TOONA....I ALMOST MADE IT

So during my last post my mum started to sense that i was starting to get depressed about my form and was not overly confident about performing well and..........i was right......i didnt perform like i know i can. Im still having issues with my legs that i just cant quite get a hold of......to explain it to my readers, my quads just dont seem to be processing lactic acid at the moment. It is very different to the overall feeling of fatigue and wastedness that i was feeling during Beauce, but my thighs just feel like they weigh 100kg each. I actually think that my legs started to lactate on the start line, before i had even riden on stage 3 of the tour. How can you help but feel depressed when your legs start to fatigue before they even start to turn.

The 1 positive thing that i got out of the tour was that i was able to make it until the finish of the road stages....only missing the criterium....and i actually was able to perform beyond how i felt at certain points and help out the guys that we had pegged as out team leaders for the week. The tour itsself fell apart for us a little on the last and hardest road stage when Teddy King, who was our best placed on GC had a bad day and fell away from the leaders......but some other notables from my past had unbelieveable tours......Karl, once again tore the race to peices and was unfortunate not to came away with the overall victory and also Frank Pipp ripped out an awesome finish on one of the hardest days to win his first NRC race of the year and also finish in the top 10 on GC. Those 2 in particular, along with their teams, rode a great race only to be pipped at the finish by bad fortune and a missing corner marshall.

So now its criterium time.....i pretty much now race each weekend and only have criteriums through until the end of my season. So it is important that i nurse myself through each week and try and avoid the sensation of these 100kg legs each weekend. Crits are something that i have developed a knack for reading the race and as such i am much more confident with, even when i dont have great form. Never will that be more important than over the next 2 weeks with the 2 richest criteriums of the year in Charlotte and then Chicago.

To top all of that off, Kate arrives back in the US on Thursday to just make my life a little bit easier. She has been going through some similar problems to me over the past few weeks and i cant wait to again have her with me. One of the worst things about loosing your confidence on the bike and at your job is when you dont have the right people around to console you. When Kate arrives i think that everyone will see and hear a much better Richard, which i can guarentee everyone, i am looking forward to as much as anyone else. I have been alone in my thoughts for too long now and i look forward to letting them spill and coming out the other side a stronger rider and person.

Thats all for now....i have to go out and hit the road....it is about 1 billion degrees outside and i think that my skin could melt off over the coming weeks. I hope to share good news with everyone after the weekend.....if we win i will proudly display my bank balance.....my share of 25k would be nice.

Later