Back in the saddle.....well, almost.

Wow - I can't believe how long it's been since my last posting. My apathy has been impressive, and I apologize. Things have been a bit busy recently, and unfortunately riding has taken a back seat (I have no qualms about it taking a back seat to certain things, which I will not reveal here - some things ARE more important than riding!).

So since my last post a lots happened, here's a quick summary:

MY "FRIENDS" (from a previous post :o): they're almost competelely gone and not bothering me at all, so I'm able to ride. With the assistance of a cycling friendly doctor I was able to adjust my seat correctly to take pressure off the hot spots and give myself time to heal. It's funny - I've never had a proper bike fitting before, so this was an eye opener. Turns out my saddle was too far back and too high, so I've now adjusted accordingly. I'd always thought you should find a saddle position that's comfortable and go with it, which I've done in the past. But now I'll have to wait and see how the new positions feel!

MY CROSS BIKE: I upgraded my Trek X01 cyclocross bike with Bontrager Race Lite wheels, a Bontrager carbon fork, carbon seatpost, and cross-cranks. The bike feels completely new, and I'm ABSOLUTELY amazed at the difference the carbon fork and post make - I've been riding carbon for so long on my road bike and MTB that I'd taken for granted the vibration absorbtion of the carbon! What a revelation!

MY FIRST CROSS RACE: I entered my first cross race last Saturday, not really knowing what to expect. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it :o) the weather was sunny and dry. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it :o) I arrived late and didn't get a chance to pre-ride the course, or even get a look at my competition. Luckily I registered as an Amateur A rider, and they called all the A's to the front of the line for the start regarless of how many points you had in the series. In total there were about 40 in the race, and I really had no idea how fast I should ride. So we took off from the start and I decided to keep pretty near the front (it's always easier to drop the pace a bit than pick it up), so I rode in 6th or 7th spot for the first 1/4 lap. In the first single track section one guy bolted off the front, and I was surprised nobody followed, but again I was not sure of the course or what speed I could hold so I restrained my instinct to hammer after him. Nearing the 1/2 way mark of the lap I found I could hold myself back no longer and I made for the front to chase after the lead rider.

Soon I found myself isolated from the lead rider (he held a steady 50m gap on me) and the chase riders (I held a steady 50m gap on them). Surprisingly enough I didn't bail on the first lap, and during the second I was finding smoother lines and areas where I didn't have to shift or dismount. By the end of the second lap though I'd started to loose the guy in front of me (he was much faster in the single track than I) and I was starting to loose the rest of the field behind me (I was much faster in the single track than them), so I wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Do I drop back and ride with the group or do I keep hammering on my own to see if I could reel in the leader (best case scenario) or ride it out on my own (worst case scenario)? With my competitive streak I never really had to ask that question - of course I'd try to reel him in!

So for the next 45 minutes I hammered away solo as the guy in front of me steadily pulled away from me, and I steadily pulled away from the guys behind me. By the end of the race my challenge had been held off by the winner (he won by about 90 seconds) and I held off the challengers to take second (the third place rider didn't make the last lap, so the field was 1 lap down!). 2nd place overall in my first race - not bad, eh? I managed to average 177bpm for 51 minutes of racing, with a peak of 185bpm - numbers that I haven't seen in years, and I don't think I've ever held an average that high for that long!!

THE FLU: after the race I went to a huge bike show (Bikemotion - probably the biggest in the Netherlands) and hung out with thousands of people in an exhibition hall during peak flu season after completely wearing myself out in a cross-race....doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. The Sunday ride with friends (70km cyclocross, rainy at the end) probably didn't help much. By Monday morning I felt like a deer in headlights - I knew what was coming, and Monday night confirmed my fears. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in bed, and Thursday back at the office but not in peak condition. Today I'm still feeling it, so I'll probably take the weekend off.

THE TOUR DE FRANCE: they released the 2006 Tour de France route on Thursday at noon, so the trip designers (4 of them here in NL) and I were pouring over the route information and planning when and where our trips will visit next year. For us there two big surprises: no Mt.Ventoux (our leaks proved incorrect); no team time trial (surprise!). However there were several things that didn't surprise us: direction (flat, Pyrenees, Alps); the dates (our sources were almost bang-on!); Alpe d'Huez figuring prominantly again (sources were correct!); the snubbing of Lance.

On the snubbing of Lance, why WOULDN'T you ignore the 7-time defending champion at the route-presenting ceremony, give a 12 minute tyraid on ethics, and then have the president of the ASO (the group that organizes the Tour de France) Patrick Clerc state "Until we know the results of those investigations [into the 1999 EPO alligations against Lance], we should not take position on one side or the other," Clerc said. "We wanted to remain neutral as possible. Of course, when you are just neutral after seven victories in one event, you don't look neutral at all." What the fuck does that mean? They want to remain neutral, but since someone else is dominating they won't remain neutral? What about riders such as Richard Virenque (FR) and Eddie Merckx (BE)? These guys have been caught doping or admited to doping (respectively) and yet they still hold a higher regard with the ASO than Lance. I'm not even going to delve into the whole Cofidis (FR) team - why they are still allowed to race, given their documented history of repeated doping convictions and suspicions, is beyond me, but I'm just going to remain neutral on this one.

Adieu