Thursday, October 28, 2010

Barely!

Back in the USA.  I spent 20 minutes at check in swapping stuff from one checked bag to another to make weight.  It was funny because nothing went into my carry on.  It just went from one checked bag to another.  The total stayed the same. I did get by without paying a bike charge so it was worth it.  The flight from Geneva to Amsterdam was arrived 30 minutes late because we had to go around French air space because of the strike.  I went from 55 min. layover to a 20 min.  I was put up in business for the last 20 min. so I could run to my gate.  I was 1st off the plane and ran for immigration where I was able to cut the line by some very kind people.  I ran for about 15 minutes with my 20 kilo pack and just made it.  I was sooo sweaty that the gate guy asked if I was running or really nervous about something.  I made my flight and was so relieved.  Upon arrival I did learn my bags were still in Amsterdam and will arrive tomorrow.  Hopefully customs does not hold them and I will have a bike to race on Saturday.  At least I am not stuck there so it is all good.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

That's a wrap.

My final day in Europe is over and done.  I just finished another great meal at the Desorbay home along with some friends of theirs.  My bags are packed and my bike is boxed up.  Hopefully I will not have to shuffle to much from one bag to another to make the weight requirements.
I am excited for the long day of travel.  I am ready to be home with my wife and to see family and friends. 
My last ride was a relaxing cruise down along the lake.  I finished with about a 50k round trip with a stop for espresso and a chocolate brioche. 

The Alps in the background do not seem real to me.  The whole experience has been great and I would not trade it for anything. Even with the slow passing of time in the hypoxic rooms, it seems like I just arrived. The testing seems to be so far in the past and it only ended last Sunday.  I cannot believe 2 months has passed.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Geneva in 2 hours

I had 2 hours to explore Geneva while Therese was at an appointment.  It was nice to play tourist for a couple of hours.   We drove past the UN and all of the other affiliated buildings.  I walked over the bridge across the Rhone at the edge of Lake Geneva to see the historic part of town and the Cathedral.  It was very windy and cold.
Therese picked me up and we went to her favorite kebab place.  I had the falafel and it was awesome.  We headed back and the sun was out closer to the mountains.  I got ready to head up the forest roads on the mountain to stay out of the wind.  I had a great training partner to show me the way to the start of the 15k climb to La Vattay.
Matt and I-he almost dropped me on the way
It was a nice climb but got cold on the ride down.  There were nice views of the lake and the Alps.
48 hours and I will be back home.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Au revoir Premannon

My time in The Jura has now ended I packed up my room and had my last bowl of muesli and yogurt.  The halls are empty except for a couple guys waiting to move on.  I am ready to be home but I will miss this place.  It was such a great experience even with all of the testing that went on.

I have to say I am sorry to Shaun, Ian and Gordon.  I feel like I abandoned them to move on to a better place.  I feel guilty for leaving them.

It was a blustery day on the mountain today with the wind blowing very strong.  I loaded up the van with Paul before making the descent of Col de La Faucille to Gex.  The snow capped peaks were beautiful as we headed down.
Paul and I-He is headed back to Chamonix

We were met in Gex by Gilles Desorbay (Jack Hinkens' uncle) who along with his family will be hosting me for the next 3 nights in Divonne Les Bains.
The rack is built in and pulls out from the license
It has only been a couple of hours and I already feel at home with Gilles, Therese, Matt, and Christophe.  Therese made the best dinner I have had since I arrived.  Chicken, wild rice, mushrooms and cauliflower.  I forgot what fresh meat and vegetables tasted like.  I even had a Kir before dinner.  Sorry guys, I hope dinner at Premannon was not toooo bad.
The weather should be nice for my last 2 days in France.  Tomorrow I am going to check out Geneva while Therese is at an appointment and then a nice ride up the mountain in the afternoon.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Grappa was a bad choice!

