C-Day + 7

For you all who didn't catch the WWII era lingo, the title means Crash Day + 7. Feeling much better this Friday than I did last Friday. Of course it not too difficult to find a more pleasurably day when you are comparing eating asphalt at 27+mph. I took off Monday and Tuesday from riding namely because I came down with a cold on Sunday. I have a feeling that it started before Sunday, but Sunday's give everything and leave nothing on the table type of ride sent my immune system down the river so to speak. I went for a nice 2 hour ride to Mill Valley on Wed under my coach's strict rules of easy spinning. Getting on the bike Wed afternoon felt weird. I was so eager to go riding but the body felt weird getting on the bike. I would think that I would be so use to it after all the kms I have ridden this year. But good sensations in the legs came around. Some moto rider pulled up to me in Mill Valley and kept staring at me. I was quite perplexed then he flipped up his visor and tried to get me to go faster. I looked and smiled. Not today pal...Thursday was another good day on the bike. Went for 3.5 hours on Paradise and out to San Anselmo. Legs felt good in the beginning but I was pretty hungry by the end. Should have brought some food with me. Rode to work today and did some shopping at the Parkside Market which by the way has the best fruit and produce anywhere I have found in the city. Prices are excellent too. I highly recommend jumping in on the yellow peaches and fresh nectarines. They are both in season now and are excellent!

I have been following Le Tour via the live text feed on VeloNews.com b/c I am without cable. Not too much exciting going on but it was sad to hear Dave Zabriskie drop out. I have always liked his style. Very dry sense of humor. He lost 30min the other day. Reminds me of my 25min loss on the last stage of Cascade. Its reassuring to know that even the most trained athletes can have terrible days. He will be back soon enough as will I. On another note, the GC will see a huge shakeup tomorrow in the TT. Latest news out of the Rasmussen file seems a little sketchy. Former friend and riding partner told VeloNews back in 2002 that Rasmussen asked him to carry a box shoes his flight back to Europe for him. Only the shoebox carried what appeared to be bags of blood. He emptied them in the trash after speaking with a physiology friend to see what exactly they might be. Now Rasmussen has denied any wrongdoing but its not good right now for his story or cycling. Given the statements were taken back in 2002, i think adds a little more credibility than the he said accusations going on today. I hope its not true for cycling's sake.

Back to non cycling news...Since I finished cascade on Sunday morning, my appetite has just not been there. I have always found it very hard to eat during racing. Mostly b/c I can't put food down very well when i am riding hard, something I will need to work on. But since I finished my appetite has been not very high which is atypical after a multiple days of hard riding. During stage racing, food becomes a means to get through. Its no longer about taste, its about calories and energy. You eat to ride. It becomes a job to a certain degree if you are racing for 3 or more days in a row. Its often a complaint of Tour riders. Eating the same muesli, baguettes and pasta every day gets boring. I haven't had pasta since last Saturday which is quite different for me b/c I typically eat a lot of pasta, mostly b/c I enjoy it. This week I made a nice broccoli-sundried tomato-mozzerellla risotto on thursday and curry couscous on Wed. I hardly ate any of the couscous and was able to bring some to work the next day. But the risotto was the first decent meal i was able to eat in a matthew portion. I have been eating lots of spinach salad this week with fresh veggies and fruit. Tonight I ate a spinach salad with fresh peaches, red bell peppers, cucumbers, gorgonzola and balsamic. And I made some homemade sourdough croutons. See recipe below. I learned how to do it the other night from my german roommate Kristof. It was super tasty. But I also ate a salad for lunch. What is wrong with me?! I do love salads but I was just too exhausted this evening to make the indian curry I was thinking about. Ohh well, something to look forward to tomorrow night.

Try this on your salad next time for that extra bit of taste and culinary fun..

Garlic-Herb Croutons
Heat 1 tbsp of EV Olive Oil over Med-High in a saute pan
Cut a cup full of fresh bread(good baguette, or other tasty bread) into small pieces
Add one clove of crush garlic to oil
After 1 min, toss the bread in the saute pan
Sprinkle fresh basil, oregano, or rosemary or a combo of herbs to your liking over the bread
Pinch of salt and pepper
Toss bread in pan to make sure herbs are evenly distributed
Cook until golden brown
Now lay them on your salad or store them in a closed container in the fridge(probably a 1-2 day life)


Chow,
Matthew

Cascade Classic Reporte Part Deux

Feeling pretty banged up on Saturday morning, my only objective was to start and see where the road takes me. After the initial climb from the ski zone, I was feeling okay. Definitely could feel the pain in my right hip on every pedal stroke but the hardcore purple bandage i was sportin' on my right arm gave me good sensations(euro slang) and sent chills through the peloton. RR was a nice big climb to start then rolling before a 8k climb to a ski resort on the way back, 120km. The race tactics still blew my mind. For all of you who do this in a race, stop! If you want to destroy a field don't do this. What?

