Some of my first impressions from Edinbarra.

Sitting on the sofa, trying to spot Arthur's Seat through the darkness and just chilling.

Life has been a bit hectic lately with so much going on. I've just tried to balance my days with university inductions, moving in, necessary shopping (ie. the dull stuff – hangers, boxes, cleaning aids...) and then of course getting back to training.

Now though, I've had a bit of time to relax and reflect all that I've seen and heard so far. And maybe, to begin with, I could babble a bit about what am I actually doing here. Last february I applied for a masters degree over here in the University of Edinburgh. The programme I gained admission to officially goes under the name of MSc Performance Psychology. Though, it will be shortened to PP (or maybe peepee) as it is quite a long pair of words and the other reason will be enlightened little bit later in the text. Anyway, my studies are about people who perform, such as athletes, businessmen and -women, military and performing arts to name a few, and to understand the psychological attributes and determinants of such performances. The best thing is – it will all start tomorrow.

When it comes to cycling, I have been accepted to the Individual Performance Programme of the University of Edinburgh. Now this IPP (see the difference to PP) is a programme created to support student-athletes towards their academic and sporting ambitions. In the programme the sports vary from my cycling to archery to kayaking to athletics to pistol shooting – just to name a few. From my part it is all just about to kick off, but only the induction was a sign of something I've never experienced. The system is pure class and I feel extremely honored and proud to be part of it. There are loads of new things coming up for me, but more about that later on once the things are running.

So far Edinburgh has been super (yet sometimes fairly rainy) and I can't wait to get properly started. The people I've met from my school, from the university's cycling club and from the IPP have been amazing. I've also bagged first proper training rides around the area. Hilly, I believe, is the best way to describe my new training ground. A sound example is the Holyrood Park only five minutes from my door, which provides a solid 2km uphill for some hill repeats – I'm sure that the hill will be familiar come spring time.

It is all good!

PS. In case someone wonders the spelling of Edinburgh in the header. A quotation from a well-known travel guide states: 'No matter where you come from, you should not forget that Edinburgh is always pronounced with a Scottish rasp as 'Edinbarra''!