Ashleigh´s Coconut Fish Curry Recipe
I absolutely love food and for me there’s nothing more satisfying than cooking a delicious meal for friends, family, and sometimes even guests at Rocacorba Cycling. Seeing people’s expressions as they tuck into a delicious meal brings me joy.
For me one of the things I enjoy most about cooking, is experimenting with flavours from different parts of the world. At the moment I’m really enjoying Indian and Thai flavours, and during the Coronavirus lockdown I’ve had more time than usual to experiment with new combinations.
I would like to share with you my recipe for my favourite dish at the moment; it is a colourful hake and prawn one-pot infused with a combination of Indian and Thai inspired flavours. The great thing about this dish is that it is super quick and easy to make, and is absolutely bursting with flavour.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Serves 4… or in the case of Carl and I, maybe only 2 ;-)
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 anchovy fillet, finely chopped and mashed
1 small red chilli, shredded (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)
rind of 1 lemon, finely grated
1 heaped tbsp medium curry powder
1 heaped tbsp muscovado sugar (or any brown sugar will do)
small bunch coriander, stems finely chopped
400g can coconut milk
450g skinless hake fillets, cut into generous rectangles
220g pack frozen raw whole prawns
1 lime, halved
cooked rice, to serve
METHOD
Heat the oil in a crockpot or lidded frying pan, then soften the onion for 5mins. Stir in the ginger, garlic, anchovy, chilli, and lemon rind, and cook for 2mins. Add the curry powder and sugar, and keep stirring. When the sugar starts to melt, add the coriander stems, coconut milk and a little water, then bring to a simmer.
Add the fish and prawns to the sauce, then squeeze over half the lime. Pop on the lid and simmer for about 5 mins or until the hake is just cooked and flaking, and the prawns are pink through. Taste for seasoning and add the remainder of the lime juice if you like. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve with rice.
Finding Peace and My Place in Lockdown
So, life has changed. If you’re a human on the planet, you’ve been affected by Coronavirus. For us at Rocacorba Cycling in Spain, that has meant full lockdown. It happened with very little notice and, with the exception of groceries, medical care, or walking a pet, we are confined to our homes.
The notice of our lockdown came fast. In about 48 hours we went from rumours to “effective immediately” and with that came a lot of fear and questions. As the gravity of reality sank in, so did my fear about the future. In the big picture of life, sport is not an essential good. Everyone is vulnerable—physically, mentally, and economically—and in such unprecedented times, I was struggling to find peace and place in the global pandemic.
The biggest obvious challenge for me was shifting all my training indoors. I’ve always rather put on a jacket and trained outside, rain or snow, so, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to being stuck inside. But, whether injury, illness, the racing calendar, team decisions, training, family, work, or whatever, the best athletes are the ones that can adapt, period. Ready or not, I had to rise to this scary and extraordinary challenge.
Rocacorba Cycling has always had a top-of-the-line indoor training set up thanks to our friends at Zwift. With a Tacx smart trainer and Zwift, I knew I had the best possible tools for success. Still, I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep it together mentally. A week was one thing. I was confident I could handle three even four weeks but what if it was longer? What about the Olympics? CCC-Liv?
I just started out riding around Wattopia (one of the Zwift virtual worlds). Pretty quickly, I started to discover all the people; I began joining group rides and eventually started hosting meet-ups of my own. I rode with guests who were supposed to be staying with us, friends from across the planet who I never get to ride with, and I’ve even joined the London Dynamos for what’s become a regular Saturday morning ¨race¨. A whole new world of indoor training opened up to me and with real people behind every avatar, there was real engagement, real fun, and even real DOMS. I have a meet-up almost every day now and, unexpectedly, it’s actually allowed me to be more social than ever.
It took a while but I began to make peace with the situation. The Olympics weren’t gone, they were just a little bit farther away. The races would come back and I hoped women’s cycling would be able to find more ground in a post-pandemic world. We might not be racing as CCC-Liv but we were still very much a team. We had started meeting twice a week over the internet and that was actually bringing us closer together. The future of cycling was going to be different but CCC-Liv was already building a new, stronger normal and that security and support is just as comforting as it is a source of motivation.
