Nice to be Back racing in New Zealand

Taupo to Napier was my first race for a long time!! The team was eager to come home and not let the foot off the pedals. We wanted to come to the race and race hard although many of us where not at our best. We also had Michael Torckler back from a terrible Knee injury which ended his season back in January this year.

Most of you will know the road from Taupo to Napier and it isnt an easy one!!

The team finished the race solidly just how we would have liked it. 1,2,3,4 and 6th all coming from black jerseys. Unfortunately I was not one of those riders, I missed the split early on in the race and was left in an awkward position, but i perhaps ended up with a harder day than many of those in the front group as the race blew to pieces at the back and i was very quickly left with only a few riders around me and the lead group was about 15 riders.

Tim Gudsell won the race, Michael Torckler was impressive to take 2nd and Daniel Barry 3rd.

My next race is the Round the mountain Classic in New Plymouth next weekend, a 150km Handicap, which should be good fun. In between the race we have a training camp. We are staying in Waimarama beach, east of  Havelock North. It is an awesome house hooked up by Greg Cross! Will have to try and get some pics out this because this place is worth a look. 

Already there have been many laughs this weekend, Im sure there are plenty more to come!!

“Building blogs is like building muscles—in order for them to grow you need to use them.”


Well i may to be in desperate need for some tape to fix my ripped muscles but as a cyclist i know what using my muscles is all about. This statement about building blogs makes complete sense so i will try my best to actually use this thing!


Today was a coffee ride, where Marky mark and i discussed all aspects of life and used each other as sounding boards to discuss future plans. It was one of those days where all facets of life where being questioned. But i think we both came away from the convo with positive vibes. I gave a lot of thought to my study plans for next year and decided i would like to give it another crack after not studying this year. I have a few ideas in mind but will wait for direction from the team as to what i will commit to. To make the most of my Prime Ministers scholarship for this year i am going to be signing up for my HT licence... will be some intersting characters there know doubt, many will live very different lives to me, and i am looking forward to the experience.


--Random--
Some cool wheels of another kind!

may not be overly practical but hey...

As a cyclist trying to perform at the highest level i am always more than happy to provide a drug test to prove that i am clean and reduce the amount of filthy athletes in sport. Therefore when the testers knocked on my door step at 7.15pm Thursday last week i was more than willing to provide a sample. 

I am a proud member of PureBlack Racing for more than what is done on the bike. There key core values are what make this team amazing to ride for. PureBlack racing wants to be world class and to do this they have gone further than what is required by a Continental cycling team, by promoting clean cycling through an agreement made with Drug Free Sport New Zealand. We are now required to be on a whereabouts program. This means that all of us riders must let the testing agency know where we are each day and give them a one hour window where we must be present at a given location. So when attending a race or simply staying at a friends house after a few too many drinks, i must get the internet and change my whereabouts form and let the agency know where i will be for my one hour window... yes a pain in the ass, but a sacrifice i am willing to make. The team has also put us on the biological passport program, I believe we are the only team of this level in the world to be on this program. The biological passport requires us to have regular blood tests so that an athlete profile can be made, this enables them to see spikes or irregularities in our blood values which would be obtained through taking banned substances.

It took two pump bottles and just over an hour to provide a sample... so naturally i was up all night having to relieve myself after drinking so much so late at night. Although as it turned out, I was the lucky one, they left my house and went straight to his house. He got the knock on the door at 9.15pm!!!

I hope my next test comes as a  blood test.. so much easier to have a needle jabbed in and a small  sample taken. The testers can be out of my house well within half an hour.

The team now heads into a training camp next week in the Hawkes Bay. The camp is based around two races Taupo- Napier and Round the Mountain. It has been a long time between races after my tendinitis.  They will be an integral part of my build up for the Sun Herald tour in Melboune next month.

James Morris, Tell me what is a blog and i should use one?

What is a blog,  is it a diary, or is it a dick measuring competition where i compare my power data with other cyclist?
Who's to say anyone will read this...let alone gain any interest from it.
Time after time it has been suggested to me that i should write a blog to keep everyone up to date with how im going and what i am up to whilst travelling, God only knows why i have decided to give it a go whilst writing from my couch in quiet old Cambridge.
It has even been put to me that i can reap benefits from this blog thing and it could even help with creating a career perhaps in cycling but also this thing they call the life after bike riding... yes apparently a life outside of cycling does exist.
In an internet obsessed world am i just trying to fit in? or will i get some benefit from doing this... This is not a question that you James will be able to answer... only time will tell.
I even here this internet thing can put road blocks in peoples lives by typing the wrong things and this is the road i am probably going to head down... i guess i can only hope that i have enough knowledge to write a good yarn without getting fired.

I woke at 3.30am to and found myself lost in thought about what i am going to write in this thing and whether or not i should buy a ridiculously priced camera with good video recording capabilities to try and do this thing properly.
After a ride with the big 'Rhino' Simon Van Velthooven (track and Japanese Kieran sensation) today i found my mind wondering from his constant shit talk and started thinking about this blog... Chances are i will be over this thing in a day plus surely i have better things to spend my money on than a camera.... especially when the two track stars Simon and Eddie 'Whopper" Dawkins where talking about buying houses in town with the arrival of the new velodrome..again i can only try a blog and see if i keep thing going.

So TELL me is this thing worth doing???

Nobody knows this exists right now so what am i doing writing this shit

Welcome to my Blog site.... this is some what of an experiment.
To be honest i think i hate this stuff. But after killing my morning catching up with Rushlee Buchanan and Sarah Bradley this morning in 'The Deli' Cafe over a couple of coffees and a phone conversation with my best mate James Morris who rang from JFK airport in New York, i realised it could be fun if it was done my way so i decided i would give it a try.

I am going to write this thing on my terms... i could write what many want to hear but i am not going to beat around the bush. I have been too P.C in the past and i have been fucked over.
After a rough year in 2010 i have decided i am only going to ride a bike the way i like to ride my bike, i am not in this life to impress anyone other than those who leave an impression on me.

First of all i am not a cyclist.... I just enjoy riding my bike. This is not about a cyclist but Me, Shem Rodger and my take all things. Yes my bike is a HUGE part of me and will therefore have an impact on what i include in my writing but this is for those of you who know me... Shem the person.

I will also include there is one thing i like more than riding a bike and that is the feeling of accomplishing something (and there is nothing i like to accomplish more than winning!).

I'm not going to beat around the bush. If you don't like it then simply don't read.

For the Cambridge boys~ The phone call with James was made from JFK airport where he is sleeping over before he fly's to Germany to attend Octoberfest!!! Lucky Bastard! I will add that he has been up to his usual antics and living life to the FULLEST every single day...his conversations seemed to involve women and beer.

Idealog's wicked issue featuring an amazing article on Avanti and Sheppards industries