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We'll be providing lots of entertaining updates about our bikes and trikes and life here at ICE.
Happy riding,
The ICE team
Paralympic Ambition, part 2
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 06:33 AM
Paralympic
Ambition 2
On the
14th of December 2011 we posted a blog entry “Paralympic Ambition”
telling the story Karen Darke’s ambition to win a gold at the 2012 Paralympic
games. We’ve recently been in touch with Karen and her trainer John Hampshire
to see how things are going.
Karen’s update
I have good
intentions to write a blog at least every week, but then I suddenly realise
that nearly a month has gone by. Training seems to suck time away. Three hours
or more of training a day always takes at least six - getting dressed and
organised, washed and de-organised, fixing the bike, eating right, recovering
etc. And bang, the day has disappeared again.
I figured that the
best chance for good training this winter would be spending most of it abroad,
in warmer climates away from snow of the Scottish Highlands. As it turned out,
there’s been barely any snow in Scotland and over a metre in Mallorca!
My coach John
accompanied me on most of the training camps so he could shout at me to go
faster whilst I chased him down on the trike. The Swiss and the Americans seem
to lead the way in handbiking but often they train with others or as a team,
pacing and racing each other. Surely this must give them an edge. Hence the
idea for the trike. There have been rides where I’ve thought there’s nothing
left in my arms, but then John hammers on by me, I tuck in behind his wheel and
give it every last bit I have left.
I’ve had a
difficult run with the training of late though, with three colds in six weeks -
its seems to have been hard to shift them. Overtraining? Possibly a bit, but it’s
more likely the damp lingering winter in the UK that seems to have had bugs
thriving. Each time I’ve caught a flight back from a training camp I seem to
have been sniffling almost as soon as the plane touches down and then sapped of
all my energy for the next ten days.
It’s not good for
the head to be laid up unable to train well and not meeting targets. At least
not in the year you aim to compete in the Paralympics for the first time, and
in your own country. A bit like being injured, you want with all your heart to
be able to perform, but it just isn’t happening.
So after getting
down about this, “That’s it, I’ve blown it. I must have chronic fatigue. I’ll
never be able to ride fast again. My dream is slipping away....” kind of
thoughts, I’ve gone back in my memory bank to the very early days of me being
paralysed. When sleeping was bliss and waking was a nightmare. I used to force
myself to get up in a morning, put on a brave face, force a positive mind and
face the world.
My motto then was
‘Fake it ‘til you make it”. I pretended I was happy, putting on my brave
face... until one day, I realised I wasn’t pretending anymore. Our mind is
malleable. What we tell it, it will start to believe.
So the last weeks,
I’ve been going through the motions of training, doing my sessions, failing to
meet my targets but putting on a brave face (well, most of the time. I only
cried at my coach once...). “Be patient” I’ve told myself. “It will come good.
Just fake it ‘til you make it.”
And today, I made
it. I hit my ‘gold session’ targets for the first time in a month. Phew.
It must be being back in Mallorca paced by the trike that’s done it! (instead
of on a turbo on my own at home).
The first British
race is at Salt Ayre in Lancaster, 31st March, then the first European race on
April 7th in Rosenau, France. From then onwards the race calendar picks up. In-between
British races, there’s the first World Cup race in Rome on the 26-27th May, the
following weekend in Switzerland, then another World Cup in Spain, 16-17th
June. Paralympics selection for Team GB is on June 6th.
If anyone is interested in watching the races in the
Paralympics, the venue is Brands Hatch on the afternoon of Wednesday 5th May
(Time Trial, my best chance of medalling) and the morning of Friday 7th May
(Road Race, all female handcyclists combined together). Tickets are only £10
and it’s bound to be more exciting than the 100m swim final at £4K a ticket!!
Johns update
We have found the ICE trike
invaluable in Karen's training. During our first trip to Mallorca in December I
rode with Karen most days, being at the same height as each other allowed us to
talk about all sorts of things, making the longer rides easier and helping us
understand how to work together more effectively. During the hard rides I could
sometimes ride close behind watching Karen's pedalling and shouting
encouragement, or ride in front so that Karen could practice sheltering behind
- a skill that is vital for road racing.
We have continued to use the
trike in this way throughout our other camps, but with more focus on the hard
sessions and in Lanzarote Karen's partner Andy joined Karen for some long rides
on the trike. Me being with Karen on the hard sessions has allowed me to
understand her strengths and weaknesses (which are few), adjusting training
plans and on some occasions the session we are doing at the time. Something
that would have been much more difficult without the trike.
I have found riding the trike
an interesting experience, it's hard work to keep up with Karen and I am
grateful for the top quality machine you have supplied.... not sure I would
have been up to it on anything less. Descending is fantastic with disk brakes
and the low centre of gravity but hopefully I won't be repeating the two
wheeled experiences too often.
Karen, Rachel and I will be
on our first British Cycling training camp together starting on Tuesday; we
will have the trike with us so it will be interesting to see how well we can
train together as a threesome. In particular I think it will be good for road
race practice.
ICE Welcomes Cycles Bonneteau
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 04:16 AM
A very warm welcome to Cycles Bonneteau, a superb cycle shop
in Fronsac, France, and a new dealer of ICE trikes.
Cycles Bonneteau was founded in 2009 by Aurélien Bonneteau, a former ‘up-wrong’ cyclist who
competed to very high levels. Aurélien’s maintains his passion for road racing,
focusing now on recumbent bikes, trikes and velomobiles. He remains very involved
in competitive events, which keeps him at the forefront of the latest speed-cycling
news. One look at his website of blog demonstrates is enthusiasm and commitment
to the sport.
Cycles Bonneteau is located in a
beautiful region near Bordeaux, France. The area offers an ideal setting for
test rides. As well as offering expert advice on recumbent cycling, Aurélien
provides a carbon/composite repair service.
Aurélien welcomes “Curious beginners, practitioners,
[and] enthusiasts” to come and visit.
ICE Welcomes Gold Country Cyclery
Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 04:08 AM
We are delighted to welcome Gold Country Cyclery as a
dealer of ICE trikes.
GCC is operated by cycling enthusiasts Rick and Ann
Steele. They offer a friendly, professional service with the benefit of years’
of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm. They are a favourite cycle store to
locals, but their wide range of stock and excellent service makes GCC a
destination store, with customers travelling great distances to visit.
Their store is located east of Sacremento, CA, in the
foothills of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains, convenient to most Northern
California locations and the Reno/Taho basin. Their beautiful location is ideal
for test rides and they welcome you to their store to test ride an ICE trike.