Bad RR tactic: Lets go hard up the hill and make everyone suffer then lets slow down at the top so everyone can rest then brake on the descent so it all goes gruppo compacto. Funny, b/c so many of the teams and riders up front thought this was the key to winning. Keep all the nonplayers in the game as long as possible and let the players rest in the shadows.

Good RR tactic: Drill it on the climb if you can climb and put some pressure on the players. When you are nearing the top, continue to tempo it then drill it on the descent. Atleast give yourself a fighting chance to weed out the players from the fallout.

So the road race was pretty uneventful until the last 8km. But then it pretty much stayed together. I was feeling like crap on the climb, and I know I could have hung with the top guys and I managed to only lose 2minutes. They should have done me in much earlier. So many others were in the same boat. We went throught he feed 2x and each time riders would attack after they passed through only to cause enormous chaos and chasing just so the front group could get 1k down the road and slow to a easy spin. WHY!? The genius tactic caused one guy to crash on the 2nd feed. I was pretty vocal among the asshole riders for pulling off such a stunt and one guy condoned it. More on that shmuk later. So they would attack at the feed then they had the balls to say, "pee break." Its 90+ deg and you want to take a pee break? how can they consume that many liquids, thats what puzzled me the most but then nearly the entire peloton stopped. So you stop to pee which can relieve some pain, but you won't slow to get nutritious fluids? Funny how the mind works...

The circuit race on sunday was going to be a pretty tough parcours with little relief from the sun and nothing but rolling and climbing. Feeling like a million dollars in the pre-start, Darren Leva(RoaringMouse) and I decided to just attack like double-6 shooters from the neutral flag down. Steve Holmes(Arete) called us the California mafia. Both of had nothing to lose and I was tired of the kiddie riding of these riders. Racing should be fast and painful. So as soon as the green went up, I drilled it with darren on my wheel. Another rider had the same idea. We strung it out for 6k until the first climb, then it was Game Over. When I hit the climb, my million dollars felt like 1929 Black Monday dollars, and I fell back quick. I tried chasing for the next 5k with the peloton in sight but no dice. All I could do was just laugh b/c I had never had such bad sensations in my legs. As I was approaching the end of the first lap(28km) I came across Shmuk and another rider. I told them to ride one more with me. They declined. Shmuk said, "nope, I am going home, sitting on the couch and watching the Tour." I wasn't eager to race the rest of the 96k by myself, but hearing Shmuk and it gave me more motivation just b/c I didn't want to ever been listed in the same sentence as this jag. Quiting is never an option. So I rode the last 96k by myself, pushed myself further till the brink of complete exhaustion but it was far better than calling it quits and sitting on the couch wondering what if? I ended up passing several other cat 3 riders in my quest of anti-shmuk. Riding 96k of a race from the back gives you a lot of time to think. One thing that kept me going was just the humor of getting dropped so early and the joking I had with the spectators and feeders. It also gave me lots of phototakes b/c the photographers had nothing else to do and I was all alone. But one thing that I kept thinking, and you can use this too was a quote I have posted on my door in my office. Its by Mark Twain. Its probably the most inspiration quote I have ever come across....

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

It has a little sailing reference, but that is my line of work. Nevertheless, its the hardest days on the bike that make or break you. yesterday was my worst and probably my best despite losing 25min on the last stage. Don't ever quit, b/c you don't know what you will happen or what you will learn.

Matthew

Cascade Classic Reporte

Bend is beautiful riding country. I am staying in some sick host housing.

yesterday was the tt and the crit. TT was pretty difficult with a steady climb for the first 7.5mi and a few false flats with lots of wind. I managed to finish 1.32 down on GC. Thought I did better but wasn't 100% yesterday morning. Crit last night was okay....Race started out regular speed but no one would ride aggressively. I was in the front few spots trying to position myself in case something promising came by. A reno rider went off the front after he counterattacked my move. There was a team of 5 and they kept sending one or two riders up and back. Doing a good job of holding me off. Frustration.

Then I was going around this gnarly bend and I laid it right on the asphalt. Pretty gruesome. I was on the front and hit the deck in the upper 20smph. That consequently ended my crit. I was a little dazed but I managed to get back on the bike and got pulled by the officials. I made sure I was still able to start this morning. I was by far the worst victim of the turn which took out quite a few riders over the duration. Lots of cuts and rr on the right side. Still sore this morning so today's stage should be interesting. No promises on anything today but I am going to give it go b/c its a hard climbing stage and I will try to pull back as many minutes on GC as possible. I took some sweet digital photos so I will probably post them on my blog for shits and giggles.