Testing is done and the party is on.  We were on dawn patrol for the last day of the study.  It was snowing pretty hard when we left and stayed cool and rainy all day.
7:30 at the hospital
Russell knocked out the last VO2 and we cracked the champagne.  I guess my hat is reflective.  I went out for almost 2 hours in the cool rain which I really do enjoy because it is quiet and no one else is out.  I came back for a sauna and Adam had the Danish favorite dish to try.  It was the best food I have had in the last 2 months.

The heavy rye bread was soooo good compared to crappy white french bread.  We startedout our meal with a delicious drink that tasted like black liquorice.
The researchers bought about 120 bottles of beer and they also brought out the grappa.  Ouch, that stuff is strong.
Thomas, me, Carsten-the ringleader of the study
Me, Christophe and TJ- moustache shot
I guess there are a few Leffes left so I better get to it.  Everyone blows out early tomorrow except for 3 of us so it may be a short night.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Back to the start

Today looked to be the last dry day while here in Premannon so I headed out on the same ride that I started my stay here.  I headed down and back up the same climb they rode in the tour this year.  I had not been on it since the first day here.
a micro Coke can is still in the tunnel, probably from the tour
The attitude around here is quite mixed.  Some are cracked and out of it while others are excited for the trip home on Monday.  Many were using the afternoon to get their bikes boxed up as tomorrow looks to be cold and rainy.  I am holding off since I will be around until Thursday.  I have a VO2 test and that will finish off the testing for me tomorrow. 
I will be calling Divonne Les Bains my home for Monday through Thursday as I will be staying with Jack Hinkens aunt and uncle.  Hopefully the weather will hold so I can get in a couple cross workouts before hopping on the plane.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Brain melt..


not another name for Grain Belt but how you feel after a 6th indoor TT.  Today was the last one and I finished out strong.  VO2 on Sunday and I am out.
After the TT I headed out on one last ride in the nice fall weather.  Dry and cool today so I explored a new road only to find that it ended at the border.
Swiss side headed to France
I battled headwind all the way to Les Rousses and found someone using the wind to their advantage.
I made a quick stop at Carrefour for some supplies and came out to no bike.  Crap, how am I going to race when I get home was the first thought that came to mind.  I looked for about 30 seconds before walking out only to find Peter and Christophe had played a mean trick on me.  However, they did offer to take my things so I would not have to jam them in my pockets. 
Tomorrow is a day off from the hospital.  We planned on doing a cx race that is pretty close by but it looks like a No Go on that because they want us fresh for the VO2 on Sunday.  Bummer, I was pumped and it is really close by. 
The awards were held for a contest being and I was runner up with TJ taking the win and Darren also a runner up.  Can you guess what the contest was?
TJ took home 120 euro in cool cash while Darren and I got an armful of beer.
2 months-look at the volume of that thing-Chloe's going to love it

Thursday, October 21, 2010

aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!

That was the relief after having my arm stabbed for the last time.  Today was the final CO rebreathe which means no more blood draws.  Seven days from now I will be back in Amurica and I cannot wait to get home. 


The hospital has not been too bad the last couple weeks because we found they have great espresso and we also discovered this room on the 4th floor.
Aah, IKEA
It was a frosty start to the morning but it did warm up to a sunny 4C which made for a nice ride.  The sauna was plenty warm when I got back and it was full of firemen that are here for some school.  They love to put on the Icy/Hot and/or Bengay because it reeks like menthol in there.  Tick, tock, the time is counting down.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tough as nails?

Right Dano?

It may qualify as tough as nails but it did not seem too bad to me.  I was pretty motivated to ride in whatever weather was thrown at me today.  I hung around til about 9:30 and started suiting up for a cold, wet ride.  I did the double chamois with plastic bag between and put bags under my shoe covers to keep my feet a bit dryer.  Just like when I was 10 and had awesome moon boots and had to put bread bags on my feet.  I also packed an extra pair of gloves in a ziplock for the second half of the ride.  I even fashioned some fenders out of a plastic bottle to keep the spray off me.  It was about 0C when I left and as I went higher the snow started to fall. 
I headed down to Mijoux and up to Col de la Faucille.  I came about a K short before I turned around.  The snow/slush was building but I did have my cx tires on so that gave me a little more confidence in the descent.
These were half way up, it got worse
I stayed warm and dry with the glove switch and finished out with a hard 2 hour ride.  The rest of the day was steady snowfall.
Maybe we can bust out the skis before this whole thing is over.  Back to the hospital tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Another day in Paradise

