Dutch Cuisine

Like I have mentioned before, I came to France to get a little different flavor of life than the Benelux lifestyle as well getting some nice training in the Alps. But it seems like I can't escape it. Not that is a terribly bad thing, b/c the Dutch are super nice people, but the diet is a thing of question. Basically to make anything Dutch, you add cream or butter, and if you are a Dutch gourmet, you make both butter and cream work the same dish. Never before have I longed for just steamed vegetables and some fruit. The cycling hotel that I am staying at is owned by Dutch couple and their primary clientel are Dutch except for the scarce Brit and your token American(me). Breakfast consists of muesli(i like, similar to oatmeal but often has fruit and/or nuts in it), cheese, bread, some weird meat, bread, baguettes, french cake bread, some form of eggs and white bread. This morning, I was just tired of the food and could hardly eat anything which for you who know me must leave you in deep puzzlement(word?). I made two cheese baguette sandwiches for lunch during my ride today which I shared with Diana after our ride when we got our cafe creme(cofffee with milk, or cappuccino like) at the cafe in Bourg d'Oisons. It was pretty tasty again but I am craving some dijon which I wasn't able to swing.

Our ride this morning was pretty chill...good before the gauntlet of tomorrow's 174km and 3800m of vert. We rolled on some back roads and followed a river before rolling into Allemont then up to the reservoir then turning around at the base of Vaujany which is 5k short of the finish tomorrow, just a little recon run. On the way back we found our way onto some gravel road, which would have been a little better with cyclocross bikes or mtn bikes but my Belgian skills of riding in absolute crap served me well. Good 45km ride.
There was a street market in Bourg d'Oisons today. Lots of cheesemakers present. It all looked incredibly tasty.

After a nice cafe stop and conversation of bike riding, schools, travel, we split the cafe. I rolled to the Casino b/c I was still really hungry after my unsatisfying breakfast and quick bite for lunch. I bought a 250g baguette and a bottle of Cote de Rhone red wine. Diana said that the cheap bottle from Cote de Rhone are good but the cheap bottles from Bordeaux are no dice. We shall see...saving it for tomorrow after my ride to celebrate my trip and all my training. I have been longing for a nice bottle of wine after a hard week of training. Probably will have one glass and be totally hammered but whatever....save some for Monday's TGV ride to Belgium.

Okay, now back to the topic de jour, which is the topic of the day in franglish =)
I was able to get some pasta at the pasta bar which was nice because the had spinach stuff tortellini which was pretty tasty. And I had some plain pasta with a vegetable tomato sauce. Quite good. Rolling into dinner 2 hours later, I spotted the soup bowls laid out which was great news b/c I love soup. Last night was tomato soup which hit the spot. Tonight's soup de jour was celery soup. You could just feel the cream in the soup blocking the fuel lines for my engine. After you have been eating hotel food for a week, you get to trying new techniques of eating, a little experimentation if you will. Last night I discovered that if you tear pieces of baguette then put it in the soup it tastes pretty good. It took me two bowls last night to make this revolutionary discovery and was quick to employ it over the overly salted celery soup tonight. My brit counterparts at the table noticed my technique and one followed suit. She seemed to enjoy the experience. I highly recommend it if you have the means. After the soup, the owner made the weather report announcement for tomorrow which is one of the most anticipated events of the entire day. All the dutch quickly shut up and look start gazed at Monique as she announces the weather, nice in the morning, then chance of storms in the evening. If you are talking, you get the "shhh...they are announcing the weather!" I found it quite pure comedy b/c after the report is given from the highest steps in the dining room everyone claps. Why? If Monique said, "tomorrow there will be lots of wind, hail and snow on all the passes" then everyone would clap...WHY?

Finally, the main course arrives....amazingly overcooked steak with mushrooms and a butter-cream sauce all over it, steamed broccoli with a butter sauce, then frites(french fries) with mayonaise. I am not a steak person and the thought of broccoli sounded great until I see it covered with butter which brings the nutritional benefit to negative territory. I opted out of the frites and had a 4 bite portion of the steak and just a little bit of broccoli with a failed attempt at scraping off as much butter as possible so I could atleast think I was eating something good for me. It was gourmet because of the multi-use of butter and cream, so the dutch were much pleased. When I booked the hotel, they said the served food adapted for cyclists. Which is true with the pasta buffet and the muesli in the morning. But cyclists is a loose term. The brits and I are the only racers in the hotel. all the rest are cyclotourists which is great too but the diets of racers is not the diet of tourists. So that is my little bit of advice should you choose to visit a cycling hotel. Otherwise, its a great place. Fortunately, I saved some dried apricots in my room. Tomorrow morning they are making a special breakfast for those doing the Vaujany. Apparently, pancakes are on the menu. More will be reported on tomorrow.

The ride tomorrow is much more a cyclotourist event after further investigation. Right now there are over 2000 entrants. You can start anytime between the 6:15-7:15 window with your timing chip. After the hard week of training and the weeks of racing, I am more considering just making it a fun-hard ride for myself tomorrow. I will still shoot for the gold diploma in the race but I am going to ride for the fun too and make sure I don't ride myself into the ground so I will make a few stops at the food stations along the way. I have a big stage race, The Cascade Classic, in Bend, OR in two weeks so thats a little more important too me than some french cyclosportiv. Its good to do rides like these too b/c it gives you great fitness and lets you see the other sort of riding, the non-racing side which is very enjoyable too. So tomorrow will be a hard training ride. Then relaxing with the foodstuffs afterward and a little vino in the evening....

Ciao,
Matthew

Cafe and KMs part Deux

The agenda today after consuming massive amounts of coffee and bread with jam as well muesli with yogurt was to ride up to the ski resort Les Deux Alps then to Freny then along this wickedly beautiful road that is cut along the granite of the mtn, up Le Alpe d'Huez from Turn 16 to Huez, next to Villier Reculas, bomb it down to Allemont before rolling back to the digs. Riding to Les Deux Alps starts out climbing 5-7% immediately. This didn't agree with my tummy as I felt like vomiting for the entire 28km of the climb to the ski resort. I had to spend most of the climb standing b/c when I was seated the higher cadence would rattle my stomach. Probably a little too much to eat prior to riding. Ohh well, better now than in a race which I have done already too much. Les Deux Alps is an incredible ski village. LDA has hosted several finishes in Le Tour and as it should be the climb is pretty steep(7-10%) for 12km. The vista at the summit is incredible. I took a lot of fotos here for the memories...lol. The village itself was bustling with activity. Basically, you drive or take a bus to the village and you stay there for your entire visit. The village is cut between the slopes about 1.5-2km in length and has several supermarches, many restaurants, bars, even a discotech. Lots of outdoor stores and ski shops. In summer time, it means downhill mtn biking, swimming in the pool, cross-country mtn biking, paragliding over the valley which looked incredible, road cycling, and of course downhill skiing on the glacier. It was quite the juxtaposition rolling into the village on my road bike in my summer kit with skiers in full gear walking with skis across their shoulders in their boots. This goes to show the focus of outdoor sports is alive and well here in Les Deux Alps. I would highly recommend a visit here if you have the means.

The descent from Les Deux Alps was pretty sweet with lots of speed and the traditional alpine switchbacks for good measure. I stopped several times to take pictures. Next I would head down the road a little way to the village of Le Freney d'Oisons. Very small village with a killer 5km? climb up to the top which probably avg'd 10% the whole time. Once at the top it levels for a little bit before climbing gradually past the village of Auris. Instead of going to Auris to the right, you continue straight and follow the signs to Le Alpe d'Huez. At this point you have to be a good 600m above the road(N91) below and the village of Le Bourg d'Oisons. Michelin labels the road as "parcours dificile ou dangeroux." It probably more of the latter for the generic description. The road is 7.5m wide and was built literally out of the side of the mountain. For my Bay Area followers, think Headlands from the summit and looking down but increase the height and make the dropoff completely 90deg from the road. Basically, the road has a shear dropoff of over 600m(1968ft). The only think protecting you from going down is a 15" protective "wall." It was super cool and hopefully the pictures will do some justice. I got some nice ones leaning over the edge b/c I like to live dangerously. You also get to go through several tunnels.

Finally, I rolled into switchback 16 of Le Alpe. I originally was just going to bomb it down to Bourg d'Oisons because I was feeling tired from the previous climb but I tricked myself and saw that it was only 5k to the village of Huez which was where I would turn off to Villard Reculas. I saw a few american tourists riding and their were pooped after the first 3k of Le Alpe. The woman commenting that she didn't want to go anywhere but her boyfriend/husband convincing her that the hardest part was over, which is true. None of the climb is easy but the first 3km is especially more difficult. I turned off just after switchback 6 or about 3km from the finish or 5km from Le Tour's finish. I rolled up to Villard Reculas and had the first part of my cheese baguette. Hit the spot. Now it was a nice fast descent to Allemont.

After rolling through Allemont, a rider pulled up next to me and started speaking francais to me. I immediately responded "no francais, angles." She responded, "ohh i'm american." So we started chatting and riding. Her name is Diana and she was coming back from Col de le Croix de Fer. One of the great things about cycling is the ability to ride and enjoy conversation simultaneously. I started telling her about my ride and living in SF which she has come out for training before and knows most of the routes I usually do. When you think the world is big, its encounters like this one which humbles one on how small the world really is. Diana was planning on doing the Le Marmotte next weekend which is one of the most difficult cyclosportivs. I did the course solo less Le Alpe but added another col and 20 additional kms on Wed. So I know how tough it is. We rolled back into Bourg d'Oisons and she pointed out the hotel where she is staying, the "Oberland." Its a true cycling hotel with jerseys hung all around the outside of the hotel. Looks like a fun place to stay. We rolled into a little cafe in the village. We probably sat around for an hour or so chatting about cycling, racing in Europe(she raced in europe a few years ago), racing in the US. It was very enjoyable. Then we swapped fotos from our digital cameras, kind of a competition for the foto awards...I guess. As soon as I broke out the 2nd half of my cheese baguette, she brought out her baguette and cheese too. Too funny. I showed her the Marmotte course on the flyer in the bike shop window and the times listed for diploma levels. It will be some good training before she heads back to NJ and does more racing for her team and the Green Mountain Stage Race later in Sept in Vermont, which I have long considered doing. We are going to go for a easy ride tomorrow. Should be nice.

