Perth

And so after a week of R and R in Perth I am left feeling relaxed and marginally more healed, although it's still a slow process. My great friends, who are due with twins any week now, in no small way played a huge part in my enjoyment of such a lovely city. The smorgasbord of simple and rather unhealthy foods we prepared most nights, along with a large intake of very good quality beers (not for the child carrier of course) was a nod to the change that their life was about to take, and the change mine was well on the way of undertaking.

It has not yet brought me any closer to what I may or may not do in the immediate future, such is life. I have some leads to follow up on and doors will open, some may close, some I have a foot in. Time will tell. A fortune cookie told me "experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want", how apt.

It was refreshing to be out and about again, enjoying the sunny days. Walking Jet and Ruby, two gorgeous American Staffordshire Terriers was a daily appointment and has brought me to appreciate dogs a little more. Whether it was the bush, park (with a dozen other, similarly energized pooches) or beach park, there were always laughs to be had and smaller dogs to be terrorized.

I finally learned how to make one of my favorite meals, pasta, and amazed at the simplicity of it. I rode a Vespa. I went for a run. Visited Little Creatures brewery. Drank a double chocolate stout and discovered many other fine drops. I compared dog breeds. I met some "friends of friends" who I could now call just friends. I saw a city for the first time. I drove a Golf GTI MKV.

Most importantly, I am richer for it all.

Post surgery

A couple of weeks after surgery and it seems that things are starting to improve. The X-rays look good, the bone is healing well (although still a good four weeks from healed) and most importantly at this stage, my movement is returning. The recent physio appointment revealed that I wasn't far from a full range of movement, which is great considering I have been immobile for nearly four weeks.

I am still a long way off being on a moving bike, or even in a gym. These are early days and the process is slow, sometimes long, boring or frustrating. Step by step I can feel things improve as the titanium plate slowly becomes a part of my body, and I begin to wonder if, or when, the time comes to have it removed, will I miss it? I do at least hope I get to keep it! The scar on the other hand I could do without, although it's not as bad as expected. Another mark on a body already marked with experiences.

The basic plan now is to get healed, get stretched and get strong, in that order. This equates to more waiting but I am now mobile and making my way to Perth as I write to see some friends and make best use of the time I have. It's nice to be out and about again and look forward to seeing a city or even a state I am yet to visit and the last one to tick of all the Australian states and territories.
Stretching is next on the agenda, mainly of the shoulder joint to increase range of movement, but also to sort out some other small niggles I have had on and off for many years. This is the best time as the repetitious nature of cycling won't be a factor. I may even find the joy of running here again , which after the slow, inefficient feel of walking will be a blessing. Finally some sweat!
Finally will be a combination of gym work and stationary trainer which I am looking forward to. The gym is somewhere I like to be, it's a good "me" time where I can cruise around and think things through. I have the luxury of a reasonably quiet gym and I love it, no waiting and you can do what you set out to, when you're ready.

So even though I'm roughly four weeks away from wind in the hair riding, there is plenty to keep me busy and plenty to aim for.

It gets worse!! When will it end!

Having booked myself in for four months of Euro therapy riding and racing the bike all over the World cup circuit, I at least had a goal. I was back on the bike after a run of bad luck although resigned to being "bunch filler" for the first month of my travels as I got the legs upto Euro race spec.

And so, to kick it off with the National Marathon Championships in Avoca, just out of Melbourne. I'd spent the last few days trying so hard to comply with the crumby 23kg weight limit that Qantas were generous enough to stinge me with. The bike bag with bike and spare wheels only, was 16kgs, not bad, says I. Another bag to check in at around 10kgs would see me 3kgs over weight. Fine for domestic, $10/kg extra charge, I can cop that. The carry on limit was absolutely bursting and so I would have to. It's when you come to fly International that the problems begin. The check in attendant was nice enough to let it slide for only $10, not $30. A nice gesture and things were looking up. Perhaps she'd seen the effort i'd gone to, or perhaps she was there the day before, when I showed up a day early. Whoops.

A quick night ride around Lysterfield, home of the Commonwealth Games course, but thankfully not around the course itself, but the myriad of other trails in the area. Many locals have dubbed these as no fun, boring, not technical enough. Coming from Sydney where Manly Dam is the benchmark I quickly silenced any nay-sayers and was having a ball with ex Sydney sider James Kennedy.

The tail end of the ride saw us drop down the last fast fire-road descent toward home where all would be well. Between myself and home was a problem - the rabid, foaming, red-eyed, off-spring of Beelzebub who had been previously spooked by James and was now standing 10ft tall in the middle of the trail wielding a shot-gun in one paw and a chainsaw in the other. Like anything inanimate I decided the best plan of attack was to go round it; problem solved.

The next few pieces are blank and I remember being roused by James and asking if I had a phone with me (thankfully I did) as he called numerous numbers, most of which were probably International calls back to his family in the USA at my expense. Just over an hour of walking later (I thought it was 10mins!) we were greeted by flashing ambulance lights and for myself, a small amount of morphine. What a great Friday night! Turns out the hole in my knee was rather large and I had broken my right collarbone, compounded with concussion. I was asked if I knew what day of the week it was and I did, but it took me a good 5mins to get to the conclusion of Friday. They said I was fine.

