Connor Hammond: My new Home

I was only home in London for one week before it was time to return to Guelph. I moved into my new home on Monday, which is a relatively nice house when compared to most student housing, so I can't complain. Only problem is it is a little far from the university, and although the bus stop to the university is just a few metres away, I have no bus pass during the summer months so I resort to biking to swimming in the morning, which isn't very pleasant. During the summer months my roommates chose to live at home, so i will be all alone for the next few months, I'm not complaining, but if you talk to me in a few months I am sure my life will be like the plot from The Shinning. So we will see how this plays out.

I competed in a bike race last weekend in the pouring rain. Nothing big, just a 45 km road race/crit that I used to do when I was younger. I wanted to race cat 3, but you aren't allowed to compete in that division if you are racing on a one day permit, so I raced cat 4. My goal was to go in and just keep attacking in the hopes of forming a successful breakaway. I must have attacked 10 times, most of which were solo, but the pack just would not let anything go. It ended up coming down to a sprint. With 1 km to go I found myself in about 8th position. I just stayed there and let the lead out men keep the pace high. With 200m to go people stated sprinting, and I was forced to squeeze through 2 people to get to the front before I could unleash my sprint. As soon as I started sprinting I knew that the W was mine, as no one could match me. I have never won a bike race, and although it wasn't very competitive I am still pleased with the effort that I put in.

Training in Guelph has gone alright. With most people gearing up for racing down south in the next few weeks, I find myself doing most of my longer bike workouts alone. Just me and my ipod. It really sucks seeing everyone starting their race season already while I am sidelined due to a bad winter/spring. Oh well, you got to make the best of every situation, so while my season is delayed, I have taken the opportunity to become a stronger biker. Nothing like ridiculous hours in the saddle with terrible weather to keep you sane.