Funny moment of the day:

After my grand exit, I was rolling back nicely along the newly tarmaced N91 out of Bourg d'Oisons when I rolled past this older dutch(?) rider. I could see a lot of stuff in the distance on the handlebar. Upon honing in on him in my stealthiness, I glanced over at the handlebars for a more microview. This guy had NASA'd out his bike so he could track everything and monitor even the space debris above him 100,000mi up. For Houston control center had, a GPS unit(not the Garmin bike computer) but a full on GPS unit, a cyclocomputer, and a Polar HR monitor. The handlebar looked like Manhattan, not a single bit of green space. Now, I am pretty geek'd out with my SRM, but this guy had everything to tell him everything. I laughed so hard after rolling past him. I should have taken a picture of him, b/c it was a memory worth keeping.

Au Revoir,
Matthew

Recovery Day

Today was a recovery day for me after the epicness that was yesterday. I woke up with a healthy appetite but nothing insane. I think my body was a little wrecked from the ride yesterday. In this entry I am also including my first entry of what will affectionately be called, "Mantra by MB."

1) When deciding to go for something epic, do it, but always imagine how you will feel near the end of your epicness and what you would desire most.

In my case, at the top of the Col de Galibier, I wanted warm clothes and food. So next time, I should have traded the wind-vest for a thermovest and gloves along with some extra food in the jersey pocket.

See how this works?

Okay back to my day's happenings. I took a leisurely morning filled with cafe and bread/jam, muesli, and some eggs. It definitely hit the spot and gave me some pleasure to fill the emptiness that was my energy. Rolled back to my room after scouring the hotel for english magazines. When you are in a hotel owned by a Dutch couple and who cater to 95% Dutch clients, you are succumbed to old issues of Wieler Sport and american magazines in dutch. I was thinking I was leaving the dutch lingo by coming to the French Alps, but I rode right into a Dutch stronghold in the Oisons. It was nice chillin out after breakfast and reading some old cycling mags, think ProCycling circa 2003. Just before noon, I rolled out for an easy spin to flush the legs out and check out the village of Bourg d'Oisons. I packed my baguette and cheese sandwich which I lifted from the breakfast room and my New Balances in my little sack. I definitely felt like I did something yesterday but I pressed on knowing that it would be good for me to get the legs going for a little bit.

The village of Bourg d'Oisons is a touristy ski village in the winter and caters to cyclists in the summer. Pretty nice village with several cafes and restaurants and some outdoor gear stores along with a few velo shops. Not too bad for the small size of the place. One thing to remember if ever visiting Bourg d'Oisons is that all the shops minus cafes and restaurants take break from 12-2pm, even the bakery is closed! So that cut my store walkthroughs rather quickly. So I found a nice spot on the steps and ate my baguette. It was a relaxing little time. Then I cracked and got an ice cream cone, a scoop of cafe and tiramisu flavors. They were small scoops! It was pretty tasty. Cafe flavored ice cream is by far my favorite flavor. The tiramisu didn't have the espresso flavor I was looking for. It was nice though. Getting bored with nothing to do, I rolled on over to the Casino supermarket to pick up some muesli bars and some dried apricots for the Vaujany race on Sunday and my training tomorrow.

Going into European supermarkets is kind of fun. Me, being the food buff that I like to think I am, get super curious to see all the different types of foods that are available. Ready made crepes are especially popular here along with different types of cookies and cakes that go well with tea/cafe time. Europeans definitely have no shortage of sweet teeth. Finally, I made my way to the checkout counter after drooling over all the foods that would taste so delicious but weren't that good for me =) In the checkout counter, the guy in front of me. I think he was probably Dutch b/c he looked like he was on holiday had the european staples. 1 1.5L of Coke Light, 4 chocolate croissants, various chocolate edibles, and a large baguette. I can't remember anything else, but it was nothing that said, "eat me, i am full of good nutrition." In the US, you can buy one size of Nutella(the hazelnut choco spread) which essentially goes on anything here in Europe and its typically a small 6-8oz container. Here, you have Nutella, then you have about 3 knock-off brands which are priced cheaper but come in the pocket size 4oz for those walkabouts when you only have a small baguette with you and up to the 20oz size for the family pantry which basically has a house shelf-life of 4 days. Everyone in the world thinks that Americans have unhealthy diets and a terrible obesity problem. I admit, our choices of food preparation, deep frying and processed/packeged foods, don't provide a good bit of nutrition. However, Europeans have a terrible diet. Croissants are essentially butter and some flaky pastry bread. Then you slather on some choco spread and you say, "Breakfast is served!" Sure it tastes good but your body doesn't respond very well too it. The thing that keeps most Euros from upgrading into the American pants are the portions. Euros in general don't very healthy but they don't eat a lot. Americans don't eat very well in general and they eat a lot. So if you want to enjoy life's little pleasures of choco covered croissants, go for it, but limit yourself.

Now, i am back off the box and in reality. I rolled back to the hotel and pushed it pretty hard up the hill. Legs did alright but were still feeling the after-effects from the epicness. When i returned I saw this dutch club that have been staying at the hotel for awhile I guess. From this point, they will be referred to as CLADS, which stands for "Cycle Little And Drinkers and Smokers." So these guys returned before I did and were totally sprawled out in the cycling kits and taking in the sun while taking in their biers. Shortly later, they would light up cigars. Although I have recon'd their rides, my assumption and this is just a mere assumption, is they ride leisurely for 2 hours(maybe cover 40km). Ride actually lasts for 4 hours because they stop to take a leak several times then hit the cafe or bar along the way and take in some food and some biers before rolling back to the hotel. The contrast to what I ride and how I ride is so far different from their impression of cycling is. Ohh well, to each his own and as long as you are enjoying yourself, go for it. My ride yesterday, 190km probably approaches their entire trip's distance. Its funny because those guys probably get such a kick being away from their wives and work and just drinking and riding bikes with their buddies. They could care less about number of KJs they did whereas I enjoy pushing myself beyond recognition and seeing how my body would respond to pain. I finally left, but they must have stayed out in the sun basking in their glory drinking more beers, having more smokes, and emasculating their stories to the highest level amongst their buddies. True comedy, I think.

Now back to the cycling...tomorrow I am doing a route up to the ski resort of Les Deux Alpes(which has hosted several stages in Le Tour) then I am taking a road up along the mountain which is cut out along the mountain side and puts you at turn 17 of Le Alpe d'Huez. From there I will ride up to just before turn 6 and cut over to Villard-Reculas then descend into Allemont before making the turn back to the hotel. It should be a nice loop of about 100km. Saturday will be another easy day before the Vaujany on Sunday.

Au Revoir,
Matthew

Testing my legs before Vaujany

Well, I arrived at my hotel yesterday in Les Oigiers which is about 9km from Bourg d'Osians. We are nestled right in on the side of the mountain with an incredible vista outside my window to the rock clifs of the opposing mountain side. The hotel is called, Hotel Au Bon Accueil. Its owned by a dutch couple and caters to mainly dutch. Which means dutch magazines and dutch food. I am the youngest person here by atleast 12 years. The average age is probably mid-40s. I think there is only one woman staying here so its basically a bachelor pad for dutch guys who just want to cycle with their buddies and get away from their wives and girlfriends. I'm here to train and enjoy some alpine bliss. The hotel is pretty unique. They cater to cyclists during the summer months and skiers during the winter. Its a pretty isolated joint but ohh well, I have been too exhausted from riding to do much of anything else. They provide a breakfast, pasta buffet in the late afternoon and a 3 course dinner. All the food is geared towards cyclists, so its good energy source. I have been eating with a dutch guy who is super nice and speaks perfect english. So thats been nice. The breakfast has lots of coffee which is such a welcome compared to the rest of France which dabbles in espresso servings. Maybe I just have a dangerous addiction now to coffee. Ohh well, it could be worse...right? I made it to the pasta buffet yesterday and they had a curry pasta sauce. It was pretty tasty, but my judgment was jaded since I missed lunch b/c of my bus ride up from Grenoble and my 3 hours of riding prior as Nettie would say.

Yesterday, I decided I just wanted to do a little climbing to try to preview some of the course for Sunday's race. Its pretty much the pro way of doing things. I rode back in Bourg d'Oisans and then headed toward Villard Reculas. The climb up to VR was pretty steep and long, about 15km with an average of 7% and more in some spots. VR is a nice alpine village with great access to skiing. The views are immpeccable. I stopped several times along the route to take some photos. On this ride, i took more photos then I did in all of Belgium. As my dutch friend would say, belgium is ugly. Its not necessarily ugly but its just plain with farm land everywhere and completely flat. From VR, I took the road to Le Alpe d'Huez which connects in a small village just before switchback 6. Le Alpe d'Huez has 21 switchbacks and the numbers count down as you ascend. I will take on the whole route on Sunday's race. Several photographers are in place on the climb and take your photo for you. I tried to look as pro as possible so hopefully some of them turn out well. After passing switchback 1, and ascended into the village of Le Alpe and continued on up so I could take on the final selection of the route of Le Tour. Then I cruised back down and got a grand cafe from one of the cafes in the village. Afterwards I checked out the cycling store adjacent. Lots of cool goodies. Finally, it was time to descend so I could get some much needed food from the pasta buffet. The descent from the top is pretty fast but you have to be careful b/c its hairpin switchbacks all the way down, 21 to be exact. It was definitely fun though. After finishing my ride, I decided I would test myself on Wednesday by following the Marmotte cyclosportiv course minus Le Alpe. The course covers 5000m of vert in 175km.

