The first ride for 2009

Well, I had my first session out on the road for 2009 and Damn it felt good. After hanging up the wheels for the 2008 season on 16 November, getting out today was good. The wind was up and blowing in from the water so for the ride it was in the face. However in a bunch that at one point was around 200m long, there was some time to sit on wheels and just spin and get the feel for the saddle again.
Anyway Chris and I hit the front of the bunch about 15-20km into the ride after having some Strong riders who are preparing for the Nationals at the end of the month keep the pace up around 38km/h. Thinking I would struggle to hold that sort of pace, Chris I belted along for a 5km turn at 40km/h. We then swung off and took what seemed a lifetime to reach the back of the bunch for some well deserved wheel sucking before the egos got the better of the rest of the bunch. Egos were going to be on display today particularly with 2 Pros in the bunch. Matt Hayman (Rabobank) and Ben Day(Toyota United) were in the bunch having a nice recovery ride of sorts as a part of their build for the Nationals.
As expected the pace rose but not with the vicious attacks that are the norm but with a gradual acceleration which shed the light weights or the unfit(me), and spread them along the Redcliff Peninsular. Once I was dropped I just rode as solid a tempo I could and manage to only lose 3-4min on the second group on the road and rejoined them at the usual drink stop at Brighton. Once their a quick can of Coke and off we went again to make our way towards our humble homes.
Today's ride-
Time- 2hrs 30min
Ave HR-143
Max HR-174
Dist-80.9km
Ave Sp-33.3 km/h
Ave Cad-87rpm
Max Cad-119 rpm
Ascent-305m

Over all a good start for the year. Time to build on it and get strong for both the track and road season.

Next week training is going to be some solid Kms.
Mon- River loop and Mt Cootha
Tues- Eatons Crossing and Samford loop
Wed-River Loop and Mt Cootha
Thurs- Zupps Loop
Fri- Eatons Crossing and Samford Loop
Sat-Rest
Sun-Zupps

Each day will have a roller session and some weights incorporated into the program.
I will keep you all updated with my training and will use this as a means for encouragement and to see improvements and losses.
Once HYPE gets together and works out the Team race calendar I will post it up.

BTW, Emma and I went out on a Date the other night. It was good. We went to Brett's Wharf Restraunt down in Ascot on the Brissy river. The food was superb and the service excellent. I highly recommend it, but it is not cheap. We had some tapas for the entrees, Emma had some crumbed Scallops, mmmm nice. I had some Goats Cheese stuffed olives in a parmesan crust, mmmmm Very nice. For mains Emma had a Paella which was huge and filled us both and I managed to score the Atlantic Salmon on Roated Potatoes and Chilli Jam. Then we went to Baskin Robbins for some Ice Cream and came home. A very nice night and the first of many nights/dates to come.

Till tomorrow Ciao

2009 Time for the bike again

Well, Welcome to 2009 everyone. I hope it has been as good so far as one could expect. I know mine has kicked off well so far with things between Me and Emma going well. Ware lucky enough right now to be able to have a couple of weeks togethre withoout the kids as they are out camping with their Grand mother.
Any way, like I said at the start, Time for the bike, but not at the expense of the family. SO a balanced tarining program which will include rollers and road time.
Emma is back at work on Monday which will allow me time to start my training again. But just to give it a real hard kick in the guts I am heading out with a couple of team mates to do the Zupps ride tomorrow (Sunday 04 Jan), which will hurt but be a good starter to blow the cobwebs out of the lungs before starting a targeted build up/base training phase on Monday.

