They say that time goes faster as you get older and they’re not wrong. I‘ve no idea where the last few months have gone since my last website column.

We flew back to Australia about a month before Christmas and the very first thing I remember after stepping off a 30 hour flight was being totally jet lagged but up a 15 meter tree with a chain saw, lopping it.

It’s not even our tree, but the neighbours had complained that the leaves were blocking up their gutter and as they’re an older couple, Sandra said that we should sort it out. So there I was, two hours after landing, up a tree cutting back all the branches and not in the best of moods.

The thing with cutting back of a tree of that size is, that it’s one of those jobs you need to be 100% confident with otherwise having second thoughts midway through a cut or manoeuvre to anther branch can be quite dangerous. I’d managed all the branches except one, which I felt sure was going to create havoc and possibly take me tumbling to the ground with it. I got down to assess it and by this time some friends and some neighbours had come round and they were all telling me it would be fine. So I got back up the tree, had a think and got back down again for more assessment. By this point Sandra said, “Give me the saw and I’ll do it”, but there was no way I was going to let her possibly hurt herself so after a short disagreement I got back up the tree and finished it off and obviously lived to tell the tale. Whilst it all turned out ok in the end, my advice to anyone would be to get a tree lopper in!

Then there was more manual work for me over Christmas to test my skills as a tradesperson. My Mum moved into a town house and the back yard was unfinished, so I thought it would be a nice thing if I paid to get it concreted over so there’d be no worry about weeds or garden maintenance. But Mum and Sandra got talking and they thought it would be nicer to have it paved and landscaped. The upshot is probably as you’ve guessed! So paving and landscaping it was for me (in 43 degree heat!!!!) rather than my simpler plan of a concrete mixer! I have to say it does look really nice and better than it would have done with concrete, but it’s just not the way I had hoped to spend my time there!

We also had a lot of work to do on our house over the Christmas period as we decided to rent it out. There’s always something to do on a house and we’d managed to get a lot done, ready for our tenants to move in, but, as you’d expect, there’s always one last thing! And the day we moved our stuff just happened to be the wettest 24 hours on record for 150 years in Melbourne, with 120mm of rain. There I was, sitting in our lounge room at 8.30 in the evening and the roof starts leaking. So in the pouring rain, I’m up on the roof trying to repair it and clear out the gutters which were a bit blocked up. I was not best impressed! In fairness though, it’s sort of my own fault as I should have done it about a week before when Sandra mentioned that we needed to clear the guttering in preparation for renting the place out!

After that it was then back to Adelaide and my Mum’s new house for odd job like putting up shelves and curtain poles, but I still didn’t get round to making the handles for the kitchen dresser. I guess after sixteen years a few more won’t hurt!

My birthday was on 2 December and our families clubbed together and bought me this great sports watch. It tells you everything, like how far you’ve run or walked, how fast, what any uphill gradients were, your heart rate etc and then you download it all onto the computer. I thought it was fantastic and then I realised that now everyone will know exactly how much training I’ve done or not done!

Christmas day was just really relaxed in Melbourne with Sandra’s family, with us all helping to cook and sort stuff out. We had New Year in Melbourne as well, down on the Yarra River. There were two firework displays, one at 9.30 for kids and then one at midnight for adults. It was really warm night and the plan was to go to the kiddies firework display as we thought it wouldn’t be that busy, and then go back to ours with our family for drinks at home. We had gone totally unprepared though and realised that there are clearly seasoned professionals at this who take folding tables and chairs, wine, food, the lot, so we know now how to do it properly for next year! And they weren’t joking about it being a kiddies firework display – they were so tiny you could hardly see them. But we had a really good night with friends and family which is what it’s all about!

One thing we haven’t done for about ten years is go camping. All the guys I go trials riding with were going camping so we got the tent and bits together and off we went with them. When we got there we found a spot and Sandra said, “What do you think about putting the tent up here?”. I said ok and went round to the trailer. Sandra thought I’d gone to get the tent but I’d actually gone to get my trials bike off the trailer, came back and said, “Ok, see you in about half an hour!”

Sandra: But it was actually about three hours later that Steve came back, eaving me to put the tent up and sort everything else out.

We then had Sandra’s birthday on 6 February. I’d just got a new trials bike so wanted to go riding with the boys. Not only was Sandra totally fine with that, but she also said to me why don’t I keep my old trials bike rather than sell it as then friends can use it to go trials riding with me. The boys couldn’t believe it when I told them that not only was I trials riding on Sandra’s birthday, but I also get to keep my old trials bike as well as my new one, and, that I also had her out working at the hospital (she’s a nurse) on her birthday too. What a woman!

I did make up for it though. The problem is however, when you’ve been with someone for thirteen years, and when you’re a bloke, it’s difficult to keep being imaginative with presents. So, I got her a cake, which is something that blokes just don’t do but that girls really like. I went to a baker the week before and chose the design and stuff. The impressive thing was that I’d thought about it all in advance rather than leave it to the last minute in my usual fashion.

Sandra: It was such a good cake and had my name on it and this great design with horses, which are my love. It was the fact that Steve had gone to the trouble and thought about in advance and as a surprise which was the greatest thing.

So our few months back in Oz were a mixture of hard work and pleasure but we had a great time.

It was great to get back on the bike at Qatar for a test and then the race, and also get back in to racing mode. But it's almost like we've gone from one extreme to the other and now it feels like the off season is a distant memory. I wasn't happy with my results at Qatar but we always knew it was going to be a difficult track for us - partly because of the nature of the circuit and and because it was our first time there and also it was the first time other that one test in Valencia where I'd spent any time on the bike. The good thing I took away from that test and race though was how well and relatively quickly we got the bike set up to my liking. Honestly just every time I went back out after changing something I felt a bit more comfortable, so feel we're going forward all the time.

After Qatar we went back to our apartment in Switzerland and it was great to be back there, basically away from all the hussle and bussle of the last few months and time for Sandra and I to spend some time alone together for the first time in a long time, which was great. We just had some time out, did some training together and chilled which is what we both needed. The one thing that was an education was the snow. I've never really driven in snow before and think I need to take lessons! It's quite hilly where we live and when you're not used to driving on snowy and icy slopes it's a bit scary - I took up skiing but in the car! When I realised I was being passed by a few eighty year olds driving a Fiat 500 I decided it was just too much and parked it!

This weekend's test at Valencia will give me more time on the bike and we have a lot of new things to test which should give us more progress again. It will also be good preparation for my home round next, which I'm obviously desparate to go well at.

Until next time

Steve