This morning I ate a healthy, but fueling breakfast for the epicness that would turn into my day. Rolled out of the hotel at 9:30 and headed towards the first part of the day, Allemont. Allemont is a beautiful alpine village with a large lake next too it. It was very beautiful, but not before taking a wrong turn and climbing a few kms in the wrong distance. I will call this extra fun part 1. I made it back to my route and saw the signs for the first beast of the day, the Hors Categorie, Col de La Croix de Fer. This is a beast of a climb at close to 30km in length and averaging over 7.5% with some sections as high as 12%. Its a beautiful climb through mainly wooded sections before opening up on a plateu which was incredible open and beautiful. From there I was able to throttle it nicely, perhaps a little too much as time would tell. I rode across several shepards with their flocks(?) of sheep. I thought that ended in Biblical times but it still exists b/c I saw two more. Now this wasn't just a handful of sheep. There had to be over 1000. It was quite the sight to see the dogs heard them. Got some nice photos of it. Finally I crossed the summit of the Col de La Croix de Fer(2067m). I ate the first part of my cheese baguette I made from breakfast and took with me illegally(not suppose to make lunch from breakfast spread). The road dropped pretty quick and put me in a ski village before descending some more. At this point, you have two options, 1)continuing descending for another 25km or 2)climbing another 10km up to the Col de Mollard(2050m). Feeling the need to do it right, I took option two. It was good climb. Pretty steep but a nice view. Small ski village at the top. Then its a fast descent into the city of St Jean-de-Maurienne. From here I took a slightly alternative loop and grabbed a coke and ate the rest of my baguette. Now I am out of food after eaten my banana on the ride up Le Croix. Ohh well...I had money.

From St Jean-de-Maurienne its a spotty ride along the motorway. Here enters extra fun part 2. I took a wrong exit and rode around for about 30min trying to find my way. Finally I asked a french mechanic and he told me where to go in french. I guess I understood b/c I am writing from my bed tonight. From the motorway its a straight shot to the St Michel where I grabbed a large roll which I thought was sweet but was actually an olive infused creation of deliciousness. Good salt intake to prevent cramping. From St. Michel its a steady climb of 12km to Col de Telegraph a Categorie 2 climb which is often featured in Le Tour as apparent by all the painting on the road. I strangely didn't see my name as a sign of encouragement during my battle. Legs felt pretty good on this climb which averages b/w 5-8%. I rode nearly the entire ride from the saddle and found a great tempo and just dialed. I think I discouraged many riders b/c I would ride by looking effortlessly with a smile on my face and a nice, "bonjour" as they looked to be suffering terribly. Everyone has those moments when they are feeling awesome but they also know how all those riders felt just suffering. I would have mine before the end. At the top of the Telegraph I took a few shots of the sign to prove I was there then bombed down to the ski village of Valloire. At this point its getting cloudy and is very chilly despite arm, knee warmers and my windvest which I had on for the entire ride. Could have used some newspaper or a team van with extra clothing. Not so fortunate though.

From Valloire its one last battle, like the last stage of Zelda or facing Mike Tyson in Punchout after slaughtering all the weaker characters like King Hippo. My opponent wasn't a game, it was real and it played a game with me. Its name was Col de Galibier. One of the most decisive cols used in Le Tour. Sitting atop at 2646 meters high. The route up was unrelenting 7-14%. Its 16km from Valloire. Just to add to the climax, the weather was incredibly cold, windy and was lightly raining. All adding to the epicness. The b******* put up signs along the route to let you know how much more you have and what the gradient is. These are always longer than the concrete ones fixed on the road. I was feeling pretty drained at this point with 125km in my legs already and 3 cols after not eaten much at all. I battled hard. I was able to get 3 little bars from a another rider and a van following a group of riders. Then I stopped for a coke at this little hamlet near the summit and paid 2,30euro for a coke. But damn did it taste good. they made their own cheese at this place but I guess they had to subsidize their cheese industry with overpriced sodas. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Onward I went. But it was probably the most taxing climb I have ever done. Partly b/c of the cold and the snow that was falling and the road that never seemed to end. then add in my lack of calories available, it was becoming my truest test of character. Finally I saw the sign for the summit in the foggy, snowy air. I took my photo and had a moto rider take one of me. then I went down. No time for pictures I had 50 more km to get home and it was absolutely freezing. The first part of the descent is pretty technical with high speeds and no room for error on the side. From the descent you roll over the Col de Lautaret(2058m), then its wide open descending for the next 30km through 5 tunnels some close to 1km long. that was pretty weird at first. By now, I knew I was home free, or atleast I thought so. I had to stop and get a coke for some last minute energy to complete the descent and short 4km climb back to the hotel. Finally, I saw the 1km sign to the hotel, and my eyes lit up then I saw the 300m sign and all I could think was "I MADE IT!...I MADE IT!!!" It was one of the most exciting, emotional and rewarding times on the bike. There were so many time on the Galibier that i thought I was going to crack. So another arrow in my mental strength quiver.

Throughout my entire trip in the Alps I have been good at taking lots of photos because the vistas are just too incredible to pass up. I was really good at taking photos until I descended the Col de Telegraph. At this point, it was pretty chilly then I hit the climb to the Col de Galibier. All thoughts of picture taking were out the drain, it was about survival.

Worst part of the day...I missed the pasta buffet b/c I was late. Fortunately dinner was served rather soon. They had a "dutch bbq." All things dutch. I opted for one disgustingly overcooked beef patty(for protein) and a leg of bbq chicken. I suplemented with lots of fresh greens, apple sauce, fruit cocktail, pineapple, and a dry bake potato along with a baguette. Not ideal, but the ride took the hunger out of me. I guess b/c I went beyond what I thought my limit was.

Totals for the day: 190km, 6500kJs(8500 calories), just under 8 hours and 4700m of climbing. or 118mi with 15420ft of vert.

Au Revoir

Headwinds and Cols

Today, the plan after eating my morning museli was to ride to Bourg d'Oisans and have tea with my new friends who own King of the Mountain chalet in le Rivier d'Ornon. I rolled out of town around 10:30 and made it to their chalet by about 12:45. The trip took me on a beautiful route through the valley of the Oisans and into Le Tour de France territory. I took the N75 to the N85 to Vizille, then hopped on the N91 all the rest of the way. Its a 48km ride to Bourg d'Oisans from Grenoble or 55km to the chalet with 38km being all vertical. It wasn't terribly steep but there was some nice 7% sections just to remind you that you aren't immortal. The ride from the N91 to the chalet was the most challenging but the most scenic. I hope to get some of the many pictures of the valley posted for you. It was pretty steep the entire way and a nice headwind only added to the luster. Upon arrival at the chalet which is in a tiny ~15 house village, I knocked on the door. I thought Guy and Helyn weren't home until the neighbor came out and pointed me to the back of the house. Apparently this neighbor keeps a watchful eye on everything that Helyn and Guy do. Its quite funny. I guess when you live in a village of 15 houses, you have to occupy yourself somehow. Some read, some knit, some spy.

When I arrived, they had just finished lunch and were getting ready for tea, cake and fruit. Helyn was super kind and she made me a ham and cheese sandwich, small salad, and gave me some of the leftover pasta. Guy fixed me up with a nice cup of coffee. It all hit the spot nicely as I was feeling a little hungry after my trek 1700kj so far and it was almost 1pm. There house is very nice. Down below they were laying concrete to build a secondary apartment. We convened out on the backyard table. It was a real pleasure to sit down with them and their two friends and eat and chat. They commented on how well my cycling kit looked, much better than any of the french club kits which Helyn pointed out. When they first saw me at the race on Saturday, they say I stuck out b/c of the look of my kit. Gosh, I thought it was my pro physique. I guess I have more training to do. But as I have always taught my junior sailors, "looking good is 90% of it. If you look good, people don't question you."

What surprised Guy the most was that I was even at the cyclosportiv on Saturday. I told them I just found it on the internet. He said the race was very french and not like the many popular cyclosportivs which pull in a large number of foreign riders. I thought that was pretty cool. As I said in my last post, being the only american, the post-race volunteers took a real liking to me and treated me like a king.

I finished up lunch and tea around 2:45 and thanked Helyn and Guy for their hospitality. i hope to meet up with them later in the week or at the Vaujany event next sunday. they are incredibly nice people. Rolling out of their chalet was 8km of wicked fast descending over some steep clifs. I wasn't pushing it as hard as I could but managed to make some nice speed. The objective was to roll out to le Alpe d'Huez and mark my claim. I thought it would be easy to find so I rolled further east to Bourg d'Oisans but couldn't find it. After consulting a map on my return I found it was just off the road. Nevertheless, I will conquer her later on and multiple times. At this point its about 3:30pm and I needed to be back to Grenoble by 7pm. There was a huge storm rolling in and I didn't want to take on le Alpe and get stuck in the storm. So I mobilized and headed back to Grenoble....

Now, it should have been a sweet ride back down b/c its all downhill. But when you have a 15-20kt breeze right on the nose all the way down, you don't get to enjoy the sweetness of alpine descending. So when your parents tell you they had to walk to school uphill in the blinding snow both ways, believe them, b/c I rode uphill both ways for 100km out of 120km.

once back in Vizille, I stopped by Le Château de Vizille. It was a castle built during the French resistance. The Oisans region was a stronghold for the French resistence during WWII for you history buffs. It was historic and life changing for me. I ran into two french couples. They were impressed with my riding and gave me pats on the back. Got to love it....

Au revoir,
Matthew

Livin' la dolce vita!

Thats exactly how I feel right now...living the sweet life. To be completely honest, I pilfered the title from La Dolce Vita which is a pizzeria I ate at tonight in Grenoble in the italian section. Pretty tasty stuff. I spent most of my day in Grenoble exploring on foot and taking in a cafe. Grenoble has tons of farmers markets. Needless to say, I was in my element looking at all the tasty food. World cuisine has always fascinated me. It would be a super cool gig to travel around and get to taste different flavors then create recipes from them. Maybe a future career for me. But now, its racing my bike atleast until school kicks back into gear and my coaching gig starts again...don't worry charlie =)

As I promised in my last entry, I would continue with the legendary tale of my first cyclosportiv. After finishing, I made my way to the gym where they had lunch ready for us. I turned my number in to get my food and all these women came over and kept saying, "you are #215!" I left my bag in the kitchen prior to my start and the women wrote my number down. It turned out to be my ticket to food heaven. One women, Katherine, was from Scotland and spent half the year in area. She came over and spoke english to me and made sure I had everything I needed then she introduced me to her wonderful husband who was a great man to chat alongside. The rest of my time in the gym, I was carefully watched and tended too. If I had an empty plate they would come over and ask if there was anything I wanted and then go and get it for me. It was an ideal situation =) They didn't do that for anyone else. I guess it was like I was their special American boy who came all this way to do the race so they took extra special care of me. The generosity of the people I have met in my cycling trip have been incredible. The race director gave me a ride back to my house last night which was really helpful.