Training Program to come

A time for friends and family

Well Christmas is almost over and the New Year is almost here. The time in between is a time to send it with family and friends, and that is exactly what has been going on. DO you remember that saying that "you can chose your friends but not your family"? Oh my god! it is so true. Regardless of what has happened throughout this last year, the princess like behaviour of some family members is astounding. It is one of the things that really gets up my nose and unfortunately, and those who know me will atest, I will definately let you know when you have pissed me off. Family members haveing aprincess moment and dumping their children(including a new born) on their partner because thety are tired(I can understand this) but then going out and partying half the night????
I am not the most favoured member of the family right now but, and I can handle that. But ignoring me and treating me like one of the animals that rule the families houses is a bit much, I think.
Felt very uncomfortable in one house, was glad to leave and dont think I will be stopping in for a coffee for very long on the way home on New Years Day.
Any way, we left there and came down to Newcastle, NSW, which is where we all call home now, and have caught up with some really close friends and more family and having much more fun. None oof us can wait to move back down here at the end of 2009 and to finally move into our own house and do the renovations that we want to. We have owned this house since 2001 and never lived in it because Army has always moved us around and never near the house. So soon we can live in it and call it "OUR HOME" will post a pick one day.
SO what is the plan for the near future, January actually.
Emma and I drive back to Brissy on New Years Day and will have a few days wioth out the kids as they are going camping with their Nanny and Popbo. I will climb back on to the bike and commence my rebuild for the 2009 season. My focus is on getting stength and speed back as well as endurance. But I am targeting the State Masters Track Titles in February. While Emma is at work and the kids are still away I will get some road legs, once the kids return I will be back on the rollers and also having some early starts to get some road kms in aswell.
Thsi year I am planning on doing more climbing so I can help the team in Tour of the Sunshine Coast, Grafton-Inverell, Cunningham Classic and some other undulating races, while the build up their strength and speed for the lead outs I need in the sprints. THere is a team meeting planned for early January to map out the years racing and get together for training. Hopefully we can expand this year and also gets some more sponsors. I have asked a few large sponsors from overseas to jump on board and use HYPE as a launching pad intot the Australian market so hopefully that pays off as well.
Anyway enough form me for today.
I hope all of you have had a great Christmas and have stayed safe and well. Till next time(I will try to post more often) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Rebuilding love and friendshhip

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US

Well I have been home now for nearly three weeks and the time from home this year has paid a toll. But, in the last 3 weeks all that is slowly dissapating and the love and friendships are rebuilding. I have spent nearly every day with my kids and have had a ball. I have forgotten how funny and exciting they are. I am so lucky that they play so well together and are such
good friends to each other. Emma has been working hard still, but, having me home and helping out around the house the extra workload has been reduced and as such has allowed us more time for each other. Emma now only has 2 more days to work this year before we can go on holidays.

Today we are allowing ourselves a lazy Sunday and having fun myucking around and watching some crazy chick on Foxtel who has 8 kids. Who does that????

Come Wednesday we begin the annual go see the relations that live on the East Coast of Australia. It starts with a 4am get up and i the car by 5am the morning before Chrismas followed by a 5 hour drive to Coffs Harbour, The Bannana Coast. WHile there we will spend Christmas Day with Emma's Dad and Brother, and catch up with old friends and new babies. When that is finished around the 28th we wil then repack the car and make the trek to Newcastle to spend New Years with Emma's Mum and Grand Mother. While there we will catch up with more old friends and more family.

New Years eve will be spent living it up in the stuffy old Newcastle Club where, I have to wear pants and a tie. I have been told I will have fun and enjoy it. I think thats is more like a YOU WILL have FUN and You WILL enjoy it, because I SAID SO type event. Certainly not the NYE I would have liked to have. Mind you I could be surprised and besides the kids w should have fun being able to stay up that late and not have to deal with the usual NYE crowds at the Waterfront.

New Years Day Emma and I will get back in the car and do the 10 hour drive back home without the kids, which will allow us some US time for a couple of days.

So what are the big changes in my life and New YEars Resolutions?? Be a better Father, try to spend more time at home(with in the limitations of my job) , find the balance of bike and Family without sacrificing one for the other, and probably the most important one is be happy and have fun doing all of it.

To all have a safe and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

A year to remember for some of the right reasons and some of the wrong ones

Well, What a year it has been! Sounds like the words to a song doesn't it, but alas it isn't. This year has been one of those that you want to forget but dont know you shouldn't. There have been so many things that have happened this year that it is hard to break it down and summarise for you all. How ever I wil make an attempt so that when found in the same situations you can have an idea of where I have been.

