Better not tell the Team Manager...

Grumpy Bob's winter training programme is going completely according to schedule.  This is good, but Grumpy Bob isn't too complacent: everything was looking good last year, until he ricked his back in an unnecessary tandem parking incident in early February.  That set the scene for a season beset by injury and illness.
In contrast, reports making it back to Team Grumpy HQ indicate that not only is 'Grumpy' Art Vanderlay taking it a bit easy (having been a bit ill recently), but he's taken to hiding away in his shed with a bunch of chums down the village and drinking copious quantities of official energy drink.  Nevertheless, 'Grumpy' Art claims to be making great strides in form, relating by email that

I went out for a spin today - hardly expecting much - and demolished my best ever time on my 'test' hill. This is the one that I just managed to get under 5 mins on before heading out to the Duo. Anyway, today I did my first ever sub 4 min. ride on it (3m 57s).

This claim is regarded with some suspicion back at Team Grumpy HQ, where it has been suggested that 'Grumpy' Art was abducted briefly by aliens while out on his bike.  Meanwhile, the Team Grumpy riders are keeping schtum about 'Grumpy' Art's energy drink consumption, lest the Team Manager find out.

Everything's gone a bit quiet...

As is usually the case, Team Grumpy has gone rather moribund in the offseason.  From Grumpy Bob's perspective, 2011 was a dreadful season, rescued only by Team Grumpy's second place in the Corporate category of the Duo Normand.  And it has to be said that the team's performance was really a bit strained.  Firstly the weather was completely atrocious and was quite definitely the worst Team Grumpy had seen in eight outings at the Duo.  To add insult to injury, Grumpy Bob rode the event with a cold, the third such affliction during 2011.

This meant Grumpy Bob rolled off the end of the season somewhat earlier than expected and had an enforced lay-off from cycling of any kind.  Indeed the only connection with Team Grumpy related activities was the continued consumption of Leffe.

All that changed as Grumpy Bob swept into October, began his winter training programme, and aimed to build up for the annual New Year's Day '10'.  We shall see if starting so early proves a good move or bad, but at the moment Grumpy Bob feels quite good.  Perhaps 2012 will match 2010 and leave 2011 as a distant fading memory...