So lunch consisted nothing typical of american faire...We had some sliced meet, couscous, cold pasta, shredded carrots, and this white cream shredded stuff. I saw it today at the market but I forgot the name. And of course baguettes with brie. It was muy delicioso! Then they gave coffee and had some cake type bread. Definitely hit the spot on my calorie deficient body.

Tomorrow, I am riding to Bourg d'Oisans which is 50km southwest of here. Its a village in the middle of the Alps and just below the hallowed climb of Le Alpe d'Huez. I will take on this mythical giant, and all of her 21 switchbacks over the 14km at 7.7% avg. On Saturday I was invited by a british couple to come and have afternoon tea at their mtn chalet, Guy and Helyn. So it will be a day of training and tea! Guy and Helyn moved from the UK a couple of years ago and opened a mtn chalet that caters to cyclists in the summer and skiers in the winter. Seems kinda of like the dream job for me eventually...That way, I could ride,ski and cook for my guests. But I digress...The name of their house is King of the Mountains, its just 10km from the base of Le Alpe d'Huez. Check out their website,

http://www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

Well, I will leave you on that note. Its 11pm here and I need to get some sleep before I battle with the giant tomorrow. Stay tuned for the photos...

Ciao,
Matthew

Racing in the Alps...the legend begins

Finally, a race the demands the title of this blog! Yesterday, I took the TGV from Lille to Grenoble with a stop in Paris. It was quite a little adventure trying to navigate in Paris. First off, the signage in the train stations doesn't really tell you in the most direct way and station attendants are few and far between. Nevertheless I prevailed with some cheating, you see I didn't pay for my Paris metro pass(subway) to get from Paris Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon. I call it my foreigner tax. I go through enough frustration therefore I shouldn't have to pay to take the train 2 stops. I was able to get a kick butt sandwich at the Lille station though. Everyone in Belgium and France each baguette sandwiches. There must be a thousand Belgian broogie stands within 100km of where I was in Belgium, its the same in France. I apologize for my digress...food does that to me. Finally made it on my train with plenty of time. I booked the trains that had a bike carriage so it was super convenient. Just roll up to the train on your wheels then hop in and hang it from the rack. I used my Ulock b/c the French are a little more scandalous I have heard. Then I popped down in my window seat and enjoyed the 300km/h ride from Paris to Grenoble. After having woken up at 6:25 after going to bed at 1:30, a nice nap on the ride felt amazing. Spent the rest of the time reading a book and munching on some bread and jam that I bought from the Paris Nord station, lunch continued....Rolling into Grenoble was awe inspiring. If you have never been here...then you have to visit. Grenoble is a 450k person city with about 150k of them being students. Its nestled in the valley between the Alps, Chartreuse, and Vercours mountain ranges. Its also home to all the sick climbs of Le Tour, which I will be doing this week. The city is just a 15k ride to the start of these great climbs. As I was telling my parents tonight, they mountains are incredible majestic, not like the jagged Rockies, but a little softer. Lots of rock faces. But they just go straight up to the sky, still saw some snow a few of the peaks. I am staying in Grenoble a friends house till Tuesday then I am rolling up to Bourg d'Oisons. Its the region of Alp d'Huez, le Croix de Fer, and numerous other cols that have made and broken many a champions in Le Tour. Hopefully they won't break me too much. I will be doing the Vaujany cyclosportiv next Sunday, Jul 1 which cross Le Alp d'Huez and Col de Sarenne. Should be majestic and unforgettable. Looking forward to the punishment...

La Metropole Sud-Isere cyclosportiv report
Today I did my first french race, a cyclosportiv which is a mass start amatuer race. Amateur is a loose term b/c its open to anyone with a racing license including pro tour riders, none on this one but they do come out for some of the bigger ones. We had about 240 riders today. Another one south of here had 11000! As you can tell, they are quite popular and can be very competitive. The bigger ones like Vaujany, have diplomas that you can earn for finishing within a certain time frame. I'm shooting for a top diploma next weekend...But I have digressed away from my race report...

Race today was held in La Mure which is east of Grenoble. Quite mountain town but came alive for the race today. I was able to get a lift from a german gentleman who works for HP here, Jan. Very nice way to get to the start otherwise I would have had to take the 6:20am bus. La Mure is 870m high and in some beautiful scenery with mtn lakes and some sick vistas. I had planned to go to the supermarche(french for supermarket) last evening but no dice. And of course I had to test myself so I went with the Grand Parcours, 150k vs the 75k Petit Parcours. I had only 4 thin slices of bread, jam, nutella from my friend, and a oatmeal raisin clif bar at my disposal this morning. Not the ideal pre-150k of Alpine bliss to start the day. But you have to do what you have to do. So I jammed up two slices and nutell'd the 3rd and 4th. You could say that I broke down from my sweet imprisonment that I went on since arriving in Europe. But I needed the calories for the long day ahead. And was it tasty! We arrived at the start and I checked in, used the boys room, and was able to stash my bag in the gym kitchen(event HQ) b/c my ride was only doing the shorter loop and I was expecting another chap to take me back to Grenoble, more on this later. While putting my bag away my detective, crafty instict caught the sight of some bananas in the kitchen. After waiting a few seconds so no one was in sight I lifted two bananas and walked inconspicously outside only to see the entire peloton rolling out. S*** I thought. I could have swarn I had 5 more minutes till 9am. I jumped on my wheels and pedaled hard to catch only to find that they were rolling to the start in the village center. I stuffed one banana down and kept the another nutrious ammunition in the back pocket. So to this point i have had 4 slices of bread, one with jam, other with nutella, a clif bar, banana and coffee at the checkin. That would be good for the average person, but I was already in caloric deficit. But I stayed strong and perservered not caring what might happen.

Gun goes, and we roll out. The start was sketchy b/c you had a wide caliber of riders and people seemed to slow wait to generously on the descent out of La Mure. I tried working my way to the front, but it was difficult with the switchbacks and sketchiness. Kind of a shock to the system after kermesse racing where its guns a blazin' from the start, faster always seems safer. We rolled for about 10km before things splintered and did so quickly at the base of the first climb. before that point we rolled over this bridge that crossed a river 300-400ft? below. There was only a rock wall, hip high to prevent cars going over. It was probably one of the most sketched out times I have had on a bike b/c I was next too it and didn't see it until I was nearly running into it. Frankly, it would have been poor play on my part had I gone over b/c what would my french racing career look like? Perhaps like this...

Matthew Barrowclough, USA0220838, start Metropole Sud-Isere cyclosportiv and crashes to his death after a 300ft fall in the river below after 8km of racing.

Those kind of palomores don't scream, "this guy was an animal on the bike!" More like, "That's one unlucky SOB" ...sorry for the language Mom =)

Okay so back to racing. The first climb hit me pretty hard b/c I hadn't climb anything over 1km in over a month. Climbing in belgium, or lack thereof, is limited to 200m cobbled climbs which are just anerobic juggernauts. I was in the Alps for crying out loud. First climb took us over the Oris en Rattier which tops out at 1010m after starting at probably 300m elevation. Pretty steep. I got into a group rather soon and started to finally find my climbing legs again. After running a compact crank(50/36) before leaving for Europe i did a lot of spinning. Felt okay today in the 53/39 with a 12/25 cassette. The group was pretty fast I was in or more likely I just wasn't feeling super great yet. I hung tough and took a few pulls and was finally able to settle into some rhythem. When we hit the first feed zone with munchies I quickly grabbed a handful of dried apricots and stuffed them in my mouth. After leaving I thought I should have pocketed more in my pocket and not gorged my mouth b/c that is where I breath and that is what makes my legs go spin spin. If you have ever ridden with some steady effort with a mouthful you understand the complexity of chewing. Its probably one of the hardest things to do. After feeding, we do some more climbing then some wicked French Alps descending. Think Le Tour with the crazy switchbacks and the little village in the middle which you fly through. the guys in the group were talking french to me but I just nodded my head. One guy spoke english after I said, "no francaise" He told me its very steep at the end so you should be conservative. Well, I brushed it off, but it would haunt me. We rolled out of the villages to the screams of many madomoseilles, as they wanted to see the American boy, ie me.
Actually that part wasn't true but we did have a few encourages in the town. After one village we were clipping along pretty good about 42kmh and BAM! The riders in front didn't notice the curb that stuck out and I jammed my pedal right into the curb at 42kmh! Fortunately it was my right one. Had it been my left one, i would probably only be able to write you 1 week from now after I come out of the coma that I would have been put into. I saw a kid in 2005 jam his left pedal and he flew into tree, nearly died right there except I was able to clear is through of all the blood and stuff so he could breath(little self-bragging, sorry). Fortunately, my LOOK pedal was only nicked and I kept on rolling, but was a little disturbed. We finally rolled into La Mure which signified the end of the 75k course. One guy from our group rolled off while the rest of us jammed it down the descent and into the next climb 5k away. At this point, I was feeling pretty good. Keeping well hydrated and wasn't hungry yet. Only burned through one gel too.

We hit the base of the climb and the legs were definitely coming around. I was 3rd wheel going around the turn and kept in the big ring and went Pantani style out of the saddle with the hands in the drops and the hips over the cranks to use my weight to push down. Try it out some time, you can do some real damage. the guy in front was pretty strong, but I just started going and went past him. No one seemed to want to follow so I picked it up and no one followed. so this was it. I was going to attack a strong group with 70k to go. Hell...its the maverick in me. so I went and dug super deep and crested the Masserange without the group in sight. I had my own moto escort and he encouraged me which was sweet. I felt pro. I new I had to keep going faster and faster so I could get out of their sight so they would forget about me. Eventually I did. They say those that were the Maillot Jaune(yellow jersey) have an extra pair of wings that makes them go faster. Well, i think the same can be said for those in the breakaway. My mind was working great and the legs were churning out some sick watts. I was having a great time, although it hurt, it was incredibly exciting to be blasting away from the group. My goal from that point on was to never be seen again.

