52 Cycling Voices - 12: Gema Fernandez Hernando

52 Cycling Voices has been on  holiday for a short while and is now back refreshed, and with a sun tan after the heatwave in London!

Resuming the series, we hear from a lovely lady I met a few years ago, and hope to see in the not distance future. I met Gema Fernandez Hernando when a group of us went to Menorca to do a cyclosportive there. It was organised by Arturo Sintes Lluch, a guy who knows everyone in Spanish cycling, and in the professional peloton.

It was a good old weekend. I remember meeting Pedro Delgado, Carlos Sastre, and even one of Lance Armstrong's old henchmen, Jose Luis "Chechu" Rubiera. Aside from all that, we had a good time and I got to know Gema. So I am really pleased that she is one of the cycling voices.

Gema Fernandez Hernando, aged 43

From: Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid

Occupation: Administrator

"I have been cycling seriously for 12 years. I used to love watching the riders in the Vuelta a Espana when I was young, and really admired them.

My early days in cycling were not very easy. I bought my first racing bike when I was 14 years old, but my family didn´t want me to take up cycle racing because my mum found it scary, and other people thought that I would develop muscles that would make me look like a man! 

Then I joined Torrejón Cycling Club, which I enjoyed. But at the age of 17, I had an accident in which I was hit by a truck. The accident could have been extremely serious, but I escaped with a broken left leg. However, both my tibia and my fibula were broken and I needed a steel pin in my leg for one month. After that my mum forbade me from cycling. 

I did get a mountain bike six years later, and when I started riding it I was so afraid. But I overcame my fear after some time. It wasn’t until 2002, after my mum passed away, that I got a road bike. I find it difficult to ride alone on the road, and the area near where I live is dangerous. I feel a lot better when I am riding with friends.

Most of my friends cycle, including many women, with some of them racing professionally. I have met a lot of interesting people in cycling. The most interesting people have been Miguel Indurain [five-time Tour de France winner] and Leire Olabberia [2008 Beijing Olympic track cycling medallist], but even just my not-so-famous friends inspire me with their constant effort, courage, hard work, and how they struggle to realise their dreams.

No one in my family cycles though, apart from my brother who did just a little bit of mountain biking for a few months. I am seen as the bike crazy one in the family! On a bike I feel free, and I love the sensations cycling brings.

I don’t race but I enjoy doing cyclosportives like Bilbao-Bilabo, Pedro Delgado, La Indurain, Tour of Menorca, plus triathlons and duathlons.

Cycling in my region is a bit dangerous because motorists are not educated about sharing the road. Also, as it’s an industrial area there are a lot of trucks.

The local authorities are getting more involved, thanks to a campaign called #porunaleyjusta, led by Anna Gonzalez. She began the campaign after her husband was killed in a hit-and-run collision with a truck. When the driver was arrested he was judged to have been slightly reckless, and walked free without any sentence. She started a petition to the National Congress to change the law on sentencing reckless drivers, and gained 200,000 signatures.

Nowadays there are more cycle lanes around Madrid, and on the roads up to the mountains. But more still needs to be done. Many drivers don’t know about the 1m 50 safety distance when overtaking cyclists.

Some regions are very good at providing a structure for people who want to take up cycling. For example, in the Basque Country facilities are better and there are a lot more cyclists. Catalunya, Valencia and Andalucia are also good areas for cycling. In Madrid things are getting better and there are women’s and girl’s cycling groups starting up where you can do road and mountain bike training rides.  

Of course places like the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Costa Blanca and Andalucia are very popular areas for cycling holidays. But you can also go to Costa Brava, Asturias and the Basque Country where the landscape in those areas is spectacular. 

In Asturias there are some well-known climbs – Lagos de Covadonga, Angliru, La Farrapona, El fito, San Lorenzo, to name a few. 

