Hey everyone. I hope you are well and are having a great start to Spring/Fall.
Just wanted to let you know I have changed my website page. If you want to carry on following my Cycling journey and see what I am up to the new website is; www.courteneylowe.com. I will be updating that just like I do this (except more often, that's the plan), and it is a little more sleeker ;)
Thanks! Courteney
Courteney Lowe
Monday, September 16, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Long time no talk!
Well hello
there. I would like to apologise for my lack of updates since Redlands, I have
no excuses as to why I have been so useless just that my brain has been
else-where for the past month or so and everything has been go-go-go. Ever
since Redlands I have been on the road, completing 7 Criteriums and 2 stage
races all over the US. I have had an amazing time, our team has been riding
awesome and my form is coming around. Below is a very brief description on what
I have been up to;
Charlotte
Criterium, Charlotte, NC.
- - Ouch.
This was a fast, aggressive race. There is a lot of money on the line so people
risk everything for the win. Finished with a bunch sprint, 4th and 5th.
- - Next
day we did another Criterium in charlotte. The team rode the front for a large
quantity of the race, until Jade got away with Crowell (Exergy). Jade finished
2nd. We had an awesome race, may not have got the win but we rode
like a team supposed to ride, it was awesome.
Joe Martin Stage Race, Fayetteville, AR.
- - Stage
1 TT = Ouch.
- - Stage
2 RR – Aggressive and fast for the first half. There was a long 15ish km climb
and I got into about 4 breaks, none stuck, the team rode great but we couldn’t
get a breakaway. Finished with a sprint and Joelle got 2nd!
- - Stage
3 RR – Fantastic race, team rode to perfection. Amber got in a break with one
other rider for half the race, caught with 10kms to go and Joelle wins the
sprint finish. Awesome team effort.
- -Stage
4 Crit – More ouch!!! Bunch split to pieces on the first lap, Joelle 3rd
in a very long hard sprint. She rode like a superstar!
Gila, Silver City New Mexico (7000 feet above
see level.. ouch).
- - Stage
1 RR- Not much happened at the start, occasional attacking and little breaks.
Biggest highlight would be my wheel change and my shoe break after a rider
decided to ride her front wheel into me. Bunch together at the base of the 15km
pain hill. Was a grovel, I rode it with Brie and we pushed each other up. Happy
to get to the top! But unfortunately Brie suffered some pretty bad heat stroke at the end of the stage and was out for the rest of the week =(. Thanks to two of the top climbers in the World, Claudia and
Mara for making it so damn painful!
First Day Complete. Pretty shattered after one hard climb . |
- Stage
2 RR- Denise and I did some early attacks and chasing which helped our legs
suffer for the rest. Jade and Lauren rode awesome while Joelle came off on the
downhill =(. Janel did ok too, soloing off the front and doing a time trial for
about half the race. SHE WON!! Beating some of the World’s best and showing
everyone how it’s done.
- - Stage
3 TT – Janel, after doing a 60 odd km TT the day before, finished 2nd
to Alison Powers, by only 10 seconds!!! My aim for this was to finish in the
time cut and save my legs for the following days so I could have something left
to help the team as much as possible. It went well and I was nice and comfortable
=)
Lauren and Joelle killing it in the Crit. |
- - Stage
4 Crit - The team rode great, Joelle did a fantastic lead-out for Lauren who
won! And Joelle hung on for 2nd. Awesome!
Pre-race meeting with Rach. The knowledge that Rachel has with the tactics is amazing and I hold onto every word she tells us. |
On the front earlier on in the Crit. |
During the TT at Gila. |
- - Stage
5 RR – Last day, legs tired. We protected Janel and Jade as much as we could by
chasing every break that went off the front, (Joelle staying away in a small
break) and delivering them to the base of the hill well rested and ready to rip
legs off. Janel finished 3rd, racing two of the World’s BEST hill
climbers up one painful climb!
Tour De Grove, St Louis, Missouri.
- - Crit
#1 ; starting at 8 :30 pm, in the dark. It was fast from the start.
Optum P/B KBS rode awesome making the race exciting. I got off solo, then Annie
went off solo, then Amber went off.. etc. Unfortunately Annie had a terrible
crash half way through. She hit the barrier and it came over top, breaking her
Scapula in the process. She is so tough, and is now home in Canada on her way
to recovery. The race was re-started after about 20 minutes. Knowing your team
mate and close friend is in a really bad way was not good for me mentally so I
wasn’t really in it for the rest of the race. I just wanted to ride off the
front, so I did, but got caught and it was a sprint finish. Leah 4th.
