M.I.A.?

Sorry if you have been dropping by and there has been nothing new added for a while. I have been a little bit busy and very neglectful.

Post nationals I had a little bit of time off the bike. Timing was perfect as I started a new job, one that pays money, the day after I arrived back from Adelaide. It also gave me a chance to reflect on what went wrong at Nationals this year and think about what needs to be done to improve for next year. I had hoped for a much better showing in Adelaide than what resulted, but in hindsight, 2 courses of antibiotics in the weeks leading up to a week of solid racing probably wasn't ideal preparation, and in reality I wasn't anywhere near the level of fitness that I would have liked or needed. Now, after a couple of months of ill-health, I think we are finally getting to the bottom of a number of things, with one more blood test to be performed. Right, moving on.

I have a new job as a toxicologist with the Department of Health. So far that has been going very well. The people I work with are all scientists, most with an PhD/academic background, so I fit right in! And, they are happy to be flexible s0 I can ride my bike! In the meantime I have been pushing myself pretty hard to get my PhD thesis finished... only one chapter left to write.

On top of that, just because I don't have enough to do, our wedding is now less than a month away! Obviously I have been busy finalising plans for that. For a change of scenery I might post some photos when I get back from our honeymoon, but you will have to wait until the end of April for that!!

Oh, and as expected, there has been some bike riding! There was the combined club championship criterium a couple of weeks ago. The first time this was attempted there was a nasty crash and the race was abandoned on the bell lap- hopefully the injured girls are all recovering well. The second time around, I finished third overall and claimed the Vikings Crit Champion title. Not the most exciting race and unfortunately the field was somewhat depleted due to a number of riders being in NZ.

The Tour de Riverina Series has also got underway. The first stage was at Coolamon over 64km. The first race of the series is always tough to get the handicaps right and this race was no exception! Being the reigning "leading female" I had been taken back a bunch from the girls I normally ride with, and I think we were actually the biggest bunch for the day with 23 riders (2 females). Most likely the combination of the size of the bunch, the start of the series and the mix of personalities, our bunch didn't really gel and blew itself apart at various points. Unfortunately I got caught out when the first splinter came off and was left chasing and trying to hang in with other bunches as they came through. In the end it was the bunch 3 minutes ahead of mine, with the bulk of the other girls racing, that got up for the win. Alex took 5th, Susie 7th and Grace 9th. So I am handing over my pink number to Alex, but I will be working hard to get it back at Stockinbingal in a couple of weeks!!

In between there has been a bit of time in the hills, and for those who know me well know how much I would have been loving that!! And some other fairly intense sessions!

Sorry for the epic post, but now you know where I have been! I have some other things to share, a review of a JetBlack Fluid Windtrainer that I promised Mick, and a bit about my new toy, but that will have to wait!

Thanks for reading, come back soon :)