When it gets hectic.

Eventually during a hectic week I did spot the Arthur's seat – please see the photo for that.

View from my lounge.

By hectic I don't mean some stuff to do on the legendary 'To do-list' here and there, but more something like keeping on going from dusk till dawn sort of stuff. On Tuesday I did my training ride from 900-1230hrs was on first lectures at 1400hrs until 1600hrs, then had a snack only to be back at lectures from 1800 to 2000hrs. Then again on Wednesday woke up just after 600hrs and had completed my first training session of the day just before 900hrs. Then one important meeting took place at 1000hrs after which I had lunch and headed to the roads at 1400hrs for some two hours to be back at uni for 1800hrs to assist my friend in his PhD data collection. Now, after all that, I'm pretty tired already. Tomorrow I'll rest or at least active rest. And yeah, I sincerely hope that next week will be more settled and less hectic, and luckily for me, the odds are good for that.

My classes have started well quickly. There was just a quick necessary induction and from there on the real stuff began. In fact, the start was so quick that me and Alex, a colleague of mine from IPP and PP, got a tad bit frightened by the workload and athletics. But at the end of the day, we'll live with it.

Mentioning the IPP. Training has started well smoothly. Riding is on a good state despite the relatively insufficient resting periods. All other things have also caused that it has not been quite as structured as we would have liked it to be. I've also started my new strength and conditioning program (SnC) with my new SnC coach Stephen Bishop. That guy is amazing, he definitely knows his stuff. Already, I feel that I have made progress in terms of technique and maybe I'll squat like Sir Chris Hoy one day (again, in terms of technique – please remember). There is also some new mobility stuff added into my training, run by another SnC coach - Dave. I've now started also working with our physio to open up my back, which will hopefully make me more aero and efficient on my bike. Roads are well good and drivers around here have been very considerate, even though the surface is mega rough in some places.

For next week, or preferably already Saturday, I'm looking to get settled and get back to basics. That would mean creating an overall plan for coming season, and weekly plans from there on. Also in a weird way, it also means the end of last season, and I'm also done with my off-season, without actually noticing them. That is due to some changes in racing plans and as mentioned before, it has been pretty hectic. With all new stuff here, I can't even say how excited I am looking at the coming season.