The Bike Boutique Grand Opening Today

Today we have the Grand Opening of The Bike Boutique here in Subic Bay. The shop is just a kiosk shop and is very small, but it serves the needs of the cyclists and triathletes in the area well. Subic is about 120km from Manila and, due to the traffic, many cyclists and triathletes from Manila come out here on the weekends and holidays to do their riding.
Today, after an early swim, we rode a 50km ride with a bunch of local athletes and then had lunch with the group and Alex Bok, the team manager. It was good to chat to him and get to know him a little better.
The last few days we have been training well, although the group has shrunk quite a bit. THe Japanese couple, Hiro and Maki, have gone home and Manny is off in Hong Kong racing an ITU event this weekend. That leaves only 5 of us here training and the difference is noticeable. However we have been joined by a group of Filipinos who like to test themselves against us in pretty much every session. They aren't much competition in the swim and bike, but a few can run really well and I have had to push myself a few times due to their enthusiam.
It is a great experience for them to train with Pro's and it is cool to be able to give back simply by training with them.

This afternoon we have a talk by Brett Sutton and then a buffet dinner (all still part of the grand opening). I am sure it will be interesting and informative to listen to Brett's lecture... although we do get regular lectures after our sessions on a wide variety of topics, but they are more informal and often involve personal critiques and some colourful language. ;)
Tomorrow we have a longer group ride with the locals followed by a brick run of some sort (we're not sure what yet, but it may be a track session).

The last 2 weeks has gone really quickly. The days tend to merge into one another as you train, eat and sleep - and do no activities that have any relevance to the day of the week. It is often difficult to keep track of the time of day (due to midday sleeps) nevermind the day of the week!
I only have 4 more full days here as I leave on Thursday. I am looking forward to being home and not living in a hotel, but will miss the training here. And I am really not looking forward to the trip and jetlag!!