Kategorie: 2008

I am finally made it here. Some of you knew that my journey was almost canceled, because I hurt myself at trampoline course at the University just 10 days before my flight date. I twisted my ankle really badly during I tried to do a back flip with a front flip.

my ankle after the flight from London to L.A. I got worse after…

I knew now that I should not go trampoline jumping before I want to do such a trip. Now I know…But finally I am sitting in New Zealand at an Internet café. I feel a bit dizzy and it spins me. I feel the jet lag symptoms.

At the moment I am staying at a friends place with Kai and on the 5^th I have my first race.

At the national airport in Aukland. Nearly done.

I don’t know yet if I will be able to race because my ankle hmm needs time to heal. I will see how I feel on the bike. Pedaling down the street is all right but hmm racing I will see.

The days before I left were very busy. I had to do so many things, things were delivered just at the last day, getting my license, printing the logos on my jerseys, finish my bike, get my spare parts, going to different doctors, buying Xmas presents, finish my study writing, and of course the big question is my ankle all right and will I go.

Apart from all the stress I had a very nice Christmas evening with my family and our neighbors like every year. The ironic thing was that I was on crutches like last year.. hmm I don’t want to make it to a habit. I was lucky that I got so good medical support. I had a MR date in just 2 days, normally you have to wait more than 2 weeks in Vienna.

I was also invited to the Frontworx Christmas celebration which was so great

What else happened? I’m riding Morewood this year but I wrote that before. It is company settled down in South Africa. I tested it for a few days at home but not really on a downhill track so I can’t wait to ride with it on a real DH track. I have also great parts on it. I ride Marzocchi forks and rear shocks, Sun Ringle Rims, Thomson seat post and steams, San Marco Saddles, Shimano parts, Michelin tires and a Syncros handle bars. And I’m pimped by Sombrio race gear, 661 protection and Iriedaily casual clothes. I still have Generali as my main head sponsor and new is Frontworx, which is represented on my jersey and on my bike frames. Frontworx is an international IT Consulting company which settled down in Vienna. So these are my racing news. My private news are, that I was very productive in the last 2 months and wrote my writings to finish my studies. One topic was about Sport sponsoring and the other is about Athletes hit the road. Both topics were very interesting and I gain a lot of benefit of my researches and my science work.

 

So the next days I will hopefully get fast used to the time difference of 12 hours and be able to ride my bike. I mean that’s one reason why I am here.

I will keep you up to date and check my web blog on my homepage there will be pictures of my journey.

See you LENE

kai and I

 my one and only

 

My ankle is all right. It hurts sometimes but I tape it and wore the bandage thing. So it works. I really like the track. It’s very dusty and I feel good on my new bike. Some jumps stresses me I hope I will have sorted it out tomorrow in practice.

I have already a sun burn. The sun is really aggressiv here so hmm 50 seems not enough for my baby skin…..

So yes that are my news. I will write more after the race.

see you lene

The race is over and it was a great weekend. I ended up on the podium on the 5th place. I didn’t do some jumps which I should probably should have done but what ever it was my first race this year and I was off the bike for about 3 months. I am stocked to be here. It’s so genial to be at a warm place instead of sitting on my XC bike with long pants and long winter gloves.

The coronet peak track was super. Lots off burms and washed out corners. Lots of jumps… I really like the dry stuff. The after party was also nice. Lot’s of dancing to the sound of a hip hip band. I was a little bit handy cap because of my ankle, which is nearly fine now. Just when I have to walk far it hurts.
At the moment I am in Wanaka in Dan’s house a friend of an other friend from Napier. I am sitting in a very nice appartment my feeds on the chair and tipping on my very usefull laptop my neeeeeeewwwws and skyping with my lovely friend Kathi. She is injured and had 4 operations in one week. She broke her fibular and tibia and has now nails in her bones for 1 year or more. There were a lot of complications she could feel her leg and that’s why they had to operate her so many times. I feel so bad that I can’t be with her.

So yesterday we went for ride in Snow Park that’s the place where the next race will be. It’s a nice track very fast and long and the same as dusty as the last one. In the track are two road gaps which I will probably try today in the afternoon. Now I will just go for a small ride in sticky forest. Where ever this is…. I will see..

So I will keep you up to date.

