Three months ago we hardly would have blinked at temperatures in the low to mid 20's. Seventy degree temperatures, though, have a way of thinning the blood and changing perspectives. This morning was flat out raw feeling. Strong winds didn't help matters as the head-crosswind stung our faces and broke the spirit of more than one of us at the start of the ride.
Finally finding a tailwind helped our morale. Even tackling the Mulenberg was welcomed for it's body warming effects. After some unintended exploration we got back on track, past the cold-damaged Eckert crops and into Millstadt before heading back to Columbia.
Only a two hour ride today but that was enough as I continue to try and get back on track. In general, I felt good. The Mulenberg was sluggish but the legs got better as time passed. Plenty of room for improvement still but progress is being made.
--------------------
The inappropriately named first US Open Cycling Championships were live on NBC today. Turned into an interesting race with some rough weather and a rough circuit through Richmond that devastated the field. Good to see Mike Lange of Slipstream snag a few good seconds of close up face time. Good race by Tuft and I'm glad to see McCarty's effort in the breakaway stick, by a bike length, for second place. That was a squeaker.
NBC's coverage was not bad. Trautwig's bold pronouncement of a Jelly Belly rider trying to bridge up to a break was pretty funny when it was a Toyota United rider filling the screen. Those yellow Jelly Belly kits are easily confused with red and blue Toyota United kits, I guess. Cutting away from the race with about 2 miles to go and big chase going on was rather untimely. I'll chalk that up to cycling inexperience on NBC's part but its still inexcusable. Would they cut away from the final batter in a World Series? Same difference.
----------------
Sunday is probably my favorite race of the year, the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. If I had to pick five riders... Boonen of course. Ballan seems to be on the rise at the right time. Cancellara even though I still have doubts about him on the bergs. Pozzatto even though he let me down at M-SR. And finally, Devolder (if he shows some patience) because Discovery hasn't really had a bad race all year.
Finally finding a tailwind helped our morale. Even tackling the Mulenberg was welcomed for it's body warming effects. After some unintended exploration we got back on track, past the cold-damaged Eckert crops and into Millstadt before heading back to Columbia.
Only a two hour ride today but that was enough as I continue to try and get back on track. In general, I felt good. The Mulenberg was sluggish but the legs got better as time passed. Plenty of room for improvement still but progress is being made.
--------------------
The inappropriately named first US Open Cycling Championships were live on NBC today. Turned into an interesting race with some rough weather and a rough circuit through Richmond that devastated the field. Good to see Mike Lange of Slipstream snag a few good seconds of close up face time. Good race by Tuft and I'm glad to see McCarty's effort in the breakaway stick, by a bike length, for second place. That was a squeaker.
NBC's coverage was not bad. Trautwig's bold pronouncement of a Jelly Belly rider trying to bridge up to a break was pretty funny when it was a Toyota United rider filling the screen. Those yellow Jelly Belly kits are easily confused with red and blue Toyota United kits, I guess. Cutting away from the race with about 2 miles to go and big chase going on was rather untimely. I'll chalk that up to cycling inexperience on NBC's part but its still inexcusable. Would they cut away from the final batter in a World Series? Same difference.
----------------
Sunday is probably my favorite race of the year, the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. If I had to pick five riders... Boonen of course. Ballan seems to be on the rise at the right time. Cancellara even though I still have doubts about him on the bergs. Pozzatto even though he let me down at M-SR. And finally, Devolder (if he shows some patience) because Discovery hasn't really had a bad race all year.
1 Comments:
1) "broke the spirit of more than one of us"? Your readers demand names, James! Pasquale e Guiseppe!
2) Troutwig...never let it be said that I don't loathe the guy (look up nonce in the dictionary and you'll a pic of him next to it!!!!), but it was him looking up the wrong number...a dumb move, esp. since he was obviously not a J-B rider. Plus, what was this Ivan bridged up business? He had been sitting in the friggin break the whole time. Lastly, don't ask a DS how many riders you have left in the race? To continue your baseball analogy, it's like asking a baseball manager exactly how many more pitches you're going to let your pitcher throw.
3) Devolder, with his recent win, he may be one for RvV, but it is definitely Boonen's to lose.
Post a Comment
<< Home