Tour de Beauce, Take 2...

So a few weeks ago I mentioned that I was heading back toCanada to do the Tour de Beauce, a race that I was not particularly fond of due to the highly undulating terrain. In my last attempt, I missed the time cut on the 2^nd last stage so, hence, did not complete the race. Here is what happened this time…

Stage 1: As we started the Tour of Beauce, memories that I managed to repress for the last couple of years came flooding back. The stage went relatively calmly until the final 5km. With 4km to go, a sharp pinch split the field up and riders were scattered as they crossed the line. I finished a couple of minutes behind the eventual winner but my team mate, Andrea Peron held on and sprinted for 3^rd place.

Stage 2: The stage started fast. With wind and rain, it was single file in the gutter for the first 30km before the race settled down. I really couldn’t remember this stage from the last time that I did it nor what happened in the end. Then I got a violent reminder. 

With 20km to go, we took a sharp left turn straight into a ridiculously steep climb. Somehow, I ended up with a 23 cassette on my wheels and churned my way up the climb. The group split apart and I ended up 5mins down on the winner.

Stage 3: This is the queen stage of the Tour, finishing with a 7km climb up Mt Megantic. Team mate, Javier found himself in the break and we were able to sit in the bunch until the climb. I struggled my way up Megantic.

Stage 4: A relatively short individual time trial, this stage was seen by many as a chance to ‘recover’ from the previous days. I ‘recovered’ as best I could and rode a time to put me in the middle of the field.

Stage 5: This was as far as I made it in my last attempt so I was keen to better it. The stage was a circuit race around Quebec city with a steep climb each lap. It is known for being a difficult race.

The race started VERY fast with riders getting dropped on the first accent. I managed to hold on and completed the first 7 laps with the main field before dropping off with a small groupetto. All we had to do was pedal the last few laps to advance onto the final stage.

With only 1 lap remaining, we began the descent for the 2^nd last time. I leaned into a sharp right turn and felt my rear wheel jump and slide out. I hit the road and slid as the rest of the group went past me. I got up and picked up my bike. The last of the cars went past assuming that I had just over cooked the turn. I looked down and realized I had rolled the tire off the rim.

I was disappointed to not finish the stage. In my mind, I had already considered the stage done and dusted. Instead, yet again, the Tour of Beauce got the better of me. I really am not fond of this race.

Spares

At home, I have a few spare bits and pieces for my bike just in case something goes wrong. I have spare tubes, tyres and cables as well as a plethora of tools to cover most situations. Add a set of race wheels that I bust out for big events and I have just about covers all of the equipment that I may need. Despite this, there is still the occasional incident where I find myself stuck without an item and I can’t ride my bike until it is repaired. This puts a dent in my training schedule and is slightly more than annoying.

At Team Novo Nordisk’s U.S. service course here in Atlanta, they have a similar set up. There are a few spare tubes, tyres and cables as well as a few spare frames, wheels, groupsets, bikes, kit, saddles, trainers, cars and anything that you could possibly need during a season of hard racing. The scale of the service course is mind boggling.

If you thought that this looks like a lot of stuff, consider this: There is also a team bus, team cars, vans and truck that is also packed full of spare parts and bikes. Add to this, there is also a European service course in Italy that contains pretty much the same equipment and spares. That is a lot of stuff.

We always have everything that we could possibly need which also means that we have no excuses!

Take 2...

On this day, 2 years ago, I was on my way to Canada to race the Tour de Beauce. At the time, I had no idea what to expect but I quickly discovered that Beauceville has very few flat roads and I suffered every day as I struggled to hang on when the roads went up. 

On the 2nd last stage, it got the better of me as I missed the time limit and consequently, registered a DNF for the race. I was disappointed but I was also glad it's over. 

I had hoped I would never have to go back and do the tour de Beauce again but as it turns out, I'm on my way back there right now. I am on the roster to race it again and to be honest, I'm not looking forward to it. 

I have looked at the race manual and it is exactly the same. And as a special reminder of my last experience, right there on the cover of the manual, is an image of me from 2011 suffering up a hill. 

We have been training on the roads in Northern Vermont and just like Beauce, there are no flat roads. I have been having flashbacks. There are times where I get a false sense of security and think 'this is not going to be a problem this time'. Then my team mates fly up the next hill and I have to work hard just to hang on.

 

The race starts tomorrow. I'll see what happens. 

Liquid Gold

In Australia, buying genuine maple syrup can be a costly venture. Maple syrup can range anywhere from $50-$200 per litre. If you don't believe me, check out www.ocanada.com.au! I never understood why it cost that much and to be honest, I was pretty content with my imitation 'maple flavoured' syrup. After spending a week here in Vermont, I can understand why the price is so high. 

Maple trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter which is turned into sugar and carried through the sap in the tree. By boring a hole or 'tapping' the trunk, you can extract the sap to produce Maple syrup. The sap is boiled to remove the water and leave behind the concentrated syrup. 

