Alex Carle Blog: Was Mersey Valley really 4 months ago??

Was Mersey Valley really 4 months ago?? It feels like we were climbing the bergs in Tassie only a few weeks ago. Then again, so much has happened since March – surely things couldn't change so much in only a few months?! Where to begin?

Canberra Tour was the next race after Tassie. I was pretty excited for a home town tour, and hoped to hold my form from the early part of the season. Whilst I didn't have quite as good of a tour a I might have liked, it was still great to get some racing in. Jo Hogan rode exceptionally well to win overall, closely followed by Lisa Jacobs, and my ACTAS/NTID team mate Bron Ryan in third.

My lead up to Canberra Tour was hectic to say the least! Less than a week beforehand, I found out that I would be leaving for my 5 month trip to the USA 10 days earlier than planned. That meant I flew out on Sunday night – right after the final stage of Canberra Tour. It was very exciting news as I was heading over early for a guest ride with the Colavita Baci Professional Women's Team. At the same time, it meant I had to cancel farewells with family and friends with no time to reschedule before I left. The opportunity to ride with Colavita Baci was just too good of an opportunity to pass up!

 

My first professional race was to be the Joe Martin Stage Race, beginning on May 6^th in Arkansas. Last minute flight changes ensured that I got to Arkansas the most round about way possible. It took 7 flights and probably 5 - 10 years off my life expectancy. Arriving maybe 20 hours before stage 1 meant there was just enough time for food and bed. Definitely no time to worry about how I was going to feel the next morning! I was very lucky that everyone from Colavita Baci looked after me exceptionally well! Everything was taken care of. All that was left to do was ride my bike! I was really happy with the first 3 stages. I had pulled up much better than expected from the flights and Colavita had a whole lot of success. We won 2 from 2 in the road stages. The final stage was a crit. All that can be said is that I learnt a lot! It was good to find out right from the beginning of the season exactly where I would need to improve to be a competitive crit rider.

 

I returned to Philly, where my team (Verducci Breakaway) is based, very happy with how the tour had gone. I was also stoked that I had already learnt so much and met some great people.

Fast forward 24 hours and I wake up to find half my face is paralysed. WHAT?!?! What the hell happened? Turns out that one of my Cranial Nerves decided to take a holiday. I have Bell's Palsy. This means that the right side of my face is paralysed for an indeterminate amount of time. Great! I've always considered blinking with both eyes, smiling with both sides of my mouth and feeling like my face hasn't been beaten with a stick highly overrated anyway!

So after an enforced 3 weeks of eye drops, a pirate eye patch, and consistent, yet unsuccessful attempts to convince Gary (our DS) that I was totally fine to race, I was allowed to get out on the road and resume training. My first races would be the Tour of Sommerville and The Liberty Classic (UCI 1.1).

The 'Tour' of Sommerville is actually just one crit. I was happy with my first race for Verducci. I was pleased that what I had learnt at the Joe Martin was already paying off.

Liberty was next, and although my preparation had been short, I was again happy with how I raced. I wasn't in my best form, but I considered coming away with 2^nd U23 a good result.

 

June rolled around, and it was time to leave the USA...for 4 days, for a very quick trip to Canada! Verducci team mates Jessie MacLean, Bron Ryan and I, plus AIS rider Kirsty Broun (and DS Gary) headed over the border to ride for the Aussie National Team in Le Chrono de Gatineau. Bron and I raced the UCI 1.2 Time Trial, and the four of us lined up the following day for the 1.1 Road Race.

The trip was a great experience and of course, it was awesome to race in the Green and Gold! We came very close in the road race. Our team worked really well all day. 99km into the 99.2km race things were looking perfect. Kirsty, our sprinter, came into the last corner in 3^rdwheel exactly as planned. But then, as can unfortunately happen in racing, a crash in the last corner left Kirsty on the ground and our team out of contention. Most importantly though, she wasn't badly hurt. We'll just have to go back next year and give it another stab!

 

Next on the calendar was a trip to Minnesota for The Nature Valley Tour. Team Verducci was sitting this tour out, so Bron and I rode with another team – Freewheel Bike. The Freewheel guys looked after us amazingly well and it was an absolute privilege to ride for them. If you ever find yourself in Minesota and in need of a bike shop, it's the only one to visit! Our team had quite a good tour. I found myself completely comfortable in the first crit and was very happy with how I rode it. Even though I had my first crash for the season, (closely followed for my second in the same race – what are the chances?!) I really enjoyed the race. I saw how I was capable of riding a crit, and knew confidence in crit racing would no longer be a problem.

Verducci's final tour for the season took us to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Fitchburg was our most successful tour of the season. Bron rode amazingly well to claim 2^nd in the road stage, and finished the 4 day tour in 3^rd on GC. The whole team rode very strongly. It was one of those great tours where everyone rode well and was able to contribute to the team’s success.

 

Following Fitchburg, I decided to take a few weeks off the bike. I was starting to get fatigued from a long Australian-US combined season. My parents decided to come across to The States to see me during my break. It's been great having them here. We just finished a 5 day tour around North East USA and Canada. It was a nice change to travel without a bike and to see a few of the sights other than the race hotel and course! Once I'm back in Philly I'll get back on the bike and start gearing up for racing back in Aus.

I also hoped that giving my body a bit of time off would help me recover from the Bell's Palsy. Despite my initial hopes, I have not been a quick healer. It's been 3 months and I still have no movement in my face apart from a very slight eyebrow twitch. Looks like I'll be stuck with my wonky face for a little while yet. Although at times it has been very challenging, there have also been positives. I'm sure that once I'm recovered, I'll be able to find even more!

The past few months have been absolutely amazing. I've learnt so much both on and off the bike and have got to know some really awesome people. A huge thanks has to go to everyone who have supported me this year! The US racing has been great, and I will come back home a much better rider.