Happy New Year

I have, as have most people, been rather busy over the Christmas period - and unfortunately not cycling.

I trust Santa was good to you all and brought you flashy new cycling gear - if not, I am sure Wiggle will have something on sale you could buy to console yourself with. Myself, I got a new dhb rainjacket and my brother got a new imagic fluid trainer.

I am still suffering from the crash which was in November. This was not helped by someone running up the back of my car in mid December which not only put the car out of action (still not back from the repairers yet) but also twinged my back for which I have had physio.

Currently I am still limping from the bike crash and my physio thinks that I may have torn the ligament and muscle away from where they are attached to the pelvis/hip. He reckons it could be up to 9 month to heal. I have decided that I would rather be safe than sorry so I am off to the quacks to get referred to a specialist. Need to get this fixed before we are due to go skiing with the school in March.

The injury means that I cannot get on or off the bike or when on the bike I cannot stand on the pedals to go uphill. Once I get on the bike then I can pedal comfortably. Over the last fortnight I have had 6 sessions of up to an hour on the gym bike (but it does not seem to be shifting the tummy I have developed or the 8 kilos I have put on since the etap in July)

To give myself some goals and on the assumption that I will be able to cycle this year I have entered some races. The first is the SWRC 100k on Feb 24th, the next is the Hampshire Hilly Hundred (100 miles which I completed in 5 hours 50 mins in 2007) in May, followed by the big one - the Dragon Ride in June.

The Dragon Ride is 180 Kilometres in Wales (bound to be raining) with 3000 metres of climb. A number of others (including the Guilford Pelaton) have also entered and we have all booked into the luxurious Premier Inn at the Junction 35 Services on the M4 the night before.

Happy cycling