TIME TO GET BACK TO BLOGGING.....

So it would seem, that like most of my team mates, blogging has not been high on our list of priorities. So forgive me father, for i have sinned, it has been...like 6 weeks since i last published what i have been doing in this repetitive life of mine.

Let me start my first blog of 2008 by saying Merry Christmas and welcome to 2008 for everyone. I hope that we all had a great little holiday and that everyone brought in the new year safely.

So as it has been a long time since my last blog, i am not even going to attempt to bring everyone up to speed regarding what my Christmas and new years break entailed. I will sum it up by saying that the 3 roast dinners in 3 days over 2 states and with 4 families was certainly a struggle to recover from. The most exciting thing by far that i have to report from the past month is that Kate and i became engaged when i asked her to marry me on December 19. It is all very exciting and although the wedding details were well on the way within minutes of the "surprise" engagement, a date has not yet been set. With this news in mind, the reality is that everything else pales into insignificance.

I have started my racing season for 2008 and it has been a marked improvement on the Richard of 12 months ago. Bay crits, was by far, my most consistent performance across the 5 days in my 4th attempt and 3 top 10's meant i was able to salvage some good results from the week. The national road title ran its course yesterday and after making less than 50% of the race last year i rode a far more impressive race to finish in 25th this year. It is a course that really tests my weakness', with far more climbing that i can really sustain. But there was significant improvement in the way i climbed yesterday in comparison to any other time i can remember. I wasn't able to handle the accelerations of the leaders, but finished with a small group not too far off the pace.

Overall the year is shaping up to be a great one. Im engaged, my form and confidence is definitely improved from this time last year and i am excited about the challenges and opportunities that 2008 holds. Hopefully everyone shares the same enthusiasm for the new year as i do and i look forward to sharing some of the stories with you.....

Later everyone