PATRICK Shaw is entering a whole new chapter in his life _ on and off the bike.
He is recently married, has returned to Australia to live full-time, has joined the workforce outside his sporting pursuit and moved to a new professional cycling outfit.
In every respect, the 23-year-old could not be more excited.
Shaw, who has settled at Creswick with new wife Bec, says he is upbeat about all aspects of his life going into a new year.
On the cycling front, Shaw is relaunching his career with the exciting Fly V outfit.
He has jumped at the opportunity to be part of the Australian-based arm of the team after seven years with the Victorian Institute of Sport.
"It's been fantastic (with the VIS)," Shaw said.
Contesting the 2004 world junior men's road race championships in Italy will always remain a career highlight.
Shaw said the chance to join Fly V _ a team of the future _ was to good to pass up.
For the past few years Shaw has spent more than eight months a year in Italy.
The move to Fly V means for the time-being all his riding will be in Australia.
Fly V was the number-one team in the 2009 national road team series and Shaw is hoping to play a major role in a repeat performance.
Shaw's new venture begins on home turf in this week's Scody Australian Open Road Cycling Championships, in which he will ride in the road race at Buninyong on Sunday.
He has been training hard on the circuit to ensure he is in the best possible shape for the 163.2-kilometre assignment.
"With so many great riders, you have to be spot-on."
Shaw is aiming at a top-10 finish.
This is why he is bypassing Wednesday's time trial at Buninyong and Thursday's criterium in Ballarat.
"It's ambitious, I know that, but it's realistic."
Shaw has done little racing since a luckless Herald Sun Tour in October.
He lasted less than two stages after a heavy crash in the early kilometres of each.
He managed to complete the opening stage, but after his next crash the resulting injuries proved too much.
Shaw said he was fortunate to avoid broken bones.
His left elbow was his first concern.
"It hurt for a while, but over the past few weeks it's been feeling good."
Nerve damage to his left shoulder remains a concern.
Shaw said while the shoulder itself was okay, the end of his middle finger on his left hand regularly went "dead".
"It goes away, it's a strange feeling."
Shaw had three weeks off after his Herald Sun Tour misfortune, but eager to get back into action, he lined up in the Tour of Bright at the start of last month.
The tour provided him with the confidence boost he needed.
Shaw finished third overall behind Andrew Roe and Daniel Braunsteins _ setting it up with an aggressive third in the first of the event's three stages.
"It's great to have a ride that's worth talking about," Shaw said.
Shaw is hoping this will also be the case after tackling the tortuous Buninyong circuit on Sunday in his new colours.
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