Bubba #5 was in southern Illinois today, a few miles south of Carbondale in the "town" of Pomona at Von Jakob Winery. I'm not going to go into great detail tonight but will try to post some pictures with a course description tomorrow. I will say that it was a HARD, slow course with some treacherous turns.
I arrived 15 minutes before the first race and quickly got the bike out and started to take a spin in civies and tennis shoes. While it was somewhat helpful the course (the 1/3 I rode) pretty much psyched me out right then. If I had had cleated shoes it would have been better but the tennis shoes slipping off the pedals and trying to get up tough terrain did my mind no good.
The "C's" started and a few riders dropped out including last week's winner complaining that it's a mountain bike course. I won't say that, but it was probably beneficial to have one.
My race was not very good with a bad start, a dropped chain and a minor crash all contributing to a general lack of ambition. In the end I got 9th of 11. Not good, although I had some decent moments.
News Item of the Day: Bernard Hinault , five time winner of the Tour de France, blows his 50 candles, this weekend, in the presence of several personalities of cycling.
The " Badger ", born on November 14, should be surrounded by the president of the international Union cyclist (UCI) Hein Verbruggen, by Jean Pitallier, president of the French Federation (FFC) and by Jean-Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour de France.
Moreover, the old rider, Tour winner in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985, will be in particular in the center of an exposure recalling his career to the media library of the city.
The public will be able to admire there several jerseys of the famous cyclist from his major victories, his bicycles, his trophies and the paving stone rewarding the victory for Paris-Roubaix (which he had won in 1982).
The Breton today splits his life between his public relations work for Amaury sport organization (ASO), organizing company of the Tour de France, and his farm in Calorguen, close to Dinan in the Coasts of Armor.
The municipality of Saint-Grégoire should benefit from the occasion to officially announce its candidacy to host a stage of the 2006 Tour de France.
Viewpoint: When I first discovered cycling back in about '82 Hinault was the man. I didn't realize how good he was at the time since my exposure to pro cycling at the consisted of maybe 20 minutes for the entire TdF on CBS. Over the next couple years I learned a little bit more about him as he battled LeMond in '84 and '85.
While I wasn't fond of his actions in battling LeMond after saying he would help him win, I have always had a fondness for Hinault and a great respect for what he accomplished. The man was tough and a huge talent. Personally, I would put behind Merckx as the greatest cyclist. It was a different era but he did it all. He climbed, he'd sprint pretty well, time trial, win Classics and Grand Tours.
My fondness for Bernard took a little extra twist when in my early racing years, around '94 or '95, one of my teammates said I looked like Hinault. I've never fully seen the similarity but there are times when I do. How can you not be a fan of a great cyclist that looks a tiny bit like you.
Happy Birthday Bernard.
I arrived 15 minutes before the first race and quickly got the bike out and started to take a spin in civies and tennis shoes. While it was somewhat helpful the course (the 1/3 I rode) pretty much psyched me out right then. If I had had cleated shoes it would have been better but the tennis shoes slipping off the pedals and trying to get up tough terrain did my mind no good.
The "C's" started and a few riders dropped out including last week's winner complaining that it's a mountain bike course. I won't say that, but it was probably beneficial to have one.
My race was not very good with a bad start, a dropped chain and a minor crash all contributing to a general lack of ambition. In the end I got 9th of 11. Not good, although I had some decent moments.
News Item of the Day: Bernard Hinault , five time winner of the Tour de France, blows his 50 candles, this weekend, in the presence of several personalities of cycling.
The " Badger ", born on November 14, should be surrounded by the president of the international Union cyclist (UCI) Hein Verbruggen, by Jean Pitallier, president of the French Federation (FFC) and by Jean-Marie Leblanc, director of the Tour de France.
Moreover, the old rider, Tour winner in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985, will be in particular in the center of an exposure recalling his career to the media library of the city.
The public will be able to admire there several jerseys of the famous cyclist from his major victories, his bicycles, his trophies and the paving stone rewarding the victory for Paris-Roubaix (which he had won in 1982).
The Breton today splits his life between his public relations work for Amaury sport organization (ASO), organizing company of the Tour de France, and his farm in Calorguen, close to Dinan in the Coasts of Armor.
The municipality of Saint-Grégoire should benefit from the occasion to officially announce its candidacy to host a stage of the 2006 Tour de France.
Viewpoint: When I first discovered cycling back in about '82 Hinault was the man. I didn't realize how good he was at the time since my exposure to pro cycling at the consisted of maybe 20 minutes for the entire TdF on CBS. Over the next couple years I learned a little bit more about him as he battled LeMond in '84 and '85.
While I wasn't fond of his actions in battling LeMond after saying he would help him win, I have always had a fondness for Hinault and a great respect for what he accomplished. The man was tough and a huge talent. Personally, I would put behind Merckx as the greatest cyclist. It was a different era but he did it all. He climbed, he'd sprint pretty well, time trial, win Classics and Grand Tours.
My fondness for Bernard took a little extra twist when in my early racing years, around '94 or '95, one of my teammates said I looked like Hinault. I've never fully seen the similarity but there are times when I do. How can you not be a fan of a great cyclist that looks a tiny bit like you.
Happy Birthday Bernard.
1 Comments:
Bernard Klages. Has a nice ring to it!
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