First things first! We went on our family holiday! this was the most amazing 4 weeks in the USA with so many highlights! On my bucket list (click here to see original post) i have always wanted to take the kids to Disneyland. I am happy to report that this was ticked off very early in our trip. This was actually a surprisingly emotional event for me. The wonder and in both the kids eyes brought a tear to me as we were standing in at the gates of the park. We spent a wonderful 10 nights in Anaheim/Los Angeles and saw so so much. The best thing that we discovered was the "hop on hop off" tour bus service. You buy a ticket for a day and the open top, double decker bus, travels around a specific route with stops at some of the most well known attractions. In LA there were 4 different routes (yes we did all 4) and without this service we would not have seen a quarter of what we did.
On to Las Vegas. Holy crap what a place! Every sense you have is completely overstimulated here! Words can not describe how truly hectic, loud, stimulating and wonderful this place is. We stayed in Bally's hotel and casino which is right on the "Strip". Bally's is one of the oldest hotels in Vegas and is directly opposite the famed "Flamingo" hotel. The location we had here couldn't have been better for getting out and about around the strip. We did have a "date night" while in Vegas where we got mum to babysit and we went for dinner at La Salsa Cantina (and OMG Mexican restaurant we found, YUM) and then went to a show called Jubilee at our hotel. Jubilee is a classic showgirl/Theater production and the last of its kind in Vegas. Once again we used the hop on hop off service and even managed to see the famous "Gold and Silver Pawn Shop" as seen on the TV series "Pawn Stars".
From Vegas we went to San Francisco. This was a little more subdued and more focused towards the 3 adults so the kids were a little bored at times here but there was still soooooo much for them to do. They surprisingly were not too bored at Alcatraz. A highlight here was walking over the Golden Gate Bridge. This was always a dream of my mums so to be able to do it with here is something that i will always remember. It was the coldest and windiest day that we had on the whole trip but that just added to the fun. Seeing the fog roll in over the bay afforded us some wonderful photo opportunities. San Fran saw the end of our USA adventure and on the way home we had 3 nights in Auckland on the way home to unwind before heading back to Adelaide.
Although I didn't get a chance to ride at all over the 4 weeks were away we did so much walking i didn't really feel like i missed out on any exercise. Eating wise i wasnt overly strict but the food over there was soooo good. Portion sizes weren't too bad, probably on the larger end of the scale, but not huge!
This holiday was certainly something that i needed for my mental well being. In the month or two leading up to this was a particularly stressful time for no reason in particular but i felt the walls closing in on me. While i was away i had the opportunity to recharge my batteries and take stock of the important things in my life and set myself up for 2014.
Now to the important stuff! BIKE RIDING!
I entered my first Criterium race on Melbourne Cup day 2013. After being out at a work lunch all day i wasn't sure until about 3pm that i was going to do it. Somehow i managed to get graded in Div 5 again (score!). I had no idea what to expect in the race so for the first lap or 2 i just sat in and got into a rhythm. There were a couple of guys that i took note of in the warm up time who appeared to be strong so i made a note to sit near them. I did the "right" thing and pulled a couple of turns on the front. The mid point of the race they have what is called a Preme Sprint where points or money is awarded for a mid race sprint essentially. I didn't really have much intention of competing in this as i wanted to save my legs for the finish. At the mid point of the Preme lap i was towards the front of the pack and one of the stronger riders had a bit of a leg stretch trying to break the pack. Stupidly i jumped on his wheel and before i knew it i was dragging him down the straight. With about 100m to go i was clear of him and rolled over the line taking the sprint. This hurt my legs and pushed up my HR higher than i wanted. I eased off and allowed the pack to reform but was actually struggling to hold in there. It took me a good 2-3 laps to spin out the lactic acid and by that stage we had the 2 laps to go signal. I was feeling good and starting to get nervous about how the finish would go. The last lap and a half were a bit of cat and mouse with people looking like they would have a go and others sitting on the front getting a little grumpy that others would not come up. I sat between 2-5th wheel coming in to the last half of the lap. Feeling good coming into the last right hand turn i found myself otu of the pace line on the outside of the track. This turned out to be a good spot as everyone was looking through the corner to the right and didnt see me on their left. I noticed this quickly and upped the pace and coming into to the finishing straight i hammered it! i could feel 2-3 others jump with me but i gritted my teeth and pushed the whole way to the line and got the win! Stoked! Downside when i jumped at the start of the straight both my calf muscles cramped quite badly. When we rolled to the staging area it was difficult for me to get off the bike. My right one eased up pretty well but my left one was really painful and i was beginning to think i had done something more serious. Half an hour off the bike i could hardly walk on it. F&*K. A week off the bike afterwards and it had just started to feel better! not good. Note for next time, do not go to a lunch, drink wine and eat cakes before a race!
That Crit race was the last official race i have entered. My riding has been hampered intermediately by periods of laziness, CBF, self deprecation and a sense of not knowing where i fit in. As you may or may not know cycling and the cycling community is very secular and "tribal". Sometimes it seems if you dont ride regularly, with the same people, you can quickly feel like an outcast. This is hard to deal with as someone with headspace issues. I have had some great support by people around the traps which is always appreciated but sometimes even that is not enough. I have set some pretty lofty goals for myself this year so i need to find my "niche" sooner rather than later to ensure i get there.
That brings us to Christmas! always a fun time of year to over indulge then spend the next 6 months trying to work it off! This year we were pretty well controlled! we did probably drink a little more than we would have liked by food wise im happy. I managed to clock up a decent amount of Km's thanks in part to some organised Cervo Rosso rides and just some longer solo ones. At the start of the year i did want to enter into the Boxing Day Criterium race at Glenelg hosted by the Sturt Marion Holdfast Cycling Club but due to a number of CONTROLLABLE factors i didnt enter. always 2014! We did go down there as spectators which gave the kids some time to hang out with friends and us to watch some good racing. Over the Christmas/New year Holiday period we wanted to get out and about as much as possible to spend some quality family time with us and the kids.
We went to the Christmas Carols
We went Strawberry Picking
We went to Lobethal
We went to the Zoo
We went to the Bay Sheffield
We went to a Adelaide Strikers game
We went to Carrick Hill
We spent time with Family
We went to the beach
We drank coffee
And of course there was time for cycling
And working on tan lines
Overall it has been a hectic, crazy and great couple of months. Coming in to the Australian summer now means great riding weather and of course one of the most fantastic weeks of the year THE TOUR DOWN UNDER! once again i will be spending the TDU week riding with the Cervo Rosso crew which will see us do close to 700kms over the week around the Adelaide hills and suburbs. I dont think that i am in the same shape as i was last year so it will be interesting to see how i go. Last year i also had one of my best mates riding with me but due to a broken coccyx suffered when he was knocked off his bike by a car he is unable to ride this time which sucks.
Some big fitness goals for me this year and more importantly my family.
We have started on the path of healthy eating thanks to Sophie Guidolin (www.sophieguidolin.com.au). This is a lifestyle change and thankfully the kids are getting right into it! they are loving the new range of foods, snacks and drinks and we are all feeling fantastic.
personally
- I want to ride at least 10,000kms this year
- Compete in a triathlon
- Complete the Road race series over winter
- Make it in to the "A" team for the Sportif series with Cervo Rosso (not just make it but be of value)
My wife and i have also entered as a team in the 2014 True Grit Military Obstacle race. I had such a good time last year i managed to convince her to do it with me. We are planning on camping out there with the kids after we finish.
Looking forward to blogging a little more frequently and especially my thoughts around the Tour Down Under so stay tuned!
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