When you are in the breakaway position there is no time for rest especially if you are solo. On the descents you take risks and are always churning out the watts. On the flats you are getting as aero as possible to maximize speed and power. No lollygagging or sitting in draft, its you, and you alone. It takes an incredibly amount of sheer determination and internal pressure to keep it going. After a pretty fast descent, and a little drop through a village I took a feed from one of the feed stations. No time for stopping. I grabbed a 1.5L bottle and drank some then no-handed on the descent and filled my empty bottle up then discarded the large bottle. It was pretty much pro. The next climb, Col de Mens was the longest. It was about 10km and crested at 1111m from about 590m. Pretty tough climb with switchbacks and blazing son. The commissaires car rolled by and asked if I was okay. I gave them the thumbs up then grabbed a bottle of water and drank some then gave it back. I asked how many more km and they didn't speak english...Ohh well. I crested to the encouragement of several moto riders then began a fast descent to St Baudille et Pipet, another small village. Got some nice applause and was able to get another feed but this time I grabbed two granola bars and another bottle of water. Pro'd my bottle fillup then drank most of it from the handed bottle and dumped the rest on my head and back. Amazing feeling...To my despise i dropped half of the first bar. The next climb came rather soon, Col des Accarias. Not very steep but still hard on the legs. I did spot a group in front of me, about 4min and then I saw my chase group, about 4min. Bombed the next hill and saw the signs to La Mure, 10km.

YES! i was going to make it. It was going to work. I counted the km signs as they passed on the descent, 9km...8km...7km...then I reach the bottom. Unfortunately, this was not KM 0! All I could see in front of me was a wall of single road. The rider's earlier advice had finally materialized. The climb out of Pont de Cognet was brutal! 15% for 1.5km.No gifts anywhere. But I had to keep going, I couldn't let all my work go to waste. I powered up the hill. I probably maxed out at about 12km/h but kept mainly around 8km/h. But it was atleast 15%! Finally I made it out after climbing for 5km. Then I saw the ever beautiful sight...an aluminum sign with "La Mure" inscribed upon it. I turned the corned and saw the RhoneAlps blow banner(like the tour finish banners) and people cheering and the photographers at the line. I crossed and threw out the hands and fired off some shots. Its my winning pose, or in this case, my breakaway finish pose. The group that had chased me was close, two guys finished just 50seconds behind me.

I ended up finished 4th in my age category 19-29 and 16th overall. I missed podium by 4min. Pretty pleased with my effort since I hadn't ridden a hill in over a month and my legs hadn't been feeling super great lately and the lack of a proper breakfast. But I didn't cramp at all despite the heat.

Statistics
Time: 4:53:09
Watts: 252avg
Kilojoules: 4500

At the finish they had a nice spread of food and some cokes. Find out more in my next entry.

Au Revoir,
Matthew

TGV''n

Today I head on the TGV, which is a French high speed train, to Grenoble in the French Alps. It cruises at a nice 300km/h.

My trip to the Alps should be wicked exciting. Truthfully its been a little battle to line it up. With half of the information for travelling all in French, its making my logistcal skills look like that of a two year-old. But it all seems to have come together, hopefully...

I will write again when I get there today and will be sure to take lots of photos.

here are the two events I will be doing in the upcoming week:
Cyclo Metropole Sud Isere

La Vaujany

Oslene-Roubaix-Oslene, the legendary Hell of Belgium

So its been 4 days since my last post...sounds like the beginning words at an AA meeting or going to confession. Actually its just the number of days since I last wrote words of wisdom on the information superhighway. What's my delay you ask? What could he be doing this whole time? So I apologize for keeping you all on the edge of your seats or creating a Harry Potter euphoria =)

Training today started a little later than normal. I didn't leave the house until 11:27am which is not like me at all. But the morning was spent consuming coffee, fruit museli, and some flour tortillas with jam(out of bread). Cyclists are quiet adaptable. My training plan for today was to go for 3 hours. I decided I would head south then east and try some of the ardennes that I hadn't ridden yet. after taking the wrong side of the canal and having to backtrack several kms I was on my way to Kortrijk and feeling pretty good despite too tough days back to back of racing. Rode through Kortrijk downtown which is probably one of the more affluent cities in the region and has a french flair to it. Mom, you would definitely like it, great old world stuff with nice cafes and shopping. Some pretty girls out too for lunch, but I was training and such thoughts don't enter my head...riiigggghhhht. Continued riding south and got into some nice countryside. Riding in belgium is like this, one minute you are in hustle and bustle the next you are on a 2.5m wide road and cruising through with no life within shouting distance. i saw some church steeples in the distance and thought I would head that way. When i am lost, which is basically every time I go training at one point in ride I look for my Mecca of direction. In Belgium its the church steeple which is at the center of every village.

I wound my way through some roads which only had the sign that said, "cows" in the illustration. Sure enough there were cows and lots of dirt and manure on the road. Each time you go down one of these roads its a total gamble b/c you don't know where it ends, you only hope that its not a dead end. Its pretty much a adventure, so you could say I am the adventurous type if you were creating a fbi profile. Rode through lots of dirt, gravel, and cow dung but made my way to a road with a bike path. I went east, I think so, and caught the signs of my new destination and the turnaround of the legendary Oslene-Roubaix-Oslene. I start cruising nicely in the 53x15 with a steady tailwind to Hershoux. The turnaround was getting closer as the words began to take on different characters. Almost there...and then I see it, a blue sign, very big and along the 2 lane road, FRANCE. I crossed the border with legs spinning and adrenaline pumping, you see b/c i had just illegally crossed the border without passport, without id, and I was setting a new record on the Oslene-Roubaix-Oslene parcours. I had never been to France before. the atmosphere was a little different, snotty attitudes and not enough bikes on the road lol. Just kidding. I wound my way through the city following signs to the velodrome for the turnaround but always keeping the signs for Hershoux in sight. Being so far ahead in the race and without a proper follow vehicle or motor escort I had to battle my way with french drivers and the lack of suitable signage. Rode past a sketchy housing section and was following the signs to the velodrome but it ended at a roundabout, those fun euro-driving things. I decided this would be the new turnaround point and headed back. I only had 1 banana with me and didn't want to bonk.

The return route took me over through Dinslig(sp?) and on the N50 to Kortrijk. I stopped just after Dinslig and grabbed a coke from the machine. It was super tasty and the perfect boost for a strong finish. Try drinking a coke and running, no dice, but cycling and coke are platinum. Rolled nicely through Kortrijk, taking in the cobbles so I could check out the chicas in the cafes, unfortunately lunch was over and it was only older people, no offense to my older viewers =) Cruised back home but battled some IT Band(illotibial band) problems over the last 15km. Missing my foam roller. Rolled first at Oslene and carried to famed Bowl of Pasta to the plate and into my stomach as the winner of the first Oslene-Roubaix-Oslene winner, 4 hours, 112km over a blistering course that saw cobbles, dirt, dung, gravel, pavement in 30C temps.

It was a great ride. The past two days have been mentally draining on the racing front. I raced Sunday and legs were just no dice. Course was tough and windy with some sharp turns that lead to several crashes into ditches. I nearly went down as the field came to a dead stop and I was elbowing for room but my front wheel was going into the wheel in front of me. I thought for sure I was going down but I managed to keep it together. A gap opend on lap 4 and I couldn't close it fast enough. legs were just done. The course featured about 1.2km of straight cobbles. it was gnarly. Maybe it was the big pasta and tuna lunch i had then the ~40k ride to the course. So I pushed on home at the conclusion of the race for my ~40km back home. While I was waiting for the end b/c you can't leave b/c of doping controls I spoke with a nice Belgian couple. They are hosting an aussie rider I met a few weeks ago. Very nice couple. He wrote a play about the Tour of Flanders. They invited me to stay with them if I ever visit again. Very nice people and gave me a coke which was tasty on the super hot day.

Monday i gave it another go in a kermesse in Ooigem which is just 12 clicks away. My plan was to stay near the front so i kept following the moves as they went up the rode. ended up flatting at minute 45. Not very happy about that. so my race was over at that point. I did get a free coke from the race announcer so all was not lost.

As I have written before, the Belgians love bicycle racing. For all the people to show up on a weekday midafternoon race is so amazing. If we could only get 10% of the support in the US, bicycle racing would great by 500%.

The Belgians also look out for cyclists and treat them at a the level you would experience as a top football, baseball, or basketball player, even us amatuers. The nice couple I met on saturday are just a small example of this. they see you racing bikes and they know how hard it is and they want to make everything during the race, before and after as easy for you as possible. For instance, providing a chair for me to sit in after my race, a coke, then giving water bottles and filling up water bottles for riders they didn't even know. I can't tell you how important it is to have this in a race. Jesse Bastide and I struggled trying to get a bottle from the so-called Neutral Water at the Tour of the Gila. Both no dice. Here, its automatic. People just want to see you race and race hard. Sometimes its amusing b/c you see parents or girlfriends rubbing the legs of their boys with mysterious oils. I won't get to that level, but its all part of the support that goes with cycling here. I guess you just to have raced here to understand. Education is definitely something I have gotten here.

I am fast approaching my return to the motherland. yes, I am returning, but I am heading down to the French Alps on thursday to do some training over the many cols around Grenoble. On Saturday, I am going to compete in the La Mure cyclosportiv. i will write more about this in my next entry. Then I will be training over many of the cols that dictate Le Tour each year and finally competing in the Vaujany cyclosportiv, one of the Trophee premier events on the calendar. It will be a real test, 174k with 3500m of elevation gain over 5 cols including Le Alpe d'Huez. i can't wait!

Chow,
Matthew

Riders on the Storm...

