past few months have been so action packed and fun I've really not had much time to update my blog, but ive finally found a period where I can start to update it again. Since my last post a lot has happened to me, Firstly my family came out to visit in February which really was nice, its all well and good you living in paradise but it really does make it that all the more special when you can share it with someone you love. Secondly ive just recently finished my eleventh race and its only April! that's one of the benefits of the weather here, you can pretty much race all year round and there isn't a definite season like there is in England or any European country for that matter. My best result since writing my previous blog entry was a 4th in the Ontario GP, it really was a great day out as my parents and sister where still here visiting so they got to see the action unfold, it also rained, heavily, but lucky ive been racing in the rain for the best part of around 4 years so it really wasn't much of an issue for me. I've also been traveling quite a bit, I participated in a race way down in Phoenix, Arizona. this was just a Pro,1 race so the field wasn't huge but the competition was hot, a couple of UCI continental riders rode so I really was in good company, I had a pretty disappointing Time Trial, time trials really aren't my thing but I gave it everything and couldn't of done any better. then the next day we had a 96 mile road race in the middle of the desert, this would be the longest road race ive ever done by about 20 miles, I really was expecting to suffer like a dog and get dropped with about 20 miles to go but I really did surprise myself, i finished around 20th on the stage and it has a substantial hill. Then on the third and final day we had a crit around downtown Phoenix, it was a seriously fast course, I stayed out of trouble for the majority of the race and waited to see what unfolded, with around 3 laps to go I started to move up, me and my team mate Wesley weaved through the pack together and got into a great position, at one point i thought Wesley was going to take the bunch sprint easily, he was in about 4th wheel, a perfect spot to podium, but we just didn't have the legs against these pros and we both came in around 19th and 20th.
I've also done some amazing rides recently, my favorite was climbing about 25 miles to the village of Mt Baldy, some of the views where unbelievable, the village itself is at about 6500 feet which is where we climbed to but you can go up to around 10,000 if you have a mountain bike. Another great ride was the one we did with the Jelly Belly Pro Team, I was lucky enough to get invited to ride with them for a couple of days on their team camp.On the first day we rode to the top of Mt Palomar which tops out at about 5500 feet. the climb itself it 16 miles long and really is a lovely ride with amazing views, unfortunately it was about 5 degrees Celsius at the top and very foggy but lucky we where able to let it pass over and get warmth and shelter in the mountain rescue hut which was pretty funny. I got to the summit in just over an hour which isn't too bad. On the second day we all rode from Borrego Springs to the summit of Mt Montezuma, Borrego springs is total flat land, if you've ever seen photos of area 51 its a very similar setting. the climb itself was about 14 miles in length and was very tough, the gradient was forever changing and there was a brutal headwind for about 50% of the climb, the weather also was drastically changing as we ascended, but it was an amazing view and made for some great training, its also nice to have a change of scenery too, makes it that much more enjoyable.
I'm still on the search for a team for 2016, I'm looking for some support at races and potentially somewhere to stay but that isn't a must, although it would be nice to be close to team mates when training and driving to races, I should soon have my drivers licence too which will really help me out in the long run.I have a couple of plans for next season which I wont bore you all with but if you would like to discuss possible teams with me then feel free to email me here: gleddy123@gmail.com
Also quickly, I'm very proud of my girlfriend Alex who recently signed for a college in Illinois to play soccer! She really is a dedicated athlete and a very smart person so I have no doubt that she'll do amazing there. Shes a kind, caring person who really shows an interest in my sport and I couldn't be happier, I'm very lucky to have such a person in my life!
Peace Out.
Me suffering in 97 degree F heat in winter..... (36 degree C)
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