Withdrawal ...

I am in serious Tour of Ireland withdrawal at the moment. I pedal in my sleep, dream of running to the finish to get the results from the tour referees ... and, I can’t get that HQ STAFF pass off my neck. I was still very happy yesterday and this morning, but tonight it has started to hit me hard. Went for a short spin with a couple of my cycling buddies ...which felt great, but right now I am just depressed and I just want to get out on my bike again... I don’t even know what to type... I need a weekend away with my bike... somewhere else than Dublin, to breathe some new air and cycle different hills...

On my flight back to Dublin, I was sitting beside Magnus Backstedt from team Garmin Chipolte, whom I had been tracking all week to check how massive he was... ( on that picture I was on my tippy toes ). We talked about everything and anything and I can tell you, he reads Cycling Weekly too! He mentioned that the ToI roads weren’t great and that even if for us, the views looked amazing, the only things these guys were looking at were the arrows pointing which direction to take on the road. “Ah yes Magnus, these shitty roads are ours and these are the conditions we have to cycle in over here ... and we never complain” ... or do we.

On the topic of food “ Magnus, what do you eat after a cycle?” ... “High Protein Drinks and eat more proteins after”. Which is probably better than a pizza or some Chinese curry chips... ( yes lads, this is directed to you ). Made me think that my weekly training egg white sandwiches that I stopped eating when I ran out ketchup were not bad after all... I think I will get more ketchup tomorrow.

On a complete different topic ... my winter training has started today... and that means: lights, reflective vests, Low calorie weekdays food to get rid of the stubborn 10 lbs I have left to lose ... and I will (as soon as I come back from Alpe Dhuez) go for morning swims and cycles before work + gym after work! ... I am determined, I think ...