Friday Haiku

If the memories
Never meant that much to you
Hide your teary cheeks.

My Week On (and Off) Wheels

Firstly a wonderful quote from Paulo Bettini:

"Flanders is like a beautiful woman. So, it is like I am not an example of beauty, and my build is not so adapted to this course. I have to work to come from behind; I have to court her... It is right that Tom [Boonen] will have the full disposition of the team, but I hope to have my say too."

interesting quote!

Now the not so secret kms

Saturday: Sleep in
Sunday: 100km strength endurance intervals in the Dandenongs (five climbs)
Monday: Pursuit intervals at the mellowdrome (2 sets of 3*4mins intervals with 8 mins between sets)
Tuesday: 30km easy
Wednesday: 45km (Hawthorn crit- hard workout on the front for most of the night)
Thursday: 20kms track racing- fourth place in the scratch, won the first sprint in the points (then tanked it hard), crashed out of the motorpace. Again not my fault- some idiot fell in front of me and I had nowhere to go- his body was up the track, and his bike was down the track. So I ran over his bike and broke its fork. Pay back! But I've also got a pretty dinged up front wheel. The clear side wall of my front tyre actually has a smear of blood across it (ok red paint from the line!). But it looks pretty ferocious anyway. So yeah, I'm nursing some pretty ordinary track burn today. Luckily for me Jess was at the track and was able to perform a wonderful first aid job on the burns- they are looking pretty good today. Here's hoping they clear up quickly. Thanks Jess- what would I do without you?
Friday: recouperate

Another easy week with only around 200kms on the clock- but with only 30kms easy, there was some quality.

Viva Darren Lapthorne!!!

How did the reigning Australian Road Race champion prepare for his big win on Saturday?

Race the A grade Hawthorn Crit on Wednesday night and lap the field within 20 minutes!

It's great to have such a quality rider come down and race on Wednesday nights, the guy is an incredible rider.

And I think it sends a message to other so called elite riders- get out and race. I don't think the pro's are as hungry for racing as Darren is at the moment. Sure they are focused on Europe, but if you want to win at this time of year you have to be out there racing regularly in preparation.

The big question now is how could Drapac Porsche have been left out of the Tour Down Under when they have achieved a one-two in the national championships with Lapthorne and Maclachlan???

A very strange decision from the organisers.

Possible New Client

According to Cyclingnews:

'Italian authorities are investigating former sprinting star Mario Cipollini for tax evasion. The sum in question is some five million Euros, according to the press agency sid. From 2000 to 2004, Cipollini claimed that his home was in Monte Carlo in order to avoid paying taxes in Italy, it is being alleged, although he never actually lived in Monte Carlo.'

Could be a potential new client!

Dickhead Watch

Janet Albrechtson, rational utility maximising ubermensch (The Aus, 3 Jan 07):

'So I'll leave you with a larger but somewhat cheeky hypothesis. Left-wing politics is essentially an emotional, instinctive utopian kind of world peopled by romantics and dreamers. Conservatism is, on the other hand, more rational, analytical and pragmatic. That is why creative types tend to come from the Left. Right-wingers, by contrast, have real jobs.'

Wow, who could possibly argue with such a rational, empirically justifiable and pragmatic thesis.

Pure genesis.

Children, submit your resumes to The Australian, they are employing clowns left right and centre, but mainly right (I may have said that a few times in the past).

Friday Haiku

Staring into the
Void from the 30th floor
Smoke haze red sunset

My Week On Wheels

I have decided to start blogging all my training- because I don't have a training diary, so this will have to do.

This week there hasn't been much training to speak of!

Saturday: Sleep in
Sunday: Sleep in
Monday: 60kms (45km tempo ride on the boulie before work)
Tuesday: 60km (2 sets of 3*4 min pursuit intervals at the mellowdrome dodging errant tri-athletes. Worse than flies I kid not)
Wednesday: 40km easy (was going to race boulie but had a rascally flat tire in Swanston st- 'I am fortunes fool'.
Thursday: Track: 3rd place in the points score. Went for attacking rides all night- the legs are good, but again luck wasn't on my side. Got hooked twice in the motor pace which has become my pet event- the old blokes are cagey riders- they hit the front and then when you try and go around them they swing off their line and force you up the track. very poor form. I attacked twice in the scratch, so that was never going to come off! Got pulled in on the bell lap, so close, but no cigar.
Friday: rest

K's: about 180km- easing back into work this week, and having a bit of a rest after smashing about 1000km over the Christmas break.