relief than you thought possible.

If you have cerebral palsy and if you use adaptive equipment to free yourself, pain comes with the game. Do not grin and bear it with saddle pain though.
                                                        No saddle pain, all the gains. 

I can clock up training 8 times a week, mostly cycling and then crosstraining on my RaceRunner. That's a lot of wear and tear even with all the alleviating things I do there's still going to be damage. We're trying to minimise it here and make training as comfy as poss. I'll be talking from a RaceRunning perspective. Read Katie's article if you want the cycling perspective.

Even if you don't own a vagina, these tricks can help you too. I've conferred with my mate Rickard (a RaceRuning & tricyclist like me) many a time and even stole his padded saddle cover for my RaceRunner (see below) so this is a unisex affair. These tricks only allow you to manage the pain and the side effects but really, really delay it enough that you can live your life on a saddle. The Biltema extra gel saddle cover isn't in production any more but plenty other brands have one. It never hurts to ask if you can try before you buy, too.

THE STEPS

Step one: WHAT ARE YOU WEARING ON YOUR BUM

Bib shorts/tights and only bibshorts/tights. Wearing underwear with bibshorts causes major chafing. The pad in your bibshorts has all the functions of underpants plus the cushioning effects against a hard saddle. 

Bib shorts have been used for years by cyclists looking to alleviate the pressure of the saddle. Back in the day a chamois pad was used made out of chamois leather. That's not the case now but it still has the same name: 'chamois pad'. I will shorten and just say 'pad'.

I use different bib shorts for cycling and RaceRunning. Cycling you go over all these potholes and bumps so you need a very thick pad. I get team issue kit provided by my loving and wonderful Team Storey who uses Le Col. 

For RaceRunning I use my longstanding 5 year old pair of Skins Triathlete shorts. These have a very thin pad (which still pressure relieves) because I find the thicker cycling pads get in the way when I want to move my hips very fast.

 They also have inner thigh strips that are anti-abrasive so they can rub against my saddle without friction. I need to compliment my rock hard racing saddle (which still has gel in it: diva gel flow) with step 2:

Step two: WHAT IS YOUR SADDLE WEARING

Now everyone has a different preference but my hack was to steal my mum's racing saddle which was still a gel saddle but was too hard and then steal my best friend's gel saddle cover, which the Swedish RaceRunning team swear by. It moves with me when I sprint and still cushions. For cycling you don't want too much saddle movement but for RaceRunning, I think this is different.

Step three: MOVING PARTS NEED LUBRICANT/EMOLLIENT/GREASE

Machine or (wo)man, you need to lube up. Your RaceRunner needs WD40 and you need the human equivalent which goes under the name 'chamois ("chammy") cream'. Did you ever want to know why slugs and snails produce slime? It's so they don't get cut to shreds over pieces of sharp ground and rub all their skin off. Same with you, my friend.

You want something that ISN'T rapidly absorbable and which is non-perfumed and kind to skin. Although if you're in a pinch, you can just use moisturisor or vaseline but it's not as good as it gets. The first time I used real chammy cream I cried with relief sitting on a bathroom toilet seat, in an empty track stadium in Dundee and the caretaker knocked on the door to check on me and I just couldn't explain. I'm explaining to you now, Scott.

Inside and outside are very different things when it comes to our bums and obviously different depending on what you have down there. Speaking from a female perspective you don't want antibacterial anything inside because there are multiple GOOD types of bacteria that keep the BAD away and a natural cleaning system (to learn more click here). If you wipe out the good ones, the bad tend to colonise. Really we're talking external anatomy here which doesn't have the same kind of issues and most chammy creams have elements which are antibacterial. What I'm saying is, I'd never use hand sanitiser down there though, so don't be nuking the poor thing. I know a lot of cyclists who just use pharmacist brand emollients but as I cycle lots I use my Team's own brand chammy cream 'On The Rivet' and I go through a tonne of the stuff. How much you use and where you put it up to you but I go through A LOT.

I apply it to my pad and myself all over externally and put most on the places I feel the most discomfort.

(credits of the above engineering instructional diagram to this page)

Step four: FRESH BIB SHORTS EVERY TIME. 

That means no double wearing. This means if you have housemates like I do, serious hogging of the washing machine (use non-bio detergent in ideal circumstances to stop stretching).