And I had also found my place: the indoor trainer. I felt blessed to be healthy and committed to doing my part and staying home. I was grateful that technology and Zwift allowed me to continue working and more grateful it became a source of motivation that also kept me connected to so many people.
Rising to the challenge of Coronavirus, for me, has meant finding my place and making peace with reality and the unknown. Lockdown, no matter how long it will be, is always going to be hard but doing our part and staying safe from COVID-19 is about physical distance not social isolation. Whether it’s training inside and meeting-up for virtual rides, making a home office or a home gym, or picking up the phone and giving a friend or family member a call, staying together is the best way we can all rise to the challenge, stay healthy, and make it through Coronavirus.
Training in Lockdown
Spain is in full lockdown to help slow the spread of the coronavirus which has meant I’m doing all of my training on Zwift. Zwift has been a real lifesaver for me (especially because of the meet-up feature) but, even if you don’t have access to Zwift or a smart trainer, if you’re riding indoors, these are a few things I’ve learned in the past two weeks.
1. Adjust your power. Drop your watts, scale down your FTP, and recalibrate your brain to those numbers. Riding inside is harder and if you try to match your outside numbers you will pay for it!
2. Focus on the feeling. Since your power won’t be what you’re used to and you may have to adjust normal training sessions, take your heart rate into consideration and always factor in your RPE (rate of perceived exertion). Listen to your body. In races you rely on your instincts anyway so it’s great practice for getting in touch with your body.
3. Indoor trainers function best with cadence around 80-90 RPM. Under or over and your training might be compromised. I’ve been trying to execute some high torque, low cadence strength intervals but with the smart trainer, sticking to cadence targets isn’t effective; instead, I focus on the feeling.
4. Reduce the volume by 20-30%. Riding inside is a constant effort. Although on Zwift you get a sense of drafting and going downhill, you still have to pedal. I’ve been adjusting my 5 hour rides to 3 hours and my 3 hour rides to 2 hours.
5. Don’t forget to fuel. Although your sessions might be shorter, don’t be tempted to skip nutrition. I set up a table next to the trainer and stock it with dates, homemade banana bread and lots of liquids to ensure I’m fuelled and hydrated.
6. Lastly, let go of perfection. A long period of indoor training is a big mental challenge. You might be used to structure and nailing each session but accept that indoor training is different and allow your training and expectations to adjust.
Bringing The Fire
There wasn’t going to be fireworks this race, it was going to be a patient burn. The relatively short 104km course left a lot to be desired with nothing more than a few roughly surfaced uphill drags and undulations to test the peloton. I wanted a hard race so, even though I was happy it wasn’t another 38°C day like TT champs, I knew the parcours weren’t enough to make the race.
My strategy became more about patience rather than power. In the past, I probably would have attacked a lot, tried to liven up the race and risked the win in favour of good racing; but with experience comes composure. We ticked over the majority of the race but, finally, with 12km to go, I turned up the heat and attacked. Carla Oberholzer came with me and, although we were working well together, we were brought back by the bunch with 5km to go. The composure I had maintained the whole race was wearing thin.
Just then, however, we rolled over a section of really rough rumble strips and suddenly, my gears were frozen. Luckily, I was stuck in the middle of the cassette but then, of course, someone attacked on the downhill. With some furious cadence I was able to stay with the bunch and thankfully no one seemed to noticed. I couldn’t believe it. I had kept it together the whole race and now, with the national title being decided in a matter of kilometres, I only had two gears.
Image: Cyclenation
This was really the moment for composure. But it was also the moment for fire. I wanted the win badly and, two gears or no gears, I had to keep it together and wait for the right moment. I took a calming breath, I got into position, and at the exact spot I had planned, I laid it down. I had the lead but the entire bunch reacted and I could feel the heat of the chase. By less than a second, I crossed the line first and took the title.
The rush of winning is always special but, unlike most races, the national champs win is something you get to be proud of every time you pull on the jersey. I’m really proud of the way I raced; even when it was time to bring the fire, I kept my cool from start to finish. Especially in an Olympic year, I’ll be proud to wear the South African colours for the 2020 European season.
On Fire at TT Champs
We’re up in the far north of South Africa. It’s beautiful but it’s seriously hot—38C hot—it’s humid, plus there’s even a risk of malaria. It’s definitely not Europe, it’s home and it’s national championships time.
