Freirtag...ie May Day

So while all of you in the US and across most of the developed world, we in Germany are off today from the harsh demands of Volkschule and work. Today is the day to stick it to the man and make hobby. For me, it means a little bit more loungy of a breakfast and some bike racing in the nachmittag(afternoon). Should be a good time.

We are fogged in here in Metro Backnang but a 15:30 race start should provide some nice weather for us. The race is bound to be tough with a 950m circuit with 80 laps. It's an A/B/C race so the heavy hitters will come out swinging. The legs have shown promise this week so I'm thinking a good experience for myself. After we do battle, the plan is to go to Frülingsfest(springfest) in Bad Cannstatt. It's basically an Oktoberfest for the spring. Larger than can be imagined biergarten with carnival rides and carnifolk. It won't get too crazy because some are racing the Deutsche Meisterschaft for Ba-Wü tomorrow. It's the time trial championships for Baden-Würtenburg. As for myself, I'm focusing on Sunday's race in Geilingen. Its the second LBS Cup race. So tomorrow will be some short efforts to just keep the system open. It will be another hard race with KT(continental profi teams) and being an LBS A/B/C race. There is a 2km climb in the 8km circuit. Not super steep, so I think it will be good for me.

Last night was Donnerstag Abend, which means Gretel created Schwäbian Culinary Delight for us. Since Sandra is on holiday and Marc was teaching spin class, it was just the two of us. Through my volkschule learning and general deutsch development, we actually made conversation which was very nice. I think we both understand the difficulty because she speaks Schwäbish which is a dialect of German. The sounds and words are a little different than Hochdeutsch which I am learning in school. It didn't stop us though. She created a delicious fleish spätzle mit gemuse (spatzle with meat and vegetables). It was mighty tasty and provided the needed nourishment before the weekend's battles. Afterwards, Heinz and Karin came over and we enjoyed some Eiswein(ice wine) for nachtisch(desert). Just a tiny bit but it was very tasty.

I was thinking later if I ever write a cooking book, it would titled something to the effect of "Donnerstag Essen" (Thursday Eating) or "Donnerstag mit Gretel" or "Donnerstag Abends." All cookbook authors seem to make a title out of something that happened in their cooking career or life. Something that inspired them about food or opened new doors into food for them. I'm not publishing just yet but perhaps one day I'll write a cookbook. But first I need to get some formal training.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Snapped...

After a buildup of frustration over how the students in Volkschule act in class, today I snapped. I couldn't take it any longer. The constant interruption by other students when I was trying to answer the question and the lack of respect in allowing me to figure out the correct words in response to the question directed at me all came full center today. Part of it was today being just an off day for me in understanding German. As I have said before, some days are awesome, other days are like, "umm, I just got here and Ich spreche kein Deutsch." oder "Mein Deutsch ist schiss." Regardless, I was just having one of those brain vacation days. Unfortunately it came on Wednesday which has the best teacher.

So now to the story of the day...The lehrenin(teacher) called upon me and ask me a question like she did for everyone else. I struggled to grasp what she was saying. I began my feebled attempt at answering but it wasn't a few words in that other people were shouting out. I stopped, and gave the eye to the teacher. An eye that says, "i'm not going to try to speak above these characters. Either you tell them to shut their pie hole or I don't answer." So next question comes. I struggle with my start and other people begin answering. It's if they need that constant feeling of success and achievement. Why can't they just let me learn too and learn to speak only in their head. At this point, my frustration threshold at burned all its matches. I stopped what I was doing and raised my hands and pointed around and asked in my best deutsch, "do you want me to speak or the class?" She sensed my frustration. She said, "Matthew," which is suppose to signify, "only matthew speaks now." Unfortunately it didn't translate too well to the class. Everyone kind of got a little frightened I think. "Whoa the American is losing it."

The next occurance came when I was suppose to answer questions from a dialogue with the Columbian woman next to me. I really had no idea what this particular exercise was about. Was she, The Columbian, suppose to make up questions based upon the dialogue and I was to answer? I was completely lost. So she procedes, and I'm lost still, and I struggle. The voices start, and I lose it again. I look at the teacher and wave my hands as if they are pointed around at the class and give a look of, "when everyone shuts their pie hole, I'll do my best to answer the question." I was completely over the exercise before it even started. The last question was "what would I like to drink at the cafe." I said, "jack daniels." Enough said.

The Columbian woman apologized later. I don't want or need it, I just want everyone to give the respect of quietness when someone else has the floor. Maybe I should institute the ball standard. Who ever has the ball, gets to speak. It would be a pioneering move at Volkschule. Upon further study with meine awesome Freudin it was determined that its probably cultural differences. For me, respect is binary. You either do or don't.

Got dumped on my training session today. Good legs though but froze my butt off in the last hour. I was the koch(cook) tonight. I made a pretty nice tomato/mushroom sauce for the fleisch tonight. It was pretty tasty.

Chow,
Matthew

Ich Lerne Deutsch...

Another day in Esslingen at the Volkschule. Scheduled race day from training. The weather cooperated with me an was cloudy and off and on rain drizzle all day. That helps keep the desire to go out and ride down =)

I'm looking forward to class tomorrow because we have Elizabeth as our lehrenen(teacher). I think she is much more engaging than Juliane. I came to the realization today after class that I am basically paying to force myself to study. I guess we all need some way to motivate us. My earlier thoughts and ideas that I would study each day, well those never quite transpired from thoughts into actions. But atleast I thought about it, right? The class is helpful in some ways, especially with vocabulary. I'm learning some new words as well as verb conjugation which is important to being able to express thoughts that are not only singlular and in the present. I'm learning to talk in the plural and in the past. Pretty good stuff. Soon, I'll be breaking out some past perfect tense and throwing down some impertive. But I can't let myself get too far ahead of the moment. The article genders of nouns doesn't seem to have any real pattern. And it changes from m->f when going from singular to plural. Crazy stuff, crazy stuff.

I have told everyone that the class is slow but its good for me. It forces me to study and learn. Albeit, pioneering through the latter chapters while the class is still in the beginning. Heute Ich gespreche mit meine freundin und Ich sie gesage "Ich mache Buch Zwei für schule." It made for a good laugh. Not sure if my word placement is completely correct, but you will have to translate yourself to figure it out. I'll just say that its me being an overachiever. For me, I'm paying for the course and I am there out of desire to learn. The majority of the others are there because the State forces them to attend and I don't think they have to pay either. Money and desire can do a lot I guess.

So tomorrow, another day at Volkschule. Friday we have off because it is Erster Mai(1st of May) or Tag de Arbeit(Labor Day) which is oxymorontic b/c no one works on this day, May 1. All shops are closed, similar to Sontag. So one bike races on this day =) Tomorrow is also the start of the best race in America, The Tour of the Gila. TofGila is in NM and is a killer 5day race at altitude with sick racing and difficult conditions. They also serve up delicious Green Chili Burritos. Astana is sending their NA trifecta of LA, LL, and CH disguised in non-pro team clothing b/c of some lame UCI ruling. Should make for some insane racing in the Pro/1 field as FL will be there with his crew.

