I was very excited when I was asked by Tim to contribute to the Stolen Goat blog on a regular basis after he had read some of the stuff on my own blog.
Me? A proper writing job? Wow. I am assuming we share a similar sense of humour and quite possibly a similar idea of “fun” – if it involves a bike, it’s fun. Simplez. I also like the stylish goodies on Stolen Goat and my favourite present to give are cycling related prints. So, there you go.
who am I, and why should you read what I write?
My passport says: Christine Bertram, 39 years old, female, 1.73m, grey eyes, Nationality: German. Fact.
My twitter profile (@Xfmgirl) is possibly more informative:
Academic, triathlete, duathlete, universal exporter/importer. Escaped from Alcatraz. 2014 – Celebration Year. Challenges galore!
I’m a social policy researcher when I’m not wearing lycra. And yes, I’m one of those that shall not be named that cannot ride a bike in a group. Although I do pretend that I’m not one of the “all the gear, no idea” variety.
I also run a bit – make that a lot – and have recently progressed from “swimming like a rock” to semi-floating. And while I do not have a criminal record, I did indeed escape from Alcatraz. I jumped off a boat and swam across San Francisco Bay – quite possibly one of my finest achievements which can only be superseded by one day cycling up Alpe d’Huez, the Ventoux and the Stelvio.
I am turning 40 in 2014 and to celebrate in style, I’ve declared the whole year a celebration and the way I would naturally do this is through sporting challenges, one each month. They include among others the Tour of Flanders, the Long Course Weekend in Wales, the European Triathlon Championships in Kitzbuehel and the British Middle Distance Triathlon Championships in Aberfeldy/ Scotland. Cue, I need to find my climbing legs!
While this gives you a bit of an insight into my background and favourite past times, it says little about my character. My friends have said (and I’ve actually asked them): positive, focused on what I can do, not what I can’t do, persistent, kind, resilient, resourceful, flexible, leading by example.
My facebook profile reads: “Total confusion, with a streak of laziness and the sudden appearance of brilliance when deadlines are on the horizon… in fact, I think perseverance is one of my strengths really, some people call me stubborn though…”. There is definitely some truth in all of that, but what would I know.
#askthegoat
That’s enough about me. I intend to draw upon my experience and knowledge to bring you regular articles of interest. Next week’s topic will be a motivational piece on how to climb out of deep, dark holes (although looking at the weather forecast – quite possibly literally) .
But I invite you to suggest some topics that you would like to see covered. For example, would you like to see something on nutrition, motivation, beginner basics, product reviews, womens specific training / racing, you name it.
To get involved simply send your suggestion via twitter to me (@Xfmgirl) and/or @goatstolen and use the hashtag #askthegoat.
Or simply drop a comment on our facebook page.
Cheerio for now, good luck!
Christine
#askthegoat