Before signing off of our successful Race to Belgium campaign I wanted to offer my thanks one more time to all for helping Ryan and I create such an amazing opportunity for ourselves. What an experience this has been! We're still reaping the rewards. This past weekend at the National Championships was amazing. We race so differently now. We're so much stronger.
Life back at home is great. I've brought so many influences and stories from my Belgian experiences home to Devon and it seems that if she had only been with me she would have experienced many of the same and insights and revelations I had. She seems excited and ready to join me in another Belgian adventure if we ever get the chance.
'
My work at Breezer is a lot more interesting and complete now given the 'euro bike culture' experience.
What's next--I'm racing my brains out over the next few weekends. I got home from Belgium and hit the training hard in order to peak my fitness for this past weekend. I should have some pretty stellar fitness and form for at least another week or two. I hope to get some great results in local races against local competition to show off all that I've gained. :)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Fundraiser Wrap Up
Hello RTB Supporters!
Well, we never reached our fundraising goal and in the end had to dig a little bit deeper into our already tapped out cyclist bank accounts to make our racing adventure a success. But it all worked!!! We ended up living a very inexpensive existence in Belgium. Our communal house living situation really proved to be a winning ticket.
Anyway--despite being slightly underfunded we are still donating all our Belgian race winnings plus a bit more of our own left over pocket money to Trips for Kids. I'll be delivering a check in the amount of $425 US Dollars later today.
Thanks again to everyone, your support made all the difference.
Cheers,
Mitch
Well, we never reached our fundraising goal and in the end had to dig a little bit deeper into our already tapped out cyclist bank accounts to make our racing adventure a success. But it all worked!!! We ended up living a very inexpensive existence in Belgium. Our communal house living situation really proved to be a winning ticket.
Anyway--despite being slightly underfunded we are still donating all our Belgian race winnings plus a bit more of our own left over pocket money to Trips for Kids. I'll be delivering a check in the amount of $425 US Dollars later today.
Thanks again to everyone, your support made all the difference.
Cheers,
Mitch
We're alive!! We've just been racing.
Well, you will all have to forgive us for our silence in the past weeks. It's amazing how quickly you get sucked back in upon return to your normal and (post Belgium--'unbearably') high paced lives back here in the USA.
In the past weeks Ryan and I have been trying our Belgian legs out in State and National Championships. Ryan won the Idaho State Championship Criterium. We raced together in California's road race, but had some bad luck. If your're interested in more info on that check out my race report on our Metromint Team's website at the following link...
http://www.metromintcycling.com/?rr_1217789733
This past weekend Ryan and I traveled to Orange County togehter where we raced in the National Championships where we mannaged to position Ryan for 18th place out of the 150 Cat 1 cyclists in the competition to represent the best and fastest elite cyclists in the country. A really nice result.
In the past weeks Ryan and I have been trying our Belgian legs out in State and National Championships. Ryan won the Idaho State Championship Criterium. We raced together in California's road race, but had some bad luck. If your're interested in more info on that check out my race report on our Metromint Team's website at the following link...
http://www.metromintcycling.com/?rr_1217789733
This past weekend Ryan and I traveled to Orange County togehter where we raced in the National Championships where we mannaged to position Ryan for 18th place out of the 150 Cat 1 cyclists in the competition to represent the best and fastest elite cyclists in the country. A really nice result.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Recovery...
Any good bike racer knows that one of the most important aspects of one's ability to perform is proper recovery. Mitch and Ryan have returned home safely and are taking this important step as seriously as possible. :)
It's now time for us to reflect on all that we've accomplished and learned while racing 'to' and now 'from' Belgium. It's time to remember what's important and gather the necesary energy to make another push down the road.
We'll have more soon as we contnue to wrap up our very sucessful campaign.
Thanks again,
Mitch & Ryan
It's now time for us to reflect on all that we've accomplished and learned while racing 'to' and now 'from' Belgium. It's time to remember what's important and gather the necesary energy to make another push down the road.
We'll have more soon as we contnue to wrap up our very sucessful campaign.
Thanks again,
Mitch & Ryan
Friday, July 18, 2008
In Transit...
Mitch here on a Wallonian keyboard. Ill keep it short becqse its hard to type on these things. For example--I cant figure how to type an apostrophe. :)
So--I just want to report a very nice past few days that I look forward to reporting on as soon as I can. For now, Ill be in the air and San Francisco bound as a very happy traveler whos looking forward to being home. I miss my wife!!! :)
So--I just want to report a very nice past few days that I look forward to reporting on as soon as I can. For now, Ill be in the air and San Francisco bound as a very happy traveler whos looking forward to being home. I miss my wife!!! :)
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Next Few Days
As noted below, Ryan’s on his way home tomorrow so he can do the Wells Fargo Criterium in Idaho. This is one of the National Calendar Events against the pros—so we’ll all have to keep our fingers crossed for him.
I on the other hand am off to Amsterdam with the rest of our housemates here. I’ve been kind of tempted to just stay here in Belgium and soak up a couple more days of good Belgian riding, but I really am and have been excited to see this city. The Dutch country and Amsterdam in particular is one of the most bicycle friendly/bicycle populated areas of the world. All types of people use bikes, they use them all the time and for all types of things. I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole scene in action. Entire streets and sidewalks crowded with town bikes, bikes carrying things, bikes carrying families, bikes making deliveries, bikes selling things, all of it.
Of course, being Amsterdam I’m sure to see a lot of other things I’ve never seen as commonplace/everyday activity as well. I ought not be
bored. Will travel safely and smartly and report back later.
After our night in Amsterdam were headed back here to Belgium. We’ll get one last day for a short ride and packing our bikes. Then I’m off to the airport too.
I on the other hand am off to Amsterdam with the rest of our housemates here. I’ve been kind of tempted to just stay here in Belgium and soak up a couple more days of good Belgian riding, but I really am and have been excited to see this city. The Dutch country and Amsterdam in particular is one of the most bicycle friendly/bicycle populated areas of the world. All types of people use bikes, they use them all the time and for all types of things. I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole scene in action. Entire streets and sidewalks crowded with town bikes, bikes carrying things, bikes carrying families, bikes making deliveries, bikes selling things, all of it.
Of course, being Amsterdam I’m sure to see a lot of other things I’ve never seen as commonplace/everyday activity as well. I ought not be
bored. Will travel safely and smartly and report back later.
After our night in Amsterdam were headed back here to Belgium. We’ll get one last day for a short ride and packing our bikes. Then I’m off to the airport too.
Some (pre departure) Reflection
After today’s race Ryan and I took a spin through Rossleare (the larger city near our smaller town) in order for Ryan to get his train ticket to the airport for his departure tomorrow. He’s flying home a few days early and will try his hand at the Wells Fargo Twilight Criterium in Boise, ID. He’s packing up his bike and everything else right now. Anyway—it was a perfect afternoon here and we were in a good mood, so as we passed though the main square in town we decided to stop off for a couple of beers at a nice sidewalk café. As we drank and celebrated the completion of our experience here we discussed how amazing this trip has been despite its downs.
We can’t believe how fortunate we have been to have had all of your support in order to come over here and pedal our bikes. We really want you all to know how grateful we are, have been and will be for a long while. This has been a bike racers dream come true. In a sport that takes so much time, energy, money, etc, it’s sometimes difficult to say it’s all been worth it, but having had this experience we both agree that we legitimized everything. Like an astronaut that just made their first voyage into orbit—we’re looking at our world a lot differently now. Bicycle racing will never be the same again.
We can’t believe how fortunate we have been to have had all of your support in order to come over here and pedal our bikes. We really want you all to know how grateful we are, have been and will be for a long while. This has been a bike racers dream come true. In a sport that takes so much time, energy, money, etc, it’s sometimes difficult to say it’s all been worth it, but having had this experience we both agree that we legitimized everything. Like an astronaut that just made their first voyage into orbit—we’re looking at our world a lot differently now. Bicycle racing will never be the same again.
The Final Race
We did our last race in Belgium today. What an amazing note to finish on. This one was awesome! In my opinion (Mitch here) it was the coolest course we got to pedal on and I think Ryan agrees. It had a little bit of everything—a rolling course with two Belgian hills (not much to speak of in elevation as compared to our hills at home but…), some interesting road hazards including some flower beds and one corner where everyone railed up the curb and over a section of the side walk on the inside of the turn to keep from scrubbing too much speed. There were also some really fast shicanes where the Belgians were absolutely pinning it (feels like formula 1 or something). The best part of this race however, was a long section of legitimate Belgian cobbles up one of the hills. Sweet!!!
Both Ryan and I raced really well, probably our best performances. We were both determined to get a good result to go out on. We both really wanted to earn some more Euros for Trips for Kids.
Success!!! We were both in the second group on the road and managed top 25(ish) places. While not our best results, this was one of the toughest and fastest races we’ve done and feel the finishes were very honorable. Another 30 Euro for TFK.
Highlights from my perspective were Ryan’s jumping into an early break and my solo attempt to bridge to the lead group of riders with one lap to go. Neither moves were successful in the end, but they were valiant hard-man efforts in the world of bike racing—and ones that the other racers commended us for.
Both Ryan and I raced really well, probably our best performances. We were both determined to get a good result to go out on. We both really wanted to earn some more Euros for Trips for Kids.
Success!!! We were both in the second group on the road and managed top 25(ish) places. While not our best results, this was one of the toughest and fastest races we’ve done and feel the finishes were very honorable. Another 30 Euro for TFK.
Highlights from my perspective were Ryan’s jumping into an early break and my solo attempt to bridge to the lead group of riders with one lap to go. Neither moves were successful in the end, but they were valiant hard-man efforts in the world of bike racing—and ones that the other racers commended us for.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Redemption...
Without much time or energy to type right now, I just wanted to report that our, and especially my, situation has improved here.
After my last post I spent a long day dedicated to regaining my health and it worked. When I woke up in the morning I was up at about 95% wellness again. The bonus—the rain was letting up. I bundled up and set out with Evan and Judd determined to get a good ride in no matter what. It worked. The ride was amazing. We rode out to the coast and back on some of the best roads I’ve ridden here. We rode on the beach too, that was fun. It did downpour twice, but we were lucky enough to time perfect coffee stops that were just long enough for the cells to pass. It was a really good day—Evan, who’s only been here since the weather has been nasty said it was his $3000 ride as it seemed to make his trip over worthwhile.
To make a great day even better we all headed back to Brugge for the afternoon. The bonus was that the sun came out. We had our second meal out for the trip, going to an awesome restaurant for a sampling of traditional Belgian dishes prepared by a real chef. I loved whatever it was that I had. Some stew with fish, potatoes, carrots, some different greens and something similar to a creamy chowder base. I also had some muscles as a starter. It was the first meal I could taste in almost a week and really put the finishing touch on bringing me back to life. After dinner we walked the canals on the less crowded back streets and stopped for coffee at a café. Then home for sleep.
Today we raced. I rode to the race on more fabulous roads - a 24 mile ride just to get there. The race was crazy. A field size of over 100 riders on the tiniest Belgian roads we’ve seen with the nastiest winds that we’ve seen. It made the whole loop a killer. Ryan and I hung strong until about 10 laps to go, Ryan dropping off a little before I did. At least as far as my experience was concerned—the lights just went out, and all at once. No more pedaling. I think I got around 30th place. The field was down to about 25 as soon as I got a chance to count the remaining riders. Then, because I was still looking to make up for some lost mileage, and the sun was out, I also rode home from the race the long way. All told I rode over one hundred miles today and while I was completely shattered for the last 20 or so I was also in complete bliss.
I’ve been eating for the last two hours but apparently I need to keep going. Not quite feeling conscious yet.
Mitch
After my last post I spent a long day dedicated to regaining my health and it worked. When I woke up in the morning I was up at about 95% wellness again. The bonus—the rain was letting up. I bundled up and set out with Evan and Judd determined to get a good ride in no matter what. It worked. The ride was amazing. We rode out to the coast and back on some of the best roads I’ve ridden here. We rode on the beach too, that was fun. It did downpour twice, but we were lucky enough to time perfect coffee stops that were just long enough for the cells to pass. It was a really good day—Evan, who’s only been here since the weather has been nasty said it was his $3000 ride as it seemed to make his trip over worthwhile.
To make a great day even better we all headed back to Brugge for the afternoon. The bonus was that the sun came out. We had our second meal out for the trip, going to an awesome restaurant for a sampling of traditional Belgian dishes prepared by a real chef. I loved whatever it was that I had. Some stew with fish, potatoes, carrots, some different greens and something similar to a creamy chowder base. I also had some muscles as a starter. It was the first meal I could taste in almost a week and really put the finishing touch on bringing me back to life. After dinner we walked the canals on the less crowded back streets and stopped for coffee at a café. Then home for sleep.
Today we raced. I rode to the race on more fabulous roads - a 24 mile ride just to get there. The race was crazy. A field size of over 100 riders on the tiniest Belgian roads we’ve seen with the nastiest winds that we’ve seen. It made the whole loop a killer. Ryan and I hung strong until about 10 laps to go, Ryan dropping off a little before I did. At least as far as my experience was concerned—the lights just went out, and all at once. No more pedaling. I think I got around 30th place. The field was down to about 25 as soon as I got a chance to count the remaining riders. Then, because I was still looking to make up for some lost mileage, and the sun was out, I also rode home from the race the long way. All told I rode over one hundred miles today and while I was completely shattered for the last 20 or so I was also in complete bliss.
I’ve been eating for the last two hours but apparently I need to keep going. Not quite feeling conscious yet.
Mitch
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A Day of Firsts (not placings sadly)
Ryan here. Well, I've managed to explore some new things in Belgium today, some of them sweet and some not quite so nice.
#1) My first Crash
I got up today thinking I'd do a Kermis, but when Gavin and I got the go-ahead to race a crit style race at 7pm I opted out of the first race. I did want to go spin my legs out early in the day so I headed out with the guys who were doing the first race. About 40 minutes into the ride, and just a bit lost, we were negotiating a right hander at about 5 mph when I decided to hop over a little 2 inch lip to stay out of the road. I don't play basketball for a reason. That reason: I don't have ups. Sadly that translated to the bike and I could not get my tire over that formidable 2 inch barricade. I caught my wheels while leaning over and just tipped onto my side. Luckily there were only two casualties: my rain bootie and my pride. I guess it's nice to get my Belgian crash out of the way.
#2) My first cobbled Crit
The race today was my favorite so far this trip. A flat straightaway, a hairpin into a cobbled riser to the top of the course, a short top section and then a long smooth downhill into the last right hander back onto the finishing straight. It was raining pretty badly so Mitch was nice enough to give Gav and I a ride to the race... sadly it was farther than we thought and we made it to reg with only 4 minutes to spare and then only 20 minutes to the start. After a whirlwind prep session we made it to the start with no time to spare and then in Belgian style we were off.
The cobbled section was AWESOME! I mean that not only in the surfer dude, radical way, but also in the traditional sense in that it inspired awe. They were not in the same order as the cobbled sections in the classics courses, but there were real cobbles for sure and they were laid as if to mimic the surface of the sea in a stiff wind, rolling and bumping so it was like riding a 60 year old roller coaster. It was exactly what I've been waiting for, and I'm still glowing.
So how did the race go?
New experience #3) My first top ten finish.
and I just barely made it. Thats right, 10th place. I was in a group of 6 and managed to beat 4 of those suckers to nab my first top ten by the skin of my teeth. Some director of a little team came up to me and gave me his card. He was a big fat guy in a sport coat smoking a cig. He said, "You raced strong. Strong, but not very smart." and he was absolutely right. I still don't have the brains to know which move is going to be the right one, so I just have to burn a lot of matches trying to stay at the front. Not the best way to race unless you're superman, which I am not. I either need to get a lot stronger or a lot smarter.
