Enjoying freedom
I’d forgotten how nice it is to just go out on the bike and ride how I want. In fact its nice to be able to generally do my own thing without having to think about focusing on competition training.
Each week I was trying to cram in about 250 kilometers riding which equates to about 10 hours. These hours were broken down in to several training sessions. Each of these spaced accordingly so there was enough time to enable adequate recovery. Then there was the eating, now I like my food generally, but I began to get fed up with what seemed like endless food consumption. It sometimes seemed I was the one being consumed by all the rigours and self-inflicted responsibilities to training.
On reflection I enjoyed but its nice it’s over. I can now get on a bike ride as hard or as easy as I like without worrying about getting the ‘best’ out of every pedal turn.
It also approaching the off-season so now I can focus on some other things. Yesterday I went swimming, today I explored some of the trails close to home on my mountain bike. Soon the winter gym sessions begin and as the nights draw in I also have this desire to go out running under the streetlights.
A good friend of mine back in the UK has recently tried competing in a few triathlons and seems to be getting a lot from it. Me being me looks on slightly envious, I can swim, I can run and I can definitely ride a bike, maybe I should give a triathlon a go? I start wondering where that training manual is I was give a couple of years ago. I find it and skim through the pages. I start thinking about formulating a training plan. Then I reflect on the rigours of training which I’ve highlighted above. I think again, maybe not!
Lanterne Rouge
A friend of mine recently asked whats this name ‘Lanterne Rouge’ all about. Well literally it translates to ‘red light’ not the red light found in seedy areas of towns and cities such as Amsterdam, duh!. In the case here it is the prestigious title given to the last man in the overall classification to finish the ‘Tour de France’ each year. The French almost hold as much respect for the last man in the tour as the first man. Why not? he’s done the same distance, probably gone through more pain and by the time he crosses the line in Paris he has been on the bike the longest. A special idiosyncrasy of the sport!
I guess when I was younger there was that dream of being the ‘best‘ at something, normally a sport, running, football, boxing, cycling, the list goes on. Of all of these cycling has been the one constant, so if I could have been the best cyclist around I suppose winning the Tour de France would have put me pretty close to that dream. Well the years roll by and priorities change and rather than being the best I think more like the old cliché – ‘its the taking part which counts’. Yeah, sure as cyclists we’d all love to win ‘Le Tour’ but just to have competed and finished would be more than enough, hence Lanterne Rouge!
Lanterne Rouge is primarily about cycling, but other things in my life are included as there are many hours in my life when i’m not on the bike, (then I’m just thinking about cycling)! Well for those who maybe interested, friends, family this is a little about what I’m doing and life in France generally.
Question – Guess who designed this shirt, look closely?
Answer: Paul Smith – OK not me, but along with the same name we both share a love of cycling.
