Maggie Coles-Lyster

Hey everyone! Oh man does time fly by! It has been one year since my appendix and here's an update as to how this year has gone for me! So after about two months in the hospital and missing school, I returned to my usual life, ahead in science class and completely caught up in everything else! I gained back the 20 pounds I lost very quickly, and started fitting my clothes again! I started out with some longer slower rides then, with the help of physio, everything was feeling good so I started racing at the end of the Springs Series just in time for the stage race! Most of my first races back (especially long, hard road races), I would finish the race with a killer stomach ache. It felt as if you have had the flu and ate something that gave you food poisoning as well. The stomach aches would last for usually 1 hour afterwards and would prohibit me from being able to walk. All it was was the scar tissue getting stretched or something, but man it hurt! I did months of physio and...

And it's finally ready to post... ;) My first time in Winnipeg! We left rainy BC, to arrive in sunny (!) Winnipeg on October 23-26. My dad, my grandparents and I all went (with the Troublemaker- my bike ;) and arrived there with 2 days before the race. After getting picked up from the airport by a huge bus, we went to the hotel and chilled out before going out for dinner. We hung in the hot tub that night and stood on the corner of Portage and Maine :) The following day, we went around to see my grandpa's old house and sight see around Winnipeg. Then, it was back to the Farimont and out to the Forks for a pre-ride of the course. My first impression of the course was that it was fast and smooth (tons of flow) but took a really big toll on you with a run up followed by 2 rideable sand pits and stairs. We met up with the Local Ride team, rode the course, then went back to the hotel for dinner and to pin the numbers, as well as a hot tub and steam room session (I lasted 2 minut...

Last Monday we took the ferry (yet again!) over to Nanaimo for Cyclocross Provincials. After meeting up with team and a good sob after hitting a raccoon, we piled into the van, hit the ferry and made it to the race with 40 min before the start of the u17 women (race #1 for me). It was just enough time for me to do a lap of the fast, dry and hilly cross course. I knew it pretty well as it was the same course as last year. It was finally time to go, and I got the hole shot right off the start and was able to hold it throughout the 3 lap race. After three laps of running up 50 stairs, a couple of hills and battling through two sand pits, I knew the course like the back of my hand, and was ready to race the Elite Women's race with 16 other women!  I had around 2 hours in between my races to have a waffle and heckle on the other riders, but eventually, it was that time again and this time, it was pouring with rain. After warming up on the trainer to some good tunes, and jogging ar...

Whistler Cyclocross brought an awesome double header weekend, with a very professionally-run race, fun atmosphere and a very unique course! It all started out with day 1 of Whistler Cyclocross with a very mountain bike like course with a long run-up, multiple switch backs and then to contrast the mountain bike part, a windy ride through the town! I was racing elite women which went in the afternoon and gave me lots of time to pre-ride the course and help my sister work on her lines! In the early afternoon we were off and I was fast to clip in and first dismounted and up the stairs. Having five very strong women in the race meant you had to give it your all and had no choice but to "leave everything on the course." After one lap, the group split and I had to spend much of the race battling with the two ahead of me to the finish. On and off the bike, a crash here and there and after a 45 minute race, I finished in fifth place not too far off of the others, but had no doubt th...

Walking into the Burnaby velodrome last Friday, the temperature dropped while my nerves soared! This past weekend was the BC Track Provincial champs and the second event in the BC Premier Track Championships after Trackfest 2. I had signed up or all of the events and so, after warming up, the day opened with the Team Pursuit and Team Sprint. Teammate Clara Mackenzie and I rocked the sprint while our Team Pursuit team rode a solid ride. Sadly, there wasn't another u19 women's Team Pursuit team for a us to race against. It would be so cool to see more girls out at the track racing! The morning also included a very aggressive Scratch race and an Individual Pursuit. The Scratch race had everyone constantly out of the saddle as attacks after attacks were launched. With three laps to go, I jumped, and got away to solo out the last 600 meters and win the Scratch race! I got the win and a PB in the Individual Pursuit, which I have been focusing on and getting used to riding in the ...

Here's Superweek Part 1! Better late than never! Sooo... last year, Superweek was all about trying to finish a crit (which I didn't quite accomplish). Going into this years week of racing, I did not really know what to expect. I knew that I had definitely improved from last year, as I had finished 6th place in both of the high speed, cat. 1/2/3 Bastion Square Grand Prix and Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race crits. Yet, with all the big, powerful teams like Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies coming to race, I knew I was in for a sufferfest. The first race I did was the MK Delta criterium. I had done continuous visualization before and during Superweek so I went in feeling fit and strong, both mentally and physically. I made sure I had great position at the start, and the race was off!! Every lap, there would be either accelerations or attacks on the hill, but no one was able to stay away. I took great corners and the whole time, I kept thinking, move up, move up! There were...

So, back to Elma for the Northwest Juniors Classic Stage Race!! A totally professionally run (not to mention, epic) stage race in Washington! On top of great racing, I mean, how often do you really get to race around an abandoned nuclear power plant?! The weekend started off with us arriving at the Elma RV Park resort and after a day in Olympia, we met up with team mate Clara Mackenzie to ride the time trial course (the actual course- last year we pre-rode something completely different ;-) Saturday morning we got up and rode to the tt course. After lots of talking with my dad (coach) and visualisation, I knew exactly how I was going to ride the perfect time trial! A great warm up with a good playlist consisting of Eminem and Nicki Minaj and I was off! A perfect track-like start and very well executed time trial and I finished 2nd place behind Hannah Green (BYRDS) and beat my last years time by 3 min 56 seconds! I went into the crit with a goal to make it super aggressive and make ...