On the Road Again...

I can wait to get back on the highway....
After spending a brief period back in Michigan, where we were lucky enough to stay up at Leland for the Memorial Weekend, the team is now on the road again. It seems like we just got out of the car after our drive home from Arkansas! This block of racing we are about to do is going to be tough, and we will be racing some really fast guys. It is going to be pretty exciting though, and these are some of the most prestigious races the NRC has to offer.
We are currently in Virginia, where it is very hot, and will spend a week here before heading up to Pennsylvania for some more great racing around the Philadelphia area.
I am in good health again, and hopefully have regained all my strength. This week is going to be the first time we have had the full team together since back in California in March, so that is going to be good fun.
This is Bob's vacation house up at Leland (left), with his parent's place next door (right). I was just about standing in Lake Michigan when i took this photo.

For those of you who just can't comprehend this, i have photographic proof that i have actually been to the 45th Parallel, halfway between the North pole and the Equator. I found this amuzing, and it really is, because it is a long way from home!

More photos from Leland, and from around Bob's.

I hope everyone is well and I hope you like the photos.

Laters...

Back in Michigan

Hey y'all, I hope everyone is well. I am back in good health again, and have a fair bit of updating to fill you all in on. My last update was from Fayetteville, Arkansas, and i hadn't been for a ride yet while there. That was a bit of a bummer, but the forced break probably wasn't such a bad thing. Once i recovered i was able to do a few rides and it was a pretty nice area to go training. I suppose the only bad thing was all of the 'dags' that chased us everywhere - I am quite sure that their owners don't feed them on a daily basis.
We stayed in a really nice vacation house in Fayetteville, and it even had lake access. It used to be river access at some stage, but the river has been damned off to form a lake. It made for a really nice spot though, and down on the water there were heaps of really good skimming (skipping) rocks for throwing in my spare time. Its funny actually, because i was reading some magazine during the week and it had an article on getting the perfect angle for the perfect rock-skipping (we call it skimming in Oz). I didn't realise there was a science to it, and now that i have been putting deep thought into my skimming my performance has dropped!
At night while staying in Fayetteville i could have sworn there were bears in the area, so i was a bit freaked out by that, but it was probably just another hungry dog or twenty.
At the race we went to while in Fayetteville, Joe Martin stage race, there were people handing out bananas, and thanks to the crafty work of Robbie, we ended up with about 400 bananas in our house. As cyclists we might eat a fair bit, but to eat that many bananas was unrealistic, so Teddy and Robbie got to work in the kitchen, and before we knew it had baked up about nine loaves of banana bread - one with strawberries in it too, so that was a good treat, and eating the warm, freshly cooked bread was... wicked banana! While on the topic of Teddy, it should be noted that 'Teddy' is a teammate, not the name of my footy! While reading over the last blog entry, and after getting an email from someone, i thought it was necessary to point that out to you.
Last Thursday we packed up our banana bread, football, and other stuff and headed to Russellville, Arkansas, a two hour drive away. It was another nice place, and we stayed with a really nice old couple who were our hosts. They spoilt us with food, and we had this really nice ice cream called Oreo Cloud. It was one of the best desserts i have ever had, and i think Thor and Teddy would agree with me there. It is one packet of Oreos smashed up with a hammer, one punnet of ice cream (or tub or whatever), and a tub of Cool Whip. Brilliant!
At the Tri-Peaks stage race we had a fair bit of success, with team members represented in all successful breakaways, and also Thor Zirbel pulling off our best NRC result to date with a second placing in stage two. The exciting thing for me about Tri-Peaks was that i got to finish my first two road races since San Dimas back in March some time. Hopefully those two finishes are going to be the coming of age for me racing in the States!
After stage three finished on top of the steepest hill in the world (that's what it felt like), we headed home to Michigan, and Benno the Bear did a stellar job behind the wheel. He was relieved briefly by Teddy, but basically did the drive on his own. We got back to Michigan at 8am, so there were a few tired guys on the team. It should also be noted that Robbie and Teddy got straight in their car then, and did a further 17 hour haul back to New Hampshire!
It has been good to be back in Grand Rapids, and things look pretty nice here now that it is warm enough for the trees to grow leaves. Bob and Heather are well, and i had almost forgotten how much fun we have here.
Yesterday Brentmeister, the Snake and I had to do some school assemblies for Priority Health. We had to ride our bikes in to the school hall and then speak to the students about being active, bicycle safety, and about health and nutrition etc. It was a great experience for me, and i got to get an idea of what the schools are like in the States, as opposed to Australia. The kids were good, and hopefully we influenced them in some way or another.
After the day of entertaining we headed back to Grand Rapids to do a local race. It was raining and we raced on a car speedway, so it was pretty slippery. It was good to do some racing mid-week, and was a good opportunity to race with the local guys. The plan was to get a win for Bob, but he couldn't race.
Anyway dudes, that's all for now. Sorry there are no photos this time, but i will have some in the next post when i get some from the guys who take all the photos. Also, you may have noticed the new look blog, and thanks must go to Wes Hartman for assisting me there.
Stay cool dudes...