I feel a bit wretched. Mitch stuck around to check out a few laps and give me some advice from the sidelines. It was just his kind of race and I know he would have killed it had he been able to race. To add insult to injury he was yelling at me to watch the Quickstep wheel (I heard "crispy"), and that was exactly the guy who made the move that formed the second group.
Anyway, it was an incredible race and I'm really happy to have finally cracked the top ten. Hopefully I'm figuring it out finally and I'll be able to make something happen in the last two races.
I have to insert a note here that I would be a sad weeping wreck if it weren't for Scott Rodamaker. The guy is an ablsolute saint. He's over here busting his balls racing, traveling with his family and still finds the time to always be there to help me out in a pinch. He's there to drive a follow car, pin a number, or hand you a cold coke after a race. He is invaluable as a mechanic, having fixed more things on my bike than I care to mention. Beyond all that, he's always there to lend a kind word, slap you on the back after a good race or cheer you up when things aren't going your way. Long story short: Scott is the man.
Last new experience of the day #4) My first Belgian saddle sore.
Yep, it was bound to happen eventually, but hammering over cobbles for two hours in wet chamois is the perfect recipe for a little downstairs mixup. Hopefully I'll nip it in the bud.
That's it for me today. If you're reading, send some good joo-joo Mitch's way. We need that boy healthy so he can yell at me in the races where I can hear him, and where he can put his stamp on some of this Belgian racing.
All the best,
Ryan
#1) My first Crash
I got up today thinking I'd do a Kermis, but when Gavin and I got the go-ahead to race a crit style race at 7pm I opted out of the first race. I did want to go spin my legs out early in the day so I headed out with the guys who were doing the first race. About 40 minutes into the ride, and just a bit lost, we were negotiating a right hander at about 5 mph when I decided to hop over a little 2 inch lip to stay out of the road. I don't play basketball for a reason. That reason: I don't have ups. Sadly that translated to the bike and I could not get my tire over that formidable 2 inch barricade. I caught my wheels while leaning over and just tipped onto my side. Luckily there were only two casualties: my rain bootie and my pride. I guess it's nice to get my Belgian crash out of the way.
#2) My first cobbled Crit
The race today was my favorite so far this trip. A flat straightaway, a hairpin into a cobbled riser to the top of the course, a short top section and then a long smooth downhill into the last right hander back onto the finishing straight. It was raining pretty badly so Mitch was nice enough to give Gav and I a ride to the race... sadly it was farther than we thought and we made it to reg with only 4 minutes to spare and then only 20 minutes to the start. After a whirlwind prep session we made it to the start with no time to spare and then in Belgian style we were off.
The cobbled section was AWESOME! I mean that not only in the surfer dude, radical way, but also in the traditional sense in that it inspired awe. They were not in the same order as the cobbled sections in the classics courses, but there were real cobbles for sure and they were laid as if to mimic the surface of the sea in a stiff wind, rolling and bumping so it was like riding a 60 year old roller coaster. It was exactly what I've been waiting for, and I'm still glowing.
So how did the race go?
New experience #3) My first top ten finish.
and I just barely made it. Thats right, 10th place. I was in a group of 6 and managed to beat 4 of those suckers to nab my first top ten by the skin of my teeth. Some director of a little team came up to me and gave me his card. He was a big fat guy in a sport coat smoking a cig. He said, "You raced strong. Strong, but not very smart." and he was absolutely right. I still don't have the brains to know which move is going to be the right one, so I just have to burn a lot of matches trying to stay at the front. Not the best way to race unless you're superman, which I am not. I either need to get a lot stronger or a lot smarter.
I feel a bit wretched. Mitch stuck around to check out a few laps and give me some advice from the sidelines. It was just his kind of race and I know he would have killed it had he been able to race. To add insult to injury he was yelling at me to watch the Quickstep wheel (I heard "crispy"), and that was exactly the guy who made the move that formed the second group.
Anyway, it was an incredible race and I'm really happy to have finally cracked the top ten. Hopefully I'm figuring it out finally and I'll be able to make something happen in the last two races.
I have to insert a note here that I would be a sad weeping wreck if it weren't for Scott Rodamaker. The guy is an ablsolute saint. He's over here busting his balls racing, traveling with his family and still finds the time to always be there to help me out in a pinch. He's there to drive a follow car, pin a number, or hand you a cold coke after a race. He is invaluable as a mechanic, having fixed more things on my bike than I care to mention. Beyond all that, he's always there to lend a kind word, slap you on the back after a good race or cheer you up when things aren't going your way. Long story short: Scott is the man.
Last new experience of the day #4) My first Belgian saddle sore.
Yep, it was bound to happen eventually, but hammering over cobbles for two hours in wet chamois is the perfect recipe for a little downstairs mixup. Hopefully I'll nip it in the bud.
That's it for me today. If you're reading, send some good joo-joo Mitch's way. We need that boy healthy so he can yell at me in the races where I can hear him, and where he can put his stamp on some of this Belgian racing.
All the best,
Ryan
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Mitch's 'Why Cycling' & Update...
There are many good reasons to justify my love affair with cycling such as my interest in the mechanics of a bicycle, my compulsion for exploration and travel or my basic desire to stay healthy and in good shape, but while these are obvious contributors, none of these reasons is really responsible for my efforts in cycling competition—at least not anymore. In fact I’m very happy knowing that just being a ‘bicycle rider’ allows a person all of these advantages whether in competition or just riding around town. So, in my case I’ve only found one really good reason to justify all of my efforts ‘in competition,’ and noting the recent climate here in Belgium I’ve decided I could unravel this onion a bit while I’ve got your attention—you might understand my process a bit more as a result of it.
For me a short and sweet answer to the question of “why race a bike” is always—“because it’s hard.” But in truth any competition in any sport can be hard if you want it to be—so this answer is largely incomplete. However, I feel I can argue that only in cycling can a person cook up special recipes that bump the sport into a unique ‘really damn hard’ category. It’s not my intention to argue these points here, but suffice it to say, my love for cycling always peaks when I’ve been in the kitchen a really long time, orchestrating with the most obscure and difficult ingredients I could find, and the pressure is on to plate a delicacy for the queen. It’s ‘off with my head’ if she’s not pleased with my performance. Especially at the level of competition I’ve been racing in (the fastest guys with real lives) these recipes are a dime a dozen.
So, my truest appeal for cycling competition in recent months and years has been to use the sport as a form of training for a test for ‘real life.’ This may seem kind of odd, but I guess this is something I've felt I've needed; otherwise I’ve always felt I’d benefit from the experience. Anyway you cut it, I've appreciated what cycling has done for me as a person far more than what it has done for me as an athelete.
In my mind, bike racing and all that it entails offers a perfect analogy for real life and in particular, that as a person figures out what is required to be a successful bike racer, they can also find the skills required to be a successful human, husband, friend, father, businessperson, anything as long as they take the time to give the experience enough consideration. Surely other young adults negotiate this process in the contexts of their lives, but I swear I can't think of a better lens than this one.
Perhaps other cyclists would be the only ones to appreciate my claim, but as a means to help the others out here are a few compelling factors that cycling introduces.
- Cycling is a time intensive sport. EX: A world class runner could get by on less than half the time commitment of a semi-pro or even an ambitious amature bike racer.
- Cycling is a gear intensive sport that requires detailed mechanical knowledge, planning, coordination and effort. (Back to running - buy shoes, learn how to tie the laces, go running.)
- Cycling is expensive and unless your wallet comes pre-loaded, figuring out how to afford it is an endless and strenuous effort.
These are the big ones--but there are many others.
Anyway, among the many lessons cycling has taught me, one of the classics has been the art of keeping one’s composure when ‘the shit hits the fan’ and/or extreme disappointment takes place. Cycling amazes me in its' ability to dish out these blows as heavy handedly as it does as well as well the consistancy and frequency they maintain. In cycling, I’ve learned that no matter how much you plan, no matter how hard you try, no matter what, things will never be perfect, shit always happens. You ought never act surprised or put out by it when it does. That’s cycling, and “that’s life.” Only, as a microcosm cycling has the ability to accelerate these patterns and make them more readily available for your heartbreak and/or benefit. This is cycling and why I love it. Q:Strange? A:Probably.
So, why is this all coming to the surface now? Well, at least in my little world, life in Belgium is sucking pretty badly right now. I’m still not well and in fact this is now the seventh day I’ve been without good health. It’s the ninth day without good riding, racing or training. Comparing these numbers to a 28 day cycling trip hurts a bit. I’ve been looking forward to this trip as perhaps my ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to achieve the best fitness I can in order to find out what I am capable of as an athlete. What’s preventing this now is that the cold which we are all referring to as “the plague” has left my head and gone into my chest. I have a very long history as an asthmatic, but in recent years that’s all it has been—‘history.’ Unfortunately there’s a ‘perfect storm’ here and the beautiful—no amazing—Belgian/French cycling environment that we had been graced with through my last good day on the bike (when we did Paris-Roubaix) has completely gone. Now I’m recovering from the plague in a world of cloudy skies, cold damp air and downpours—the perfect cocktail for asthma trouble.
It’s Thursday now—the weather is not supposed to improve until Saturday and after that—more bad weather is on the horizon. Without some good weather or a trip to the hospital for some serious medication, I’m a bit concerned my Belgian racing experience peaked a couple weeks ago. There’s not many races left—I’ve essentially missed three already. I gave this past Tuesday’s race my best shot, but it was essentially a blow out as I was not at all healthy. I suffered through 5 of 13 laps before I couldn’t pedal anymore. As of now I’m feeling like racing today would not be in my best interests—it’s pouring out and I’m operating on somewhere around 85% of my lung capacity-the rest is the phlem that has kept me awake in the middle of the night and offered me the time to share these thoughts. Certainly not the Flemish holiday I had been looking forward to.
So—as I was saying about cycling. A fantastic pursuit! Love it! Totally gratifying!
When “just keep pedaling” is not the thing, “just keep smiling” is sage advise. :)
For me a short and sweet answer to the question of “why race a bike” is always—“because it’s hard.” But in truth any competition in any sport can be hard if you want it to be—so this answer is largely incomplete. However, I feel I can argue that only in cycling can a person cook up special recipes that bump the sport into a unique ‘really damn hard’ category. It’s not my intention to argue these points here, but suffice it to say, my love for cycling always peaks when I’ve been in the kitchen a really long time, orchestrating with the most obscure and difficult ingredients I could find, and the pressure is on to plate a delicacy for the queen. It’s ‘off with my head’ if she’s not pleased with my performance. Especially at the level of competition I’ve been racing in (the fastest guys with real lives) these recipes are a dime a dozen.
So, my truest appeal for cycling competition in recent months and years has been to use the sport as a form of training for a test for ‘real life.’ This may seem kind of odd, but I guess this is something I've felt I've needed; otherwise I’ve always felt I’d benefit from the experience. Anyway you cut it, I've appreciated what cycling has done for me as a person far more than what it has done for me as an athelete.
In my mind, bike racing and all that it entails offers a perfect analogy for real life and in particular, that as a person figures out what is required to be a successful bike racer, they can also find the skills required to be a successful human, husband, friend, father, businessperson, anything as long as they take the time to give the experience enough consideration. Surely other young adults negotiate this process in the contexts of their lives, but I swear I can't think of a better lens than this one.
Perhaps other cyclists would be the only ones to appreciate my claim, but as a means to help the others out here are a few compelling factors that cycling introduces.
- Cycling is a time intensive sport. EX: A world class runner could get by on less than half the time commitment of a semi-pro or even an ambitious amature bike racer.
- Cycling is a gear intensive sport that requires detailed mechanical knowledge, planning, coordination and effort. (Back to running - buy shoes, learn how to tie the laces, go running.)
- Cycling is expensive and unless your wallet comes pre-loaded, figuring out how to afford it is an endless and strenuous effort.
These are the big ones--but there are many others.
Anyway, among the many lessons cycling has taught me, one of the classics has been the art of keeping one’s composure when ‘the shit hits the fan’ and/or extreme disappointment takes place. Cycling amazes me in its' ability to dish out these blows as heavy handedly as it does as well as well the consistancy and frequency they maintain. In cycling, I’ve learned that no matter how much you plan, no matter how hard you try, no matter what, things will never be perfect, shit always happens. You ought never act surprised or put out by it when it does. That’s cycling, and “that’s life.” Only, as a microcosm cycling has the ability to accelerate these patterns and make them more readily available for your heartbreak and/or benefit. This is cycling and why I love it. Q:Strange? A:Probably.
So, why is this all coming to the surface now? Well, at least in my little world, life in Belgium is sucking pretty badly right now. I’m still not well and in fact this is now the seventh day I’ve been without good health. It’s the ninth day without good riding, racing or training. Comparing these numbers to a 28 day cycling trip hurts a bit. I’ve been looking forward to this trip as perhaps my ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to achieve the best fitness I can in order to find out what I am capable of as an athlete. What’s preventing this now is that the cold which we are all referring to as “the plague” has left my head and gone into my chest. I have a very long history as an asthmatic, but in recent years that’s all it has been—‘history.’ Unfortunately there’s a ‘perfect storm’ here and the beautiful—no amazing—Belgian/French cycling environment that we had been graced with through my last good day on the bike (when we did Paris-Roubaix) has completely gone. Now I’m recovering from the plague in a world of cloudy skies, cold damp air and downpours—the perfect cocktail for asthma trouble.
It’s Thursday now—the weather is not supposed to improve until Saturday and after that—more bad weather is on the horizon. Without some good weather or a trip to the hospital for some serious medication, I’m a bit concerned my Belgian racing experience peaked a couple weeks ago. There’s not many races left—I’ve essentially missed three already. I gave this past Tuesday’s race my best shot, but it was essentially a blow out as I was not at all healthy. I suffered through 5 of 13 laps before I couldn’t pedal anymore. As of now I’m feeling like racing today would not be in my best interests—it’s pouring out and I’m operating on somewhere around 85% of my lung capacity-the rest is the phlem that has kept me awake in the middle of the night and offered me the time to share these thoughts. Certainly not the Flemish holiday I had been looking forward to.
So—as I was saying about cycling. A fantastic pursuit! Love it! Totally gratifying!
When “just keep pedaling” is not the thing, “just keep smiling” is sage advise. :)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Happy Windsday!
Mitch and I just got back from maybe the toughest, windiest race we've ever started. There were 8 guys from the QuickStep development team and they pretty much hit it from the gun. The first group was away before we could could say Bobs your uncle and with four of those QuickStep guys in it, it wasn't coming back. There were two long sections of the course and on each one the wind was absolutely howling across the road. It was patchy weather with alternating drizzling rain and sun so the roads were wet and it was absolutely insane. Guys were going as hard as I have ever seen them go and as soon as a gap opened it was pretty much over.
I'm embarassed to say that this was my shortest race yet, despite ripping my pedal off in a previous one. I made it a lap and a half, and then droppped back thinking I had a flat. I didn't, and chasing back on almost killed me. I was sitting in the third group, absolutely suffering and I figured I'd call it early and live to fight another day.
Mitch, even in his sickened state still stuck it out longer than I did. I'm bigger, taller and covered in hair, but Mitch is defintely more manly than I am. He made it a good six laps into this deathmarch of a race, and managed to sling a few of our boys up the road before ducking out. I heard him coughing so loud in his post-race shower that it sounded like he was giving oral birth. I hope the drain isn't clogged with phlegm. Sorry. Thats gross to write about, but it was even grosser to hear and it's important that you know that Mitch is so stoked to be here racing that he'd insist on getting on the bike even if he was cross-eyed and bleeding out the ears. He's an absolute trooper and with a bit of luck he'll be back to normal in the next few days and ready to rip up some more Kermiss.
The plan now is to head to the grocery store so we're not stuck eating white bread and meat for the rest of our stay. I must be growing up or something, because I'm finally ready to eat some serious vegetables. Tomorrow we're hoping for a break in the weather so we can get in some long miles and maybe check out the French coast.
