Training Camp.

At the Junk. Grand Junction that is for some miles and a truck load of food and coffee. Yesterday smacked out a solid 175km loop including a trip over the Colorado Monument. Wish I could take more pictures but kinda tough trying to pedal at the same time. This place is amazing. Met our two new secret weapons on the team this year, being identical twins... complete with moustaches. Rad.

White And Cold And So Much Fun Times.

It Came From The Sky!

And landed in a big way....

Snow Time Like The Present.

First the exciting news for the morning. PJ are in the studio for recording of a 9th studio album...out sometime late summer/autumn. Or fall as it is out this way. Either way this ain't too far away..and every young music fan knows that when a new album gets dropped, something even bigger follows! Fingers crossed.

Please play in Denver Ed...please.

So I woke up to snow this morning. There were reports all week for snow to happen and it didn't eventuate, to the point I was convinced the weather guys were taking the piss. So I guess it just hit late, and with schools closing already and words floating around like blizzard and 19inches...this could be fun. Training camp was meant to be in full swing today out at Grand Junction but I think we'll have to play it by ear with the road closures when we'll get there. Note the flip flops in the pic...yep I'm a snow experienced local.


So I still haven't got any good photos from the performance centre up yet despite being in there pretty much everyday. Actually here's one from a fit session yesterday with Garcia getting sorted out by George. Watching George work his magic is fantastic, and with an array of cool gadgets and years of experience I'd recommend him to everyone to go and see him.

Well that's all I have for today...time for another coffee I think. Over N' Out...cw

The Long And The Short Of It.

And we all gazed at the wonder that it was....

Performance. Style. Smith. Solid.

So I have been a Smith athlete for quite sometime now. Since first year U23 if I recall correctly, and each year their products have always impressed me, and most importantly, have never let me down. Sounds like a silly statement that a pair of sunglasses could let you down right? But think of it this way, if I am pinning down a shady decent at 80km/h on my roadie, I want the best vision and optical clarity as possible. Similarly, if I am out on the trails with constantly changing light conditions and varying depth perception, I want something that is reliable that will allow me to track the best path forward. Makes sense right? Combine quality with function and style and that's why I choose Smith.

The V-Ti is pretty much my day in day out staple on the bike choice. Classic shield open style design that matches well with the demands of cycling. Large amount of air flow to combat fogging and enough coverage for protection against wind and random projectiles such as low flying ducks and bunch spittle. Hey, it happens. And the frame is made with titanium so weight is not an issue. But the coolest thing I dig is the Ignitor lens, a rose coloured tint that pretty much covers the majority of conditions brilliantly, unless it is full sun, no cloud or night time conditions. Rest assured, a clear mirror and brown lens comes provided in addition to meet those needs. All in a neat little pouch...just like below. And that's sweet when you're on the road living outta a bag and know they're not going to get crunched.

Option two which is new to the range is the Factor Max. A more casual and relaxed look, and perhaps used more on the weekend roll with a mandatory java stop. Best suited to a smaller face it also runs an open shield style face, but with the lenses swapping out individually. All done very neatly with no chance of scratching the lens.

Off the bike style comes into play. Depending on mood dictates what sits on my head, but lately it has been the all black Bahaus. Bad ass. However if it's nearing the weekend sometimes my limited edition white Cliftons will get a run. Especially if there is an 80's disco happening nearby...you just never know! So thanks to all the guys at Smith for the continued support and looking forward to a great season ahead...Lators...cw

Notching Up Another Year.

I must admit it was kinda fun having your birthday span over two different time zones. So last week I got another year older and a lot of fun and surprises were had...oh and alongside some damn fast bicycle racing also. Firstly I gotta thank this girl....

...so the plan was for Sat night for us to go for a casual bowl and catch up with Joby and Ashley. Upon arrival at the alley I spotted Fruti and JK, and thought to myself..hmmm what are the chances..must be the local hangout. And then I spotted a whole host of others and very quickly realized I had stumbled into a surprise birthday party! Sweet! So needless to say good times followed for the rest of the night, with many antics been had. Thanks to all those who attended I had a blast.

Highlights included Joby's long run in's for 26mph ball speed, G-Train's unorthodox technique involving the ball in flight for half the bowl (yet surprisingly accurate) and Kathy's original bowling shirt. Awesome!

I also did some bicycle racing last weekend to kick off the 2009 Colorado account. Sat was a super fast and rough pancake flat course, with an originally Pro/1/2/3 field, but because of the sunshine not snowfall, had to be split up with huge entry numbers. With no expectation from still getting acclimated I was in the hurt box early. As I mentioned the course was rough and had long sweeper style corners and midway through the race my rear wheel stepped out big time and bit the tarmac again..as it can do sometimes. I suffered hard for the rest of the race and scraped home for a bunch finish, thinking in my head that the altitude change was messing with me hard. Slowing down past the finish line it all came clear as my bike turned into a bucking bronco. My rear wheel was severely taco'ed and was stopping through the brake. Damn!