Glen Mitchell Interview

A new update of whats been happening will be out later this week, but for now I wanted to write a bit about our team guru. This will give you a break from everything being written about what I have been doing, and let everyone know a bit about the Kiwi on our team, Glen Mitchell.
Glen winning a stage of the Tour of the Southland, while wearing the leaders jersey.

So here it is, an interview of Glen Mitchell; New Zealander, Olympian, National Champion, and all-round guru… Basically a “riding machine.”

Age: 33

Residence: Santa Rosa, California. Glen was born and grew up in Hamilton, on the North Island of New Zealand.

Glen started cycling in 1988 (when I was 5yo). When he was seventeen years old he won a junior mountain bike National title, and in the same year he won one of the selection races for the junior world road championships, giving him a ticket to the world titles. A couple of years later he made the long list for both the mountain bike and road teams to represent New Zealand at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. His focus then turned more to the road, and after going to the Olympics in the road team, decided his mountain bike racing days were over. This led to a career racing in elite amateur, and professional road teams, and continually representing his country.
The “riding machine” has spent two years racing in Belgium, one in Switzerland, one in Canada, and is now in his eighth year of racing in America. He spent two years racing for Shaklee, three years on the Navigators, two years at Sierra Nevada/Kodak Gallery, and is now the team star at Team Priority Health.
During this time Glen has represented New Zealand at two Olympic Games, three Commonwealth Games (including a 4th place at Manchester in 2002), and four professional world road championships.

Wearing the New Zealand National Road Champion's jersey, Glen wins one of his two stages in the Tour de Langkawi.

The highlights of the Kiwi’s career include:
Two time National Champion (3 silver, 2 bronze)
Oceania champion
Winning two stages in the Tour de Langkawi (4 x 2nd place)
Oceania Champion
Winner of Tour of the Southland
Stage wins in Southland Tour, Tour of Tasmania, Commonwealth Bank Classic, Waikato, NZ Colonial, Willamette, Tour of Wellington, and Tour of the South China Sea. More recently he came 5th in the San Francisco Grand Prix last year, which was won by Stefan Wegeman of Gerolsteiner.

At the head of the field in his 2006 colours of Team Priority Health.

Glen is married to Tonia, and they have a house full of pets Tonia brings home from work as a veterinarian; Rumour the dog, and three cats. When he is not busy training he enjoys going fishing or watching BroTown. The “riding machine” is also a master chef, and I enjoyed great meals when I first stayed at his house this year. While on the road we usually eat together thanks to Glen’s cooking, and he has saved me from starvation on many occasions. I was so upset the night he left the team at Arkansas that I couldn’t bring myself to eat!

Glen doesn't have a website, and I guess his shyness means not a great deal of people know how good he really is, so hopefully this interview will enlighten readers on the talent of this guy, even if he is from New Zealand!

Stay cool dudes, and there should be another update later in the week...