Traditionally, the sap was collected with a bucket which seems like a simple process, however, it can take up to 50L of sap to produce only 1L of syrup and a single tree will generally only produce a maximum of 50L of sap per season! This makes for a pretty inefficient system. 

 

To speed up sap collection, all over Vermont you can find fields of trees all 'tapped' and connected by a series of pipes. These pipes run downhill and the sap is collected at the bottom. While riding, you can tell when you reach the summit of a hill because the pipes stop. It is a relieving sight. 

The sap is then boiled in traditional 'sugar houses' and graded (and priced) according to its quality. The best syrups are produced early in the season before the sugar has time to ferment in the sap.

In the USA, for a product to be labelled 'maple syrup', it must be made entirely of maple sap. 'Maple flavoured' syrups, 'pancake' syrups, 'waffle' syrups or 'table' syrups will contain other ingredients and are quite often made with high fructose corn syrup. They are only imitations. 

After sampling real maple syrup, I have to be honest... I don't see what all the hype is about. It seems like a heck of a lot of effort and $$ for a pancake topping. I really don't get what the big deal is. 

In a couple of days, I head to Canada, producer of around 75% of the world 's maple syrup. Maybe I'll ask them what makes it so special???

 

'Australian' Dining

Thanks to movies like Crocodile Dundee and Australia, some Americans have a warped idea of what Australia is actually like. If these movies were all you knew of Australia, then you would think that we are all Fosters drinking, giant knife carrying, boomerang throwing, cattle herding bushmen that have no home and just camp by a billabong. Here in America, they even have restaurants to replicate this exact idea.

 

Outback Steakhouses are Australian themed restaurants that perpetuate an incorrect stereotype of Australia. Inside you will find decor that is reminiscent of a country town pub in the 90’s and, as their website suggests, ‘a casual atmosphere suggestive of the Australian Outback’ with ‘generous portions’ of food.

This made me think, what exactly is Australian food? Do we really have any other than damper? We certainly don’t ‘throw another shrimp on the Bar-B’ as often as many think. Pretty much all of the popular dishes and restaurants in Australia have been stolen or modified from other countries. If it wasn't for people from other countries bringing over their delicacies, we would probably be eating damper and eucalyptus leaves. So, just what food does the Outback Steakhouse think is Australian?

Here is a sample of some of the dishes on the Outback Steakhouse menu…

• New Zealand Rack of Lamb.
• California Chicken Salad.
• New York Strip Steak.
• Norwegian Salmon.
• Grilled Chicken & Swiss Sandwich.
• Chocolate Thunder from Down Under.

So the food is obviously from a wide range of places. Here is a sample of drinks available from the menu…

• Canadian Whiskey.
• Samuel Adams Boston Lager.
• Hawaiian Blue Cocktail.
• Fosters ‘Australian’ Lager.

Needless to say, Outback Steakhouse’s menu is far from Australian. In fact, while I was there I had my first ever Fosters beer, a drink that is renowned for being ‘Australian’. Despite the obvious errors and misrepresentations, Outback Steakhouse really have nailed the Australian dining experience…

You go to a restaurant that hasn’t been redecorated since 1996, get served by someone from another country to order food from another country, drink imported beers and pay way too much for the whole experience. That is pretty much an Australian dining experience right there!  

Retaliation

In Australia, it's not uncommon for cars to drive as close as they can to you, beep their horn at you, cut you off or shout obscenities at you as they go by. Some cyclists may retaliate by shouting back, flipping the bird, riding even slower or giving a sarcastic friendly wave. This generally results in a mutual hatred for each other before driver and cyclist continue on their separate ways. 

Here in America, things are a little different. Cars still hate cyclists and drivers still shout out obscenities. But there is a big reason why, as a cyclist, you should not retaliate. 

The driver could be carrying a gun. America's gun laws mean that any driver could have a gun with them and you do not want to aggravate that person. 

You don't want to take this risk and annoy the wrong person because you could get a surprise. 

During a ride, I have already seen one driver get as close to us as possible while pretending to shoot us by using his fingers as a pistol. 

So we just look straight ahead and keep pedalling. (Of course, retaliating to bad drivers is not something that we do anyway as that is just wrong)

Forced courtesy

Road rage is quite common in Australia and I suspect, occurs frequently in other countries as well. It seems we have little patience for those that don't follow the rules, whether it's on purpose on accidental.  

Australia has rules for absolutely everything and there is pretty much no situation out on the road where you wouldn't know what to do 'according to the book'. This has caused people to be very intolerant to anyone that steps outside of the rules. There is no consideration for those that don't follow the guidelines. 

Merging is a good example of this attitude. Try to jump ahead of a few cars in a traffic jam or do anything that gives you an unfair advantage over others and they will let you know about it! I have seen this several times in the constant Atlanta traffic congestion. 

Despite this, there is a particular situation here in America that simply baffles me. At intersections with no traffic lights, it seems like absolute chaos. There are no round-abouts. There are no guidelines such as the give way to your left rule or don't turn across the path of another car guide back in Australia. 

