So, what’s been going on? I’ve been back about a month and a half now and things are ticking along nicely. After getting back, I took some time off the bike, did a bit of camping and travelling then thought I’d better fit two or three long rides in before doing K2 (183km, 2500m climbing). With about 15 hours of endurance training under the belt, Cory and I set off in a cruisy group 2 on another adventure. Our adventure hadn’t been underway for very long before Cory was thwarted with a puncture. Fixing it was a breezy team effort and by the time Cory had the wheel back in the frame and I’d had my first of many pee stops group 3 were rolling around the corner and we were off again. All was going well until about 15km out from the halfway point where Cory got his second puncture and didn’t have a second spare tube, neither did I as I was riding tubulars. Leaving him by the roadside I took off in hopes of finding someone starting at the halfway point (K1) who would be willing to pick him up. That eventually didn’t work out and his dad ended up doing a lap of the course to pick him up and get him to the finish. I ended up finishing with an official time of two minutes over six hours, but without the puncture stops managed sub six. Luckily I felt significantly better than I expected all the way round and finished fresh as a daisy, looks like my legs were still there! So now I’m into some proper training, no more of the casual “I might ride today, then again I might not” and more of the “I’m gonna ride today!”. The newly found enthusiasm is doubled by the arrival of a new bike! The new look 2016 Giant TCR Advanced and it’s amazing! Will be following up with a review sometime next week. But for now, I’m going to go out and make the most of it! None of this would be possible without the amazing support from Victor and the team at Ride Bikes Tauranga and Giant Bicycles New Zealand. There’s definitely a long list of people that deserve credit for helping me be where I am and for what I’ve achieved this year. A big thank you to Paul Rogers who has coached me through the ups and downs that this year has thrown me. To Vaughan Poutawara and Andy Vane from Orthopacifix New Zealand for their support and guidance. A huge thank you to Jozef Mertens and Karin Maris and my big extended family in Belgium, without whom I’d be a very lost soul in a small but intimidating country! Of course mum and dad deserve a mention as well, who have always supported me unconditionally and whom without I’d be lucky to be in a house, let alone able to race my bike at the level I do. Where to from here? Hopefully lots of bike riding in good weather with some solid racing and to sort a job out. If you’re local and know of anything going or need a gardener, get in touch!