'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...