Tour of Murray went quite well - if you classify being thrown in the deep end of Aussie cycling as "well". I was fortunate enough to get a Guest spot on the Tasmanian based Praties Cycling Team, and man what an experience!

Stage 1: 153km of flat and extremely windy roads. I made the front group and lasted 20km before the hammer went down and I got pushed out into the wind (and back to the 2nd group, some 30 seconds behind) A very bad day on the bike.

Stage 2 + 3: 26km Criterium, with our fast man Kyle Marwood unfortunately crashing into a cement wall on the final lap, but pulling through okay. Then it was a 112km road stage where I finished with a lesser group after feeling the pain from the day before.

Stage 4 + 5: 45km Criterium with not much happening, but we all got through with no incidents. The road stage in the afternoon was 65km, where I managed a top 20 after sitting about 10th, and getting swamped before the line. A stomach churning pile up occured halfway through the stage, with several riders going down.

Stage 6 + 7: Road stage of 88km, where I somehow found the legs to sit on the front after a short gravel section. I apparently got the field stretched out, with all the Praties guys sitting safely at the front. Will Clarke / Praties then nabbed some KOM points as I rocketed out the back of the bunch...  The afternoon stage was a 46km wind fest, with me really struggling to play ball after my mornings efforts.

Stage 8 + 9: Two 50km Criteriums which were ridden at a frantic pace - lots of guys who were not interested in the General Classifications went out the back, including me.

Stage 10 + 11: After 7km of racing I pulled out with nothing left in my tank and swollen tendons, which I tried to ignore from day 2. Tour over...

Coming up is the Grafton to Inverell, 228km of racing with a 17km climb in it - the weekend after that is the local Goulburn to Citi, which passes throug my home town!