So, I'm in the Commonwealth Games village using one of 200 computers provided to athletes. I am staying out of town about 1hr with the roadies, as I will ride the road race with them on Saturday. I can tell you, its pretty darn boring here actually! There's nothing to do, but sit around watching other sports on TV. I guess I'm not altogether in the best mood anyway, due to my bad race on Monday. I really was expecting to come away with a medal, and to finish 4th felt pretty bad.

I had heard about the course before hand, and the news was that it was completely non-technical, but there was a few sections causing many punctures. When I pre-rode the course I realised how right they were.. I even decided to make an official complaint about the section called "Snake bit alley," which I felt would cause too many punctures. As it turns out, this section decided the race for the woman, and also caused the terrible crash of Sadie.

The rest of the course was just plan boring too, designed for the TV cameras, they had just forgotten to add any technical sections, meaning it would become a race of pure strength and condition. Still I felt I should have a good chance. As expected, we were a big bunch riding together for the first lap, but as we approached the top of the long open climb, I jumped ahead to have a clear approach into the downhill. I figured I would try to get a little lead at least, and perhaps split up the field a little. Unfortunately, I pushed a little too hard, and wiped out on a small concrete slab. It was not a bad crash, but I hit the ground quite hard, so I was a little shaken up. Roland, Seamus and Liam came around me, and I jumped on just behind.

From this point on I felt like I was fighting my bike. It felt like I was hitting every small rock, and I had no flow. The others slowly rode away from me, and I was just focusing on myself, and getting my rhythm back. But it never did. I struggled round the 6 laps, feeling the pain of racing, and the disappointment of missing the podium. I knew how many people from home would be staying up late, and I was letting them down. It was not the nicest experience! I tried to keep a positive attitude, and enjoy the experience of the huge crowd, but honestly I didn't. When I had finished and thought about it for a while, I realised how important that bronze medal probably was for Liam. He's a friend of mine, and I know much he focused on this race. Plus of course he is British, and he will be a star after this. That's pretty cool! Now I'm kind of happy to still have an event coming up. I have 5 other roadies to train with, and I have hopes that I can be in there and help the team to the podium on Saturday.