You have got to act on instinct; you've got to ride from your heart and let that performer come out. You can't over-think it too much because if you're thinking, the race is already over.
The majority of the time, I'm just in my team training clothes or work-out gear, but whenever I'm killing time, I always like to watch 'Project Runway' or 'America's Next Top Model.'
I've always been very competitive - that runs in our family. I'd always try to beat my brother. I'd race the boys and wanted to beat them. They toughened me up. They didn't treat me like a girl.
I definitely thrive off adversity. I know it's always up from there.
I quickly realised that there is no 'I' in team. So I am so fortunate to have a supportive family that has been there for me since day one.
When I compete, I love a huge crowd, expectation, pressure, and I like to have nerves: the butterflies flying and my hands shaking. This way, I am completely amped, focused, and ready; otherwise, I tend to be to relaxed, content, and don't perform at my maximal potential.
Any race, I'm always going for the top step on the podium.
At the end of the day, I'm riding a little kid's bike around a track; that's what I've done for as long as I can remember. Now it's just on a bigger stage at the Olympics.
Mum and dad would drive me to the ACT Academy of Sport gym at 5 A.M., sit in the car and read a book, and then drive me to school. I appreciated it when I was younger, but I didn't really understand how much they were putting into it. Now I look at budgets of $70,000 to compete, and I think, 'Wow, they've put so much into this.'
I truly believe that it's all of the hard times that make you step up to the next level, and that's what makes you a champion.
You can't take my batteries out; I'm always on the go.
BMX is still a young sport in Olympic terms. So the sport science behind it is also relatively new. As a program, it's only going to get better as the sport gets bigger and more extreme.
I am just this small-town Canberra girl that's taken riding a little kid's bike on dirt tracks to the highest level.
I get called Pink quite a lot. The Pink of the Action Sport World. Or Queen of the Dirt - some call me that.
One medal. One shot. One lap. Eight riders. No lanes. No right of way. Just go.
If I had to work a 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. job in the public service, I'd freak out.
A female professional athlete has to have the whole package, as opposed to a guy who can just be good at sport. You have to have a job or go to uni or do three sports instead of one, you have to be a standout.
There were times when I was down and frustrated being in a male-dominated sport: you don't get the support. It affected me. Layne Beachley helped me beat that. That was the difference for me and helped get me through.
In BMX, you need an inner mongrel, something that's a point of difference in the female category.
You learn a lot from your first Olympic Games experience. Everyone thinks they're prepared, but you never are.