I’ve been training up at altitude in Mpumlanga for the past few weeks and it’s actually been refreshing to get back to what we used to do. Back to the tried and tested winter training that has always put me in a great place for the European season. Great training, fantastic weather, a good healthy dose of the homeland and, of course, national individual time trial championships as the first race of the season.
The 20km time trial was an out and back course with the first half dragging uphill. I went out hard to take advantage of the uphill and had the rider who started 1 minute before me, Carla Oberholzer, within my sight fast. Carla was the perfect carrot to chase and I made the pass at the turnaround point.
Image: Cycle Nation
I maintained a good advantage, as per my race strategy, but with 4km to go all I was thinking was “where is this finish line?!”. I was boiling hot. At that point, I had no fluids on my bike and my core temperature felt like I had swallowed the sun. Carla came back and passed me. Chasing her and dreams of ice cold water at the finish line, I kept her in reach and crossed the finish line just behind her.
I had a good feeling I had the win but I also felt like a human desert. First priority was liquid and lots of it. Thank goodness for my support team and the 4 bottles of cold water I chugged immediately. The weather would be similar in Tokyo so, actually, it was a good experience to have now to better prepare for the Olympics—a realization that only came after bottle of water #2.
The results became official and I had done it! I am the 2020 South African Time Trial Champion and I am so proud to earn the title back, especially in an Olympic year, and take the stripes up to Europe for the rest of the season.
The 104km road race is in a few days and, hopefully, the only thing that will be on fire are my legs!
Image: Cycle Nation
You can follow the race here.
Lucky Turn
So far this season, I can’t say things have gone well. I haven’t had the race results I expected and it wasn’t for lack of form. I’ve put the work in, seen great improvements in training, and shown up to races with the legs to win; but, I’ve had bad luck race after race. Just recently, I crashed in Plouay, at the Boels Tour, and again during the African Continental Championship road race. Knowing I’ve improved, it’s been frustrating so it’s been about believing my luck will turn at exactly the right time—and I’m hoping that’s at World Champs.
Image: Anton Vos
I’m targeting the individual time trial. Coming from a smaller cycling nation where we are a few riders up against the big cycling nations of Holland, the Germany, and Italy who all have full teams of 8 riders, you need to have a lot of luck to get a result in the road race. For the individual time trial, the team aspect is taken away so I’ve put my ambitions where I think I have the best possibility for a result.
The individual time trial is 30km. It’s not often we have the opportunity to race ITTs that are so long and the course itself makes it even more unique. I’ve recently had the chance to ride the course in real life and it’s going to be really tough. The first 13km is undulating on a big, winding road and then, much to my delight, we will turn to face three climbs, each around 1 kilometre long. You will need to push hard during the first part to have a good time but no doubt the title will be decided on the climbs. While I’m still going to need luck, I’m hoping those 30km will be the moment this season where I don’t have any bad luck.
Image: Roger Van Den Bosch
Four days later, I will participate in the 149.4km road race along with my South African teammates Tiffany Keep, Maroesika Matthee, and Joanna van de Winkel. The road race is going to be very open and interesting thanks to the course. The big climb on the course comes really early, around the half way point. Whether those 7km will have a big impact or not will be the interesting part. It’s early enough that it might not drop a lot of riders and, depending on the strategy of the big teams, we will have to see who will use the climb and who will put more emphasis on the 3 laps of the rolling and technical finishing circuit. I haven’t put any pressure on myself for the road race but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and cash in all my bad luck the season for a chance.
I’m prepared for World Champs, I’m excited to represent South Africa, and—I’m just going to say it—I’m feeling lucky.
Keep Fighting. Period.
Everything was falling apart.
I got off my bike and it was dead quiet. I had just finished the individual time trial at the Giro Rosa and, I knew it wasn’t my best day, but was it really that bad? Being met with silence from my team affirmed my worst fears. I had finished three minutes off the pace, out of the top ten, and it was a really hard pill to swallow. At the biggest stage race of the season, as my teammates sacrificed themselves for me, I just couldn’t deliver. I rode back to the team bus, taking that silence with me.