'Down' in the South

Hello everyone, sorry for the delayed update, I have been a bit lazy these last few days. We have finished the criterium series we just took part in, and while we had a few creditable results, we are still lacking the wins we want, and I need! Unfortunately Kiwi Glen Mitchell and I have been unwell, and haven't even ridden the last four days, so that sucks big time. We have a stage race on this weekend, and provided we are healthy for it, we will go in with no K's in our legs from the week just gone.
The series just completed saw all riders do relatively well, and Rich is in good form. He was pumping out top 10's in most of the races, and in the finale on Saturday, Sunny King, he was instigating breakaways for most of the night. Sunny King was also my best finish, although it was only a seventh placing. It did however, earn me the best young rider of the series, and I was presented with a jersey at the conclusion of racing on Saturday. We found it quite amuzing, given we thought the category was for under 23 riders, not under 24's!
I think the results of our Team Priority Health, would have been a lot better had Glen been in good health, and maybe me too. We were under the weather (and still are) for most of the racing, and that had a big impact on the team. When Glen is firing on all cyclinders, i reckon the team is five times stronger for it, so having him on the sidelines in these crits certainly had us behind the eight ball.

On a more positive note, I got myself a new footy yesterday (sorry, football!) for an incredible $3.44! I had to dig deep to afford it, but now I can work on my life-long dream of being a punter in the NFL. Last night i had to pose for a photo with my new best friend, and don't I look mean! Today Teddy and I had a training session in the driveway where I am learning how to throw the ball, or pass it, or whatever that is called. I figure I need to learn to throw like a quarterback, even though I only want to become a punter, more so as I just understand the game more.

We have been lucky to see the other side of this country, the side the tourists don't get to see, while we are travelling around racing in smaller towns, meeting host families, and getting a taste for the different lifestyles across the States.
It is extremely humid down in the South, and while the temperature is only around 75 degrees fahrenheit, the humidity must be 140%! It is really something to experience... or not! The last few days have been a bit wet, with thunderstorms overnight, so that only adds to the humidity situation.
Thor Zirbel took his second spill of the week while we were racing the Greensboro criterium, the poor guy. Neither crash has been his fault, and both times he has needed a handlebar replacement. He has now equalled me for the most crashes this year, but he seems to be doing more damage than I do so lets hope he has got them out of the way for the year.

While out training in Georgia we came across a street name the same as our bike manufacturer, and it made a great photo which our sponsors would be proud of, if they ever saw it! We find pretty entertaining things to do with our spare time.
This last week I got delivery of my package from Mum and Dad back home, and the easter eggs went down really well, and the Tim Tams are always a hit with the team, although i haven't brought them out yet, so when the boys read this they will be spewing they haven't been able to eat them yet. It seems that they are more tasty than Oreos which is a big call, but anyone who has tried both can be the judge of that!
I must apologise for this update, I have been trying to watch a movie while typing, and I haven't been able to concentrate all that well. Also I don't have the most exciting stuff to write about, but the link to Teddy's site will provide a very good read for anyone interested. I get the odd mention or two in there, and am pleased to know that I have donned the role as team entertainer, while everyone else has cycling specific roles. So in the words of David Brent "I'm an entertainer... I'm a motivator of people..." for anyone who knows the BBC Office TV series.
In response to the very witty comments left by my old man after my last post, Keally (g'day there) is on the left at the front, I figured there were three chicks in the front of the pic, but on confirmation from the Kiwi, the old boy had me. Where his extremely witty comments had the whole team was with the Greek girls in Athens, which totally had everyone; the whole international thing was so clever no-one understood it, which makes it debatable as to whether it is witty or not!? Haha.

While this photo doesn't show any Priority Health riders, it does give an idea of what the atmosphere was like racing in Athens. There were something like 30,000 people there watching, we raced under lights for the entire race, the noise of the fans was deafening, and it was incredibly fast.

Anyway, that's all for now, but I do plan on shooting out a new update once I feel healthy again, and/or after this weekend's Joe Martin stage race, where we hope to get some good results... and wins!

