I am where I am because I believe in all possibilities (Whoopi Goldberg)

Hello USA…
As I arrive at San Francisco airport (California) I try to pick Lindsay Myers (Dewars Racing Team) from the line-up of eagerly waiting friends/family at the international arrival gate. In the end it is the lycra tan-lines that are a give-away and she is not one of the ones waving an American flag. We had a 4 hour drive to her house in Paradise (yes folks, that is what the city is called) with plenty of stops along the way.

It is summer weather, about 30 degrees, a little humid and there has been some very big bushfires in the area, the air is thick with smoke and haze. It is pretty hilly so I am looking forward to the training (in a crazy sort of way). Immediately, I set up my bike in record speed, SO KEEN TO GET ON IT. I am not feeling so special at this stage, very sleepy, but nontheless my legs were going to start circling themselves if I didn’t ride soon.

Lindsay (pictured here) and I rolled for about 1.5hours before meeting up with a small group of guys for another couple of hours for some E1/2 training. I now understand why the boys at home are so worried about me riding alone…1) I had seriously no idea where I was 2) I really had some issues with working out which side of the road to be on. I kept thinking I was turning in front of on-coming traffic. Everyone is very nice, friendly and welcoming, I am so keen to find my legs and race on the weekend.

Lindsay pointed out the gym on the way home from the ride, Andrew has sent through a basic strength program for me if I can fit it in. So it is pretty much business as usual, I have some pretty specific goals for this training/racing block, it will hurt, but I can’t wait to (hopefully) yield the benefits in the Australian summer season.

I have just finished reading a Bicycling article on the DS (Director Sportif- person in charge of a team) of Dewars Racing, Laura Charameda. She is one of America's most successful pros ever and I am in awe of her ability and knowledge, she is a road/crit sprinter. She has just emailed me about my kit for the local races and Cascade.

My stopover in Tokyo was interesting, having studied Japanese at High School, I had some understanding of the culture and enough of the language to communicate. I was still pretty shocked to find a Japanese toilet, but after working out what all the buttons mean… I think they are onto something, I wonder if you can get them in Australia…

I have just update myself with my emails and the Sunday Hills ride blog - there is a nice photo of Bec and I. See, I am not that far away really.