Break Time
I've been home from Australia for a few days now and the off-season has officially begun. I'm enjoying it. The best part of being back home is that I stand little chance of being recognized as "the bum guy," as in: "oh my god, you're the bum guy." Those exact words were uttered by one of the Red Bull promotional girls at the last Sun Tour stage in Melbourne.
Those last couple of days in Australia were, as I had hoped they would be, a lot less stressful. I only rode the TT just fast enough not to get time cut. In the final criterium, my main goal was to avoid falling over again. There were a fair number of crashes, so accomplishing that goal was far from assured. I managed it by simply staying near the back and allowing a bit of cushion between myself and the rider in front of me through the corners. Of course, that meant I had to close the gap after every turn, but I was alright with that. It's no way to win a race, but it kept me safe. Eventually the field split and, because of my position at the back, I was at the wrong end of it. My 2006 season ended a couple laps later when the commissaire pulled my group off the course. And so the nightmare year comes to a close.
In Melbourne, the race organizers put us up in a great apartment-style hotel right at the edge of downtown. It's a beautiful city and it was a welcome change after a week in low-end motor hotels in small rural towns. After the race, we had only one night to relax and play tourist, but I think we all managed to do pretty well. I definitely had no trouble sleeping on the airplane the next day.
Now I'm back in Portland, resting up. I've spent the last couple of days drinking coffee, reading the paper, and doing a little work on my apartment. My plan for the rest of the afternoon is to walk to Stumptown Coffee with Adrienne and drink a Belgian beer. That's about as ambitious as I plan to be for a few weeks. It sounds nice.
Central Melbourne as seen from the pedestrian promenade along the Yarra River. There were a number of pedestrian-only bridges crossing the river. It's a great city to explore by foot.
I'm not entirely sure what this thing is, but it was visible from my hotel room window.
I installed these lights in my kitchen after getting home. I plan for life to be this boring for a little while. Stay tuned for all the details.
Those last couple of days in Australia were, as I had hoped they would be, a lot less stressful. I only rode the TT just fast enough not to get time cut. In the final criterium, my main goal was to avoid falling over again. There were a fair number of crashes, so accomplishing that goal was far from assured. I managed it by simply staying near the back and allowing a bit of cushion between myself and the rider in front of me through the corners. Of course, that meant I had to close the gap after every turn, but I was alright with that. It's no way to win a race, but it kept me safe. Eventually the field split and, because of my position at the back, I was at the wrong end of it. My 2006 season ended a couple laps later when the commissaire pulled my group off the course. And so the nightmare year comes to a close.
In Melbourne, the race organizers put us up in a great apartment-style hotel right at the edge of downtown. It's a beautiful city and it was a welcome change after a week in low-end motor hotels in small rural towns. After the race, we had only one night to relax and play tourist, but I think we all managed to do pretty well. I definitely had no trouble sleeping on the airplane the next day.
Now I'm back in Portland, resting up. I've spent the last couple of days drinking coffee, reading the paper, and doing a little work on my apartment. My plan for the rest of the afternoon is to walk to Stumptown Coffee with Adrienne and drink a Belgian beer. That's about as ambitious as I plan to be for a few weeks. It sounds nice.
Central Melbourne as seen from the pedestrian promenade along the Yarra River. There were a number of pedestrian-only bridges crossing the river. It's a great city to explore by foot.
I'm not entirely sure what this thing is, but it was visible from my hotel room window.
I installed these lights in my kitchen after getting home. I plan for life to be this boring for a little while. Stay tuned for all the details.
2 Comments:
Nice Melbourne shots.
Also, nice Vanilla 'cross bike.
Tyler, who sucks at remounts
wonder what spring in portland is like? seems you are going to miss a winter post...
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