As I pushed as hard as my body would allow, fighting back the urge to shit out my intestines, I saw through sweat-burning, blurry eyes that the peloton was gone and there was no chance of getting back into its windless comfort. It was only the fifth lap, 45 minutes into the race, and I [...]
Entries from August 2008
August 27, 2008
The hoase!
A true belgian workhorse.
The path to becoming a clydesdale is a long one. Here I am at step 4: the mule. #1 horse shit #2 miniature horse #3 donkey #4 mule/ass #5 mixed breed horse #6 spotted horse #7 zebra #8 stallion #9 thouroughbred #10 Clydesdale
Bag o sugar. I removed most of it.
Break away last [...]
August 27, 2008
Early Return
My original plan was to stay in Gent and continue to race three times a week for another three weeks after Tony left. But after yesterday, and the way I have felt the last three or four days, I don’t think my body is up for it. It’s been a long year, which started back [...]
August 25, 2008
A night under Belgian sky
The night out in the streets was cold and rainy. We found a gazebo in a park with a roof and a cracked-wooden floor. I wore two long sleeve jerseys, a shirt, a sweat shirt, a coat, three pairs of pants, and two pairs of pants. I brought the rest of my clothes to sleep [...]
August 22, 2008
50 mile commute. 80 mile race
Yesterday was a long day on the bike. Tony and I rode to the race in Maasmunster and back, getting lost going both to and from Gent. With the 120 kilometer race, it ended up being a 130 mile day for me.
My placing in the race didn’t reflect how I felt or rode, which seems to [...]
August 19, 2008
August 16-19 and race 7
August 18
It’s been a while since my last post and it may be a while yet before I post this. But I am in Gent with Tony right now, sitting in the Draeke youth hostel, although there is a very old fat man in the room with us—so I don’t know why it’s called a [...]
August 14, 2008
wrapping it up
I just got done playing a very argumentative game of Taki, which is like Uno. Tony quit mid-way into the game because he couldn’t take the arguing and cheating that was dictating the card game. I was right at home. Tony’s spot at the table was quickly filled by Sagi, who added to the on-the-spot [...]
August 10, 2008
Still waiting
I’m still waiting to get over this cold. Just a couple more days to go I think. Tony and I haven’t been doing anything at all since my last post. He started to get sick, plus Gal wanted him to take an easy week, so neither of us has been riding very much. The days [...]
August 7, 2008
Fireworks
I was still sick yesterday, which I knew when I woke up, but denied it to myself. The race began at 6pm and my plan was to attack right away and make sure to get in the winning break. Right before we started, the officials changed the starting line and I lost my spot at [...]
August 4, 2008
A little sick
I have woken up with a sore throat the last few days and today I am actually feeling a bit down. A good portion of the team here is sick with a cold right now, and I am afraid I have caught it. But I have a feeling that it is one of those two-day [...]
