Pippa and I are on the train from Darlington to London Stansted airport where we will catch our flight to Valencia.  I’m looking forward to the weekend as the monkey is well and truly off my back having took my first victory last time out in Qatar.  I’ve had a relaxed few weeks and made the most of the sunshine by getting out on my push bike.  I notched up 500km and I was so pleased to get back on the road after being forced onto the turbo trainer over the winter.

With it came a few punctures but I was fit to laugh it off.  I rarely had any issues in the past which was just as well because I never used to carry any spares with me.  Now that I’ve started carrying spares I’ve needed them on just about every ride!  My brother Michael came up with the perfect solution: leave it all at home.  It seems that if you don’t have it then you don’t need it!

Another thing I realised in the past week is just how much of a pain it is to change phone and computer, especially when you’re changing to a different manufacturer.  I’ve had ten times more bother changing from Windows to Mac than I did switching from Aprilia to Honda!  The iPhone is pretty sweet though, Tweetie allows me to update my Twitter page whenever and wherever.  I’ll be updating you all throughout my entire weekend in Valencia so keep an eye on my Twitter posts to see how things are going in the Parkalgar box.  Our garage is a great place to be, we work hard but most importantly everyone gets on and it’s fun.

I enjoyed watching the MotoGP ‘Round 0′ on Sunday.  Stoner is a class act and without a doubt has the most outright speed, Rossi on the other hand has spent a decade perfecting the art.  Unfortunately James Toesland had a huge off and I was happy to hear he was ok.  i wish everyone would stop questioning whether JT has it or not, people tend to forget very easily.  The guy put it on the front row in his first ever MotoGP race, remember??  And he finished in 6th position numerous times last season.  Things just haven’t clicked yet but when you have the talent, the understanding, good machinery and are willing to put in the hours then you WILL get there.  It’s as simple as that.  JT won’t give up, unlike a particular Italian who did just that six rounds into the championship last year.

Wish me all the best for Valencia as I aim to mount that rostrum once more.

Eugene