THus year started like any other in the Army, flatout and without direction. I started of by finding out I was instructing on a course which started about 3 weeks later. Nothing had been prepared for the course although my Unit had known about it for well over 6 months. So with a bit of knuckling down and getting into the instructor groove I belted through it, much the detriment of my family and cycling.
At the end of the course I was begrudgingly given a week off, only to return to find I had been moved into another unit.

So begins a new chapter in my Military Career.

So after the move, all of 600m, but a move all the same, I settled into the new workplace and got my career back on track. I completed the courses required to secure my position ion the next rank level and did it relatively easily. However this involved me being away from my family again. Once again this was to the detriment of my relationship with my wife and my kids. Some of you can see where this is heading but it gets worse.

Upon return, I found that I had been pannelled for the course I had been trying to get for over 12 months but it again involved going away for around 6 weeks. This again caused further suffering to my long suffering family. Once this course finished I was ome for the longest period yet for the year. I managed to stay in the same vicnity as my family for 5 weeks, including a 10 day trip to Fiji, which I have previuosly spoken about. Many of the absence issues came to a head in Fiji, and were never really resolved. Once we returned from Fiji, I was once again off on another course insyructing. This time 6 weeks 3hours from home. Not that far can easily come home when time permited. Guess what, I got home 3 times, in the first 2 weeks, thats it.

So by the time all this finished only about 2 weeks ago the damage from the year had been done. Dont get me wrong, Army is not totally to blame here and either is the work rate or work load, but it hasn't helped. Combine all that with a poor sense of prioritising between work, family and cycling and it came to an explosive finale the night I came home.

SO what has happened since then, after so long nights just sitting and talking with my lovely wife, Emma, and family, we are rebuilding our friendship and love for eachother. We are spending as much time with eachother and starting to go out on your trusty old fashioned dates again, and she gets a few little surprises every now and again (something I had stopped doing years ago). My involvment around the house has increased in order to allow us more time to do the things we want to do and in the end when it really comes down to it, because I want to.

So I am now on holidays and spending the time with the kids while Emma is still going to work each day. The kids and I are having lots of fun and doing stuff together again. Emma and I are becoming really good friends again and together a really close family. I know it doesn't just fix itself overnight but at the moment we are all doing the right things because we want to and really enjoying it.

As for my cycling, I have had 4 weeks off the bike and dont see the point in trying to rebuild for the last 2 races for the year. My Jayco Bay Classic bid is off, so I can spend more time with Emma and the kids over Christmas and the school holidays. So I have decided to take off the rest of the year from racing and heading out on to the road, either solo or with firends until the New Year. For the first couple of months next year I will primarily target the Track racing, culminating in the State MAsters Championships in February. SO between now and the New Year I will be doing daily and sometimes twice daily roller sessions on both my track bike and my road bike, as well as weights. Why only rollers? SO I can spend it all at home with the Emma and the kids, and target specific things. Once the track starts up inthe new year my leg speed and stength wil be there is will just be a matter of fine tuning to weather conditions and some racing intensity to get it all spot on in time for the State Titles. Once Track finishes then I will be back into the road crits and road racing.

My team are still looking for local and international sponsors to take us into the 2009 season. WIth Metro Crit titles to defend, Tours to win and National Police and Miliatry Titles to win it is to be a big year for all of us. We also plan to expand the team to include a Womens team and and A and B grade mens team. So if you are interested you know what to do.

To all those who read this and or follow my ramblings, Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Prosperous New Year.

Building nicely for January

Sorry folks but I have had work commitments for the last 2 weeks and have been away. However, they have finally accepted that the bike is probably a good thing and I have taken it away with me so I can continue my training. So how has that training going?

You might remember that the last time I posted here I said I needed to start climbing more. Well, I haven't done any sustained climbing but have been doing a road ride that is nothing but up and down. 64km of either going up or down but the ups last longer than the downs and combine with the heat it is doing wonders for strength and conditioning for short power climbs, which will be useful for the Bay Classic in January.

