The Derrek Ivey Report From Down Under

Happy New Year Morning Glory Cycling Club!!!!

I hope all is well back in Canada, I know my time here so far has been amazing. The Melbourne cycling community has been extremely welcoming and helpful. 

About a week ago I ran into a huge problem, I had only one day to find a place to stay from Jan 3rd to 10th as my billets had family arriving for a week and the new arrangements had fallen through.  As the holidays where in full swing, all of my attempts over the week came up empty.  It just so happened that I bumped into Lee Turner (@lee_hollywood twitter) a well known Melbourne cyclist on beach road. He had this brilliant idea to use his Twitter to broadcast my distress.  I had a gut felling that this was it, and without a doubt it would work. Low and behold 4 hours later I got an email from Mick Inglis, offering a bed at his place. Perfect!!!  The cycling community down here really reminds me of the MGCC and how connected we are together.

A lot of the people here have been complaining about the weather. Saying that it’s cold and raining more then normal. Between you and me I don’t know what they are talking about. The weather is amazing, highs between 24-29 instead of 35-40.  Plus having this rain makes the area look alive!

Now finishing off the second week of January, with my strength training complete.  I would say I am happy with my fitness, especially my 4 min power. Being able to hold 470 watts at 80 rpm feels really good.  I have never been so strong and with my 2012 goals written down and etched in my mind (I review them everyday) I know I will achieve my objectives.  I really could not have done this without you, the MGCC.

All there is now is to get my leg speed up and fine-tune my training on the TT bike. With the next two weeks racing the crits, I am sure I will get my leg speed back!

Here is my Garmin file from a few days ago - I avg'd 360 watts for 3.5 hrs with a nice peak 1,244 Watts - I am super excited by the numbers I am putting up and I have been emailing them to all the Pro teams that are on my hit list.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/140995496#.Tw-FBUxHBHc.email

Hope all is well back in Toronto and everything surrounding the MGCC.  I wish the GTA peloton good luck in getting this world class velodrome approved and into the building phase.  This is a much needed peace of cycling that is missing in our country, let along in our backyard.  The GTA is about to become the mecca of Canadian Cycling.

I miss you guys.

Cheers,
Derrek