News...

Yep its winter, But thats not a reason not to keep updating this I know,
I have been trainning for the past three weeks now after a good brake off the bike. This year I have started the trainning a bit harder than I normally do. We went to Napier for the weekend at the end of the first week and raced there club race on the Sat and then did the bunch ride on the Sunday, So that was a good couple hundie k weekend. The following weekend was our centre (waikato/bop) half distance champs 90km road race. I missed the brake that stayed away so just used it as a good hard trainning ride to the end (not much point trying to save your self to sprint for 10th now is there???). So that brings me to Queens Bday weekend and the Tour of the Naki. With the 8km tt on Sat morn and a 92km flat stage in the arvo I was on the back foot from the start as Im a crap tt rider (Hhhmmmm maybe some tt trainning could help fix that, Nnah worries). I felt good in the arov stage and was near the front of the bunch as we crossed the finish line. Day two was COLD!!! just 4 degress with rain sleet and even snow oh yea and a crap load of wind, The 65km morning stage was the stage I got droped on last time I raced this tour and I wasnt letting that happen again crossing the line in the main bunch with a small bunch just up the road. The Arvo stage was insaine from the get go,with the wind slightly more behind us on the way out it was 45km plus. With the whole bunch in one long line and people popping off the back or even in the middle letting gaps open and others having to jump over them to cover it, I got driffded off the back just before the first climb and didnt quite make it back on as we went over the top. That was it, the bunch was gone and I ended up sitting 50metres off the back of a small bunch of 7 for the next 5km. Once I made it back on to the bunch we all pulled turns picking up riders and dropping some off the back just trying to limit our losses. The last day saw only one stage of 90km with some awsome roads and some testing hills. We even had to ride through a tunnel half way up a climb!!!. The bunch stayed mostly together untill that climb with the tunnel, at that point the yellow jersey and a few others took off up the road and a few of the top 10 were still back in my bunch chasing them. At one stage we were going down a bit of a hill and I was rolling onto the front when I looked down to see I was doing 72kmph. We did get back to the leaders and things settled down untill we hit the (new) last climb (with only 5k to go) and the hammer was down again, the bunch split into 3 and every one was trying to get back to the leaders. We managed to all come back together with 2k to go but my legs didnt have much left for the sprint. All in all a good hard tour and some how I managed to climb my way up to fifnish 19th on G.C.
So yep this weeks going to be a little easier with no racing planed for the weekend.

Cant wait till Im fit so I can wind that new road bike up like it wants me to!!!!!

This is how I now roll!!!! Thats rite I got a new road bike to rip around on, just in time to start training again

http://pastablasta.blogspot.com/