Moving Along

// June 24th, 2008 // A Day Down Under

Ok, here is another post that should have been up a while back! It is a week late, but it is all good, because the second half of the year is just a week away, and i have set myself a “second-half-of-year’s” or “old-year’s” resolution, to be a good blog-updater! I have been way too slack this first half of the year, so that is all going to change, and hopefully i will regain some of my faithful readers and comment writers!

So there has been a heap going on for Keally and me. We got a U-Haul van last week, and loaded all of our stuff from the apartment, and drove back to Roswell. We were very efficient workers, and by 10.30 am, we had everything loaded up and were on our way!

Here is the U-Haul van out the front of our apartment.

And here is Keally on the back of the truck with all of the stuff in it. We really don’t have a lot of stuff, as you can probably tell…

So that was it, everything in. Scooter, matress, couch, couple of bikes, drawers, suitcases… Not a whole lot, as the studio apartment doesn’t hold a lot of stuff! It is pretty crazy that we barely had enough stuff to fill the small moving van, but also a good sign that if we do need to get it all over to Australia, it can be done!

So that was the move. Keally just got some work in Roswell, so it worked out really well. We have come back to her parent’s place, and it has been good timing, as her Dad, Oldy Dave, just got work out in Seattle, Washington, so he is off to the other side of the country, and we are here with her Mum and brother to give them company, and help get the house ready to sell.

Everything is changing here and it is all for the better! Keally has finished school and has her degree, Oldy Dave got a new job, I got a new team, and Keally and i have moved houses! All that in a two week period!

So last weekend Keally and i headed up to Nashville, Tennesse, for the Edgar Soto Memorial bike race. Spencer Beamer and i were the two who made the trek from our team, DLP Racing. It was a good time, and we went pretty well too; Spencer won the stage one time trial, and i won the stage two criterium on the nascar track! Wicked! About time i had a win, and what better way to come to the new team than with a win in my second week! Spencer and i raced really well together, and did well the following two stages also.

We got a good morning ride in on the Saturday, and cruised along a really nice bike path. It was a great way to roll the legs out in the morning, and this photo is pretty cool, so i thought i had better put it up!

Keally was on hand to get some race photos for us too, and i thought this one should go up, because it has Spencer and i in it, and i don’t get too many race photos to post up on here either.

So do you see the bike i am racing on there? Well, it is smashed now! On Tuesday, i headed out for a ride, and got run off the road by some car, hit the curb, slammed into the ground, and pretty much folded the down tube of the frame. The wheels both have huge dints in them too, and most things got pretty well trashed. I hit my shoulder and wrist pretty hard, and it all happened so fast i didn’t even get to try and jump the curb. Pretty crazy i didn’t do more damage, but i really thought i must have broken my collarbone… So now i have to be done with crashing for the year! Each time i have crashed this season, i still have skin trying to heal from the previous crash! Its all good now, i am back on the bike and training as usual, exploring my new training roads, of Roswell.

The training here is really quite good. I have found the river ride, which is nice and relatively flat, to give a break from the constantly rolling, undulating terrain. I have also found a really cool climb, really steep too. It took me 8 minutes to get to the top, and its only about 2 kilometres long! That was going really hard too, pretty much flat out (400 watts) all the way!

So things are looking good here, and i have a few races coming up. Also, it is about to turn into the second half of the year, so i am going to be a diligent blog-updater, and more successful, winning, crash free cyclist!

Anyway dudes, i hope everyone is well, and i look forward to hearing from you, or reading some comments, if you remember how to do it… I need to know i still have a few loyal readers!!!!

Fact: It is not possible to tickle yourself. The cerebellum, a part of the brain, warns the rest of the brain that you are about to tickle yourself. Since your brain knows this, it ignores the resulting sensation. Interesting huh?!