Despite some spotty weather and some humbling racing it's still just an absolute dream to be here. Thanks to you all!
I'm embarassed to say that this was my shortest race yet, despite ripping my pedal off in a previous one. I made it a lap and a half, and then droppped back thinking I had a flat. I didn't, and chasing back on almost killed me. I was sitting in the third group, absolutely suffering and I figured I'd call it early and live to fight another day.
Mitch, even in his sickened state still stuck it out longer than I did. I'm bigger, taller and covered in hair, but Mitch is defintely more manly than I am. He made it a good six laps into this deathmarch of a race, and managed to sling a few of our boys up the road before ducking out. I heard him coughing so loud in his post-race shower that it sounded like he was giving oral birth. I hope the drain isn't clogged with phlegm. Sorry. Thats gross to write about, but it was even grosser to hear and it's important that you know that Mitch is so stoked to be here racing that he'd insist on getting on the bike even if he was cross-eyed and bleeding out the ears. He's an absolute trooper and with a bit of luck he'll be back to normal in the next few days and ready to rip up some more Kermiss.
The plan now is to head to the grocery store so we're not stuck eating white bread and meat for the rest of our stay. I must be growing up or something, because I'm finally ready to eat some serious vegetables. Tomorrow we're hoping for a break in the weather so we can get in some long miles and maybe check out the French coast.
Despite some spotty weather and some humbling racing it's still just an absolute dream to be here. Thanks to you all!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Did we mention you can race every day here?
Hi all,
Ryan here with an update to try and catch you up on all the madness in the last few days. Poor Mitch has been sick as a dog for the last two days and hardly able to get on the bike, let alone race a Kermis. I told him not to make out with Sickly Judd, but I guess he didn't listen. Hopefully he'll turn the corner and be out racing in two days time.
I skipped out on the Paris trip and here's an account of my last 4 days.
1. Race in East Flanders. Scott let me take his car and go race in a different province. I was the only rider, which was a little strange, but sort of nice as I could just ride my own race without worrying about helping or hindering my teammates. This was a larger than normal field with over a hundred guys. It was kind of slow at the start which is really strange for belgian racing, and the early break came back. I was making a few too many jumps and when stuff finally went I didn't make it. I found myself working in the third group and in the end I lost the sprint to the fattest human I have ever raced against. It was some 260lb 18 year old and he just ripped past me, with a few others in tow. Belgium is flat, remember. Not a particularly great ride, but I learn something new each time and I did manage to just slip into the prize money, so chalk another 10E up for the kids.
Day 2. I was burnt from the race the day before So I did a long ride up to Bruges, which I had missed the first tiem around. The farm roads are so beautiful, and every now and then you find yourself riding down a tree lined road with not another soul in sight and castles and churches poking up from the horizon. ALso, as you approach Bruges you ride through a verdant forest. Its a striking change from the wide open farm roads. It had just rained and the pavement was steam, the leaves were driping and that unique smell of a wet forest was overwhelming. It was a like a taste of home and it was invigorating.
Bruges is indeed beautfiul, but its chalk full of tourists and they sort of spoil the scene. Also, Americans are the loudest people in the world. I was having a snack in the main sqaure when two older couples came out basically screaming. The men were riding rented bikes and the women photgraphing them. I dont think they realized Iwas also an american because the were yelling, "Watch me teach this expert cyclist a thing or two. I'm gonna run down these pigeons!" True to his word we went weaving through crowds of people and birds, all the while yelling ot their significant others to "get this. honey!"
The ride was going really well, but on the way home the skies just opened up on me and I got rained on like I've never been rained on before. I could barely see and was riding through veritable streams on the side of hte road. Normally I'd just fina a cafe and wait it out, but i was late to pick up Scott and his family returning from Venice. Scariest point: Having a tour bus pass me about six inches away and rocking me with a wave you'd expectg on the north shore, but not in Belgian farmland. I made it in the end, but it was quite a ride. I now feel like a true belgian cyclist.
day 3. 120k race in a town 4 mi away. It is so nice to be able to ride to races. In California you sometimes find yourself driving for hours to get to a 60 min crit, while here you can pretty much pick from 10 races a week within riding distance of your house. Alas, the weather of yesterday had stuck around and the drizzle on the ride over turned into a downpour. Luckily Evan brought some flexpower, which is an oily rub which makes your legs feel like they're under a heatlamp. Absolutely incredible. Belgians don't mess around with their cycling, and they're are none of hte frills the we have in the states. INstead of reading a long list of rules and such at the start the Belgians just get you on the line and then send you off. No gun, no whistle, you just roll when everyone else does.
This race was also kind of slow for the first few laps, I think due to the rain, and it stayed together for the first few laps. This was Evan's first race and he was really aggressive up front. (its good to brun matches to stay up front in your first race as insurance. You don't want your first race to be less than 3 laps). I should note at this point that European paint is about a hundred times more slippery than us paint. Maybe its that its so thick, or maybe its that its covered from soap from all the Belgians constantly washing everything (they've got to be a close second to Germans. They're constantly sweeping, and spraying and weeding and painting). Anyway, I had a few moments of terror when my rear wheel went sliping out from under me and I just barely kept it together. I finally decided that it just wasn't worth it and I stopped trying to accelerate whenever I was near the paint.
When I saw things finally starting to get jumpy I decided it was time to go. Really, I had told myself that today I was going to race like my man Mitch and just ride myself into the break no matter what it took. So I did. I started to attack up to a group through the start finish and when I caught them after the first turn they were sort of noodling so I just kept going and tried to make a solo bridge up to the only two people up the road. I was pretty mutch killing myself to get there. One guy caught me and together we made it up to the front two. Those guys wanted to wait a bit and so we did, and once we were a group of 7 we started working well together. This was my first time in the lead group in a Kermis so needless to say I was pretty stoked. I had made the move that got me there instead of just following wheels and my legs felt great. Its nice to know that even in a race full of Belgians I'm still a man for the shti weather.
Alas, it was not to be. Sometime in the first few laps my pedaling action was feeling really funny on the right side and I thoguht for sure my cleat was loose. I had ROb take a look and he assured me it was Okay so I just attacked away and figured whatever it was would hold at least until the race was over. But it was not to be. It turns out my pedal was ripping out of my crank arm. This is not good. So here I am, first time up in the lead group and me foot is gyrating like its going to fly off my body with each pedal stroke. IT was killing my knee, and if you leave something like that too long you end up getting catastrophic failure, which is exaclty what I was heading for. So I was forced to pull out of the race after frinally getting myself right where I wanted to be. Lucky for me Mitch and Elliot were right there with the car so they could pick me up and laugh at my misfortune.
I managed to get a nother set of cranks from a local bike shop and Mitch, being aan absolute whiz when it comes to wrenching had them on in no time at all and the bike ready for the next day. Bum luck indeed, but as Mitch would say, "thats bike racing"
Day 4 (today) ANother race justa few miles away. I've been going for a short hour spin every morning for the last two days and it really does wonders. Wakes me up, gets the blood and metabolism going and loosens up the legs. Probelm was, I didn't quite get out of the house until pretty late and by the time I got back I was way behind the others fro race prep. I told them to go without me and then got myself lost on the way over and almost missed registration. Awesome.
The race was a doosey! Its the first race we've done with any hills, a long slow drag through the start finish and then a long nasty crosswind section, follwed byb an honest to goodness hill. Steep enough to be a climb, but only 150 meters or so. I'm sad to say that I'm such a bad climber I can even get dropped on Belgian climbs. But I can also chase on Belgian flats! Thank goodness. The first group of 5 rolled inthe first few laps and they were immediately working together and never came back. Rats!At one point I came up to Evan and Judd with 4 guys from another team and I thoght we were going to make the second group and roll it, but it wasn't to be as there were too many people from other teams chasing. I was back and forth between the second group. SOmtimes with maybe 6 guys and then we'd get caught and sometimes working with more. Finally, the second group went and I missed the boat. It was, as so much of this racing is, terribly frustrating. Its just attack and work, attack and work all day with barely a moments rest and its a total throw of the dice to see which group will actually stick it and start working. So I was in the third group of maybe 10 or so and we were noodling around with occasionall fits of all out raging on the bike, and by noodling I mean riding a steady hard pace into Belgian winds as opposed to the all out blitz which is an attack.
Some Brit finally made his way off the front and everyone seemed content to let him dangle at about 15 seconds. We were going slow enough that I feared getting caught by the leaders and having the race cut short so I figured I'd better get to it. I attacked (on the hill! Ryan Parnes attacked on a hill!) and managed to bridge up to him and we managed to work together for a few laps before they did eventually cut our race short because the leaders were catching. Its belgian tradition to sprint it out, even for 40th and even against your best friend so I lead it out but managed to stick it for 12th place. Frustration seems to be the name of the game here. My British friend and I could actually see the second group as we came through the last lap, and htey were only about 25 seconds ahead of us and we were closing. Oh well. All in all it was a good day and I'm feeling stronger with every race. Plus, another 20E for the kids! Whoohoo!
I think I'm finally getting hte hang of this crazy Euro racing and with a bit of luck and a day of recovery I'm hoping to crack the top ten soon.
Sorry its been so long since I rapped at ya, but there's a wealther of racing to do and a dearth of internet access. I do hope you'll understand.
Every time I get on my bike, every time I hear the Flemmish over the loudspeaker at a race, every time I navigate virgin far roads using centuries old church steeples... frankly, pretty much every minute of the day I am just so overhwlemed by how amazing and unique this experience is and I'm so increadibly grateful to those people who have helped make this dream come true.
Ryan here with an update to try and catch you up on all the madness in the last few days. Poor Mitch has been sick as a dog for the last two days and hardly able to get on the bike, let alone race a Kermis. I told him not to make out with Sickly Judd, but I guess he didn't listen. Hopefully he'll turn the corner and be out racing in two days time.
I skipped out on the Paris trip and here's an account of my last 4 days.
1. Race in East Flanders. Scott let me take his car and go race in a different province. I was the only rider, which was a little strange, but sort of nice as I could just ride my own race without worrying about helping or hindering my teammates. This was a larger than normal field with over a hundred guys. It was kind of slow at the start which is really strange for belgian racing, and the early break came back. I was making a few too many jumps and when stuff finally went I didn't make it. I found myself working in the third group and in the end I lost the sprint to the fattest human I have ever raced against. It was some 260lb 18 year old and he just ripped past me, with a few others in tow. Belgium is flat, remember. Not a particularly great ride, but I learn something new each time and I did manage to just slip into the prize money, so chalk another 10E up for the kids.
Day 2. I was burnt from the race the day before So I did a long ride up to Bruges, which I had missed the first tiem around. The farm roads are so beautiful, and every now and then you find yourself riding down a tree lined road with not another soul in sight and castles and churches poking up from the horizon. ALso, as you approach Bruges you ride through a verdant forest. Its a striking change from the wide open farm roads. It had just rained and the pavement was steam, the leaves were driping and that unique smell of a wet forest was overwhelming. It was a like a taste of home and it was invigorating.
Bruges is indeed beautfiul, but its chalk full of tourists and they sort of spoil the scene. Also, Americans are the loudest people in the world. I was having a snack in the main sqaure when two older couples came out basically screaming. The men were riding rented bikes and the women photgraphing them. I dont think they realized Iwas also an american because the were yelling, "Watch me teach this expert cyclist a thing or two. I'm gonna run down these pigeons!" True to his word we went weaving through crowds of people and birds, all the while yelling ot their significant others to "get this. honey!"
The ride was going really well, but on the way home the skies just opened up on me and I got rained on like I've never been rained on before. I could barely see and was riding through veritable streams on the side of hte road. Normally I'd just fina a cafe and wait it out, but i was late to pick up Scott and his family returning from Venice. Scariest point: Having a tour bus pass me about six inches away and rocking me with a wave you'd expectg on the north shore, but not in Belgian farmland. I made it in the end, but it was quite a ride. I now feel like a true belgian cyclist.
day 3. 120k race in a town 4 mi away. It is so nice to be able to ride to races. In California you sometimes find yourself driving for hours to get to a 60 min crit, while here you can pretty much pick from 10 races a week within riding distance of your house. Alas, the weather of yesterday had stuck around and the drizzle on the ride over turned into a downpour. Luckily Evan brought some flexpower, which is an oily rub which makes your legs feel like they're under a heatlamp. Absolutely incredible. Belgians don't mess around with their cycling, and they're are none of hte frills the we have in the states. INstead of reading a long list of rules and such at the start the Belgians just get you on the line and then send you off. No gun, no whistle, you just roll when everyone else does.
This race was also kind of slow for the first few laps, I think due to the rain, and it stayed together for the first few laps. This was Evan's first race and he was really aggressive up front. (its good to brun matches to stay up front in your first race as insurance. You don't want your first race to be less than 3 laps). I should note at this point that European paint is about a hundred times more slippery than us paint. Maybe its that its so thick, or maybe its that its covered from soap from all the Belgians constantly washing everything (they've got to be a close second to Germans. They're constantly sweeping, and spraying and weeding and painting). Anyway, I had a few moments of terror when my rear wheel went sliping out from under me and I just barely kept it together. I finally decided that it just wasn't worth it and I stopped trying to accelerate whenever I was near the paint.
When I saw things finally starting to get jumpy I decided it was time to go. Really, I had told myself that today I was going to race like my man Mitch and just ride myself into the break no matter what it took. So I did. I started to attack up to a group through the start finish and when I caught them after the first turn they were sort of noodling so I just kept going and tried to make a solo bridge up to the only two people up the road. I was pretty mutch killing myself to get there. One guy caught me and together we made it up to the front two. Those guys wanted to wait a bit and so we did, and once we were a group of 7 we started working well together. This was my first time in the lead group in a Kermis so needless to say I was pretty stoked. I had made the move that got me there instead of just following wheels and my legs felt great. Its nice to know that even in a race full of Belgians I'm still a man for the shti weather.
Alas, it was not to be. Sometime in the first few laps my pedaling action was feeling really funny on the right side and I thoguht for sure my cleat was loose. I had ROb take a look and he assured me it was Okay so I just attacked away and figured whatever it was would hold at least until the race was over. But it was not to be. It turns out my pedal was ripping out of my crank arm. This is not good. So here I am, first time up in the lead group and me foot is gyrating like its going to fly off my body with each pedal stroke. IT was killing my knee, and if you leave something like that too long you end up getting catastrophic failure, which is exaclty what I was heading for. So I was forced to pull out of the race after frinally getting myself right where I wanted to be. Lucky for me Mitch and Elliot were right there with the car so they could pick me up and laugh at my misfortune.
I managed to get a nother set of cranks from a local bike shop and Mitch, being aan absolute whiz when it comes to wrenching had them on in no time at all and the bike ready for the next day. Bum luck indeed, but as Mitch would say, "thats bike racing"
Day 4 (today) ANother race justa few miles away. I've been going for a short hour spin every morning for the last two days and it really does wonders. Wakes me up, gets the blood and metabolism going and loosens up the legs. Probelm was, I didn't quite get out of the house until pretty late and by the time I got back I was way behind the others fro race prep. I told them to go without me and then got myself lost on the way over and almost missed registration. Awesome.
The race was a doosey! Its the first race we've done with any hills, a long slow drag through the start finish and then a long nasty crosswind section, follwed byb an honest to goodness hill. Steep enough to be a climb, but only 150 meters or so. I'm sad to say that I'm such a bad climber I can even get dropped on Belgian climbs. But I can also chase on Belgian flats! Thank goodness. The first group of 5 rolled inthe first few laps and they were immediately working together and never came back. Rats!At one point I came up to Evan and Judd with 4 guys from another team and I thoght we were going to make the second group and roll it, but it wasn't to be as there were too many people from other teams chasing. I was back and forth between the second group. SOmtimes with maybe 6 guys and then we'd get caught and sometimes working with more. Finally, the second group went and I missed the boat. It was, as so much of this racing is, terribly frustrating. Its just attack and work, attack and work all day with barely a moments rest and its a total throw of the dice to see which group will actually stick it and start working. So I was in the third group of maybe 10 or so and we were noodling around with occasionall fits of all out raging on the bike, and by noodling I mean riding a steady hard pace into Belgian winds as opposed to the all out blitz which is an attack.