Emergency: and the x-rays come back with confirmation of a demolished collarbone, in three pieces that would need surgery (as every person I spoke to, medical or not, confirmed) as the two ends of the bone were so disjointed the healing time would be far too great. They also did the liberty of cleaning me up under a general anesthetic and putting five stitches in my knee. Upon being released I was informed by both Doctors who had seen my during my stay, that "you will not need surgery, it will heal on it's own, collarbones always do" even after being informed of how I did it, and what my regular pastime was. A second opinion was needed.

Private sector said the same, and with their help I would have the public sector on my side and "fixation of the collarbone" would be done.

So the overseas racing trip was no more, the consolation being I missed the hoo-ha with Iceland ruining flight times, so didn't have to deal with that. Qantas to give a credit in the fare, which was nice.

I have now been plated and screwed (haha, not gold plated and not that kinda screwed - but I haven't yet received the bill!) A plate of Titanium and seven screws, I am now bionic and have bragging rights of having a Ti plate rather than a stainless steel one. Healing is going well, albeit slowly and extremely boring and at this early stage I have no time frame for when I'm back on the bike. I hope to do a little exploring while off the bike, a light trip to Perth (which I've never seen) and back to Sydney for a short period, before coming back to Melbourne where I am currently parked up for another appointment.

I am completely up in the air right now. On one side i'm free; I have no residence, job, just some measly possessions. On the other; Can't move properly, can't ride, and have some appointments to keep, so am tied down.

You'd think with all the thinking time I have now I'd be able to figure out a future plan!

Oh what is going on!

The last month or so has seen nothing but silence and I apologise. You see there hasn't been much to write about, the adage "nothing good to say don't say anything at all" applies here. I has quite frankly been a nightmare lately. I am aware that things travel in waves, good will follow bad etc, but it has still had friends at the recent races on "suicide watch" keeping the toaster and bath tub separate from me and from each other.

Thredbo National round saw me travel all of 20m before being involved in an "incident" possibly attributed to the hairpin corner 50m from the start line. Not kosher, but a regular fixture of the National series it would seem. No surprises each one of the races involving this setup has had an accident. Nothing broken, but a very large and badly bruised elbow kept me off the bike for a few weeks and needless to say, out of that race.

Onto Canberra, the last of the National series races. My goal here was to get a solid race in the legs for the Oceania Championships coming up in a fortnight. A familiar course, very similar to the Worlds setup and very technically challenging. Fine by me. Until I had a nothing fall on the very first lap, on the very first day, which put my lower back so far out of line it would see the pins lock up under any thought of pedaling. Race over, I was a spectator.

An emergency trip to my saviour Nick Wood of Chirosports, Kings Cross got me back riding again, in time for the impending NZ trip. I like their work and you should look then up if you need your body tweaked. Just mention that I sent you!

It was then onto NZ where the Oceania Championships were to be held in Dunedin. A new track and new experience which I greeted with great delight. A not so good warm up lap left me with a bent rear rotor which happened hard under braking and left me in no doubt that this brand of rotor would no longer be run on the front. The wheel locked up so suddenly and with such force that, had it been a front, I may not be typing with my fingers, rather with a straw. With poor form and a fun track I faded to finish 13th, purely for the points. I was never really in the race, but was impressed with how fast the U/19s caught me.

DT Swiss Mountains to beach

A five day epic from the heights of Koziousko to finishing at sea level in Narooma, with racing and transition stages to boot, makes this one to tick off if you like a challenge.

Stage 1 saw a "super D" from Thredbo top station at nearly 2000m to Thredbo itself at around 1300m, but don't think it's all beer and skittles. A 5min fireroad climb thrown in for good measure. Still it was fun, most competitors complaining of burning lungs, to be expected when you pedal once, flat out, for 5mins, at altitude. Both myself and new team mate Andy Blair lost more time than was reasonable, but there's plenty of chance to make it back up during the week.

Stage 2 included a transition from Thredbo to Lake Crackenback resort and some very cold weather with light rain. Not the best conditions for a cruise of 18km.

The "single track" around the resort was puck marked with wombat holes some of which were filled in, poor critters. For the most part it was rough, unridden double track, with a new piece being put it from Thredbo Diggins to Crackenback which consisted of "shotta" a graveled fast and smooth trail, yet to be finished. I was dropped early on, the previous weeks training around Thredbo obviously taking it's toll, while Andy popped up to win the stage and take the prize of some quality accommodation at the resort.

Stage 3 was the one everyone dreaded. Long, lots of climb and starting with a cold ride on the ski tube up to Perisher. I found myself again frustrated and off the pace, which a flat then added to. I crept home at my own pace hoping to save something for later in the week all on my own with no sunscreen on, it was a long day. Only later did I see photos of the wild dogs strung up from a tree on the final major climb to the last feed station, which I spent 10mins at.

