2015 has begun

I'm sitting on a plane bound for Tenerife for a week of big miles and even bigger climbs in the sun.

After the final event of 2014 I headed for Magaluff on a stag do. Having not done much drinking I was not long feeling the buzz as the first pints of the day were issued. It was a great trip plenty of laughter and Rab well and truly sent on his way.

I didn't really take much time off training after my last event and to be honest it was more due to missing really hard training rides which I enjoy more than the racing. You can't always do them during the racing season as you can't damage the legs too much if you have events on.

My training rides are pretty savage. They take in much of the routes and climbs that Stephen Gallager, former RAS winner and ex Professional rider used to do. Riding these roads you have no choice but to put out big efforts otherwise your going backwards!

When you head off to do a weeks training it's real important that you go there fit,  that way you will be able to get the most out of it. Tenerife is very demanding,  I certainly wouldn't advise it to anyone wanting to go and do base training, a 4000m volcano doesn't lend itself to those that aren't fit. For me I don't build a base or foundation over winter,  that sort of riding bores me to tears. For me the base training was done in 2012 when I was an A4 that didn't score a single point, but still I trained well throughout that season. Cycling is a funny one, there really is that hysteria over training hard over the winter. The looks I get from various club runs on a Sunday as we pass each other going in opposite directions are funny. Them wearing more winter clothing than a man on his way to the North Pole and me with the gloves and arm warmers already removed and stuffed into the back pocket due to overheating, blasting along solo at twice their rate. So yea I don't build a foundation over winter, I start work on the extension.

So why am I in Tenerife? My aims of the week are to train hard and relax in the evening. Work has been pretty mad the last couple of months so switching off from that will be much needed, and I've found few better stress relief  methods than what the bike and 400 Watts provides.