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Karl Hammarling - Scene 25: The Grand Finale
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 03-03-2014 06:08
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Spend Christmas with mummy and daddy 
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 03-03-2014 12:13
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Tour de France Champion
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Act 5: Higher Roads
Scene 18: First Night
Johan came by the week before Christmas. He was back in Sweden for the holiday with his family, Aleksandr his wife, Kristian and others. I updated him on all work that had been happening with HigherRoads and he was loving it. He told about his season and what he was expecting in 2017.
Inevitably he asked me about my plans for 2017, what with my ban expiring at the end of June. The honest answer was that I didn’t know. I wanted to race again but I also wanted to make sure HigherRoads followed the right path, and I didn’t think I could do both. As he left he invited me up to Stockholm for Christmas but I declined. For now it held too many memories of things I’d lost.
I would be happy enough staying here in Linkoping for the period. It would allow me to cycle and do whatever work without distraction. Didn’t fuss me that much to be honest as I was getting quite used to living alone and enjoyed the freedom and space.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 03-03-2014 20:42
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Tour de France Champion
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@ALL - Two for one here to finish off the Act! All of 6 is ready as is about half of 7 so no slowing of pace
Act 5: Higher Roads
Scene 19: The Fifth Finale, Part I
Even though it’s just me and I wasn’t overly bothered I did put up some decorations. Tinsel and lights here and there and a nice fibre optic light tree in the corner. Wasn’t much but it suited the modern style of the flat which I loved. Also kept it pretty cheap and easy. Cheap and easy, yeah less said there the better I think.
To one side I had my bike, I’d recently splashed out on a new one, a very nice 2015 Cervelo S3. I’d brought it in for the winter to avoid any rust forming, and I wanted to add some of my presents to it, so all my tool kit was out. It was Christmas Eve and I was just fiddling with it, truing the wheels and refitting the crank bearings, when I heard the doorbell ringing.
The brown hair was tussled and wet from the snowfall and wind. The face equally weathered with red cheeks and rawness from the cold. The whole body was damp and shivering. The eyes watering, but not from the weather. There was something else going on there, a sadness behind them. You can tell a lot from the eyes, and these were almost done with everything, begging for salvation.
“C-c-c-can i-i-I c-c-come in?”
Act 5: Higher Roads
Scene 20: The Fifth Finale, Part II
Of course I wasn’t going to turn her away! Well to be hones there was only one person I would turn away and he would never come to my door. The weather wasn’t great, with wind and snow, so she was both soaked and freezing. Still it couldn’t mask the tears falling from her eyes. I’d learnt to sport the small things. I made her a nice hot coffee, with a solid lacing of liqueur, and sat her down on the couch.
“Hannah… Talk to me” Was all I said. So the floodgates opened up as she told me the story of what happened after I left. Her boyfriend got made redundant and started taking drinking to cope. That evolved to drugs and then it got worse. Recently he started scaring her with violent outbursts until one night he got hold a bat and just wrecked the apartment and tried to… well after that she grabbed the first flight north to find me.
She knew she could trust me with anything and that she would be safe. Unfortunately because it was Christmas Eve she couldn’t get a taxi and walked the 5 miles from the airport to the flat through the wind and snow. Now she was here and we just sat in silence underneath the weight of the atmosphere.
“So I guess you should chan….” I’m cut off mid-sentence as Hannah plants her lips on mine…
Edited by TheManxMissile on 03-03-2014 20:44
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 03-03-2014 22:50
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Tour de France Champion
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A very nice (or not) unexpected Christmas present  |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 04-03-2014 06:30
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Karl is such a ladies man 
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 05-03-2014 19:56
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Tour de France Champion
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@Sutty - You expect it turn bad? At this point who knows!
@Jak - This one is understandable and you could (sort of) see it coming
@ALL - We are rolling again! Act 6 is going to some new places
Act 6: Definitions
Scene 1: Blue Harvest
Now I could, to an extent, make things up to Hannah, pay her back. She’d left in a rush and had only a small back of things with her so as soon as the shops opened back up on the 26th we were out to town to expand her wardrobe and pick up anything else she’d need. It was nowhere near enough to say thanks for saving my life; that would come with time.
We just spent Christmas Day itself crashed on the couch watching films. It was a bit awkward because of the circumstances, and that neither of us really knew how to proceed. She decided to hide while I FaceTimed with Johan and his gathering. It wouldn’t stay secret for long though as Johan was going to come past in the week to help with HigherRoads.
Before then I decided to treat Hannah to something special. We would drive out round to the hills just north of Lake Roxen, where the pines grew high. Then from a secluded spot we would look back over the lake as I would cook dinner on an open fire. It might sound a bit much, but it was to be a celebration for the end of a year where we both went through a lot and came out stronger.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 05-03-2014 20:07
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Team Leader
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Good luck with the open fire Karl 
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 06-03-2014 19:05
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Tour de France Champion
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Act 6: Definitions
Scene 2: Rooster
Johan dropped by for a couple of days before New Year for HighRoads stuff. Nothing particularly important, bits and pieces that needed doing before he got busy with the pre-season. It also gave me a chance to show it off the Hannah. Both were impressed with how it was going and how well prepared everything was for the upcoming year. There was merch stacked around the place and giant wall planners covered in scribbles and notes.
While Johan and I did the work Hannah occupied herself by organising her life over to Sweden. By the end of the day she’d ordered a phone, started setting up banking and insurance and had notified everyone needed that she was no longer in Spain. It slightly scared me that she was so quick getting everything together, I still wasn’t big on personal commitment following Lucy.