Some Brit finally made his way off the front and everyone seemed content to let him dangle at about 15 seconds. We were going slow enough that I feared getting caught by the leaders and having the race cut short so I figured I'd better get to it. I attacked (on the hill! Ryan Parnes attacked on a hill!) and managed to bridge up to him and we managed to work together for a few laps before they did eventually cut our race short because the leaders were catching. Its belgian tradition to sprint it out, even for 40th and even against your best friend so I lead it out but managed to stick it for 12th place. Frustration seems to be the name of the game here. My British friend and I could actually see the second group as we came through the last lap, and htey were only about 25 seconds ahead of us and we were closing. Oh well. All in all it was a good day and I'm feeling stronger with every race. Plus, another 20E for the kids! Whoohoo!
I think I'm finally getting hte hang of this crazy Euro racing and with a bit of luck and a day of recovery I'm hoping to crack the top ten soon.
Sorry its been so long since I rapped at ya, but there's a wealther of racing to do and a dearth of internet access. I do hope you'll understand.
Every time I get on my bike, every time I hear the Flemmish over the loudspeaker at a race, every time I navigate virgin far roads using centuries old church steeples... frankly, pretty much every minute of the day I am just so overhwlemed by how amazing and unique this experience is and I'm so increadibly grateful to those people who have helped make this dream come true.
Fundraising Update...
We’ve been in Belgium for almost two weeks now and Race to Belgium really feels like a success. However, our goal for fundraising has not been met and we’re beginning to scrape our accounts pretty thin at this point. To date our fundraiser has brought in $3600.00 towards the cost of our mission over here. This money helped us pay for some of the travel that got us here and it has sustained our needs as bike racers up to this point. Thanks again to all of you who have made this possible! We’ve been living a very cost effective existence over here (short of the full cost bike parts we have had to buy) and we’ve been very fortunate to find the exchange rate tipping back in our favor a bit—but we could still use some more contributions. Without them it’s going to mean even more Nutela and bread and less fruits, vegetables and barbecued delights. Another set back is that most places don't take our US credit cards around here--this includes the grocery store--so your contributions, which can be made into cash/Euros, really make the difference.
Donations to Trips for Kids - You may have noticed in our posting that we are already accounting for the donation of our race winnings to Trips for Kids even though our budget is uncertain. So far this tally has reached $95.00 Euros, and with less than half of our races complete and our fitness and ability to compete over here improving every day we’re feeling rather optimistic that we’ll be able to improve that total. We’re really hoping to climb into those higher places in a couple of the upcoming races so we can start picking up the big Euros. :)
Donations to Trips for Kids - You may have noticed in our posting that we are already accounting for the donation of our race winnings to Trips for Kids even though our budget is uncertain. So far this tally has reached $95.00 Euros, and with less than half of our races complete and our fitness and ability to compete over here improving every day we’re feeling rather optimistic that we’ll be able to improve that total. We’re really hoping to climb into those higher places in a couple of the upcoming races so we can start picking up the big Euros. :)
Racing Update...
Ryan and the guys are out racing right now, but I’m inside sniffling. :( When my good friend Judd from UC Davis joined the All Stars last week he brought a cold with him. Unfortunately, Elliot (the All Stars coordinator) and I have had to suffer through it since. Elliot caught it a day before I did and is back out on the bike today. So I am hopeful that all will be better by morning. For now I’m sleeping a ton (14 hours last night) and laying on the couch watching the live Tour de France coverage (being aired on 7 of our 15 channels every day). Mostly—I’m feeling pretty crappy. :(
Yesterday was the Polkapelle race about 5km from our house. Being sick, Elliot and I bundled up (it was a rainy day out) and hopped in the car to go get some photos of the team. Arriving at the race I was heart broken that I wasn’t in it. I love racing in the rain. We drove behind the race in the motorcade for a couple laps and pulled to the side of the course to get some shots of the passing riders for a couple more. The guys were caked in road grime and looked like true warriors. The other American team racing here in Belgium showed up to this race—we haven’t seen them since our first race here. They all seem to be from Colorado.
Unfortunately all was looking really well until about the 10th to go when everything seemed to fall apart for the yanks. Elliot and I were parked at a good vantage point out in one of the fields and saw the front of the race coming around the corner. We noticed that a group of 6 strong riders had worked their way off the front. Then we saw Ryan in a solo effort to chase himself onto that group. He successfully bridged up to them and we got excited. Then the new group of 7 approached a corner and we saw Ryan pull off the road and stepped of his bike. Uh? He was inspecting his crank arm until he threw his hands in the air in frustration. Damn! He began pushing his bike further up the course to where we were standing. The peloton passed by, and a few seconds after that two of our riders along with two of the other Americans—they had all slipped off the pace.
It turned out that the insert in Ryans crank arm that holds his pedal in place had become separated from the crank and was about to fall out. It was a good thing he stopped pedaling when he did, if he had kept going and his pedal fell off—yikes! The ‘insult to injury’ part was that the attacking that separated the first six riders as well as Ryan’s efforts that allowed him to bridge up to them proved to be too strong for most of the rest of our guys. What a pisser!!!
In the end the breakaway that Ryan had to abandon went on to win the race. Judd and Jason stayed in the race until the end for our squad and got pack finishes.
Ryan and I raced off to the bike shop to make sure we could get a replacement crank set for him before the shops closed. $150 euro later we had a suitable replacement and went home so I could install everything for him before passing out.
So like I said, the guys are out racing now. I opted to come over here to Scott, our director's, house for internet use. Hopefully we’ll find that it was a better day at the races today and that I’m healthy by morning. Our next race is Tuesday and I hope to be there.
Yesterday was the Polkapelle race about 5km from our house. Being sick, Elliot and I bundled up (it was a rainy day out) and hopped in the car to go get some photos of the team. Arriving at the race I was heart broken that I wasn’t in it. I love racing in the rain. We drove behind the race in the motorcade for a couple laps and pulled to the side of the course to get some shots of the passing riders for a couple more. The guys were caked in road grime and looked like true warriors. The other American team racing here in Belgium showed up to this race—we haven’t seen them since our first race here. They all seem to be from Colorado.
Unfortunately all was looking really well until about the 10th to go when everything seemed to fall apart for the yanks. Elliot and I were parked at a good vantage point out in one of the fields and saw the front of the race coming around the corner. We noticed that a group of 6 strong riders had worked their way off the front. Then we saw Ryan in a solo effort to chase himself onto that group. He successfully bridged up to them and we got excited. Then the new group of 7 approached a corner and we saw Ryan pull off the road and stepped of his bike. Uh? He was inspecting his crank arm until he threw his hands in the air in frustration. Damn! He began pushing his bike further up the course to where we were standing. The peloton passed by, and a few seconds after that two of our riders along with two of the other Americans—they had all slipped off the pace.
It turned out that the insert in Ryans crank arm that holds his pedal in place had become separated from the crank and was about to fall out. It was a good thing he stopped pedaling when he did, if he had kept going and his pedal fell off—yikes! The ‘insult to injury’ part was that the attacking that separated the first six riders as well as Ryan’s efforts that allowed him to bridge up to them proved to be too strong for most of the rest of our guys. What a pisser!!!
In the end the breakaway that Ryan had to abandon went on to win the race. Judd and Jason stayed in the race until the end for our squad and got pack finishes.
Ryan and I raced off to the bike shop to make sure we could get a replacement crank set for him before the shops closed. $150 euro later we had a suitable replacement and went home so I could install everything for him before passing out.
So like I said, the guys are out racing now. I opted to come over here to Scott, our director's, house for internet use. Hopefully we’ll find that it was a better day at the races today and that I’m healthy by morning. Our next race is Tuesday and I hope to be there.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Mitch goes to Paris...
My first time there. We arrived mid afternoon, made a dinner reservation and hiked up the steps to the famous Sacre Coeur cathedral just up the hill from our hotel. The cafes up there proved to be a great place to enjoy a crêpe and some espresso. The view of the city is pretty great too—only no view of the Eiffel (hidden behind some trees).
Back down the hill for dinner. Amazing!!! Our first big spend of the trip, mine included an eggplant and caviar salad followed by my first tar tar plate (uncooked beef). Desert was the most incredible Tiramisu I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. I wanted to lick the bowl—but refrained.
After Dinner we walked down the street where we each purchased a bottle of fine French wine at costs no greater than $Euro each. Back to the steps of Sacre Coeur for consumption. Pretty great. We sat and drank surrounded by far more Parisians than tourists and took in the view of the city. After that I went with the group that headed back to the hotel for sleep. In the morning we learned that the other half of us wiggled their way onto a private bus that was taking a group of Smirnoff executives, and distributors as well as a bunch of media and super models to a raging after party for the private concert they all attended. The boys ended up getting into one of Paris’ swankiest clubs for free and proceeded to party like rock stars until 4am. We were all very proud of their accomplishments.
The next morning my Metromint teammate Evan and I went up the hill again for breakfast, then went up into the dome of Sacre Coeur for 360 views of the city. You can see the Eiffel from up there. Magnificent.
Then we regrouped and headed downtown before splitting up again, Now with Judd--the two of us set out to see as much of the city as we could. We walked—the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower, past a number of government buildings, monuments and parks, to the Lourve, inside and past the Mona Lisa--and on. It took a couple pastries, a crepe, many espresso and some baguettes to power us through, but a very successful day of tourism. I was glad I got to see a lot and become somewhat familiar with the city’s general layout and offerings, but that I didn’t really do anything in particular—I just walked around. Now I can look forward to my next trip to Paris with Devon at my side. We hit the road yesterday afternoon and are now back in Belgium at our house. Today we’re going to celebrate the 4th of July with an easy/off day and a big BBQ. Tomorrow and Sunday—races. :)
Back down the hill for dinner. Amazing!!! Our first big spend of the trip, mine included an eggplant and caviar salad followed by my first tar tar plate (uncooked beef). Desert was the most incredible Tiramisu I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. I wanted to lick the bowl—but refrained.
After Dinner we walked down the street where we each purchased a bottle of fine French wine at costs no greater than $Euro each. Back to the steps of Sacre Coeur for consumption. Pretty great. We sat and drank surrounded by far more Parisians than tourists and took in the view of the city. After that I went with the group that headed back to the hotel for sleep. In the morning we learned that the other half of us wiggled their way onto a private bus that was taking a group of Smirnoff executives, and distributors as well as a bunch of media and super models to a raging after party for the private concert they all attended. The boys ended up getting into one of Paris’ swankiest clubs for free and proceeded to party like rock stars until 4am. We were all very proud of their accomplishments.
The next morning my Metromint teammate Evan and I went up the hill again for breakfast, then went up into the dome of Sacre Coeur for 360 views of the city. You can see the Eiffel from up there. Magnificent.
Then we regrouped and headed downtown before splitting up again, Now with Judd--the two of us set out to see as much of the city as we could. We walked—the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower, past a number of government buildings, monuments and parks, to the Lourve, inside and past the Mona Lisa--and on. It took a couple pastries, a crepe, many espresso and some baguettes to power us through, but a very successful day of tourism. I was glad I got to see a lot and become somewhat familiar with the city’s general layout and offerings, but that I didn’t really do anything in particular—I just walked around. Now I can look forward to my next trip to Paris with Devon at my side. We hit the road yesterday afternoon and are now back in Belgium at our house. Today we’re going to celebrate the 4th of July with an easy/off day and a big BBQ. Tomorrow and Sunday—races. :)
Paris-Roubaix
No one in their right mind would do this, but the day after riding the Tour of Flanders route six of us (Ryan stayed home) headed south into France to ride the last 87 miles of Paris-Roubaix. This is touted as the hardest single day bike race. We skipped the first 100 miles of the race and about 6km of the famous cobble stone sections that give this race it’s grit, and I am here to tell you that this is not only the hardest single day bike race. I believe Paris-Roubaix must be the hardest single day sporting event period. Unbelievable!!!
A quick explanation is that the French cobbles make the Belgian cobbles feel like silk. In more detail, while the forest of Arrenburg is beautiful it is traversed by a section of cobblestones that are demonic. Continue along the race route and the cobblestone sectors that follow are said to be a little bit easier—not the case. As each kilometer of cobbled and/or paved roads breaks you down the stones begin to beat you up more and more. The last section of cobbles in Roubaix are practically flat and seamless, but by that point you the rider are so broken it feels like someone is hitting your bike with a jack hammer.
Here’s the deal with riding a road bike on cobblestones. The wheels need to be really strong, the tires need to be fatter and the bike needs to be adjusted to move the riders weight further over the rear wheel. While pedaling over the stones, the technique is to push a larger gear than you typically would given the speed or incline—and then you have to push with all your might. The faster you can go across the cobbles the better off you are. If you get tired and cant go fast anymore—simply put, you’re fucked!!! Speeds in excess of 30mph help you float from one stone to the next, if you slow down to something like 20mph it won’t be long before you’re only doing 10mph. 10mph will leads to any combination of cussing, whimpering, stopping and or throwing your bike into the farmers field beside the course and deciding to walk the rest of the way to Roubaix.
The six of us all made it to Roubaix on our bikes and with smiles on our face. Getting there we had to negotiate a broken spoke, a broken bottle cage, a shredded tire and three pinch flats. We also stopped four times for various combinations of espresso, Coca-Cola and French pastry which we could not have survived with out. Every section that was paved was rolled at a casual 10mph—needles to say if we were racing we’d never have made it to the velodrome and the finish line in Roubaix. But, since we weren’t racing we did make it—and to our surprise the velodrome was not locked up as we were expecting it to be coming from ‘liability crazy’ America. So, we each got to complete the race course as the races leaders do with a lap and a half on the famous track. For a cyclist this nostalgia was priceless and helped us forget how beaten our bodies were. The worst damage by the way was on our hands. Each of us spent the following two days with inflamed sausage fingers--completely swollen from our knuckles ratling against each other for hours on end. Not to mention the blisters on our palms. Yikes!!
A quick explanation is that the French cobbles make the Belgian cobbles feel like silk. In more detail, while the forest of Arrenburg is beautiful it is traversed by a section of cobblestones that are demonic. Continue along the race route and the cobblestone sectors that follow are said to be a little bit easier—not the case. As each kilometer of cobbled and/or paved roads breaks you down the stones begin to beat you up more and more. The last section of cobbles in Roubaix are practically flat and seamless, but by that point you the rider are so broken it feels like someone is hitting your bike with a jack hammer.
Here’s the deal with riding a road bike on cobblestones. The wheels need to be really strong, the tires need to be fatter and the bike needs to be adjusted to move the riders weight further over the rear wheel. While pedaling over the stones, the technique is to push a larger gear than you typically would given the speed or incline—and then you have to push with all your might. The faster you can go across the cobbles the better off you are. If you get tired and cant go fast anymore—simply put, you’re fucked!!! Speeds in excess of 30mph help you float from one stone to the next, if you slow down to something like 20mph it won’t be long before you’re only doing 10mph. 10mph will leads to any combination of cussing, whimpering, stopping and or throwing your bike into the farmers field beside the course and deciding to walk the rest of the way to Roubaix.