In the Basque Country there are lots of little mountains, but the terrain is tough, particularly in Bizkaia or between Guipuzcoa and Navarra, near the French border. The food there is fantastic, so you eat well, and the cycling fans are so crazy! Going there makes me love life, and I have a smile on my face for at least a week afterwards!

My most memorable cycling events have been the Mallorca 167 cyclosportive a few years ago when we rode most of the route in heavy pouring rain; the “Perico” Delgado because it was so tough with four categorised climbs, the Indurain because there were crowds of spectators excitedly cheering me along the way; the Juan Martinez Oliver because many of my friends are there; and the Tour of Menorca. These have all been special events for me.

Commissairing

I am a national commissaire for all categories and disciplines of cycle racing – road, mountain bike, track, cyclocross etc). I love the work but it is very intense as I have to concentrate hard and make very important decisions quickly, as well as record the times correctly.

I never go out without my water bottle. It is obvious, but I have been known to forget it. The first time I did Mallorca 167 I left my water bottle at the hotel and I spent the ride asking for water from other riders who had more than one bottle! Finally, an old guy who was racing gave me one of his bottles. God Bless Him!

Cycling is a very big part of my life. What I do in cycling is like taking the most important vitamin of the day!"


Twitter: @gfhtortu         Instagram:@mgemafh


Other Cycling Voices

Giorgia Bronzini

Tracy Moseley

Geraldine Glowinski

Emily Chappell

Michelle Webster

Grace and Lucy Garner

Hannah Bussey

Carolyn Hewett-Maessen

Caroline Martinez

Niusha Doyom

Maria David

Mallorca with Team Wiggle High5

It was all going well on the flat!           (Photo by Bart Hazen)

Last week I had the opportunity to catch up with the Wiggle High5 team at their media/training camp in Mallorca. A group of journalists, including myself, were flown over to the team's base near Alcudia and where we interviewed the riders, their manager, Rochelle Gilmore, and also rode with them.

They were an intense three days in which we cycled with them, ate with them, and interviewed them speed dating style. 

After an initial drinks reception on the Tuesday evening with the team, we then went to dinner where I was able to chat with the girls near me – familiar faces like Lucy Garner, who I had met a few weeks earlier at the London Bike Show, and Giorgia Bronzini who I have interviewed a few times over the last few years. But I also got to meet other team members like Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Claudia Lichtenberg, and Olympic silver medallist Emma Johansson, who now has a coaching/mentoring role on the team. 

Dinner was very relaxed and the women had a laugh, chatting about many things other than cycling. I was struck by the fact that there were no specific dietary restrictions on what people ate from the buffet, and the cake for Jolien d'Hoore's birthday did not go untouched! 

All kitted out and ready to go

The following day we were suitably kitted out with a bike and appropriate Wiggle Dhb clothing so that we could at least look the part, even if we weren't going to give the "Wigglettes" a run for their money!

I was given a Vitus women-specific bike which was nicely coordinated with my jersey. It's hard to believe that wasn't planned on purpose, but anyway it certainly felt good to be dressed up a bit more stylishly than my usual attire.

  

Our ride the following day took us up to the Lighthouse at Cap de Formentor, where the team was filmed as we rode along the flat terrain. Each journalist also had the chance to ride at the front of the group with the Wiggle High5 team behind us. Bear in mind that the pace was very moderated so that we didn’t get dropped by the pros!

When my turn came to get on the front I chatted to Mayuko Hagiwara, a Japanese rider who I didn't really know very well. She had recently had success at the Cadel Evans Ocean race and the Semana Valenciana, but had to take it easy as she has recently been plagued by illness. 

Keeping up nicely on the flat - The hills were a different story!

Shortly after the photo opportunity she peeled off and rode back to the hotel with the pregnant Anna Sanchis. I hope it wasn't my speedy pace that made her have to turn back! 

Just when I thought I was doing okay, sitting in the bunch with the professionals, the road went uphill as the route headed towards Formentor, and I got dropped. That was the last I saw of the riders until when I was grinding my way up near the summit and they came speeding down the road from the lighthouse to get home.

