The Coffee Ride #18 with Reece Homfray
AUSTRALIAN cyclist Leigh Howard has no comeback if anyone accuses him of having his head in the clouds.
HOWARD AIMING SKY HIGH
AUSTRALIAN cyclist Leigh Howard has no comeback if anyone accuses him of having his head in the clouds.
The Orica-GreenEDGE sprinter is almost ready for lift-off as he prepares to take his final test to hopefully earn his helicopter pilot's licence.
It will be the culmination of three years' worth of work which started when he went flying with a friend in his home town of Geelong.
"Then for my 21st birthday he got me my first training flight," Howard said.
"It's a hobby and in my spare time in the off-season I can stay away from the bike for a while and clear my head."
The problem is though, between learning to fly and riding his bike, he hasn't got time for golf.
"And I love golf too," he said.
"But I haven't been able to combine the three.
"Cycling comes first so when it comes time to knuckle down and train, that's what I do."
The 24-year-old has spent this off-season studying to complete the course with Professional Helicopter Services at Moorabbin Airport.
"I do a little bit of study when I'm overseas but when I'm home it's pretty much full time and any spare moment I've got my head in the books," he said.
"There's a lot to learn and because I'm only here (Australia) for a short time I've got to immerse myself."
Howard has logged more than 65 hours of flying time with an instructor and 20 hours solo.
"The first time I went solo was quite nerve racking, even though when you're with an instructor you're flying it by yourself, you've always got the instructor there.
"But now it's fine and every time I go up I learn something new.
"On Friday I did a two-and-a-half-hour cross country navigation flight and went over my home in Geelong which was pretty cool."
The former world champion on the track said the most difficult aspect of learning to fly was communicating with air traffic control.
"Everything has got to be very correct and that gets better with practice."
As for cycling, Howard had a strong start to the year when in February he won Trofeo Migjorn ahead of riders like Tyler Farrar, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Ben Swift and Alessandro Petacchi, then Trofeo Alcúdia-Can Picafort-Playa de Muro two days later.
"I was focusing on just improving my sprinting and probably neglected my climbing training a bit," Howard said.
"But I seemed to be climbing as well as I ever had.
"I went to the Giro (d'Italia) but crashed on Stage 6 and for the rest of the season really struggled to get back to my best.
"My first race back from the broken collarbone was the Tour of Poland almost three months later then at the Vuelta I was going okay but not as good as I hoped."
Howard will follow a similar plan leading into next season in which he hopes to hit his straps in time for the semi-classics like Gent-Wevelgem, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne and Dwars door Vlaanderen.
"That will be my number one focus," he said.
"I was up there in Gent-Wevelgem this year but stuffed up the sprint, now I'm another year older and another year stronger."
His and Michael Matthews' progression will make for interesting internal competition at Orica-GreenEDGE next year.
"Certainly we've got a strong line up of sprinters and at the end of the year we've got Caleb Ewan coming on board as well," Howard said.
"Gossy will obviously be looking to have a big year but the rivalry isn't head to head.
"If Gossy and I go to a race we want to win as a team, there's no hierarchy, we sprint for whoever is on form."
SNAPPED UP: GRAHAM WATSON TIES THE KNOT
HE'S used to being behind the lens but world renowned cycling photographer Graham Watson was in front of the cameras last week when he married Jo Woulfe in New Zealand.
The wedding had a distinct cycling flavour with yellow sunflowers decorating the tables which were named after famous climbs that feature in the Tour de France.
Best-man was respected Australian cycling journalist Rupert Guinness while guests included Cadel Evans and Phil Anderson who were among 50 people who travelled from all over the world to attend the special day.
Watson's motorbike riders who have piloted him during the Tour de France each July were also guests.
London-born Watson has photographed the Tour de France since 1977 and has co-authored more than 20 books.
GLAETZER, MEARES EYE THE RECORD BOOKS
OUR track sprinters Matthew Glaetzer and Anna Meares are eyeing Australian and world records when they head to Mexico for the second UCI World Cup of the season starting tomorrow.
Fresh from setting a scorching 9.828secs in the flying 200m which was the fastest sea level time ever recorded by an Australian last week, Glaetzer is hoping that racing at an altitude of around 1600m will help him go even faster.
"I'm going to set a goal of trying to go 9.6. It's at altitude, I'm going well and my qualifying is improving," Glaetzer told News Corp Australia.
His 9.8secs in the Oceania Championships last week helped him win the sprint crown over Kiwi Eddie Dawkins to go with his gold medal in the keirin.
"I was stoked, when I saw that time I thought 'wow'," Glaetzer said.
"We haven't fully done a serious preparation for a competition that I've raced in so far (this season), so it's good that I've got this pace this early and hopefully I can hold onto it."
Mexico will also hopefully provide the stage for Meares to break the magical 33secs barrier for the standing 500m time trial.
Favourable track conditions could provide an ideal chance for Meares to reach her goal of riding a 32-second time trial in her pet event.
Meares set a world record of 33.010secs to win her fourth world title in the event at the world championships in Melbourne last year.
The Mexico world cup runs from December 5-7.
BRAVE AMBER IS BACK ON THE BIKE
MANY of you will remember the story of Amber Halliday's fight to return to full health after a nasty race crash at Victoria Park during the 2011 Tour Down Under.
Well here's an inspiring update to her journey, and while it doesn't involve cycling as such, it does involve a bike.