Matthew

Heading North to the Land of Bend

I am heading to the Cascade Classic tomorrow in Bend, OR. Its a 3-day, 4 stage, stage race. Should be pretty good. I am feeling good and looking for a top placement on GC. I have spent the last two days tuning up the legs after a nice 3 day break off the bike. I can't believe how much better I feel this week compared to last...night and day...

Last night I had my uber-cool boss(Charlie) and her fiance(Jesse) over for some comida. I was stressing a little bit b/c I had so much stuff to get taken care of before I left but dinner was a success. I crossed into some unfamilier territory and made a sun-dried tomato risotto with fresh mozzerella and basil. It was pretty outstanding. Charlie and Jesse were impressed with my culinary whit. I figured out how to cook the risotto from an online recipe but I adapted it to my liking. I will share it with you shortly. For greens, I made a nice summer mixed green salad with fresh peaches, nectarines, red bell peppers, cucumbers, gorganzola cheese, and a balsamic vineagrette. It was super tasty too. Great balance of flavors. Next time i would add some toasted crushed walnuts which would just send it into uber awesome state. For desert I had planned to make crepes with fresh fruit, but ran behind scheduled. So we improvised and created a Make Your Own Crepe stand in my kitchen. Needless to say it was a little competitive. But tasty.

Well, I will leave you on that note. Look forward to my recipe postings in the next few days. I will also be posting stage reports so you can see what is going on.

You can also check out the race website at http://www.cascade-classic.org I am in the Cat 3 race so look for me.

Chow,
Matthew

New Flavor

Yes, your eyes are deceiving you, I have decided to give a new look to Bomb This Hill. Think of it as a new chapter in your journey through my thoughts. Aren't you lucky?

Today marks Day 2 of no riding per my coach's prescription. If all goes well, I will be released from therapy on Tuesday morning. I had a minor lapse yesterday by riding my bike to meet my good friend Christina for brunch in Russian Hill, but I promise that I tried as hard as I could to coast as much as possible. The ride was more of a convenience factor b/c I despise driving in the city and public transport wasn't ideal. My friends think my riding is kind of a dangerous obsession. Perhaps....

Since returning, I have been on a huge fresh vegetable and fruit diet. Dinners have consisted of fresh spinach salads with chickpeas(protein), red peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and tangerines with a soy vinagrette. Its been pretty tasty if I might add. Also I made a new curried couscous dish. Super easy and tasty. See the recipe below.

The fog has cleared today and is shaping up to be a nice day. Since I don't have cable I followed Le Tour via Velonews live text coverage. I turned on the tele later while sipping some coffee and the tv announcer mentioned George Hincapie will be starting stage one as 3rd on GC so we will see how the stage finishes. The station, KRON4, out of SF, failed to realized that the stage ended by 8am pst and the report was made at 8:50pst. Pitiful coverage of the biggest bicycle race in the world. However, they did show a video spotlight on the Carerra de San Rafeal criterium from last night, but it doesn't help them redeem for their SNAFU of Le Tour....::::stepping off of soapbox:::

Cheers,
Matthew

Curry Couscous
1 cup of dried couscous
2 tbs of curry powder
1 tbs of cumin powder
1 tbs of tumeric powder
1 small diced yellow onion
2 cloves of diced garlic
1/2 cup of diced red peppers
1/2 cup of fresh broccoli
1 cup of cooked chickpeas
1/3 cup of fresh basil(diced)
2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Steps:
Bring 1.5 cups of water to boil. Dump dried couscous with curry, cumin, and tumeric. Turn off heat, stir couscous and then cover for 5 min. If water remains, turn heat on low and continue to stir until water is gone. While couscous is cooking, heat 1 tbs of ev olive oil and saute onions for 3 minutes then add garlic, peppers, broccoli. Throw in a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir. Once couscous is done, add couscous to to saute pan. Add chickpeas, basil and 1 tbs of ev olive oil. Stir ingredients together. Cook for an additional 5 min over low-med heat. Now serve. Enough for 4 people. For additional spice, add red pepper flakes to your liking.

Enjoy!

Belgium-France Photos

Here are some photos to wet your pallet...

