So, welcome to my web
page. It was originally started to keep of record of my
travels as I rode the route of the Tour de France in 2009.
That was a magnificent experience, and although there were times when I
felt terrible and was suffering so much I contemplated giving up, I now
look back on it as one of my best adventures.
Over four weeks I got to
ride my bike through 7 countries, climb some of the most famous climbs
in bike racing, camp in some breathtakingly beautiful spots (as well as
at least one patch of gravel about 3 meters off the side of a major
highway... I was tired), meet some fantastic people who I still keep in
touch with today and of course live the Tour de France, my
way. The worst things about it though was being away from my
friends and family for far too long.
One thing that helped
was keeping this blog, and since then I just kind of like the idea, so
it is still here. The focus is mainly on bikes and bike
riding, and the sport I do, but every know and then there are random
other things thrown in. I am in the process of moving it all to a new host and completely new site right
now, and a lot of stuff is still on the old site,
sorry. To get there, just click the link on the
here.
Once you are there you can read all about my trips around the
Tour de France (one and a half times), the Vuelta ciclista de Espana,
the Tour de Timor and a few other various races for good measure!
These will eventually be imported into this new version of the
site, but not before June. The
Giro 2010 link will be a bit sad, that one just never hapened, but it
is OK
because it will be even better in 2013!
This year there are a lot of big changes happening in my life. I
have a new job, which includes moving to a different country, that I
am really looking forward to. Before then I have to finish up
my old contract first. The good news is that the leave for
the Giro is already in the system, so that bit doesn't change!
That
first trip around the Tour de France was done just for the fun of it,
but while I was there I started thinking about other things I could do.
It occured to me (actually, I was inspired by Lance Armstrong,
though I'm not sure that I should admit that) that maybe I could be
doing something good in the world as I rode, and so this year, that is
what I am aiming for. I will be raising funds for three great
charities as I follow the Giro d'Italia, so hopefully in some small way I can make the world a better place.
There is also a HUGE adventure that I think will have to happen some
time. It certainly won't be this year, and probably not next,
but it is in the pipeline for the long run. Which is nice,
because after the Giro I will have ridden all three Grand Tours, so I
will need a new challenge! Anyway, the first thing is the
Giro, so best I go and
get ready for that!
Stay tuned for all of the news, and remember you will hear about it
here first! (or maybe twitter. Don't forget to
follow me on twitter. @tourletour, of course...)