Ahhhh…….just finished a nice training block here in Los Olivos and now it is time for few days of rest and relaxation……and by that I mean a little tour of the Playboy Manison, some Anaheim supercross, and who know was else????  I should have some good pictures from the weekend so stay tuned.

Anyway here are some pictures from the past few days

 Craig, Chuck, and Kelli in the kitchen getting dinner rolling.  Craig and Chuck have been doing an awesome job cooking……nothing like getting off the bike and having some great food ready….thanks guys!

Coach O and Graham atop Refugio pass with the Pacific in the background.  By this point I was rather cold since Graham and I had to wait soo long for Mark to drag his ass up the hill!

 Along the coast we saw some dolphins frolicking in the water which was cool.  If you look really closely you can see them. Okay, don’t look too long because I am just shitting you but we did see dolphins.

 Me atop the Gibralter climb outside of Santa Barbara.

 While waiting for some random dude to change a flat I got to thinking…..if my tongue were a candy bar would girls be more likely to kiss me???  Hmm…..I will have to get back to you on that.

 A nice scenic picture of the coast. I love to sit by the ocean since I would drown if I went in!

 Chuck getting a bike fit……but more importantly Chuck would like to say hi to his daughter Lauren who is starting a new job!

Before I go I would like to say safe travels to my BS who will be picking me up tomorrow for a weekend of fun.

later, g.

Just wanted to say a quick congrats to Hollywood Menzies for talking the first stage of the Tour Down Under and wearing the yellow jersey.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/jan07/tdu07/?id=results/tdu071

Hopefully he hasn’t gotten to big to still be my friend.

Keep it up champ!

later, g.

 Today had to be the hardest training day since I arrived here in Solvang.

later, g.

Hey guess what I did today……yep, rode more bikes.  Besides riding bikes, eating and stretching not a whole lot has been going.  However, Solvang is one of the best places to train so I really cannot complain.

Today’s ride took us up a rather terrible climb called Figeroua and here are some pictures from the top. 

 Top of the climb with the Santa Ynez Valley below ( I think that is what it is)

 ”Thor”bel made an appearance on today’s ride and he pretty much smashed it up today’s climb.  He was lucky I was hold back!!!

 Myself and Thorbel on the summit.

Tomorrow is a nice easy day which I think will see me evening my tan out in the afternoon sun, and of course a nice dip in the hot tub.

On a completely unrealated note I am very excited for this coming Friday……when I will be hanging out at the Playboy mansion drinking some Cognac with Hugh in a silk robe.  Okay, maybe I won’t be doing all of that but I will be at the Playboy mansion! 

Can’t wait until you pick me up on Friday BS!! (This sentence is in code so I am sorry if you don’t understand.  Plus, it is nearly impossible to crack the code so don’t even bother trying).

later, g.

Days two down at my new temporary residence here in Los Olivos, CA.  It ended up being a pretty good day………..6:15 on the bike………pretty solid.  Actually, I was more like 7:00 considerding I had to push Coach Olson for most of the ride but he is a good guy.

Anyway, since I am with a new team this year (sort of) I thought I would introduce some of the new characters that I am sure you will be hearing more about as the years rolls along.

First however, here are some pictures from yesterday and today’s ride.

 Coach O on the right and my teammate Graham Howard on the left.  First day of riding in SoCal.

 Graham (aka Black Ninja) and myself yesterday.

 Graham and I rode for about an hour into a 30 mph headwind just to see the damn ocean so you had better appreciate this picture! Plus, it was rather difficult getting up on that fence but the sharp metal piece that jabbed me in the ass felt kind of good.

 Today’s ride with some of the sponsors who are staying at the house which I might add has a fountain in the front and pool and hot tub in the back.

 Chuck one of our great sponsors on todays ride.

 Chuck Grzanka….still one of our great sponsors after today’s ride. He would also like to say hi to his son Charlie who is living in Maui.

 Craig Rawlings….pro dinner cooker……made us some awesome food this evening which was ready when we got back. Thanks Craig.

 Benno our mechanic for the season.  I actually feel sort of bad for the guy considering he does not know what he is in for with me.  A lot of this years salary will probably be going straight to Ben in the form of beer for replacing stripped seat post bolts.

 Bobby Hughes and his lovely girlfriend Kelli.  I would really like to thank Bob since he is responsible for getting the team this great house here in Los Olivos for the next month.

For now I think that is good for the introductions….mainly because I want to go and relax in the hot tub…..but there will be many more to come.

later, g.