Its a pretty techy Google Picasa Photogallery

Back to reality....ohh there goes gravity...ohh there goes gravity

Well, its been 3 days since returning. I slept to a reasonable time this morning, 6:15am better then the previous few days. Legs still feel like junk though. After my race on Sunday, I could only focus on everything that didn't include proper recovery. Traversing the French rail network, immigration lines, and 11hrs of flying with 9 hours of sleep over two days after racing 174km added to the malay. Since returning, I rode the Paradise Loop(~3hrs) on Wed and I did 3 hrs today. All super easy but the legs still haven't recovered so I am going to take the next few days off and let the body readjust. Next week I am doing the Cascade Classic stage race in Bend, OR and want to do well. Should be a good race with the road course throwing in some demanding climbs. My biggest concern is the TT. I don't have a TT bike but I am going to borrow some TT bars from a teammate. The next bike I get will have to be a TT bike. I think I have a good disposition for TT'ng but trying to compete with the top guys who are all tt'd out makes it difficult with my road setup. Nevertheless, I will still drop the hammer and kill myself on the ride.

My adjustment back to my life here has been good. When I first got back, it was very strange. I had never been out of the country for more than 12 days so being gone for over 5 weeks definitely was a little shock. I had a Peet's Coffee yesterday which tasted pretty good, but I do prefer the euro coffee much more now. But we all have crosses to bear and not having access to euro coffee is one of mine =) I have been on a binge of fresh fruit and vegetables though. I made a excellent tasting curry couscous last night with fresh broccoli, red bell peppers, onions, and cucumbers. It hit the spot last night and for lunch today. Nectarines and yellow peaches are full swing right now, and I must say I have done quite well in taking advantage of these opportune times.

I am working on a few new recipes. So Bomb This Hill will soon have several online recipes for your culinary enjoyment.

Cheers,
Matthew

Pic of the Day...

Here is the problem when the UK Ministry of Health and Ministry of Economics sit next to each other at the same table....

Early Morning Mayhem

This entry is in segments of location. I will break the segments down to you so you can rest assured that you are getting the full experience of Bomb this Hill.

Live from Brussels Airport:

Since my trip started, I have gone without an alarm clock. Not the brightest of ideas I guess, but I always said I liked a challenge. We were a little late this morning so Gregg offered to drive me straight to Brussels Airport this morning. I was glad that I had everything packed up nicely before I finally went to bed at 1130pm. This is my 2nd day of travelling and I have had approximately 8 hours of sleep. I hope to catch some zzzsss on my flight here in a few to the UK. Then its a few hours of layover and doing my best to not spend any money on overpriced airport spread. I did buy a koffie this morning but I am trying to unload these euro coins I still have, and I want to have one last bit of sweetness hit the tongue before going back to drip stuff.

I packed my bike bag up pretty good and still had 3kilos to negotiate with at check-in. Being the pro traveller, I have always managed to get inside the weight limit and it helps to be the minimalist that my friends and family know. Unfortunately, I created a bit of SNAFU for myself by not including my kryptonite bike lock in my bike bag. It was my effort to save weight. Well, it cost me. Now I don't have a bike lock. Apparently, the Belgian airport authorities are as brutal as the American TSA. I did get through with a large thing of toothpaste, so I stuck it too them! You have to appreciate and remember the little battles in life. So now I get to go and buy a new lock when I arrive back in SF. Its probably a good thing b/c the lock I did have was one of the older kryptonites which can easily be picked with a ballpoint pen. Maybe I will go with something lighter too, or perhaps go with the Fa Get A Bout It chain lock from kryptonite. Ohh the fun choices I have in store for myself!

Now my trip is approaching its conclusion. It seems so long ago now that I was Leaving on a a jet plane, not knowing when I'll be home again...Yes, I digressed into a little improptu song reciting but would I do anything less? I kind of have this disconnect from the US right now. Sure, I have done my best to keep abreast of news and communicating but the idea of everyday life in the US seems kind of a distant memory. It will be good to get back, but its always quite sad to bring an end to this euro velo adventure. But as you know, eventually all good things must come to an end, or do they?

Not speaking either Francais or Flemish, I have had the privilege of going through most days not understanding what the hell is going on around me. My reading of Francais and Flemish has improved greatly, and I could read a menu now and tell you most things as well as navigation. Essentially the two criteria for survival here on the continent. Apart from that, I just hear noises from people's mouth then nod or go into the "NO FRANCAIS, NO FRANCAIS!!" response. I hate being uneducated and not being able to speak. I plan on starting some Francais lessons when I get back to SF. Francais is a beautiful language, and is pretty much spoken everywhere so it will be a good arrow in my quiver of skills; on the same level as knumbchuck skills, bow-hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls like guys who have good skills...primary motivation =) With all my time during the day not being able to communicate with anyone, it gave me a lot of time to think about things. Often I thought about my usual stuff, like solving world hunger, creating a time machine, and how great its going to be for my next cuilnary treat whereitbe dinner, breakfast, or lunch. You know...standard mind ramblings.

