I have let the blogging seriously lapse over the past few weeks, but to be totally honestly I’ve been in the fast lane with my foot firmly to the floor! As I sit here on Delta Flight 200 from Atlanta to South Africa I have been reflecting on an insanely hectic, but awesome trip. I might be shattered, but I am also smiling! Canberra, Gold Coast, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Utah, San Francisco, Hawaii, San Francisco – have I forgot anything. I have made some great new friends and caught up with many old ones.

From the beginning – this is going to be a long one! The team’s performances in Canberra was exceptional especially Lene’s silver medal and Burry’s World Under 23 Championship Title. Leaving the cold weather of Canberra I arrived to the Gold Coast for the World ITU Triathlon Series Final. The purpose of my trip was to access where the ITU is at and how Specialized can get more involved and what athletes we may or may not sign, which for now will remain top secret! Although, The Gold Coast was a good experience, I cannot believe that such an urban sprawl could be one of triathlon’s Mecca’s. Give me Stellenbosch any day. My good friend Tim Don gave a big nod of agreement when we broached that subject. He may be Olympic Champion but to me he is still Frodo and has not changed one bit. The champ is a true gent. We had breakfast every morning and one monster night out, once the racing was done! I bumped into many old faces including Jan Rehula, which brought back memories of those weeks when I raced in Asia in 2005! The racing was unbelievable in both men’s and women’s events. Alistair is a huge talent and awesome to watch, while the Moffat, Norden battle was tight to the line, although if I am being honest, Lisa was the stronger of the two, despite the result.

From Australia it was straight to the office in San Francisco accompanied by the worst jet lag this year, which is a big statement! I arrived on a Wednesday evening and at 7am Thursday morning I found myself on a 100-mile bike ride over three major climbs with the Specialized crowd in aid of cancer. I just did day one, while they rode for another six days to Vegas! I was happy with myself to be always at the front of the climbs, which will lead me to my final point a little later i.e. the motivation behind that ride. I need to ready myself for a bigger challenge!

A busy week and before I knew it I was in Las Vegas for Interbike, which is the World’s largest bicycle trade show. I had a series of meetings day after day. I have never been as tired. That place is hectic. We had one monster night out, but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! Vegas although interesting to see, is definitely not a “Bobby Place”! I almost kissed the ground on Friday September 25th when I landed in Odgen, Utah. I was there to watch my great friend Conrad “The Caveman” Stoltz take his seventh USA Series Title. I had three of the most memorable spins, the last up this 1.5 hour single track with “The Caveman” while the descent was even better than the climb! The views over the salt lakes where the cars do the drag races was awesome. Spending time with Conrad is always a treat.

The following week I was back to the office with a busy schedule through to Saturday, but I kept Sunday open and my first day off. I drove north of San Francisco where I met my long time Irish friend Conor. When I last visited in February I talked Conor into buying a MTB. Now he is hooked. We did the most stunning five-hour relaxed ride through Marin County, the place where MTB started. The views over looking San Francisco were unreal. MTB’ing can take you to places nobody else can go. Conor’s passion for cars is as strong as mine. Before leaving, driving Conor’s monstrous M5 gave me goose pimples! A nice car is one of the things in life than sends my heart really racing! The M5 is much more than that. It’s truly one of the Worlds Greatest Cars, no question and to me it’s like a drug. I suppose everybody has a passion. Cars are certainly mine.

The next day and I was on another plane this time for my third World Championship race, the mystical Hawaiian Ironman. I have never been to Hawaii before so I was excited about this trip. Quite a few from Specialized HQ traveled to Kona, so we had a real family atmosphere. It was here that I finally met a new top friend, three-time Hawaii winner Peter Reid and his sound girl friend Malaika. Peter, now retired, is still very much part of the Specialized family. What a down to earth sound guy. We had a great time. The Caveman was also with us as was Desiree Ficker, who I only got to know on this trip. She’s a brilliant girl and dead dead sound. She is talking about coming to the haven that is Stellenbosch this summer! I will get to the racing in a second, but highlights were the cliff jumping, swimming with dolphins, biking with Peter, spending time with the Specialized crew and I have to say pacing Conrad in parts of his swim set one of the days. It almost killed me, but it did make me realize that I should keep up a little swimming and not let it slip totally.

Horses for courses I suppose. Having seen the Ironman I know it was never an event I would have aspired to doing, but credit to the athletes. It’s a stupidly tough day. The heat and humidity is a massive factor and I don’t think people realize how bad it is until they get there. I was struggling and I was not even racing! I wormed my way into the lead car and saw all the action up front. What more can I say – it’s really hard. The one comment I can make is that there is bloody drafting in Ironman, which I was not impressed with. I saw the packs first hand from a car. Solo breakaway man Philip Graves had no chance, but a gutsy effort all the same.

From Kona it was back to San Fransicso and head office in Morgan Hill for two busy, action packed days, which is always the case at Specialized. I suppose that’s what keeps the fire burning and makes life interesting. I had planned to stay longer and see Conrad’s Worlds in Maui next weekend, but I really needed to get home. I have another fish to fry and I need to unwind! The Caveman will kick ass without me.

What have I got myself into! I did this MTB Event called “The Hell” last year. All of my Stellenbosch friends do it. It’s a real social affair. I surprised myself in this two-day MTB stage race to place 10th overall in 2008. Well “The Hell” is fast approaching (November 7th and 8th). At the time it sounded like a good idea, I just hope this trip hasn’t taken the wind out of my sails. Next week I suppose in preparation for The Hell (or an early grave!!), as a mental break I am doing a six-day stage mountain bike race called The Cape Pioneer, featuring about 100km of MTBing per day. If that is not enough, my partner is some guy called Christoph Sauser!!!!!! I hope I have the energy to blog more frequently next week! It’s going to be ….. hmmm …. interesting! Rock on!