White Powder

Hi all. The last couple of days have been quite a new experience for me. When I woke up on Sunday morning and looked out my window I was surprised to see that it had been snowing all night. There is something different about waking up to snow where you actually live compared to having to drive 8 hours to see it at Thredbo or Perisher. I thought it was kind of sweet to see this site until I realised that it forces me to ride indoors. After a 2hr session on the rollers (indoor trainer) and then checking to see if I was still a man, I decided snow isn't all that good, especially for training. I took a few photos to share with you (of the snow that is.)

Thanksgiving

Hi all,



I'm currently writing this blog while I'm in Springfield, Missouri. It's about a 3hr drive south-west from St. Charles. Paddy, Chev and Myself made the trip down here on Tuesday night to stay at fellow Australian Pat Bergin's house for Thanksgiving. Bergin is a swimmer at Missouri State University, I hadn't met Pat before this trip but chev and Paddy are good friends with him. He is a great bloke and now a good mate. Bergin and his Canadian housemate Eric have been unbelievable hosts for my first Thanksgiving. The meal that Eric and Francy cooked for the group was amazing and is certainly the best meal I have had since being in the states.



Since my last post I have just been doing the same as usual; a lot of training, more familiarising myself with the nightlife of St. Charles and adding in some uni work when I can. My training is coming along well I think and have really noticed improvement since I came off my break. I hope to do better at Bay Crits in Melbourne this coming January and the way my training is going I think I should be OK. It is two weeks today until I head back to Australia and although I won't be seeing some of my friends I have over here for 6 weeks I am really looking forward to seeing my family and friends back in Oz over the break, can't wait to get home and catch up everyone.

I will add some photos as soon as I can of my time in Springfield, but until next time stay safe.

College Life

After realising how long it has been since I last posted I thought I should give you an update of what I've been doing in the last few weeks while in the US. My life recently has basically consisted of college, exploring the main street of St. Charles (cafe's by day, clubs at night) and training. It is the off season right now and I won't be able to race until I return to Australia in December. This is a lot different to being in Australia where we can race on the road all winter, over here many people turn to cyclocross to get their race fitness. I have decided to not worry about setting myself up with a cyclocross bike and just focus on my road training. I have enjoyed doing some longer rides lately with the boys and exploring new roads and paths. It is a nice experience to start riding on a road and having know idea where it goes and where it will take you. I often ride to an area we call 'the farms' which is basically dead flat farmland with very quiet and smooth roads, the only downside is that because it is so open I usually encounter sopme pretty strong winds which slows the pace right down.



St. Charles is also the starting point of the Katy Trail. This is a compacted gravel path that extends over 220miles (350km) and follows, for the most part, the Missouri River. It was orignally a railroad track but has since been turned into a recreation path. This is another of our favourite rides and it is beautiful to ride, there are no cars, great scenery and you often feel like you are alot further away from any towns then what you really are. The trail is also protected from the wind, the only bad part is how dirty your bike gets!



The weather has finally turned now for good. Last night it got down to -2 celcius and it didn't get past 7 celcius all of today, and its not even winter yet. I look forward to living over here when it snows but in the meantime there is no benefit for it being so cold.





My camera hasn't made it out with me to too many places but this was one of the many good nights we have had at Tony's on Top. If you ever make it to St. Charles you can't go past this watering hole.



Picture of my room which I share with Owen. Of course it is usually much cleaner than this, must have been a bad day.

Will try and be more constant with my postings.

Keep safe