Hi all. Most of you have probably given up on this site by now? Julz has been less than efficient at updating his diary over summer. There?s always so much for him to do while we?re back home in NZ. He?s been busy going out for the odd surf or six, lapping up what sun has been on offer, diligently pedalling the heinously lumpy NZ road chip, and hopefully it goes without saying that Tanner, our now 8 month old, has been absorbing all time in between any compulsory summer activities!

So now with the fun of a NZ summer/off-season well and truly behind Julz, he has already clocked his first race of the season, the South Australian Tour Down Under. That came and went really. No excitement there for him. He wasn?t tearing the legs off anyone but then that wasn?t his game plan either. He went with only the expectation of getting some good ground work laid for the season. Which he did.

While over in Aussie, he decided that it might be a plan to come back to NZ and follow up with the Wellington Tour. We were scheduled to head back to Europe on the 27th of Jan but the opportunity to ride the Wellington Tour seemed a good one. After all, once we leave these shores, the weather back in Spain will be very average and training there will require spending a few of the season?s mental cards?..So he signed up to ride the Wellington Tour for the first time since he won it back in 1999 (at least I think it was 1999!)

So as it often happens when Julz makes a smart decision, a spanner is promptly fired into the works and as soon as he arrives home from Australia, the weather here turns absolutely feral right across the country and the idea of riding in Wellington suddenly transforms itself from a bright one to a really dumb one! There was so much rain. So much wind. There were floods here, there and everywhere and Julz was fully committed to the race?..Perfect!

Off he trotted to Wellington and once down there tells me he?s been suffering from a sore guts since arriving in Adelaide. I had a bad feeling about that but as usual with Julz, ya just have to let him act on these things when he feels the time is right!

The race kicked off on Wednesday with a miserably wet and windy evening citerium. He had two near misses in the first 10 minutes, decided there was no way he was gonna risk crashing so he sat up and got lapped about 20 minutes into the race. Day one over! That night he was feeling very uncomfortable with his abdominal pain and decided he?d do something about it?.

?But not till he?d raced Day Two of the Wellington Tour. After completing the double stage day, the pain finally won out and last night I got a phone call from Julz at Wellington Hospital. The Doctors had decided he had appendicitis and that they needed to operate. OK, fine. We can cope with that?.Not use to having the whole ?hospitalization? thing happen so early on in the season but hey, better now than in May!

So anyway, they didn?t operate last night coz they weren?t sure whether it was bad enough?. Funnily enough, he was no better today and so after further examinations, it was decided that the gall bladder was actually the culprit. This evening, they operated and while fossicking around in there the surgeon was greeted by not only an angry gall bladder but an angry appendix too so they were both removed?.

And that?s it for now?.We?ve had to postpone our departure date again and until the surgeon has talked to Julz tomorrow, we won?t know when he?ll be well enough to travel long-haul or get back on the bike?.

And just when you all thought Julz?s crap luck had run out!!!!!

Most used quote of my day, ?Awwwwwww, no way. You?re kidding?.....?

Carole Dean

PS. Day Three of the Wellington Tour was ridden under clear blue skies and in a sweltering heat!