Flurries were in the air as the day started.  It was supposed to get to 6C today with sun but it ended up being about 5C with rain all day long. 
A few brave souls headed out on a 5 hour planned route but the rest of us that stayed in had our bets at about 3 hours max.  They rolled in right about 3 hours later and that was with a 1 hour coffee stop to wait for the rain to let up.  I went to the gym and did a core workout and a 40 minute run on the hamster wheel.
The internet was down for a couple hours before dinner which caused quite the uproar.  It turns out that the modems are plugged into a socket that is on a switch and somebody shut the whole thing down. Nice.
It seems that the kitchen staff will be as happy to see us leave as we are to go.  Lunch was veggies with no lettuce and a veggie medley with potato scraps.  Yum.  Dinner was soup made from the leftover veggies at lunch, really bad fish that I did not try and rice.  They brought out 2 half bottles of wine and ours was diluted with water.  We had a nother heated battle on the volleyball court to finish out the night.

Here are some photos from Adam from my best session in the pain cave at the hospital.
TJ during Wingate and I in the electric chair
It looks like 3C and rain tomorrow so it looks like it will be a Hard Man ride for me.  Bring on the Sh%^TY cx weather.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Just another manic Monday

This will be the last Monday of the study.  In seven days I will be staying in Divonne Les Bains to finish out my days until the 28th.

No testing until Thursday so with one of the last nice days I headed out on another ascent of La Dole.  1000m climb in 13k.  It was kind of cool at the top but no snow. 
Top of La Dole looking over Lake Geneva

The leaves are starting to fall which makes for a slower descent because the rocks in the road are hidden.  The sun peaked through which warmed it a bit from 4C.
going down?
Its getting down to crunch time.  What rides have I wanted to do but not had time for.  Two more days until the final tests so we shall see what I can fit in.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

World Cup action this weekend and it was awesome.  16 of us made the trip over to Aigle, Switzerland for the first WC of the season.  It was on the grounds of the UCI Headquarters.
race backdrop WOW
 We roamed around through the team vehicles to check things out.  There was even a velodrome on site which was cool to check out.  We talked to the Amuricans that were racing.  The World Champion had a pretty nice set up.
World Champ spokes and tyres

The women's race was pretty exciting for a while, mostly.  Katie Compton (USA) rode through the leaders about 2 laps in and crushed the field.  It was nice to hear the National Anthem being played at the podium presentation.
We posted up in the sand pit for the men's race as Stybar killed it.  Beers were drank and frites were eaten all in a great day at a cross race.  The US men all finished with 5 spots of each other.  The 2 neon guys that won both cx races I did were even racing and were in the back 25%.
UCI Official checking tyre width

hopping barrier like no one's business
UCI velodrome in the silver building
Montreux on the way home
It was a great day away from the facility.  Probably the highlight of the trip.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

It's all about looking PRO!

grown man drinking a juice box=PRO

Today was another day in the pain cave.  It was a cold and rainy morning as we left for the hospital at 7:30.  I was 3rd in line for the TT and my motivation was pretty low.  I did some homework in the nurse's lounge while having my espresso. Around 10:30 I was up for the muscle stimulation and the wingate test.  They were both about the same as normal except for looking more PRO in the new Safety Jackets.
wingate w/ Russell in the pain cave
I had my best TT of the study and I was finally happy to have a good ride.  I rode home in 40 degrees and rain and it was awesome.  I took the rest of the weekend off from homework and just hung out for the afternoon.   We made a run to the Carrefour to get supplies (beer) for the WC tomorrow.  After dinner we had a cinema night with a showing of The Stars and the Water Carriers complete with an American spread of snacks.
yes, they really did taste like ketchup and fries