 

At most intersections here, everyone must stop at a stop sign, from all directions. Then it is simply a 'first in - best dressed' policy. If you get to the intersection first, you get to go first. 

Consequently, half the time people don't know what to do when they get to an intersection and they end up waving people through and stopping for extended periods of time while they let 5 other cars go first.

 

I can't understand how it works?! It's like forcing people that are normally inconsiderate sticklers for the rules to be courteous to other drivers. One thing is for certain; it does back A LOT of traffic up during peak hour.

Wise Words

In stage 1 of the Tour of Gila, there was two sprint bonuses along the 160km route that finished with a long, steep climb. In most stage races, the first stage finishes with a sprint, so the stage winner usually takes the sprint jersey but with the KOM at the end of stage 1, whoever took the bonus sprints would take the first green jersey. 

With this in mind, my aim was to get into a break away and attempt to take some bonus points. After 20km, the peloton allowed 4 riders, including myself, to escape off the front. They eased the pace and we gained an advantage of over 12 minutes. At the first bonus sprint, I went for the points and surprisingly, no one responded. At the 2nd bonus sprint, the break allowed me to roll over the line at the front, securing the sprint jersey. 

 

For the rest of the stage, I worked as best I could with the break before being caught at the base of the climb with 10km to go. I crept up the climb and finished well behind the eventual winner. 

If you win a local race back in Australia and you simply see the commissaire to collect your prize or at most, stand up in front of a small group of people for applause. No fanfare, no national anthem and no podium girls. 

At the Tour of Gila, winning the green jersey meant that I had to get up on the podium and pose with podium girls. I had no idea what I was doing. 

 

As I stood on the podium, the podium girls came up to my side for the standard kiss on the cheek podium photo. Problem was, I was taller then the podium girls and standing on the highest step of the podium. This is the result...

Back home in Australia, my wife heard the news and saw the photo. Her first words were not, 'congratulations' or 'well done'. Her first words were simply, 'Get a tighter grip on the jersey and less grip on the podium girls'.

Wise words.

 

Tour of a Desert

Most local races back home are in the middle of nowhere.  Due to police permits and road closures, races are usually held on purpose built circuits or in remote areas that see very little traffic. This is not ideal for creating a very supporter-friendly atmosphere. 

For larger, international races, one would expect a more extravagant affair in more exotic places. This is what I was expecting for the UCI race, Tour of the Gila, in New Mexico. 
 

 

The race was based in Silver City and going by the name, I was expecting just that; a city. My expectations began to lower as the aeroplane turned up for the flight to Silver City. 

 

 

Apparently, large planes don't go to Silver City and you have to fly in a tin can with propellers that carries up to 17 people. The plane is so small that a passenger had to be left behind because it was too heavy for the windy conditions. 

 

As we flew into Silver City, my body was fighting the need to go to the bathroom (which the plane lacked) and travel sickness as the plane bounced around in the wind. I was quite happy to touch down. 

Driving into Silver 'City', I couldn't help but feel like I had arrived on the set of a Quintin Tarantino film. It was a desert surrounded by mountains with a old-time Western feel. The locals didn't appear to be the cycling type and as I watched a tumbleweed roll across the road, I wondered how many people would make the trip for the race and where they all planned on staying as accommodation options was low. 

 

As it turns out, the Tour of the Gila is a heavily anticipated event. The high altitude, large climbs and randomly changing weather conditions make for a tough event. 

 

Droves of people had made their way to Silver City for this year's 27th edition of the race. At first glance, I was surprised that a race was held here, but the entire community gets behind the event and it is a huge one on the cycling calendar. 

Retirement Home

In Australia, there are very few gated communities and those that do exist are generally there for the elderly or for those that require regular care. Moving into a gated community in Australia signals retirement and most people, including my parents, refuse to entertain such an idea. It’s like saying that you cannot function out in the open world and need to be cared for and waited on by others behind closed gates. On the other hand, some people would love that.

Here in Atlanta, there appears to be gated communities everywhere. In Alpharetta, where I am living, there is no proper town centre and the entire area seems to be made up of gated communities spattered with sections of strip malls. Consequently, I have moved into a retirement home. Or at least it feels like it. Another Aussie, a Kiwi and I have moved into an apartment on the lower level of one of the complexes. Consequently, it is now known as the ‘Down Under Dungeon’.

Our new residence is in, ‘The Preserve’, a gated community consisting of 636 apartments. First impressions are that living in a gated community is a pretty sweet deal. We don’t have to do anything to maintain the outside and all facilities are provided. When we moved in, a fridge, washing machine and dryer are provided and since the walls are re-painted when we leave, we can stick all the blu-tac we want on the walls. We don’t have to take out the rubbish or put the wheelie bins out. Simply leave your garbage bag outside the door and someone comes to collect it. The grounds are kept immaculate by an army of grounds men and there is a gym, 2 pools and a car wash available for us to use. 

 

I don’t know what my parents are so afraid of. Living in a retirement home would be sweet, especially if someone is doing the cooking and cleaning for you as well. Embrace it, that’s what I say.