Monthly Archives: September 2011

301

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What remains is…

Not surprisingly, my time management has failed me and we are at the end of the week and still have a range of questions for the most generous Anna Meares.

Let’s not waste time with the shoehorn of analogy, let’s wish Anna the very best for the last 300 days before London 2012 with a few last questions…

Up close and personal

Also Anna, can you recommend a good chamois cream or knicks? Generally speaking, there were a surprising number of questions about the clothes you wear for training, like “how many pairs of knicks does she have?”, but I kind of thought this was a bit creepy.

Aussie Butt cream is a good one as well as Hooha specially formulated for women… I use these in training but on competition day when you race 5 days double sessions things can get pretty painful down there so I use Elma… it is a pharmacy grade cream with a numbing agent… AHHHH!

(HRH: nuff said)

I have a lot of knicks but have about 5 or 6 on rotation. I use road knicks for road training and skinsuits for track training so not to wear out the chamois.

Politics

Quite a few of my readers were interested in knowing how you felt about Australian politics at the moment? Obviously, getting some heat last year might have been hard but some of my readers were really impressed that – unlike a lot of sports people – you’d felt brave enough to weigh into the mining tax debate. Any thoughts on running for Queensland Premier? We hear the gig may be available sooner rather than later.

No thoughts on running for QLD premier but I have had thoughts on the idea of a sports minister?

(HRH: I’ll talk to Anna and Campbell and we’ll see what they’re thinking. Mental note, enroll to vote in Queensland.)

I was involved in debating at school and in high school in Middlemount was a part of the group of students that lobbied the government for air conditioning in the schools, given it reach 45-50 degrees out home we thought it a valid point. The local member of parliament Jim Pearce at the time came to me and suggested I become a politician one day :)

(HRH: I was involved in debating at school, which was lucky, or they’d have made me play a sport.)

Politics is politics. Its a tough gig. I learnt through being involved in the mining debate that you can never please everyone despite your explanations.  I received some incredibly cruel hate mail and some incredibly kind mail also. I got involved because I come from a mining family and know that hard and dangerous work involved and the enormous part mining plays in the countries economy. I think it is good to have opinions and ideas but people need to be flexible in having them altered. Sometimes I wonder why with politicians on opposite sides never ever agree. Its always seems they are out to make one look worse or better then the other. Wouldn’t it be nice if both parties worked together  for one desired outcome instead of opposing each other all the time.

(HRH: No kidding. If I put my serious helmet on for a moment, Anna, I would even go so far as to say, no shit.)

Safety/helmets

Obviously, with your crash, you’re extremely serious about safety in sport. After you broke your neck, how long did it take to feel “right” on the bike again? Physically? Mentally? How grateful are you for your helmet?

My helmet saved my life in my accident back in 2008. The inside shell shattered but the exterior shell held it intake so I know it absorbed much of the impact. My glasses had no scratches or dents and saved my eyes from damage…. the burns reached but 1mm from my eye sockets. How grateful am I for my helmet, so much so it is on display in my home because it saved me.

After my accidents I had a lot of fears to face. I was allowed on the track solo after 6-8 weeks and not allowed on the road until 3 months due to safety concerns with traffic. Physically I started to feel on again about 10 weeks in after some solid rehab and gym work to feel strong again. Mentally…. That probably took about the same with a few special things needing addressing later through the recovery process.

Do you have a range of helmets? If so – what are you main considerations in a helmet?

My main considerations in a helmet are:

Comfort – Coverage of the head, both front/back and sides. Don’t want a helmet that sits too far back on the head leaving the face unprotected. I can picture so many school girls riding with their helmets way too far back because they dont want to mess up their hair or their ponytails. Shocking to see.

(HRH: Word.)

 

Support and tension on the head when helmet is on (I always come off the track with marks on my forhead from the tension I like to place through my helmet when riding)

Weight.

Fit -  Fit is very important. a helmet too big will move and not do its job in a fall and one too small won’t cover the ears and exterior of the head and face in the event of a fall.

And, do you know if Uvex make a matte black helmet with a gold fan from the right temple on one side? Probably not, but I had a dream about this helmet once and I’m wondering if I’ll ever find it again. I am personally extremely interested in the process by which helmets are customised/designed to team colours etc, but I think I could probably follow this up with someone at Uvex too, if you preferred.

I haven’t seen one but you never know.

I had the privilege of having a tour through the helmet warehouse in Germany of U vex and I was gobsmacked at whatis involved in making a helmet. It really is very interesting!