When coming up with titles for my entries its always a quick thought...like what comes to my mind first quick. For all you academics out there, this is known as "stream of consciencness." today we had thunderstorms off and on. Since moving to the west coast, I haven't experienced a lot of thunderstorms like the ones I grew up too in eastern Tennessee or while living in Chicago, which by the way has some serious storms. I thought the title was appropriate b/c i was heading out to the Colruyt(grocery store with a warehouse feel). I pulled my bike out only to fill the first drops...i put the bike back just in time because the skies opened up for a good 20min. Fortunately things dried quickly and I was able to make it back out to get some dinner preperations. On the way down, I rolled through a neighborhood street which was blocked off and people were pouring onto the streets with small wooden boxes. They laid the boxes on the asphalt next too a meter stick with a chair in front of the box. I couldn't quite figure out what it was but it sounded like they had birds inside the boxes. There were literally 20 of these boxes lining the streets. It must be some sort of contest of avian type. Quite exciting! I didn't stick around as the clouds were looming on the front and my stomach was dictating the course for the evening. Trying to find canned tuna in water is quite the ordeal. You can find tuna in vegetables and about 5 different types of oil. Being the conscience bicycle racer I am keeping a fairly strict diet and trying to lose a few kilos. Its a tough game b/c you have to eat enough to keep properly fueled but its difficult perusing the store and seeing all the delictable treats. I've done pretty good, limiting myself to not taking full advantage of the cheeses, breads, beer, chocolates, and pastries. I will however have one belgian waffle before I leave =) I did buy a nice bottle of spanish wine tonight, 2.58euro. Pretty good bottle I might add. Wine is sickly cheap here as I have previously mentioned.

Went for a nice 1.75hr training ride this morning to Oodenarde then north along the canal then west to Deinze and south to Oslene just over 1100kjs. So about 2.5hours of riding today with the store run. Not sure if I mentioned before but a mechanic for TMobile lives next door. I saw a few of the TMobile bikes out the other day. Some protour mechanic advice for cleaning your bike, although not so Cali/enviro friendly. If you want your chain cleaned really well, use a chain cleaner with diesal fuel. Fairly inexpensive and makes the chain shiny as new. Works well when cleaning your cogset as well. Like I said, not so enviro friendly but apparently thats what all the pro mechanics do here in Europe. As the adage goes, "things are different here in Europe."

Tomorrow I am doing the Sint Denijs-Gevelgem kermesse at 3pm. Its about a 30k ride for a 115k race. So the day should be another long one in the saddle. Plan for sunday is to take it easy b/c I am racing again on Monday. This time I am bringing my boxing gloves and brass knuckles in case things get a little hairy and I have to keep up with foreign relations if you catch what I mean...


I will end this entry by giving a shoutout to Nettie Kelly in HSS300. Her tireless work has lead to several office awards which I want to point out to the rest of this blog world. She also makes a mean granola which was super tasty when I arrived here in Belgium.

Chow Chow,
Matthew

Lots of kms and Belgian directions

Writing from inside my digs in Oslene and watching some american programming. No matter where you go in this world it doesn't seem like you can escape from American music or movies. When I arrived home last night I thought about giving you a two for wednesday blog entry but I couldn't muster it up. The bike has had a stranglehold on me the last few days like a jealous girlfriend. I guess that is why I have been human relationship free for over a year now. Not to worry, I have my bike which is always happy to see me and never complains =)

Yesterday I did the kermesse in Zerkegem which is in West Vlanderdaan about 55km from my lodging. I was able to get Gregg and Holly to drop me off the motorway on their way to the coast with their friend Kim. Plan was to ride home after the race and make it a long day in the saddle. I made my way to the registration at the bar and then quickly rode to the start area. Still had about 1hr20min to the start. So I thought I would do a warmup and follow the course to figure what kind of hurt I should expect. Well, I was able to follow it for about 2k then I took a right instead of a left. Who runs counterclockwise courses anyways? Well the Belgians do. So I proceeded to ride clear out of the area. The host village was really small and wasn't even on a map. I ended up riding for an hour or about 25k getting lost. I asked for directions twice but belgians aren't the best with directions in English. Finally I saw a guy in a club kit and caught up to him and asked. Finally I was on the right track back but only had 20min to get my number on, hide my bag, and get psyched up for riding. Well I already psyched up...adrenaline pumping b/c I was getting lost and jamming it around the middle of nowhere. it would have been really bad had I missed the start b/c I was the 12th registrant out of 75. Made it back and got my number on, ate my banana then asked a belgian if I could throw my bag in his car. He was nice and allowed me too. I had my iPod and food in the bag for the ride home so it would have been bad if it got stolen. Made it to the start and got an nice 2nd row position.

The race started out fast as usual with lots of early attacks. Lots of riders from the cycling center and a USA national team rider. I was feeling good and tried following some of the attacks. I new it was early but I wanted to be near the front all day in case something good worked out. After recovering a bit from the attacks, I decided to follow the wheel fo the national team rider b/c he looked pretty strong and has done the belgian thing for awhile. That was workign really well and I was picking up on some suttle moves that made his progressions throught the peloton smoother. I have since incorporated into my own plan and I like the results so far. You can learn a lot from people by just watching. I guess thats how I have learned a lot about cycling and sailing for that matter. find someone better than you and try to mimic their actions. Unfortunately, he broke a spoke about 1/3 of the way through the race in his Kysirium SLs. My Ksyirium Elites(1/2 the cost) are holding up beautifully, thanks Colin and Aaron! With the change in game plan I decided to be a little more proactive in the race. Bridged to one break but didnt have the legs to keep in going and I let some gaps open up. Got some yells, ohh well. Back in the chase group I got into a shoving match with this belgian prick.

Things settled down and i was feeling good and we had a nice rotation going. When the announcer yelled, "de lasta rhonde" I positioned myself 2nd wheel. The guy on the front rode the complete final lap on the front. I sat in keeping an eye on the edgy opposition behind me. Over 6.6km loop, I think i played each possible scenerio in my head to exhaustion. I know my sprint isn't the best so i figured I would take the group before the sprint and atleast give myself a shot at finishing in the money. The last 700m, i decided to give it a go. I jumped but didn't get what I needed and took a really aggressive lefty on the final turn. Started sprinting but the guys behind me played me like a fiddle and I got duped. Ohh well. The mistake I made was not going earlier. If I didn't go earlier then I should have waited to the last lefty and shot out b/c everyone had to slow b/c of the tight speed bump turn. No worries, eventually it will all play out well for me. So I am now 4/8 in finishing the kermesses. My fitness level has taken a big jump but more importantly, my head is excited and in the game. I think in the beginning over overloaded the system with too much training and racing. Racing is definitely stressful but I know I can hang with these guys.

The racing was only the first part of the yesterday's adventure. So after 112k, I still had 50-60km home. I brought my map and it looked like a pretty easy route home. Ohh contrare...I made it to Torhout which is about 1/3 the way. Like I previously mentioned there is never any good signage here so sometimes its a total gamble. Fortunately it paid off for me yesteday with out any major misdirects. Rolled into a small village and find these two nice women. no english, but one offered to lead me on her bike to the intersection. From there she pointed me in the direction to Pettegem which is near Tielt which is 15km from home. Made a few excursions on the motorway, yes mom there was a bikelane but cars are still rolling at 90k/h. Returned home just after 8pm. 166km for the day. felt good all day and glad to get the long time in. should help me in the p/1/2 races when I return.

today, i took an easy ride to Kortrijk, 2hours along the canal. Legs were feeling the last two days of training and racing. not getting a good sleep last night also contributed to the fatigue. Since part of the euro pro lifestyle includes napping I decided to follow my birthright and napped for just over an hour this afternoon. But didnt fall asleep but felt good to lay down. tomorrow is rest day with an easy hour in the morning. Racing on saturday in the Sint Dinis Gevelgem.

tot ziens,
matthew

Brugge and Ronde de Vlanderdaan

So its been two days since I have written, sorry to leave you all in the dark of the mysteries of my trip. Now time to give you the updates...

I took a rest day on Monday and headed to the city of Brugge. Its a beautiful city with incredible architecture and lots of churches with tall spires to go along with the high prices of food. This is probably one of the more visited regions of Belgium and notably so. Lots of canals and beautiful squares and buildings. A true architectural digest moment if you will. I rode Holly's town bike to the train station which is about 8k from the house. Imagine 6'4" lanky guy on a bike for a 5' girl. Pretty funny looking but it does the job. Its actually more exhausting to ride this town bike for 8k than to ride for 30k on my bike. Its a real POS but thats what most town bikes are. If I was going to be here for an extended period I would buy a town bike. I'm use to riding fast on a racing bike, but the simplicty of the single speed town bike is incredibly fun. I will try to get a picture later on in case any of you need a pick me up laugh for the day =)

The time in Brugge was nice. I walked around a bit but ended up just spending a lot of time chillin in the square reading my book on the Tour de France. Pretty relaxing. Put my photography skills to the max and will post some photos later. For lunch, I was battling an internal quandry...go cheap broogie(sandwich) or something a little more filling. After walking around trying to find a broogie stand I ran across this italian joint which had a nice lunch menu. I checked out the menu then saw some nice looking dame in the window, american girl with her mom. Needless to say, i went in primarily for the food but the window beauty sold the bill. Did I talk to her??? Gosh no, I went to my own table and just chilled out =) Went with a nice tagitalle (sp?) and tomato sauce with a glass of red vino. Nice spread with some bread and olive oil, 12euro. not too bad and really my first proper restaurant meal. I figure I have to let loose a few times and it was incredibly relaxing and delicious. the wine here is very good and cheap too. I need to conjure up a scheme to bring some home but with the baggage allowance on British Airways its going to take serious scheming and logistical knowhow. Fortunately, I have pretty good skills in this area. While I was chilling out in the plaza area reading my book a Belgian approached me. Spoke very good english too me and asked my name. I replied then he shook my hand, but it didn't end with just a gentlemanly shake. It went right into the "im your homey shake" and stayed there squeezing my hand. I was weirded out but kept my cool. He asked what I was doing, told him I am here to race bikes. Then he asked if I wanted to hang out later. i declined then he asked if I would take his number then I can call him and we can hang out. ::::what was going on, and how do I let the guy down::: I told him Im not interested and that I had to go, which was half true. So now I can check off being picked up by someone in belgium. Too bad it was some guy and not a podium girl. But one day, I will get my podium girl =)

Yesterday, I rode in the Ardennes and followed the Rhonde de Vlanderdaan(tour of flanders). Lots of cobbles and hills. I did one climb wich was 17% and 200m cobbled. Felt like a champ as I crested with my energy still good. Kept rolling through and hit the famous Muur climb. Rode the entire climb, 1k in length and all cobbled. Steady 11-15% with some spots 20%. It was fun. Nice view from the top. All in all it was a great training ride, 5hours.

