Stop Press!!!

Lance has found his Time Trial bike....crisis averted and we can all get back to our normal lives.

fresh isn't always best

after a pretty good block of training I ended up having an enforced 6 days off the bike through one thing or another...well actually mainly work as we have moved premises which has meant alot of extra hours and heavy lifting which has left m a bit wrecked.

I rolled out this morning with every intention of doing 3 hours with some solid hill intervals until I discovered that the legs were very sore so wasn't that optimistic. As I got onto the waterfront I bumped into the Subway - Avanti teams Auckland division so sat on a cruised to the end of the waterfront when I decided to just make the day a recovery spin.

Hopefully the legs are feeling ten times better tomorrow for the Cyco Crit and then on Saturday for the Rev as there is a fair bit of climbing on the pacours and a fair bit of $ on the finish line, 10K in prize money which makes it one of, if not the richest races in the country.

I was confident where I was this time last week....now I'm not sure but will have a better idea after tomorrow night.

Love

Time to share a bit of love which I probably don't do enough off round here.

Took my bike in to Cyco to see whether they could put a chain on quickly which they said would be no problem. I had Kinda hoped so as the mechanic there, Colin Cornberg, is a good dude and I roomed with him last year at Southland as part of the might Riverside Rentals team.

Anyway, left the bike there whilst I pooped out for lucnh and a perv with another rider who spends way too much time floating round bike shops. Anyway after the lunch I get back and the following had been done...

• New Chain
• New rear gear cable
• Straightened the rear hanger
• Attached the rear derailleur properly
• Tuned it up
• Cleaned up the bar tape

So now its running mint as, Cheers Col! pop into Cyco I reckon and get your bike running sweat, will probably mean you don't have to train so hard to get the same result.

Hot Stuff

What a weeks its been up here in Auckland with the heat, well more the humidity and muggines. Its been almost impossible to sleep and each time you walk outside you feel 2kilos heavier as you desperately search for some air con.

Wednesday was the hottest day in Auckland for 137 years with the overnight low being 23degrees. That made my Wed morning ride a fun filled affair as I rolled out the garage at 4.45am to head to the waitaks, it took all off about 1km to be dripping with sweat. It was that uncomfortable I almost turned round after half an hour as there was just no escaping the humidity...it was actually 100% humidity....not fun. Anyway after 140kms in that I was rather ruined and its fair to say I was pretty much useless for the remainder of the day.

It was no cooler on Thursday which made the Cyco Crit a fun place to be. The heat obviously got the tempers of a few up as I saw headbutts, punches and general bitchiness. It was nice no get round in one piece and be rewarded with a nice soaking of rain for the ride home.

The worst seems to be over now though as things appear to be getting back to normal which will be nice....although not long now til winter

things starting to click

For the first time in a long time, I am starting to feel not bad on the bike. Raced the Cyco crit on Thursday night and had an early crack and felt good, it did stick and then I missed the move which ended up lapping us for the first time every...nice work guys. Ended up being the only one in the main chase group prepared to put in an effort so I turned it into an interval session and just did large turns on the front to get a workout.

Did my first Sunday bunch today for the year and felt real good on the climbs, I normally hate going up Albany Hill at 6.30am but today I spun up it no worries chatting away which was rather more enjoyable. The climbed not bad for the first part of Hellensville hill before shutting it down half way up.

I also got a touch ratty on the ride home, more of the crap that I was talking about previously with motorist. All this added together have me thinking that things might be pointing in the right direction. So coming up in the next wee while I have the Rev in Hamilton, the the Heels and Wheels in Pokeno then either the Grape ride in Blenheim or Rotorua-Taupo so hopefully I can pick up a result along the way.

Not much love on the road today

So it was back for another Wednesday ride through the waitaks today, but instead of Gordy and I being the haters...the riders became the hated. Whats new, all riders are hated by motorists I hear you ponder. Well usually out west its pretty laid back with quiet roads and and laid back drivers. Over Christmas I even almost crashed into the back of a tractor who was trying his hardest to pull over to the side of the road to let me by.

This morning wasn't one of those mornings. Firstly a lady in a 4WD bombed through a Stop sign at full gas, she never saw us. The attitude of presuming that cars won't stop probably saved us from something a little uglier.

Then whilst riding single file, some old bag got on her horn when she had not only most of our side of the road but also no cars coming the other way. She had plenty of room to get by us but must have been having a bad day...wasn't that smart of her either in her nice new BMW and distinctive personalised plate. I think motorist must think that their horn is going to help the situation but usually all it seems to do is wind themselves up more and give us someone to rip on for the next 10minutes.

Then coming up through Ponsonby so guy leans out the side of a rental van and starts giving me all the expletives under the sun. He was that angry and close that he heard me say Pardon so he started his rant all over again. I hadn't even seen this van out on the road so had no idea what his beef was.

I was pretty pleased to get back to work in 1 piece having survived another day on the roads. I like to think we generally ride responsibly, always singling out for motorists when they need the space and not gapping it through every light in town...Share the love folks!