Chow,
Claw

Bike Racing and Little Tractor Riding

Nothing completes a full day in Germany like Muesli in the morning, bike racing in the afternoon, and a little tractor riding on the road to wind down the day. Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. I often go to bed looking forward to breakfast. I don't know what it is but its just comfortable eating. Sweet, Savory, Salty, Spicy...its all good. Especially because you can enjoy it with the world's most delicious surprise from a tree, Coffee. I'm also a morning person. Quiet mornings with good breakfast and coffee are the best. Especially if you have an outdoor deck to enjoy it. I saw quite a few German families in Haßloch taking on a mid-morning breakfast spread while I was preparing for battle. I remained focused on what was to be my quest for the day.

At sign in, I was rider #125 out of 137. Everyone always asks if racing is harder or as hard in the US. After doing my short stint in Belgium in '07 and being here for 2009, I must say that racing is much harder here. Its not the speed, its the sizes of the fields, the aggressive riding, and the tough parcours that make racing in Europe the aura that it is. The smoking bars for sign-in in Belgium to the kaffee und kuchen and wurst setups in family garages at the German races. Its all part of the atmosphere that makes racing here that much bigger. The course in Haßloch yesterday was a short 900m with 4 turns over nicely paved German city roads albeit narrow ones. I got in a brief warmup but had to cut things short for team things. I also wanted to make sure that I got a front row start. I knew the race was going to blow up real fast and if you weren't near the front, it would be an über struggle to get going with the field size over the short course. Consequently, my brief warmup and 15min of standing guard and elbowing my position on the start line didn't do too much to get the legs ready for the onslaught of sprinting. The first 15min were the hardest for me. Not because of the pace but b/c my legs were just not use to the high-power jumps every 25sec interspersed with jockeying for wheels and elbow throwing. One must be skilled in the full-body arts of elbows out and protecting ones rightful spot in the peloton.

I kept myself in the top10-25 for most of the race. I did throw in an attack to try to bridge up to the break after my teammates were all giving it a go. I got a small gap but they weren't going to give me to much of a leash. Ohh well, one must try I guess. It was a good sign for me as I'm beginning to get more acquainted with the racing and riding more aggressively like I know I can do. Soon enough it will all come together. This Friday, I am racing another kriterium in Öschellbron then an A/B/C LBS Cup race on Sunday in Geislingen. Skipping the Deautschemiesterschaf TT championships for Bad-Wür this Saturday.

After my dusche(shower) at the race site, yep they have shower facilites at nearly all the races. I rolled back to Backnang with teammate Sebastian Latz. It was a much more mellow ride after the "full-autobahn" experience on the way to. The part I said about autobahn speeds on my München post...well its not true, the autobahn is true in every sense of the word that is fed to us in American culture. And that is all I'm saying about that. =)

Later that afternoon, I rode with Heinz to Allmersbach to see Heinz(Petra's father) and his antique tractor. There was a big tractor show in the area. I met Heinz at Alena's birthday party in March. He is another patient teacher of Deutsche like Heinz S. We ended up spotting him on the road and we both pulled off and were able to chat. And here is what we were able to chat about...A Kramer KL 12, single cylinder, 900ci engine with electric start. Originally built in 1957 and full restored in 2003.
Afterwards it was all business, Heinz still had to drive the tractor back to Backnang(7km). I rode jumpseat.

Me and Heinz #2 on the road

When we got to Heinz's barn/garage we chatted an made a "Prost"(bottoms up!) with Wasser.

Me, Heinz and Heinz S.
It was a super fantastic day. Finished it up with some Schnitzel and Salat. Another great day in Deutschland...bike racing, food, tractor riding, and good friends.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Good Sensations Again

Today was probably the best I've felt on the bike in 2 weeks. With the suspected infection last week and the exhaustion that I felt earlier this week, its nice to see things are on the up and up. 1hr and 40min this morning with a little caffé crema to finish up the ride. Just a quick tune up ride before the kriterium tomorrow in Haßlof. Its a C-klasse race. I'm eager to give it a go and finally get back to my old ways of kriterium racing, riding hard and near the front. I remember last year the exact time when things just clicked in the crit for me. I suffered from a bit of confidence in my sprinting and positioning. A talk with Shawn and Karl helped things and gave me the confidence that I had lost. I think we all suffer from low confidence from time to time. Whether it be in bike racing or in our jobs. Since I started going to schule this week, my confidence for the german language is steadily increasing. You can learn so much and improve so much, but confidence, I think is the final determinate. If you i don't think I can speak well, then i probably won't. Same with racing. Mind over body.

My class is quite interesting. Apart from the wide range of cultures, the class operations is the biggest adjustment. In the US, you raise your hand to speak. Elsewhere in the world, its jockying for supremecy like the last corner of criterium. You speak(ride) louder(faster) than the others. I find myself raising my hand when everyone else just blurts out without regard for what is being said. The class exercises are pretty straightforward I think. There is an example with exactly how you are suppose to address the remaining questions. Think fill in the blank with the word in parentheses. Where the disconnect on this occurs, I'm still in black hole of thought. You have people reading the entire thing without putting the new word in or reading the entire sentence and saying the word at the end or just saying the wrong example assigned to them. Perhaps I just need to be patient. And if you pause(1-4sec of thought) to think about how to conjugate the verb the entire class is speaking alound, some incorrect, some correct. Why can't they just keep their mouth shut when its not their turn? Differences in classroom procedures I guess throughout the world. On Friday, I was starting to read my sentence and someone else started saying it after the teacher said, "matthew, C." I paused and just looked at the teacher. She tried as hard as she could to shut the student up by telling her, "Nein! Matthew." Kind of funny. I need to learn the phrase for "please take this conversation offline." On Wed two students began on conversation on the kaffee that was going to be brought to class. keep in mind that another student was reading his example. Well the kaffee conversation escalated and eventually lead to the entire class talking about it and the teacher struggling to regain control. Lack of respect, or just culture differences?

Tonight is the big Geburgstag(birthday) for Dirk and Petra. 40Jahres! Should be a fun party.

chow,
Bearclaw

Interesting Stuff in Deutschland

Click picture to read

Photos from Waldrems

Riding strong still
Die Küchen
The Team


Me driving well on the uphill section
Leif in the break

Heinz, my über supporter and teacher
Deep into "Matthew's Own Little World"

photos by Sandra Sanwald

Volkschule and Part Deux

Here is the 2nd installment of my blogtastic writing for you.

When I was planning for my time over here, I wanted to increase my human capital in more ways than on the bike, i.e. I wanted to learn some Deutsch. Being able to converse even a little would greatly ease the stress of living in a foreign land. Most of the private language programs rack up a über unfantastic bill. I tried doing my best to study on my own but I guess I just don't have the same focus or committment like I do with training. As you can guess, I was slacking with my language learning in the formal sense. So after extensive research, I found a Volkschule(vocational school) in Esslingen which was offering a Deutsch for Integration class. This is the class that all new residents of Deutschland must take and pass before they are entitled to live here on a permanent basis. Sort of a checks/balanaces system for assuring that Germany's citizens and workers can communicate with each other on a certain level. I think its a great idea. I missed the original enrollment date but my suave personality and keen ability to overturn policy, I was able to enroll in the class after I crashed it the first day.

