Yesterday was the annual Cyclosport industry bash.  It was, as ever, quite a laugh, though my liver may well be less than amused 😉  I got to catch up with friends I’ve not seen in ages, got some very constructive networking done, and of course indulge my new celebrity cyclist stalking hobby…

…so, roll up, roll up, here’s the latest selfie selection: Mike Cotty, Matt Stephens, Yanto Barker, Dean Downing, Russ Downing, and my mate Peter, of Tour of Pembrokeshire fame.  Hey, it gave me something to do!  Thanks for being so tolerant guys 🙂

OK, so they’re all more or less famous, but to me, Mike Cotty is a legend.  He’s been inspiring me since I got his Etape-preview DVD back in 2011, to help me get my head around what I was going to do.  We’ve talked on Twitter (not that he remembers, as he talks to so many people!) – he gave me advice on other events to try, advice for the Maratona – and I’ve used his DVDs for that and Quebrantahuesos too.  He crossed the French Alps non-stop last year, and this year he cycled over 1,000km and 21 mountains from Conegliano, Italy, to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France, in something like 50 hours.  Non-stop.  Mental!  We had quite a long chat, about cycling and various related stuff, and he’s just as nice in person.  Meeting him totally made my day 😀

And in the meantime my plans for next year may now include a proper training plan, and a training camp in Andalusia, amongst other things.  How cool would that be?  Fingers crossed…I have a few dreams I’d like to make reality 🙂