Thanks for getting to the end of the questions, Anna, someone also asked me to ask you about the farting scene in Bridesmaids, but honestly – I’m too embarrassed. And I didn’t even really understand where that particular question was coming from.

Bridesmaids…. hilarious. Funniest movie I seen in a while…. As for the farting scene, sorry but it was no match for the farting scene from Blazing Saddles :)

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That’s right Brendan, Anna Meares answered your farting question.

Folks. A week is a long time in cycling. Don’t we all know it.

Biggest thanks must go to Anna for her time, for those wondering – she was an absolute pleasure to connect with and, considering I am neither a very serious sports journalist, nor a very serious anything, she was extremely considerate and helpful.

Maybe you wanna come to the World Titles in Melbourne in April 2012?

Hopefully, I’ll see you there and we can cheer Anna on together!

 

 

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This is a Roland TB 303.

Before today, I had never seen one.

Typically, I would be very interested in trying to weave this 303 into the story, finding some obscure and mildly clever fashion in which you, me, Anna Meares, women in cycling and the whole she-bang might just come together.

Because today is 303 days until the London Olympics.

At a pinch, I think I could work something out like how the Roland TB 303 was initially only a small run little thing that no one much liked (they only made 10,000) that everyone thought was a bit not right, because it wasn’t the sound they were expecting. They wanted to create an electronic bass sound. And they only kind of thought of it as a limited accompaniment for the guitarist practising alone. And it doesn’t sound like a real bass guitar.

A bit like women and sport. Kind of not your main event when you’re just thinking in a limited framework.

Eventually, however, the sound kind of opened up in early 80s/90s acid scene and freak it, The Guardian recently ranked its invention at number 8 in the top 50 events in the history of dance music. Fat Boy Slim basically figures that everyone needs a 303, and for me, women’s sport is a bit like that, sure – it might not be what you expected initially, but if you consider it equally amazing for what it is, and not difficult because of what it isn’t, chances are you could find yourself in a club having an amazing time. The lights drop and you are about to lose your mind.

Hmm. I’m not sure if that totally worked. You get my drift either way. I want to encourage more women to ride for more people to considering supporting women to ride, either by being a woman and riding or by not being a woman and encouraging others to ride.

more women riding = more people riding = good

Oh my god. I should just let Anna speak. She’s got far more credibility than I do on this matter. For Anna is a woman who cycles, no kidding. And she was much more succinct on the issue. And probably more diplomatic and more balanced. And less prone to dance music metaphors.

This is what Anna Meares thinks about Women in cycling…

There’s no question that women’s sport receives less coverage than men’s; what would you say about the state of women’s cycling in Australia? Are there positives you’re really proud to be a part of? Or are there things you’d like to see improved/changed?

Women’s coverage to Men’s sport depends on the sport.

For our sport I feel it is pretty equal and is dependent on results.

I have worked very hard for many years and gained very consistent results over a very long period of time. This has helped me to build a profile and without being cocky my profile is one of the highest in the sport of track cycling. There are always areas and ways to improve and change things. The difficult thing is that Australia has such a rich and deep sporting history and passion that there are many many sports and personalities trying to get coverage and it can only go so far. Sports that are both Olympic and non Olympic.

(HRH: yes, too much sport not enough time. Okay, I’m prepared to nominate one to go… um… golf? Isn’t cycling the new golf? Yes. we can get rid of golf. Sorry dad. Yeah, and just being a damn good athlete. Yes, this seems rather effective too Anna.)

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Not to labour a non-too-subtly-made point, but this could be a domino effect.

Fat Boy Slim knows what I mean.

 

 

 

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Worth mentioning, or maybe not worth mentioning, but I first heard about Anna Meares through Andy White. Because before I got into cycling, all I knew about cycling I knew from reading over Aron’s shoulder. I can’t say it was the worst way to get introduced to a sport, because – after all – who wants to be introduced by wikipedia alone?

And so – although it seemed a bit silly, I couldn’t resist asking Anna the more lighthearted questions you posed… After all, I’m actually concerned about lucky charms. I have a lucky charm. It would just be way awkward if anyone ever knew what it was.

So, just in case you were wondering what Anna Meares does when she is not kicking your ass, well, this is what she is doing…

I know we are all trying to identify, but I tell you want, even on her rest days, Anna is serious about sport.

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Everyone acknowledged that competing as you do at an elite level has to come with inevitable sacrifice and commitment; what do you do to relax? Do you have a favourite post ride snack? Do have a lucky charm or a lucky pair of bibs? We heard on Fyxomatosis that your first bike had spokey dokeys, did you have a pink stack-hat as well?