Image: Jojo Harper
I started to spiral. I’ve had tons of bad races but this felt like more. My period had arrived early, leaving me feeling completely flat and in pain. I had strange and severe stomach pain that was keeping me up at night. Even my skin was sensitive to touch. I couldn’t eat and I didn’t want to. I knew it wasn’t true but it felt like everyone else was having a perfect race while mine was a disaster. Nothing was going right this season, it was just obstacle after set back after bad luck, and now, as I slid down the GC from 3rd to 9th, I felt completely disheartened.
Of course, all of this was also happening in front of an audience. My teammates, the peloton, friends, family, and fans were all seeing me struggle and so the messages started. What was happening and why, I still wasn’t sure, but the support messages were clear: I had to find a way to keep fighting.
I made it through the next two stages, getting dropped, clawing back, and fighting for every single pedal stroke. Every time an attack went or the pace surged, I couldn’t draw on my physical abilities like I was used to. I had to really dig deep into my experience to keep it together. My mum called to remind me how I had overcome an eating disorder, a serious head injury and a hip fracture. My husband, who was thankfully there by my side, kept reminding me what I was normally capable of and what we had accomplished, although, really, just his presence was a source of strength. My team was incredibly supportive, fully understanding how much impact your period can have on performance, let alone stomach issues. My phone was also constantly beeping with encouragement from fans through messages on social media. I didn’t have the physical power but I was constantly reminded that I did have the strength.
Image: Sean Hardy
By Stage 9, the Queen Stage, the team doctor had helped get my stomach under control and I was over the worst of my period. I started to feel like myself again and Montasio, the big mountain top finish, was my chance to prove it. It was against the odds and the top riders in the world but, finally, my guts were saying let’s go for it.
The stage played out exactly as predicted. We hit Montasio and Annemiek van Vleuten attacked. All the favourites respond and—hallelujah—so did my legs. Anna van der Breggen, Lucinda Brand, Amanda Spratt and I chased hard. As we caught Annemiek, the pace was…you can’t even believe! I knew it was impossible to keep that power going without blowing up and, after Lucinda dropped off, so did I. Moments later, Amanda did too. While Annemiek and Anna powered on, I set my sights on chasing down Amanda.
I bridged to her strong and steady and as we hit the steep part together, I tried my best to get rid of her. I couldn’t shake her so when we hit the flat section, I slammed my gears into the big blade and punched the speed. I escaped from Amanda, crossed the line for 3rd on the stage, 4th in the GC, and I had never felt so relieved.
I received lots of messages after Stage 9. The messages that recognized my low along with my stage podium were the ones that stayed with me. The people who noticed me struggle, saw me fight, and how I turned it around from such a low place, had seen something that felt vulnerable to me. The exposure of my difficulties had demonstrated, even to myself, a strength that went beyond watts and bikes.
Image: Anton Vos
We all go into big races as prepared as possible but reality constantly shows us that races, seasons, and life never go to plan. The lesson, however, isn’t that life is unpredictable but that we can be resilient and rise above whatever challenges come our way. I’ve learned that lesson over and over again but, still, I keep learning it because as we rise, the difficulty of our challenges rise with us. It never gets easier but our capacity to handle what we once thought impossible is unfailing if we have faith in our fighting spirit.
Join Ashleigh at the Harvest Tour
Peaks and Perks
California knows how to party. It was the queen stage of the Tour of California which meant it was all uphill for the final 45km with an amazing summit finish on Mt. Baldy. It also meant there was a cookie corner on one of the switchbacks—literally a corner on the race course where very enthusiastic fans were handing out chocolate chip cookies! Racing in the USA definitely has its perks.
Image: Jeff Clark
I knew the second stage was going to be the stage for me. The first stage had been nervous with strong winds and, to be honest, I was feeling a little flat having just come off some altitude and the set-back of my crash at Amstel. The impact on my sacrum was worse than just a hard landing and the doctor had recommended a few weeks off the bike. Not ideal but the Tour of California, a new race for me, was the perfect place for a new beginning and the start of my summer racing.