THERE'S nothing special about the bright red mountain bike Amber Halliday's partner saved from the scrapheap, tested the brakes and gave her to ride along the West Lakes foreshore.
The steel-framed bike with chunky wheels is nothing like the $10,000 carbon racing machine that used to represent her dream of becoming a professional cyclist.
But it represents something far more powerful for it is a constant reminder of how far she has come since a cycling crash in 2011 almost claimed her life.
Halliday swore off cycling after the accident at Victoria Park left her hospitalised for two months with a traumatic brain injury and broken bones.
Eventually she had to learn how to walk, talk and tie her shoelaces again but much of that she doesn't remember due to post-traumatic amnesia.
But nearly three years on, the 34-year-old is back on two wheels only this time it is because of her first sporting love, rowing, in which she was a world champion and went to the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Slowly - but not always steadily - Halliday pedals along the water's edge as coach of Scotch College's first eight girls rowing crew which raced the Head of the Yarra in Melbourne last weekend.
"I got back on the bike with a few tumbles," she says, pointing to a large red scratch on her left leg.
"It's a piece of crap bike that Mello got from the scrapheap and he restored it for me.
"But I'm riding at a very civil pace on the bank at West Lakes where the biggest obstacle is dodging the pedestrians who put up with us rowing coaches.
"To chase my rowing passion I had to get back on the bike and I did have a few tumbles, but I like what that symbolises - falling down but getting back on.
"Rowing was always where my heart was and that's why I still feel like I have something to give the sport and have a passion for it.
"It never really went away."
Halliday, who returned to university to do a post-grad year of her psychology degree in 2013, started rowing coaching with Pembroke School last year.
"I was aware of how much it could help my recovery," she said.
"The social interaction, cognitive function and in those days even just putting a sentence together.
"I was still a bit unsteady on my feet and afraid of the bike because it was such a small fall (in 2011) but had such a big impact on my life.
"So I coached them (Pembroke) for most of the season just walking along the bank. But the girls would have to stop, come over to where I was and we'd chat about the row.
"So I had a goal of getting back on a bike before the Head of the River which I did."
This year she switched to Scotch College where she combines her duties with coaching Rowing SA's lightweight quad girls crew.
The Scotch girls do four sessions on the water and two off it each week, including two mornings starting at 5.30am.
"It's pretty rude (5.30am) for the first couple of weeks but then it's no big deal," Halliday said.
"With rowing you've got to train hard, even at school level, and the girls are super-determined.
"This weekend (in Melbourne) it's more about the process than the outcome, it's experience and you see the kids grow up so much."
Halliday still has only limited function on her left side and is sensitive to sunlight but has made huge progress since the accident.
"I don't see the day to day improvement like I did early on," she said.
"But I've been back at uni this year which kickstarted my brain in a lot of ways.
"Coming from an athlete point of view, I remember thinking when I woke up in hospital 'this must be a bad injury, maybe six to eight weeks of recovery' and it took me quite a while to accept that this could be years.
"But my sports training before the accident was the best thing for me to overcome something like this - physical fitness, mental toughness, emotional regulation and a tolerance for discomfort."
HOW I ROLL ... BEN RUTTEN
CROWS footballer Ben Rutten is one of the biggest, strongest defenders in the AFL but not even weighing in at 100kg stops him from tackling the Adelaide Hills on two wheels.
The veteran full back who has played 215 AFL games and has signed on for another season in 2014, is a strong advocate for the health and social benefits of cycling.
He speaks to us this week as our featured athlete in 'How I Roll'.
I love to ride because ...
"It saves my knees and ankles!"
I'm currently riding ...
"A Trek Madone thanks to the guys at Bicycle Express."
Each week I'd clock up ...
"0-150km."
My favourite place to ride is ...
"Up in the Adelaide Hills - great scenery and there are some challenging hills."
The best coffee stop is ...
"The Dublin Hotel."
I'm a big fan of ...
"Jack Bobridge because he's a young up and coming South Australian."
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"I think the next move for me is two more years at Sky, but then I really think I need to get out and ride in a team where I'll be the leader."
- Richie Porte tells the Herald Sun of his plans when his current contract with Sky Procycling.
"The biggest personal disappointment was losing top 10 spot in the general classification in the Tour de France with only few days remaining of the race."
- Aussie Michael Rogers reflects on the highs, as well as the lows, of the 2013 season with Saxo Tinkoff.
"I was only 11 when I was allowed to sit up and watch the Tour de France for the first time and watching Brad ride into the yellow jersey (in 2003) was a real buzz."
- Caleb Ewan on the influence Brad McGee has had on his career, after the young gun won the opening race of the NSW Grand Prix on Saturday.
"There had been some friendly banter beforehand and Bradley was caught unawares by the auctioneer. We'd like to apologise to anyone who was offended by his language."
- As reported by the Daily Mail, a spokesman for Bradley Wiggins apologises for the Tour de France winner who made a sex joke on stage at a charity event in the UK.
"I have finished with the subject ... I have taken my punishment, I regret what I did and I stand behind my mistakes."
- Jan Ullrich closes the chapter on his doping past during an interview with German radio NDR.
TWEET, TWEET ...
5th and final wedding for this season. Been a long one this wedding season. I've given #vincevaughn a run for his money...
— Chris Sutton (@cjsutton2) November 29, 2013- Tis the season to be jolly, and attend weddings, according to Australian fast man CJ Sutton.
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