So I lined up in Greely for another shot the next day, on a long and open course. We had a strong team presence there and were hungry for breakaway presence. Surprisingly I moved a lot easier than Sat and with some early breaks that didn't stick, found myself up the road with Allen from Rio. We were away for 5 laps, shared a prime and I suffered along the way. Two guys to hold off a strong field just wasn't going to cut it, and we were eventually reeled in. Ian followed the counter which stayed away and put RMCEF on the box with a third. The rest of us did a pretty good job of looking after the bunch and making sure the break didn't get brought back. Good times.

We have started seeding for out veggie garden early this year...hopefully things work out better than the one capsicum we yielded last year!

Images Of Arrival.

Okay I know I have been a little slack with some photos, so here is some random stuff taken since landing.

This was yesterday morning. Believe it or not the sun was out and the roads were dry in the afternoon. Still freakin' cold but.

One of the random magical things seen out training...least he was properly dressed for the conditions.

The debate rages between the vanilla flavoured Nutri-Gran Yogurt Bars or Fig Newtons as the number one training food for the month..

This was golden. So I didn't get any shots of Ian taking the W, but in the masters race Heidemann, Gibson and Tomas filled the top three spots. It was pretty funny as Michael was well up the road on the last lap but seeing his two team-mates clear behind he sat up and waited for them...and then got rolled in the sprint. Another RMCEF domination.

Football stadium. Big.

We have a bread maker!

Pancake Saturday rolls on...

The Days Thoughts On A Page.

So I'll start with team news. Ian "T-Man" Holt took the team RMCEF season win count to one last weekend, after taking out the DU Crit. Nice one shags, great start to a big year ahead. All in a tickle above freezing temperatures too. So I'm still getting adjusted to the thin air/jetlag/lack of burritos in the system, and spent the time teeth chattering to the best of my abilities from the sidelines. Patience. The other major excitement for the day was the high enjoyment experienced from sitting in the warming seats in Sharon's car. Much appreciated and a large difference in features from the Red Rocket back home. If my seats were warm the car would most likely be on fire.

As I said things look very promising and motivated in the RMCEF camp for 09'. With a little line up change and a stronger schedule, lets hope the white and blue can see more podium action this season. Training camp is going to be gold in a few weeks. So I began my first day at the Peak To Peak training centre today and it's an impressive set-up that's for sure. A little mini AIS solely for cycling purposes if you will. It's gonna be real exciting. Hope everyone is doing well back home...cheers..cw

I Made It.

Still a little fuzzy round the edges, I'm back in familiar surroundings and it feels great. Sitting here in the living room, KBCO radio playing and a nice breakfast in the tank. Boy it is cold here. I mean it's sunny and clear outside, but coming from the extreme weather Melbourne has had over the past months anything below 20deg feels like the arctic. Surprisingly the plane ride was quite good, really smooth transitions through airports and luggage making it all it one piece. However the last 45mins before landing in DIA was some of the scariest turbulence I have experienced. Perhaps there was a little gripping action of the tray table and some deep breathing going on...but when you glance outside and see the wings flex like a fly-rod, it's well justified! Overall travel highlights included the 'Spring-heeled shoes' for sale in the Skymall catalogue of useless crap, and still thinking I was on the tarmac in LA but was in fact already in the air for almost an hour after falling asleep. You gotta love unexpected progress in mundane activities such as travel time.

So arrived in DIA to a waiting Kat....holding a bag of Chipotle! I tell ya folks ain't she the greatest! It was a magical reunion! So we sat and ate while waiting for my baggage. As I said it is great to be back here and I will post some photos soon. Right now I'm in complete post travel chill out mode with the biggest activity planned for the building a bicycle. Over N' Out...cw

Riding The Wave.

Things have been flat out the last few days and won't really stop until I get on the plane. Raced G-Vale last Sunday for my last hit out. Felt good compared to racing there the week before and ended up in a solid break for most of the race, before being caught and out gunned in the sprint. Somehow I don't think my chicken legs will ever win a sprint there no matter how many squats I do over the summer. The bro came out to watch which was good, and once again was impressive behind the lens. Career change perhaps Roy? Oh and he updated his blog for the first time in 12 years so if you want to go and waste more time he's linked on the right there.

So fly back to Denver on Thursday and hanging to be back with Kat again. Not to mention team training camp with the lads in Moab in a few weeks time. Looking forward to a big season ahead.....Cheers..cw