I came home on Thursday and after getting stuffed around at the last minute by the powers that be at work I got away and saw the family for the first time in 2 weeks. Friday was a quiet day, getting a new phone and spending some time with Rohan at his Auskick AFL training session.

Today, I went to the "Muz" for the usual Saturday morning hit out and smash session. After many attempts to get away either solo or in a another break it come down to the bunch sprint, but after I dragged back a 5man breakaway on the last lap. After pulling the bunch along at 55km/h to reel the break in I managed to get myself in a position about 8 wheels back but the legs were screaming and protested and that was my day. Overall I was happy with the days race and it showed how I was going in general and that I am getting stronger and faster and recovering quicker. I did manage 2nd in the Prime which was a good 53/12 sprint.

Todays race also confirmed for me that I am going strong and that other teams are noticing it, as riders from both the Virgin Blue team and Budget Forklifts teams sent riders to cover my attempts to get away whether they were solo attempts or join another breakaway group. In one attempt there was 2 Virgin riders and 1 Budget rider in the group and then I got across and they both sent another rider with me. Now I could be seeing things but I like to think that they are marking me as someone who can threaten there positions on the podiums.

Anyway until the next post, hopefully tomorrow. Ciao

By the way, My State Crit titles attempt was miserable. After getting into the winning break my bike suffered a massive mechanical failure where my freewheel was that free spinning forward and not getting any drive forward. by the time I got it sorted I was off the back of the peloton and out of contention. Disappointing really but that's bike racing i suppose.

Time to start climbing

Well the week is almost over and the Crit titles are almost here. How do I feel?? Well there are some pre race nerves building and it is hard to keep them under control. I have made my plan and I am going to try to stick with it.

So today was a quiet day. As a result I called it quits at work at about 11am and came home to relax before heading out with a team mate Chris aka "Beetlejuice". So the plan was going well a relaxing day and a relaxing river loop. Guess again.

Chris had this plan to mix it up a little. His idea was to start the river loop with alap over Mt Cootha first. Now I have never ridden up Mt Cootha so this was to be a new experience. Experience, Mt Cootha nearly beat me today. I got up and over but I had 2 stops(remember I am a sprinter not a climber). The first stop was because I thought my back tire was deflating. I had just fixed a puncture and thought I had pinched it or not removed the orignal cause. So I stopped to check that, No it was all good. So off I went to try to get back on Chris' wheel, without blowing up. Then I had to stop again. THis time though it was because I was way over my LT(Lactate Threshold) and going into the red big time. So I stopped for a minute, had a drink and got my breath. Once I started again I headed for the top and caught up to Chris. The climb wasn't over but the worst part was. It still kept going up and then it started to go down. Now with out any effort including allowing cars to pass we were cruising down at 80km/h in a 60km/h zone. So that was Mt Cootha, definatly will be going back at the first opportunity and making it a regular part of my training program. I will need to if I am to fill domestique duties in ther Sunshine Coast Tour and Grafton-Inverell races next year.

I really need to climb more, that hurt far too much.

Once the Mt Cootha was done we continued on our River loop. This wan't to be any easy task either. Didin't matter which way we headed we ssemed to be heading in to a head wind which was just strong eneough to be annoying and break your rythmn. So off we went, the heat was up(not excessively) and combined with the wind drained the body and dehydrated us very quickly. But we finished that and headed in our own directions for the long journey home.

On my way home I thought I would duck into my LBS and see if my new saddle had arrived. I ordered it yesterday and was assured of overnight delivery. Guess what no saddle. maybe tomorrow they said. Now I am not blaming my LBS because they are a good bunch of blokes, with a reat reputation. It is their delivery people that have stuffed it.

So now I have to wait until tomorrow to get my new White Fizik Arione Ti saddle. I suppose thats ok a sI will have tomorrow off the bike save for a short roller session later in the day to keep the legs ticking over but not tiring them out.

So till tomorrow.

By the way, Did I mention that the HYPE Energy Cycling Team is expanding. We are after new ridrs both male and female.

We are also looking for new sponsors who are willing to take on a team. We are looking for an equipment sponsor as well as financial sponsors who can see the benefits of cycling and business. So if you are interested let me know.