I suppose I could have ridden outside today.
But after last weeks unpleasantness I kept inside and knocked off just short of 2 hours. I kept it in the small chainring in case we do have the TTT tomorrow. There was no reason to waste myself today.
My stomach was a little queasy this morning but I feel good now.
----
The second climb of the l'Etape is the Col de Marie-Blanque. Four kilos longer and steeper than the Ichere, this should be the first real test. While this isn't the big mountain of the stage I've read several comments on message boards saying they are dreading this climb more the an Aubisque. I'll start to wonder why I'm doing this race. At the summit 44.5 miles complete, 65.5 miles to the finish. Online comment of climb: Numerous reports concur - the west side from Escot, with long stretches of 12%, is especially difficult. Members’ comments include, ‘always a killer’, ‘the worst climb I ever experienced’, ‘every bit as awful as anticipated’ and a telling ‘we didn’t fancy the Marie-Blanque again’! Mostly wooded, but moderately scenic in parts.
Background: By '88 I had been already considered joining a team or entering a race for a couple years thanks to Greg Lemond's rise to prominence. More than anything I needed a new bike. A week or so before the Moonlight Ramble I went to the nearby Touring Cyclist and walked out with the Raleigh Tinley Tri-Lite that is now my fixed gear. Twelve speeds, indexed downtube shifting, internal cable routing and I was moving into the big time. Clipless pedals still weren't available.
At my first Moonlight Ramble, we started out down Market to Broadway. By Anheuser Busch the crowds of cyclists were still pretty heavy and some little girl swerved and took me right to the ground. I scraped my arm and knee but the worst part was that the handlebar chipped the paint off my brand new bike's downtube. Aarrgh!
The bike was a nice entry level racer even though it took me until '92 to actually get around to racing. Much like the Moonlight Ramble, my first race (Greentree Crit) resulted in another crash before even reaching W. Adams. I finished but got lapped several times. This bike never did finish a crit without being lapped or pulled from a race.
News Item of the Day: Erwin Vervecken will be one of several Belgians vying for the elite men's Cyclo-cross World Championship title on Sunday in St. Wendel. Winner in 2001, Vervecken has what it takes to be number one on the day, and he believes that the cold, snowy conditions will suit him. "The circuit suits me and I won my world title in the snow," said Vervecken to Gazet van Antwerpen. "If anyone other than Nys attacks, then he has to react himself. If he attacks, then I will definitely react."
Vervecken laughed at the idea of being teammates with his compatriots, as cyclo-cross is still very much an individual sport. "Since De Clercq floored me in Poprad, I know that it's every man for himself. And that goes for Nys as well."
Vervecken questioned Nys' mental strength, which has seemingly failed him at past World Championships. "Is he really that strong mentally? And Wellens was still better last year and he only just won the World's."
But after last weeks unpleasantness I kept inside and knocked off just short of 2 hours. I kept it in the small chainring in case we do have the TTT tomorrow. There was no reason to waste myself today.
My stomach was a little queasy this morning but I feel good now.
----
The second climb of the l'Etape is the Col de Marie-Blanque. Four kilos longer and steeper than the Ichere, this should be the first real test. While this isn't the big mountain of the stage I've read several comments on message boards saying they are dreading this climb more the an Aubisque. I'll start to wonder why I'm doing this race. At the summit 44.5 miles complete, 65.5 miles to the finish. Online comment of climb: Numerous reports concur - the west side from Escot, with long stretches of 12%, is especially difficult. Members’ comments include, ‘always a killer’, ‘the worst climb I ever experienced’, ‘every bit as awful as anticipated’ and a telling ‘we didn’t fancy the Marie-Blanque again’! Mostly wooded, but moderately scenic in parts.
Background: By '88 I had been already considered joining a team or entering a race for a couple years thanks to Greg Lemond's rise to prominence. More than anything I needed a new bike. A week or so before the Moonlight Ramble I went to the nearby Touring Cyclist and walked out with the Raleigh Tinley Tri-Lite that is now my fixed gear. Twelve speeds, indexed downtube shifting, internal cable routing and I was moving into the big time. Clipless pedals still weren't available.
At my first Moonlight Ramble, we started out down Market to Broadway. By Anheuser Busch the crowds of cyclists were still pretty heavy and some little girl swerved and took me right to the ground. I scraped my arm and knee but the worst part was that the handlebar chipped the paint off my brand new bike's downtube. Aarrgh!
The bike was a nice entry level racer even though it took me until '92 to actually get around to racing. Much like the Moonlight Ramble, my first race (Greentree Crit) resulted in another crash before even reaching W. Adams. I finished but got lapped several times. This bike never did finish a crit without being lapped or pulled from a race.
News Item of the Day: Erwin Vervecken will be one of several Belgians vying for the elite men's Cyclo-cross World Championship title on Sunday in St. Wendel. Winner in 2001, Vervecken has what it takes to be number one on the day, and he believes that the cold, snowy conditions will suit him. "The circuit suits me and I won my world title in the snow," said Vervecken to Gazet van Antwerpen. "If anyone other than Nys attacks, then he has to react himself. If he attacks, then I will definitely react."
Vervecken laughed at the idea of being teammates with his compatriots, as cyclo-cross is still very much an individual sport. "Since De Clercq floored me in Poprad, I know that it's every man for himself. And that goes for Nys as well."
Vervecken questioned Nys' mental strength, which has seemingly failed him at past World Championships. "Is he really that strong mentally? And Wellens was still better last year and he only just won the World's."
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