The class is pretty interesting. Its a mix of many nationalities: Türkish, Iranian, Iraqi, Columbian, Brazilian, American(me), Pakistani, Russian, Gambia, Cameroon, and Angola. Its basically the UN of language learning. I remain the only one in the class who is enrolled for "fun" or "human capital development." My classmates are enrolled by virtue of the man, or State regulations. I'm just in it for "shit and giggles." But I want to learn. The first two days were pretty slow as we were just learning to say our name and where we lived, and where we were from. Keep in mind, the class is entirely in Deutsch. Its not your high school foreign language class with 90% English, and 10% foreign language. I could understand most of it but some of the discussion, I tended to zone out b/c it was not about me or more likely above my rank. The woman from Gambia sits next to me. She speaks English but I find us speaking Deutsch. I tried to speak Spanish with the Columbian woman next to me, but my mind was pulling from the Deutsch dictionary, not a Spanish one. Gives me a lot of respect for people who can go between 2,3,4,5,6 languages without pause. I'm not quite there just yet.

The class yesterday and today were much better. We have been learning a lot more vocabulary and sentence structure. This is most helpful to me I think. But more importantly its increased my confidence in understanding things and ability to express my thoughts even if its below the pre-school level =) One must start somewhere. Class last for 5 weeks, or 25-3hr sessions. I'll probably be speaking perfect Deutsch at the end as I supplement my schule learning with my at home tutors, the Sanwalds.

Chow,
Matthew

Waldrems Report Part One

Because of my utmost slacking of writing, I am going to give you a twofer today because each deserves its on space in the WWW.

As I mentioned last week, I felt flat all week after Schönaich. I think battled with a small infection because I was feeling a little bit sick towards the end of the week. Everything was just lethargic and heavy. Saturday it rained which kept me indoors on the trainer. Sunday arrived, and I was keen to put in a good effort on what is being called the hardest road race of the year. I guess the attrition rate of close to 50% gives it some justification. I knew when I awoke that the day was just not mine. But you have to put those thoughts aside and ride through it. Everyone has their bad days, even the best. One sees the depth of his strength when he goes deep on the hardest of days. The course was a 2.5km circuit with good crowd support, lots of wind, and a nasty little uphill section. It was an uphill section, not a climb, but for the life of me I could never find a positive rhythm to make it up. From the "top" it was a winding golf course path to another uphill section then it was hard left and fast non-flat/non-uphill section into a nasty crosswind. The crosswind finally turned to a headwind which provided some relief but not for long as the laps remained fast and the "uphill" section seemed to be coming every few minutes. On lap 19, with teammate Leif in the winning break, another teammate attacked with a few others. I sat ready to counter if other moves decided to go. I finally made some aggressive riding. Two riders went off the left side. I used the right gutter as best I could to shelter myself from the left to right crosswind. Without really considering my chances or how I felt, I put in huge effort to cover the attacks going off the front. I guess I was contributing some team work. After controlling the move, my options remained dire. They always say that you have so many matches to burn in a race. I think I burned the whole book with that move but retrospectively, I needed to cover the move for my teammates who were riding much better. The next lap, the leash that I thought I had on the diminishing peloton began to stretch and on the uphill section, it snapped. I had nothing.

I was determined to keep my effort going and not throw in the towel. For the life of me, I can't quit. I can't pull out. I can't give in to the ruthlessness of the race. It wasn't two years ago where it all could have ended for me. For me digging deep and finding that dark place of pain is all a critical part to my development as a cyclist and most importantly as a person. Life throws so many obstacles at you. One must accept challenges and attack them head on.

As I continued to race my bike on the course, i was eventually passed by the winning break of 5 riders. Did it bother me to get passed? A little, but I kept making a go at it. Each lap passed and I was beginning to see clapping and hearing my name from people who didn't know me. The support each time I received from the team and from my adopted family, The Sanwalds, didn't go unappreciated. I definitely wasn't the happiest person. But I wasn't sad either. I was angry, frustrated, and focused. The look I had probably worried a few people who know me because it was not my normal, easy-going charm look. Maybe I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I think its just my way of dealing with things sometimes. I know I have good fitness. Sunday just was not my day. It was one of those times were I just needed to think and figure things out on m own. I guess you could say that I needed to go into "Matthew's Little Place." Psychologists would probably disagree with my practices but its how I deal. After the race, I went for a 1.5hr ride to think and do my thing. When I returned, i was better. Bike riding does that for me. Alone on my bike with only the voices in my mind to contend with i was able to digest the race. I've said before that I do my best thinking on the bike. I believe its likely do to the sensory awareness and the ability to focus.

When I got home, I was completely exhausted. But my head was clear and all was good. That night we enjoyed some delicious spaghetti bolgnese and conversation on the terrace deck. All was good.

Chow,
Bearclaw

Down But Not Out

To my faithful congregation of readers...I've been out of the writing the last few days. Lots of stuff which I will update today. Racing, in school again, and other.

Chow,
Matthew

Blueberry Pancakes and Döner Envy

Literally the largest piece of döner meat I have ever seen. It was probably close to 200lbs. What is döner meat? Here is what Wikipedia has to say. I saw one place offering the döner for €1,50 or 2,50 mit getranke(drink). The going rate seems to be around €3-3.50. Close to €6 in Zürich, I guess they have protecionist issues on döner sales.


Before the devouring of an American staple. Lighting was not very good. Couldn't get the golden brown color. Not sure if it was type of mehl(flour) or the pan but nevertheless, they were tasty.

My Half Birthday!

Big celebration of the half birthday yesterday. Actually, I had to be reminded by Kristi but nevertheless, I like to think that I made the most of such a great day in history. Being that it rained pretty much all day yesterday, my planned rest day came about at a good time. After a leisurely morning of blueberry pancake making(needed to test my recipe before producing for Sandra and Marc this morning) I ventured on down to the big city, Stuttgart. Despite the rain, the crowds were in full swing. I think kids were out of school all this week b/c of the Easter holiday. Or maybe Germany's education system has shut its doors. Kids of all ages were out and about...the punks, the emos, the gangstas, and the hipsters. In case you were wondering if the emo/hipster scene was only a US phenomena, think again. Its alive and thriving here in Deutschland. It always brings a laugh when I see these kids. I wonder how long they will play this game and what they will think when the look back in 10 years. But I digress...

So in Stuttgart I planned on finding Indian Palace to treat myself to a little Indische mittagessen. I've been craving it for a while now, and finally I found a place which I thought could satisfy my hunger. I went for the buffet which seemed to be the common theme. It was tasty but felt dissappointed. I was hoping for some saag and maybe a little bit more variety as they only had 5 items and seemed to draw blanks on how to properly keep the food supply in check. Ohh well, I did manage to lose myself in translation and pay €2,30 for a small glass of water. Here is another installment on my Guide to Making it in Europe, always preview a menu before answering any questions. Think of the menu as your attorney. I will not speak to you until I have spoken with my attorney present or seen a menu in this case. Before I actually found the Indian Palace, I went through quite an exploration of the Stadtmitte. I did find the Indian grocery market that I will certainly have to visit again. I recognized the name from the restaurants website. Perhaps they use the store as a front for funneling expensive waters to unassuming customers. Nevertheless, the store was vastly supplied with delicious spices and fresh produce of the Asian varietals. Previous to my arrival, I came upon a Sushi restaurant with mittagessen buffet. This was the first moment that my quest for Indian food soothing came into question. It could be labeled as one of the great dilemmas of the 21st century, Indian or Sushi. The sushi place scored "cool" points b/c it had a sushi conveyor belt. I knew both places would be dangerous b/c I was pretty hungry after my quest for Asian food. But I stuck to my guns and went to Indian but promised myself Sushi next time! Now you probably think that I am crazy, but these are delicate moments in one's life. Decisions can't be taken lightly.

