Hey there Loopys,
I’ve acquiesced Gavia’s request to start blogging here at the Café. So get used to seeing my name pop up around here a little more often!
I guess you guys like hearing the inside stories from the Pro Peloton, and not the badass dinner I just chef’d up, so my ramblings here will TRY to stay cycling-oriented. (Note: *Try*).
In the past I’ve tried the blog, the website, all of it. And they never stayed up. Eventually I always found myself writing “out of guilt” just to throw a new post up. So, to keep the longevity of this one rolling. I can’t promise any regularity on posts. However, when I do have some good stories to share, this is where it’ll be! Not making a pre-emptive excuse here, just letting you inside my mind/thought-process a little bit.
Anyway, I’m back in my apartment here in Girona. The Volta Catalunya just finished yesterday with another wayy-too-fast stage. It was rainy and in the Barca suburbs (so really slick), making for nervous racing. After the Andorra day where Dan Martin rode well in the GC fight. We spent the next 4 days protecting him and attacking the hell out of this race.
My typical day in La Volta stages 4-7:
Race flat out with Peterson and Danielson to make the breakaway, jumping on everything that moved and pummeling ourselves until we were almost dropped from the field. Apparently the rest of the field had the same idea, because it took 80k for the break to roll every day! Plus the fact that Contador is a nervous racer and has his team shut down anything more than 5 guys (no matter where they are on GC).
After I missed the breakaway and eventually the move did go with a GC rider in it because they were the only ones left to attack after 80k flat out, the pace stayed high and I rode the remainder of the stage in the wind in front of Dan and VdV. Cracking the occasional joke with a fellow english-speaking rider, and position battling for Dan/VdV in case of crosswinds.
Everyday was faster than expected. Every night the dinner table was full of laughs and stories of the “old days” courtesy of VdV and Julian.
Now, back in Girona, recovery is the name of the game this first half-week. I just made a big old breaky of raisin, craisin, chocolate chip, buckwheat pancakes. Ahhh yeah. GP Indurain is my next race, on Saturday.
Til next time,
Pete
P.S. if anyone knows if its possible to post via email, then let me know in the comments and you'll most likely be hearing from me more often, seeing as I don't always have internet (but I can send emails from my blackberry) on the road and I have lots of hotel time to write.