Making it

This morning started as many pre-race morning do with the teams usual 9am meeting downstairs in the bar area with some conversations, good luck wishes and plenty of coffees. As the light rain was falling outside we all wished each other a safe race and saw our UCI racers off to battle while us racers who were going to the kermesse stayed for a few more coffees. 

After the majority of the team disbanded my teammate Nick Freisen and I sat back for one last coffee and got into the finer points of being an elite rider here in Belgium and in the states. As we talked about our opportunities on both sides of the ocean, sacrifices, and race styles in general, I discovered the one aspect that truly appeals to me about the life of a cyclist in Europe compared to that of a racer in the states. Respect. The level of respect for the cyclists and the racing here is beyond anything that could be conjured in the U.S. The races here are held not solely for the goal of making money and pleasing sponsors, but to allow racers to race, and give hope to rising stars. The respect and admiration of the fans and families here is a catalyst for the riders. It urges them to suffer beyond what we would consider possible, to become the next great, even if it is just for the day. This respect is reflected financially and socially in the compensation that the riders receive in winnings and government stipends as well as the support before, during, and after races by family, friends and strangers alike.  

 Nick and I discussed extending our stays here in Oostkamp and how we would be able to "make it" here as compared to the domestic scene and both essentially concluded that staying would be a necessity if we wish to secure any kind of contract in the U.S. or here in Europe. Our conclusion was reached based not entirely on the respect that I spoke of, but on the opportunities that exist and do not exist stateside that stem from the lack of "respect" for the sport, so to speak. If the proper support elements for a race and racers are not present and in turn make racing uneconomical and socially unsupported, then the racers will fundamentally lack the incentives and motivations to compete on the higher levels as they do here in Europe. However, with the respect and experience that is earned and gained here in Europe it becomes possible to assert some level of respect in the states and thus earns a degree of success and/or opportunity that would have otherwise been either impossible or very difficult, especially for middle aged (I use this term loosely) riders like myself. 

I know that this is not some grand epiphany that has never been realized by riders before, but it was something that I felt to be of importance and relevance for any aspiring cyclists life. I have come to respect this sport more than most and have regarded the sacrifices that it takes to make it here for so little money as the biggest of any sport. This truly is a sport that has no room for errors or weakness. So with this in mind, I'm off to race..... thanks for reading and I'll let you know when I decide to come home ;)    

Paris-Roubaix from the 150M mark

Here's a video of I think Haussler finishing

The day that will live in infamy....

 I was really hyped going into UCI race this weekend. Lots of short power climbs with cobbles, fun terrain, and a really prestigious list of past winners. I was feeling good and had a good idea of where I needed to be at almost all times, thanks to a well planned recon ride earlier in the week that took us over all the climbs and through most of the tricky sections. We arrived at the race on time with everyone in good spirits and the weather cooperating nicely. As we began to change into kits, apply oils, balms and chamois cremes, pin numbers, I came to a rather horrifying realization....... I have no shoes. Little did I know that this was merely the beginning. 

After relaying my discovery to the Directors and the team we began looking to piece together a set of spare shoes and cleats that would work. Luckily I had one teammate with the right cleats and another with the right size shoe so there was a last moment shoe assembly and then it was off to the start line. Now although I was discouraged at this point, I had not given up and was still feeling up to the task at hand even if it meant destroying my knees via different cleats and shoes. So off we went.

The first few kilometers were flying along just fine and I was sitting comfortably about 15-20th wheel when around 5-7k out of nowhere I hit something....... hard. I'm still not exactly sure what it was but my best guess is either large pot hole or drainage grate. Regardless, the impact sent one of my water bottles exploding off into the group, rotated my handlebars so far down to the point that I couldn't safely reach the hoods, and pinch flatted my rear tire..... F$%*!!!!!!!!!