To relax I garden, walk my dog, paint/draw, housework to music I like to do also. Watching tv or going to the movies or hanging out with mates.

Favourite post ride snack…… on a hot day a nice cold can of soft drink. Am a sucker for lamingtons or mint biscuits too :)

(HRH: Mushashi make lamingtons? Righteous.)

Lucky charms….. I have my tiger blanket which I made when I was 18 and first year senior. It has been to every race and every comp I have. It is geting old now though and struggling with the demand so I sent it home to mum to be reinforced and fixed as it was starting to tear sadly.

(HRH: Cutie alert. My mum used to staple together my costumes for dress up days, so I hope your mum is better at that sort of thing than mine.)

Don’t have a favourite pair of bibs but once I win in a pair it gets retired for eventual framing when I retire with all the others.

(HRH: I just wash mine, but sure.)

I have a lucky pair of gloves and booties saved for big races only.

(HRH: I have  a pair of gloves I like to pick up in. Does that count?)

My first bike did have spokey dokes, a orange flag out the back and a white basket with pink flowers on the front of the bars. My helmet though was a massive white thing…..not so cool

(HRH: I can tell you right now, Anna, this is way cool. My first bike had a flag and the fact that you had one too, gives me hope.)

305

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(from the musashi peeps)

Here we are again, only three hundred and five days til the Olympics, and two days into our massive training schedule, or at least our broken up interview with Anna Meares.

Not surprisingly, although medals surely look nice, people also had questions about Anna’s experience more generally as a cyclist both in the professional and personal sense. Clearly, it’s not all beer and skittles, in fact it’s probably hardly any beer and only occasional skittles.

I believe we were looking for something in common with Anna, which, considering she squats more than double my weight and sometimes I have trouble getting my own weight out of bed, I think is a hard ask for me.

Here’s what Anna had to say about life on and off the track but still on a bike…

You are in your late 20s now, and you’ve been racing on the track at the top level for 10 years. How do you find motivation to keep training? is there enough financial reward in it to make it worthwhile? How do you make gold medals pay the bills?

Motivation for me I find is different to Inspiration. Inspiration makes you want to get out there and have a go at something. It gives you that spark. Motivation is what comes from deep within to ensure that spark never dies. For me I love what I do. I love to feel fit and strong and I love competition. Competition is what I train daily for and it doesn’t come around very often. Things that I draw motivation from are things like what it felt like to break the world record in the 500, what it felt like when I crossed the finish line this year to win the world sprint title for the first time, what it felt like to be beaten, I know how hard I work so how hard would my opponents around the world be working….. things like that. The desire to constantly improve and seeing improvement is also a big motivation.

Financial reward….. You certainly don’t do track cycling to become rich. To win a world cup you get $800 and to win a world title you are looking at around $2000 in prize money. We are not a high profile sport in Australia but it is certainly on the improve and the Olympics and Commonwealth Games help as do races like the Tour Down Under. If you are elite in the sport of track sprint cycling you can gain an AIS scholarship which provides rent and meal allowances each week. Jayco coming on board to create the pro team on the track again boosts some income. For me I rely on my sponsors whom I have had for 5-6 years being Toshiba, BHPbilliton, Uvex and Musashi. Previous to having these wonderful companies on board I worked as a bank teller on my days off and in the canteen at the hockey and soccer stadiums at night with my husband working also. If we fell short it was leaning on mum and dad that got us by. It certainly hasn’t been an easy road but maybe that makes me appreciate the help and support I get now from my sponsors and the AIS.

(HRH: Okay, that just took the glamour off right there. At the very least, you’re doing your part to raise the profile of cycling in Australia!)

What kind of cycling do you do for fun?

Not much :) I have a dragster bike my husband bought me for our wedding anniversary and I run my beagle on it but otherwise I don’t do anything else like mountain biking etc which I would love to so as not to put myself in a position to crash and cause unnecessary injury.

(HRH: Don’t worry, Anna, by the time I’ve learned to pop over a log without scraping my shins, you might even have retired and you can come mountain biking with me!)

Or what other kind of outdoorsy things to do you do for fun?

I love gardening! Can spend all day in my garden if I could! I also love to participate in JKA, Japenese Karate which I did when I was little. I love art and craft, sometimes Mark and I have a hit of tennis and I walk my dog every day.

(HRH: ooh…crafternoon anyone? Would you like to come to the Tour de Gina next week? There will be customised craft helmets.)

Can you still cycle for fun?

