the adventures...

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Boulder Based

To be honest 100% honest there nothing to complain about this years season. I have been incredibly lucky to live in the little town as Boulder. Its taken its time but I have finally got use to altitude and am hoping the proof will be there next time I race.

I've probably said it a few times too many but living in the same town as 12 of your mates who ride for the same team and to also have more Kiwis and Aussies around it has made my first real season away from home a lot easier. It is only now, after knowing I will be heading towards home very soon that I have really starting thinking about NZ.

But before I go home there is a bit of a detour. I am now scheduled to go race the Tour of Gippsland and the Tour of Geelong. I haven't done much racing so far, so the goals are set high for a strong performance in the second half of the season, and with the Tour de France on what more motivation could you ask for.

My days now consist waking up and rolling down to the local cafe to watch the stage finish of the tour at around 930am, thank god for time zones! then the days resumes with the normal training schedule and routine of life. Its proved to be a popular meeting point for all the Pureblack Racing guys so no one is ever lonely on training rides.

One conclusion I have come to about training in Boulder is, that you never go training in "the hills" because the climbs are so big here you often get 1 big climb which can take you nearly over 1.5hrs to climb. However one big climb can sometimes be better than heaps of small ones I guess.

Over and out.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Mt Hood Classic

Out of the 4 of us guys I think I was the one most excited about the tour. Not just because we were racing again but also that there were a lot of changes to the stages we raced last year.

It proved to be full of challenges which created a scene for highs and lows of tour racing.

I have fallen into a bit of trap and have been rather dependent on being told what to do during race, but at Mt Hood we could race a bit more for ourselves, and still work together. It worked well for us as there was only 4 PBR riders doing Mt Hood instead of the usual 8 so we had to be smart and come up with plans as a group.

In true PBR tradition we kept the racing aggressive, especially for the crit. I think I got a bit carried away and crash right infront of the live stream camera. It was a bit of a front wheel slide out on a hair pin corner when another rider went down in front, nothing I could do expect copy (not a cool trend I recommend to follow).

The final stage was set to be on a testing course, with not alot of flat and alot of climbing. 10,200ft to exact. I haven't been too confident of my climbing recently but it seems i found my legs and was with the select few including team mate Louie over the 3rd climb. Yellow Jersey had dropped so I was on the front keeping the pace honest, it was great having some legs back! A puncture for Louie meant a quick wheel change between bikes because the roads were almost too narrow for the follow vehicles. I was left to chase back on on a long twisty decent. Seems like if you carry too much speed into a corner you can't turn. I flew off the road and down a fair wee way into the bush. Past a couple of trees. Just a bit of excitement really. To add salt to injury 15km from the finish after my 2nd crash my spare wheel punctures. Race over.

A week in Portland of riding and relaxing and in my case recovering. Monday was full of good unhealthy food like M&M's and caramel, I wish I could say I had a few cold beers also but I am still not of age here so no chance.

Time for a pedal.

Over and Out.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mt Hood Classic Stage 4 by teegun at Garmin Connect - Details

Last day. The legs were back and climbing well. We dropped yellow on the 3rd climb and drove it.

Louie punctured so a quick change had him back on the road. Seems I chased a bit too hard and went off the road into a tree or more at a fast rate of knots. Then another puncture.

Still enjoyed every bit of the race.

Mt Hood Classic Stage 4 by teegun at Garmin Connect - Details