Tour of Bright - Stages 1 & 2 !

Well.... what a day !  This Tour of Bright thing is really serious !  Seriously hard !!!

The day started with the best possible weather... sunny and cool, just perfect for cycling !

Stage 1, was a tough one for both of us, after a speedy run in the peleton, I was dropped 1k before the climb I was hoping to not get dropped at !  That was the 45k mark, leaving me 50k to ride on my own. By the time I finished the climb there was no one else in sight... oh well, it was a lovely day and I managed to finish the stage (last year heart issues meant I dropped out early.)   Think I was last to finish (but there were guys behind me, probably from another grade ??  Anyway, only 40 minutes or so to make up from here !

The Falc had a super day, staying with the peleton to the climb of Tawonga... cool !... Falc finished 17th - a super performance !

Stage 2 was the 16k time trial. Always incredibly tough, and after stage 1, super tough. I managed to beat a few people and match my time from last year (when I was fresh). Falc sliced 1:28 off his time from last year (I'm blaming the helmet, though the Zipps might be helping a litte) to move up to 16th overall. Nice !!

Tomorrow is a nice little run up Mt Hotham. I need some serious sleep (and some serious drugs!!).

The Falc at the start line .. ready for smack down !

Cool cloth race numbers, produced by Rapha (Yep the same dudes who did my Paris-Roubaix gear). Has our surname printed down the bottom left.... a very nice touch !

Yours truly, looking way too relaxed - obviously has no idea whats about to go down !!

Between stages... my bed was just too inviting... the Falc delivered Lime and Soda (with fresh lime)  then a Capuccino ... after a few hours lying around I almost felt I could walk again. Unfortunately, I wasn't so sure I could ride !

The Falc decided he needed something extra to go with his Zipps... the thought of seeing this in action was enough to get me out of bed and off to the Time Trial.

Yep... just like the Tour de France, we have a start house and a start ramp. I actually felt pretty good considering !  And the start guy didnt mention my hairy legs (I'm still traumatised from last year !)

Here's the Falc finishing... oh no... its some other guy with the same helmet !

Oh... yeah... here's the real pic !... I had to use a super fast shutter time to avoid it just being one big blur !!

After one tough day, we went to our usual table at the pub and got our usual curries (Oh yeah... and the Falc ordered a steak as well.... think he earned it !!)