Stage 4 certainly wasn't a recovery stage. Up at 4.15am for a 5.15am start, in the dark. Lucky we had lighting from Radical Lights, very bright, very light and excellent run times. There was no need to reduce the power from full with run times of around 4hrs, I didn't plan on being out there that long. I finally felt part of the race, attacking and taking the pressure off Andy. The ground was like the cobbles of Flanders. All the cattle mill around the damn while it's muddy putting hoof prints in it, then it dries like concrete. Very rough, but I actually found it fun. I even managed to stay away for a while. I couldn't quite hold it on the last climb and eventually drifted back being satisfied that i'd done my job for the day.

Stage 5 would see us ride the longest stage at 90km, with a little less vertical than tuesdays stage. We needed to make time. Andy was 6mins off the pace in second while I was looking to help him get it, and a stage win for myself. We were in a great position, both climbing well. Andy rode away meaning the race leader, Jinglish would have to chase. He thought otherwise and was expecting help from the other 4 in the group, i'm not sure why. I sat at the back collecting tickets the whole time, waiting to take my chance if we caught Andy.

We did, but I wasn't in the group having flatted on a fast rocky descent. Game over.

We then transitioned 40km to the coast, which was the hardest part of the day. Windy and undulating it was much longer and slower than anticipated. Well done to all who made it inside the time limit.

Stage 6 was split into two stages due to heavy rain which had opened to lakes we would normally cross on sand, to the ocean. The first saw Andy and myself go hell for leather from the gun, getting into the sweet Bermagui singletrack first and keeping the pressure on. We were rewarded with a good gap leaving the confines of fun and heading up the coast to the finish. 20m from the finish I acquired a vine in my cassette and unable to pedal pulled over to remove it, not knowing the finish line was just around the corner! All the time I  had worked so hard for was gone, again leaving me frustrated and very angry. Rubbing salt was the fact that race leader Jinglish had a slow leak that wouldn't seal, and he didn't bring a tube with him. But because of the neutral zone between stages, he would scab a tube off someone and not lose any time.

The second stage 30min after finishing and I was still angry. We again threw it down and after crossing the first lake entrance in nipple deep water had some trouble in the soft sand, which then saw Jinglish get a gap. Andy and myself threw everything we had at bringing the gap back, not helped by a section we were instructed to walk when the race leader was allowed to ride, losing more time. It was race over as we came in on the soft sand spent and frustrated, Andy missing the overall win he so wanted and myself the stage win I was chasing.

A well run event with plenty of scenery to boot. Met a bunch of fine people, new friends and with the race in it's infancy i'm sure there will be improvements to come making this a race one to be revisited in the near future.

Shepparton round 3 - fight!

Shepparton, home of.....um, that's the issue here, it's not at all known for is cycling culture, or even having a hill big enough to host a race!

And yet, the local council have jumped on board to start building a facility of some undertaking, developed in conjunction with Glen Jacobs, as everything seems to be (sure this desk i'm using is Glen Jacobs designed) He must be an extremely busy man!

The problem then lies with finding a hill to use, but, way off the in the distance is Mount Major (not Glen Jacobs designed, rather Tom Ritchey who invented mountains) which has the hight to make a very tough course, especially when the complete lack of shade but not wind, is a Major factor.

So the course wasn't ideal, with the fine red dirt blowing away in the wind and the mountain crumbling beneath our tyres due to lack of rain. But we raced, even with National champs hangovers, and we did good. Yours truly a creditable 8th. Lach Norris taking a good win and a mention to Paul Van Der Ploeg (not typing that name in full anymore) who rode most of the race with a locked-out fork.

In the womens, Super Wall-e, Jo Wall took her first hard fought win at a national round.

Short track narrowly avoided a debarcle, with entrants voicing concern over the course which was a hot dog shape around two trees at a build cost of $2 (not fun) vs the four cross track which was in town, had less over entrants built at around $100,000 (fun) they changed it for the better, and Dan Mac made us all look stupid with only 4 people not being lapped out.

Circus rolls to Canberra mid March for the 4th and final round!

National Championships wrap up and junk

Adelaide, city of churches, home of the Torrens and many German settlements. For nearly two weeks the place was transformed from any of these to cycling paradise.

The 2010 Australian Mountain Bike Championships kicked it all off, with riders coming from all over to vie for a jersey that was up for grabs since the defending champ could only ride a stationary bike. In the womens race, it was a less open affair with the smart money being on Rowena Fry.

It was a course which caught out many who underestimated it. Fast, flowing, dry and technical. Easy to ride, but hard to race was the general consensus. The powers that be for the Eagle Park Mountain Bike Venue had done a fantastic job.

With Lance Armstrong in town it was hoped he might pop out for a look-see. In the end organisers and fans alike were thankful for the no show, as he posted up a "come join me on a training ride" on Twitter which attracted in excess of 7000 people. The parking would never had coped.

First over the line was a deserving Dan McConnel who has been working hard for many years and now has his first National title. He was pipped in the Short Track by a flying Sid Taberlay, by the width of a tyre.

The womens was more predictable with Ro Fry making a clean sweep and looking like this could be her year.

With two more years of Adelaide Nationals to go I have a good chance of improving on my 10th place, which i'm content with at this point. Lovely.