lisa morgan

With the Tour nearly over and no longer able to take up 3 to 4 hours of every day it's time to think about getting back out and doing some exercise.  The ankle is basically at a point of 'no better, no worse' and I'm able to run and ride on it, so it's time to start keeping good on my end of the bargain - I get to take a pretty long break from training proper, but I have to get myself in a respectable state of fitness for when I go back on a programme.  Besides, getting fat and lazy can only appeal for a very limited period of time.

We've had a stellar weekend in Wellington - crisp, clear days.  So I managed to get out and help with some track work at Makara, go for a nice cruisy ride around the bays, and take Ken's 'cross bike up in to the trails.  Charlotte, Tim, Shane, Jude and Ken were there too - Ken on his 'cross bike, Shane on his 1x7 and Tim on his 9'er - motley crew eh.

I had a blast!  I didn't really know what to expect from a 'cross bike, only that I thought it would feel all sketchy from the rare occasional I've ended up on gravel on the roadie (like before Christmas last year).  But the control is amazing!  It's so fast, heaps of traction and I feel like I can trust it on most things so far.  We were at Wainui Trail Park and my first real test was when we headed in to 491 track.  The top corner took a couple of false starts and I was so close to dumping the front wheel off the side of the track but stayed on course to get around the next corner and down the bridge.  Charlotte took a short vid as Ken and I came down the bridge together (I haven't put video on before so hopefully it works...).

It gets harder and harder to scare yourself stupid as your skill level increases, and this was a great way of doing it.  Man did I appreciate suspension and disc brakes though - I've never ridden fully rigid, and haven't had rim brakes for about 6 years.  These bikes accelerate super quick and I could probably be heard through the whole valley as Ken and I came down one of the firebreaks to finish our ride - the others stayed out for a couple more hours but I didn't have to, so I didn't.

Over the next few weeks the PNP Balfour Pennington road handicap series is on - I'm planning on heading to two or three of them, and the next two 'cross races are in August and September.  And let's not forget the PNP MTB series.  Like I said in my last post, the calendar fills up quickly!