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As you might recall, two weeks ago I pushed to the edge when I rode the Otztaler Radmarathon. Well today things were a little less stressed when I rode the Eddy Merckx Classic near Salzburg. (I won't bore you with the bit in between). Cycling bore that I am, I completed the 169km through the Salzkammergut in 6.5 hours almost exactly half the time I was in the saddle a fortnight ago.
The main problem today was the heat, high 20's and even little mountains don't sit well together when you are 'racing', I averaged @ 29km for the distance. But I persevered in the name of research, for you dear readers, hoping to bring as much realism to my tales as possible.
There was a bonus, I can claim to have ridden with Mr Merckx along with I think nine other cycling champions of years past, Bartoli, Zoetemelk, Roche, Moser and several more who got on their bikes this morning (they rode 60km to my 170km but it was the same start for all distances). Not that i'm a name dropper of course, i've also ridden with the famous Bike writer!
Look out on Wednesday for a new Gaby posting.
Tschüß
Mads
Comments
seen it last year
at least i know what it was last year when i was going from Mondsee to St. Gilgen
driving uphill behind cyclists doing 15-20 kph (10-15 mph) was not much fun
but neither was for them when drivers passed by them going 80-100 kph (55-65 mph)
this year was there again, just missed it by a mere week :(
So all these old men
got to ride with the creator of Gaby? Did they have to pay much for the privilege?
Ang :)
Angharad
Maddy!
You are amazingly fit! It sounds like if you trained hard as a teen, you could be/could have been a pro-cyclist. Do you have masters/age group races in the UK? You could get lots of jerseys and medals, but only if it's your thing. I don't know your age or if you like competing against others; I suspect you compete very hard against yourself.
I transitioned in '91-'92 and didn't do much biking for a few years (but I did have some good het and lesbian sex ;-) ) I got back into biking and found some local groups to ride with. In '99, when I turned 50 I won the masters, 50 to 54, Arizona championship time trial. But I only had one other womyn to compete against. I could have won the next year, I lost by 9 seconds, or so, but I trained wrong and hurt my back (just a little) coaching girls soccer. Since then I can't maintain my last year's level of fitness. I keep getting weaker and weaker even if I ride 2 or 3K miles per year. I tried using some testosterone jell, but it didn't seem to help and cause acne all over my chest.
Sorry for rambling. I just have to say that I'm in awe of your cycling ability!
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
Well done
And good for you! Hurrah for completing the 169km! Show those old fogies how it should be done! :-)
- Leona
One for the memories
Looks to have been the kind of trip and event that causes pleasant flashbacks later. I bet your fitness has reached a pleasant high too.
"Reach for the sun."
well
I've not managed to lose any weight but I guess I might be a teeny bit fitter!
Madeline Anafrid Bell