Maggie Coles-Lyster

So, time to re-cap the last month! Over Spring Break my family and I drove down to California (for vacation and to ride). It made for a great father- daughter, mother- daughter training camp! I got my first ride in heading out of Santa Cruz. My dad and I were supposed to be picked up by the rest of the gang who were coming a few hours behind us, but, of course, they couldn't find us, so we were left out in the sun to burn our first day in Cali. Turned into a great tan later on, though. We then drove down through Santa Barbara. Didn't get a chance to ride then as we were only there for a day and had family to visit. Although, once we got to Laguna Beach, we got some good, long rides out along the beach, which was just gorgeous. It was soo nice to just get up and go out in a jersey and shorts in the morning, and still be warm! Our last leg of the journey was 5 days in Palm Springs where I couldn't stop gawking at the canyons as we rode! My favorite ride out there was probab...

I never want to have to experience that again! Well.. duh! I only have one appendix! Anyway, back in November, right as I was peeking for Cyclocross Nationals, I started feeling sick and my parents took me to the clinic. We thought I had a burst appendix because the pain was on the right side, but the doctor diagnosed me with just a bad stomach flu- I mean, there was a lot of sickness going around then.. but still. Apparently, "a girl with a burst appendix doesn't stand with her hands on her hips." Well, that was kind of my way of holding myself together!! I couldn't really eat or drink anything for the next few days and started losing weight fast! Eventually, we talked to a nurse on the phone, because my nausea was so bad, but he, again diagnosed me with the stomach flu! When I still didn't get better, we went to see our family doctor, who sent me to the hospital for blood tests and X-Rays (still thinking it was the flu), which didn't help diagnose me at all....

When we first arrived in Elma for the Rapha Junior Stage Race on August 2 nd , I was already so nervous. I could not stop picturing how the races would play out, using the strategies that me and my dad had talked endlessly about. We went out and rode the courses that evening, explaining techniques to my younger sister Kaelen, who was about to get a taste of stage racing for her first time. Seeing the course eased some of my nerves and excitement started to set in. The courses were amazing! Being surrounded by the abandoned nuclear power plants made for a very unique (and somewhat creepy) atmosphere! We arrived at the time trial the next morning, and I couldn't suppress the smile on my face! My stomach was tied in a knot of nerves and I felt like I was going to throw up! Boy, I love race days! After signing in, pinning my number and watching my sister sprint away, all smiles, in her first T-T, I got on the trainer with my i-pod blasting J.LO, for my warm-up. My dad (coach) instru...

Track Provincials was such a fun weekend of racing! I got upgraded this year and was allowed to race with the under 17 girls. It was at the outdoor track in Victoria which is 333 meters, a lot longer than Burnaby, therefore, warm up consisted of learning the lines and average times. We got a warm-up in on Friday, but racing got rained-out. So it was back to the campsite for a good night sleep and some visualization before racing on Saturday! The first race was the Flying 200 and I got my best time of 13.8 seconds and came second after Rachel Carey, who had an incredible time of 13.1 seconds! The next races past by in a blur of warm-ups, racing and cool-downs. The first mass race was a Points race, and it was a powerful one as we raced with the U19’s and Elite women! I got four points, but they were not enough to compete for top three. I apparently needed to get that race under my belt before I proceeded with the rest of my weekend, because, I then won the Kierin and got second in ...

Superweek was the experience of a lifetime! Lining up beside and racing with Olympians! I had to get special permission to race on senior gearing and was thrilled when I found out that Cycling BC accepted our request! The UBC grand prix was the first race I did as I was away for Tour de Delta (next year, I am definitely racing it!!!) and I got dropped probably within the first 10 minutes. It was a hard course, and I also wasn’t quite expecting the pace to be so fast! On top of that, I had trouble clipping in right away! Getting dropped and pulled was quite disappointing, but my dad kept endlessly pointing that I was fourteen years old and who I was racing against. He would also note that I was not the first person to be pulled! Gastown was absolutely incredible! I got tips from and warmed up with Laura Brown, and got called up next to her for being the youngest person to ever race Gastown!! This time I lasted 15 minutes in the race and was much more confident around the corners! I...