Today, I am doing a kermesse in West Vlanderdaan and then riding home. Should be a a good 160k for the day. Tomorrow will probably be an easy spin day to flush the legs then racing on Saturday.

ciao ciao,
matthew

Golf cart paths and 95 crazy belgians

Today, I did the 1.12B elite vc/u23 in Wervik, which means, I did a 115k kermesse in Wervik. Wervik is about 40min south of where I am and borders the France. There were a few french riders in the field but the majority were crazy belgians along with a few american riders from the cycling center, www.cyclingcenter.com and yours truly. The course was pretty flat with lots of sharp turns the usual cobbles and speed bumps thrown in for good measure. Every time I go to one of these races, the atomsphere is intoxicating, both the alcohol kind and the "im kind of a big deal" kind. Race started out wicked fast as usual and after 300m there was a sharp right turn onto a road that resembled a golf cart path with a metal fence on the right side. This lasted about 300m then there was a right turn onto an open road with a fair amount of wind. This part of the course would provide a good area to make up ground if the group slows at all. The next right was onto a batch of rough cobble that lead to another golf cart path that made of the majority of the backside, 3k(?) with some chicanes and just crazy sharp turns. At the end of this section there was a sharp right which everyone always seemed to want to come to a complete stop before jamming it. Led to lots of hard work from the back side. Still on golf cart path then we turned onto a proper Belgium road which always had some belgian dude yelling at me. I like to consider him part of my growing fan base. He must have had the start list and wanted to pick someone special, as I like to think.

I felt pretty good in the race despite being relegated to the back after some sketching turns. I did my best to improve my position when the pack went gruppo compacto. It was definitely one of the most techincal courses but fun. On the 3rd lap to go, the peloton went gruppo compacto and I shot out from the right side thinking this was my time to make it. Well, I worked hard and made it too a few other riders. On the 2nd part of the golf cart path, my legs were getting worse and I didn't have anything. so the gap formed and I was spit out from the front group. I managed to finish but it wasn't the neccessary finish that gets podium girl kisses. I was happy with my ride. I'm definitely understanding the racing better and I am able to hand with the group better and sprint out of the corner faster. Leg strength is increasing, I guess thats what happens when you are doing 58k/h in your 53x12! I thought the other day that I wanted to make the next race exciting and try my luck at attacking. I think I picked a great time to attack b/c gruppo compacto and the next portions were lots of tight turns which leads to a lot of stopping. Just spent too much energy earlier on..ohh well. I made the most of it.

When racing in belgium here a few techniques you can use to hurt the field the most. When you are in the front of the gruppo, you coerce your mates around you to slow unexectedly on a turn which is normally taken at higher speed. This allows you to shred the field and increase your chances of podium girl kisses. An adaptation to this move is to have you teammates up ahead and then slow to a near stop on the most sketchy portion of the entire course. Some might think this is called blocking but ohh the contrary. This move is called the "Belgian Screw." Today, I saw this move performed perfectly as I got to feel the full effects of the class-a move from the rear of the train.

At the start I saw a whiteboard with names and numbers written next to the names. Ahh, the elusive ORB, The Off Road Betting, stand. Similar to the OTB, off track betting, in the US. I scanned the names, and saw Barrowclough 25-6. Sweet! Not exactly sure how they come up with such an odds of winning because there is little information on this lone american in Belgium. Upon seeing the sign, it made me feel that I have reached a new plateau in my riding. I know have bookies following me...I'm Prime Time now! I hope i didn't wreck anyone's finances today =)

Tomorrow is a rest day for me and I am going to take a trip to Brugge, "its where daddy's from." Just needed to drop a little Austin Powers on you. Brugge is a famous medieval city with architecture that is much talked about. The tyrant Hitler visited before his plan for euro domination and told his generals to spare the city because he liked the beauty. I will be sure to take some fotos.

Ciao,
Matthew

Photos from Gent

More belgian racing

So its been a few days since I wrote anything, not to worry, I am doing well. Yesterday, I did a kermesse in Drongon which is just south of Gent. It was pretty warm and muggy, fortunately we missed the rain that came pouring down just after the race finished. Course was pretty windy with a lot of sharp turns and some real benders along with a nice hill and euro roundabout...of course they had to throw in a 1/2k of cobblesection up a hill. Race started out fast and furious. I worked my way towards to front to stay out of the nonsense. Not sure what it was, but riders were be sketchy and stuff. I had one belgian push me out of the way. Whatever, I guess thats racing. Then one dude cut over quick and took out my front wheel. Fortunately, my mean street skills were enough to keep me pushing the wheel back in him so that I didn't crash. I just kept thinking, What the hell is going on tonight? It finally quieted down a little bit after about an hour as the testosterone finally wore down a little. I didn't make the break, unfortunately, but I stayed with the chase group and finished my first race! 1st out of 6th aint' too bad I guess for some guy who prefers road racing over the crit style racing. Officially, Saturday's race was a finish b/c they flagged us with 3 laps to go, but this was a true finish in my eyes.

The more races I do here, the more I am understanding about positioning and jumping out of the corners. One thing I don't understand and despise these belgian idiots for are the constant attacking when they have nothing to gain. For instance, last night we were working hard to bridge back to the break and the pacelining was decent with the group just 20sec ahead but still in site. Then you have these idiots attacking each other into a headwind then slowing down b/c there is no chance they can make it across. Why?! This consequently leads to the the breakup of the paceline and a slowdown in our pace which brings us further behind. When I said I wanted to come here to learn how to race, I am definitely doing that, but there is some stuff that I see which is just plain stupid. Comments for or against this style are welcome, as I am open to any viewpoint. Another thing that I just don't get is all the yelling these guys do. You would think these guys would tell each other to shut up but none of them do. They just keep blasting their mouths off at each other over just stupid stuff. One rider started yelling at me to pull and close the gap. Now I had done a fair bit of work to keep our group close to the break so I wasn't going to even give this wanker a break. I yelled back at him some expletives in a euro/english accent. He lucked at me dumbfounded and cowarded back and rode faster to close the group. As soon as you yell something back at these wankers, they shut up immediately and won't say another word. I usually don't say anything b/c i don't want them to know I'm a foreigner since they will then ride you to the ground.

Today, I rode to Gent, which was about 90k r/t or about 3.5 hours. I rolled around the outskirts then dropped in for a double espresso. The espresso got my heart racing and wasn't a good feeling as I rolled out of town on the cobbles. Fortunately I could take the canal path all the way back. In Belgium, all the canals have roads that run alongside them. Cars rarely use them so it makes for perfect roads for interval training. Apparently you can literally ride for 4+ hours without having to get on any "road" persay. I saw a few guys motorpacing behind scooters which looked like fun. They weren't going terribly fast but it would be fun to have some scooter driver pace you at 50k/h along the canal. When riding along the canals you have to be careful of the canal road ending on one side of the water. There is never any signage so its sometimes a gamble unless you know the roads. I didn't, and rode about 2k down one side only to come to a brush/tree end to the road. Other than that, its a pretty good system. Makes for a scenic ride and you don't have to worry about traffic.

On the way home today, I was clicking along nicely about 35k/h. I rode by this old guy around and I look back after a few minutes and he is drafting me. I slowly took it up a notch, never really going out of my zone to 39k/h, still there. I am doing 40k/h down this canal, with an old guy drafting, then the guy passes me at 41k/h on a flatbar roadbike. Unbelievable! I took his draft for about 10seconds but I couldn't let him do me in. so I passed him back and up'd the ante a little to 42k/h. I'm still feeling good and finding the groove which I know I can hold for a long time. He holds on for a little while then he is off the back. Yeah, so I was battling some guy probably 3x my age, ohh well its the little battles right?

In closing, I had my 2nd celebrity appearence yesterday. Before the start, a camerman was looking at the startsheet and asked me if I was from the United States. I said yes and then he asked if he could take my picture. He had me set up perfectly for the light without my helmet and glasses. I asked if he had a website and what the pictures were for. He said, no website and the pictures are for me and my collection, but if I see you at the next race then I will give one to you. Apparently, collecting rider photos is something belgians do. Bike races are ingrained into the culture here. Last night's race had the attendence similar to the tour of california finish at santa rosa. Of course, everyone here is drinking tons and smoking. Even the race director was drinking a beer from the pace car while driving in Tue's race. Crazy stuff...somethings that will never happen in the states. So now, I have to people who have my photo in their collection. Not sure if I should be worried or not. The first guy who took my photo has been to 4 out of 6 races I have raced in and recognized last night and gave me the nod. He will now be referred to as the "maroon groupie" b/c he wears this maroon hat everwhere.

Hope everyone is having a great week....
tot ziens,
Matthew

A well deserved day off the bike

Had a frustrating kermessee yesterday. Not enough sleep and I wasn't paying attention enough and missed the break early on. Ony 27 riders started the race! Just down the road was a pro kermessee which allows pros and any belgian racing license holders to race, hence the 268 riders in the start. Several big names were in the race, Boonen, McKewen. With top 30 riders getting paid for the racing, I was in the money. So atleast I ended up with 10euro prize money.