13 Responses to “Moving Along”

Huck says:

June 24, 2008 at 6:37 pm

Ok, i am making the first comment… How many of you tried to tickle yourself after reading that?
Keally says:

June 24, 2008 at 6:47 pm

Good post love. It is about time, now you have to change your blog photo! Good job on your win, hopefully there will be many more to come this year! Yes… I tried to tickle myself after reading that…
jon says:

June 24, 2008 at 11:05 pm

try your feet yes u can
Dad says:

June 24, 2008 at 11:28 pm

Gidday movers. Nice outfit from the new team but you must be costing them bigtime! Second new bike, and no doubt some clothes in jsut a few weeks of being in the team. Are they calling you ‘crash’ yet? So what happens when the ‘oldies’ move to Seattle? It really is a beautiful city too. Looking forward to seeing the famous ‘flying rider’ pic updated with the new colours shortly. Incidently I watched the flying scotsman movie recently, and while the book is naturally way more detailed I thought the movie was quite good. Winter is seeing a reduction in the training, so mostly riding to work only. ALthough I rode in the Eastlink ride, which I think I mentioned in the previous comment. Bill and Herbie are travelling well, in fact everyone is – except Stuart who I generally ride with on the weekends. He fell off on the way home last week and somehow planted his face as he slid sideways on a wet bend. Ouch! Sore nose, chipped teeth, very fat lip, but nothing broken. It puts him out for a couple of weeks though. Maybe he thought if its good enough for ‘crash’……I must admit though its gentle riding sometimes when its wet out there. I don’t do falls very well. Very pleased that all is going well for you guys. ALso, might be worth updating the links at some time. And, for us unknowledgeable people could you explain the comment re the 400 Watts. We have 75 and 100 Watt lights at home and I only have very low wattage lights on the bike, and they do not seem to make the slightest difference to my performance if they are on or not.
Scott says:

June 25, 2008 at 5:34 am

Good to see the purple scooter made the move!
Huck says:

June 25, 2008 at 4:06 pm

The scooter is actually blue, as far as my eyes can tell, thanks Scott!
Dad, and anyone else interested, 400 watts of power on the bike, measured with power cranks, is pretty damn hard! It is hard to explain, but average pace riding on the flat would be around 100-200 watts. Get some form of power meter for your bike Old Boy, and then you will realise you cannot go that hard!
Catherine Allen says:

June 27, 2008 at 3:21 am

Gday Tommy
Glad all is going well for you, i have a new phone plan with international credit so email me your phone number, Smit and i can call ya to say hi. My email is catt.allen@hotmail.com
Ps we always read your page, keep up the great work!!
Jim says:

June 30, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Yep, I’m still reading too.
Wish you were at Grandview!
LSD aka Leory says:

June 30, 2008 at 7:45 pm

Well done on the win Huckster! Sounds like a very busy couple of weeks, and you still managed a win!!! Maybe you should move more often?? I could tell your bike wasn’t going to be ridden for long, Kane would need it back sooner or later.

Fact;…coffee has been around for over 11 centuries and is currently the most widely consumed beverage in the world? Over 400 billion cups are consumed every year!
Mum says:

July 1, 2008 at 4:56 am

Hi Darl,
Good to see how the move took place and glad I have been to where you are now living as I can picture you there.
Nice you will be keeping the Benz crew company and working with them to get the house ready.
Hope there are some wins soon to add to the first one. Good luck.
Dad and I rode to Granny and Grandpa’s on the weekend and I found it pretty easy maybe from going to the gym and having the pedals stuck to my new bike shoes!!
I’ll speak soon,
Love Mum xxx
Davern White says:

July 3, 2008 at 6:12 pm

Hey Tommy,

Thought I’d better let you know that people are reading the blog with interest. Congratulations on the win. Stay upright. Murrumbeena still loves you.
Uncle John says:

July 3, 2008 at 6:17 pm

Hi Tommy

Another blog another crash! Should you give up the blogs and see what happens? Great news about how well things are going but PLEASE – NO MORE BLACK SOCKS!
michael says:

July 6, 2008 at 2:36 am

Check this website out. It’s a bit about the devil from le tour de france, ‘El Diablo’

http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/worlds-weirdest-and-largest-bikes/offbeat-news