Thursday, May 31, 2007

AND LIKE THAT...."poof".....SHE'S GONE

Back to the sad and terrible realisation of what this life brings me....loneliness. Kate left today and after 6 weeks of being sewn together at the hip we are again apart. Just me and my little black sheep, Palmy, to keep me company. Its sad how little there is to m life when 1 thing is subtracted.

But chin up.....keep on riding.....been doing lead out duties the past week and enjoying some more team success. Emile has been sprinting on form....all be it, behind the unbeatable Hilton Clarke and BJM just notched up another victory for us on the west coast. I'd say things are rolling.

Big 4 races on there way and i cant wait...bring on the big ones cause im just dying to go fast...think i might get some speed lines in my hair cut tomorrow just to emphasise the point.... I think it could be my wildest one yet.

Later every1

Friday, May 25, 2007

BIG CITY LIGHTS

I finally made it. 4 years spent in the USA and i finally made it to New York City. I couldn't let the fact that i am staying within a couple of hours and have some, well needed and earned, rest from racing slip through my fingers....So Kate and i got up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday and we made the 1.15hr drive to Trenton, then the 1hr train ride to NEW YORK CITY......yay!!!
And instead of ruining everyones day and dribbling on about funny...but boring stories about our day, i thought i would let some pictures do the talking......
From the heights of the Empire State Building.....this is where our day began.....the weather was perfect.




Kate and i....living it up in time sqare....


On the way into Central Park....our one mistake for the day was that we walked the entire length to find the cafe from Seinfeld....it is a long, long park and by the time we got to the other end, we couldn't even be bothered finding the cafe







mine and Kate's NYC taxi experience....it was all i could have ever dreamed....non stop horns.....ahh, you have to love a big American city


The sun shouldn't be able to break through here....it should be blocked by 2, 110 floor buildings....but unfortunately we live in a terrible world....it brought back some memories of staying up all night on September 11 when it happened....i remember it very clearly




A beautiful sunset down in the south end of Manhattan...Battery Park to be exact....from here we watched the sun set over the Statue of Liberty. Then it was time for home....we tried hard not to get mugged in Trenton on the way back to the car and then we were set.
What will last more than the memories....the pain and stiffness that we both woke up with this morning....lots of walking, but what can you do. It was definately worth it.
Later everyone.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

CLOSE....BUT NO CIGAR

The last couple weeks have seen some good racing and my legs have been coming better and better. I survived at altitude and managed to score myself some reasonable results scoring a 5th and a 2nd. Both races, had i had a little luck i could have won....this is where the disappointment lays. Turning the tops 5's into wins is what will tell people i have arrived. Getting a top 5 result is hard, turning those top 5's into wins is a lot harder and that's what i need to start doing. I am no longer satisfied with being the best of the rest, I want to win....for my team and for myself. So its time for me to step up.....the next level is right there and I'm going to work very hard to get there over the next month.

The best thing that i have discovered over the last few weeks, is that in Jaques-Maynes i have found a new Menzies. Ben and i have worked really well together, from Georgia to Gila and then into Joe Martin. He is the real deal, strong as an ox and willing to sell out for his sprinters in the finish. Together we have planned many of our finishes down to an inch and pulled them off, close to centimeter perfect. He is a great leader to have on the team and i look forward to racing with him for the rest of the year.

Everyone in this team has stepped up this year. I am very impressed with the unit that we are racing with. Everyone has laid it down when necessary and as a team we are far superior to the same time last year. We are smarter, hungrier and all headed in the same direction. It is the type of racing that will see Priority Health on many podiums and hopefully maintain our status as the no. 3 team in the country, behind Health Net and Toyota.

So after some solid weeks of racing i now have a little down time. The whole team is on holiday for a couple of weeks, when we will start to rebuild for Philly week. For my down time, i have arrived in Philly with Kate, where we are shacked up with the Zwizanski's. It is a beautiful house, where i will be able to treat Kate to a far more special birthday then i was able to last year. Friday is Kate's birthday....make sure you send her your best wishes....she is officially mid 20's and i think that scares her a little (ha ha).

So for now i relax....look out for some small updates over the next couple of weeks....i think we will try and hit up New York because we are so close, and if that happens, you can expect some fancy pics.

Till then......bye

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

RIDING HIGH....AT ALTITUDE

All the team in the calm before the storm of the first stage....Tour De Georgia
So Georgia is over and for those cycling enthusiasts who read this, you will know how my team faired during the race. We held the mountain jersey for a day, made a couple of the big breaks and i finished off with a couple of good stages, 11th and 6th. The tour was pretty good personally, i started slow, but as i got the racing into my legs i became better and better. Although i missed the podium on the last 2 days, the most positive thing for me and the team is that i was in a position that i could have won. This was thanks to some hard work from my team mates over the last couple of days, who showed faith in me and i hope i can continue to repay them throughout the season.

My best day for the tour. For those of you who dont know what i look like....i made it easier.



After Georgia, we came back down to reality pretty quickly.....a 1600mile trek across the country in the van. We did it slowly and fortunately for me, Kate had arrived on the Sunday, to add some light to my otherwise boring and dull world.

We arrived in Silver City, New Mexico, which is based at 1930m. Altitude is something that i have struggled with since being a cyclist. Both times that i have been to race in Reno, which is lower than Silver City, the first few days have been spent in bed and feeling sick and tired. Im happy to say that this time....thanks to First Endurance Optygen.....i am all over it. Feeling as normal as i do at sea level and ready to race on Wednesday when the 5 day Tour of the Gila begins.

Kate with one of the many animals that keep our host house occupied






The views from out side....as Borat would say NIIIIICE!





The energy efficient house that we are staying in.....its a great place.






Another shot from inside the house....Jeff's guitar collection





The landscape out this way is amazing. It is desert, but from our house on top of a hill, we can see as far as our eyes will let us....on a good day all the way into Mexico. While a little isolated, its is a beautiful place and we are in a great house.

So now the countdown to my next race. There are a couple of stages that are suited for bunch sprints, then its a matter of what i can do on the climbing days to help some of the boys with good climbing legs. Ill be back in touch during or after we are done. Hopefully with news of a victory.....

Hope all is well with all my readers....all 2 or 3 of them.

Later