Before any time passed it was the start of 2017! My life was set and ready with just a few questions hanging open ended. How would Hannah and I cope, and was it a good idea? Will HigherRoads work like my visions? And the biggest of them all, what happens when my ban expires?
Edited by TheManxMissile on 06-03-2014 19:06
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-03-2014 22:59
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Tour de France Champion
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When the ban ends its time for the New Karl to be unveiled |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 06-03-2014 23:02
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When the ban ends he goes back and absolutely OWNS cycling. Minus drugs
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 07-03-2014 13:44
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Tour de France Champion
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Act 6: Definitions
Scene 3: Delay of Game
It was a huge unknown. My riding was going well and I had a very good level of fitness for a non-pro. I was enjoying my cycling like never before which all pointed to trying to get into it again come July. However to do that I’d have to do some non-official official races to prove I still had the skills without any drugs. I’d have to up my training, and that would leave little time for HigherRoads and Hannah.
No-one could really help me with the choice I’d just have to get there by myself. At least for now I decided to just focus on my own life and see what happens. Bit of a cop out but when that means spending most days with Hannah I doubt many people would argue the decision.
Until the season began in some months’ time HigherRoads would just tick over, and I’d only go in a couple of days a week to check emails and stuff. Christie and Henig could manage everything, as could Lars, Seb and Sabrina down in the Netherlands. So I helped out with finding Hannah a job, as well as teaching her Swedish.
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 07-03-2014 13:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
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Karl will soon fit in to the racing scene again |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 07-03-2014 19:38
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Tour de France Champion
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Act 6: Definitions
Scene 4: Buttercups
If there was a need at HigherRoads I’d have hired her myself but there wasn’t so we just found her some work at a fashion shop in town. That then allowed me to step up my riding a gear without feeling guilty. I could now do 2 hours every day and then two more hours of related exercises on weekdays. The goal was to improve stamina and to put the muscle back in the right places.
After about a month of this new routine I’d climbed in weight to about 80kg, most of it in muscle growth. My power measures equally climbed upwards and I could turn a few hundred watts for extended periods, peaking over 500 for short bursts. So my rides got longer and faster and I kept finding awesome backdrops and scenery across the region.
Hannah certainly approved and would join me at weekends for more relaxed riding. Saturday we’d do 40-50km over a couple of hours, stopping to enjoy the landscape, at solid pace. Then Sunday we’d just cruise around town and the immediate Lakeside and rivers enjoying ourselves. I was seriously starting to consider a push to return in the summer.
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| The Hobbit |
Posted on 07-03-2014 20:27
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I thought that said 'I've gained 80kg'
Some training session |
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 07-03-2014 21:55
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Karl looking set to make a comeback. This will be good!
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 07-03-2014 22:57
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
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With views like that the cycling must certainly be enjoyable  |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 08-03-2014 11:52
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
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@Hobbit - Not so much training but McDonalds
@Jak - You have no idea
@sutty - I know right! Sweden's f*cking gorgeous
Act 6: Definitions
Scene 5: Sugar and Spice
Life had just hit a sweet spot. No dramas, not broken hearts, no pain, nothing was out of place. So things were pretty routine from week to week but it was no bad thing. I kept things ticking over with HigherRoads as we began to build towards the first events, as well as continuing my training schedule. Hannah went to work in the week and was picking up Swedish pretty nicely.
Our first event of the season was back down at the Sturup Raceway outside Malmo. Hening and I would be the ones to go down for it. This was to be a much smaller event for us, mostly to let everyone know that we still existed and would be at most U23 and Junior races throughout the season.
While I went away Hannah decided she would pop over to the UK to catch up with family for a weekend. I went to see he off from the airport on Thursday night, and then Hening and I road tripped it down to Malmo on Friday. In the Netherlands their first event would also be the same weekend in Amsterdam. It was the launch event for that branch and luckily Kurt-Alse was able to go and help out with Wilco and the others.
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 08-03-2014 21:15
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
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Act 6: Definitions
Scene 6: Carry On
The races themselves were ok. They were classic for their level with a mix of overenthusiastic rides who made the first half super-fast, then those with more experience who mopped up in the back end to take the serious places. It was all a bit cagey as everyone got back into things after the winter time.
We had steady interest across the weekend chatting with a good number of people. The merchandise went down well, selling all sorts of bits to riders, coaches and just people who came to watch the racing. Of course the nature of the project meant that until someone came to us to talk there was very little communication of much to do.
Once we grow the brand more I think we could be more proactive in combating the problem. But for now we’ll stick to the support structure and direct talks with the entry level racers. The weekend was a success, and Wilco reported in that things went well for them. They got a wide interest at their launch and expected good things for future events.
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 08-03-2014 21:22
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A good start for HigherRoads
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 09-03-2014 12:13
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
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Act 6: Definitions
Scene 7: Continuity
In many ways that would go on to sum up the next few weeks. Continuous routines of work and training and then taking weekends to go around various race events across the country. I went to all the events, and then either Henig or Christine would join me. Kurt and Magnus shared a number of events between them and Johan squeezed a weekend into his schedule. Wilco and the Dutch group did the same sort of thing in splitting the time around them.
It was going great. As a charity we were getting loads of interest from people are the events, and we were getting quite popular on some of the bigger cycling internet forums. Funding wasn’t a problem thanks to solid merchandise sales and regular donations. Each weekend we’d talk to loads of young cyclists about drugs.
Of course nothing we did could fully prepare them or protect them but it was better than sitting around doing nothing. I was also starting to build up relationships with a few of the more senior cycling people in Sweden, the kind of people who had a say in team rosters and the like. Each passing week I was siding more with returning to racing.
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
