Wellington isn’t renown for its great summers; a mate is always quick to remind me that if the weather was perfect all the time, everyone would want to live here and we’d be overrun by Aucklanders (just like Aussies but not quite dumb enough to live in Canberra). As our summer goes into its last death throes of amazingly calm, sunny, cloudless days, the arm warmers and undershirt have only just emerged from their longest hibernation ever. And I probably won’t need them for tomorrow’s ride either.
Come next Monday, however, I’ll be on the other side of the world and months of unzipped jerseys and SPF30 will be but a memory; a cold, wet, distant memory. And I have to say I’m almost looking forward to it with a strange enthusiasm and a hint of romanticism. Almost. No amount of fitness gleaned from training in perfect weather can prepare one for the rigours of a Belgian spring.
We know how the body will react when it is pulled from its warm cocoon and plunged into an icy bath. How the mind will handle it is a bigger concern. We can prepare ourselves physically to the nth degree, but if we’re mentally inept then the sag wagon becomes a likely option. At which point something deep inside takes over, thought processes return to normal and the mere thought of getting off the bike is quickly and methodically banished. Not here, not now.
Let the hardmen be hardmen, let it rain and blow and the cobbles turn to mud when they grace these roads. But Merckx have mercy on a fair-weather soul, even if only for a few selected days. Let our Flandrian Best suffice and our tubulars have sure grip on dry stones. Failing that, at least keep us upright and we will drink a toast to you night after night.
Bring it on.
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@PeakInTwoYears
+1 Badge to you, given that the KT will be riding granite cobbles in a week!
@frank
Go fucking get some, you insane bastiges. I am all envy.
@scaler911
Try again:
@freddy
just saw the documentary. good stuff. Do we have any south africans who can vouch for the album being that important in the day?
Keep it on the crown, fucktards. (Jealous)
So while you prepare for northern Europe I will be racing this weekend in Cyprus.
Having survived the four days of the Tour of Sharjah our team is now doing the Tour of Cyprus.
I'm assured it is a much lower-level event although still quite competitive - like a cyclosportive in France with most people doing it for the ride, but a decent bunch racing it over timed sections. What I didn't realise is that ALL the time sections are uphill...
Anyway I'm feeling as good as I could about it, even the climbing.
My weight is down to 78-79kg, from the 85-86kg I was carrying last year at the KT and in Sharjah and I've had a good and uninterrupted block of training. Without a radical lifestyle change I don't think I could have done anymore.
I will be nowhere near the overall classification, even in my age group, but we are hopeful of doing well in the team classification which is based on best three results.
I'm not sure what access I'll have over the weekend (the race is Sat to Mon) but will post some pics and a report when I'm back, to whet the appetite for the KT.
Love this site. Living here in Jakarta its hard to even imagine what cold feels like any more. To get chilled here you have to go to the cinema. I confess to breaking rule 7 when its 38 degrees and humidity is 90%.
@ChrisO Great time to be visiting Cyprus! Take lots of hard currency with you and the worlds your oyster. Either that or you'll be mugged by the locals and expat residents in the peloton who haven't been able to use an ATM for a week.
Long range forecast suggests it might be a little warmer but rain looks more than likely.
Walter says Rule 9, fucktard, you're waterproof.
@Chris
Totally - it'll be like visiting Soviet Russia with US dollars. I've been trying to think what I might want from Cyprus but since I don't like Ouzo...
I'm hoping there might be some tall local who will trade me his Pinarello with Enve SES 3.4 if I tuck a few Euros down his bib shorts.