Now its Saturday noonish and still raining. Accuweather is suspiciously saying that tomorrow we will have "Brilliant Sunshine." Hope thats the case. Our race begins at 1500 in Waldrems. Started feeling a little congested yesterday so hopefully its nothing too serious. On the VitaminC/Zinc and tea diet.

The new rankings for the Gonso Ba-Wü-Liga were just published. This is the league that we are in for the LBS Cup, numero uno goal for the team. We are atop the standings with 40points! Team Rothaus(beer maker) is in 2nd at 37points. The first race was at Schönaich and they take points from your finishing spot and score the team's top 3 finishers. So my third on the team has helped put the team in first, which I am pretty psyched about. One of my 3 main goals coming over here was to help the team so I'm well on my way. Currently, I'm 16th overall in the standings. I think a top10 is doable. Lots of unfinished business on the race course for me.

You can check it out here...


chow,
Bearclaw

Exhausted

I think the race took more out of me than I thought. Yesterday I went for 1hr 45min with teammate Sebastian Latz. Legs were saying "no bueno man" at the beginning but it got better. My metabolism has skyrocketed since the race which is probably typical but it left me feeling pretty lethargic towards the end despite a well-balanced breakfast of muesli, toast w/ nutella and banana. Even snacked on the ride. Today was still slow going in the beginning. Didn't have that punch but still managed to do my VO2 1min intervals along with a nice 3km above threshold climb. 2hr 20min today.

Tomorrow I plan on 3.5hrs with quite a bit of tempo work. Hopefully a better sleep tonight will absolve me some of this sleepiness.

Yesterday I did some strength training with Heinz. We painted his patio stones. You ask how is this strength training? Well, we were crouched down like a baseball catcher. Good static strength work.

The weather continues to stay über awesome here. 24ºC today and sunny. Tomorrow and Friday pose threatening chances of rain. Hopefully it will hold off till the afternoon. I'm going to take a rest day on Friday. Maybe 45min at most of easy spinning. I want to be fresh for the big race on Sunday in Waldrems. All the big players will be there. Its only 84km but its going to be guns blazing the entire time. Very tight circuit with wind and little golf cart path to circumnavigate. The word on the street is that this race is famous for the homemade cakes produced and sold by the sponsoring association members. Racers go as far as to "reserve" pieces of cake before they race to ensure they can atleast enjoy something in the event their race turns no bueno on them.

Yesterday was my brother Michael's birthday. The big 27. He is improving his life by getting married in June lol. Hopefully he will read this b/c I'm suspecting that he has been lame about reading my blog since he rarely posts any comments.

Not much else to report so I will benefit you with some photos of the area from my ride on Sunday. It was a pretty quiet Sunday. Mainly just motorbike riders and a few other cyclists.

89th Officially, 3rd on Team, 204starters

"GONSO" Ba-Wü-Liga 2009
35. Rund um Schönaich
Elite A-/B-/C 13. April 2009
Platz Nr Name Vorname Verein UCI-Code MRT_ID Zeit
1 283Hoffmann Erik RSV Stuttgart-Vaihingen GER19810822 2:48:47
2 103Hofbauer Rolf Merida Road Team GER 19861202 623
3 238Riedl Tobias Team Erdgas Schwaben GER19851002 731
4 284Genze Hannes Multivan Merida Biking Team GER19811116
5 211Krauß Sven RSV Öschelbronn Ger19830106 321
6 6Lionel Varé GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19850209 179 2:49:45
7 150Jonathan Obländer
Radsport Rhein-Neckar/ MLP-
Radteam GER19880219 520
8 259Schwerdt Christoph VFR Herpersdorf GER 19840810 648
9 119Prieto Pascal AC 1892 Weinheim GER19901214 305
10 217Greger
Steffen
Hannes RVA Empfingen GER19821018 837
11 11Stefan Nägelin GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19800202 178
12 239Riess Christian Team Erdgas Schwaben GER19890430 732
13 164Kindle Christoph RG RACING-STUDENTS GER19831113 651
14 16Wiele Mathias Team Isaac Torgau e.V. GER19860520 803
15 269Marx Torsten DS Rennsport GER19760625
16 187hauschke axel RSV Bad Hersfeld GER19760504 968
17 268Heimpel David Athletik Club 1892 Weinheim GER19870107
18 247Willems Felix Team Physiodom GER 19860421 820
19 131Gollhardt Björn KED Bianchi Radteam Berlin GER19871211 937
20 241Hliza Kai Team Möbel Ehrmann GER19851118 594
21 271Weerts Pascal Athletik Club 1892 Weinheim GER19890326
22 123Wintermantel Janosch AC 1892 Weinheim GER19870208 301
23 10Simon Wyss GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19841119 180
24 20Bantel Ralf MRSC Ottenbach GER19730331 871
25 4Frutschi Patrick GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19850827 174
26 267Näf Ralph Multivan Merida Biking Team SUI19800510
27 104Link-Fritsche Timo RVA Empfingen GER19810609 836
28 174Hardter Uwe GER19770114 Rothaus-Cube
29 245Lautwein Tobias Team Pack Zu Schäfer Shop GER19860813 414
30 260Friberg Calle Team Focus-Strix SWE19810409 1024
31 85Kühn Marcus
Activity-Racing-Team TSV
Schmiden GER 19860212 562
32 5Lionel Bücheli GS RUFALEX Rollladen SUI19870410 173
33 126Rattelmüller Daniel bike sport ansbach GER19880929 450
34 18Hirsch Stephan Team Radshop Seither - SDC RLP19881019 843
35 230Lehmann Jürg Team Cycling Sports SUI19810219 185
36 282Adrion Lukas RRC Endspurt Mannheim GER19891214
37 157Blümel Matthias RC Die Schwalben München GER 19811129 161
38 121Rettner Rainer AC 1892 Weinheim GER19890519 306
39 54Conzelmann Benjamin RSV Tailfingen / Team Adicom GER19890904 751
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14.04.2009 05:14
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14.04.2009 05:14
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Kollegium der Kommissäre:
14.04.2009 05:14

Rund um Schönaich

The awesome support crew!
Leif Lampater, teammate, in the early break
The climb
Post climb
The mayhem before the climb, check out that caravan
Just before the Ziel...
Me giving it a go...I did much better climbing seated than trying to stand. Saved my legs for the top when you had to continue going full gas.

This morning was the first big race of the year and LBS Cup. 126km of Monday morning bliss. Germany is on holiday today due to Osternmontag(Easter Monday). Crowds were in full effect along with huge finish blowup banner a la pro style of the usual loud speakers centered around the course with a commentator going nonstop from his booth at the Start/Ziel(start/finish). I must say that the crowds were unreal. The course was a 9km loop with many ups and downs. At the finish, there was a 400m climb that was approaching 12%. Crowds literally lined from the top to the bottom yelling, making noise, and of course encouraging. You couldn't help but drive hard. After you crest the top it was pretty fast through the village then slight descent with cross winds before a hard left then up and down fast through a village again before going back up then down before the final push up to the finish line. It was fast and on those climbs and descents. The field was single file for 70% of the race. Afterwards, my teammates said that it was one of the hardest. Over 200 starters. All the largest teams represented in the area. I finished in the 3rd group. With 6 laps to go I was starting to cramp and by the last two laps, the quads were not too happy. On the last time up, I managed to distance myself from the group I was with and finish solo so that was good.

