A Year Later, thanks mate

The weekend just past I flooded up a few images on my Instagram of me and a great little crew of Sommerville Sports riders taking on Lake Mountain as part of the 7 Peaks Series. My love of social media is well known and the ''Your Memory"' function on Facebook flashed up a photo my wife took of the same event last year, it was a little wetter and much colder. In fact it was so cold I didn't even descend the whole way down due to it being slippy and worried about crashing.

Lake Mountain Circa 2014 look at the dress sense! 

Lake Mountain a year ago I was childless, my ever faithful wife followed be out to the hills to attend the Domestique Event, it was my first ''cycling'' event. Why she even came along I will never know, she just loves to support me in these things when I go solo and I must admit it's nice to have her there for a coffee and chat on the drive home afterwards. I knew not a lot about bikes back then, I still have the same bright white Bianchi, I bought it as I love the images of Italy that conjurer up in my mind when I think of the bike, the Giro, Pantani climbing hills and everything I love about Italy the food, the passion and of course the coffee. It's a 9 Speed, fairly light weight bike that I find suits getting up hills and is nimble enough for my then larger weighted frame.

I turned up to that mountain on my own, I said hello to a couple of people trying to make friends but in the end I road that hill solo for most of the journey in a mix match kit, I carried a few bits of food and jacket that was as drafty as a pair of saloon doors in Texas. It took me 1 hour and 35 minutes to reach the top and I was spent when I got there, I took barely a photo on the way up but when I reached my wife at the car I was so excited I had actually done it! I couldn't believe I had ridden a bike up a mountain a tough mountain, with my only training being a couple of rides to St Andrews. We drove back to Healesville and had brunch.

One year later .....

My wife is still by my side (surprisingly!) and seems to back me in all the crazy ideas I have when riding or running, but a year later as I woke up early doors to take the Bianchi this time to a friends house, to meet 2 other cycling hombres. Packing bike racks and stocking the car with goodies as this time around I was representing Sommerville Sports AU. I'm in matching kit and spent the road trip to Lake Mountain talking cycling, cycling style, new routes to take and just general stupidness you could never repeat on a blog post for fear of being institutionalized.

4 Idiots and a Mountain, newest Channel 9 Sitcom flop

The sun was shining which certainly makes a difference, but as the 4 of us head up the mountain we talk where we're meeting, how quick we think we can get to the top. I have ridden with these guys before I'd say half a dozen times now on various Sommerville Sports Rides, the days menu is always the same laughs, spinning wheels and coffee all mixed with not an ounce of negativity.

A rolled up Lake Mountain 15 minutes faster than last year, this time with a buddy rolling next to me, I descended the full length of the mountain this time with 3 other riders. In one year I went from lonely rider on a cold mountain to sun burnt rider with crew of laughter. Sometimes you can over dramatize change, sometimes you can make a change that was obvious and other times you just start something without actually knowing where it will take you or how the road will pan out. Buying that Bianchi didn't save my life, but it has enhanced it way beyond what I ever thought 2 Wheels and a greasy chain ever could, and I could sit back and thank the fine companies that support me but in truth it was guy named Ivan, who lives up the street. Just a guy who likes riding bikes who asked me to come on a ride on a wet Sunday morning and I haven't stopped laughing and spinning since.

Thanks Mate