Hellooooooooo, is there anyone out there? I’m back! I know I’ve been terrible neglecting my blog for so long. Things have been interesting. I now have a whole new and non-paying career, as a writer. Yes, I know, surely that would mean more blog updates, not less? Well, it was a bit of difficult transition, but normal service will now resume.
A quick catch up. Before Christmas, I was getting very excited about the Novices and Has-beens downhill race that Gravity Canterbury was running. I even got some very cool spokey dokeys and googles for the occasion. Unfortunately 2 days before the race I clipped one of the narrow gates at the bottom of Vic Park and smashed into the ground. Hard. And things went POP! Luckily I hadn’t broken anything, but I had sprained various ribs and things in my chest and neck region so once more riding was not looking good for Christmas. This is becoming a very bad habit. After a few days of lying about trying to heal and ingesting lots of painkillers we headed down to Alexandra.
I was still entertaining thoughts of racing at Bannockburn on the 30th of December, but a little 26km ride on the river track on Christmas morning put pay to that idea. Too owie! We did manage to do a bit of riding in Central. A very cool jaunt up Lake Roxburgh on fun and techy singletrack.
A cruise around Conroys Dam and a play at the vey cool BMX track in Alex, which unfortunately resulted in very sore ribs for me again. I just couldn’t help myself and hit some rollers a bit fast and, well, things went a bit pear shaped meaning I had to absorb a lot of energy with my front forks and arms. Muppet. Since returning to sunny (hah!) Christchurch I’ve been taking it pretty easy with some roadie rides and singlespeed blasts to get my chest back in working order. My fitness is not very fantastic, as a 36 minute lap of the 3.5km loop of Living Springs showed me. Shame! However I do have plans for this year. And they are a bit different from the last couple of years.
Since the Moa Hunt, I’ve kind of lost my racing buzz. I think I’ll still do some races and very much hope to do the Singlespeed Champs in Queenstown, but my focus at this stage is doing a cycle tour of the West Coast. I plan to ride from Greymouth to Wanaka by myself, unsupported. I’ve got myself the loan of a touring bike and some panniers. I’ve got lots of advice from friends and I’m more excited about this than any of the other riding I’ve been doing. It’s a very long way, 458ish kilometres, with some big BIG climbs, however it is through some of the most beautiful countryside NZ has to offer. I’m giving myself a generous 14 days to accomplish my mission, which should give me plenty of time to spare. Now I just need to start assembling my travelling kit and start practicing riding a heavily laden bike. Fun times.
A quick catch up. Before Christmas, I was getting very excited about the Novices and Has-beens downhill race that Gravity Canterbury was running. I even got some very cool spokey dokeys and googles for the occasion. Unfortunately 2 days before the race I clipped one of the narrow gates at the bottom of Vic Park and smashed into the ground. Hard. And things went POP! Luckily I hadn’t broken anything, but I had sprained various ribs and things in my chest and neck region so once more riding was not looking good for Christmas. This is becoming a very bad habit. After a few days of lying about trying to heal and ingesting lots of painkillers we headed down to Alexandra.
I was still entertaining thoughts of racing at Bannockburn on the 30th of December, but a little 26km ride on the river track on Christmas morning put pay to that idea. Too owie! We did manage to do a bit of riding in Central. A very cool jaunt up Lake Roxburgh on fun and techy singletrack.
A cruise around Conroys Dam and a play at the vey cool BMX track in Alex, which unfortunately resulted in very sore ribs for me again. I just couldn’t help myself and hit some rollers a bit fast and, well, things went a bit pear shaped meaning I had to absorb a lot of energy with my front forks and arms. Muppet. Since returning to sunny (hah!) Christchurch I’ve been taking it pretty easy with some roadie rides and singlespeed blasts to get my chest back in working order. My fitness is not very fantastic, as a 36 minute lap of the 3.5km loop of Living Springs showed me. Shame! However I do have plans for this year. And they are a bit different from the last couple of years.
Since the Moa Hunt, I’ve kind of lost my racing buzz. I think I’ll still do some races and very much hope to do the Singlespeed Champs in Queenstown, but my focus at this stage is doing a cycle tour of the West Coast. I plan to ride from Greymouth to Wanaka by myself, unsupported. I’ve got myself the loan of a touring bike and some panniers. I’ve got lots of advice from friends and I’m more excited about this than any of the other riding I’ve been doing. It’s a very long way, 458ish kilometres, with some big BIG climbs, however it is through some of the most beautiful countryside NZ has to offer. I’m giving myself a generous 14 days to accomplish my mission, which should give me plenty of time to spare. Now I just need to start assembling my travelling kit and start practicing riding a heavily laden bike. Fun times.
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1 comment:
Great come back article! Good luck with your training and on your next race.
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