It was a hard race, but I know I belong here. Next time I need to be sure to take my electrolyte pills to halt the cramping. But its all a learning experience. Nächste rennen(next race) at Waldrems nächste Sontag. Its a 2.5km circuit race. Very narrow roads. Its just 8km from the house so I'm excited about that.

Yesterday was the big Ostern celebration at Casa de Sanwald. The whole crew was over for kaffee und kuchen at 1500 then afterwards we went outside for the big hunt. Alena and Tim did the hunting, but I did manage to find a little suprise for myself. I felt like a big deal. Afterwards, Karin und Heinz served up a tasty abendessen. It was Schwäbisch I believe. We had bröt mit zwei fleisch(two meats). One was stuffed with käse and the other paprika(red pepper). It was muy delicious and provided some good energy for today's battles.
The Man Himself, Heinz Sanwald
The Hunt is On!


Chow,
Matthew

Photos from Backnang

Mein Über Fantastische Angenommene Familie...THE SANWALDS!


Road delays in Deutschland

My First Biergarten

Last night, I rolled down to Schorndorf with Marc & Sandra and we met with Timur, Sebastian Latz, Anja & Oliver Kurz, and Elmar for a little traditional German good weather food and drink. The Schorndorf Stadt Biergarten was the choice rezndevous point. If you haven't been to a biergarten before, I highly recommend it. And not the lame American version of a terrace outside a bar only open during the summer. A proper biergarten must include benches, numerous food selections that you order and pickup, and of course bier on tap. I went with the 0,5L of the Kringer Original. It was tasty. For my food, I did quite a bit of deliberation and menu scouring. One must check over everything as they don't want to cheat themselves of such deliciousness. I finally chose the special for the day, Spinat Strüdel mit fetakäse. This deliciousness included a tomato und zweibel salat(tomato and onion salad). It was a German strudel twist on a mediterranean dish of spinach and feta. If you are keen on your Greecian foods, it would be most similar to a spanakopita. It was basically deliciousness and over too soon before the sensations had a chance to really begin. The biergarten also included its choice selections of a bunch of german boys getting a little hammered. They already were well into their drinking when we arrived around 7:30. I could tell b/c at that point, they had begun filling their 0,5L and 1L glasses with rot wein(red wine). This was a good sign I thought. And of course the teasing of each other and falling off the table part confirmed my observation.

After the delicious had ended, we rolled back through the center of Schorndorf. It was quite a nice city. Many old buildings with good charm. I will be back....

Today, was a recovery day as I have the first big race of the year on Monday. Monday is a holiday here in Germany. Did a very, very mellow 1hr spin. Just to keep the legs moving. I've put in some great training this week and now its just time to recover and keep things loose. Tomorrow I'll be doing my traditional pre-race day warmup of 1.5hrs with some short, intense efforts. Nothing too big, but just keep the legs use to a little pain. I don't want to tire myself out to much before the big Easter egg hunt at the Sanwald's with Alena and Tim. Hopefully, I will be invited to participate =)

Another beautiful day here in Backnang, Low 20s and sunny. Weather went from cold/rain/snow to warm and sun. Not much in between. I finally noticed some leaves sprouting yesterday so spring is upon us.

Now, I must enjoy my first German barbecue experience....

Chow,
Matthew

Asking for Directions...

I'm not one to ask for directions. Maybe it's part of my X/Y chromosome makeup but I prefer to think its my quest for adventure and to try to prove to myself that I made the right decision. Today, I buckled underneath the stress. Having spent 2hrs on a great endurance ride up to Heilbronn then south towards Lauffen am Necker I was approaching the danger zone of getting returning to Backnang early enough to drive to the Flughafen(airport) to pick up Marc and Heinz. I knew that if I could find the river then I could get on the bike path that parallels the Necker. I was literally about 200m from getting it correct on my own, but the flat land and high buildings hindered my search effort. Of course having no map with me didn't help either. So I did the next best thing. I found a fahrad shop(bike shop) and asked how to get to Ludwigsburg. The shop guy gave some good directions and I was on my way. But the endurance ride was now a tempo/threshold ride for the next 1hr45min. Fortunately, I had good legs today. Had it been yesterday, I would have been pretty deep in the pain cave. Now I said yesterday that I am finally beginning to have a sound understanding of the area. Well, this was a new area to me so I can't be judged too harshly. But now I know, and knowing is half the battle. Overall the route was pretty solid. Nice mix of bike/farm paths and road. Good climbs and some nice flat sections. And of course it was near 20º so one can't complain.

The past two week's training has definitely kicked the metabolism up. I woke up this morning(4am) with hunger pains...then again at 6:30 with hunger pains. No I didn't starve myself at dinner either. After two bowls of nut/fruit muesli and two pieces of toast w/ nutella spread and kiwi fruit on top I hopped on the bike. As soon as I rolled out, I felt that I didn't even eat breakfast. I think its better to go into the ride a little hungry. That way you aren't feeling bloated and full during the first hour. Better to eat a little more on the ride and keep the energy level and blood sugar level stable then boost before you ride only to see it drop off the earth by the end. I've been experimenting with this protocol lately, and it seems to be working better for me. In my former days, I would finish each ride with a hunger knock. So this was bad on so many levels. Sure we all make those mistakes, but mine was nearly every ride. First it depreciates your level of training you can undertake in that session and two, it delays your recovery. Recovery is critical for long, term performance on the bike.

Tonight, as in every Thursday night, I get the true pleasure of enjoying the flavors of the world-renowed Gretel. Tonight she made Chicken Cordon Bleu. Let's just say that I haven't seen four pieces of meat so large in my life. It was tasty. She is coming over on Sontag for the big Ostern fest at the Sanwald's. So while you might be eating the same ol', same ol' at home, rest assured that I am being treated to some Schwäbian delicacies by Gretel here in Backnang.

Here are some pics. The cordon bleu by itself is Marc's piece. I think the chicken it came from could have eaten me.

Chow,
Matthew

Tough Day and Critical Thinking

Paid my dues today for the hard tempo ride yesterday. Body was just tired...of course it could mean I need more sleep. But the legs didn't have the zap they had yesterday. The good and bads of cycling I guess. Some days you have no chain other days, you are begging for mercy as little kids pass you on their way to school. The former the truth, the latter...maybe but I'm not revealing everything.