Although I finished the ride a long time behind the "Wigglettes" I was just glad that I got back in time to start the interviews, and I had the energy to talk to them! As I get older I definitely feel I need more time to recover from exercise, and it is not uncommon for me to need a couple of hours to rest up after a training ride before I can do anything useful. 

So I was just glad I was able to get on with what I need to do without having a nap first! With the energy I had I was able to interview Giorgia Bronzini, Rochelle Gilmore, Emma Johansson, Lucy and Grace Garner, and Amy Roberts.

Rochelle Gilmore, the expert, giving tips on riding rollers

One of the other great things about this media camp was that I was able to get biking tips from the pros - and they are pros. Emma Johansson, a two-time Olympic silver medallist gave me tips on descending, cornering and going uphill. 

And then the following day Rochelle, a Commonwealth Champion showed us how to ride the rollers. While that is something I do at home, I realised that I had acquired bad habits so it was good to have those ironed out.

My biggest achievement however, was being taught to ride no-handed. It certainly improves my positioning and pedalling technique. I learned to ride no-handed on open roads in Mallorca. I’m not sure this is something I’d want to practice on the streets of London though!

I find media camp trips very productive, as they are a great way to get to know a team. Doing so in the early season makes for a springboard for building a rapport with the team members and following the riders' fortunes closely over the racing year. I look forward to catching up with the riders when they are over in the UK for the Tour de Yorkshire and the Women’s Tour.

Thanks to Wiggle High5 and Brand Nation for hosting myself and my fellow journalists from The Evening Standard, The Press Association, Cycling Weekly, Bike Radar, Rouleur, and The Daily Mail.  

For those interested, here are the routes as recorded by Strava that I took while I was out there:

Ride to Cap Formentor and back

Easy loop around to Pollensa, Sa Pobla and Bay of Alcudia

Related Posts

52 Cycling Voices - 6: Grace and Lucy Garner

Wanna do the Rapha Festive 500?

For me, riding the Rapha Festive 500 was quite a challenge. The club cyclists who know me may wonder why it should have been such a big deal to put in these kilometres over the eight days between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Day 1 at Box Hill, Surrey

For those of us who do club cycling and take part in local cycle races, riding 500km (or 310 miles) within one week may not be an unusual feat. Afterall, many people from now onwards will be going to Mallorca, Southern Spain, and the Canary Islands for training camps where they will ride 80-100km each day for their training ride.

But what made accomplishing these miles a challenge was the very fact that I wasn't doing any of the above!

I was not in Club La Santa where it's nice and warm, the sun shines, the days are long, and I don't have to be mindful about how many hours I am outdoors.

Instead I was in a wintry Greater London where the temperature at times plunged to barely above zero degrees Celsius, the fog slashed visibility down to 100m, and the daylight lasted from after 8am until just before 4pm. I guess that's why winter training camps are done in the Mediterranean or off the African coast!

The misty road ahead!

So for me, what makes this ride challenging, is the mission of getting in all those kilometres in the UK during the pretty inclement conditions that we regularly experience between Christmas and New Year.

I feel unlucky not to have been in the Southern Hemisphere, but lucky that I was in the South-East of England and not up North (or beyond, in Scandinavia)!

Looking on Strava at the distances covered by others who did the Festive 500 around the globe, it appears that those in the Southern Hemisphere were not content to just do 500km - many people in Australia seemed to have done over 1000km over the Christmas period. They have my utmost respect because even though they will be be blessed with long, warm, sunny days, putting in 1000km would also have been a challenge.

So in essence, the Rapha Festive 500 ends up being a challenge for anyone doing it, wherever they are in the world - just in different ways. And that is the common, global link between us kindred souls.

We start out on the 24th December, hoping to succeed in our challenge, but it's not a given that we will reach the finish line. There are lots of folks who end up abandoning their challenge because of a mishap, the weather putting paid to the ride, or even just the appeal of spending more time with friends, family, and mince pies! The locations and the weather may be different, but I find it reassuring to know that there are people in other parts of the world simultaneously having to deal with the same issues as I do!

