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Answers on a postcard to...! -27.07.2010
I am now back in Attenrode after my first ever Thuringen Rundfahrt. This started fantastically for the whole team- a win from Emma with perfect team play and everyone feeling great (including me!). Unfortunately for the team and Emma she reacted badly to something and spent the whole night throwing up; she was left empty and weak for the second stage. With temperatures up to 42 degrees the race was hard enough even with a healthy body. Emma made the natural decision to climb off. I continued to feel good for the following 3 stages but on the Saturday things took a down turn for me too. My back, for some reason, became blocked again and there was zero power through to my legs. I fought hard to finish on Saturday and survive on Sunday but returned home rather demoralised, frustrated and very confused.
With no concrete answer to the exact cause of this repeated problem I am now back home trying to decide what to do next!!! As ever the family here are full of support and encouragement and we will continue to search for a solution. The first step in this process is planned for tomorrow.
Away from the bike life is good! I have returned to Hoefstraat to see our ‘carefully nurtured’ tomato plants bearing large amounts of fruit. This is a precious lesson for my dad; ‘Dad, I did nothing. If you leave you plants for a few days they will still bear fruit!’ In reality the plants have had zero nurturing and it is a true miracle that we are now enjoying juicy sweet tomatoes! Do not interfere with mother nature eh!!!
Tension is building in Hoefstraat for the ‘big day’ and I am seriously excited about my first ever experience of a belgian Wedding. I would not expect a huge difference from an English one, but then I may well be surprised; all the neighbours are invited to a ‘shooting’ on Friday night to mark the beginning of the celebrations. I am very curious!!
Looking forward to writing my next BLOG telling you all about the celebrations and my progress with the back (don’t forget your answers)!
Look at all those tomatoes!
A shock to the system!- 14.07.2010
We are still sitting in the thick of a heatwave here in Attenrode. The forecasters had said that we would have heavy rain and storms for the most of Monday; I think that we had about an hour of that before the sun showed it's face again! I raced in Kontich on Saturday and took a serious battering for the first half of the race! Without a race for two weeks and no real intense training due to the back issues the speed (combined with the heat) was a shock to my system; not a pleasant one. I will race this evening and do not expect a better sensation though for a different reason; I trained hard for the last 2 days and have already had a couple of hours on the bike this morning. This is all in an effort to build back up for the remainder of the season- this will begin on Sunday with Dwars Door Westhoek shortly followed by Thuringen which begins on Tuesday.
A Taste of the Tour- 07.07.2010
On Monday we had a great family day out to watch the Tour passing through the Ardennes. It was a reminder of how unbelievably popular this event is. Naturally, you get to see 100+ top sportsmen without queuing, paying for a ticket or having your vision blocked by someones big head! Throw in all the freebies from the tour caravan and there is entertainment for everyone. However, upon reflection I could be considered a little crazy for this decision to view the Tour on a 'relatively' flat stage; blink and you miss them! Gunther and I actually rode 113km to where we watched the Tour while the rest of the family drove in the jeep. But if I am crazy then so are thousands of others who waited 2-3 hours to watch this spectacle, not least the family that we saw at their picnic table 4 hours before the race was due, in a 70kmph descent!
The temperatures have gradually risen this week and right now it is a sweltering 37 degrees outside. Vicky, Gunther and co are still working on the dunnen (yes, it has truly surpassed the exam marking on the bordem scale) and begin at 6 each day in an attempt to escape the worst of the heat; only a few more fields to go!!!
The back issues have been resolved once again though for how long I can not be sure. I am however, optimistic that we may have actually gone some way to finding the cause of this! ;-) I have the best trainer in the world, and his brother is pretty good too ;-)
Guess what the Tour caravan threw at us?!
Blink and you miss them.
A Long BLOG- 03.07.2010
It’s been a busy week and I am writing again from a floating seat! I had a lovely time in Yorkshire with the family and packed plenty in during the short space of time that available.
The National Championships were rather disappointing for me; I am returning to Belgium in search of answers to this recurring back issue. I feel horrendous on the bike and my mental energy is now being affected by it. However, I do not give up easily and I am determined to overcome this obstacle.