The plan for today was to get in a mix of 1min V02 efforts. I scoped a climb from my ride yesterday that I thought would be perfect as the race on Monday has some steep, short climbs in the race. Now I'm not going to become an über sprinter over steep climbs in one week, but everything is all about building for the future. It will also be good to get some sensations in the legs that I might, or rather WILL DEFINITELY experience on Monday. From the looks of the climbs I knew it would be steep, 15-20% steep. I'll admit, I was a little scared before starting lol. So the workout would go like this, go as hard as you can for 1min/recover on the descent for 1min, repeat 5 times. Total interval time of 10min give or take. I ended up making the max efforts longer b/c I wanted to ride up to the bench that was my marker. So like 1.15min-1.26min. By the 5th one, I actually rode a higher power and felt surprisingly better. I did definitely bury myself on it b/c I knew that I would have recovery afterwards. But it was good to go harder on the last one, means I have some endurance I guess. Afterwards, I limped down the hill and road at a pretty mellow recovery pace up the Necker towards Freiburg a.M Necker. Then bolted over the bridge and saw a sign for Ludwigsburg. I'm kind of liking this signage thing. Of course you have to be a little adventurous b/c sometimes the signs don't always appear in sequential order. But one must get the Leif Erickson on and brave the frontier. Ended up riding down to Ludwigsburg and caught the river path and then back to Marbach a.M. Necker. From Marbach, I rode back to Murr then did a 2nd set of 1min max/1min recovery efforts. I was pretty spent by the last one. V02 intervals will do that. Looking back I should have done this yesterday b/c I was so fresh. Always better to do your hardest work when you are feeling well so you get the most benefit. But in racing you don't always feel super good so working hard when it hurts extra builds mental toughness. So I got that going for me. Found some new routes so that was pretty cool too. While on the bike I had a revelation...Today was the first day that I feel that I am actually learning the local area. Every ride before was a adventure, some might call a gamble. B/c I didn't always know where I was going or if I could safely make it back. But my Jedi mapping skills have sorted me out well enough. But today, I could finally say how to get here, here, or there with the best route for cycling and some choice sections for training. Tomorrow, I'm going to do an endurance ride of 4hrs with some power accelerations. Afterwards, I heading to the Flughauf to pick up Marc and Heinz.

Now onto the 2nd component of today's enlightment. My critical thoughts on Performance Evalutions and Job Ratings. First off, I despise them like the gum on your shoe or the dung on the sidewalk. Why? Because they are a waste of time, and never accurately represent the person involved. When I worked for Bank of America long, long ago as a trading desk support staff, I was greeted by this bs program known as Six Sigma, a brain child of GE engineers. I spent days and days filling out my 6 areas and creating metrics for the next year that I would be graded on. I believe that goal setting and discussion is important, I do it every day. But the way Six Sigma works is an economic drain. Fortunately, I left Bank of America for a better position and didn't have to follow through on the my yearly goals. For the record, of the 6, I only cared about 2, the other 4 were for filling in the blanks. Now is that not a drain of talent? In my next job as an economic analyst for a I-Bank, I got the pleasure of being thrown under the gauntlet by my boss in the firm's proprietary evaluation system. Now my boss and I saw eye-to-eye in similar fashion as to how a vegan sees with a normal, every day German. Not so good if you missed any culture reference. I received a pretty low score from her. So this brings me to my complaint after my long KWesq background =) If one is doing there job, ie tasks are being completed, projects are running smoothly, they aren't causing strife, what does an Evaluation do? Besides waste time for the evaluee and the evaluator. Your work should speak for itself whether you are good worker. If a cyclist wins every one of their targeted races, do you need to ask did they have a good year? Well, you can certainly look at things they improved upon and make suggestions for next year but by winning those key targets, didn't they just evaluate themselves and their hard work? Yes. You can never entirely capture someones efforts or skills from a written test or evaluation. We always look at the most recent rather than the entire picture. Winning one day but riding crap the rest of the year may be important to some, but not to me.

Now you have been enlightened with my critical thoughts of job evaluations.

Chow,
Matthew

Tempo Training

Had a great day of training yesterday. Goal for the day was to work on strength and tempo pacing. Legs felt amazingly good yesterday despite the short recovery period from the Spin class on Monday night. Of course the near 70º temps and sun certainly helped the cause. I rolled out of Backnang, and took in the 8%, 4km climb over to Schorndorf. Kept the cadence pretty low to work on leg strength. Good sensations. Then cruised the various bike routes through the villages to Schorndorf at tempo pace then onto Wablingen. From Wablingen, I rolled along the Necker(river) bike path towards Ludwigsburg and continued onto Murr. After Murr, I was feeling a bit of a hunger knock but took a snack and shortly later, the legs were firing fast again. Just over 3hrs, 2200kjs. I tried to keep the pace at tempo for as long as I could but the numerous villages and slow areas kind of complicate that but it was a great training session.

Being abroad has presented numerous new and different protocols for living. In Germany, no right on red, and you absolutely do not cross crosswalks unless you have a green light. It's funny to watch b/c you look both directions at the crosswalk and there are no cars in sight. Yet, people wait patiently. Not sure if its a more relaxed lifestyle, not the go-go-go American way, or just the desire to obey the man. I've noticed myself following the protocol. More b/c I just don't want to get into a situation that is way above my level of Deutsch language understanding =) I do think that the turn right on red after yield should be changed. Makes driving very slow.

Last night, I watched a tv program that highlighted German culture. It was basically a, "you know you are German because you act or do things like this.." It was really funny, and I actually learned things that I had noticed during my time here. For instance, currywürst is the highest consumed food in Deutschland, over 8million a year. German's also have associations for everything. Whereas in the US, we do not as I explained to Sandra. Some are good associations like sporting teams etc...some are just obscure and ridiculous, like the "laughing association" and the "schnitzel tasting association." A more important one was the association that went to biergartens and measured each beer to assure proper pouring sizes. Can't be cheated on your bier! The laughing association was just stupid. People get together and just laugh. No jokes, no comedy acts, just people making fake laughs. The program also hit a lot on food preferences and Sandra confirmed this. Germans eat only what is familiar to them. So diets are pretty regular. I can see that. The number of German restaurants in Majorca was mind blowing. For me, when I go on vacation, I choose to try flavors of the area and try things that i wouldn't normally eat so its quite different from my style, but to each his/her own.

Chow,
Matthew

Cross Training mit Deutsch Lernen

Since Marc is in Mallorca, I filled in as a über special guest instructor in his Monday spin class. I spent an hour before the class writing down a game plan but more importantly writing down key phrases and words. That's one way to learn a new language I guess. Nothing like lighting a fire and having to perform. The classes went well. I introduced myself in the beginning and told that I speak "ein besschen deutsch" (a little deutsch). I used my lighthearted and fun personality to keep the humor rolling. Not bragging here because I have been told I exemplify both and I have tests to prove both. Okay, so back to the spin class....fortunately many in the class understood some English so I used my best Deutglish and the class worked out well. I don't think they were expecting to ride like they did tonight. There are lots of way to teach a spin class. If I am going to have to ride indoors then I'm going to make the most of it for me. Selfish? Yes, but for the betterment of the class. I try to follow a standard workout that I would do if I was out training. Albeit its a little bit more condensed. So we worked on threshold efforts with sprints interspersed throughout the interval. In my classes there is not pase(rest). We have recovery periods but we keep spinning throughout. Spin instructors throughout the world would probably say that I am missing the boat on what SPIN and that SPIN is not cycling. Well, I think its better to miss that boat than not get a good workout. But I digress....

Afterwards, Sandra overheard some people. They were asking if I was going to continue teaching the class. They said that it was a very good class. So despite my Deutglish, I brought language confusion, pain, and happiness all in one class. Pretty proud of myself. I probably won't be jumping into any more spin classes on a regular basis. I prefer riding outside but maybe I will dabble in the German spin class instruction from time to time. Resume building? Maybe...