We hit the bottom of Mt. Baldy and Katie Hall was the first to accelerate. I wasn’t going to jump. My gut told me the best thing to do was to stick to my own hard tempo. More attacks came from Kasia and Anna, me following in tow, as the bunch was left behind and the break was eventually caught. Anna eventually joined her teammate Katie while Kasia slid back, leaving me on my own.
Image: Jeff Clark
“Steady, stick to your tempo,” I reaffirmed to myself. I was clawing Anna and Katie in, getting the gap down to 14 seconds, but as the gradient at the top backed off, I could only focus on maintaining my position. I crossed the line finishing in third place on the stage and moving up to third on the general classification. Since I had almost cancelled my trip to the USA, I was beyond happy: happy with my race strategy, happy with my physical performance, happy to have a podium, and happy that I managed to grab a chocolate chip cookie from the cookie corner on the way back down the mountain. It was a great day.
The final stage was really aggressive with a really exciting performance from Paulina. I wish there was television coverage so people could have watched how she lit up the race and almost stole the entire show had it not been for the long downhill to the finish. Still, thanks to her efforts, I managed to finish in the small bunch to hold my third overall and get CCC-Liv on the final podium.
Image: Jeff Clark
When I returned to the team car after prize giving, as if finishing on the podium wasn’t enough, I discovered some fan had made me brownies. I mentioned at the Mt. Baldy prize giving that I loved chocolate brownies and I couldn’t believe someone had taken the time and care to deliver brownies to the team. I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. The enthusiasm and hospitality of the USA was exactly what I needed. I was leaving the Tour of California with a renewed sense of confidence in my performance, a fresh excitement for the rest of the season, and the desire to come back and race in California next year. Then again, maybe it was just the brownie talking. Yep, they were that good!
What's The Big Deal?
It felt here nor there to me, I thought, deciding whether or not to go the USA. I wasn't sure whether I would race the Tour of California but, if I did, I would spend a week in Boulder first for some altitude and solid training. I was still recovering from my crash at Amstel Gold Race. What seemed like an insignificant pavement slam had done some damage in my lower back and things were not quite perfect yet. I was ready to train but was I ready to race? Was all the travel worth it? What was the big deal about Boulder anyway?
Even though the weather forecast looked awful, some coaxing from a locally placed friend was enough to sway the vote and I was off to Colorado. Arriving in Denver, I was less than impressed with the flat terrain. Where were the mountains?
With jet lag brain, I stared out the window but then it started. The horizon grew into a jagged silhouette and with it my excitement. I saw the Flatirons, massive rocks in the shape of clothing irons, and the landscape grew evermore impressive the closer we came to Boulder. By the time we got to our accommodation, jet lag had been overruled by excitement.
The next morning felt like Christmas. With so many new roads high up, places to see, and bad weather coming later in the week, the blue-sky day was the perfect opportunity to get in a massive ride. The route was called Peak-to-Peak, a famous local loop of 120km with 3,000m of climbing.
The Rocky Mountain terrain was different from the European mountains I knew. The roads were straighter and, without the signal of a switchback, deceptively steep. Instead of going up and down mountains, it was more riding up canyons and staying along the top. Riding up at 2500-3000m for so long was a new experience. The entire day was spent in the saddle and it was one of those fulfilling memorable rides that left me tired, excited, and motivated. I’ve never fallen out of love with cycling but this felt like it was happening all over again.
The predicted bad weather arrived and sat over Boulder for the next few days. I wasn’t bothered by a snow day after such a big first day and it was good to have some easier inside rides to adjust to the altitude. By the time the clouds and snow cleared, I was ready to enjoy the sun and mountains again. I was also ready for the Tour of California. I felt so energized, motivated, and simply happy after only a few days of riding.
So, I got it: Boulder was pretty special. There was a reason why it was so famous, why so many athletes lived there, and why it attracted so many more to come and visit.
The last time I had felt such a jolt of energy was the first time I rode in Banyoles and I ended up moving there. I’m still in love with the Girona area so I definitely won’t be moving to Boulder, but it reminded me about how special that feeling was.
The pure joy of riding a bike that every cyclist has felt before. It’s the feeling we are always chasing and remembering; it’s the feeling I want to share with others when they come stay with us at Rocacorba Cycling; it was the feeling that made Boulder a pretty big deal.
I’ll never forget it and I’ll definitely be back.