Mein camp.

So, here I am in sunny rAdelaide for the pre-Oceania Championships training camp. Most of the time it has been sunny, except for the morning when I had the time to go for a ride. The weather looked pretty woeful and I thought that my chance may have been missed, but then it seemed to clear. I quickly threw on my kit and rolled out.Within about 15 minutes the dark clouds stormed back over and dumped on me pretty hard. I was already wet and facing the unknown of when I may have a morning off again I pushed on, and the rain and wind kept up. By the time I turned around at the top of One Tree Hill, I was learning the hard way that it was well past time to rinse my helmet pads, and the rain got harder. Still, it was good to get out on the bike, and I’ve certainly spent days on end riding in that kind of weather. It certainly wasn’t my carpet I was making a mess of as I trudged back upstairs to the apartment for a wash.

It has been a pretty good camp. I have met most of the office staff, the rest of the riders on the squad, a couple of coaches and bumped into some of the guys here training for the track world championships to be held in Apeldoorn, Netherlands at the end of the month. It has been a time to go with the flow, working out different people’s rhythms and methods and getting a handle on the big picture. I have been asking a thousand questions to one of the mechanics and storing all sorts of valuable facts and figures. As much as I like to bag out mechanics as wastrels and drunkards, they are amazing and they truly make the best of friends. They know everything that is going on.

Today the weather was fantastic, just what I needed for the day I had planned to clean out the camper. It is certainly looking a whole lot better from the inside, and it pleases me that the contents of the drawers and cupboards are logical and tidy. I know this makes me sounds like an OCD sufferer, but if you’ve ever seen how much time a mechanic spends washing bikes, I’m fully in the clear! I also have an intimate knowledge of all the hard edges and corners inside the camper where one is likely to bang ones head.

With the race food, bidons, utensils, first aid kits, chairs, marquees and all manner of other sundry items loaded and stored, we seem pretty ready to hit the road early on Monday morning. And that is early, early as in before the sparrow even thinks about farting. We head to Shepparton, set up, and then drive to the airport in Melbourne to pick up the riders who fly in a day later.

All the boys are in good shape and looking forward to racing. I’m pretty sure they will be pretty close to achieving the goals that they’ve set for themselves. Meanwhile, I have a few notes to write up after the treatments this afternoon and then it will be time to head off for dinner.