Cycling, sports and blood work.

[Charlotte F]

I did the RVV (which was a lot of fun) and Paris-Roubaix sportives (never again for Roubaix... although getting to finish in the velodrome was very cool... but I don't think i would want to test my to be constructed neo vagina on the pave in the future).  What is a really cool event is Milan-San Remo, which they run in June.  It is the full course with rolling road closures.  Really amazing if the weather is good, especially the descent down to Genoa and riding from there along the coast.  I might do that again one day.

Paris Roubaix is one I was debating for next spring depending on the leg.  I've always fancied trying the cobbles and am thinking this might be the last chance.  Those cobbles are severe 

Something like Milan-San Remo might be a bit more enjoyable though.  When I raced in France recently, we had police everywhere closing roads and escorting us not to mention a few hardcore supporters cheering us on!  There was even a guy dressed in a devil outfit chasing us up a hill - for a very brief moment I felt like I was riding the Tour 

[Siobhan Amanda]

Bookmarked Tarabel😀. Thoughts go out to you Charlotte, for me too that was the hardest. My Dad lives in the uk so I told a few friends here first, partly because they knew my marriage was taking a beating and I needed some emotional support. I think that gave me more confidence and a bit of a practice for him, I thought it wouldn't be good.
Haha the cobbles I'm not sure of though I've done a few gravel roads . Next time I fly to Europe I'll definitely pre post about it, hoping to add an adventure. The alps were so beautiful,I dream of going back and with transitioning I feel so alive so I'm off now to hide my credit card 😳

[Charlotte F]

Greetings from the peak district, ladies.

I don't know how you ride those hard thin wheeled things !

Paula, X. ( dirty, down hill girl )

Hi Paula - I am very jealous of your playground up there.  I was up there earlier this year and it is a very beautiful part of the country

I did used to ride downhill but gave up 7 years ago to concentrate on my business (too many accidents causing distractions!).  It's funny, from the comfort of the chairlift I used to think roadies were mad but now I've done a complete U turn and love the challenge out on the road.   I must say, back home I just had enough of all that hiking back to the top of the trail 

[Charlotte F]

Thanks Siobhan - I have been wondering about coming out to others first.  Unfortunately, living very close to my family, I'm a bit worried about word leaking out and them finding out second hand.  I'm sure I'm making a bigger deal out of it in my head than it actually is but I guess that's one of the joys of coming out & transitioning!  I'm glad it's all going so well for you - definitely gives me hope

Those cobbles are something else.  They aren't like what you get on a cobbled UK road but are like 1 foot cubes of stone, roughly cut and unevenly placed along the road with potholes and flints thrown in for good measure!  I've only ridden a couple of kilometres but even that was hard work

Next time you're over, I would definitely be up for tagging along on some kind of adventure

[Siobhan Amanda]

No worries Charlotte, you're right to be cautious, it would be, well, not the best for them to find out secondhand and only you know your friends best and certainly your parents. I looked online for the right approach , no , to you (us) it is a big deal a massive one but to my friends it's less of one. I guess I kinda mean they're not me so it's happening to someone they care about and not living with it 24/7. But listen I'm no expert,I'm new at this😊.
First official training ride this morning with my new coach😀😀😀...well by myself  as he wasn't there.
Haha yep adventures are so cool. Those cobble stones sound crazy! , probably get rsi after a days of that😳.
Hey Paula I've not done any down hilling, sounds bonkers! But probably much fun😀

[Siobhan Amanda]

Right then, I have spoken to Cycling Australia and the Olympic ruling is basically a year of below 10 on the T scale that'll hold for any level of elite racing, no one I've asked has any idea of how often a girl has to be tested. My best mate here is a doctor and he says he would have thought routine testing would be the same as genetic girl on hrt which he's saying 3-6 months. For club racing here it isn't asked for or necessary but for both licensing the rider has to remain in that gender (for racing purposes) for four years. Obviously though ( and I'm sure this won't be an issue 😊) if testing is above said amount, should you be tested, it's a twelve month ban.
Megan, Charlotte, I know you're in the uk but would think they're inline with that and Megan you shouldn't be uncounted after a year and possibly not even before that if your license states your gender.
I've no idea how to tag people on here as I'm quite rubbish when it comes to forums and things similar, though am learning 😀

[Charlotte F]

That's very interesting Siobhan.  I'll have to speak with British Cycling and see if they work in the same way

I found a copy of the International Olympic Committee's guidelines pertaining to all olympic sports:

https://stillmed.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Medical_commission/2015-11_ioc_consensus_meeting_on_sex_reassignment_and_hyperandrogenism-en.pdf

For MTF it just states that you must be able to demonstrate your T level was lower than 10 nmol/L for 12 months.  At the moment I'm having to do bloods every 3 months being in my first year of HRT so I guess keeping copies of the lab reports will be sufficient evidence if ever asked

Interestingly though, if your T levels do creep above the limit it does state that, whilst not ideal, you would still be allowed to compete in the male category (i.e. rather than it being considered an outright ban for doping)

[Siobhan Amanda]

Yes, their is no restriction it seems for a woman to compete in the men's catagories and at club level here they've been known to mix anyway. Have you read about Jillian Bearden? Its interesting to see what she's been through.