Yes but I am a bit competitive and things seem to always turn into a race :)

(HRH: arguably, this is an occupational hazard. I have a pretty big problem with commuter cup, but I’m seeing a sports psychologist to help with this. I don’t think you should worry about it.)

Can you do a wheelie?

Does a wheelie for a second or two count?

(HRH: It does on a Brompton.)

What do you think of the fixed gear culture?

I think it is great but people need to be mindful of all road users especially motorists and not create bad names or images of cyclists. I see some people weaving in and out of cars in the city and chopping lanes etc, thats not cool and not good for the sport as a whole. If they were mindful of road rules and other road users then I thnk its fantastic! More people should ride bikes…

(HRH: *in my best Nanna voice* Anna, you are 100% right. Bad bike manners is bad bike karma.)

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Hear that folks, ride nice, or cars will feel justified in dooring you. It’s totally bizarre logic, but just remember, we were all car people once. Well, most of us anyone. Sometimes the cars carry the bikes, so it can’t be all bad.

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Some mornings when the alarm goes off, I am keenly aware of the length of nine minutes. I feel time acutely. And sometimes I feel a little sorry for myself. Then I press snooze.

I’m pretty sure, however, that this next cyclist feels time much more acutely. And I don’t believe there’s much time for snoozing.

For it’s 306 days until the London 2012 Olympics and Anna Meares is right in the thick of things.

For those with short memories (and that’s pretty much all of us, isn’t it?), some time ago, I sent a short letter to Anna following a public appearance she had made in Melbourne that I regrettably missed out on attending. With kindly courtesy, Anna came back to me and agreed to answer your questions. Which is pretty special, considering that she’s generally pretty busy (um, Olympics anyone?) and basically my readership is so small (but quality) that you could hardly justify it as a PR exercise.

But here we are folks – these are the collected questions of the Humble Helmets are Hot readership. And here’s what Anna had to say… (I’ll give you a few days to digest, because there was a few questions!) Let’s start like a mullet, business at the front…

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Naturally, everyone wants to know how preparations are going for London – your race record is just phenomenal and expectations naturally high for 2012. My readers peppered me with several questions about how things are shaping up for next year – everyone’s keen to know how you are feeling.

I am feeling very good at the moment and feel motivated and focused as ever. Preparations are going well and I am training very hard putting in a solid foundation as the coming season will be a very long one. Planning for the upcoming games began over 12 months ago and I have hit all my targets and then some thus far. Now the hard work has to rise so as to keep seeing this level of performance continue.

What’s in store for you in the countdown?

Lots of training and racing. First up is the Kazakhstan world cup in November, then Nationals in January 2012 in Adelaide, London trial event in February 2012, World Titles in Melbourne in April 2012 and then ultimately the Olympics.

(HRH: So, shall I see you folks at Hisense?)

 

How is your training structured?

Hard to go into detail on this one but we have a big gym base to build strength and power which is then transferred to specific training exercises on the track, some tough ergo sessions and road riding to recovery from these heavy sessions.

(HRH: This is plenty enough detail for me, though I’m sure Brendon would be more interested in this. Sounds hard to me.)

What are you squatting these days?

135 kg x 3

Does knowing what to expect (and having expectations on you) at the Olympics, make things easier or harder in your preparation?

Knowing what to expect definitely helps. You can use experiences good and bad to work out new strategies and plans for both the physical and mental aspects of the pressures of the sport and the Olympic Games. You can not have one without the other. In terms of expectations, I don’t know, in my third line up for an Olympic games it is the first time I have any expectation of performance. In 2004 I was young, only 20 and although I went in as world champ, people felt the favourites were saving themselves for the Olympics and in 2008 I had my fall and no one expected a medal. 2012 is very different and so I am working with my coach and team and sport psychologist to implement strategies and plans to help deal with this and the world titles in Melbourne will be a perfect pressure cooking competition to try things out and then I have plenty of time to re adjust if needed for London.

What are you feelings about the one rider per event per country for London 2012 and is this going to be a big disadvantage for the Aussie track cycling team?

I understand why they brought in this rule but I am not sure if it is best for our sport. It makes it very cut throat within each team and limits opportunity not only for current riders but up and coming riders. How would you feel if you were a junior stepping into senior and knew if you wanted an Olympic berth you had to beat Anna Meares…… or Victoria Pendleton etc. Have limited starters per country does allow more countries to participate and should limit the big power house countries from dominating as they have at the past few games with Britain winning 8 of 10 golds in Beijing and Australia winning 5 of 10 in Athens.

(HRH: controversy)

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Okay folks, off you go, make the seconds count! More tomorrow… and the next day, and the next day.