The six of us all made it to Roubaix on our bikes and with smiles on our face. Getting there we had to negotiate a broken spoke, a broken bottle cage, a shredded tire and three pinch flats. We also stopped four times for various combinations of espresso, Coca-Cola and French pastry which we could not have survived with out. Every section that was paved was rolled at a casual 10mph—needles to say if we were racing we’d never have made it to the velodrome and the finish line in Roubaix. But, since we weren’t racing we did make it—and to our surprise the velodrome was not locked up as we were expecting it to be coming from ‘liability crazy’ America. So, we each got to complete the race course as the races leaders do with a lap and a half on the famous track. For a cyclist this nostalgia was priceless and helped us forget how beaten our bodies were. The worst damage by the way was on our hands. Each of us spent the following two days with inflamed sausage fingers--completely swollen from our knuckles ratling against each other for hours on end. Not to mention the blisters on our palms. Yikes!!
Tour of Flanders
We headed out to ride the famous Ronde Von Vlannderen (Tour of Flanders). The start town Odenarde is perhaps the first town in Belgium I (Mitch) could imagine living in. It would be a great place/area for a summer home. The ride was amazing. The scenery was the best part. The rolling hills and twisty often-cobbled roads are a cyclists dream. We rode up the famous Koppenburg (a cobbled and very steep hill). Very impressive as now I understand why you see some of the Pro racers keel over half way up the thing.
I stopped the ride about half way through and headed back for town on my own. Devon and I were celebrating our second anniversary that day and as a consequence I was missing her terribly. I tried to find an internet café or something to be in touch with her somehow but had no such luck. I had to wait until we got home again late that evening, but as soon as I could hear her voice on the phone I was in better spirits and ready to continue with the riding. I know—a bit sappy.
I stopped the ride about half way through and headed back for town on my own. Devon and I were celebrating our second anniversary that day and as a consequence I was missing her terribly. I tried to find an internet café or something to be in touch with her somehow but had no such luck. I had to wait until we got home again late that evening, but as soon as I could hear her voice on the phone I was in better spirits and ready to continue with the riding. I know—a bit sappy.
Kuurne Criterium
The All Stars all missed the winning breakaway—oops! The result there was pack finishes for all of us. One cool note about that race—it was the second race we’ve attended where we were all issued an appearance fee. We all got $12 euro at the end of the race just for the promoters being pleased with our efforts. Add that to the Euro we got for our finishes and you still have a pretty good day at the races—with or without your good finish.
Back on the Network...
Hi All, Mitch here.
It’s almost been a week since I’ve been on a computer or online. Is that possible anymore? Much has happened in that time. Forgive the onslaught of new posts all at once, but enjoy.
It’s almost been a week since I’ve been on a computer or online. Is that possible anymore? Much has happened in that time. Forgive the onslaught of new posts all at once, but enjoy.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Update, Results Link, Photos Link :)
Hi all, Mitch here. Things are going really well here. Per Ryan’s post we all had some success at that criterium in Staden (the next town over, which is a bit bigger than ours) as six of us tested our metal against a really fast field of competitors. It was kind of funny to be racing our bikes after a long day of walking around Bruge, as being on your feet all day is definitely not the recommended race prep, but with such an exciting racing scene it seemed that we weren’t too worried about any soreness in our legs and were just content to be a part of the action. I was really happy to be out racing and it turned out to favor my results. The course was a 1.4k loop in town that blistered through the town square where a carnival and party scene was set up for the town’s people. The race played out the same way as before—hard out Belgian racing diminishing the field size rapidly. Early in the race I went out on the attack with a rider from Team Quickstep’s developmental team and the Elite Belgian National Champion. As one would expect—these guys were rippin’ fast. Damn! It was a good breakaway. The three of us worked well together all grabbing two primes a piece before being caught again by the group. It took a while to recover from that, but about half way through the race I found myself out on the attack again. Unfortunately when things settled again I didn’t have any teammates with me, but I was lucky to have found my way into a lead group of 10 riders which proved to be the winning selection. This group worked well getting though a good chunk of the remaining laps before the attacks started again. I really began to feel my legs hurting at this point and as such missed the next winning move. I stayed in the second group on the road and finished the race in 9th place. I was extremely pleased with the results. I ended up getting a lot of nods of approval and smiles from the other lead racers and the town’s people after the race. Also, my efforts earned me $45 Euros for Trips for Kids. Sweet!!!
Yesterday we took pretty easy—a short ride and a trip to a huge Cycling Museum in Rosslare which is our nearest big city (about 12 km away). It’s so amazing being in a place that appreciates our sport so much. At home, there’s nothing even close—no offense to any of your support. ☺ We also celebrated our teammate Gavin’s 21st birthday—and my friend Judd’s arrival. We had a backyard barbeque and enjoyed a few Belgian ales (so tasty) and some great French wine for a quarter of the cost you’d pay at home.
Today we all woke up a bit late, but by 1:30 we were headed out to a Kermis in a town about 12 km to the west (I can’t remember its name). We showed up to find the same amazing race scene. Weird, but my result from Tuesday meant that I was among the horses pooled in the circle of betting going on among the town’s people. I had never even been to this town before? I found that the odds were twelve to one against me. I’m leaning more about this as we go, but it seems the whole region is really dedicated about following the racing—the gents especially pay close attention to us racers with hopes to win some extra beer money while picking a winner. We foreigners are especially interesting as the ones who figure us out first can apparently make a killing. The 110km race started at 3:30pm. This one was extremely hard as there was tons of heavy wind exposure on all but one leg of the 6km loop. There were also a few sections of cobblestones in some of the tight corners in town. Wow!
The race played out as usual, attacking, attacking, attacking and eventually a selection left the field shattered with a smaller group charging hard off the front. Ryan and I were the only two from our team to make this selection. ☺ It seems Ryan’s cold has lost its grip. ☺ We rode really strong together and contributed a great amount to our groups eventual success. This is important, as we want to make friends with as many of our competitors as possible. The less Flemish you hear being yelled in your direction the better! These guys are also known to chop your front wheel (a method used to crash you out) if they get frustrated enough. Fortunately we’re doing well enough adjusting to this racing style that none of this was a problem today. We’re actually getting a helping hand (a push from behind) from time to time. Today was a really god race. Despite being really hard I rolled in with the second group on the road for 11th. Ryan rolled in a smaller group a little ways behind mine for 13th. We were both up to as good as nine to one odds in the betting at times and both received some prize money. Another $25 Euros for Trips for Kids!!! They made me take a picture with one of local hot shots when I received my winnings. Also weird! When all was said and done—another really good day!
Tomorrow is another Kermis in the afternoon. After the race we’ll be rushing home so we can go be spectators at professional rally race (Subaru and other all-wheel drive race cars) which will be taking place on some of these crazy roads back towards the French border about 30km away. The cars will race over the Kemmelburg. This is the extremely rough up, then down hill section of cobble stone road that we went out to ride the other day (from the famous pro cycling race Ghent Wevelgum). The hill has a section with a 23 percent grade and it’s absolutely crazy. Saturday we’re off to Brussels for an off the bike tourist day. Sunday a criterium. What a life! We’ll keep you posted.
Now some good links for you all...
The link for results posted here in Belgium...
http://www.wielerbondwestvlaanderen.be/
And a couple links for Photos loaded onto teammate Elliot's facebook...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070348&l=54e1d&id=1111072
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070346&l=43ec7&id=1111072
Yesterday we took pretty easy—a short ride and a trip to a huge Cycling Museum in Rosslare which is our nearest big city (about 12 km away). It’s so amazing being in a place that appreciates our sport so much. At home, there’s nothing even close—no offense to any of your support. ☺ We also celebrated our teammate Gavin’s 21st birthday—and my friend Judd’s arrival. We had a backyard barbeque and enjoyed a few Belgian ales (so tasty) and some great French wine for a quarter of the cost you’d pay at home.
Today we all woke up a bit late, but by 1:30 we were headed out to a Kermis in a town about 12 km to the west (I can’t remember its name). We showed up to find the same amazing race scene. Weird, but my result from Tuesday meant that I was among the horses pooled in the circle of betting going on among the town’s people. I had never even been to this town before? I found that the odds were twelve to one against me. I’m leaning more about this as we go, but it seems the whole region is really dedicated about following the racing—the gents especially pay close attention to us racers with hopes to win some extra beer money while picking a winner. We foreigners are especially interesting as the ones who figure us out first can apparently make a killing. The 110km race started at 3:30pm. This one was extremely hard as there was tons of heavy wind exposure on all but one leg of the 6km loop. There were also a few sections of cobblestones in some of the tight corners in town. Wow!
The race played out as usual, attacking, attacking, attacking and eventually a selection left the field shattered with a smaller group charging hard off the front. Ryan and I were the only two from our team to make this selection. ☺ It seems Ryan’s cold has lost its grip. ☺ We rode really strong together and contributed a great amount to our groups eventual success. This is important, as we want to make friends with as many of our competitors as possible. The less Flemish you hear being yelled in your direction the better! These guys are also known to chop your front wheel (a method used to crash you out) if they get frustrated enough. Fortunately we’re doing well enough adjusting to this racing style that none of this was a problem today. We’re actually getting a helping hand (a push from behind) from time to time. Today was a really god race. Despite being really hard I rolled in with the second group on the road for 11th. Ryan rolled in a smaller group a little ways behind mine for 13th. We were both up to as good as nine to one odds in the betting at times and both received some prize money. Another $25 Euros for Trips for Kids!!! They made me take a picture with one of local hot shots when I received my winnings. Also weird! When all was said and done—another really good day!
Tomorrow is another Kermis in the afternoon. After the race we’ll be rushing home so we can go be spectators at professional rally race (Subaru and other all-wheel drive race cars) which will be taking place on some of these crazy roads back towards the French border about 30km away. The cars will race over the Kemmelburg. This is the extremely rough up, then down hill section of cobble stone road that we went out to ride the other day (from the famous pro cycling race Ghent Wevelgum). The hill has a section with a 23 percent grade and it’s absolutely crazy. Saturday we’re off to Brussels for an off the bike tourist day. Sunday a criterium. What a life! We’ll keep you posted.
Now some good links for you all...
The link for results posted here in Belgium...
http://www.wielerbondwestvlaanderen.be/
And a couple links for Photos loaded onto teammate Elliot's facebook...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070348&l=54e1d&id=1111072
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070346&l=43ec7&id=1111072
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sorry no photos yet...
...We're working with somewhat limited resources when it comes to internet and computer usage over here, so it's been difficult as of yet to upload pictures. But rest assured, we've been doing some serious photo journalism and we think you'll all enjoy some of what we've captured as soon as we sort things out and get everything up and running. Stay tuned!!!
Ryan's First Race
Damn. These Belgians are tough as nails.
I had my first race yesterday in the small town of Staden, only a few K from Westrozebeke. The race didn't start til 6:45 in the evening so everyone could get off work and enjoy it. It was more like an American criterium than the first race the guys did, and they all assured me this was easier. I don't know how thats possible, as I was about ready to die during the whole thing. Belgian racing is just different. People just attack like its the end of the world and keep going. The whole race is basically an attack every minute until sometime after a hundred serious attacks or so a group finally materializes. I don't know how you ever learn to pick the winning move out of all the hundreds, but I guess the really gooe people just know.
Sign in took place in a bar in a soccer complex so people could use the locker rooms and all. Its quite a sight. There are maybe 6 officials sitting at a table, all in uniform, and the whole thing looks terribly legit. The course was 50 laps of a 1.4 K loop that went right through the downtown square. There were booths selling treats of all kinds, the bars were hopping and there was even a carnival ride. As the race went past residential areas every house was barbequeing and I saw more than one garage with a keg in it.
The race itself was just brutal. People had told me that everyone goes balls to the wall until the field is pulverized and I didn't want to end up on the wrong end of that, so I was slaying myself early on. Turns out that these Crit style races are a bit different, so when things finally went I was too blitzed to go. Oh well. This race was an invitational and a step up from the first one, so the field was pretty strong. We have a picture we'll ahve to post of Mitch railing through a corner between a Quick-Step development rider and the Elite Champion of Belgium. Pretty insane. I'll let Mitch give his own account of the madness, but all I know is when the dust settled he was up the road with 8 other guys and I was dying trying to stay with the group. I made it to the finish and got a chance at what might be my only field sprint this whole month... but alas! I was so fired up to be sprinting instead of just suffering that I jumped with 400 meters and after an initial gap I got thouroughly swarmed. Oh well. I'm happy to have finished, and even happier to report that I've won my first contribution to Trips For Kids!
Thats right! The hardest 27th place I've ever gotten was good enough for 10 Euro, and thats going to the kids! With any luck thats just hte first of much more to come.
After finally hopping into a race I truly realize what a gift it is to be over here. There is no question that this is the heart of cycling and its something that I absolutely had to do to call myself a real cyclist. Thank you all so, so much!
I had my first race yesterday in the small town of Staden, only a few K from Westrozebeke. The race didn't start til 6:45 in the evening so everyone could get off work and enjoy it. It was more like an American criterium than the first race the guys did, and they all assured me this was easier. I don't know how thats possible, as I was about ready to die during the whole thing. Belgian racing is just different. People just attack like its the end of the world and keep going. The whole race is basically an attack every minute until sometime after a hundred serious attacks or so a group finally materializes. I don't know how you ever learn to pick the winning move out of all the hundreds, but I guess the really gooe people just know.
Sign in took place in a bar in a soccer complex so people could use the locker rooms and all. Its quite a sight. There are maybe 6 officials sitting at a table, all in uniform, and the whole thing looks terribly legit. The course was 50 laps of a 1.4 K loop that went right through the downtown square. There were booths selling treats of all kinds, the bars were hopping and there was even a carnival ride. As the race went past residential areas every house was barbequeing and I saw more than one garage with a keg in it.
The race itself was just brutal. People had told me that everyone goes balls to the wall until the field is pulverized and I didn't want to end up on the wrong end of that, so I was slaying myself early on. Turns out that these Crit style races are a bit different, so when things finally went I was too blitzed to go. Oh well. This race was an invitational and a step up from the first one, so the field was pretty strong. We have a picture we'll ahve to post of Mitch railing through a corner between a Quick-Step development rider and the Elite Champion of Belgium. Pretty insane. I'll let Mitch give his own account of the madness, but all I know is when the dust settled he was up the road with 8 other guys and I was dying trying to stay with the group. I made it to the finish and got a chance at what might be my only field sprint this whole month... but alas! I was so fired up to be sprinting instead of just suffering that I jumped with 400 meters and after an initial gap I got thouroughly swarmed. Oh well. I'm happy to have finished, and even happier to report that I've won my first contribution to Trips For Kids!
Thats right! The hardest 27th place I've ever gotten was good enough for 10 Euro, and thats going to the kids! With any luck thats just hte first of much more to come.
After finally hopping into a race I truly realize what a gift it is to be over here. There is no question that this is the heart of cycling and its something that I absolutely had to do to call myself a real cyclist. Thank you all so, so much!
The IJ is on to us...
A nice man named Bob Cullinan from the Marin Independent Journal writes a monthly column on cycling and was kind enough to endorse our efforts as written below...
Thanks Bob!!!
"Race to Belgium?
On to more positive topics. You may have seen the words "Race To Belgium" scrawled in chalk on numerous bike routes in Marin County. The words are even scribbled on the asphalt path that runs next to the Marin IJ offices in Novato. But what does it all mean?
RaceToBelgium.com is an effort by two cyclists, one of them a Marin resident, to fulfill their life-longjavascript:void(0)
Publish Post dream of racing bikes in Belgium this summer.
Mitch Trux lives in Sausalito and works for Breezer Bikes. He and teammate Ryan Parnes are leaving for Belgium this week, but they have yet to meet their goal of gathering $6,000 in contributions, money that will fund their travel expenses and 11 days of racing in Belgium.
Let's see, $6,000 for two guys for 11 days? They're not exactly living the high life. A few dollars more could make a big difference. If you want to help, go to www.racetobelgium.com. Mitch and Ryan will make us all proud."