- Crit
#2 ; Super aggressive race. The team attacked like crazy, it was hard and fast.
Having only 3 riders was hard, the larger teams took advantage of their numbers
and made us hurt. Unfortunately nothing stuck and came to a sprint again with
Leah in 5th.
Doing some 'touristy' things. The arch at St Louis. |
Wilmington
Grand Prix, Wilmington.
- - Only
a small Optum team in this one, which made it hard. Amber and I rode an
aggressive race, we are not sprinters so we wanted a break. I got in an early
break which stayed away for quite a few laps. We were caught and the attacks
started up again. Unfortunately one of my attacks was countered by a Colavita
rider forming a break. The rest of the race Amber and I tried everything we
could to bridge the gap. Felt like we had big signs on our backs telling
everyone to please chase EVERYTHING we do. It was hard, and we gave it
everything but couldn’t catch unfortunately. We made it fun and hard though,
dropping about half the field in the first half of the race with our continuous
attacks. So it wasn’t all bad. Fearless Femme rode awesome and took the win.
Amber and I at the front in Wilmington. |
Kelly Cup, Baltimore, MD.
- - A
smaller field on a cool course around a park in Baltimore. Once again, Amber
and I attacked like crazy women making it almost one of the hardest races I
have done. It was a 22 lap course and we would have attacked at least once
every lap. Once again we were covered like crazy. Amber went to lead me out at
the end and then she got a gap coming into the final 400 metres, she kept
drilling it but got caught on the line, finishing in 2nd place with
me in 3rd. Congrats to Amy Cutler for a very impressive sprint
finish!!
Driving through the snow on my way to Bend. |
Views I get to enjoy on my rides. |
Top of Mckenzie Pass, amazing climb! |
So far the
season has been awesome and I am really looking forward to the next race with
the team. It’s been a week and I miss everyone like crazy already!!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Kelly Benefit Strategies and the American Diabetes Association meet and greet.
This past
week Janel, Rachel, Mike Sherer, Ian Moir and myself flew to Baltimore to visit
Kelly Benefit Strategies and to learn about the American Diabetes Association.
Kelly
Benefit Strategies (KBS) is one of Optum P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies title
sponsors, and is one of the top Insurance Consultants in the Country. (http://www.kellybenefitstrategies.com/).
KBS also supports the American Diabetes Association which includes the sponsorship
of a huge Nation-wide cycling event called the ‘Tour De Cure’.
John Kelly and myself talking before the start of the ride. John is one of the main reasons this team exists and not only does he support ADA he also helps to raise funds and awareness for World Bicycle Relief (http://worldbicyclerelief.org/).
The Tour De
Cure is a series of fundraising cycling events held in 44 States Nationwide to
benefit the American Diabetes Association. Nearly 26 million Americans are
diagnosed with Diabetes so the mission of the ADA is to ‘prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected’.
KBS Sponsors two of the Maryland Tour De Cure events (Cooksville, MD and Easton,
MD).
John Kelly,
the President and Senior Consultant at KBS and the Diabetes Association organised
a fantastic event which the five of us were lucky enough to attend. John took
us for a ride around the beautiful Country roads of Baltimore where we met some
of the KBS staff and cyclists as well as ADA supporters, including the Executive
director of the Maryland Diabetes Association, Kathy Rogers. Everybody was so
lovely and the ride went really well thanks to John’s perfect organisation. We were
then greeted after the ride to a delicious BBQ dinner, some refreshments and
music as well as learning about the Tour De Cure and what the ADA do to help
prevent and support Diabetes within America.
Thank you
John and Kathy and everybody else who was part of this event, I was so fortunate
to have been able to spend the afternoon with such inspiring people.
JK introducing Ian, Janel, Mike and myself.
The five of us before we headed off for one beautiful ride!
Thank you Umbrella Syndicate for all of the photos taken on the day; http://theumbrellasyndicate.com/
Thank you Umbrella Syndicate for all of the photos taken on the day; http://theumbrellasyndicate.com/
If you want
to learn more about Tour De Cure or if you are interested in donating the
website is; http://tour.diabetes.org
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Redlands 2013
Redlands Classic is the first NRC (National Racing Calendar) event of the year, and it was a big one! The start list was outstanding with close to 90 riders entered and the field was top, top quality.
We had a strong team of 8 including; Annie, Joelle, Denise, Brie, Amber, Jade, Janel and myself.