LENE

The south Island cup is over and I did all right. I am so stoked to be here and I enjoy every second. I can take everthing so easy no stress and no pressure. I am sorrounden by my kiwi mates and I am everywhere very welcome. At the moment I am in Leons and Donas house in Wellington. Where I stayed to years ago too. I have my own room. YEAH I had luck every place I was up to now I had my own room and didn’t have to sleep on the kitchen floor like last time. So thanks to everybody who let me stay.

The last two weeks were just amazing. I saw a lot and raced a lot. In one week 3 races that’s my record. Maybe everybodys record here. I guess the NZ federation dated the races so close to avoid a lots of costs for staying and more…. When they would have asked me I had nothing to say against staying longer at one place. BUt what ever so I am back in WEllingto now with good results. 5th, 2th and 3rd and overall 3rd. Yeah I am satisfied and not injured.

I will go to bed now it was a long day and I need some sleep I will go tomorrow for a XC ride.

SEE YOU LENE

Brilliant weekend..yeah. Wakeboarding, Jet Skiing, Fishing (with no suxcess) and lots of other stuff happened the last weekend. It was great.

I was invited by a friend to stay in his father’s summer residence near Tapo. It was so cool. It’s a really nice lake and not too cold for a swim. I did some wakeboarding behind a boat… Yes behind. Not like in Austria on a lift. It was so much more difficult. The jet ski session was exciting too. The lake was so ruff and so Chris and I did lots of wall rides and spins….Great. We nearly felt off but just nearly. I have no idea how he managed that we didn’t fall into the  water because I hold fast to his Safty jacket and he just to the handle bars and the whole jet ski was so sloped.

Me on the boat.

We stayed there just over the weekend.. I did some Kaiserschmarrn for the family

Chris and I making Kaiserschmarrn.

After this weekend I spend more time in Wellington and did some runs with the local boys… Good tracks a little bit short but nice. I also did some good training runs on the national track in Wellington, where the race will be at the end of february.

So jep I am looking forward to race in Rotorua soon.

see you LENE

I am in Auckland at the moment in Kai’s house. I decided to go to Auckland earlier. It was time to leave for me. So I went by the Overlander train from Wellington to Auckland in 12 hours. The train left at 7:25 am from Wellington. I wasn’t sure at the beginning if I should go because it sounded like a nice weekend in Wellington but yeah now I am happy that I went away. The journey was relaxing. I just slept the whole time and between I organised my hundreds of hundreds MP3s which I got in the last weeks and did a press release for Miriam. My best friend, she got national Champ in Badminton. Very cool and thought about the last month here.

So yesterday I was digging at the national track in Dome Valley. It was okay but I would have prefered to ride my bike because at the end I got informed that it was the last training day before the race. Great and I did just 2 runs. I like the track it is short and good fun.

Today we wanted to go to Rotorua again to do some runs. But we went out and I danced a lot so I was very tired in the morning and slept tooo long to go to Rotorua. For that trip we should have left about 6 o clock in the morning to earn from the day… Whatever we are on the way to an other track I forgot the name … I hope it doesn’t rain because it has 95% humidy.

So so I will go on. see you lene

Last weekend was the Auckland national race. It was a good race and finally the weather was on the riders side. Saturday was rainy in the morning and so there was no chance to avoid a complet muddy bike, tires, clothes and bump. The ground was very slippery and the first part was very difficult to ride so I just started to ride in the afternoon. So I stayed nearly clean and my bike was good. In the afternoon it stopped to rain and it dried out very fast and I enjoyed it a lot. The track was not that long but very varied. Tracy Moseley was also there. She is travelling around NZ with her boyfriend and so she didn’t miss to race there. Sunday the track was nearly dry. Nearly everybody still ran the Mud tires in the race run. It wasn’t really necessary but nobody could bother to change and it wasn’t sure if the weather will stay fine. Dark clouds were still passing.. Tracy did a good job and won by 9 seconds.I came second. My seeding run was good (2nd) and my race was even better. I was 13 seconds faster than my seeding run. I was stoked. I didn’t made a mistake. I could have done the loge jump. That’s the only thing I can criticise. Gabby M. came third followed by other Kiwi ladies. Sam Blenkinsop won the man class followed by Skinner. More infos and reports on nzride.com

To sum up it was a very good race.

