Archive for August, 2007

Charlotte, and an Aussie Visitor!

// August 9th, 2007 // 1,489 Comments » // A Day Down Under

Hey dudes,

Last weekend we raced the Charlotte criterium, which i wrote a race report for on the team website, so check that out if the racing updates interest you! I was feeling great in the race, but unfortunately, my cassette came undone, and it messed up my finish, after looking at a really good result with 500m to go, so i didn’t have the best weekend.

As far as other things go, my very close mate James, who i have been friends with since we were 5, came over to visit. He arrived on his birthday, at 1am, and spent it at the airport! We had a great time catching up, and after he has traveled around the country a bit, is planning on a return in time to watch the opening game of the college football season!
Here we are enjoying his birthday celebrations, which were held a couple of days later!
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For his birthday, we brought on some hot, HOT, Georgia weather! Check out the temperature gauge in Keally’s car, 107 Fahrenheit, which is great for training!
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For those ‘normal people’, who use the metric system for measuring things, it equals a scorching 42 degrees Celsius. Just thought i should put that up for the friends back home, who are probably wishing it were a bit warmer, in the middle of Winter!!!!
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On the way home from Charlotte, we stopped in at the ‘World’s Biggest Fireworks Store’, and i was in heaven!
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Check out the size of this ripper!!!!
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The place was so huge, it even had shopping trolleys for people to use while selecting their fireworks! People who know me well, know that i am really into the firecracker thing, and they will also be pleased to know, that the crackers in the States, are just nowhere near as loud as my Aussie ones! I have tested out most of them, and they don’t even make a loud bang.
We went downtown and played some pool during the week, on a nice, uneven table. That probably had something to do with Eric and i being able to win!
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The main reason for including the above picture was so i could show off my new flat-billed hat! It is so ghetto, and makes me so cool! It is a Chicago Stags hat, and it was only 49 cents! And that was on tax free weekend in Georgia! I also got a Houston Rockets one for my little brother too! Man, i now need to overhaul my wardrobe, and get a full kit of clothing that is suitable to wear with flat-billed hats!!!!
I was having a look on the internet the last week, on youtube, and i found a good laugh with this one! I was searching on the internet for a Peter Garrett dancing video so i could show Keally how wacky he looked, and then i found they have Peter Garrett dance offs, and the next one is going to be right here in the States!
Anyway…
Did you know a bowling pin needs to be tilted to an angle of 7.5 degrees for it to fall?
Have fun dudes, laters…

Altoona racing…

// August 2nd, 2007 // 5 Comments » // A Day Down Under

Hey there,

We just raced the Tour de Toona last week, un in Altoona, PA. Unfortunately, it was too hilly, and we didn’t set the world on fire! Fortunately though, we got to stay with the best host family the USA has to offer, the Woomer family – Scott, Amy, and Lauren! I was lucky enough to stay with them last year, and have kept in close contact with ever since, so they were happy to help out once again. We had a great time catching up again, having a bit more time than the brief meeting in Philly!
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Above I am sitting with Scott and Amy, and below, Lauren is giving Thomas a hand cleaning the car! Thank you so much for the great week guys!
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Here i have a picture Amy took from the criterium, the final of seven stages. It was a really fast, short crit, and a great way to finish the hard week of racing. It is nice to have a racing photo to put up here for once, seeing as i never have any online!
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Toona is a race for the chicks really, so the guys are the warm-up race for them, meaning we often start racing at 8am. This is way too early to start a bike race, as wake up time ends up being just rude! The good thing about it though, is that there is plenty of spare time in the afternoons to relax, and on the shorter race days, even do something like show our hand at other sport. Hop and i hit up the batitng cages with Scott and Lauren, while Tim and Amy watched. We had a ball, and i think i should give Barry Bonds a hand getting that last home run to equal the record! Hop had a go at the major league speed pitches, and they were rockets!
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After the baseball practise, we had basketball training, and here is Hoppy slamming home an “alley oop”! I am pretty sure this is proper bad ass stuff!
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The week was capped off with a BBQ, cooked by Willo. Good steak and chicken, and some snags too!
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Toona was a good return to racing, after five weeks of no racing for us. It was a good way to get some speed back in the legs, and it should serve as a good opener for the big crits coming up. Next weekend is Charlotte, so i hope that goes well, and i can get up there for the finish. Things are going well, and i am a lot better than the same time last year, so i am super excited to hopefully do well!

Have a good one dudes, laters…