So the #2 question in my exit interview, what was the most memorable experience here?

Well Bob, its difficult to put a price tag on that answer. But I will give it a shot. Prior impressions of Europe and what bike racing would be like were completely off base. I don't think it was an experience that was most memorable, but more the incredible sincerity and generosity of the people I met in my euro racing skit.(tbc)

Live from the inside of the British Airways Airbus A319 in row 16, seat F(window).

The generosity of the people has been the most surprising and enjoyable part of the entire experience. When I arrived over 5 weeks ago, I had not the slightest clue of Belgian culture. At the airport, a guy about my age started chatting with me in English and was happy I was visiting his country and riding my bike. When my living situation in Westmeerbeek was at its top diceness, Gregg and Holly Germer stepped up huge and offered a room in their new house and even picked me up from the Gent-St Pieters train stop. After completing several races, I met this wonderful Belgian couple at Bevelgem kermesee. Having a terrible ride and not feeling good they provided a nice chair and a coke for me. It was a real pleasure chatting with them throughout the afternoon. The wife emailed me a few days later, so it will be nice to keep in touch. Then my travels and riding took me to the Rhone-Alps in Francais. A great french guy allowed me to stay at his house while I was in Grenoble for a few days which was a lot of fun b/c I was able to experience living in Grenoble as a local, atleast for a few days. A nice deutche expat in Grenoble gave me a ride to my first cyclosportiv in La Mure. At the La Mure, the nice women at registration help my bag for me while i raced. Upon my finish, they greeted me and a scottish woman helped me out finding a ride back to Grenoble and they properly keep pushing food and drink at me to make sure I was alright. The french riders were not getting 10% of the attention I was, so I felt pretty pro at that point, and I didn't even have the 1 on my jersey(typically, the leader of a team carries the number 1 bib number, examples, 1, 10, etc). It was a long day at the La Mure but the people I met were amazing. The race director and team director of GMC38 team gave me a ride back to Grenoble which is about 40k away so that was huge. Also at the La Mure, I met a wonderful British couple, Helyn & Guy, the purveyors of King of the Mountains hotel in Le Rivier d' Ornon. They chatted with me at the La Mure then invited me to tea which turned into feeding my hungry body after a training ride to their hotel. I later saw them both at the

From 7000m above the Norde Sea after just finishing my British Airways ham&brioche sandwich which hit the spot after not having anything else to eat this morning.

Vaujany cyclosportiv. Helyn was driving the van and cheering every rider that passed and I saw Guy at the finish and the start with his two mates. Guy had a good ride but he was glad to be finished. At my hotel in Les Oirgens up the rivier from Bourg d'Oisons I met this nice dutch gentleman who I dined with each day. He was incredible nice and has offered to let me stay at his house if I ever visit Nederland. The pizzeria owner who let me borrow his corkscrew was a lifesaver...lol. And lastly all the friends I created along with way beginning with the British and Scottish riders, Andrew and Daniel in Westmeerbeek, Rico(Kiwi), Alex Coutts(flatmate in Belgium), Kim(canadian friend of Holly & Gregg), my Australian friends, and the lone americans in Bourg d'Oisons Diana and her mother. And of course all odd belgian guy who took my picture at my 2nd kermesse and always seemed to show his face at other races and giving me the nod of support. I am of course forgetting people, but so I give a big thanks to all the crazy belgians on the kermesse circuit who made me stronger by driving the pace hard and yelling random flemish at me. And the race directors who always offered to announce the race instructions in English at the start and giving me a coke when I finished.

So now, the #1 question on everyone's mind...Will he be going back, or will he be coming back to the US?

Well Bob, thats another great question. Yes, I will be coming back to Europe and trying my hand at racing and riding again here. The addiction of the euro lifestyle has hit me. Though I have missed certain things in the US, I will surely miss a lot on the continent. My trip was great start for me and provided an incredible amount of learning(tbc)

Back to this tale of euro racing...live from London Heathrow Terminal 3. Upon arrival in Heathrow, I was greeted to lines of people at immigration, lines of people at train, lines of people at Virgin Atlantic bag drop, and lines of people at security. The only part I didn't have to wait in was the baggage claim for my velo. It was promptly waiting for me. Which makes sense b/c I immigration took well over an hour. You know me, mister sketchy. Actually, the brits put 3 people in the EU section which sees about 5% as many people than the other section, or "second class" section as I was made to feel. 3 officials chatting around doing nothing while there are hundreds of people waiting in line. But I made it to the duty free/food section safely and although tempted only went with a £2 grande cappuccino. It felt great to order a coffee that could be consumed in more than 2 sips. Ahh,...