After the race I went back to Wellington with Hamish and Rita. It took us the whole day. It’s kind different to Europe, no motorways so it takes you much longer for „easy cheesy“ distances here. In Europe you jump in the car and you are in few hours in Italy… or wherever. Here it’s a whole day trip to go from Auckland to Wellington (650 km). Some places I passed 5 times. So also the one jumping spot in Tapo. There is rock where you can jump off. Pretty cool. Tired I arrived on Monday in Wellington. Happy to back „home“. Wellington became my home here in New Zealand. I was happy to see Chris and Hadley again and could await to ride on Hadley’s new 4 cross track. He did a very good job. He organised everything by himself. He designed, built and got the permition from the council for the track. Impressiv effort.

So yeah I was already riding on the track and it’s a good track. But what else did I expect from him. The only thing I doubt that it will work very well with 4 people on the track. It’s quite narrow in two turns. And one is the double first corner. I hope some girls will enter and I can compete too. With just 3 chicks I am not really interested to race or pay the entry fee. I would like to compete against the boys but I think that will not happen…national champs are more striked I guess.

I will get changed and go for some runs on the awesome track. see you LENE

In Byron and Kais back yard.

Me on the beach, PIHA, great waves

Yesterday evening I competed at the 4 Cross here in Wellington. It was sooo cool. Lots of people come to watch and race. In the woman class we managed to get one heat. I leaded the seeding run about 2 seconds. So I was really waiting get my first win in New Zealand. But yeah it’s 4 Cross and everything is different when four people racing down on the same narrow track. I got „gently“ kick out in the first corner and I crashed in Amy or she in me and went over my bars, twisted them and could ride on. Hariet Harper got first and hmm I have no idea who got second and I 4th. Anyway congrats to them. It was a good show for the spectatures and a good race I really enjoyed it. So many people cheared for me I couldn’t believe it.  Cam Cole won the man …second no idea.

So now I have to go and get ready to practice on the Downhill track… which I really like.

See you LENE

The weekend is over and hmm to sum up I am not happy about my result. I tried hard and gave my best but it wasn’t enough. The weather was crazy and the wind blew to hard. It was not possible to jump the jumps well and it depended on the wind if you got a good run or not. My seeding run was horrible ever move ever turn was hardly not to do because of the crazy conditions. At the start I got nearly blown of the star ramp…. BUt anyway it should be a big excuse I was not fast enough to win. I also made a mistake in a burm before a little uphill section so I had to pedal from zero and lost a lot of speed and this maybe cost me the victory. All women were in a 4 second gap. I ended up 4th.

No I am still in wellington, my plan was to do a road trip up to Auckland and catch my flight on friday. But the friend I should go with can’t go anymore so I booked a flight up to Auckland on friday and will fly straight home…I mean to L.A. to London and then Vienna. I really looking forward to see my friends and my family and back to my normal life. Hmmm I don’t know if I have this but at least for 2 month until the race season starts.

See you LENE

Hamish got 1 st in his class, congrats…

hadley and I

Racing ….

this gonna be a quick report. Today was raceday in Bromont (CAN) the next world cup- The track was good I liked it very much had perfect training runs and a good time- it was hard and every body had problems. I guess it was just luck if you manage to get down without a crash or technical defect.This time the luck was again not on my side. I crashed very very very hard in my qualification run and couldn’t keep on riding for a while I had to sit on the side of the track and wait until I could finish my run slowly. So jep that was my report short as same as short as my gig. LENE next stop Whistler…

crankworx I tell you now the real story about crankworx whistler and the Kiwi boys…not the usual basic reports which you can find on the ordinary bike pages. I came to whistler with a broken heart and just wanted to fly home. Broken heart -not in the way you maybe think broken heart because I managed to race so crap at both world cups the weeks before. The one was in Mont Sainte Anne and the other in Bromont. In Mont Sainte Anne I had a technical deffect and in Bromont I crashed so hard that I couldn’t ride on. I was so pissed of everything and I couldn’t believe why I am actually racing when just the podium makes you happy and to reach this is so hard. I said to myself forget it and keep your head up doesn’t matter what comes next it could be worse. I know it sounds kind of weird for people who are looking at my life as a racer. „Girl you living your dream how can you be sad?“ that’s what I hear when I’m disapointed about my results.But believe me racing has also shadow sides and when you don’t race you can’T understand that. Anyway I came to Whistler to enjoy the other spirit of riding your bike and I couldn’t believe how great it was. It’s the best place on world to ride your bike and have fun all the time.