The first stage was a Time Trial in Big Bear. With an altitude of about 7000 feet this stage really suited the riders who have just come from places like Boulder or from somewhere high up. The entire race felt like my throat was bleeding and everyone was coughing endlessly once we had finished. Imagine riding as hard as you can, through a straw, it is similar to that.. The legs and lungs definitely do not enjoy it. Anyway, the tt was hard, I went out all guns blazing and was completely done by 9kms. Unfortunately the tt was 12kms long so I fell a little short with my pacing.
Alison Powers had a phenomenal ride finishing close to 30 seconds in front of second place and beating a large quantity of the elite men's field. Our little pocket rocket Brie had a hugely impressive ride finishing in 4th place, Janel in 7th and Denise in 10th with the rest of us close behind. Unfortunately Jade got a very unfair time penalty which put her back 50 seconds, and I came in somewhere in the 20's about 1 and a half minutes back from Alison.
The next day was a 120km road race (thankfully back down to sea level).The race was fast, hard, and fun. The team rode awesome with Jade going for the QOM, Brie taking out the sprints and the rest of the team chasing the breaks and keeping things hard. On the final lap I got in a small break and stayed with them for a wee while, I was blown, my legs didn't have much, I hung on with gritted teeth until Joelle bridged across, then I hit the wall and came back to the bunch. On the last climb Janel was going backwards, unsure of the reason I tried to stay with her and we worked hard together in the final Km's to keep the time gap as small as possible. We later realised she had a slow leak on the front wheel which slowed her down considerably on the climb. Further up the road Brie sprinted to 3rd place, putting her up to 3rd on GC and Alison pulled out another win with fellow Kiwi rider Joe finishing 2nd.
Day three was the Redlands Criterium, known to be one of the hardest, most technical crits on the American calendar. Fast it was! Denise got away in the final 15 minutes and stayed up the road for quite a few laps, Jade countered her but it ended up coming to a bunch sprint with Joelle coming a close 2nd, to Alison (again). Unfortunately I had some bad luck on one of the corners in the final laps with my bike coming to a holt. Once I got going again the bunch was up the road, Dang!
Last stage, the Sunset Loop, known to be the most brutal stage of the tour, and of most races in the US. Basically the main race is in the first 15kms. It starts with a long neutral section where everyone jostles for position, then it goes to a narrow, rough, windy downhill which runs straight into the climb of the day. If you are not at or near the front when you get to the base of the climb, you're toast. 20 riders got away on the climb, including 4 Optum girls. Denise and I were in a small (ish) bunch that was caught in the middle and the rest of the field was behind. In our bunch were some GC threats so there was no need to do any work or try to get up the road in case we got chased by these riders. Some of the teams got to the front to try and catch but the chasing was too inconsistent so it ended up being more of a bunch ride as riders would give up one by one. The front of the field was getting smashed to pieces, Marra Abbott and Claudia Haussler got away (Two of the best climbers in the worlds) while Joelle faught it out in the chasing group and Brie, Jade and Janel very close behind. Mara ended up staying away, just! With Joelle getting the bunch sprint in 2nd.
Overall it was an awesome race, the team rode extremely well together and we have some great times coming up. It is early season so we are not at our best yet, but it's not going to be long until we get there. Next up is Charlotte Criterium in the weekend after a stop off in Baltimore to catch up with John Kelly and the team from Kelly Benefit Strategies and the diabetes foundation. The weather is getting warmer, the tan lines are at their best and the legs are on the up, time to win some bike races =) Courteney
Getting ready for the Time Trial at 7000 Feet.Just starting the Time trial, with the beautiful lake next to me. Team Talk before stage three road race. Riding the front in my new awesome NZ champ jersey. Thank you so much Champion System for such a fantastic job!! http://www.champ-sys.com/ At some stage during one of the stages at Redlands. Photos thanks to; Danny Munson, Cyclingillustrated.com
Friday, March 29, 2013
San Dimas 2013
Update
time! I am back in the US of A and loving it. Once arriving in LA I was picked
up by my team mate Amber Gaffney and her partner Jacob and was spoilt rotten!
Not only had she come all the way out to LA to pick me up, she had gone via my
favourite super market (Trader Joes) and picked me up my favourite American
treat for the car trip. Once arriving at her house she made me an incredibly delicious
sandwich and then went for her second ride of the day so she could show me
where I could ride.. That is what I call one pretty awesome team mate! I then
spent the next week training with Amber and getting to know the area.
First race
for the season was the San Dimas Stage race which consists of a 4 mile uphill
time trial, a 50 mile road race and then finishes off with a 60 minute
Criterium around the streets of San Dimas. We had a small team of 5 rider,
Leah, Brie, Amber, Lauren and myself as well as Michael, Rachel and Jeremy
(Mechanic, Director/organiser/planner/do everything-er and the swanee).
