2016/2017/2018
Cycling,Travel,Muses,Lows,Highs... LIFE.
Phillipines (OFF SEASON)
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| Birthday Gala |
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| Active Health Club |
Australia
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| Soaking in the rays |
2 months: Pre season training/ Group rides / Personal Training / Chilling with friends
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| Excerpt from local newspaper |
and the most important, Family Time!!
Germany
1 month: Early season races (Legs were surprisingly fresh for that early in the season, generally i'm a late bloomer.) Velodrome speed work/ Group rides/ Maintaining my German/ Meet & Greets.
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| Bruggen |
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| Zusmarshausen |
Den Haag ( Netherlands)
(LIVING SITUATIONS)
Now my permanent base after 2 years of several relocation's, such highlights have included: Squatting at my previous team managers bare bones of an unfinished apartment. House/Cat Sitting (side note I am not much of cat man, so the high horse of a cat called Sushi put me through the runners but I'm glad to say the cat survived :P.)
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| Summer times in the studio |
Though this was only a 6 month short stay contract, so it wasn't long before the bags were packed for another ring around the roses. Which landed me to the final location, my apartment set aside for just the girl and I. pheww it was time to put up the legs and pour a bottle of red.
(RACING ANTICS)
Racing was good, no stand out results came out of the 2017 season but the legs were consistent . I had a run of top 10's and top 5's but that elusive podium remained that "elusive". It's never a overnight take away but I've been glad with the overall progression over the last years. New training schemes, Nutrition, Mental practices have seen huge improvements not only in efficiency on the bike but in every day life. It has left me with a broader sense of what my body best responds to, be that for physical gains or mental clarity. Frankly I'm just much happier on and off the bike. If your interested in also resetting yourself back to optimal self, start following RESET4FREE. A online source where I will be providing tips to hack your health.
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Belgium
Good,bad and down right fun, cant expect much else from Belgium.There was a close run at the podium in Zwijndrecht, 5th!! I found myself from the get go in a 10km three man breakaway, this was brought back but was soon countered by a 80km, 7 man break which I evidently found myself in. The break worked well to stay away and it came down to the line, no gas left in the tank and a string of counter attacks within the later stages of the race, resulted in me coming 5th in the final dash for the line. close but no cigar!!
(MID YEAR RUNAROUNDS)
Besides the bike front. I worked back at Lola bikes & coffee/ Tozto bike rentals. A nice side gig for extra cash and keeping the barista & bike mechanic skills on point.
Another mid year crash, left a string of on/off bike appearances the rest of the season. That extra time though left me free to rekindle with old passions such as music. I picked up the trusty guitar & got back to gigging. That unbelievable freedom of expression & incomparable ability to touch others through music, I truly missed. As Summer came and went, so did the gigs. So in the spirit of music, I jumped into the world of Electronica. This allowed me to spend the majority of time in Studio and out of the cold. I quickly set aside a goal to sign onto a label. There was the natural steep learning curve, hours spent in Studio and countless rejections but lo and behold there came that contract. Although only a single release on a compilation album, it was better than unreleased work taking up space on my laptop and in my head. I go under the name "Drawn Sands" check it on Spotify.
Singer Songwriter "James Captain":
Australia (again)
2 months: This trip really came out of the blue. Some news of a health crisis within the family, led me to fly back to Oz. It coincided well though with giving notice to the Lola company. This was mainly due to running my course there. I had enjoyed the experiences and friends made but it was time for a change. The business would grow 2 fold & I was ready for another business venture, something under more of my own terms.
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| Out for a hike with the brother |
While swapping out the Europe Winter with the Steamy Australian Summer, I was able to fix issues within my body that had hindered my 2017 season. The pieces came back together & I was able to enjoy riding/hiking/swimming/running basically anything I felt like in the small piece of Paradise called "Cairns".
I have now just recently returned to Europe. I look forward to diving into the new racing season & new job at My Hotel Bikes, In charge of keeping Den Haag & Rotterdam Hotelbikes in check.
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| The Bakfiets Fleet |
inJOlife, RESET4FREE, Drawn Sands, James Captain and now Dutch school. A FULL house but I'm living it up!!
Are you?
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