May 2013
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On grey ribbons of cracked asphalt, through dark green pine forests and rocky valleys and, up, above, on wind-blasted plateaus, all of one’s skills and strength as a cyclist are tested in the Ardennes.
One after another, the hills hit, the next always coming before one can catch one’s breath. Rarely is there a moment of relief. The descents are tricky; they switch back and forth through...
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Big decisions are best made in the middle of nowhere, on a bicycle.
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April 2013
12 posts
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I wake to aching in my upper arms. I sit, round my shoulders and feel the stiffness in my spine. The room is hazy and my throat is parched. I clench and unclench my fingers, trying to relieve the tension in my throbbing knuckles. Lethargically, I make coffee. The first sip brings the world back into focus and wakens the knot of hunger in my hollow stomach. On Mondays, I take my sabbath.
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Sailing along in the little ring, wind at my back and sun on my skin, where shall I wander today?
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A criterium is essentially a 100km long hockey shift.
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The cobblestones come as a relief; those first moments of organ rattling intensity offering welcome respite from the insanity of the previous kilometres. Once we arrive on the stones, there is nothing left to do but ride.
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March 2013
8 posts
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Soon, I will be exchanging long days of quiet winter riding for the chaos of the early season klassiekers. Training more and more in recent weeks, I’ve been steadily bringing myself into shape with longer rides out in the cold, grey forests of the region. It is nice to be able to enjoy the odd stop for coffee and appeltaart to fuel the next hours of training but March has arrived and with...
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February 2013
7 posts
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Some days, the hardest part is getting out the door.
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Today, a Mars bar saved my life.
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One’s best moments on a bike are marked by a sense of euphoric freedom; a feeling of complete, unbridled, liberty that allows one to push beyond normal boundaries.
Now, in an age of data analysis and, often conflicting, training and racing advice, the cyclist’s most difficult challenge is, perhaps, to maintain a mindset that might allow him or her to ride at his or her best.
Self-consciousness...
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January 2013
2 posts
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December 2012
1 post
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There is nothing romantic about winter training; preparing for a racing season is plain, simple, manual labour. One has to keep pedalling, no matter what. Outside on a cold, wet day or inside on the rollers, keeping the legs turning is a daily grind. With racing a long way off, motivation is a valuable commodity. It is easy to turn for home early when one’s fingers are numb and a warm cup of...
November 2012
1 post
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Washing bikes is the worst part of winter riding.
October 2012
7 posts
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Why do I race my bike? It is a question that I consider often. Is it simply an outlet for my competitive spirit and a way to assert myself in the world? Or is it my will to always be better that drives me?
Certainly, these are factors but, more and more, I realize that it is the racing itself that compels me to ride.
Cycling offers experiences of such a rare intensity that the rest of life is...
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There is something to be said for riding by wristwatch.
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I recently said that the days of heroes were dead; it isn’t true.
The real heroes are those cycling for the love of it, those racing for the thrill of clean competition, those riding just to explore the world, and everyone who savours the sense of real achievement that this sport brings.
These are the people that we should celebrate. They are all around us; from the cat. three who wakes up...
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I still love bike racing.
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In my late teens, I became enamoured by cycle racing and, soon after, decided to dedicate myself to an attempt to reach the highest echelons of the sport.
In the proceeding years, I have managed, through a combination of hard work and what talent I was born with, to overcome a number of personal failures and mistakes and achieve a level of success and aptitude on my bike that I can at least take...
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There’s something about riding in the autumn air, the crisp wind and turning trees, that has me falling in love again.
