The Chamonix Experience

So Christmas in Chamonix with my sis was a pretty interesting experience. I arrived on Friday night with a warm welcome from my sis. I grabbed a quick bit to eat (actually, I can’t seem to remember eating but I must have – the food on the train was crap so I arrived STARVING!) and then we went to her work. This is where the fun started :o)

She works at the Queen Vic – a mostly English (not Brit, but English speaking) bar in the heart of Cham. Upon arrival I’m warmly welcomed by the bar staff, most of whom insist on giving me beer. Luckily they’ve got a version of Leffe on tap, so I don’t have to drink French beer the entire time (no I’m not a beer snob, but if I have the choice I’ll go Belgian). The evening quickly descends into shots of green Chartreuse, followed by some other concoction I can’t quite remember, lots more beer, and then it’s off bar hopping with some other patrons while my hard-working sis is left to tend the bar.

So right about when I left the Queen Vic is when I lost the plot. Don’t quite know where I went, don’t quite know who I was with, but I do have odd flashes of dance floors somewhere and that’s about it. Next thing I know I wake up on Christmas Eve about noon on my sisters floor in my sleeping bag – on my un-inflated thermarest. How I got there I don’t know – in fact I’m sure nobody knows. How I was hung over ‘like a dog’ (as the Brits like to say – what that means I’m not sure) was something I was going to have to deal with immediately. (I wouldn’t see the photo’s on someone’s camera until the next night – so I didn’t know right away how dastardly drunk I was….)

So instead of doing something smart about my situation, we decided getting on a chairlift and gaining another 1000m elevation into the cold would be a good idea. Oh yeah – did I mention I was coming from sea-level in the Netherlands to about 1500m in Chamonix? Mix equal parts: sudden elevation gain; dehydration; hangover. What do you get? Somebody who wants to be sick on the chairlift. Luckily I was able to tough it out and enjoy a great day on the slopes (if only that sun wasn’t so bright……)

What followed for the next 5 days was a sure-fire way to NOT make it as a pro cyclist. Keeping in line with the recipe kick here’s another – mix copious amounts of booze, a sister that works in a bar, lots of people who are there to party (Cham is a party town – every now and then somebody goes skiing or boarding, but I now know it’s true colors!), late nights all around, epic amounts of food on Christmas Day, and marginal amounts of downhill and cross country skiing. Et voila quoi – one tired-assed wanna-be pro who’s shooting himself in the foot!

Having said that, I had a GREAT time and it was awesome to meet my sister’s friends and check out her life there – she’s got it really great, she lives in a paradise, and she looked great working! It was funny – I’d never actually SEEN her work before until I saw her behind the bar serving drinks! I know she HAS worked, but I’ve just never seen it – so it was great to see her in a new light.

All in all a great vacation, but it’s actually strengthened my resolve to bear down and focus on training – I know it was only a 6 day break, but I feel pretty bad about not being true to myself and sticking with my training. So my resolve to hit the bike even harder/smarter than before is even stronger. This week of cyclocrossing will be a good test – Friday afternoon is the last race in a local 6-race series where I’m sitting 3rd in the points, and Saturday is a national series race – then Sunday I’ll just take it easy and train on my own.

Unfortunately after the partying/skiing of the past week I feel a bit under the weather - and the lack of sleep on the train last night didn't help. Hopefully I won't destroy myself tomorrow! Bring on the racing!!!