Blood and Guts

Just when you thought I had finished with all the blood and guts, it has returned. For those of you who don't handle blood, I wouldn't look at the photos that follow...


Half-way through a 40km bike ride on my way to work on Monday morning, a car pulled out directly in front of me, giving me no choice but to harpoon the drivers side, and take a bite out of the roof of the car. This was the result...

After a spontaneous manifestation of Tourette syndrome, I got a ride home from the police officer that we had called.

I went to the hospital, and got two stitches to hold my bottom lip together, and then went to the dentist to get my front teeth fixed.

Two days later, and I was back training today with a 5km run @ 4:30/km and have a number of cliches that suit my situation, such as...

Anything that doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger

and

Bones heal, and chicks dig scars!

Triathlon debut

Nederhorst mini-triathlon was my debut into the world of triathlons. It was a 500m swim, followed by a 20km cycle and a 5km run. On paper this is like a 'jog in the park' compared to my Monaco Ironman race in September, but certainly required a lot more work than that!

There were a few hurdles for me personally, including being one of three out of the 200+ competitors who didn't have a wetsuit to swim in. For those of you who don't know, a wetsuit makes a major difference in buoyancy, and consequently in speed. Also having the tail-end of the flu didn't help. That said, far am I from making excuses - the race went well. I finished at position 69 with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes, 30 seconds.

My cycling shirt on the day from Tui - my favourite beer back in New Zealand - has a great graphic on the back that really was the best in the race...

I look forward to making improvements in my transitions and extending my triathlon experience in my next mini-triathlon on the Dutch island Texel on August 9th. It is a 1.0km swim, 40km cycle and a 10km run. I can't wait!

A Step Into The TV World

Until now, I have been one of the presenters on the Thursday edition of the English Breakfast radio show from 7-9am from Monday to Friday. It is the only English language radio show broadcast here in Amsterdam, and has an audience of both foreigners and locals. It has always been great fun, but now there has been an entirely new dimension added...

TV!!

That's right, the show is now televised on channel A1 and live on the internet, with an archive of the last month of shows kept on-line. To check out my first televised show, click this link:

http://www.salto.nl/streamplayer/tv/amsterdam_1_live.asp

Also, there was a full-page article published recently in the national edition of the Metro newspaper here in Holland. With a circulation of 560,000, there are a lot of people who were able to see the story behind Bondy 4 Brains.

Although I am trying to get rid of the flu this week, it hasn't stopped me from training. I had an interesting day of training this week where I found a new swimming pool to train in. It is a little busy as people also like to take their boats out in it for a spot of rowing.

Amsterdamse Bosbaan

It is the Amsterdamse Bosbaan - an 8-lane rowing lake used for rowing competitions including world and European Championships.

After speaking to some of the locals, I found out that lane 3 is the best to swim in, as it is the recognised 'no-rowing lane' in order to avoid collisions. This was very good to know, as I don't want to become a speed-bump for Rob Waddell, the New Zealand rowing legend on his next training day in Holland!