Today, I took the complete day off the bike and went into Ghent for a little touristing, namely just walking around a little, drinking some coffee and taking a few photos. It was nice and relaxing and allowed me to regain the focus I will need to keep going strong. I did ride 5 min to the market on the house town bike to pick up some groceries for dinner. I made indian curry tofu with green peas and curry chickpeas with some basmati rice. It was a little difficult finding all the ingredients but I did a quick internet search to find the Dutch equivalent for the english names. Holly and Gregg and their friend Kim from Canada enjoyed it. Nice to spread some of my culinary skills across the pond. Still need some work on my indian food though.

Living abroad is a great experience, but for anyone who has done it understands its not always easy like sunday morning style. Cooking tonight was good for me. It allowed me to get back into what I remember in California as well as cooking food that I am used to eating regularly helps. Don't get me wrong, I am really enjoying myself here, but like anyone who has raced bikes before, knows that somedays, you feel like you could win Le Tour and other days you just don't have it. So much of the game is mental. Mental strength and the ability to pursue through adversity is what makes great champions. More and more elite athletes are turning to psychology coaches to help them overcome sidesteps in their competition. I know its one of the areas of my training were I have not fully explored. I did recently read a sports psychology book which gave some great mental strategy exercises. Unfortunately, its not as easy as 1,2,3. Its something that has to be practiced regularly. Today's trip for me was a decompression. The race starts late tomorrow, 6pm! Bike racing is hard, but more than anything its fun, and that is how my focus is going to be. When you are having fun, you do well.

Its going to be a good one tomorrow b/c Gregg will be racing with me. Although the racing is still the same, racing with people you know always makes things a little different, perhaps a little more calming. Not really sure...I guess that will have to wait until another entry.

tot ziens,
matthew

Warm Belgium days...

Today was another nice day here in West Vlanderdaan. After a leisurely morning, I rolled out for what I thought would be just an easy 2 hours as I was feeling tired from the previous days training and racing and the racing I have planned for Tuesday and Wednesday. Having just arrived here on Friday, i am still very unsure of the area and the neighboring towns, so each trip on the bike is an adventure. The plan was to roll west for a little bit before heading south and grabbing a koffie in Warregem. I ended up rolling much further southwest and ending up in the super cool Kortrijk. Kortrijk is a pretty good size Belgian city with a beautiful church and clocktower in the town center. Lots of boutique shopping too.

http://www.kortrijk.be/

After rolling through the town a bit, I made my way out after a couple of wrong turns. Traversing in Belgium is by village. So if you are on a bike, then you follow signs for villages to map your course. Street signs that mark roads aren't very popular. Its pretty handy at times, but other times its quite confusing. Nice 3 hour ride at the end.

Tomorrow I am racing in Wakken which is just 5k away so no super day tomorrow.

Gregg and Kutsie are racing in a pro kermesse tomorrow with Tornado Tom and Aussie Robbie McEwen. It should be a good day for me. I am rolling with a lot of confidence from the last race. This time, I will have plenty of fluids and some food in the pocket.

Living the euro pro lifestyle is so different from being at home. Its definitely been good for me to relax and just be able to focus on the bike. At home I would go riding out the door by 6:15am and get in 3-4 hours before rolling into work. Never leaving proper time for recovering or resting. One of the things I have to be careful with here is not overtraining b/c I have so much more time to ride. A new saying that I have picked up is "I'm going training." Which means I am going out for some bike workouts. It seems to be the euro way of saying things. In the US we talk about workouts, here everyone says they are going training which could mean 1hour to flush out the legs or 6 hard hours in the wind. Funny how things are said across the pond.

For all of you Austin Powers fans, I know I am, I am just about 30-40k from Brugge, "That's where Daddy's from." My college roommate Nik Hartney and I use to watch those movies all the time, never gets old.

I found a place to go sailing on the coast, Niewpoort, like the Newport, RI. I might take a trip out there one day and ride along the coast and try to rent a sailboat. Will keep you posted.

Tot Ziens,
Matthew

El Lingo de Cycling

Thats my weak attempt at some spanglish. But as the title might imply here are some words with their meanings...

kermesse(Kermi): standard race in Belgium, 100-120km in length with laps at 5-16km laps
koffie: Coffee
kilometer: 0.62mi, 1.6km = 1 mile
peloton: large group of riders
tete de course: leader of the race
attack: to lay the hammer down and move ahead of the other shmuks in the race
Working in the race: don't do during the first half of the rest atleast, preferably not all
de laaste rhonde: last lap
grupetto: last group in the race(italian term)
belgian cafe: smokey joint where you sign in for races and get lots of 2nd hand smoke
warming oil: grease the belgians get slapped all over the legs by their daddies or girlfriends leaves the room smelling of all types of stuff


Hope this stuff helps. I will probably add more to the dictionary as the time rolls on...

Tot Ziens (Flemish for goodbye)
Matthew

My new digs in Oslene

I have reorganized myself now in Oslene which is in West Vlanderdaan (or West Flanders). I am living with Gregg Germer and his wife Holly. He is an american pro here on the Splendid team and Holly is a massage therapist from Hamilton, Canada...ehhhh =) The new situation is much much better. Its a real house and not a makeshift shanty. Shouldn't be eaten alive by bugs everynight and I have a washer and wifi in the house. Gregg is a great source for racing information as he has been racing here for a few years now. They are always using Flemish words and sayings so I should be able to pick up some language skills which is important for me. Oslene is about 25k south of Gent, pronounced Hent. Gent is a medieval city with a castle and such. Home to a lot of younger people. The are in general I have noticed has a lot younger people, and several attractive dames I might add =) West Vlanderdaan and Oost Vlanderdaan(East Flanders) are bike racing meccas. To the south of me you have the Ardennes and I am only about 35-40k from Roubiax. Tomorrow I am going to go and do a 4 hour steady ride with the friend of Gregg, Kootzie. He is a scottish pro here. Lots of good stories from him tonight.

When I arrived here yesterday afternoon after taking a couple of trains over here, I was eager to get out on the bike and shake the legs out a bit. Unfortunately, it is dumping rain and thundering all afternoon. It was probably a good day for me to take a rest. I did manage to ride about 6k in the morning to pay my rent at the other place and tell them adios but thats not much. When I started thinking about all the riding that I have done since I arrived last thursday, I calculated close to 900k. For me thats a lot over an 8 day period considering all the travelling I had to do. Waking up this morning the legs felt alright but I went for an easy hour, as I was planning to race later this afternoon. I did a nice little loop and stopped in Warregem, which is just south of here. Super cool town with lots of good cafes, shops, and a farmers market. I bought and apple and parked up at a cafe. I ordered my cappucino(that's for you Ceal) and ate my apple. It was a beautiful sunny day, pretty warm, 30C and humid. It was 1045am and typical Belgium, the cafe is filled up with 70% of the people there drinking a bier. Unbelievable. Isn't 1045 still considering coffee/espresso relaxation time? Not here, its pour a bier and kick back. There was this older lady, had to been atleast 70. She grabbed the complimentary cashews that always come with your bier and dropped the entire bowl in her purse then grabbed her beer and sat gleefully enjoying the sweet sweet taste of Belgian goodness. I couldn't help but laugh.

Made it back home and cooked up some pasta so I could have some fuel for the 115k race I had at 3pm. Gregg and Holly dropped me off at the bar to sign in and headed off to Ikea to buy a new bed for my room. Coincidently, they had just moved into this house a week ago. It was pretty warm, so I stayed under the tent trying to not inhale too much of the cigarette smoke. Two riders from Zimbabwe where in the race today. I think they are doing a documentary on these two lads b/c they had a camera guy and a mic man all around them. In Belgium, the races ALWAYS start on time. Not today. They were delayed by about 20min b/c of traffic. I benefited from getting a better starting position. My kiwi friend, Rico Rogers, came over from my old area to race today. He's a pretty good sprinter. Race finally started and the attacks were relentless. Belgian racers all want to be super protagonists in the race and will attack and attack. They even attack out of the breakaway when the break is working well together and still lots of k's to go in the race. After my frustration in my first few races, I finally picked a plan for today. My head was finally in the game per se. My plan was to ride near the front and not work at all. I managed to be in the top 5 or so for about 3 laps(7k laps). The rest of the time I was just out of the top 10, never in dangerzone and never working. If you are going to follow the "don't work" strategy you have to have a strong head for it. The belgians will yell at you all day long, atleast for the first 1.5 hours which is typically the hardest. Its funny b/c the foreigners tend to stick together. If you dont' say anything, then they don't know you are foreigner. Once you let them know, they will work you over. I worked over the Belgians hard today and sat glued to wheels all the time. One crazy belgian was giving me an earful. I looked at him straight in the eye and just staired at him. I thought about gesturing something on the lines that I can't hear. But I just staired him down. He shut up. In a US race if you don't work, then you yelled at during the race and at the end. In Belgium, you get yelled at during the race and thats it. As Shawn would say, I was being crafty. My original goal was too just hold on for an hour b/c I had such difficulty in the other 3 races. Well the hour passed at by 2 hours the pace was more steady and fewer attacks and less yelling. For the first time since arriving, I think I understood the racing. Go hard hard hard for the first hour and drop as many riders as possible, then ease up a little. It was over 30C for the entire race and I ran out of water b/c I don't have a souigner or my daddy to rub my legs with oil or hand me water bottles like all the other belgians. Ohh yeah, no food either. I wasn't able to follow the break that went and settled in on just finishing with the group. At that point I finally took some pulls at the front as there was a decent rotation going on. I could feel the cramping coming so I didn't push myself too far b/c I just wanted to finish. On 3 laps to go the ambulance came ripping through and the race director called us off the course! We were only about 45 secs down from the lead group. I was pissed. I learned later that they were battling serious traffic problems so they had to cut the riders in the race. In my eyes, i finished the race. Overall I am pleased with my result. Finally not getting dropped in the first 35min. I know now that I can hang with those guys b/c the kiwi said today's race was really hard. He commented on my form, which got me stoked. Now I just need to prepare for racing the entire race which means plenty of fluids and food. I will give it a go on Monday. If I would have had food today and fluids, I know I could have made the top 10.

152km today with lots of wind and a nice 75m cobble section. I did surprisingly well over the cobbles, just big ring and push hard. The bike sounds like its going to break in half though...LOL

Tot Ziens,
Matthew