Pat's cobblestone debut

Hey everyone,

So its been a while sense my last blog and I'm now back in Australia after spending just over 2 months based in Castronno, Italy. We travelled around Europe racing in the Nations Cup races, each one was a different experience from the cobbles in Belgium to the hills in France and the cross winds in Holland.

One of the best memories would have been riding the Junior Tour of Flanders as it was extremely different to anything I have ever done before! The day before the race was the first time I had ever ridden the cobbles and I remember laughing with some of the boys that we could hardly ride over them training and how much easier it looks on TV, luckily it was easier in the race.

I really enjoy coming to Italy as the training here is so diverse.  Plenty of climbs for the harder days, some nice rides around the lakes and the compulsory coffee shop for the recovery days. Last year I came to Italy in summer so it was a bit different this year as some days it was only 3 degrees! My trip finished up with the Tour of Japan which was a really good race with a lot of tough climbs including a mass start 11km road race up Mt Fuji. That was a really tough climb but a great view from up the top of the mountain. We also spent a day at the Keirin School and did a circuit race around the different training roads they have there. This was the hardest stage with a lot of short sharp climbs. We finished our trip to Japan with a night shopping in Tokyo -  it was crazy how busy the city was.

After getting home I had a week off the bike and now i'm back into training for the last half of the season and after my new experiences in Europe more motivated then ever.

Next on the calendar is Tour of Gippsland and before that we have a training camp in Queensland so that will be good to get out of the cold Melbourne weather!

Until next time,

Pat