If you want to hoard a lot of bib shorts to cut down on washing loads this is understandable, however the older they get the baggier they become and this can lead to more chafing. I get the least pain on the first day of wearing brand new bib shorts. This is my 'I'm wearing new bib shorts' position. Weightbearing fulling through the saddle here. It's a screenshot of a video so really hands were back on handlebars in a second but still. 

Good luck out there. 

The Independent--- Ostend World Cup TT Round-Up

There's limited media coverage for the guys on programme and none for us Indies...until now.

Welcome to 'the Independent' which tries to look out for your loved one. So, if you're too exhausted to answer all those messages asking how you've done, send em here! Shout out to any sports journo ever (especially the British Cycling media room because navigating to last year's results amongst a billion classifications is just too much.... the author has her road race tomorrow and needs a sedentary distraction. She didn't book an Airbnb (with wifi this has to be done off data) sorry for the inaccuracies). All photos taken off your own social media profiles and all info gained the same way or from the UCI results page.

ALLEN Mark MH4 (raced yesterday)

20th and 6 mins 41 secs off the winner in his 18km TT. This a tremendous effort for a Mark whose joints give him a run for his money unlike his SCI competitors. Did some stalking from your crowdfunding page, Mark but didn't find any photos of you, eek! Looks like you're new to your bike. Mega kudos.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/amykirk

SWAIN Michael MBE MH4 (raced yesterday)

16th and 4 mins 21 secs off the winner in his 18km TT. Michael received his MBE from the Queen for his contributions to numerous charities and inspiration to those overcoming adversity so I can't wait to see what more he has to offer in cycling. I think this was his first time in Ostend and possibly his first Paracycling World Cup, not that far off Alex, love a bit of competition...

BROOKE-TURNER Alex MH4 (raced yesterday)

15th and 4 mins 13 secs off the winner best of our H4 bunch, KUDOS! He placed higher than last year's 2017 Ostend World Cup, power gaiiiinz. Alex is best known for wearing a leopard/cheetah spandex suit at the British National Road Paracycling Championships in 2017. He won it. Perhaps he should have gone with it yesterday as well ;).

DINES Hannah WT2 (raced yesterday)

I'm writing this, hiii. Like Alex, I was stronger, better and faster than last year's 2017 Ostend World Cup. This is my third time here, faster every time but I've got myself some new competition. I came, 5th and 3 mins 33 secs off the winner. That's 30 seconds closer to the winner, over a longer and more technical course (15km last year, 18km this year). This year's podium was over 50 years old only...I hope I don't have to wait that long...


GRAHAM Finlay MC3 (raced today)

15th in his 27km TT but was only 3 mins 45 secs from the winner- this is the usual gap in diverse classifications. All the blokes that came above him were older and he put 4 minutes into his close rival. Pretty sure this is his first Paracycling Road World Cup. Amazing work. Much to come from this Scottish legend.

HOPWOOD Dan MH3 (raced yesterday)

Dan bent his wheel in half and so rather than 'did not finish' it shoulda been 'could not finish'. Kudos for most complete bike obliteration and almost being run over by a tram experience. Heal up quick Dan.

JONES Luke MH3 (raced yesterday)

Coming in at 24th, Luke was 4 mins 2 secs from gold, well done for keeping off those tram tracks, Luke!

PATRICK Alison WB and LINDSAY Rosie PLT (raced today)

News just in of a DNF, from myself and the Indies, I hope you've only got road rash and all bones are intact. Fresh form triathlon and the track, welcome to the road, ladies ://. To be honest a crash is as impressive as a win, especially if someone caught it on camera...sending love!

PEASGOOD George MC4 (raced today)

George got a SILVER. Not bad for a triathlete ;)!!! Bridgwood of Australia put 42 seconds on him which seems to be the winner's gap of this World Cup (not much). Medal alert. Is this the new Jody Cundy of the road? Indie kudos to George, your bike (and you) looked incredible.

ROBERTSON Matthew MC2 (raced today)

Matt got 14th, 4 mins 41 seconds off the winner that's about 3 minutes of his British rivals and team mates Simon Price and Louis Rolfe but they have a few years on him, go Matt. He's had some impressive performances on the track this year. Can't wait to watch him fly again.

TOFT Katie WC1 (raced today)

Katie got GOLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. Toft put 2 mins 19 secs into her Aussie competitor, Schurmann.  Steady on Katie, you only just won a track gold at the Rio Track Paracycling Champs last month. Is that you coordinating your bobble had with your local road club colours too. Swish.