So I broke the axel in my rear Mavic Kysrium Elite today. I took into the local shop and borrowed a 10mm and 4mm to tighten the hub which was loose. Well I tightened it, then tightened it too much. Anyhow, the freehub is on the way out. Hopefully I can use my Mavic MP3 program that I bought into in May 2007, ie 2yr warranty program. The wheel is still usable but not top shape. My DTSwiss 1450 rear has a loose cassette too. can't figure out. I rolled around in CO with no problem. Since I don't have my chainwhip, at home maintenance gets tricky. I might just have to pony up the funds to get a chainwhip rather than relying on trips to the shop. I always keep my stuff in top shape and I can't seem to figure out why these problems surface now. The owner of BikeBox said I had too much power in the legs. I'll go with that excuse for the problems with the wheels =)

chow,
Matthew

Bayern Racing

Lined up today for my first "official" BDR race...Nürtingen was only a training race albeit they did serve cokes and pretzels at the end. It was an early start for us since Aichach in Bayern(near München) is about 200km away. I rolled down in the Benz with Elmar and Timur. Scheiss wetter mit regen until about 30km from the start then the sun came out and all was dry. Well it was more of a haze but no rain, and dry roads, and warm temps. I got my number and got set up properly. Course was 7km with rolling terrain and some good windy sections. Layout was quite beautiful and it was properly closed off to traffic the entire way so we could take the whole road. The US could learn something here. They even had marshalls sweeping the corners. After pre-riding one time, I had a good feel for the windy sections and where it might get hard. Some proved true, other parts didn't. I rolled to the start about 15min early as I could see crowds forming. Well, I arrived to the tune of about 25m deep in the starting area. They have me racing C Klasse which is the biggest klasse and usually the sketchiest. The BDR(german fed) wouldn't give me a B Klasse license even though I have a US elite license. So I have to work my way up I guess. Okay so back to the race...over 215starters. By the time I crossed the line, the field was strung out 100m! Fortunately, I did some pre-race mind exercises to know that I'm going to have my work cut out for me to move up but I could do it. After the first lap, I was feeling super. In my head I was thinking, if this is the hardest, then I should have a good ride.

Protocol for the race...go hard for 30s on the uphill sections...slow...go fast...slow...on downhill...brake. Made for lot nervewracking moments. Several crashes...one endo into the newly plowed fields. I came through unscathed. On lap 7 I was making my way up nicely then on the in the last 3km something a few bikes in front(which was the front) went awry. Then i slipped back a little. Worked my way back. Anticipated some carnage on the 1k to go hard right. Positioned myself the best of what position I had. Many started sprinting at 600m...well if you are Cancellera but you aren't. I hid myself and watched the holes open up. Unfortunately the break that had about 30s by the end crossed just ahead. I finished top30. Pleased with fitness. Legs responded well and had good power. Positioning is getting better. It was harder the entire race, i think I could have faired better. The up and down allows to many sketchy riders to stay in the mix. But I'm not making excuses b/c if I was good enough I would have just ridden away or been able to position myself to get into the break. Next time. Timur and another teammate, Daniel Hartman, finished close behind.

Afterwards, I got a kaffee from the race stand set up. At the stand was kuchen(cake), brot mit fleisch(meat sandwich), brezzel(pretzel) and bier. I made sure to read the sign multiple times before ordering my kaffee. I handed over my 1€ only to be told no, its "drie euro" (3€)! I paid b/c I wanted my kaffee and it was only drip. Albeit good drip kaffee but nothing special. Feeling like I was taken to the cleaners I made an effort to remember the menu wording so I could look it up and understand where I messed up. The fleisch sandwiches were only 3€. So it was some type of roasted pork on a roll. Basically about 1/3lb of meat and a small roll for 3€ and coke was only 1€. I wondered why the kaffee served in the mugs was so expensive. Well when I turned my mug in, I received 2€ back. Score! Not really b/c it was owed to me, but it did make the kaffee taste that much better in my stomach. Apparently, as I am learning, the race food is prepared and sold by the families of the club who supports the race. I assume they must keep a dungeon full of kaffee mugs for these events and brake them out. It was quite the operation though. Some were making waffles, some making kaffee, cutting kuchen, taking euros, cutting meat and powdering waffles with sugar. The kuchen was nothing you would expect from the US. These were totally legit homemade delicacies. I opted to stick with my banana, apfel, kiwi and baguette mit käse und marmelade und kiwi(yep, I had sliced kiwi on my cheese baguette). Super tasty!

Chow,
Matthew

Eve of Racing

So I'm going to race tomorrow. I didn't think it was possible as I've yet to fully figure out the whole German Cycling Association way of registering. In the US we can pre-reg by paying with credit card, no problem. You can also reg day of and pay a little bit more but it works. Only a few races actually sell out. Well here you must register 2weeks prior and have money wired from a bank account. And not knowing that I had teammates going to the race until yesterday, I guess I kind of dropped the ball. But the point is that I am racing tomorrow and super eager to race. Just another lost in translation moment you could say.

The masses were out in Backnang today as the Zentrum was crawling with men, women, kids, street vendors, and farmers selling produce. Quite a beautiful sight to see as my last weekend visit to the Zentrum would have been confused with a ghost town. All the cafe seats were taken up and it was just gorgeous to see. I'm kind of a cafe person. The choice for many was kaffee mit milche or latte macchiato which is probably the most popular speciality espresso drink here in Germany. Its served in a glass similar to a pint glass and oozes with goodness. Sandra made one for me a few weeks ago. I just rolled by the sights and sounds as I was finishing up my tune-up ride prior to tomorrow's race in Bayern, yep that's Bavaria for my American peeps. I'm going to roll out with teammates Timur and Elmar. I've been riding pretty well this week so hopefully something will come together tomorrow.

On a much lighter note...I was watching the BBC this morning while consuming kaffee. Big NATO meeting close by in Strasbourg, France which borders Germany. Here is the scene...German chancellor does formal greeting of each political dignitary or hotshot if you will. So its pretty formal and straightforward. Polzei accompany each car and each person is ushered up to the chancellor...take photo, exchange fake smiles, and shake hands. Well now comes the Italy dignitary. Door opens, he steps out with cell phone against ear and rapping off some italian. He turns and walks away...German doesn't know what to do or how to react...BBC commentators having a hayday at questioning his gutso at taking a call during this event....minutes pass, Chancellor looks upset...new cars arrive...time passes...italian still on phone...all dignitaries arrive and leave for the meeting...italian still talking while standing near the river...meeting commences...italian not present, still talking on cell.

Pretty much the most politically hilarious thing I have seen in a long time. The Italian had quite a bit of bravado to pull off such a stunt. Quite disrespectful. I'm not going to get on my high horse about cell phone use when in public or within the company of friends or others but just suffice it to say that his move would have been no bueno. Don't be that person next time you are at some international summit on live television or if you are with your friends.

Chow,
Claw

Spring in Baden-Württenburg

It appears spring has finally arrived and it couldn't have come early enough. I was getting a little bit exhausted with the cold, rainy rides that I've experienced since moving here. My bike is enjoying the change too. Hopefully the weather will hold out and spare my brake pads and other components from complete destruction. It's been sunny the past two days and highs around 20ºC. Some wind but one can't complain about the temps and the SUN! I took the sunny weather a little bit for granted in CO. I've actually received a bit of a psychological boost. I guess its true that they say the weather does have an impact on the head.

