Santos North West Tour After a reasonably successful Tour of Toowoomba, the Torq/BSS team made the road trip south to continue the circus for another week. We bunked in Narrabri, nice and close to the starting courses for the tour which were in the middle of the town. On the Tuesday of the week, we did some rolling of the legs over, reconnisacing the prologue and crit courses that we would face when the tour started on the Thursday. Then on the Wednesday we learned from our main mistake at the Toowoomba tour and went to Coonabarrabran and pre road the main decent of the stage and climb...

  After putting in all the training miles on the Cube and doing everything in my power to get ready, my first NRS tour was looming on the horizion. Dean with the Land Rover and Torq Camper trailer turned up on my doorstep on the Tuesday afternoon and we hit the road after packing two bikes, turbo trainer, 2 kit bags and a back pack, plus 9 wheels into the back of the trailer. The Torq Set up hitting Molong The long road north through Molong, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Coonabarrabran, Narrabri,  and stopped just outside Goondawindi for some kip just after midnight which made for...

See the Torq/BSS Colours flown at the All Spokes Hunter Cycling Festival.

Another weekend. Another set of races, this time in the Hunter Valley with three races on the programme. (Jen Poile) The weekend started with the NSW State Criterium Champs in Broke. It was a tough rectangle course on rough roads. It was plenty aggressive enough which I couldn't help but being a part of with plenty of digs off the front or bridging to small breaks that formed. Had to put on a bit of a show, Jen, the girlfriend was there with me for the weekend and spectating on the side of the road with a camera… always the showman. Unfortunately I lost too many places on the bell...

Country New South Wales racing is some of the hardest racing you can come across I think. Spend 70k chopping off in a handicap in order to try and reel in the limit bunch, often in the wind and cold, nothing beats it. Great racing, brilliant training for later in the year and an even better, relaxed atmosphere. This year, a crew from the Orange Cycle Club went down as always, and three of us were game enough to stay at the Globe Hotel for the Saturday night. But first, the Haycarters Handicap, 70km around the old Suicide Course just out of Coota with a tough Westerly wind blowing...