On Sunday morning I went for a training ride down to Frankston and back. I'd self diagnosed myself as needing a long, flat ride as a means to get my legs going again after the American trip. Much of the ride was on my own but inevitably I was caught up in some buches of varying sizes.

I hadn't been on Beach Road since Around the Bay last October and was curious to see if anything had changed since the death of James Gould last year. Unfortunately I don't think much has changed at all.

On no less than 6 occassions I witnessed cyclists blatantly riding through red lights. This ranged from slowly rolling through the red to blasting through an intersection at top speed. On all occasions the cyclists had ample opportunity to stop but elected not to do so. (I'm not counting the 50/50 times when it was a split decision whether to accelerate through the orange or hit the anchors - the 6 I refer to were blatant and illegal.

There was one incident which had me and others shaking our heads in disgust and disbelief. Consider the last set of traffic lights as you approach Mordialloc. I was 5th wheel in a loose bunch of about 8 riders. The lights change to red as we approach them. We all have time to stop but only 3 of us do. One guy, from behind me, charges around the outside and goes straight through a VERY red light. So red in fact that an elderley couple had just begun to cross the road. They saw the riders coming through and stopped, merely shaking their heads. I only wonder what they were thinking or what the drivers of the stopped cars were thinking.

At that moment in time I was ashamed to be a cyclist. Maybe there's a good reason I haven't been on Beach Rd since last year....

I finally managed to do some cycling in America - on a cycling machine in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. It told me I was super fit but after eating junk food for two weeks and watching some of the bodies waddle around here I began to wonder how anybody can stay fit and healthy in America.

I have new found admiration for Lance and co. Anyone living in America and able to avoid food dripping in fat or loaded with sugar is already a hero in my book. And then to go on and become an elite athlete, well they're legends!

I miss my bike. I miss my bed. I miss my coffee. Home soon. Get ready for the boards fellas...

Dino

Was it all just a dream? Was it really just a couple of nights ago I was hurtling my bike around the Leongatha velodrome in my first ever open event?

I'm horribly jet lagged at the moment and feel like a zombie so can someone tell me what happened on Saturday night? Did I race really fast or was I dreaming?

I have vague recollections of Bev talking a lot with me driving somewhere. And I saw signs and banners along the road saying "Come see Australia's best track cyclists". Surely I was dreaming - they couldn't possibly be talking about a race I'd entered.

Further vagueness about a guy in yellow and the words "you've got the handicap from hell". Ah yes that's right. Only 20 metres, just ahead of the scratch guys and way behind the types I normally race against. Dim recollections of riding faster than I ever have but still not catching the out markers or holding off the scratchies.

Then another handicap. This time longer but still a cruel starting point. Managing to catch some people and hang on to the end but alas still failing to qualify for the final. And finally a points race. Going as well as I could in a bike race but failing to get one point.

Someone please tell me I wasn't dreaming because I keep seeing images of myself with a big smile but nothing to show for it.

Then again I don't want the dream to end......