I should Write NOVELS

I haven’t updated this for a while and while I’m on the TGV on route to London so I thought a good way to kill time is to just catch all you guys up on what’s been going on.  I am writing this on the go so there is some stuff I write when it’s actually happening and some stuff has happened a few weeks ago.

Since my last update life had been pretty shitty until this week to be fair. After my big win in Challenge De L’Est Junior tour I got hit with a big dose of the flu.  I don’t think it was man flu as mum would say as I just had no energy and felt shit for 7 days. This was a long 7 days forced off the bicycle. After a few hard days of feeling shit on the bike I starting feeling like my old self again and was able to knock up a few Ks in the sun the following week which help bring the tan lines back and start to feel like a proper cyclist again. Last week my team mate Chad’s parents arrived to spend some time in Europe to travel and watch some racing which is awesome as they are another person to speak good English too which I kind of miss to be honest, It feels weird being at a race and not being able to talk shit on the start line.

Last weekend I had a Ca t2 race not far from where we live. It was 105 km on a pretty hard course. The weather god is a prick as it was sunny 25 degrees nearly all week apart from when we have to race it’s a bloody thunder storm over us all race. My legs didn't feel to good this race but none the less I was mixing it up at the start trying to make something of my race and get in the early break. I ended up missing it but my team mate Maxime was in there so all was good.  I had a few more digs to get across but it just wasn’t going to happen. On the last lap near the end I decided just to go blocks until I popped and ended up ahead of the bunch coming in about 15 to 20^th I think.  It was a miserable race with pissing rain all the way which was pretty shit to be honest.

finish just ahead of bunch

feeling the pain 1/2 way through

On Monday it was rest day so we decided to go bowling which was awesome fun and something different to do. It was kind of a farewell for my team Mate Tom who unfortunately has to get surgery on his knee. I'm really going to miss his Curry’s he cooks up from scratch, you’d think he’s Buda, amazing Indian cook he is!  I know this won’t be the last time I see tom as I think he’ll be back winning in no time!

On Tuesday Chad and his parents invited me to travel to the French Alps with them for a few days away. We left Tuesday afternoon after a short ride in the morning. The drive was amazing seeing all the mountains covered in snow as high as the eye could see. We arrived in a small town on the bottom of Alp Du Huez which was stunning. We stayed in a camping ground which had solid little cabins. Chad and I Slept in the camper van wile Debbie and Craig were in the Cabin. When we arrived on Tuesday, we checked out the town which was amazing, the biggest cycling shop for clothing and accessories I’ve ever seen and hundreds of cyclist riding around. At about 5 pm we were super excited so we rode up Alp Du Huez that night. It has got to be one of the most amazing rides of my life, climbing for 16 km and going up 120 0m is crazy and an experience I will never forget! I can belief how the pros ride it so fast after 2 weeks of hard racing in their legs! The next day Chad, Craig and I decided to head up a climb which ended up being 24 km long! It’s fair to say it took some time but was well worth it at the top (next time I need to remember to bring a 27 cog, 25 gets hard at times on the steep sections!). What made it even more enjoyable was that the sun was out and had got to be over 30 degrees. I hope the sun will come to Morteau with that heat soon! The decent to too bottom was awesome and scary trying to follow Chad who is nuts. Hit over 90 km/h which is a good effort I think. After a big ride that day it was time to chill out in the pool to cool off. I guess you could say life could not get any better!! After a really nice dinner it was time to hit the sack and re energize for the following day. On our last day in the Alps we again climbed Alp Du Huez but this time went even further up to a remote ski field where we found a lake which was Chrystal clear to the very bottom even at its deepest points. Post card stuff!  It was sad to go home after such an awesome few days which I will defiantly remember for the rest of my life. It couldn't have been done without Chad’s mum and dad, Debbie and Craig. I can’t thank them enough, time of my life.

Day 1

Day 2

cafe at 2000 m altitude

Day 3

View over a lake at 2200 m Altitude

After a long drive back to Morteau It was a quick shit, shower, shave before heading off to London to see my mate Elliott who is living in England this year. My journey hit a bit of a hick up when my train from my house to the TGV was cancelled BUT I luckily found a last minute ride with a lady who was also going to the TGV. I guess you could say luck was truly on my side as she was pretty fit too if you know what I mean.  My luck seemed to continue as on the TGV to Paris I was sitting opposite babe I couldn't believe it, could my day get any better?! Once I made it to Paris I had to use the metro to go to where the Euro Star train leaves to go to London. This was a bit of a mission as there were so many people in both stations, it was pretty hectic but thanks to a nice as family I joined that spoke a little English I managed to make it to the second train station with heaps of time to have a decent coffee which was like heaven instead of BLACK COFFEE which is what they have in French towns. It’s cool being around people that speak the same language as me for once.  I've been really looking forward to heading over to London for a few does, not only to see my best mate Elliott but also just to have a few days of down time before I start the second half of the season where I plan to train my ass off and put 100% into achieving the best results I can possible.

So Now that I’m back on the TGV on my way home from London I thought I would give you just a quick rundown on what went on and my thoughts on London. So after arriving on Friday I had a Flat White coffee for the first time since I left in February which was like a little cup of gold, good to have something different that a short black! After that Elliott and I had to battle rush hour on the Tube (metro) in London to get to where we were staying. None the less we got there and after a good catch up we hit the sack ahead of a busy few days checking out London. The first day was a pretty rainy shit day so we looked around some shops and some of the sight. We caught up with another good friend from back in New Zealand who was over called Lewis who I went to primary school and college with which was awesome! The next day was a lot nicer so we decided instead of using the tube and walking around everywhere we would hire some bikes to boost round on all day. This was awesome trying to dodge traffic and look at the sights such as Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Big Ben and so on! Later that night we had dinner with Elliott’s good mate who is also from New Zealand which was cool! Next day we hit the Science Museum which was pretty cool but as my attention span is pretty short we weren't there for too long.

Magical Place

Speed Machine

All Touristy 

There are some more Pictures on my Face book page if you want to check it out.

Yeah so that’s about it, back into training and racing again now… I’ll give you an update in a few weeks, hopefully not a stupid novel like this. Sorry

Good effort if you read this all, even I had to dig deep to have a quick skim read!

Cheers 

Scott