Leah and I
stayed with Susie and Dennis, a lovely couple who looked after us incredibly
well during the few days of racing. They were both very accomplished sports
people so we had some good conversations. The morning of the time trial Leah and
I got up leisurely to have breakfast. By the time we left for the race Susie
had gone for a run, walked the dog and was about to head out the door for a
ride to watch us race. Once returning from her ride she then went for another
walk.. an incredibly fit lady!! I felt so lazy after just doing a little time
trial then riding home.
The weekend
was a great success for the team. There were close to 80 strong starters in the
race, so we certainly had our work cut out for us! Brie rode to a very
impressive 4th place in the time trial with Lauren, Leah and Amber
not far behind. I finished somewhere in the 20’s. I was pretty disappointed with
my result as I felt great and had a great lead-up but not to fear I will be
there soon, just need to get some racing under my belt to wake the legs up
again!
The Road
Race was pretty action-packed with a nasty crash happening near the start and
the race leader Mara Abbott came down. So for the next lap we neutralised the
race until she rejoined us and then the race was on! My job was to go for the
Queen of the Mountains, I won the first one, got 2nd in the 2nd
and then 3rd in the final time.. Unfortunately that put me in 1st
equal with Lex Albrecht and in the UCI rules the winner is determined by
whoever is sitting highest on GC, which in this case was Lex… Dammit!! So I didn’t
get the polka dot jersey for this one.. Next time =)
Amber and I
attempted a couple of lead-outs for Leah and Lauren for the mid-race sprints,
and they both did awesome, Leah got the first and then Brie (who also did the
leading out) got another one. Kathryn Donavon from NOW got away solo on the 5th
lap and rode strongly up the road for about 3 laps, with 1 lap to go Amber and
I went to the front and set the pace as no-one else seemed very interested in
catching Katy. Once we had about 5kms to go Amber drilled it on the front while
I totally blew up! Going up the last climb (so with around 5 kms to go) Brie
set the pace, ,and then kept setting it, and just kept going.. then won the
sprint!!! She is like a pocket rocket that just keeps going!!! So we finished
the stage with a stage victory, the sprint jersey (Brie), a place up in the GC
standings (now sitting in 3rd) and a first equal for QOM (Dang). Successful day all round!!
The final
day was a Criterium, and boy was it on from the start. We averaged about 42kmh
for an hour.. it was hard! And I was hurting! Long story short Brie finished 2nd
in the stage thanks to a great lead-out from Amber, Lauren and Leah.
San Dimas
was a great first race of the season. I personally am not at where I want to be
but know it is the first race of the season and speed will come fast! I have
the strength and endurance, now I just need that speed. I am so stoked to be
riding with such a great team again this year, we all gel so well and get
along.. its going to be a great season =)
Me going for the QOM points at SDSR.
One happy team after Bries win in the Road Race. Very well deserved!!
Both photos copyright of Danny Munson, Cyclingillustrated.com
Now I am
off to San Diego with one of my closest friends Emma Grant. I have not seen her
since August last year and cannot wait to spend the week hanging out and riding
my bike. Then I am headed to Redlands for a 4 stage race. Fun times ahead, will
keep you all posted.
Thanks for
reading =)
Courteney
Friday, March 8, 2013
Critical Cargo Care
I am really
excited to announce a new personal sponsor who has so generously decided to
help me (along with Craigs Investment Partners) to get through my 2013 racing year.
Russell and
Sharon Jackman, along with their son Daniel Jackman run a fascinating business
called Critical Cargo Care. Sharon and Russell wanted to help financially support a young Athlete who had
set their heart on the Olympics as a goal, and thanks to Greg and Richard from Tauranga
Cycling Club, I was the one they chose to help support.
I was given
the opportunity to visit their business a few days ago and see what happens and how it
all works. I have come home absolutely astounded by what I have seen, and how
little I take into account what goes on behind the scene at the Port of
Tauranga.
After
meeting with Russell I got taken into the office and introduced to some of the
awesome team at CCC. Some young, down to earth men who were extremely
interested in what I do. I was then shown what they do, and my job seemed A LOT
easier.
What
Critical Cargo Care does is they take care of all the Ports refrigerated cargo.
From food products such as meat or fruit, to plants - it’s a lot of containers,
and a lot of pressure to get it right! Some of the containers have up to 1
million dollars of product in just the one container!!