Crankworx, one of the biggest bike event in the world, was running at the same time I was there. you must image a big hill with chairlifts – hundreds of bike trails. Okay maybe not hundreds but of course 1000 lines you can choose and hundreds of people with whom you can share your passion. Riding your bike. the two weeks in whistler were my official holidays this year and I rode everyday and pretty much non stop. I met so many awesome persons. EVeryone special on their way.

Chris Beverland a Kiwi boy with whom I rode most of my time inspired me to learn doing wips and style in the air.

Harriet Harper and her boyfriend, who gave me a ride to whistler in their massive campertruck.

Dan Frew, who went up with us to take great pictures. Katrina Strand, a great downhill chick from Whistler, who spreads out good vibes. Sheryl McLeod a Kiwi Lady who rocks her bike for years. All the Manitou/Sun Ringle crew who helped me out. Davis English and Jeff Bryson , two locals I rode with. TOm Hey, an England dirt jumper whom I met on my last evening.

Nigel, Rueben, Ryder, Kerrian and Cam, other Kiwi boys I stayed with and of course DAn Mc Millan who helped me out again. I crashed at his place. BUt this time I could help him too with this blog, which you are reading at the moment. These boys hmm how can I say…gave me the feeling of home. I mean not the house- the house was nearly all the time a big mess and I slept in the Kitchen/ living room on a big matresse on the floor. And I also don’t mean that most of them came home in the middle of the night, completly waisted and jumping around on my matresse and I also don’t mean that Ryder called me horse and other words which I dont wanna write down (in a funny way) I mean more that they listen to me when I needed someone to talk to- cooked for me- bought me a big cake forme birthday- Sang the happy birthday song and I was welcomed from the first second i walked up the stairs. Around the Whistler village centre are many little neighbour hoods with nice houses. The one I stayed wasn’t that nice but right next to the ALta Lake, Which was pretty awesome.

Where I went for a swim, lied around on the beach and jumped back flips of the jetty during my phenomenal riding time. Of course I wouldn’t be a racer if I wouldn’t have taken part in few Crankworx competitions. But I tried to take them not so seriously like a world cup and it worked for me I had a lot of fun. In one event I ended up on the podium. I did my longest downhill race ever. Called Garbonzo. It took me exactly 19 minutes from the top to the bottom in race speed. I ended up 5th in this event.

I wanted to do the Crankworx women event too but I got ill on my birthday and I didn’t feel for competing. On friday I raced the Giant Slalom which was hard work on my big bike, concerning that I was the only one with a downhill bike instead of a light 4x bike. I got 3rd. On Sunday I race the Canadian Open race. I like the track very much…hmm I nearly like every track so but anyway I crashed in my race run and ended up on the 11th place, which was excally the last. COmbined with the fact that I had to leave the bike paradise I was little bit sad. I will try to come back next year again and stay longer. Now I am sitting in the airplane number AC033 to Sydney to race there my next world cup. I hope it will work out better for me than at the other ones. see you your LENE

The last days, I spent in Sydney City. China town was my first stop and neee I didn’t like it at all. I walked around the city and did the typical sight seeing stuff. Took pictures in front of the opera house.

Went on the fairy…

I don’t like cities much so I wanted to get out of it and moved to Manly. It’s in the north of Sydney it’s a beautiful place. I stayed with Mick Ross. I met him because I met Chris Southwood the boss from the Australian bike magazine „Mountain Bike“. Chris is also the Morewood distributor from AUS and got his email address from Dan, whom I met in Dan McMullans house one evening, and who is a good friend from Chris. quite complicated… Yeah and on Saturday afternoon I met Nico a French guy who lives in Sydney and I got a ride with him to a club race not far from Sydney. I was soooo happy to get out of Sydney and see a little bit country and also race my bike. It was great. The track was very different to them in Europe. So very flat and a lots of pedal section. But I enjoyed it and it was good training for canberra. The race was finished by 3-4 and I drove back with other riders and did some shuttle runs somewhere else near Sydney or Sydney I don’t know where it was. BUt it was good too. ANd after that my day wasn’t finished I went to a dirt jump place.

