Give me a bike over a wheel barrow any day

They say time flies when you’re having fun, this seems to be the case for me.  Following Rutland I went back home for a few days to catch up with friends and family as well as using it as an opportunity to train on harder terrain.  I was pleased when my dad suggested we spend some time together… before he finished the sentence with ‘fixing the leak in the pond’.  But beggars can’t be choosers and I was after a free return to Belgium so I decided a day of manual labour was a small price to pay in return for an overloaded car and a tank of petrol at my dad’s expense.   The following day saw training take a back seat once again as my height came in use and I was asked to paint my sisters bedroom… I couldn’t help thinking my family had saved up the more tedious household jobs for me but it was good to spend time with them never the less.   I always considered myself a fit young guy but a day’s labouring in the garden ruined me physically… I now fully respect anyone who gardens out of pleasure! 

My training back home consisted mainly of riding as many hills as possible and a couple of outings on the Leeds chaingang.  It was good to see many familiar faces and be welcomed home by many of the guys who make up my training partners throughout the winter.  Friday afternoon soon rolled around and it was time once again to swap my home comforts for Belgian alternatives.  I couldn’t leave without taking a few necessities back to Belgium, so with a car full of Shreddies, orange cordial, parkin and a mandalin given to me to broaden my cooking repertoire, I boarded my ferry across to Zebrugge.  I gave my family a brief yet enjoyable tour around the brewery town of Leuven before heading to Westmeerbeek.

Finally to racing, there has been two races this weekend.  The first was a hot and hilly event just 20 kilometres away from our apartment.  We rode out to the race and lined up with 120 guys.  From the start I was struggling, the heat was sapping my strength, I regretted not getting the haircut I had booked back home and the constant accelerations from 10 kmp/h to 50kmp/h out of every corner were beginning to take their toll.  After just an hour and a half I was tailed off.  The recovery process for the Following days race was going to be all about rehydration.  That evening I walked around all evening glued to my 2 litre water bottle constantly sipping.  Sunday was to be a similar affair to Saturday, hot and hilly terrain with 120km to sort out the field of just under 90 riders.  On the opening lap I crossed solo to a breakaway group of 6, only to be joined by another half a dozen riders later on.  In theory more riders is always better in a breakaway.  In reality though every rider is looking to do as little work as possible and conserve his strength for later so ultimately no one really committed and the break was brought back after 25 km of racing.  The terrain was beginning to tell for a lot of the riders and the peloton began to split into groups of 10 and 15 littering the hills and back roads.  I got in a small counter attack around half way through with two team mates.  We committed ourselves fully and rode hard for 40km, bridging a 2 minute gap across to the group in front.  The leaders were safely out in front through and I had to settle for 45^th, I had done a good ride on a very attritional circuit.