Mates & Miles - Maddog USA Update

Gday Y'all,

I am writing from the gorgeous South Carolinian town of Greenville this time, a far cry from Ballarat at last posting.

Arriving in the USA a week or so ago has brought back so many memories; the starbucks, the panera bread, the Quizno's and the MOE's! But before all these treats of the belly beckoned some happy and sad times greeted me back in my mother country.

January was a roller coaster for travel, training and trying to avoid Sydney's appauling weather of late.

Adelaide for Juvenile Diabetes

Straight from national's the trip to Adelaide was a real treat. Attending the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation annual ride to cure diabetes in the Barossa valley for the first time was a memorable few days. With hundreds of others we managed to raise over $1million for further research into finding a cure which is really promising especially hearing about the trials going on with stem cell research.
Now if you are a mouse with Type1 diabetes now, you are good to go- fully cured. Next stop humans!

Ride patron and ex tour de france pro Steve Hodge was a great ambassador and a pleasure to ride with in Sunny Adelaide.

Spending a few extra days in Adelaide training with friends was a wise idea, the sun had forgotten Sydney this summer and as always beautiful Adelaide and my wonderful hosts Greggy and Rose turned the town into an oasis for the few days I was there.

Sydney & Willos Wedding

Back to Sydney and training was frustrating with wet weather seemingly unstoppable.

I took the backpack for a few days and ventured South to visit some family and friends in the Southern Highlands and South coast. This was magical, clocking up 200km days with the backpack fully loaded through the highlands was tough but beautiful. But the most important thing about being back in hometown Sydney was being with mates before I departed for an extended period of time. Despite the weather. We snuck in a memorable few Wiseman's loops, plenty of dream loop park ups and some classic dawn patrols on the beaches with top company. Of course the Beaumont Rd. world championship had a super solid turnout, wanting to leave with a win under the belt turned out to be a bigger challenge than I anticipated as NSCC ganged up on me and the appearance of class sprinters Nash and Mick making appearances, I settled for 3rd. Time in Australia was winding up quickly and was capped off with a memorable trip to the wedding of the century; the Wilson wedding at Coffs Harbour. Perfect weather, perfect mates and the biggest smile I have ever seen on the Trent Wilson dial made it a beautiful few days and a perfect break from training.

Atlanta and US Racing

Since the seemingly endless commute from Sydney to Atlanta has been run and done. The jet lag is frustrating and getting to sleep is something I remember as being quite pleasant. We have been very well looked after on the team this year though.

We are settling into our McMansion in suburban Atlanta and a good bunch of team mates makes this a fun experience. The racing bandwagon is already underway with no weekends off for over a month. This weekend was the pre season series in Greenville, SC. Legs felt ok but still a little fatigued, managed to string together a lead out to help get 3 team mates in the top10 for the first race of the year was encouraging. The Sunday race was pouring rain and freezing cold. The suffering of bike racing re emerged in the mind as I was losing feeling in the fingers and toes, however it is handy having memories of the Crocodile trophy still reasonably fresh in the mind which pale any pain into comparative insignificance.

In lighter news, the other main updates from life in the USA: 'The Bachelor' on NBC is reaching crunch time as they all meet eachother's families tonight- eager to see who will miss out on a 'rose' later tonight! RACHEL RAE just hit 1000 episodes!!!!! and can you believe it... Regis from Regis and Kelly is no more!!! Its just Kelly Ripper on the morning show!!!!!! and Starbucks now do a cinnamon 'dolce' latte, the dark cherry mocha got the flick.

Life in Greenville, SC

I am spending the next few days in Greenville, this is a popular destination for pro cyclists and feels like a 2nd USA hometown after spending a lot of time here in 2010. With splendid roads, great scenery and a few good coffee shops. Staying here highlights some of the wonderful aspects of the USA- the people, everyone is so polite and hospitable over here. It is a real pleasure to talk to locals about our team and our mission with TT1.

This makes being away from home more bearable. But of course there is no place like home. Plying one's trade as an Australian cyclist usually involves extended periods of life away from down under. Saying goodbye to those who are most important to me is always hard. But being in touch with home is always an exciting and happy treat. So please always feel free to say gday on the emails, SMS's and skypes. LOVE it!

Next major stop, the Californian stage races of Redlands and San Dimas.

Till then thanks for reading, I gotta run now 'The Bachelor' is on TV.
cheers,
Justin Mad Dog