The shipper
provides CCC with information on what temperature the container must be at.
Once the container arrives they are connected and set up to the shippers’
requirements and are then constantly monitored throughout the stay at the Port.
Once it is time to go CCC will know when the containers are able to be
unplugged before heading onto a ship, train or truck for the next stop.
I was given
the opportunity to go in one of the massive forklifts/moving thing on wheels
(no idea what it was called, but it was huge! And I had to climb a big ladder
to get to the top). Then I went along with one of CCC’s normal days of work
where we picked up containers, then dropped them onto the back of a truck, or
picked it up from the truck. I could not believe how someone in this tiny box
on the side of this MASSIVE crane was able to drop the container right between
the lines or into the perfect spot on the truck. It was very impressive and a
pretty cool experience!
I am so
excited about the new relationship with CCC and cannot thank them enough for
their support. I also now have a new found respect for how much it takes to get
things like apples or international fruits like mangos onto the supermarket
shelf. It doesn’t just appear, it involves a huge process and hard work to get
there.
Above are some photos of my trip, on the top are the crazy cool cranes on wheels that I sat on (yup, I climbed all the way up there, on a ladder!), then on the right is the tiny little glass-type box that the driver and I sat in. In the middle is taking a container off the truck and at the bottom is our awesome work, a loaded truck!
Thanks
Russell, Sharon, Daniel and the awesome staff from CCC, you are helping make my 2013 year a successful
one and keep me on my road to Rio =)
Home Time.. For a Short Time..
Since
training camp I have been hanging out at home, in the beautiful sunshine
getting some even more beautiful tan-lines and making the most of this hot
weather. I have also been working hard with my chiropractor from England, Ali
McMaster. This lady is amazing, I really do not know what I would do without
her knowledge and the work she has put into me. Last year while I was suffering
from what I call the year long one legged effort, Ali would skype me weekly and
she is the reason I was able to keep riding at the level I was with all the
other issues going on. Sometimes I would make my room-mate and good friend Emma
Grant do manipulations to me, Ali, over Skype, would explain to Emma where and
how she could hit me as hard as she could on some part of my legs (she says she
didn’t like hitting me, I don’t believe her for a second). I would also use
rolls and rolls and rolls of Spider Tech tape (http://www.spidertech.com/) to keep me
going forward.
An example of a bit of taping effort after skyping Ali... got to cover all the options..right!?
Anyway, Ali
has been around here almost ever second day (while she is on holiday in NZ), making
me absolutely perfect and sorting out all my ‘issues’. She is not only the World’s
best Chiropractor but she sort of just knows everything. She has an answer for
everything and is just.. well.. AMAZING.
When I am
not with Ali, and not on my bike, I am enjoying a bit of CrossFit here and
there with Mount (and the new Tauranga) CrossFit (http://mountcrossfit.com/). I have been
doing this since Surgery as I get really bored in the gym and because as a
cyclist I do not get any impact what-so-ever, which is terrible for my bone
density. Therefore by doing cross-fit I am not only working the muscles I would
in the gym, things like box jumps, skipping and running are also incorporated,
helping the impact side of things and also keeping things competitive (which
in-turn keeps me happy).
The past
few weeks I have also been meeting some really cool up and coming triathletes
and cyclists from all over Tauranga.
Last week I
was given the opportunity to join in on Lyndy Wickham’s ride with the junior
tri kids that she takes out for rides and bike handling skills each week. I
could not get over the enthusiasm and talent these juniors had, it is really
exciting for the future of the sport. One of the older girls, Amelia, has just
been selected for the Nationals in Christchurch because she had an outstanding
cycle split time in the selection race. I tried to turn her to the better side (cyclist) on the ride, I
think she will become a roady in no-time with that kind of talent.
Me with some of the awesome up and coming riders, great group of Kids.
Kurt Pickard and I with some Tauranga Intermediate students on the 'Bright Sparks' program. Picture Credit; Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Journalism.
Now I have
just under a week left before I head back to the States to start the racing
season. I am pretty excited to get it kicked off and to see all the team again!
I also just
want to say a huge Thank You to Richard Bates, Greg Taylor and members of the
Tauranga Cycling Club for your incredibly generous support in helping me get
overseas this year. I am overwhelmed by the kindness of some people who are so
passionate about cycling and the support of a young rider trying to live her
dream.
I have been
riding with Tauranga Cycling Club since I first started and being able to share
my stories and progress with the people who have been there from the start is
all worth it! Even if they still like to torture me on Tuesday night Worlds…
Thanks for
reading!
Courteney
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