Turning this year around ( finally )

So as promised I'm back , and super glad to say so is the TTE, it's pretty obvious to anyone who reads the blog I've struggled this year with not having the bike available and the effect it has had on results and my mental focus, it's hard knowing your half the rider mentally but twice the rider physically you where last year,and I struggled massively without my trusted power meter on race day .but hopefully that's all behind me and its onwards and upwards and a whole new focus and the results will show what we have worked so hard for.

So I got to try the new NoPinz super suit today, it felt on par material wise with the smart aero suit but the fit was better thanks to the silicone grippers keeping the arms and legs exactly where they started, it's a super tight fit in all the right places but still allows free movement so it was a great first ride and look forward to getting a good season out of it. This week I rocked up at the bristol South club event sporting training kit and wearing the NoPinz championship suit 

and got some funny looks when I took all the pins off my number and proceeded to slide the number into the wallet behind, a lot of confused faces and poking and prodding of the suit ensuded to see what it was all about. It was a good ride after a 20 min TT effort 20 mins before they start and still put out a good power effort for the event despite really struggling to get the power down on the 9.4 position. I was expecting a real slump after a week off,to much beer and the added 4kg I managed to put on :) .

Most have seen my monstrosity of a training bike tarring up and down the a38 looking like it was on its last legs, so it was time to pay a bit of attention to the Scott frame I had in the garage and basically raid the boxes of spares I had in the garage, I mentioned before I met Tom Blease on a ride whilst visiting home and a long chat and the obvious attention to detail made a me think he would be the perfect guy to turn a box of spares and a frame into a training bike I might actually be happy to be seen on and not have to park it around the Corner  on cafe stops out of view.

I dropped it off before I set of on my hols, a box of bits and a frame and that's it, giving Tom a free reign to do what he could with the bike. I got back to something much better than I thought and a bike that would look top notch in any club run with the newest and blingest bikes rolling around.

Can 100% recommend and just a shame he's not a bit closer to bristol but check out www.facebook.com/bleasecycletech if your anywhere near the North Devon area, the man does a mean coffee as well .

Had a nice parcel in the post when I got back from indurance, I've been very happy and lucky to get on board with them and having a chance to try the new tt specific kits that are just out to check all the main bio markers to aid tt performance, the kit is slightly more involved than the standard pico kits you can quickly do at home but still only involves a quick visit to the local nurse for a quick blood test , all the kit is supplied and I'm in next week to have the samples taken then posted off in the supplied postage kit. I think it will be really interesting to compare some of the results to the earlier test done to really get a bigger picture of how my body is adapting to the training and the changes we made from the last results as we made some big changes from the last results and the indurance products allow me to track the season and plot where my body is at different stages in the year and how changes effect my body and performance, i like to think of it as training peaks for the body and something next year I can look at and get a even bigger picture of how things have changed and anything we need to look at again to keep progressing.

So now I'm thinking is when the season starts,excuses have run out and it's time to get on it, build my strength in the position ( without changing it every 5 mins like I normally do ) , build my confidence back up ,and really start living up to the potential I know I have and others have invested their time in helping me achieve.

One of my key goals was the national 50 tt but due to Mr postman not delivering my entry and missing the Internet entry cut off date I've had to drop that one , but on the plus side it gives me a bit of time on the new bike and a extra incentive for the national 100.

I think I owe some big thanks to the people who have stuck by me and kept the faith when I doubted it myself at time , you all know who you are :) .