Thursday, August 30, 2007

CHANGING THE PACE

So....after much thought i have decided that doing this blog and reading it is boring as sh!t. So in an attempt to improve my motivation for doing the blog and hopefully people's enthusiasm for reading it, im going to make some drastic changes. It will now be a public display of the things i think but rarely put down on paper. Hopefully it will be entertaining. Im sure it will get me in trouble occasionally, but ill keep pushing through....i hope you enjoy......

THIS WEEKS HEADLINES.....

RICHARD ENGLAND STUNG BY BEE, WHILE TRAINING.....

This is believe to be a picture of the offender on his last legs after leaving his stinger in Richard's chest.






The swelling was instant, but the doctor has informed Richard, that with ice and exercise, he should return to normal within a week or so.



SLIPSTREAM, WORKING WITH MILLIONS.....

Im not referring to millions of dollars, im talking about millions of riders. It is official, that Team Slipstream from the USA have hired every professional bike rider in the world at present. At last count the were at 2, 345,652.
With no decision on next years team kit, here was the recent team photo from Russelville, Arkansas.





AUSTRALIAN OPPOSITION LEADER GETS LAP DANCE.......

Kevin Rudd's approval has gone up to a record 56% after admitting he had a lap dance at a strip club, while visiting New York on official business. In a desperate ploy, John Howard is rumoured to be releasing a statement about the time he got to 2nd base with G. Bush in the oval office. Two thumbs up K. Rudd.


In a related story, Hilary is rumoured to have leveled the score with Bill.

ANDREY KASHECHKIN TO START LEGAL ACTION AGAINST UCI.....

This moron has set out to start legal proceedings, claiming that testing him out of competition is an invasion of his privacy. When asked "Andrey, are you high? He answered " I have no idea what the other persons blood had in it, but now you mention it, i have been feeling a little woozy. Maybe i should not have done the transfusion myself. Whoops."


PET PEEVE OF THE WEEK....


Toilet rolls behind you when you are sitting on the toilet. It is so annoying to have to twist backwards to get to the paper. Must be worse for women, who have to do it every time.


Later....

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

US PRO...UNDER WATER

My apologies for the recent lack of blog entries. Unfortunately one of my great friends lost his father some 2 weeks ago and for some reason cycling didn't seem significant. It has been a hard time for him and his family and i want to express my sympathy to them all. The world is a colder place with his passing and may he rest in peace.

It is an unfortunate fact, but life does go on for the rest of us and my life saw me in the windy.....and wet, wet, wet.....city of Chicago. It was a miserable weekend of racing.....in terms of the weather. I didnt fair overly well, with little motivation for pushing my limits and being involved in one of the 60 odd crashes that took place over the 100km race. That is nearly 1 crash per lap. We had 7 of our 9 riders crash during the main event and some of them on more than 1 occasion. Unfortunately for the team one of those crashes included Emile and Teddy on the last corner, which cost them both a top 10 position. Somehow i managed to finish, but race like a Pansie......so that was the story of my weekend.

The only reason i welcomed the rain, was to cover the tears when Kate had to fly out on Sunday. It was the beginning of what will be a month of phone calls and no physical contact, which will be the longest we have gone for nearly the entirety of our relationship. We spent a great week together in Michigan and then the following week in Milwaukee...the 2 places that feel most like home to me in this foreign country.

Out riding with one of my American families in Milwaukee.....Simon and Tif can be seen in the back ground on their cruisers.






The picturesque lake Michigan from the Milwaukee side. Its quite a view and on the right day, there is a lot of eye candy...hence me and Karl riding there each year



But now comes the countdown....i am officially 1 month from leaving for home. With 3 big races remaining i am planning on going out on a high. Training will continue to pick up and the motivation is now beginning to regrow as the crits are behind me and i will again be focusing on the longer road.

I can now announce that I am officially on board for next year and we have some very exciting additions to our list. I cant break the news of who until it becomes official, but needless to say, i am very excited about our prospects for the 08 season and where my abilities will squeeze into the talent.

So thats it.....see all my home buddies soon as the countdown continues......

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

CRASHING SUCKS!

So i finally had my first crash for my US based road season. The worst thing about going a long time between crashes, is that you forget how much it hurts and how inconvenient it is. It was one of those silly crashes, no serious damage, but a large portion of skin from my left leg and butt cheek. I was actually talking into my radio when it happened....the bunch slowed down all of a sudden....but i didnt....ended up with my bars through someone else's back wheel and being dragged along the road for a while until he came to a stop. I was not too badly hurt, but so shocked that it had happened that i gave no response to his question "are you alright?". I just sat on the ground in disbelief.

It was a pity, more for the fact that with the crash went my good form that i had showed over the first 4 days of the tour. 2 top 5 positions, had Karl not cheated on stage 3, and i was climbing better than any time i can remember. But as is always the case with me, when my body comes into contact with the ground, my back decides to take a vacation and my power output drops about 40%. So that was the end of my good results for the tour. Fortunately for the team, Teddy stepped up and came in with 2 top 10 performances over the closing 3 days.....of which, all 7 were pretty much dominated by Menzies. He and his 'boys' had a week to remember with 4 out of 7 stages and a 5th, that wasnt allowed to stand. It was an impressive display...particularly from Karl, who is making up on lost time, in a big way.


Lining up for the start of a stage....i always seem tense....not sure why




It was hot work in Altoona.....here i have the jersey unzipped....for cooling purposes, but mainly just for the ladies!

Needless to say, even non-cycling fans will have seen the controversy that surrounded the Tour De France this year. It was such a disappointment that, for once, when it actually became a really good battle for the win, that it could all come toppling down again and make our profession look like a joke. If there is anything that i can hold my head high about, its that the large majority seem to believe that Cadel Evans is the only clean GC rider in the bunch. He put in a stella performance and i was proud to watch a fellow country man display all the guts and determination that Australian's are known for. As for the rest....i just hang my head in shame. But it is a continuous cycle....those who are clean and know of others who dope are just as guilty in the end and are going to watch the sport disintegrate around them if this "code of silence" in the pro peleton is not broken.

Any way...forget them....i am a clean bike rider, who does it for the right reasons and as sad as it is to watch my sport dragged through the mud....me and my team mates can only do the best we know how. I have decided that i will now look for my cycling idols in the female ranks. After my short stint with the female T-Mobile squad in July and seeing there haematocrit levels in the high 30's....i think that these are the only people who i can truly believe in. Down come the posters of Vino and others....and up go the pictures of Judith Arndt and Ina Tutenburg.....long live cycling and all that is good and pure about it.
So crit season is upon us. It is all that the next month comprises and i am doing my best to get my back right and my speed up. I will once again join forces with Emile and together we will try and chase an illusive win in one of the big money races that face us. Hopefully my next post includes some good news and my wallet includes 'mo money'. Cause in the words of 50cent....."get rich, or die tryin'"
Speak to you all soon....sorry about how American the last paragraph sounds...i promise im still Aussie....mate!