SAYING GOODBYE.......

GOODBYE HOME

My time at home has come and is about to be gone. It has been such a short visit home compared to my usual experience, where i would be still at home racing on the track for another month or so. It funny how one descision can effect so many aspects of your life...not that i am complaining....i am very much looking forward to the season ahead of me.

So how do you say goodbye to Australia...whats better than a day at the Aus Open with your old man. There was once a time, where tennis was my number 1 sport. Those days have come and gone and now it has been years since i even held a raquet, but there is still something great about the sporting assets that Melbourne has. Dad and i had a great day with 3 good games, but more than that, just a day of male bonding...that is often missing with our work schedules.

After leaving Melbourne and my family, it was off to Sydney for a week to spend some time with my fiancee. The week included scouting some possible wedding destinations, house hunting and also just some quality time together. Kate got sick for the last few days and i meant that on my last day with her she had no voice....as fun as it was to begin with, after i while i realised how much i missed her voice.....

As everyone can imagine, saying goodbye to Kate for nearly 2 months was very hard. Im not affraid to admit i cried like a little girl who had her lollipop stolen. It was very hard and we dont like being apart for much longer than a week....its always tough, but this year is going to be very tough with all the Olympic commitments, so we were not happy that this marked the begginning of all that separation. But as is always the case, i still had to leave and as she dissapeared through the exit of the airport i found myself there....lingering and wacthing her back....then her sillouette as she left. More tears and more anxiety......This year, unlike 2 years ago i have to ride out the distance and take on my responsibilities as expected in the US. 2 phone calls a day has helped the pain in my stomach a little....but not enough.

Sorry about the sop fest, but this is a blog that is supposed to tell people what im doing and how im feeling...so here it is. Next blog will be based in the USA.....more tales of racing and riding....

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

NOTHING MUCH TO TALK ABOUT....

The last 2 weeks, although they have seen me in Sydney to watch a world cup and beginning my training again for a new season, have not had a lot of interesting stories arise that are worthy of blog reports....instead i have been putting in some solid and solo km's to build the base that will hopefully carry me through the remainder of my season in good form. So far so good. My legs are still hairy, after 5+ weeks of no shaving, but i feel good on the bike and am looking forward to opening myself up a little this weekend for the Scott Peoples memorial race in Sheparton. For those of you who dont remember or are new to my blog, please refresh your memories about this brilliant kid who was taken from us in not so brilliant circumstances .....
http://richardengland.blogspot.com/2006/12/tribute-to-scott-peoples.html
I still think about Scott while i ride and i similarly still have the last text message he sent me saved in my phone.....His death had a tremendous impact on my thoughts about life and cycling, all of which helps to motivate me in following my passion and i look forward to honouring his memory this weekend.

RETURNING HOME TO A WAR ZONE...
After talking in my last post about bailing out my girlfriends basement, i got a "fun" surprise when i came home from Sydney yesterday to find half of my carpet torn up and an industrial size fan drying underneath. Apparently it rained in Melbourne on Monday....apparently it rained a lot.....

Our house was not spared and my sister, Grace and Mum were all outside fighting a loosing battle as the rain came down hard and fast and started to invade the inside of our house. At the end of the day, the damage sustained was not too bad, more of an annoyance than anything else. All my bedroom furniture is in the center of the room and im sharing bed space with objects that used to be on my floor....but ill survive.

OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST...
Nothing else has really happened...but i do want to pass mention that i backed the winning team for the election. My man, K Rudd, got up and has already started kicking some ass in his first 2 days in office....i watched so much election coverage this year in the lead up and i have to say to my readers...i really love the country we live in. I love going to vote. I love looking at all the people who have to go to their local primary school and fill in how they think the country should be handled. It kicks ass over the American system, where by you can vote if you want, but you can also be a bum and take no interest. Just something about looking at the faces in and around the polling booths made me feel a sense of pride to be an Australian...cant explain it really.

So only a short jot this week for you all. Keep your eyes open for me on the Melbourne roads this week before i head back to Sydney for the fortnight before Christmas....and even though it is now politically incorrect to lay it down like this....HO HO HO HO...enjoy the Christmas build up. (can you believe Santa cant say HO anymore.....what a joke.....i think all the girls that sleep around should take a long hard look at the children and think about what their actions are doing to them.....after all, most of the children are probably theirs).

One last thing that does deserve a mention...Sydney World Cup madison.... it has to be pretty rare for a guy to cheer for his girlfriends ex-boyfriend, but that is exactly what i did when i watched the race. It was by far the best, most entertaining madison i have ever seen and was won by the Dutch combo of Jens Mouris (Kate's ex) and Peter Schep (my, now, favourite endurance track athlete) with only 300m to go. They rode unbelievable. For those who were there to witness it....youre very lucky and those who werent....well....sucked in....it was a special race.

Ok...thats it....Later