It was the best I have ever seen in real. I could jump there because i had just my dh bike and I am not a good dirt jumper either.. but i watched the guys.  SO yes that was pretty much what I did the last days. Today I heading on to Canberra… I will meet Diana Magraff..I can’t await that she is so funny…

When I left sydney I had to run through a logistical masterwork…Chris lent me his Morewood NDIZA,

playing with the bike in chris office.
(the best 4 cross frame ever) to be able to compete at the 4x too-but he didn’t arrive in Canberra before thuersday night and the 4 cross training started at thuersday afternoon so I had to take the bike with me some how to Canberra. So stood up at 6:30 drove by bus/bus/train to Chris house (9:00) picked up the bike- rode back to a bike shop called BIKE ADDICTION (Thanks for your help too) packed up the bike in a bike box- walked back to Micks place- packed my stuff- draggled my heavy bag back to the bike shop- Luckly one of the guys gave me ride to the manly fairy station- this time I dragged a big bike box, my bag, my back bag- my helmet bag on the fairy- to the train station- to the office of Chris and Mick- back to the bus station….and it was 6 o’clock.. it took me the whole day… such a mission. But I made it and met Diana in the bus to Canberra.

There Clair Buchanan’s parents picked us up and I stayed with the local rider INDI (Julia Boer from Hungary), who moved to Australia in the name of love years ago.

We walked the track on Wednesday and had DH and 4x training on thursday. The track was so different to all tracks I have ever ridden in Europe. Very short and about 20 jumps, so dry that you felt like riding on ice- no grip at all. I was quite stressed to hit all the jumps until the race day. But i had a mental supporter who believed in me. Maybe more than I did and i hit all the jumps I planed… Great. The 4x training went well as well but I did a mistake in the qualification run so that I didn’t reach the finals. I was very disappointed and angry. I was sick of making mistakes when it counts so I didn’t care at all anymore about 4X. I even didn’t go to watch the finals the next day. Sunday was race day and wasn’t really happy or motivated. It started to rain and it was ice cold in the morning. I had bad final run and ended up on the 14th place. The place wasn’t too bad but I was still not satisfied with my performance. What should I say.. maybe the saison should end soon I am riding my bike since January, pretty much non stop and I am tired.

Indi injured herself bad and had to got to hospital. She crashed at one of the biggest jumps on the track and broke her radius. It was so displaced that she couldn’t get just a plaster…no she had to stay and had to get a metal plate and screws in to straight it back.. Poor Indi. So Brad (a friend of Indi) and I took care of her before we had to go back to Sydney. Me because my flight was on the 2nd and he had to work. It was a long flight- about 8 hours to singapor- 14 hours to Frankfurt- 1h to Vienna. I travelled nearly 2 days. I arrived on wednesday morning -unpacked my stuff- took a shower- a nap- and hopped on a train to Friedrichshafen, where the Eurobike is running at the moment…. It was a night train, but I didn’t sleep very well because of the jet lag…arrived in the morning… visited all my sponsors… and hopped back on the night train… and now I am finally at home.. first night for me since month I am sleeping in my own bed. YEAh I am happy.

Packing my bike again…

Diana and I walked down the track…

Bred and I at the airport

It’s done… To say it straight out. The four cross race went well and the downhill went unlucky.

All began on wednesday. I started to pack my stuff for the race one day before and in the morning my car was full up to the roof. 2 bikes, about 6 wheel sets, tires, three bags, 4 pair of shoes, bike wash stuff, a second fork, pump, massive tool box  etc… I am so surprised how I could survive with one bag (protection stuff and casual clothes), 4 tires and a little bag of spare parts, one wheel set when I travel overseas to race 3 world cups  or for about 2 month…It works too .. But for the home world cup I wanted to be as good as possible prepared so it took everything with me which i might can need and what has space in my car. So yeah  I arrive at 12 o clock and the stress started. register- track walking- four cross training and that all in a period about 5 hours. 4x Training went well I loved it. I jumped all jumps in my first run.

In the next the downhill training was o.k. I still did feel like racing and my motivation was on zero. My body felt good but my mind said no.

I reached the seminfinals in 4 cross and ended up on the 8th place which was very good for me. we were a starter field about 20 girls so I am stoked about the position. In downhill i managed to crash in my semi final run at the last section. I had to run for my bike and it cost me so much seconds. I ended up on the 21th position with just a 2 seconds gab between me and the 20th girl.  The first 20th girls are reaching the finals so yeah that sucks. bUt i am still happy about my 8th place in four cross.
see you LENE

after schladming I went home and got really sick. Temperature, head ache, cold in the night, ….i did miss anything. I think that’s how my body said STOP… so yes i have to take a break now… hear you soon LENE