RACING AT LAST

Finally i have some racing to report on. After nearly 5 weeks of little to do but bash my head against the wall (i.e. train), i have finally been able to strap on the helmet, shave the legs and get pumped up. The question was, would i come out firing or would i suck after such a long break? The answer....

Well i didnt suck, but i also havnt put the races together quite the way i wanted to. So far i have ended Athens twilight in 7th and then Roswell, the following day in 8th. Both days came down to bunch kicks and i scared myself with the amount of speed i had in my legs to finish. Athens i just came into the last corner way to far back, probably in 15th and then overran about 8 guys. At Roswell, i rode a far more aggressive race, spending some time on the front and trying to bridge some gaps only to be pushed to the gutter with 100m to go in the sprint, stopping me from at least a top 5 position. The signs however are very positive and the speed i have found in my legs at the end of both races has been surprising. The 5 guys who are representing the team at these crits have confidence in me and the podiums will definately start to come once we organise our finishes slightly better....time is all we need.....its coming....i promise.

The team has been racing awesome. We split into 2 squads and our boys over in Shenandoah kicked some ass. We had 3 guys who wore the leaders jersey, all 3 of them also won stages and eventually it was Brent who came out on top, winning the tour by nearly 1.30. The victories havnt only been going the way of that squad either. On Friday night, as part of the Athens Twilight festival we had all 3 of our riders in the final of the compu-trainer competition. For those who dont know, a compu-trainer is like an ergo that increases and decreases its resistance over a set course and measures the riders power and other such things. The competition was run over a 6km course for this night and Ted King came out on top, with our other boys Tommy and Robbie coming in 7th and 4th respectively. It was a good night for the team and an excellent warm up for the crit the following evening because it garenteed the team 4 riders on the front row of the grid. After Menzies won the compu-trainer last year, Teddy is hoping that he also earns some attention and maybe a feature section in my blog.....we'll have to see. For any of you who thinks it sounds easy, you need only look at the effort on the face of Robbie King. Tommy could do nothing but laugh....it looks like he's seen a ghost in an extremely hot climate....ive never seen fear like this.






So i did actually shave my legs for the first time in 5 weeks on Friday. Id say this is the longest i will see them for the remainder of my career. My team mates were embarraced to be seen with me on our training rides. You make the call....should i shave my legs even when im not racing? Do cyclists shave because its practical or because they want to look good, even when they are just training? I have to admit it was nasty looking....but i cant be bothered doing it when im not racing....its a psychological thing, once the hair is gone my head knows its time to get in the game.


MENZIE'S WATCH: So its been a while since my last Menzies report, but the boy is in Europe now and ripping it up on the other side of the globe. In his first race he came in 7th....not too shabby in a field filled with Pro Tour riders. This picture of Karl has no significance, except it is one of the only days that i have beaten the beast. I think its one of the only times ive seen him tired.

Later all

PS. Notice i didnt mention kate?? Thats because she left me out of her last entry. But she is racing well and kicking ass in Europe. She will be here in exaclty 1 week. It has been only 2 weeks since i saw her last....its sad how much i have missed her in that time.....and now i loose because i have dedicated 4 lines to her. Im ashamed...but im also in love...so ill get over it....