The Championships were held in Pendle; it was a challenging course in a stunning area. I believe the strongest rider won on the day and I am really happy for Emma; she is a worthy wearer of the jersey and she will do it justice! Also congratulations tol new Swedish champion and team mate Emma; another worthy wearer of a national jersey!
I left the race on Sunday hoping to catch the footy at my sisters house but my plans did not quite work out as I spent a good 3 hours in the traffic which was being diverted from the M62 ( due to an ‘incident’)! I do not think that I missed much- the radio commentary was sufficient in the circumstances! I ended my day wondering if I should have stayed in bed that morning!!!! It was certainly a more attractive option given the day that I had had and the location of the Bed and Breakfast that I had been staying in! I spent the night in Newchurch-in-Pendle; The Old Earth House (http://oldearthhousenewchurch.co.uk) was run by a lovely couple and offered breathtaking views. I would highly recommend the area to any outdoor-lovers; cyclist, walkers, hikers etc….
With a slightly easier week on the bike I had time to do the things that I normally would not- coffee on a terrass with Mum, leisurely swimming (I never get bored of the feel of water flowing over the body as you glide through it!), a visit to see Batman, my dad’s nag, and a wonderful afternoon with my sister for lunch and shopping. Batman (not it’s real name but that would be telling ;-) , it’s going to win a couple of weeks!!) is in a small and friendly stables close to the town of Malton. After chatting with the owner and looking round with went to the gallops to watch the horse ‘stretch it legs’; impressive! I then hopped on the bike and enjoyed my own training session taking in the roads around the North Yorkshire Moors including Hutton-le-Hole, Blakey Bank (http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=BLAKEY-BANK&qryMountainID=9737) and Farndale. I considered myself lucky to be descending the bank rather than climbing, that was until I got to the other side of the valley and saw the 23% sign; nice!
The ‘downtime’ did not end in Yorkshire; a brief visit to Cheltenham saw me catch up with old work friends who were celebrating the end of term! Normally I would have lingered a little longer in Cheltenham and met up with the club but resolving the issues with my back is really top priority for me now and that means returning home to Belgium. The time with good friends however was helpful in taking my mind off the problem for a short period of time.
I am uncertain what the coming weeks hold though I do know that I will be in the Ardennes on Monday- I will ride there from Attenrode and meet the family to watch the Tour!!!
Another article of the keen readers among you- http://www.bikeenvy.co.uk/article.php?id=169
In the meantime some photos of my little ‘holiday’!
Nice tree!!! I know, the horse is hardly in the picture, I tried though!
This one is better; my dad is SO proud of the horse, it's a thrid grandchild for him!!!
Dad's 2nd grandchild and my nephew, Billy, not yet one year old and already 2 stone!!!
Taken from the window of my bedroom in the Bed and Breakfast!
Blakey Bank, a challenging climb, but a FAST descent for me!
A Small World- 25.06.2010
Two BLOGS in a week; what a treat!!! And if that is not enough there is a link below to a piece that I recently wrote for CW.
from my bed on the overnight ferry from Zeebrugge to Hull. While cooking in my Corsa in 30 degrees stood in traffic I felt a strong sense of relief knowing that I did not have to drive from Dover all the way up to Cawood; rather I can stick my ear plugs in and hopefully have a good night’s sleep. My car was well loaded up but unfortunately not with the family- I left them busy with ‘dunnen’; a tedious job involving removing all the ‘smaller’ pears from the trees (now that matches marking 5000 exam question on the boredom scale!).
While sitting in the lane waiting to board the ferry I was approached by an inquisitive man; my hatchback Corsa gives away my ‘trade’. The blankets were hiding the bike from full view and ‘Paul’ was happy to find out that it was a Ridley; he was the account manager at Ridley!! It is truly a small world! I love meeting new people and these two charming fellars (Paul was with his ‘boss’; at least that’s who he thought he was!!) were no exception. Thanks for the coffee boys and the conversation- drop me a line when you are in Paal-Beringen; then the drinks are on me!!
Until next week and another BLOG from another location; maybe Yorkshire or maybe Cheltenham!
BLOG from CW website- a few comments on the saga surrounding Cancellara
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/blog/472457/emma-silversides-big-engine-or-little-motor.html