Anyway how the bloody hell are ya?!
Riding yesterday I got passed by, what could only be an absolute German good bastard, as he was driving a Hilux ute - first one I've seen here. I got all choked up and overrun with warm-fuzzy thoughts of those New Zealand back roads, but then realised I was riding in blazing mid 30 degree sunshine and quickly quashed all emotion.
So I've been filling my last couple of weekends with races in Germany, neither result is worth writing home about, but I'll do it anyway, because it at the end of the day you might get a laugh or learn something like I did.
 |
| Schliersee is stunning. T2 is up in the Bavarian Alps in the distance. |
It all started with Schliersee where I wound up 17th which was no where near where I was aiming, but I learnt a thing or two so it meant it wasn't a waste of 10 hours in a van. Firstly, kaiserschmarrn is the super incentive for climbing the beast of a hill to second transition. I wish I'd had the opportunity to try it beforehand as maybe I'd have found another gear. What it is, is these Bavarian style pancake meringues morsels covered with powdered sugar and served with apple puree on the finish line, at 1,100m. More than enough to impress even the Gordon Ramsay wanna-bees. Secondly, now write this down, always know your course. Riding a few wheels back into a sharp corner kicking into a steep narrow climb is not ideal, but worse when the great divide opens up a couple of bikes in front of you and there's no Team Sky to close it for you. Always know your course. I scrambled to cover the run third fastest, but from second bunch it's as handy as tits on a nun.
I thought I ate enough kaiserschmarrn to recover and knock out my last hard week into Dusseldorf, but turned out I should have gone back for thirds. A few hard days later, all boxed up and crying on the inside, I was off to race Dusseldorf. 'Race' was maybe optimistic, ironman race pace was about as good as I could manage, which didn't bode well considering the world class field on the start line. I was in the zone where I just couldn't hurt myself, but shit, if I came into contact with these cobbles on the bike I definitely could.
The course was quite technical, with some nasty consequences if you did get it wrong. It was all ok until we hit the easiest, straightest, widest part of the course on the last lap and suddenly bikes were piling up in front of me. Slamming on the anchors I was wondering which part of Will Clarke would be least painful to try and bunny hop, but luckily managed to haul it in and avoid the worst. Again bunch positioning had proved costly and the splintered line we rolled into T2 with was how the guts of the run would go. I finished a very disappointing 30th, but hopefully iced off my key training block into Palamos this weekend, and Geneva the weekend after.
So that's racing.
On a session between the two races I came across this German gem of a sign, as to what it means, well it's pretty obvious really. When driving in your tank you can go 60 if the road is clear but, only 40 if another tank is coming at you. Safety first.
Right then Fred, Sam Osborne and I, or 'Scam' as we are affectionately known locally, are off to do some training.
Love to my homies,
nugget.