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_9662636?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com
Thanks Bob!!!
"Race to Belgium?
On to more positive topics. You may have seen the words "Race To Belgium" scrawled in chalk on numerous bike routes in Marin County. The words are even scribbled on the asphalt path that runs next to the Marin IJ offices in Novato. But what does it all mean?
RaceToBelgium.com is an effort by two cyclists, one of them a Marin resident, to fulfill their life-longjavascript:void(0)
Publish Post dream of racing bikes in Belgium this summer.
Mitch Trux lives in Sausalito and works for Breezer Bikes. He and teammate Ryan Parnes are leaving for Belgium this week, but they have yet to meet their goal of gathering $6,000 in contributions, money that will fund their travel expenses and 11 days of racing in Belgium.
Let's see, $6,000 for two guys for 11 days? They're not exactly living the high life. A few dollars more could make a big difference. If you want to help, go to www.racetobelgium.com. Mitch and Ryan will make us all proud."
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_9662636?IADID=Search-www.marinij.com-www.marinij.com
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Greetings from Belgium
Ryan here,
I've been meaning to get on here and let everyone know how things are going for a while, but I've had a bit of a tough time recently and I've been trying to reconcile conflicting emotions. You see, my Grandpa Barney passed away right after I arrived here in Europe, and its been so strange to be dealing with that loss while getting to know this incredible country. I didn't feel quite right getting on here and blogging about how amazing everything is. I figure I just have to say a few words about my grandpa before I start.
My grandpa has always been an inspiration to me. I could write for a long time trying to list all the things I loved about him, but a few things stand out. First, his unbridled curiosity. He never, never stopped learning. He always had some article bookmarked, some puzzle going, or some project underway that utilized a new skill or bit of knowledge. He was incredibly outgoing in a way that has always amazed me. No matter where he went he could engage complete strangers and before long they'd be conversing like old friends. His ability to talk freely and tell stories was unequaled in my experience, and though it was occasionally overwhelming (we used to say you didn't talk to grandpa, you listened) it was a gift that allowed him to form special connections with so many people throughout his life. These two qualities stand out for me because they seem to explain how he might have seen the world. First as a place where there is something fascinating or miraculous everywhere you look, from the forming of galaxies to the hurried life of insects exposed beneath a lifted rock. Secondly, his kindness and outgoing nature turned the world, a world that so often frightens me with its vastness and impersonality, into a place where every stranger is a potential new friend. I love him with all of my heart and I will miss him tremendously.
Thank you all for indulging me. I feel better about relaying my thoughts on this trip after having written that, and after all this is a blog about a cycling trip. So let me see if I can't focus on some of the amazing things about cycling in Belgium, there certainly are enough of them.
Everything they said was true, this really is the epicenter of cycling culture. EVERYONE rides bikes. I don't know what exactly it is, having towns so close together, $8/gallon gas, incredible roads with bike lanes everywhere, or just the air of respect that bikes get. Whatever it is, it has so many people riding that it just blows my mind. Its people of all ages too. We saw a kid only a few years old learning to ride the other day (almost on the cobbles no less), and as we were sitting in the local cafe a group of 8 elderly people (all easily over 70) finished their afternoon beers, got up and all rode off together on their cruiser bikes. If I lived in a place like this, I'd never, ever even dream of owning a car.
I can't get over how European everything is, which I suppose makes sense because this is Europe. Still, all the buildings are red brick, and as Mitch writes, every town has its own cobbled square with prominent church tower. I often get the sense that this place would have looked more or less the same a couple hundred years ago. There are endless single lane farm roads and you can just pick a direction and go and go and go. We've been blessed with incredible weather so far, neither cold and rainy nor oppressively hot, and if my legs were stronger I'd never get off the bike.
Some stereotypes about Belgium are true. For instance there are a ton of waffles. In the big supermarket there must be 50 different varieties. Is hysterical. Also, there is beer, and it is good. One has to be careful though, someone bought me a beer the other day and it turned out to be 11% alcohol. One was enough to make me a bit lightheaded. I'd love to train to handle my belgian ales better, but I've got to train for the bike instead, especially in light of Mitches account of that first race. I was pretty bummed I couldn't do it, but I'm still a bit sick and it was probably for the best. Those Europeans just look so serious, with their flowing mullets and shiny, oiled legs... its the real thing, no doubt.
Everyone else is off in Brugge today, but I'm still feeling under the weather, had a terrible nights sleep and I'm anticipating a pretty serious ass-whooping tonight in my first European race. Apparently its of even a higher level that the first one the guys did, something along the lines of an NRC race in the US. Great, these guys came back form the first local race looking like they'd ridden through hell, and I get to jump into a pro race for initiation. Between you and me, I'm scared shitless.
So I think I'll go clean my bike, check it over one last time and then have a snack and put my legs up. I'll be back with a report on Belgian racing. Wish me luck!
-Ryan
I've been meaning to get on here and let everyone know how things are going for a while, but I've had a bit of a tough time recently and I've been trying to reconcile conflicting emotions. You see, my Grandpa Barney passed away right after I arrived here in Europe, and its been so strange to be dealing with that loss while getting to know this incredible country. I didn't feel quite right getting on here and blogging about how amazing everything is. I figure I just have to say a few words about my grandpa before I start.
My grandpa has always been an inspiration to me. I could write for a long time trying to list all the things I loved about him, but a few things stand out. First, his unbridled curiosity. He never, never stopped learning. He always had some article bookmarked, some puzzle going, or some project underway that utilized a new skill or bit of knowledge. He was incredibly outgoing in a way that has always amazed me. No matter where he went he could engage complete strangers and before long they'd be conversing like old friends. His ability to talk freely and tell stories was unequaled in my experience, and though it was occasionally overwhelming (we used to say you didn't talk to grandpa, you listened) it was a gift that allowed him to form special connections with so many people throughout his life. These two qualities stand out for me because they seem to explain how he might have seen the world. First as a place where there is something fascinating or miraculous everywhere you look, from the forming of galaxies to the hurried life of insects exposed beneath a lifted rock. Secondly, his kindness and outgoing nature turned the world, a world that so often frightens me with its vastness and impersonality, into a place where every stranger is a potential new friend. I love him with all of my heart and I will miss him tremendously.
Thank you all for indulging me. I feel better about relaying my thoughts on this trip after having written that, and after all this is a blog about a cycling trip. So let me see if I can't focus on some of the amazing things about cycling in Belgium, there certainly are enough of them.
Everything they said was true, this really is the epicenter of cycling culture. EVERYONE rides bikes. I don't know what exactly it is, having towns so close together, $8/gallon gas, incredible roads with bike lanes everywhere, or just the air of respect that bikes get. Whatever it is, it has so many people riding that it just blows my mind. Its people of all ages too. We saw a kid only a few years old learning to ride the other day (almost on the cobbles no less), and as we were sitting in the local cafe a group of 8 elderly people (all easily over 70) finished their afternoon beers, got up and all rode off together on their cruiser bikes. If I lived in a place like this, I'd never, ever even dream of owning a car.
I can't get over how European everything is, which I suppose makes sense because this is Europe. Still, all the buildings are red brick, and as Mitch writes, every town has its own cobbled square with prominent church tower. I often get the sense that this place would have looked more or less the same a couple hundred years ago. There are endless single lane farm roads and you can just pick a direction and go and go and go. We've been blessed with incredible weather so far, neither cold and rainy nor oppressively hot, and if my legs were stronger I'd never get off the bike.
Some stereotypes about Belgium are true. For instance there are a ton of waffles. In the big supermarket there must be 50 different varieties. Is hysterical. Also, there is beer, and it is good. One has to be careful though, someone bought me a beer the other day and it turned out to be 11% alcohol. One was enough to make me a bit lightheaded. I'd love to train to handle my belgian ales better, but I've got to train for the bike instead, especially in light of Mitches account of that first race. I was pretty bummed I couldn't do it, but I'm still a bit sick and it was probably for the best. Those Europeans just look so serious, with their flowing mullets and shiny, oiled legs... its the real thing, no doubt.
Everyone else is off in Brugge today, but I'm still feeling under the weather, had a terrible nights sleep and I'm anticipating a pretty serious ass-whooping tonight in my first European race. Apparently its of even a higher level that the first one the guys did, something along the lines of an NRC race in the US. Great, these guys came back form the first local race looking like they'd ridden through hell, and I get to jump into a pro race for initiation. Between you and me, I'm scared shitless.
So I think I'll go clean my bike, check it over one last time and then have a snack and put my legs up. I'll be back with a report on Belgian racing. Wish me luck!
-Ryan
Monday, June 23, 2008
Update—Some good, and some bad…
Mitch here to report that it’s been an interesting couple of days…
Good News - The race we had yesterday afternoon was amazing. The whole scene is a vast departure from the races we are used to attending stateside. Let’s start with registration—held in a tent with a full service bar/pub open for service inside. It’s bustling with the townsfolk who sit smoking and drinking as they study each and every racer as they approach the officials' table. The reason—so they can place bets on you. The average age of the race’s spectators—about 70.
Registration was a bit of a problem as it turned out that more than half of the nine of us did not have all the documents needed for securing our new Belgian racing licenses (oops!), and because we were a bit late getting to the race (we got lost a bit on our 30 mile ride to the town—one always gets lost here) we had very little time to rectify this. In a panic I (Mitch) went into the butcher shop and asked for a computer to print what I needed off the web. The butcher fetched his wife (she spoke English) and once I explaned my situation to her, she kindly obliged my request after they locked their mean/mongrel looking dog in the backyard so I could come into their house behind the shop without being eaten.
With minutes to spare I raced back to the reg tent, got licensed, got my race number and raced back to the start line. I got there just in time but by now I was already winded. Unfortunately Ryan could not race this one—only four of our nine did. This was ok as he has been getting over a cold since he got here and the extra bit of time to recover without taxing his resources is probably a good thing.
So the race was on. Wow!!! No matter how many times I’ve told Ryan and the others what to expect, they’ll have no idea until they experience this for themselves. These races are absolutely nuts!!! My description of a kermis has evolved to ‘all out Bicycle Warfare.’ I’ve never been more miserable on a bike in my life. That said, it was awesome and for some strange reason (that only bike racers might understand) I can’t wait for the next one. I think these races are just so damn hard that there is something compelling about them—something that makes you want to come back to prove that you can withstand it all.
First off, the race was at least a quarter full of international athletes. Other Americans, South Africans, Brits, Germans, French and on and on and on. The Belgians themselves, the locals, are flat out strong and their tactics are completely opposite the ones we are used to in America. They make the hard sections of the race course (the ones with the headwinds, side winds, etc.) so damn hard. No Mercy, never, not at all—Insane!!! They fly full speed into every corner, hit the brakes at full stopping power, corner like your grandparents and then go full throttle plus five percent down the next straight. This is extremely taxing on your body. Only the toughest can survive. The roads all narrow and are all covered with hazards. Remarkably—there was not a single crash in the race. These racers are also extremely sharp and reliable bike handlers (parents, grandparents and loved ones—worry not) it seems there is not even as much concern for crashing as we were expectng and not talking to you about. ☺
When all was said and done three of the four of us made it through most of the race. None of us made it to the finish line with the leaders. To our credit we were only 48 hours off the plane. I was second to last to loose contact with the contending racers. While I’m wanting to blame it on the wrong drink mix being in my bottles and making me sick, the full truth is that when I finally threw in the towel and dropped the pace(at about 6 laps to go) my legs weren’t going to turn over anymore no matter how I might have been feeling.
The 117k race started with over 150 riders. More than half were blown off the back before five of the seventeen laps were complete. The lead group was only about 7 crossing the finish line and only about 25-30 were placed in the results and considered finishers. Our friend Gavin from Stanford’s team came in about 15th as the hero of the day. The rest of the racers left in staggered groups of four or five. A really hard race—even for the Belgians.
More Good News – (uhh—actually this is debatable) We petitioned for an invite to a pro calendar race being held in the next town over tomorrow (Tuesday) night. We got an invite for six riders. YIKES!!! Ryan and I are both on that list (he’ll have his paperwork in hand and should be able to race this time). So anyway, we’re going to throw ourselves in an even harder race than the one I tried yesterday. Our acting team director who lives in the town that the race will be held in saw a QuickStep team car scouting the course today. For those who don’t know—Quickstep is arguably the best team in the world (depending on the variety of racing you are talking about) and based here in Belgium. They have the current and past world champions on the team (that’s the best cyclist on the planet). Oh dear!!! What are we getting ourselves into?
More Good – This afternoon we rode portions of the classic race Gent-Wevelgem today includng the cobblestone climb of the Kemmelburg. Atop the climb I got my first look at France. ☺
And the Bad News – Our new friend Andy who joined us from Ohio is an incredibly nice guy and a stong bike racer (he was one of our three late survivors yesterday). We’ve really enjoied getting to know him so far. The bad news--Andy had to take an emergency trip home this morning. This is an incredible shock and an outrageous tragedy. Unfortunately his mother suffered what seems to have been a freak heart attack and had passed away sometime late Sunday night (Ohio time). As his teammates and new friends, we did everything we could for him—but it was obviously a really hard morning for everyone. Elliot (our trip’s organizer) and myself drove Andy to the airport in Brussels this morning and helped him square away his expedited travel as well as a cell phone to keep in touch with his family at home while he makes his way back. Andy’s about Ryan’s age—a young gent of 22 or 23. From the perspective of this older 27 year old—all I can say is that Andy is as strong off the bike as he is on it and a whole lot more. We’re really going to miss his good company. We all have and will continue wishing him all the best as he negotiates this very difficult time.
We’ll have more soon - Ryan will be on the keyboard next time to tell you about his first round of the Belgian fury—it’ll be good news!!!
Good News - The race we had yesterday afternoon was amazing. The whole scene is a vast departure from the races we are used to attending stateside. Let’s start with registration—held in a tent with a full service bar/pub open for service inside. It’s bustling with the townsfolk who sit smoking and drinking as they study each and every racer as they approach the officials' table. The reason—so they can place bets on you. The average age of the race’s spectators—about 70.
Registration was a bit of a problem as it turned out that more than half of the nine of us did not have all the documents needed for securing our new Belgian racing licenses (oops!), and because we were a bit late getting to the race (we got lost a bit on our 30 mile ride to the town—one always gets lost here) we had very little time to rectify this. In a panic I (Mitch) went into the butcher shop and asked for a computer to print what I needed off the web. The butcher fetched his wife (she spoke English) and once I explaned my situation to her, she kindly obliged my request after they locked their mean/mongrel looking dog in the backyard so I could come into their house behind the shop without being eaten.
With minutes to spare I raced back to the reg tent, got licensed, got my race number and raced back to the start line. I got there just in time but by now I was already winded. Unfortunately Ryan could not race this one—only four of our nine did. This was ok as he has been getting over a cold since he got here and the extra bit of time to recover without taxing his resources is probably a good thing.
So the race was on. Wow!!! No matter how many times I’ve told Ryan and the others what to expect, they’ll have no idea until they experience this for themselves. These races are absolutely nuts!!! My description of a kermis has evolved to ‘all out Bicycle Warfare.’ I’ve never been more miserable on a bike in my life. That said, it was awesome and for some strange reason (that only bike racers might understand) I can’t wait for the next one. I think these races are just so damn hard that there is something compelling about them—something that makes you want to come back to prove that you can withstand it all.
