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Last thoughts before the gun goes off.

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Bridging across solo to the breakaway in Waardamme.

Famous Belgian Climbs and an Epic Ride

Today Rus, Brian and I decided we were going to do an epic ride that went over some of the famous climbs of the Tour of Flanders. The route we took coverse 170K and goes over at least famous climbs that i know of. There were a few other climbs but i am not sure of their names. This was a tough ride to say the least. These cobbled climbs are extremely difficult. The Kwarmont is suprising long and i would say about 1k in length but of course cobbled and very steep. The steepest climb would have to go to the Patersburg. This climb is about 25% in grade, cobbled and probably the toughest climb i have done. There are cars that wouldn't make it up this climb. The ride went well and we had pretty decent weather. It ended up taking about 6.5hrs to do the loop and all i can say is i can't imagine racing on that terrain. I am pretty tired after that ride and we just rode the loop casually. Add another 80K or so and do it at race pace and you will find out what kind of a bike racer you are. It really is some tough man kind of stuff. Well, that is the end of that story, it definatly goes down as one of my top 5 rides ever. Thanks for reading, bye bye til next time.

About half way

Well today marks about the half way point in my Belgium racing adventure. I have about a month and a half left here. I am excited because i can feel the form coming and i can feel i am only a few steps from some decent results especially in the Kermes. I have set a goal for myself to get into the top ten at a Kermis before i leave. This has proven to be a tough goal for just about everyone in the house as we only have about 3 top ten's in the house all year, but it is something that i am going to work hard to achieve. I have another Kermes tomorrow and again on tuesday. After looking at what i have learned here so far i can say that this is literally the college of European cycling. If you want to learn how to race your bike, you have to spend some time in a place like this. I really have been enjoying myself here and the experience is priceless. I am however looking forward to seeing my girlfriend and that is the only negative part about the trip is that i do miss her very much. There is more to come, so thanks for reading. Bye bye for now

3 races in 4 days

Since my last post i have done 2 kermis' and 2 UCI races in France. I have had some mixed results, recently i have done 3 races in 4 days and in the middle of a big building stage in my fitness. The most recent UCI i did was a 1.2 in Dourges France. I spent the race working for Rudy and Jason. 3 of us covered a lot of early moves and tried to keep these guys out of the action for as long as possible. It proved to be a very tough, very hard race. There were 9 pro teams that we counted and only a few amateur teams. The cobble section wasn't too bad, but managed to nock my headset loose and no it is all busted up and i have to replace it. Aiden, Matt and I worked really hard all day and the 3 of us lasted about 100K leaving Jason and Corey to watch after Rudy. They ended up finishing in the pack and missing the main move, but it wasn't a bad day. I know i was truely spent and gave everything i had so i was ok with the race. I am far from satisfied, but still getting a little better. More to come later. Thanks for reading.

A little better with every race

With each race i do i am getting a little better form and getting a little bit better results. This week i did a kermis in Oostrozebeke and Oostende finishing 25th and 37th respectively. They were both great races, especially the the race in Oostende. This was one of the better course i have done since i have been here. There was a really high quality field at this race with a decent turnout. Physically i am feeling better in the the races and am learning how to save my energy and keeping better position in the race, but getting the correct moves is proving to be a little frustrating. I don't know which teams are strong and which guys are strong so i try to use my best judgment and go with moves that look strong, but they seems to last a little while and come back. Oh well, i know that the more i do these the more i will figure them out. I sure am having a lot of fun though. Next up is a UCI 1.12 in France. More to come, thanks for reading