Yesterday, I rolled out some town far east of here. The goal for training was to work on sprinting. So after a proper warmup, I started nailing down some sprints from different speeds and gears. After 5, I kept it in a big gear and plowed through the next hour which included some nasty climbs that put me in the hurt locker but I survived. I did some more 10s jump sprints while climbing at threshold. These hurt but should be beneficial to the plan. Fortunately, on the way back I had a nice cross/tail wind. Kept in the big gear and worked on leg strength. I've always struggled with this. I think I often tend to rely more on my aerobic side and less on strength. Shawn and I addressed it early last fall and did some great work on it. So I'm kind of fine tuning it and "attempting" to improve it.

Today was another gorgeous day. After a proper amount of coffee and muesli I headed out for an endurance ride. More of a ride of "how far can I go, then get lost, then find my way home." Its pretty much the norm when riding in a new area. Fortunately, my salmon returning upstream to their birthplace honing skills paid off and I made it safely back to Backnang. Got to see a great deal of the great German countryside along with about 1000 towns. I covered up the SRM with a cue sheet of key towns I wanted to hit. Well that plan went South after I reached Murr. But nevertheless, I was able to pull my big boy pants up and press on. At some points I tried to follow the regional biking network which routes cyclists along "more cycling friendly confines." This plan worked well some of the time. Other times, it landed me in field with no real signs of anything. But that's what its about right? In Belgium, I always carried my trusty Michelin map with me during riding. Here, no such possession. But the team has provided me with a Garmin 705 that I have yet to install. Waiting on getting the team bike and getting it built up. Don't want to outfit the Lemond with another computer. The SRM is already enough. With the Garmin, I'd appear that I was working for NASA. Don't want that.

There is a race on Sunday...hoping that I can race it. The German way of doing things is that you must always register beforehand, like 2 weeks beforehand. So hopefully there will be space to "drive" on Sunday. Keep you posted.

Chow,
Claw

Zürich and Racing

My first German race is now in the books. It was a typical mainland euro spring event on Saturday...Wind, Rain, and Cold. I've always enjoyed racing in the bad weather. There is just something about it. No one can hide and it always takes so much mental strength to get through. The course was pretty basic, 4 turns and lots of laps. My team was well represented in the race which is a nice change from my experience of racing in the US. My legs took 35laps to feel in check even after a long warmup. But my teammates were doing an excellent job of placing someone in each move. But nothing was going to stick today. Pace was pretty high the whole time with a lot more attacking than the charity ride I saw in the previous week's edition. It was good to see that people were motivated despite the tough conditions. I opted to not go for glasses as I have trouble seeing through the lenses when they are wet. Well, I guess that vision and comfort would be a lot more tolerable now after picking debris out of my eye the morning after the race. When I stopped, I told Kristi, who was the über awesome girlfriend yelling each lap despite the scheiss wetter, that I can't see. She asked if I was going to do a cool down. I responded, "already cooled down." B/c I don't think my body never really warmed up. Everything was wet and the 5ºC temps made for pretty much cold death upon my body. My fingers were pretty much frozen which made undressing interesting along with shifting during the race. Sandra and Kai also came along and were awesome support. It was very helpful to have them out there encouraging despite the bad weather. After cleaning up I gave back my number and received a fresh pretzel, small cured würst and a coke. Gotta love euro racing. The race director was very helpful to me. Not sure if the race director knew I was American but he was extra helpful with me. Finished top10. I was positioning myself well in the end but didn't read the lap card right...probably b/c I had road grime skewing the vision. Ohh well, it was good.

Later that night, after much searching and recon work, Kristi and I found an authentic Schwäbisch restaurant nearby for dinner. It is a nice little place with bier garten in the forest. We had to complete her experience in Backnang with some authentic gastronomic treats. I went with the käse spätzle and she went with the moltaushun mit champingions. A a little frosty beverage of course...me the dunkel(dark, ale like), she the weiß. After we left, I was driving away and apparently I took a wrong turn b/c about 1.5km in, I said, "I think we are on a bike path?." Kristi gave the most priceless laugh. Yep, I was driving down a bike path which I thought was a road. I continued on and eventually discovered a secret exit point. The road was getting narrow and i thought it would be difficult for two cars to go through. Chalk it up to another great Euro adventure experience.

On Sunday, we rolled ICE down to Zürich for 3 days. Zürich is quite beautiful. I found a nice B&B that catered to the offbeat crowd. It's what they advertise. It was promptly located in the red light district which provided quite a bit of pondering and humor as we walked to and fro each day. I almost created a international incident when I went to make my own kaffee. The proprieter I has a special law that only she is allowed to use the espresso machine b/c people in the past have used it and apparently it caused a global meltdown in her eyes. It wasn't even complicated. It was a tiny espresso machine which took espresso pods. You remove the handle, insert new pod, re-attach handle, push button for kaffee and bam, you are done. There are 3 buttons. She ripped me one. I was just trying to not burden her b/c I wanted a 2nd cup. Then the question came between Kristi and I as to whether I was allowed to pick up the cup from the machine after it had finished. It was a risky move to go and take the cup without her knowing but I did. I just thought it was very inefficient for her to be constantly coming in and out if someone wanted kaffee. Either get a more "user friendly" machine or instruct people and provide instructions on how to use. I think its impossible to get a machine more user friendly. So that leaves only one option. But Susanne is a fiesty dutch living in Zürich. I chose to only ask for 2 extra cups.

On Monday, we "rented" bikes from the Zürich Velo Center. For a 20CHF deposit and a short discussion with mafia-esc guy in a wooden shack, and one passport, you get a sweet urban ride with advertisments on the bike but nevertheless a good running urban hybrid. We took the "city touring" to a new level. Ended up riding about 50km with a long jaunt south along Lake Zürich before catching the ferry across and riding back north to the city. I think we got some looks from people who were wondering what the hell are these two characters doing riding this far away from the city with city bikes. But it was a great adventure. The ferry ride was pretty fun. We took in the Lindt Chocolate Factory Easter Sale Center. The aroma coming from the building could make even the saddest person smile. Exploring by bike was perfect. We got to see so much and just gave us freedom to go beyond the norm. Later that night we scored an awesome käse fondue experience. It was pretty tasty.

Yesterday, was our last day in Zürich and we took to it by foot and train. Did a super long hike and urban walk up to the Uetliberg. Its at 800m with Zürich at 400m. Gave us some pretty cool views. We ended up hiking pretty far south then down to a different S-Bahn station to take back to the Zentrum. The trail was in typical Swiss-fashion...gravel and rails throughout. I can imagine the cost, time, and maintenance that goes into these "hiking trails." But it was fun.

This morning, we had an early start to get Kristi to the Flaughuf Stuttgart. Her trip over to visit went by much quicker than I expected. We definitely covered a lot. Looking forward to our next time together =) After getting back here to Backnang, I went for a good 3.5hr ride. My quads were a little sore from our hiking adventure yesterday(20% descents all the way to the bottom). But I pushed on and kept the good sensations rolling. Weather is improving here. Only cloudy today and warmer. Maybe its actually changing for good now...

Chow,
Matthew