Team Sky’s 2015 annual get-together was at Sky’s head office in London (where I work). Due to a global training a racing schedule, the whole team being in the same place at the same time is about as rare as Geraint Thomas making it round a right hand corner unscathed.

The night before the big day, I was out training. A car turned into me… Bang.

I was sitting in an ambulance with a mild concussion - unable to move my left shoulder without extreme pain. Great timing.

After a poor nights sleep, I put my arm in a sling and took the train to work. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. Cyclists are hard, right?

I think the team could all relate. They did a jersey whip-round. It made the pain worthwhile. Absolute gents.

You have to look for the opportunity in a situation. Unable to use my left arm, I discovered the benefits of training indoors. Coming from a family of old-school roadies, I thought the turbo was for wimps who were scared of cold & wet weather - now, It’s an integral part of my winter training program (and it’s definitely not for wimps, it’s really fucking hard).

This jersey is a reminder of ‘team atmosphere’ - when someone is suffering (me with my arm in a sling) - lift them up.

Thanks, Team Sky - for making a shit situation, great.

Luckily, you can point a camera with one hand - just stick it on auto. Stay tuned for the next jersey in my collection… 

Gareth.