First off, the race was at least a quarter full of international athletes. Other Americans, South Africans, Brits, Germans, French and on and on and on. The Belgians themselves, the locals, are flat out strong and their tactics are completely opposite the ones we are used to in America. They make the hard sections of the race course (the ones with the headwinds, side winds, etc.) so damn hard. No Mercy, never, not at all—Insane!!! They fly full speed into every corner, hit the brakes at full stopping power, corner like your grandparents and then go full throttle plus five percent down the next straight. This is extremely taxing on your body. Only the toughest can survive. The roads all narrow and are all covered with hazards. Remarkably—there was not a single crash in the race. These racers are also extremely sharp and reliable bike handlers (parents, grandparents and loved ones—worry not) it seems there is not even as much concern for crashing as we were expectng and not talking to you about. ☺
When all was said and done three of the four of us made it through most of the race. None of us made it to the finish line with the leaders. To our credit we were only 48 hours off the plane. I was second to last to loose contact with the contending racers. While I’m wanting to blame it on the wrong drink mix being in my bottles and making me sick, the full truth is that when I finally threw in the towel and dropped the pace(at about 6 laps to go) my legs weren’t going to turn over anymore no matter how I might have been feeling.
The 117k race started with over 150 riders. More than half were blown off the back before five of the seventeen laps were complete. The lead group was only about 7 crossing the finish line and only about 25-30 were placed in the results and considered finishers. Our friend Gavin from Stanford’s team came in about 15th as the hero of the day. The rest of the racers left in staggered groups of four or five. A really hard race—even for the Belgians.
More Good News – (uhh—actually this is debatable) We petitioned for an invite to a pro calendar race being held in the next town over tomorrow (Tuesday) night. We got an invite for six riders. YIKES!!! Ryan and I are both on that list (he’ll have his paperwork in hand and should be able to race this time). So anyway, we’re going to throw ourselves in an even harder race than the one I tried yesterday. Our acting team director who lives in the town that the race will be held in saw a QuickStep team car scouting the course today. For those who don’t know—Quickstep is arguably the best team in the world (depending on the variety of racing you are talking about) and based here in Belgium. They have the current and past world champions on the team (that’s the best cyclist on the planet). Oh dear!!! What are we getting ourselves into?
More Good – This afternoon we rode portions of the classic race Gent-Wevelgem today includng the cobblestone climb of the Kemmelburg. Atop the climb I got my first look at France. ☺
And the Bad News – Our new friend Andy who joined us from Ohio is an incredibly nice guy and a stong bike racer (he was one of our three late survivors yesterday). We’ve really enjoied getting to know him so far. The bad news--Andy had to take an emergency trip home this morning. This is an incredible shock and an outrageous tragedy. Unfortunately his mother suffered what seems to have been a freak heart attack and had passed away sometime late Sunday night (Ohio time). As his teammates and new friends, we did everything we could for him—but it was obviously a really hard morning for everyone. Elliot (our trip’s organizer) and myself drove Andy to the airport in Brussels this morning and helped him square away his expedited travel as well as a cell phone to keep in touch with his family at home while he makes his way back. Andy’s about Ryan’s age—a young gent of 22 or 23. From the perspective of this older 27 year old—all I can say is that Andy is as strong off the bike as he is on it and a whole lot more. We’re really going to miss his good company. We all have and will continue wishing him all the best as he negotiates this very difficult time.
We’ll have more soon - Ryan will be on the keyboard next time to tell you about his first round of the Belgian fury—it’ll be good news!!!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wow Belgium!!!
Well it was quite the endeavor to get to this point but the pay off has been amazing. Upon our arrival we imediately unpacked our bikes so we could hit the pavement for a welcome spin. Unfortunatley Mitch opened his bike case to find that his front wheel had been destroyed in transit—so we’ve already had to make a trip to the local bike shop for the cheapest suitable replacement. A bit of a bummer, but out on the road nothing could pry the smiles from our faces. All the hours of preparation, packing, traveling, etc. just faded away and there was nothing but pure bliss. We’re both feeling very lucky and thankful to be here and knowing what’s in store in the coming weeks.
When it comes to our house and our little town of Westrozebekke we can only report that life is good. After taking in the surounding areas from our town (W. is convieniantly placed on a high point of the rolling green plains that the Belgian countryside consists of) and a few spins we’ve realized that it would take a lifetime to pedal all the roads that surround us. As far as the eye can see and a whole lot further than that, we are surrounded by an arcane network of perfectly paved country roads. When those get old one just looks for the cobbled ones that are scattered in as extras. No matter what, they’re all quiet, empty and beautiful. They twist, turn, roll up, roll down and eventually they all roll through a town. The towns are everywhere too(each about 5 to 10k from the other) and can be spotted in the distance or as you aproach by way of church steeple. Each town has a church(with a tall steeple) right in the center of town—so you can litterally just find one in the distanc and say, “I think I’ll ride to that one.” We’re giving a whole new meaning to the term “steeple chasers”. ☺ The bottom line is roads, roads roads and more roads. We’re in cyclists heaven.
Our housemates and teammates all seem to be pretty cool/nice guys, and in general the atmosphere of our new relationships is looking pretty comfortable. We’re all pretty jet laged and all seem to have suffered from the same couple of weeks of pure chaos preparing to get here. Cycling is such a gear intensive activity that making it all come together for a trip like this is quite the endeavor.
Alright then…
We’ve only been here for 24 hours, but we’re already getting ready for business. Our first race is tomorrow and while none of us are expecting much from ourselves in this first effort we’re definitely excited to get out there and do it. We’ll keep you posted… ☺
Cheers!!
Mitch & Ryan
When it comes to our house and our little town of Westrozebekke we can only report that life is good. After taking in the surounding areas from our town (W. is convieniantly placed on a high point of the rolling green plains that the Belgian countryside consists of) and a few spins we’ve realized that it would take a lifetime to pedal all the roads that surround us. As far as the eye can see and a whole lot further than that, we are surrounded by an arcane network of perfectly paved country roads. When those get old one just looks for the cobbled ones that are scattered in as extras. No matter what, they’re all quiet, empty and beautiful. They twist, turn, roll up, roll down and eventually they all roll through a town. The towns are everywhere too(each about 5 to 10k from the other) and can be spotted in the distance or as you aproach by way of church steeple. Each town has a church(with a tall steeple) right in the center of town—so you can litterally just find one in the distanc and say, “I think I’ll ride to that one.” We’re giving a whole new meaning to the term “steeple chasers”. ☺ The bottom line is roads, roads roads and more roads. We’re in cyclists heaven.
Our housemates and teammates all seem to be pretty cool/nice guys, and in general the atmosphere of our new relationships is looking pretty comfortable. We’re all pretty jet laged and all seem to have suffered from the same couple of weeks of pure chaos preparing to get here. Cycling is such a gear intensive activity that making it all come together for a trip like this is quite the endeavor.
Alright then…
We’ve only been here for 24 hours, but we’re already getting ready for business. Our first race is tomorrow and while none of us are expecting much from ourselves in this first effort we’re definitely excited to get out there and do it. We’ll keep you posted… ☺
Cheers!!
Mitch & Ryan
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Layover in Philly...
Mitch here in Philly with a 6 hour lay over. Saw a bell with a crack in it and a shop selling "Belgian sweet waffles" on my way(didn't buy any). At the public library now. Washington Square is pretty cool--a nice monument! Tonight I'm off to Toronto, then to London, then to Brussels. No joke--that's how you get to belgium on the cheap. Boy what a flight plan.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wheels Up!
Wheels packed...wheels up! Mitch and Ryan have taken to the skies. Destination: Brussels. Sorry for the radio silence - time was limited and tasks in preparation were many the last few weeks.
Please look for our frequent posts once we are established in Belgium. Until then, keep your fingers crossed for safe passage for us and our bicycles.
We still haven't meet our goal and are already feeling intimidated by the exchange rate! :) Any contributions will be welcome...now and throughout our journey. So please continue to spread the word.
We are so excited for what's to come and grateful for the support we have already received. Thank you!
Please look for our frequent posts once we are established in Belgium. Until then, keep your fingers crossed for safe passage for us and our bicycles.
We still haven't meet our goal and are already feeling intimidated by the exchange rate! :) Any contributions will be welcome...now and throughout our journey. So please continue to spread the word.
We are so excited for what's to come and grateful for the support we have already received. Thank you!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
WOOHOOOOO!!!!!
Ryan here. I just finished my last final at Stanford! I don't have the degree in front of me yet, but at this point its out of my hands. Its some feeling, let me tell you. Relief doesn't even come close to describing it. For me, being in college was harder than any job I've ever done, and I've done some nasty ones. But no matter how boring, or grueling or frustrating a job has been, its always ended when I punch the clock at the end of the day. College was just the opposite. Constraints on your time are much more lax, but there's just always, ALWAYS something else that needs to get done. Its like I've been living four years with the sword of Damocles hanging over me, and as I finished that last final it was like someone climbed a ladder, cut it down and safely tucked it away somewhere. It feels like someone turned gravity down.
I feel free!
The first thing I did was hop on the bike and just go. I can't remember the last time I've been able to ride and not think about getting back for class or listing the work that needed doing. I just headed for the coast under shock blue skies, and when I finally got back my little spin had turned into a four hour ride, and the best ride I've had in ages. There's something about riding with no destination in mind and no ETA. You free your mind from the everyday responsibilities, and you don't even worry about the normal bike stuff (How's my cadence? How's my pedal stroke? Am I picking the right line?). You go. You just go, and there aren't many feelings in the world quite so nice as moving just for moving's sake, just to propel yourself along winding roads.
Mitch and I are starting to get things in order for the trip, and as we begin getting supplies and double checking packing lists I can't help but think that thanks to the kindness of friends, family and supporters we are about to embark on a trip where we get to live with that pure and unencumbered sensation for a whole month.
Departure time is drawing near and we're now just over halfway to our fundraising goal, so spread please help us spread the word. My sincere thanks to those who've already lent their support. With no more academics standing between me and Belgium I'm getting so excited I can barely sleep at night. Its like Christmas Eve every night, and I just lie awake knowing I'm getting the most amazing gift of my life.
I feel free!
The first thing I did was hop on the bike and just go. I can't remember the last time I've been able to ride and not think about getting back for class or listing the work that needed doing. I just headed for the coast under shock blue skies, and when I finally got back my little spin had turned into a four hour ride, and the best ride I've had in ages. There's something about riding with no destination in mind and no ETA. You free your mind from the everyday responsibilities, and you don't even worry about the normal bike stuff (How's my cadence? How's my pedal stroke? Am I picking the right line?). You go. You just go, and there aren't many feelings in the world quite so nice as moving just for moving's sake, just to propel yourself along winding roads.
Mitch and I are starting to get things in order for the trip, and as we begin getting supplies and double checking packing lists I can't help but think that thanks to the kindness of friends, family and supporters we are about to embark on a trip where we get to live with that pure and unencumbered sensation for a whole month.
Departure time is drawing near and we're now just over halfway to our fundraising goal, so spread please help us spread the word. My sincere thanks to those who've already lent their support. With no more academics standing between me and Belgium I'm getting so excited I can barely sleep at night. Its like Christmas Eve every night, and I just lie awake knowing I'm getting the most amazing gift of my life.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The RTB reaches a global audience!!!
Funny--until the other day all the contributions RTB had received came via our Paypal links. We were beginning to wonder if our mail system was failing us. But then our first check made it all the way from Cambridge England--so we're a bit more confident now. Thanks Tyler!!!
Fund Raising Progress Report...
We're at $2500
We're inside two weeks to departure and we're slowly making headway, but the Race to Belgium still needs to punch it into overdrive if we're going to achieve our budget by then. So we'll keep spreading the word and keep the pedals turning over...but please help if you can. :)
Reaching for the caffeinated gel shot in the jersey pocket and putting it in the tank. Squirting some water over the head and hands down into the drops. Feeling the reserve muscles come out to play while starting to spin those perfect circles of raw power. It's time to get into the business portion of the race.
We're inside two weeks to departure and we're slowly making headway, but the Race to Belgium still needs to punch it into overdrive if we're going to achieve our budget by then. So we'll keep spreading the word and keep the pedals turning over...but please help if you can. :)
Reaching for the caffeinated gel shot in the jersey pocket and putting it in the tank. Squirting some water over the head and hands down into the drops. Feeling the reserve muscles come out to play while starting to spin those perfect circles of raw power. It's time to get into the business portion of the race.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
The RTB Hits The Presses...
Hi everyone! Check out this article as it was published in the Idaho Mountain Express on May 30, 2008. The full content is provided below, but it can also be found at the following link...
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005120892
Nice work being important Ryan!!
-Mitch
Idaho Mountain Express: Stanford cyclist Ryan Parnes rides to the head of the class - Cardinal rider is sinfully good
Photo & Caption :
Ryan Parnes and his sister, Devyn, celebrate after his third-place finish at the 2008 USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals at Fort Collins, Colo., earlier this month. "I'm blessed to have such a supportive family," Parnes said Photo by Courtesy photo
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005120892
Nice work being important Ryan!!
-Mitch
Idaho Mountain Express: Stanford cyclist Ryan Parnes rides to the head of the class - Cardinal rider is sinfully good
Photo & Caption :
Ryan Parnes and his sister, Devyn, celebrate after his third-place finish at the 2008 USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals at Fort Collins, Colo., earlier this month. "I'm blessed to have such a supportive family," Parnes said Photo by Courtesy photo
Article By JODY ZARKOS Express Staff Writer:
Cycling is at once a team and individual sport, but Ryan Parnes set himself apart from the pack in recent races.
Parnes, in his senior year at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Ca., stepped up on the podium during the 2008 USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals competition at Fort Collins, Colo., May 9-11.
A member of last year's national championship team, Parnes posted his best individual result at Nationals.
He finished third in the 60-mile road race in two hours and 32 minutes. In a field of 119 Division I riders, Parnes was just 17.4 seconds off the winning pace.
Parnes was pleased with his third-place finish, given that his large frame, 6-3 and 196 pounds, doesn't make him physically suited for a hilly course like the one in Colorado.
He said, "I definitely had one of those moments when it hurts so badly you ask yourself why the hell you do it, and you just want to stop and get off. But part of why I ride is to work through moments like that.
"I didn't stop, but I also didn't have the legs to go with the attack on the final climb. It's really a tough moment to watch the national championship ride away from you, but the lungs are on fire and your legs are screaming and you simply cannot go any harder."
Parnes went on to place 16th in the 100-rider criterium, which he said "featured one of the scariest turns I've ever seen."
He said, "It was a downhill off-camber left with a two-inch seam that swallowed wheels and belched little pebbles. At one point they had to stop the whole race to take people out on stretchers."
Parnes finished sixth overall in the individual omnium, and Stanford was fifth in the team omnium with 290 points, behind winner Lees-McRae College (473), Fort Lewis College (424), Colorado State University (362) and University of Cal-Davis (342).
In all, 37 teams qualified for the omnium, which counted six men's and women's races for an overall team score.
The week prior to the national finals, Parnes, who also suits up for Metromint Cycling in San Francisco, was the bronze medalist in the Pro Category 1/2 division at the Sugar CRM Hill Classic in Los Gatos, Ca. The race is legendary among cyclists for its murderously steep 23 percent climb up Nicholson Avenue.
"The race was an hour and a half, so we slammed into that sucker maybe 45 times," Parnes said.
The event, whose past champions include Greg LeMond, will not only stick in Parnes' memory as the race in which he earned his Category 1 upgrade, it was the first time his girlfriend got to see him in compete in the saddle.
"So I had to pull out a special ride," he joshed.
A graduate of Vermont's Putney School, Parnes also attended Wood River High School and Silver Creek Alternative School, both in Hailey. He went to grade school at Ketchum's Hemingway Elementary and also to The Community School and Wood River Middle School in Hailey.
Geez, I almost hit 'em all," said Parnes about his diverse schooling background. "I love Ketchum to death—it'll always be my home."
Parnes is an athlete who participated in many sports growing up, including lacrosse, baseball and cross-country skiing. He is the eldest of three children of Kate and Andy Parnes. His siblings are Dan and Devyn. Ryan picked up his father's road bike four years ago and immediately connected to the sport.
