Just A Couple a' Pics..

Hey Hey!

Back in Canada and loving it. For those that don't know I just finished the inaugural tour of Alberta. What an amazing event and something I will (hopefully) report more on soon. For now here is a couple picture from the last month and change of my life. As a former teammate would say...gettin' round.

Enjoy.

Rob

next stop - Quebec and the world tour.

...That old thing 

NOT made in China

Notre Dame

Can you see our lock? its the red one in the midle

Notre Dame

Breaking Bad fans will get this

?

Montmartre

Lazy tuesday? 

just another palace

Rickis first "real" crepe (sorry Virginie)

Brasserie l'ecole you are still my favorite

not sure what this thing was

inside the Arc (very cool!)

Arc de triumph...the day before the Tour.

That guy!?

Iteful Tower

Notre Dame...from a Bus

real or fake?

Give you something to half smile about.

LouvreLY

Perfect end to the week. Dinner and beer on the Canal.

Whats Eric doin here?

Love. This wall

Louvre by night

my friend, somedays we have a lot in common

Nice and early for the Ride London cicle classic

recognize anything?

signing hands and shaking babies

out with the old...

in with the new!

That guy!

Pals

Serious bell upgrade! 

Breakfast. Victoria style.

The Last blog post I will ever write...

In the UK...


In 2013.

Yes, I'm afraid it's true. My time here in Derby has run it's course and I will soon be heading home. You know what they say, all good things must come to an end. Though that may not apply directly to this scenario it's close enough. Over the past 8 months or so I've had a fair share of ups, downs and everything else in between. At this point though I think it may be safe to say that the Mallorca training at the begining of the season may have been one of the high points for me. Smooth roads, long climbs, no traffic, a little bit of ocean (I guess "sea"), and to top it all off the high of meeting all of my new teammates. Now, I know what you're thinking...was it all down hill from there...well, yes.

Ha, I'm kidding! Obviously...kind of. What an amazing year though. Seriously. Some of the races we did and the places I was able to see in the process were simply amazing and those memories will last a life time.
Looking ahead I'm pretty excited to be heading home to Victoria for a little bit before my next race, of which I can not say...But I can say many more stravas will fall in the pursuit of my fitness. Who needs race days when you can get a couple KOMS?! results, Pff! People forget those by the next weekend...but KOMS, those last a life time..er, well, or at least until someone else comes along and smashes them. (in case it wasn't obvious, that was sarcasm) I do love a good Strava battle though.

I must admit, as the official end is now in sight I and beginning to feel a little sad (well, not sad but something like sad) to say good bye to this place and between the snow storms and the bumpy roads or the day to day dodging of careless drivers I have had some really fun times here in Derby and though I never thought I would admit it came to find myself very much at home at the cities hidden gem, Kona Blue Coffee....My little piece of Victoria. It's everything a good coffee shop should be...great coffee and hipsters without the attitude(and free wifi). You guys are awesome and I will truly miss hanging out there.
Speaking of coffee and my addiction I am quite stoked to be headed back to my old stompin grounds of multiple 4Star roasters all within walking distance...and thats a cyclists walking distance, so you know they're close together!..and even more so then that, this return also happens to mark a change in area code. I will be "officially"relocating to my new Fernhood residence and striking up camp with the good nurse. We figured we survived a month together in the GB so why not give it a go back home? So tuned, more on this to come...semicolon right bracket

So, I'm currently in the process of editing up some photos for a little recap of this whole UK experiment so check back "hopefully" within the week or 7-10 days..I could see it being an aeroplane job...and I have a load of data to use up before then so...ya, for all that and more on the races to come check in soon.

Signing off from Jolly Old

Rob

...Photos still to come...

Long time no see.

Well Hello,

Yes, I realize the last post I wrote started something like this...yadda, yadda, I've been busy, traveled here, did some racing there...BUT, this time is different. Well sort of. Ok, maybe only a little different but because of the serious hiatus from blogville I have compiled quite the set of picture over the last 5 weeks or so and I hope some of them prove to be half decent and entertaining to you.

Right then, Where I left off.

Ground:1 Hugo:0

Racing tour de Beuace with the Canadian national team. What a great time with some amazing riders, the team had a lot of success in the race with a stage win and a spot in the final podium, not bad for a group of riders who have never ridden together. The down side of those efforts however was a mild case of Bronchitis pour moi...rather unfortunate timing with the road national championships the following week! Somehow though I managed to pull out a decent ride and clinch my 4th consecutive year in the top 5 but, yet again...off the podium.  Ah well, what can you do... other than enjoy your time there with friends over some delicious ice cream...and what a view!

Bromance?

After nationals it was back to England and this time was maybe even more exciting to head over than when I was going in January. After the longest travel "day" of my life and battling some serious jetlag I was to be reunited with the person who has shared many of the highs, but more importantly helped me through all of the lows in my career over the past few years and now after nearly 7 months apart the anticipation levels were beginning to reach unmeasurable highs!

So, needless to say, as much as I like typing about my inflated adventures over here, the past few weeks have seen me readjusting to a real relationship and not just a life of instant messaging on whatsapp or the joys of "are you there? Hello? can you here me? ARRGH!" of Skype. I will admit there has been abit of a learning curve and having a female presence in the house certainly has forced me to up the hygine and overall cleanliness of my day to day being! So thanks Ricki...glad to have you on board.

2 really is better than one

While there is a lot more to come (and I promise there will be more posts to come) I'll leave you with a few pictures from the past 3-4 weeks of my life.

thanks for reading and I'll be sure to keep the stories coming a little more frequently as the 2nd part of the season wears on.

Rob

Mast Brothers

Pretty much describes how Beauce felt

Recovery mix

a combination of a third lung and following a strict Jelly bean diet

time awake between St. Georges and Derby.

the only way to relax after nationals in Quebec.

Chateau Frontnac..I actually had the pleasure of staying here for a night in 2010 (world tour)

....and why not ride a cannon?

Be...

to my american friends - See, Regina. Told you it was named after the Queen.

pip pip, cheerio, big ben...yep I'm in London

Big Ben

a perfect pour

cant be serious ALL the time.

Made a new friend.

the bosses new pup...we're working on building a trust circle right now...its a work in progress

and the Sun finally came out to stay here inn Derby. 

great times down in Wales. 

...But i'll take it.

Probably one the few times in history this happens