People have been wishing me luck since I left and since I got here and it seems that it’s really not working. So the weekend and preceding days kind of went like this: Good, very good, miserable, bad, bad, ok, very bad, very good. So a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, which is ironic because I was on a rollercoaster on Saturday. We weren’t racing Saturday as there were no races nearby, so our team manager and his family dropped off a massive hamper of chocolates and goodies before picking us up and taking us out for lunch which mum had kindly organised from all the way back home. After our hunger was sufficiently sated (the first good), we were back in the car and I had no idea where we going. When we pulled into Bobbejaanland, a theme park in Belgium all three of us sitting in the back looked at each other like this. This was the first very good. We had an amazing day, despite being told for one ride that we wouldn’t get wet and I ended up coming out absolutely drenched after explicitly stating that I didn’t do wet. Sunday we raced and this is where the miserable and bad came in. Miserable started when we arrived and it began to rain. I’m used to racing in the rain now, chuck some embrocation on your legs to keep the water off and stay warm, have a decent base layer, arm warmers and accept your fate. The racing was the first bad part, fairly negative, guys chasing everything down and then when one rider got up the road, his teammates just sat on the front, slowed everyone down and got in the way of chase efforts. There was a 100 metre section of the course that was cobbled with a footpath running along the edge. As you came around the corner onto the cobbles, there was a culvert to ride up onto the path. We were about 60km in when I rode onto the path via the culvert and the fellow next to me decided he also wanted to be on the footpath, despite missing the culvert. It was, at maximum, a five centimetre lip that he had to mount, and if he’d had some patience maybe he wouldn’t have messed up. But he lacked patience and most obviously, bike skill. He clipped the culvert as he tried to come up, fell into me, I swerved into the bushes that we were riding parallel to, my handlebars dug in on the left hand side and I was thrown over the front of the bike. I landed on my elbow and knew at once that I wouldn’t be finishing the race, so after giving a more profuse version of this to the kid that took me out, I waited for the ambulance, returned back to the start and watched from the medics tent as Cory and Christian finished. Cory in 10th, Christian not far behind in the bunch kick. This was the second bad. After talking to my mum on the way back to our accommodation and being advised that if I can push the joint and it doesn’t hurt, there’s no need to put anyone out and go to the hospital, just go home and see how it is the following day, so that’s whatI did, because mothers are always right. Monday I was still fairly sore, not enough to warrant pain meds, so Cory and I were up early and on the wrong train to Oudenaarde. Coincidentally we were an hour late because of this, so were the people we were meeting because they also missed their first train, so everything turned out better than expected. We were meeting Daniel Molyneux and his teammate Morgan Smith, Daniel rides with our club back home, and is in Belgium with his teammates from his Subaru Albion team. They’ve come over from Ireland where they raced the An Post Ras with some of the same luck I’ve been having. It was great to catch up with Daniel but unfortunately as it was a Monday, the Tour of Flanders museum and alot of other places were closed, so we sat round for the rest of the day, ate pastries and talked nonsense before catching the late train back. That was a good/ok day. The next day I woke up to a big ‘18′ sign above my bed from Christian as it was my birthday. The morning consisted of opening a couple of presents and a load of cards from Belgians who’d sent them me, but I’m not entirely sure I know them and from family in the UK who, without naming names, one managed to leave the pen in the card before they sealed and sent it! This was followed by the eventual trip to the hospital as my elbow wasn’t feeling better. Cory came alog for the ride and even promised me lunch at the end for my birthday, which was bloody amazing! I know where I’m going next time I’m there! After my x-ray I was told that I’ve fractured the ulna right where the humerus has pounded into the joint as I landed on my forearm. I was then informed that I’ll have to be put in a cast or sling, with a rumoured 30 degree day on Friday and an exam to write next weekend, the guy probably saw that my reaction to this wasn’t overly positive. He then told me he’d go check with an orthopaedic surgeon as to his opinion, so I was then on to a CT scan, followed by a consultation with the orthopaedic surgeon before leaving with a special birthday present from a Belgian hospital of a sling and a CD of pictures of my bones, something for the ladies. This means two weeks in a sling and on the turbo, supporting the boys at races and making sure everything heals nicely. That ended the very bad day and I’m starting to cross everything for the end of my bad luck. That night I was treated to dinner and a surprise party from a load of my teammates and their parents. There was lots of cake and lots of calories and even after seeing my weight the next day and knowing I can’t ride, I have no regrets! Sven Nys heard it was my birthday as well, so after racing a pro kermesse against Greg van Avermaet, Nike Terpstra, Greg Henderson and a load of other pro’s, he came to his sisters cafe for drinks and wished me happy birthday, not too shabby! A big thank you to you everyone that came along and for looking after me! It was a good night and I’m grateful of everything everyone has done for me. So, where does this leave me now? With a bit more spare time, a university exam and probably fewer blogs in the meantime. I’ll try keep everyone updated as to how I’m progressing in about a weeks time, but until then spare a prayer for the kid having to bear the wind trainer whilst the weather’s picking up! T.W.C