Now back to the legendary tales...

Belgium was a great racing scene for all-out racing. I definitely picked up skills on riding in a tight group, riding on cobbles, dirt, and just absolute crap, sprinting, sprinting out of corners, drafting, and pushing riders, being pushed, yelling american slang, taking flemish yelling, using international hand signals to communicate, signing in for races at smokey bars with good inhalation then racing, riding 60km home after racing for 110km, and a variety of other skills.

I preferred riding in the Alps though. The beauty and the challenge of the cols will forever be remembered. I definitely reached a level of pain that I have yet to experience anywhere else and digging deeper and riding through complete exhaustion to the summit of the cols despite the wind, rain, snow, and just complete vacancy for endless kilometers. My descending greatly improved and my climbing has gone up a whole new level. The riding also took me across the cols that made many a great champions.

Will I go back...absolutely, and I am already planning my next euro racing season. I would like to pursue a French club in southern france/alps region. It would allow me to do the bigger european club races and continue on racing the cyclosportivs and just experience the joy of riding in the Europe again...

My mind now wanders into the surrealness that my trip is nearly over. I just have a hella(norcal) long plane flight across the pond before reality comes back. It will be good to be back and see everyone but at the same time, I felt like I had just gained some ground in Europe. Riding a bicycle in Europe, whether racing, touring, or for pleasure is incredibly beautiful and really the only way to experience it all. So I encourage anyone if they have the opportunity to seize it b/c the you are approaching your finale, its the experiences you will remember and be thankful and the opportunities not seized that you will regret. So when you wonder whether you should do something, its sometimes better to regret what you did, than regretting never attempting.(you can chalk that one on your list of Words of Wisdom by Matthew)

Au Revoir, Tot Ziens, Ciao,

Matthew

PS, I will continue to keep the blog going b/c its fun and its techy so keep on watching for the updates.

La Grande Finale de Francais

So today, I am heading back to where it all began, Belgium. France has been an amazing time. Its very sad to leave this beautiful country, and I will surely miss the people I have met in my short 11 days that I have been here. The riding has been excellent which is exactly what I needed after some real character testing on the cobbles of Belgium. My experience of kermesse racing can pretty much be summed up in just a few words, "no 2.5hrs of riding in the US can compare." Until you have done it, its hard to fully realize all that I have been mentioning in my writing. Its just completely different, from not knowing what teams are "good," which riders to follow, what the hell the announcer is saying, what the hell the riders around you are yelling about, and of course the most beat-up golf cart path roads to ride on. Its good that I did it because it has certainly added to my repertoire as a well-rounded rider which is what I want to be. Too many people what to feel they are specialist. Perhaps you can call yourself a specialist when you are making a ProTour salary but until you reach that point, you should be trying as many different types of racing and training in a variety of conditions to make yourself as rounded as possible. The truth of the matter is, specialists don't win the greatest of races and their successes are limited.

Now that I am off my soapbox, I could definitely tell how much better my body responded to the racing and riding in France. I know that the intensity of the Belgian cobbles certainly played a key roll in my ability to withstand higher intensities for longer periods that I could prior. Effectively, my pain tolerance went leaps forward. I have also seen my flat all-out power output increase as well, which is something I have always struggled with as a rider. Not to mention my awareness in the peloton and just the style of riding, ie everything is always fast. Case in point, my descending skills were a little weak when I first arrived in France which I attribute to not descending for over a month, but my bike handling in the kermesses did improve. After a few descents in the La Mure cyclosportiv, I could immediately see an increase in my ability to choose faster lines, brake less, and carry far more speed that I ever did in CA. The most notable change was jumping out of every switchback and jamming it as hard as i could to get back to speed. I occasionally did before leaving for Belgium, but now its just instinct.

During yesterday's 174km Vaujany cyclosportiv with 3800m of vertical, we went through some wicked fast descents. At the top of every col, the race directors would post a sign that said, "decente dangeroux," which translates to me as "awesome, we have a fast, technical descent." The most enjoyable descent was the Col de Ornon. At some parts of the descent there is just a 1.5ft barrier wall with a good 400ft straight dropoff. Then you throw in lots of chicanes, off-camber switchbacks on 10% grade and autos on the road, as well as many french and dutch cyclists, it makes for a hairraising experience for most but a rush for me. Yes mom, I always wear my helmet and I only push it to like 95% completely dangerous...leaving that 5% range of error =)

I ended up riding the entire route except for the last climb with the Brit, Allistair. He complimented me on my descending skills and noted that other riders where scared at the speed I was taking. YES, success!

