Caoimhe started her first race day today at the tour of Valencia. Haven’t spoken to her yet but think she rode okay anyways. Demi Vollering soloed to the win so it’s a pretty hilly course for the 4 days. Anything you want me to ask/find out/let you guys know about from inside the race? Not too clear on what content to share yet but happy to ask whatever and share some bits for you guys! Caoimhe is using this week as the third week of her training block and she’s pretty tired already. She’s had tough 3-4 day blocks all of the time and been smashing efforts. She’s probably never began a race while so tired but if she can cope with it then she should be in good shape coming into the classics once she recovers and absorbs the load. She’s definitely on the line between overdoing it but hoping that she stays on the right side of things and gets through the week okay.

Hi guys so this is my latest idea for a mini series. To be honest this could be my first and last diary if my symptoms flare up but I reckon that most people could take something away from it. I will just share a few thoughts on coming back to cycling and how it is different now compared to before. A lot has changed. So I was racing on the road since I was 11 and was with Trinity Racing for the 2021 and 2022 seasons when I came into the u23 ranks. In 2022 I had 2 pretty bad crashes and whacked my head hard both times - the second crash was 6 weeks after the first so they were fairly close together and although physically I was in the best place I had ever been, my brain was probably still not ready for another big impact. During this period after my concussions I rushed back and did as much as I could. Some days I could do a 6 hour ride at 4.5 w/kg cruising around for the day, and I did one ride where I broke my 5 min pb in the first hour and then broke it again in the 6th hour, and broke my 1 min power after that (465 for 5 I think it was - I was in good nick). But other days I couldn’t leave the bed. It was one extreme to the next. I got diagnosed with POTS finally last December 2025 which explains how I could be in such good shape one day and such bad shape the next. I was 19 at the time so I have forgiven myself for getting too carried away - but life would have gone more smoothly if I had known better. Fast forward a few years to now and I generally haven’t been able to exercise. But since Christmas time my symptoms have eased off and over the last week I have done a few rides on the rollers. My last outdoor ride was at the start of June which is the longest I’ve been off the bike since my accident. I probably could have done a few rides on the rollers before now - but to be honest the act of turning the pedals inside at 100 watts doesn’t particularly interest me. Going outside, clearing my head, riding up mountains, getting lost when miles from home, discovering new roads, and all that kind of thing is what I love about cycling. Pedalling in circles inside doesn’t really do it for me on its own.

Catching up on the Monday Q&A recordings. Somebody was asking about having to get up early on race days and planning around that. I’ve spent a fair bit of time researching and experimenting with variable sleep schedule as I’m a shift worker with 0400 starts and constantly changing work times and my sleep flexibility is very poor. I’ve also done several stage races which start stupid early. Here are some thoughts. 1. The sleep on the night before the race doesn’t matter as much as you think. One night of poor or less sleep won’t derail your performance. Focus on getting good sleep for 2-3 nights leading up to the race. 2. Dial in your pre-bed night routine (screens, light, sleep environment temp/dark, etc) to help the chance of going to sleep earlier and achieving quality. 3. Take 5-10gm melatonin one hour before you want to be asleep. Safe, cheap, and no downside for occasional use. 3. The day before the race, go for a 15 min walk at sunrise if possible. The exposure to low frequency red light will slightly shift your circadian rhythm to favor going to bed earlier. The opposite is also true, sun light exposure at dusk shifts your circadian rhythm to favor going to bed later. 4. Be very cautious with caffeine on the day you want to go to bed early. The rate of metabolism is hugely variable, it can take 12hrs to fully metabolize in some people. I avoid caffeine after noon on those days. 5. Eat some carbs before you go to bed, not enough to disturb your sleep but enough that you have to eat a bit less in the morning. 6. Prep your breakfast the night before, pre prepare pancakes or overnight oats. That way as soon as you wake up you can eat. Maybe it gets you another 1/2 hour of sleep? 7. Keep the breakfast to exclusively carbs. If your trying to digest a meal within 2 hrs of a race, better to limit the fat/protein/fiber so you can digest it faster. 7. Dial in your caffeine use for the early start races. My 2 cents……

Sometime in the next month. I’ll be shipping into Dublin port and taking some horses to Kilkenny. I was thinking if it worked out I’d bring the Gravel boike and disappear off to Glenalough maybe via the Gap or some such way. Have any of you got a gpx file or Komoot route that you might be able to share with me. Cheers

Did you ride today? I was meant to ride but had to move rest day to today. Was wiped after a blood test this morning.