That is why when you do accomplish your 500km (or 1000km in the case of our friends Down Under!) it gives a wonderful feeling of self-satisfaction that things have gone your way, you have got your pass to join the elite club of the Rapha Roundel club, and for another year, at least, you have beaten the battle of the bulge!

I have documented my journey to 500km in the links below, and here are a few tips that I would offer based on my experience:


Plan in advance where you would like to go on each day and note down the distance of each of the rides. Giving the rides a theme, or doing rides to visit friends and family in another town would make the challenge motivational. (I decided to do my rides in around London in the shape of the spokes of a bicycle wheel and a hub - Tour de Londres)

Record ALL of the kilometres that you ride during that eight-day period, including just short trips. (I recorded my short rides to and from the local Park Runs.)  

Have a contingency plan. (My ride into Kent had to be re-routed at the last minute due to ice in the country lanes.)

Get in as many miles as you can early on in the eight-day period. (I got in 90km on Christmas Eve.)

Set out as early as you can each day (as long as its safe to do so), given that from 3.30pm onwards it is beginning to get dark.

Make hay while the sun shines. Get in as many miles as you can on the mild days. (The weather in the UK was mild from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, but steadily became windier, colder and misty as the week progressed.)

Don't take risks by riding in tricky conditions. (On one day early morning frost meant that I had to start my ride slightly later than originally planned, and freezing fog on other days meant I had to finish my rides a little earlier than planned.) 

Try and avoid riding really hard stages which have lots of steep climbs as this will make it harder to rack up the kilometres. Also, stay on-road rather than off-road for the same reason!

Enjoy the ride. It should be fun, not a hard slog!


Tackling the Rapha Festive 500

Rapha Festive 500: Day 1

Rapha Festive 500: Day 2

Rapha Festive 500: Day 3

Rapha Festive 500: Day 4

Rapha Festive 500: Day 5

Rapha Festive 500: Day 6

Rapha Festive 500: Day 7

Rapha Festive 500: Day 8

Postcards from Festive 500 Edge

Mallorca vs Flanders

I am thinking about where to go for cycling in early April. I've narrowed it down to two possibilities - Mallorca and the Tour of Flanders. Now many might think this should be a no brainer decision. Why choose to go to some windswept rainy plain despite the lure of sea, sun, and lots of interesting climbs! Well, in fact, the decision is not so clear cut:

Mallorca

This is a training camp, essentially with cycling buddies/club mates but the island is awash with club cyclists in the Spring and some roads will have the atmosphere of an unofficial cyclosportive

Good quality riding on lovely smooth roads, with picturesque climbs and amazing switchbacks

Riding ~ 100km every day and up to 1500m climbing will definitely make you fitter

Great atmosphere in a cycling mad country

The chance to the see the pro racers training - catch one if you can!

No need for the longs - you can ride around in short sleeves and shorts


Lovely beaches and a chance to lounge by the pool

Tapas, Sangria, Cerveza



With £sterling on its knees a holiday in the Euro zone could be rather expensive

High chance of topping up the sun tan - low chance of rain

You might bump into Raphael Nadal!

A language that people can vaguely make sense of


You get to mix with cyclists from all over Europe - largely British, Irish and Germans!










Tour of Flanders

This is a high profile cyclo sportive which comes with all the fanfare - an event village, timing chip, feed stations, beer tent, goody bag and finishers certificate

Good quality riding on cobbled bergs (hills) and flat windy plains - definitely makes you stronger

Cobbles are tough! Riding even just 140km at pace over them will make you fitter.

Great atmosphere in a cycling mad country

No hassle of lugging a bike onto the plane or having to dismantle and rebuild it

Quaint town squares and a chance to lounge in stylish cafes in Brugge


Waffles, mussels, and a plethora of Trappist beers

The chance to see the pro racers racing - catch one if you can!