Stay cool everyone...

Ready, Set, GO!

Team Priority Health is racing again! We have had a big break, but have bounced back with a fair bit of success. The mountain climbing dudes went to the Tour of Shenandoah and basically dominated - Thor Zirbel won the prologue and wore the leaders jersey before crashing out, but Eddy the Body took over the lead after that, with a superb stage win, followed by Snake wearing the mountains jersey, and then the Brentmeister General Bookwalter capping off a brilliant week with a much sought after win in the overall classification after blitzing the time trial (he also won the U23 jersey). This provided us criterium dudes with a fair bit of inspiration for the criterium series we started on Friday night.

We drove four hours from Lookout Mountain to Athens, Georgia on Friday morning, and had our Computrainer race for grid position for Satuday night's race. Priority Health starred in this event, qualifying all three riders for the eight man final. Our man Teddy pulled off the win ahead of a star field. The atmoshpere and vibe in Athens was phenomenal, and that was on Friday night!

Athens is raced under lights on a tough, fast circuit. The crowd was amazing, lining every inch of the course with young, loud spectators from this 'college town' and they were making a hell of a noise. We raced with radios for the first time and they were useless because we couldn't hear anything other than the loud cheering! The race was won by Davidenko of the Navigators, and we had Rich in seventh place. While we would have liked to go better, it was a good result considering we have had so long off racing. It was such a buzz to be a part of this race, and during our warm down laps the crowd were all handing out beers to us while we were still riding around.

Probably the best thing in Athens was the hot chicks, they were amazing! The training and warming up for races was made hard due to all of the eye candy about. This is a photo of the girls who introduced us for the Computrainer race, and who also did a great job helping out for the criterium race too - my favourite is the one in the middle at the front, Keally! We got to go out with them for a bit after the race to soak up the atmosphere, and to unwind a bit, because it is hard to go to sleep after racing in such an adrenaline rush as Athens Twilight.

The next day we packed up and left for another race, Roswell criterium. Racing in Roswell in the daylight was somewhat an anti-climax after Athens, but it was still a good race. Rich came in eighth, and he maintains his good placing in the series. Personally, my legs were a lot better for Roswell, and I think the more racing I do, the better I will get. I feel strong, but am just lacking that extra punch when I need it. This will come soon, and this current block of racing we are doing will certainly bring me up, and I am looking forward to getting some wins on the board.

Here is Robbie and I getting ready for the Computrainer final, where it looks like I was in the hurt box before the race started (wearing the Australia flag bandana). I think there was something wrong with my machine for the final, because the afternoon qualifying didn't hurt anywhere near as much, as you might be able to see where I am racing against Commonwealth games time trial bronze medallist Gordon McCauley - and he certainly was hurting!

Today we drove across to South Carolina, to a town called Walterboro, and there is very little happening here. I think I want to be back in Athens, because that place rocks! We had a great time, and it was a really nice place with really nice people. It would be great if we could race Athens Twilight every Saturday night! We have a race here in South Carolina on Wednesday, then go to North Carolina, then Alabama after that, so we are doing a lot of racing and a lot of travelling. It can be hard at times, but that is why we do it, and also it should result in wins too!

The other good thing about being on the road and racing again, is that the old boy, Kiwi Glen Mitchell has joined up with us again, and he is great to be around. We learn so much from him, and there are plenty of good laughs. This week we will be joined by our mechanic, and a couple of other riders, so it will be good to get some assistance, and we should become even more of a force on the race track. I am pretty excited about the upcoming races, as I am sure the rest of the team are.

As for the non-cycling side of things, I am expecting a postal delivery from Mum and Dad back in Oz which is going to include some much needed Milo; Vegemite to add to the three kilograms Rich and I already have; hopefully some Tim Tams, and whatever else they decided to throw in.

I hope everyone is well back in Australia, and I guess the cold is starting to kick in. So just think of me over here where the temperature is rising, and we are entering Summer!

Stay cool dudes...