Well, it may not be the most appropriate of pictures to attach to this post, but I like what Nikola is doing here (my nutrition has never exactly been an ideal model to follow!) and you never know, if things go well after the race i may be allowed a mojito of two, who know’s?!

In all seriousness, working out a nutrtion plan for race day has been a bit of a headache for me,  I won’t lie, but I reckon I have my head wrapped around it now. I hope so anyway.

Blair is travelling out with me this time, which is great news.  He loves to come watch; being the ’stat man’ that he is and I’m chuffed to have some company on a trip for a change … travelling along isn’t much fun.

I’ll report from the desert when i have some news………

Some bits and pieces of what I have been doing for you below though - training, receiving goodies and testing them out.

Chasing Joe Gambles along the Pacific Coast Highway …. Abu Dhabi in mind.

I was also able to get a hold of my first box of K Swiss training gear to start getting used to. Apparently this is to simply tide me over till I get a ‘proper’ shipment…. they certainly look after their athletes impecably

And finally I was also given a superb new recovery tool that will become an integral part of my training from day to day I can safely say. - The Compex is great for loosening off muscles after any training session, and I am really finding it easy to use

Even managed to find some cycling on tv to watch whilst hooked up … who said I am a poor multi tasker?

Me and our gear after one our many ‘on the road’ sessions this past week. All good fun

We did stop to stay suitably re-fuled along the way aswell … gotta get the calories in - Abu Dhabi in 2 weeks time. Did i say eeeeek? Yeah …  sure did.

More to come later over the w/e …. i’ll get my camera out I promise.

Riding out along the Pacific Coast Highway with the guys yesterday. Today everything got wrapped up - quite literally, as my new Madonne road bike has been boxed up and will be winging its way to Stirling without me having ridden it yet. It has been a cracking few days; leaving me super amped and excited about the season ahead as part of this fantastic new team!

Team mug shots outside K Swiss headquarters where we have been hanging out for the past 5 days. I am very excited about getting aboard the new Speed Concept bike once they are ready for us later in the Spring. F.A.S.T!!

The press conference at the new K Swiss store in Santa Monica on Friday night.

Another pic from our ride along the coast on Sunday.

Today we rode LONG - ‘5hrs, 150k and hilly’ long - here is me with Ironman 70.3 World Champion Mikie Raelert before we started outside K-Swiss HQ. - Note the loss of hair?!?

All day long we had this crazy van rigged up with a fancy flash system to get cracking shots of us whilst riding. I have been utterly blown away by the level of prefessionalism and support afforded to us during our days here in Santa Monica. The attention to detail has been absolute as we get used to our new gear and bikes and it has been such an eye opener to be a part of it all.

For me, K Swiss is a brand new experience,`and so I have been trying to get as much detail as I can regarding the shoes in particular. The range of footwear is large, and with more exciting models around the corner, there is a lot to learn, hence my expression! Again, note the hair being present!

For some reason, ‘team captain’ Chris Lieto had a set of clippers at the hotel, and he was determined to use them on us all. It was either have a short back and sides or lose it all …. i opted for the former. I’ll be finding a proper hairdresser asap.

My new race rig at the foot of one of the climbs we tackled on the ride today - an 11k monster off the Pacific Coast Highway favoured by a certain Lance when he is in the area apparently. It was a great climb - blew the cobwebs as we had a little playful competition - and the bike felt superb, which is a great indication of the fit.

One of the photoshoots we did yesterday - the ‘Brits’ as we were termed. It’s been lots of fun for sure. More to come…

New team, new kit, new bikes and jet lag. - It’s all go here in Santa Monica, north of LA, at the K Swiss headquarters. Lots of fun stuff happening, a little bit of training and a tonne of learning and some terrible hair styling all in the name of team building……??

My new toys - Trek TTX time trial machine and the beautiful Madonne decked out in brand new team colours. Wow factor! We are all itching to get outside and ride. Training has been limited due to the amount of media and presentation material we have had to get through so far, but tomorrow morning there is a 5hr epic ride being led by Chris Lieto. I might be hanging ….

We each had to ‘ride’ the new Speed Concept (available in the summer!) in front of the white screen with the magic of a steel cable (can you spot it?) - this is my team mate Joe Gambles in full flight in prep for an upcoming advert being made by Trek.

And finally for the camp so far …. hair cuts?? I know, I hear you - ”why?”. Uhu, my thoughts exactly, but if I tell you I was already upstairs and in bed doing my best at avoidance after dinner time, would you believe me? I hope so …. however that old chestnut; peer pressure reared it’s ugly head, and here is the consequences. It’ll grow back right?

I guess i’ll have to find a proper hairdresser for the first time in a long time to get it ‘put right’ over the next 2 weeks.

www.lesleydoestri.org - check it out!

I’ve known ‘lesbo’ for years and years it seems: I watched in awe as she ripped past me on the run in my first ever triathlon (”HOW amazing was she?” I remember asking dad on the drive home!) in 1997, I watched and raced alongside as she narrowly missed out on Commonwealth Games selection for the Scottish 2002 team in Manchester, Blair and I rented an amazing flat from her dad for years when I first arrived in Stirling and most recently I have trained with her in North County San Diego when I have been living out there. I happened to have breaky with her dad the other morning here in the cafe by the pool as I recovered from my first post crash swim session, and caught up on all her news from him. - I thought I should post on her and her wicked new site.

She just posted a great post/interview on her website with our even newer  member - Lisa Norden which you can read all about here.

This was pre-crash … sans bandages ….

Just like in the Le Tour …. ?!?! I still managed to ride one last ride with the boys today which was great. No swim though … gotta be sensible. 100 hilly Ks was enough for today.

And finally … Toby and I this afternoon. He has been a great buddy out here for me this last 5 weeks - I really have had a laugh a minute with him; thanks dude

I’m off home and looking forward to it … minus temps and snow regardless. Lets go!

A run with the boys - Tim, myself, Gavin and Toby - on Sunday morning

I am down to the last 2 sleeps in Stellenbosch before flying home, which makes for mixed feelings - obviously I am really looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone, I can’t wait, BUT watching the tv describe the cold weather that is returning to Scotland doesn’t excite me!

To counter the cold weather I have been focussing on my bike riding, since I doubt I will be riding the bike outside when I am home next week. So last week I basically rode everyday other than Sunday, where I ran longer with the boys (see above pic)

Monday - 100ks, Tuesday - 135ks, Wednesday - 150ks, Thursday - 45ks easy, Friday - 100ks, Saturday - 135ks

This week has been the same format - 100ks and 135ks already, but today might only be 100 (slacking!). On Monday we had a ‘team’ dinner - myself, Gavin, Dan, Conrad and Nikola, who builds and maintains our sites. Thankyou! Toby also came along too - he has been my superb training buddy these past few weeks out here, which has really helped the training along.

I like this photo - we had a nice night.

I decided to be good to myself - mojito AND marshmallows (there was even a fire to melt them on!) A strange mix, but one I enjoyed

See you all soon, Frase