After instantly loosing my position and rolling back to the caravan with right hand held high, I found the car and instantly exclaimed "I think I need a bike." After a fairly speedy change I was returned to the caravan but instantly noticed that the shifting was not even close to decent. After moving up one or two cars and then falling back a few times I was starting to feel all of my efforts in my knees and in these alien shoes. Then I saw the team car on the side giving a wheel to one of our riders..... "ok, here I can help" I thought. Even if I'm shattered I can still help a teammate get back in the race and contribute some to this race. After passing the car and Peter (the other rider) I slowed a bit and shifted to the small ring for a small hill. As i saw Peter approaching I went to start climbing the gears and pick speed back up to make my effort for him. However, once I tried to shift into the big ring the response was not the expected one. Instead of finding a bigger gear, all I found was a handful of brakes. Once, twice, three times......fuck! seriously!?! four, five...... Peter shoots by on the back of a team car giving me a confused look at 65k/hr, I'm still going backwards. Six, Seven. Then finally around the eighth try I got the gears I had need about 45 seconds ago, but by this point I was well towards the back of the cars and would remain there until roughly 50k into the race when I was pulled. I later found the the cause of the braking in place of the shift to the big ring was being caused by an extremely tight brake that would catch every time I tried to shift.    

After my return to the team bus I was more frustrated and disappointed with my self than I have been in a very long time. All errors were on my behalf and I was awarded the remainder of the day to reflect on them in solitude with aching knees. Yup, I have now had my worst race day ever. So it can only get better from here.... right?

Although I myself had the day from hell, our team did very respectable with four finishers out of six and three of those finishing in the front of the peleton, one of which was top 25 out of roughly 200. My only regret is that my mistakes prevented my from being able to contribute to their finishes, or mine. 

tomorrow is another day.....  

Back to posting....

Sorry about the long gap between postings but I was experience some sign in troubles with the blog and couldn't access anything for a while. After a little research and some intensive trouble shooting though the problem has been solved.... (I'm an idiot and was using a wrong email).

So onwards and upwards with life in the Belgie!!

Health Update:

A few weeks back I was on a training ride and decided to overcook a turn and ended up taking a spill and a pretty good thump to the chest. Well after a week or do of pretty intense pain a visit to the good doctor confirmed that I did have a either cracked or fractured rib. So for the past few weeks I have been training and racing and sprinting with the efforts of a 90 year asthmatic woman. However, now that I am on the later end of the healing cycle I have slowly regained some breathing power and strength. But seriously, broken ribs are not fun. 

Racing:

While in my broken state I managed to still get in some Kermesse racing although the racing that I did do was short lived at best. Since my last entry I have competed in another three Kermesse races and finished approximately 0 of them (my group was pulled in one). The intensity of these races is truly something that has to be seen or experienced. One teammate that finished the same race in which my group was pulled had an average power for the race of about 300 Watts..... for about 120k..... that's alot.  

After racing these I have started to become much more active in the front of the race rather than just trying to sit in the pack and survive lap after lap. Within the first 4-5 laps of the race there is usually a break that forms and stays away, the key is to get into this breakaway group. Easy right? Well, it usually takes about 3-4 laps of non-stop attacking and chasing before this break forms so not really. In the last two of these races I have made it a point to be overly active in the first few laps to get a feel of what it's like to be in the early breaks and what it's like to be brought back..... they both hurt... alot. With each attack being chased at full speed if you do not have the enegry to cover the next attack that comes when you are brought back the you will most likely either get completely dropped, or loose position in the front of the group and miss the break that stays. 

Now that I'm starting to slowly understanding the movement and positioning of these races I'm hoping to begin to finish them more regularly and with better intentions of placing. 

The Weekend:

For this weekend, I will be competing in my second UCI race that is being held here in Belgium called Zellik-Galmaarden. This race is one of the hillier one day races going over the Kappel-Muir 2 times, the Bosberg 6 times and about eight other smaller climbs which I don't have names for. All of which are cobbled climbs accept for one. So needless to say that this should be a fun one and I look forward to giving a good race report on Monday.

Apologies again for the delay in posting but now everything should be back on track from here out. Coming up also this week I'll post a few shots of the Finish of Paris-Roubaix from the 150M mark inside the Velodrome at Roubaix and give the account of our adventures that day...... prostitutes, car chases, and drug dealers oh-my..... you really must visit Roubaix.

Cheers!