"I found my dad's old Miyata road bike. It was older than I was, but still resplendent in white splashed with neon geometric accents," Parnes recalled. "I took it out for a spin and it blew my mind. Who knew skinny tires would let you go so fast!"
Just like white rice, Parnes was instantly converted, and began participating in the Wednesday Night bike rides put on by The Elephant's Perch and joined the Stanford cycling team as a freshman.
Nappy Neaman, who organizes the Perch's rides, remembers when Parnes showed up four years ago.
"He was scary at first. You had no idea how good he was going to be," Neaman said. "He needed a place to put all that strength and ability, not to mention to find a place in his helmet for all that hair. Next thing you know he's winning a national championship and a Cat 1. Amazing."
After graduating this spring with a degree in International Relations with a focus on Russia, Parnes will travel to Europe with Metromint teammate Mitch Trux to compete in some of cycling's toughest competitions in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, as well as travel some of the sport's most hallowed roads.
"It's going to be incredible to get a chance to live, train and race in country where cycling is actually respected, instead of being that fringe-sport weirdo in spandex who's always dodging cars," Parnes said.
Dreams don't come cheap; thus the "Race to Belgium" is a fund-raising effort to support the cyclists in their dream of racing professionally in Europe. The pair would like to generate $6,000 to help defray the cost of competing and traveling.
"Race to Belgium funds will only be used for the expenses of life as a bike racer and not for the sampling of Belgium ales or souvenir purchases of the yellow flag of Flanders," the Web site, www.racetobelgium, states.
While competing in Europe, Parnes and Trux will donate any prize money they earn to Trips for Kids, a non-profit organization based in Marin County, Calif., that "provides opportunities for inner-city and underprivileged youth to experience the wonders of the natural world from the seat of a bike."
Any funds raised above the original sum will be donated to the same organization.
While he has yet to discover if his dreams will pan out, Parnes knows that after four years seriously dedicated to academia, it's time to give racing a sincere shot.
"I'm going to try to spend next year racing my bike. It's really hard to do professionally, but I figure if I don't at least give it a go I'd kick myself forever," Parnes said.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Bike Trail Banners--We need your $$$
The Race To Belgium has begun its final push in the call for new contributors. As you’ll see in the photos below, we’re expanding our search in every direction. These chalk billboards seemed like a clever and cost effective method of getting the word out among our fellow cyclists.
We have less than 3 weeks until our departure and we’re only 1/3 of the way to our fundraiser’s critical $6000 goal that allows our European racing campaign to be underway.
If you or someone you know can help us by making a contribution—we would be honored if you/they act now and bring us one step closer to making RTB’s goals a reality.
To make a contribution click HERE
Thank you very much for checking in! We’ll stay busy and post frequent updates of our progress throughout these closing weeks.
Best Wishes,
- Mitch & Ryan
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The RTB goes to Hollywood
Hey all—Mitch here with a fun little bonus report for you all.
About a month ago I had a unique opportunity for some monetary stimulation that took me away from my day job at Breezer for a couple of days of pedaling in the sunshine while I earned 3 times my usual pay rate. Oh yeah—I got paid to ride my bike. ☺
But as the story goes, this was no ordinary bike ride—this was the Tour de France…
…at least as far as Hollywood is concerned (we were actually in Healdsburg, CA).
Please enjoy the video clip below courtesy of the good people at Gatorade, and look for the complete commercial on a TV screen near you. Friends and family of mine have already spotted it on some of the major networks here in California, and its been seen as far away as Hawaii. I haven’t seen it on TV yet, but I heard that the version you would see might also have famous cycling commentator Phil Liggett speaking. Rumor is that the version below has been plucked from what will appear on screens in France. Would you believe that? My image might actually pedal a bike in France before I do. ☺
I’m second wheel throughout the commercial—that’s right, my name’s on the marquee, top billing. I’m the first rider in the pink and white jersey. Wierd about that 10-year old kid--he was a fast little mother(courtesy of a two-stroke motor digitally removed in editing).
Make some popcorn and enjoy!!!
About a month ago I had a unique opportunity for some monetary stimulation that took me away from my day job at Breezer for a couple of days of pedaling in the sunshine while I earned 3 times my usual pay rate. Oh yeah—I got paid to ride my bike. ☺
But as the story goes, this was no ordinary bike ride—this was the Tour de France…
…at least as far as Hollywood is concerned (we were actually in Healdsburg, CA).
Please enjoy the video clip below courtesy of the good people at Gatorade, and look for the complete commercial on a TV screen near you. Friends and family of mine have already spotted it on some of the major networks here in California, and its been seen as far away as Hawaii. I haven’t seen it on TV yet, but I heard that the version you would see might also have famous cycling commentator Phil Liggett speaking. Rumor is that the version below has been plucked from what will appear on screens in France. Would you believe that? My image might actually pedal a bike in France before I do. ☺
I’m second wheel throughout the commercial—that’s right, my name’s on the marquee, top billing. I’m the first rider in the pink and white jersey. Wierd about that 10-year old kid--he was a fast little mother(courtesy of a two-stroke motor digitally removed in editing).
Make some popcorn and enjoy!!!
$$$$$ Fund Raising Update $$$$$
Now that the hard weeks of training and racing that built up to our early season fitness peaks and major race goals are behind us…it’s come time for us to re-focus our energy on our funds search and shift it into high gear.
**We only have a month left until our departure for Belgium.** Can you believe it?
Our plane travel has been secured, but not entirely paid for. We’ve got some money for meals, but not enough, and we’re still working on acquiring some of the specialized equipment such as the wheel sets and tires that will be required when riding and racing on Belgian cobblestones. So, while the many generous contributions from our friends and family have helped our Race to Belgium really begin to take flight--there’s still a lot of ocean left to soar over. ☺
What’s next?
We’ll be hitting up the e-mails again so look out, we’ll be wallpapering our neighborhood bike shops with RTB flyers, and if worse comes to worse--we’ll be hitting the streets covered in spots and wielding picket signs that spread the word to anyone that passes by. ☺
We’re really getting excited about seeing this all come to fruition.
**We only have a month left until our departure for Belgium.** Can you believe it?
Our plane travel has been secured, but not entirely paid for. We’ve got some money for meals, but not enough, and we’re still working on acquiring some of the specialized equipment such as the wheel sets and tires that will be required when riding and racing on Belgian cobblestones. So, while the many generous contributions from our friends and family have helped our Race to Belgium really begin to take flight--there’s still a lot of ocean left to soar over. ☺
What’s next?
We’ll be hitting up the e-mails again so look out, we’ll be wallpapering our neighborhood bike shops with RTB flyers, and if worse comes to worse--we’ll be hitting the streets covered in spots and wielding picket signs that spread the word to anyone that passes by. ☺
We’re really getting excited about seeing this all come to fruition.
Monday, May 19, 2008
2008, Mt Hood Cycling Classic
Well then…
I’ve survived another week as a faux-pro bike racer.
This year’s Mt Hood Cycling Classic was bigger than ever. The field of 150 riders consisted of
The racing started Tuesday, May 13th with a short prologue in downtown
Thursday’s ‘all up’ and ‘all down’ circuit race was a good hard bike race with 8750 feet of climbing on the lower slopes of Mt Hood. Last year I came off the pace the 3rd time up the 15 mile climb. This year I only lost 3 minutes to the race leaders when I managed not to come off the pace until I was most of the way up the 5th and final circuit. I was pleased.
Saturday’s 101 mile road race climbed 11,200 feet and was the king stage of the event, It’s been going down as one of the hardest days in the saddle that the National Racing Calendar has ever seen. The first 30 miles were particularly hard as teams and riders attacked to establish a breakway group. Before the 30 miles were up, a third of the remaining peloton was shed from the race for good.
A 10-man breakaway group eventually rolled up the course and the attacking pace cooled off. Those were some of the hardest miles I’ve ever endured courtesy of the 100 degree heat in the dry east
In the miles that followed we gradually climbed into cooler air I got re hydrated and was able to achieve some of the finest riding of my career as a bike racer. To sum it up—I was “in the zone”. I’ve never put out so much consistent & hard power in my life. If ever I began to feel the effort, I was able to overcome it by telling myself to “stay on top of it” or I’d say “you’ve hurt before and you’ll live.” Each time I successfully coached myself, I felt shivers pass through my body and down my legs as my brain sent a message that said “pain wouldn’t be a factor today.” The legs just kept turning and I was amazed.
When we hit the 10k sign we turned onto a new highway and began gobbling up the last feet of climbing in the day’s long race. The finish was in the parking lot of the Mt Hood Meadows ski resort somewhere over 5000 feet up the side of Mt Hood. When the race leaders began their attacks I positioned myself as best I could and held on for dear life. The pain couldn’t be held back any longer. L As I fought to stick to the few wheels that weren’t going backwards, I was really ready to give up. But each time I was about to stop pedaling I’d see some famous pro stop pedaling first—so I had to keep pushing. J Unfortunately that only lasted a few cycles and I eventually found myself in no-man’s land somewhere between the leaders and those who had cracked under the pressure—I was cracking myself. But I kept pedaling. The road turned back down a bit and I almost caught back onto the leaders again before hitting the final 2.5 mile climb up to the ski resort. As it turned out, I’d be on my own the rest of the way to the finish line. Climbing at something like 3mph I limped my way in passing a couple more riders as I went--suffering like a dog the whole way. It was awesome!
The last day was the high energy criterium in downtown hood river. Surprisingly I was pretty well recovered from the prior days thrashing and was able to pop around the string of riders pretty much enjoying myself as I went. It was fun. At the end of the 75 minute race I rolled in 11th among the field but missed out on the 10-man breakaway. Oh well! It was a nice way to end the week anyway.
Weird that that’s my idea of a good time—but there you have it.
Mitch Trux
Monday, May 12, 2008
Collegiate Nationals
Whew! I'm finally back in my little room at Stanford after a 4am wake-up call in Colorado and a mad dash to make it back for Russian History at noon. I made it, and if I can actually get some work done I might pass my classes and get a degree. Fingers are crossed.
I was up in Fort Collins, CO attending the Collegiate Cycling National Championships. This is a once a year event where the best college cyclists from around the nation converge for 3 days of brutally hard racing. Its rewarding no matter how it goes, but the best of the best take home bragging rights and the stars and stripes jerseys reserved for those who have won a national title. Cycling is funny because since its not an NCAA sport you can have professionals that still race collegiate. Think New England Patriots vs. Washington Huskies. Ouch. Also, this year nationals were held at altitude, so us poor sea level folk would be missing that sweet, rich air we've come to know and love.
Despite the odds, Nats proved to be pretty rewarding. The guys from Mitch's alma mater rode an INCREDIBLE team time trial the first day. They beat everyone else handily and earned themselves some of those sweet, sweet stars and stripes. I'm also proud to say the Stanford women also managed to win the TTT, pulling off a major upset by beating a team with a number of professional women on it.
As for me... well, I'm normally a criterium specialist, and with a hilly road race and not much air to breathe I wasn't expecting any fireworks. But in cycling you just never know, and i was lucky enough to make it into the winning break for the day with 6 other riders (including Paul Mach from UC Davis). We fought freakish headwinds and a looming blizzard and managed to stay away for 50 miles. In the end it came down to the last mother of a hill, and when the rider from Lees McRae attacked Paul was the only one who could stay with him. I chases like mad with 2 other riders as we watched the National Championship ride slowly away form us, but we couldn't close the gap. So, with about 300 to go when it was clear we were racing for 3rd we started looking around at each other. Its a classic game of mouse that always happens when a small group comes to the line together. Who's fresh? Who's got the best legs? Should I make the jump or should I wait to react? There was a stiff headwind into the finish and I trusted my jump more than my top end speed, so I figured I'd wait for the first person to make a move and then try to hop in his draft. Sure enough, Taylor, from CU Boulder, went for it and I had just enough to get into his slipstream and come around him for 3rd place. It was an incredible moment for me, and I still don't think its really sunk in that I podiumed in a National event.
Alas, the rest of the story is one of heartbreak. After a strong road race I was poised to take the win in the individual omnium that determines the #1 college rider in the US, but I wore myself down to nothing in the road race and just didn't have it in the crit the next day. It was one of the bloodiest races I have ever seen with maybe a dozen crashes, many of them simply spectacular, complete with aerials and acrobatics, the smell of burning brakes and jarring screech of metal on pavement mixed with agonized cries. Criterium racing is rarely beautiful, but on Sunday it was downright ugly. I didn't have the legs to stay on the front, and when a promising break I was in with 10 laps to go I just didn't have the legs to finish. I ended up 16th in the Crit and 6th in the individual omnium. Not too shabby, but its tough to be so close to a national title and have it slip away.
But, despite being bone tired I'm riding as well as I ever have, and after I get a little rest I'm gonna get myself to Belgium where the racing is flat, windy and hard, just the way I like it. Thanks for reading, and for helping send me and Mitch to a place where cycling is king, the hills are few and far between and the big guys like us get a chance to laugh last.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Cat's Hill Classic
Ryan Seals the Deal on his Cat 1 License…
Mitch here to tell you about last weekend when Ryan, myself and three of our Metromint teammates lined up at the famous Cat’s Hill Classic in Los Gatos, CA. Boy what a race! With huge crowds in attendance to see us racers charge up the 23% grade “Cat’s Hill” every couple of minutes for an hour and a half, it was nothing short of exciting.
Going into the race all the Minties were pretty whipped as we were all just through some of our toughest weeks of training for the first half of the season. The other 4 were preparing for the Collegiate National Championships being held this weekend in Ft. Collins, CO (We’ll keep you posted on developments there for sure), while I was preparing for the Mt Hood Cycling Classic to begin in Portland, OR this Tuesday the 13th where I’ll be up against the nations best pro teams for 6 straight days.
So, despite our tired legs at Cat’s Hill the Minties gave the other boys of the northern California race scene quite a thrashing. We were in the most aggressive moves of the day and definitely made our interests known. Mr Ryan Parnes made his fame with a charge into a breakaway during the last laps and a 3rd place at the finish line. A stellar result!!!
The points he scored in the world of USA Cycling that day were more than what he needed to polish off his Category 1 upgrade as he joins Mitch among the top tier of the country’s amateur cyclists. The only upgrade from there is the one jokingly referred to as the “Cat 0” up-grade, which requires a professional contract and a salary to race your bike. If Ryan keeps riding like this, we may just see that development. ☺
More soon…
Mitch Trux
Race to Belgium
Mitch here to tell you about last weekend when Ryan, myself and three of our Metromint teammates lined up at the famous Cat’s Hill Classic in Los Gatos, CA. Boy what a race! With huge crowds in attendance to see us racers charge up the 23% grade “Cat’s Hill” every couple of minutes for an hour and a half, it was nothing short of exciting.
Going into the race all the Minties were pretty whipped as we were all just through some of our toughest weeks of training for the first half of the season. The other 4 were preparing for the Collegiate National Championships being held this weekend in Ft. Collins, CO (We’ll keep you posted on developments there for sure), while I was preparing for the Mt Hood Cycling Classic to begin in Portland, OR this Tuesday the 13th where I’ll be up against the nations best pro teams for 6 straight days.
So, despite our tired legs at Cat’s Hill the Minties gave the other boys of the northern California race scene quite a thrashing. We were in the most aggressive moves of the day and definitely made our interests known. Mr Ryan Parnes made his fame with a charge into a breakaway during the last laps and a 3rd place at the finish line. A stellar result!!!
The points he scored in the world of USA Cycling that day were more than what he needed to polish off his Category 1 upgrade as he joins Mitch among the top tier of the country’s amateur cyclists. The only upgrade from there is the one jokingly referred to as the “Cat 0” up-grade, which requires a professional contract and a salary to race your bike. If Ryan keeps riding like this, we may just see that development. ☺
More soon…
Mitch Trux
Race to Belgium
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