The race itself was really good. I am pretty interested in seeing the SRM data from the ride b/c I was putting out some sick wattages on the climbs and on the flats throughout the entire ride. Only until the last 5km climb of 8-10% did I really hit the wall, but its probably a combination of drilling it at 40-45k/h on the flats for the 20km before the climb and the lack of proper food while riding(more on that later..) The race started out really funny and chaotic. I say race but it was just a Cyclosportiv but its never just a casual ride. Over 2000 riders competed. I was in the 2nd group to leave. We all wore timing chips so its not a complete non-competitive event. There were about a 100 riders in my group. It felt like the world championships for the first 15km which was basically all a slight descent to the first climb. Guys were attacking and jockying for position. Obviously, a little too much ego going into the event when 3800m and 160km more of riding exist. I played it cool, like a pro, and just let these guys beat themselves to death while I tucked really low and just cruised by in my super-aero descending mode. One guy pulled over to the side and was gasping for breath. Not a good sign for the rest of the day. When we hit the first climb it was time to have fun. I always seemed to start in the back of the climb then just roll up the climb in a pretty good tempo and just watch the people ride backwards with agony in their faces. One rider in a full Colnago kit and bike was on my wheel for about 8km of the 18km climb. He was trying his hardest to hold on but the breathing noises he made were a good indication that he was going to blow and he did, big time. Now we have all been there, and I although I enjoyed just dropping everybody on the climbs with a smile on my face and polite, "bonjour!" as I rode by, I know the suffering they are going through b/c I have gone through it and still do, for instance my climb up the Galibier last Wed. Marco Pantani, a great italian climber, told his parents after they questioned him as a kid why he is always at the back of the climb at the start, and his responded, "i enjoy watching people suffer as I ride by them." Now thats an incredibly sick philosophy, but its really funny. Before I started the cyclosportiv, I told the Brits that I was just treating it as a good training ride and wasn't going to go from the gun. I did my best to not treat it as a race and strictly make it a hard training ride by jamming up the climbs and just testing my legs. Allistair complained a little bit at the pace I was setting so that made me a little happy.

During one part of the ride, there were 5 of us in a group, and I am pulling this guys for several kms at 50k/h and these three knuckleheads attack me as I elbow them to pull around. Geez! I pull you along at 50k/h, far faster than you can ride then you attack me and throw off the paceline. Unbelievable! They would suffer later on. We stopped at most of the food and water stops which allowed all the "racers" to pass us, but by midway up the climb, they would be riding backwards as I politely rode by and said, "bonjour!" with my wide grinned mouth. I think some people must have been totally devastated b/c we passed them back like 3-4 times over the ride.

Now to the food situation. We woke up just before 6am with our "race" to start at 7:15. I ate two bowls of muesli with milk and one with yogurt. I knew I had to pack some calories but it proved to be disasterous for the first 3hours of the ride. Basically, I felt I wanted to vomit for the first 3 hours. Now most persons of reasonable sanity would say, "Maybe I should stop what I am doing." I decided to suffer through it. It would be a proper training ride if I didn't punish my body, and I paid 38Euro for my entry which was the primary condition for riding while I wanted to hurl. With my 38Euro, I got a bag of goodies that included arm warmers, meal ticket, and a french velo magazine. Since our ride left, and not wanting to lose my french cycling magazine or my cheap arm warmers, i decided to carry the bag with was probably 2kg with all the junk in it for the first 80km. Finally I handed it off at the summit of the Col de Ornon to Helyn from King of the Mountains. I thought I would see her later at the meal b/c her husband, Guy, was riding the vent as well. Unfortunately, I didn't find her and I am w/o my arm warmers and velo mag which I can't really understand. I guess its just part of the sacrafices I make to save a few grams on the bike, some might think I was being a weight weeny for chucking the bag to save a little bit. I'm okay with that.

