Miss Belgium

Today I started my first kermesse in a few weeks. A Miss Belgian finalist was there handing out our start numbers. With 150 starters at the race I felt pretty strong. When the main break rolled up the road without me I decided to bridge across. I couldn’t believe the small group I was with made it across. My head has not been in the racing game lately; I have been distracted by other problem and a little fear of getting crushed by the tough Belgian racers. I quit the race at the 2-hour mark. With only 30 minutes left in the race I am sure I will be finishing soon.
Today I went to see a chiropractor about a popping hip I have been ignoring since December. I believe he will be able to fix it with the information he gave me and the quick back straitening felt good since my back gets quite compacted from the rough Belgian roads.
I would also like to thanks Ruben, Rein and Rein’s family for being so supportive of me here in Belgium. I would also like to thank all my friends for helping me get through a troubled time.

Pickle and I Visit Wild Bill in Amsterdam

The new season starts now. I have just returned form a short trip to Amsterdam. I traveled up to Amsterdam to visit my friend Wild Bill and show another friend Dan the sights. I feel the trip was very relaxing mentally because I started my racing season last year with a plane flight to Amsterdam and a train ride to Gent. I just hope the rest of the season here can be successful as last year and the small reenactment of last year season start may help me get past the mental block that has formed from the injury and lack of racing.
Dan is a friend from Reading; I helped him find a place to stay here in Gent so he could try the European racing scene for three weeks. He is enjoying his time here. I have tried to ride him to some of the famous sights around Gent. It is really good to see people from home.
Racing and training is tough when you are alone. My long time girlfriend Kathryn Ruscio has finally broken away from me. We have been fading apart since I started this crazy cycling adventure in the spring of 2001. It is tough to be training hard and preparing like normal when everything is not. Kathryn was very special to me but our paths in life did not go the same way. I am glad she has the strength to be on her own; I just wish I were so strong. Good luck Kathryn be safe and travel wisely.

Training with the Flemish Cycling School and CSC in Luxembourg

I’m back; almost I spent last week training hard. I was in Luxembourg camping with some friends Kenneth, Dina and Jimmy at Dina’s family campsite. Jimmy and I were training with the Flemish cycling school, where Kenneth’s father is a coach. It was an incredible week. We would ride twice a day over rolling train. The hills felt so good after spending all this time in east Flanders where it is flat terrain. I learned a look and improved my fitness greatly while in Luxembourg. The last day of the camp we rode with the CSC professional cycling team the riders that were not participating in the Tour de France. One of the coaches of the cycling school had ridden for CSC so he knew they were in town and arranged for us to ride with them. We met up with them while they were already training. They were training in two groups of five doing long individual efforts while the cycling school did a rotating pace line behind. We were unable to meet the riders but some of the more famous ones there where Andre Taffi, Tristian Hoffman and Julian Dean. It was amazing to see how the team trained.
On Friday the 18th I meet up with my Royal Antwerp team to start a Stage race in the Ardennes. Tour de La Province de Liege, what a tough race and I went into it tired. I was hoping to finish and gain some good fitness from it. The first day I was dropped on the second climb 40 km into the race but I was able to organized my group and we caught back up to the main pack with 15 km to go. The second stage I was able to hang in until the finishing circuits where the big team turned up the speed and “put the race in the gutter”. The single file riding at speed was to much and I couldn’t hold on with 22 km to go. The third day the race was fast and was in a single file line for most of the day I made it 85 km before I ended my race. I was disappointed with not finishing but after a hard week of training in the hills what should I expect when every one else is fresh. The final day of the race I trained for one hour and rode up the famous climb La Radoute. It was amazing to ride up a climb where many Liege – Bastone - Liege classic races have been decided.
I have returned home to Gent feeling tired and fit. Gentse Fest is also happening in gent and I have taken some rest time to see it. The Belgians really know how to party. I have never seen anything like it. a 24 hour party for 10 days, it is something that must be seen with your own eyes. I hope to be racing well soon but this coming back from injury is really tough on the brain and I am having a tough time mentally believing I will ride well again this year.

Biken to the Tour de France

Everything is well it was 230 km just to the Charleville – Mèziéres and I did not make it to the Finish in Sedan. I arrived in Charleville – Mèziéres just as Bradley MeGee the Yellow Jersey was walking into his hotel. I snapped a few shots of him drinking a beer and then explored the town. They were already setting up for the next morning. I found a quiet place to sleep for the night since all the hotels were taken up by the race.
Sundays race also went smoothly, it was a good course. I felt strong the whole time I raced. I completed one hour of racing because that was my small goal and it also started to rain a little and I did not want to risk crashing. The race was fast just like all races here and I was able to sit in with no problem I even tried a few jumps and turns at the front. The only problem had was standing up to sprint up hill my collarbone just did not feel solid enough. I was pleased with my performance and look forward to improving into some good results for the end of the season.
I awoke at 5:30 in Charlevill – Mèziéres and started to watch the start of the stage unfold. Already the town was quite buisy. By 10:30 the streets were packed for the 1:30 start. The Tour de France is serious business. The amount of work that goes into a stage start is amazing. a small city was built in the center of the towns main square just to feed the staff that was to work the race. Companies that sponsor the Tour us ever possible promotional scheme giving away free product, newspapers about their product, floats blaring music and flashy dancers. The riders are protected from the fans by barriers so they can prepare for the race in some kind of peace. When the riders roll up to sign in the crowd screams for autographs and there favorite riders. The Yellow Jersey gets the biggest cheer and then Lance and Jan Ulrich. A whisper goes through the crowd “it’s Richard, it’s Richard” and then a big cheer when it is Richard Virenque. The 1:30 start came quickly and before I knew it the riders were off. At 2:00 I started my ride back to Gent Belgium. the trip was worth while just to see the tour and the long rides were excellent training. I now have some great base miles I just have to get my race speed and confidence back and I will be ready to go.

Back from Injury

This morning I noticed a marker on my block, marking the spot where a V1 bomb hit during world War II. I found it really interesting that a small bit of history like that is remembered so close to where I am staying here in Gent. I am starting my first race back from injury this afternoon in Merelbeke a 117 km kermesse. I hope my legs don’t explode like the V1 bomb. Actually I feel really good I have been training hard for a little over two weeks. On Monday I am going to ride down to the Belgian border to watch the Tour de France stage finish in Sedan and then find somewhere to sleep so I can watch the stat the next day. I think this will be good training since it is some where’s around 200 km each way. wish me luck.