With £sterling on its knees this could be expensive, but it's only a short trip

In 2007 temperatures were over 20 degrees and the sun shone - at least the temperature change on your return to the UK won't be a shock to the system!

You might bump into Lance Armstrong!


Flemish is not completely Greek to us - which British club cyclist actually speaks in Spanish while in Mallorca?



You get to mix with cyclists from all over Europe - well, largely Belgians, French and Dutch!



As you can see, there's not a massive difference in terms of what the final outcome is - in both cases you end up fitter and stronger, and with more memories to add to the photo album. So what it really comes down to is which is more important to you - being able to go out in short sleeves or not having to go through the palava of preparing your bike for air travel - oh, and how important it is to have the piece of paper documenting that you were there.

I've still got time to decide, but right now I think the Kappelmuur is winking at me!

So Why Go to the Amalfi Coast ?

It was all a bit of an adventure buzzing off to Southern Italy on my own, with my bike and doing a bike event in a small out of the way town.

Some people wonder why I did it at all. Afterall, I could have done like alot of my peers at this time of year - gone on a week long training camp with some sports tour company, or with a cycling club to the usual places - Mallorca, Lanzarote, Southern Spain, or North East Italy. This option may even have been less hassle as they would be used to welcoming foreign cyclists, and there wouldn't have been the language barrier.

But I chose to go to Southern Italy 'cos I wanted to try something different. I have been to Mallorca and Lanzarote a few times, and I agree that they are pleasant places to cycle round in the early season. But in recent times I find that I want more from a cycle trip than just doing the training camp. I like to get a feel for the place I'm in - meet the folks from there, ride the roads that the locals ride, eat the local food, and just learn abit about life in this new place. In short, I want more of a cycling experience than just a training camp with people that I can see quite easily when I'm at home. The Amalfi coast is a beautiful area, with dramtic coastlines, spectacular scenery, and well known sites of interest (Pompeii, Vesuvius, and the Island of Capri). It's not a big destination for British based cyclists, but while out there I noted that cycling is just as big in this region as it is in other parts of Italy.

Also doing a local cyclosportive gives the cycling trip a bit of a goal. These types of cyclosportive events take place all the time in Italy. You could do one every week if you wanted ! So why not get involved. The folks are generally really pleased to see someone from abroad doing their race, and you get a warm welcome. I was even photographed on the podium for the women's prizegiving. (I had no idea this picture was for the local paper, until I stumbled across it on the internet a couple of weeks later. That made my day !)

I was sad to say goodbye to my new found buddies at the end of my Sorrento trip, and thanked them heartily for the great event they had put on. On my return to England I felt really refreshed like I'd done something new - and not just the usual pilgrimage to a training camp.


A few travel facts :

I flew into Naples (with British Airways, who do not charge for bike carriage)

At the airport I took the Curreri bus to Sorrento - 7 euros one way (They carry bikes on the coach). It dropped me at Sorrento train station, 5 minutes from the main square.


I stayed at the Villa Elisa appartment, Piazza Sant'Antonino, in the centre of town (75 euros/night). The appartment was clean and pretty, with all the usual facilities - bathroom, kitchen facilities, dining area, TV, air conditioning. There's a nice courtyard where you can eat, and there are sun loungers on the roof. The landlady is very friendly.

The cyclosportive cost 23 euros to enter. It is possible to enter right up to the day before the event. If you are not sure of the details of the event, ask at one of the local bars and the bike hire shop around the main square (Piazza Tasso), or along Via degli Aranci, where the race goes.

Related posts

7th Giro Ciclistico della Penisola Sorrentina e Costiera Amalfitana - Part 1

7th Giro Ciclistico della Penisola Sorrentina e Costiera Amalfitana - Part 2

7th Giro Ciclistico della Penisola Sorrentina e Costiera Amalfitana - Last part

Cycling around the Amalfi Coast

From Flanders to Amalfi