At the finish, they had typically french faire: julliened carrots, brie, baguettes, a small bit of pasta, and some mushroom risotto. I opted for like 4 cups of coke when I finished b/c my stomach was not really into it. during the ride, I ate 2 cereal bars, some dried apricots, dried pineapples and small piece of baguette. Not very intelligent for a 174km race. But the feeling of vomiting in the French countryside peaked its head out throughout the entire ride. While sitting at our table, a dutch rider sat with us who had tried holding onto us on the descent of the Col de Saronne. He was tall guy like myself. He had a his full Francaise des Jeux kit. Most dutch go with the Rabobank kit but he said he preferred the white kit. I guess its logical to wear white while riding in Holland. It doesn't rain there right? Ever? He started talking to me, and complimented me on my riding. He said, "I looked so smooth going up the climbs and its just looked too easy for me." I told him I do train a lot but its still hurts, but I have learned to tolerate it better. I gave him some advice on improving his climbing. Basically, to be a good climber, you need to have a high tolerance for pain, or atleast tolerate it for more than 15-20min and if you are doing Alpine cols, 30-45min or more. I suggested that he try to start doing 15min intervals at the highest heartrate/power level he can hold then repeat it after a 15min break. Slowly working his way up to 30min max intervals. And try to do it once a week. He was very appreciative of the advice. Hopefully it will work for him. But I felt like a million dollars when he commented on how smooth I looked while climbing. Good motivation and sign my fitness has gained.

I finished the "race" in 68th overall with a time of 6:57:50 for the 174km course. I estimate I stopped for about 20min for food and water. I was the top American finisher! I don't know that statistics of the other american riders but I am sure they composed of atleast 30% of the field....riiigggghhhtttt. But I achieved my "Gold Diploma" for my ride. The winners were just below 6 hours.

After the race, I went back to Bourg d'Oisons and went to a pizzeria with Diana after taking in a free drink from the BO tourist office. Some sort of liquor drink. As I mentioned dinner was going to be a celebration and a little cutting loose after my many weeks of hard training. For me that means, drinking some wine and ordering desert at dinner....I know hold your breath for the excitement. The previous bottle of French wine I bought was from Bordeaux which has good wines but their inexpensive ones are no dice according to a french teacher Diana use to have. She said that Cote de Rhone has very good inexpensive wines. So went searching at the Casino for a bottle. Open alcohol laws don't typically apply in france so we sat on a concrete step and had a plastic cup of the goodness. Neither of us had a corkscrew so using hand signals and my charm I got a pizzeria owner to let me borrow his corkscrew. He happily obliged. Despite knowing very, very little French I managed pretty well during my trip. We then went to a pizzeria and each ordered pizza. Pizzas here, as I assume they are similar in Italy are very thin crust and are ideal for one person, not like the american version, or the Chicago style which could solve world hunger. As part of my letting loose and trying to take in the full french culture, I ordered a crepe chocolat, nutella which is a crepe with nutella in the inside. It was pretty tasty and allowed me to check it off of things to see, do and eat while on my trip. And with still quite a bit of wine left, the opportunity to "drink wine on park bench at night" presented itself so we drank the rest of the bottle on French park bench. It was total class and everything that you read about in all the great american impressions and stories of france. Finally, I was living those stories. It was true class and the true "french experience." i brought my bike to Bourg d'Oisons to ride back after meeting up with Diana. Unfortunately her hotel locked my bike up in their bike storage. So the rest of the story and the whipped cream on the French experience sundae.

It was midnight, raining, and I had 10km to my hotel. Doing that math and my detailed history of long walks in Chicago as anyone who knows me and my, "its just a few more blocks" walks, I estimated it would take me about 1.5-1.75 hours. So I set off in the rain...Being a ski village in the winter time, and being Europe you routinely see people asking for rides. You could call these people "hitchhikers." As I have said earlier, I wanted to entire French experience. So after watching these "hitchhikers" techniques in previous days I gave it wurl. After many failed attempts, by km 5 my persistence amidst the adversity and previous failures I found success. A guy pulled over in a van and I was hitching my first ride in Europe. The experience left me breathless for the entire 1km of my experience as the road split and the driver was going the opposite way. I tried not to smile too much during the "hitchhiking" but it was difficult b/c I knew I had completed another French experience. I got out after the experience feeling so money then I had to walk 4.5km uphill. Arrival: 1:36am at hotel w/o bike.

I was hoping to meet Diana and her mother for an authentic "French breakfast" at 7:30 this morning but the hotel owners weren't very keen on giving me a quick lift to town. It was a little stressful b/c the bus left at 8:34am and I had to get my bike from her hotel and it was 8:10 when we left my hotel. Nevertheless, I made it b/c I am writing to you while going 300km/h on the TGV to Paris. The weather in Grenoble was pretty bad this morning with heavy rain. Not very enjoyable for riding but it was a bittersweet experience. I have really enjoyed the riding the Alps and sharing laughs with Diana. But the french experience felt pretty complete b/c I I took so much in and met a really great girl while out riding. There is still more I would like to do, but thats just extra motivation for me to plan my next adventure. Now its time to eat my cheese baguette and enjoy 300km/h of TGV engineering....

Au Revoir,
Matthew