Life of a Spanner Man: Off Season Update

So Lindsay and I took a trip out to Australia last month just to get a touch of Aussie back in us, it was just over two years since we were there last. It was a 4 week trip that went pretty quick, by the time you run around seeing people the time does go quick. However we were aware of this so we committed most of the time with just family.

My big family

Just so you know, the bikes arrived safley in the cardboard boxes. Our first couple of days were spent at Lindsay's mum where we could recover from the jet lag, the weather was mild so no huge shock of a 35+ day. We welcomed the warmer temps but we were also glad it wasn't too hot on our first day, we experienced that once before where going from zero to 35+ is like jet lag on overtime. Then we moved onto Melbourne for 4 days to stay with my little sister, also caught up with my 3 brothers that live also in Melbourne. My sister lives in the east of Melbourne so with the Dandenongs being so close, we couldnt resist a ride up there, and it was great to ride uphill. We even got to go out on the Thursday shop ride (though it used to be Wednesday's I thought) from O'Mara Cycles and also ventured down to our old local Carnegie club Sunday crit race. It was a little nervous a first riding in the city again, but it's something I also miss, there's always something to keep your mind busy.

Next we headed off to my parents in Warrnambool, but not before a slight detour past the spot where Lindsay and I were first intoduced, in Portarlington, and it was here I proposed, she said yes.

So now with a big shining rock on Lindsay's finger we headed onto Warrnambool where we would spend the next 4 days before going back to Lindsay's mums for another couple of days. Then it was time to see Lindsay's dad, and we spent this time on the river. For those that don't know, Lindsay comes from a waterski background and the idea of spending a week on the river watersking is like me spending a week riding in the hills somewhere.

So Lindsay's dad rented a house boat, and it was great, the house boat on the bank, some skiing, bbq dinners, swimming and just a good relaxing week, and good to see Lindsay back on the water. Swim shorts and a pair of thongs was the dress code all week.

After this great week it was off back to Warrnambool for Christmas, and my whole family was together which was great. It was our first Christmas home since leaving for Europe. We once spent Christmas in Austria and have had the rest at home with just the two of us, so it was great being surround by the whole family, only problem was I ate too much. But a bike ride soon fixed that, I always ride Christmas day and Boxing day.

Myself, my two brothers Peter and Chris and brother inlaw Colin
out for a ride on Boxing Day.

With our belly's full of Christmas meals it was back to Lindsay's mums for our last 3 days, another Christmas meal. We took a short trip to see some of Lindsay's other family members on her dads side and to see some of her good friends, other than that we had some packing to do. So that was basically our trip, very busy but also great, great to have a summer, eat a meat pie, have fish n chips on the beach and everything else Aussie.

So I just returned last week from a epic drive (more later) from Norway to collect the truck so I can start to prepare for the coming season. January for me is a time when lots of emails go back and forth regarding equipment and travel plans. I go through all my small spare parts as well as my tools to see what needs updating, and this year I had to order some new ones as well as replace some worn out items. The bike frame varies a great deal from manufactures in regards to headsets and bottom brackets, and although I'm working with Ridley again, the ever changing bike industry always makes you keep up to date with your tools. But you can never have too many tools and to do the job right you need the right tools I say. I also prepare my garage ready so I have place to build the bikes, but I spent a great deal of time back in October doing this with a semi renovation. I stripped everything out, painted the walls, laid carpet on the floor, constructed a tool board and have just finished it all off by making a new mezzanine floor for more storage of team materials, because I need the space at this time of year.

So the riders have just finished their first training camp in Majorca, but me, I'm here fixing what needs fixing in the truck, travelling to and from Ridley picking up materials, gluing tubulars and just generally getting prepared, if I don't, it takes me months to catch up. I ordered all our materials back in November and also scheduled availability dates, good planning makes an easier start to the first part of the season, but this is cycling, nothing ever goes to plan and everything is always last minute. With that said, while we have some slight delays on materials, it should all come together very soon and in two weeks I will be as busy as hell.

Thanks for reading and I will leave you with a few photos.