A day to remember… or forget.
April 8, 2007 5:02 pmIt depends on which way you look at it folks.
I will remember this day because it was most likely the foulest conditions I’ve ever ridden and entire race in. Keep in mind that I spent the better part of 5 seasons racing in Belgium… Now, I’ve been in worse storms (there’s nothing quite like a Northern European hail storm), but they came and went quickly and I didn’t have to start and race most of the day in it. All in all, the U.S. Open Cycling Championships had crummy conditions to say the least. Also, I will forget this day because it really didn’t go to swell for me. Combine less than stellar legs, with a seatpost that slipped a centimeter and a half, and top it off with the weather, and I think you get the right combination for a DNF. So, as some will rememebr this day, I have already begun my best to forget it.
Now, on to the good stuff…
For starters, and to clarify something, “yes”, it was that cold. Very cold… You see, last Thursday I was pouring my water bottles on myself to stay cool in the Arizona sun, and by Saturday… well, I was shivering and racing in snow.
Allow me to explain in further detail. I woke up in Richmond, Virginia, Saturday morning at 4:45 a.m. I peaked out the window and low and behold, SNOW!
Sweet… actually, not so sweet. The weather man had warned us…
Knowing this had “Epic Day” written all over it, I brought along my digital camera to get you folks some footage of the day.
Here’s a bit of the action…
For the very early morning van ride to the start line in Williamsburg, I sat next to Jeff Hopkins. Here’s what he had to say about the day:
As I turned to my right, and glanced out the window, here’s what I saw:
Lovely……
When we got to the race, and saw the weather, and heard about the hour and twenty minute delay, here’s what Hoppy had to say about it:
These bikes had seen better days:
By the way… the race was delayed nearly an hour and a half due to the weather. It was so cold outside that I decided I would need some extra help so I tried to find plastic bags and anything else waterproof or windproof to make some clothing accessories with. I feared that I would be the only geek on the start line with rubber surgical gloves on… but to my surprise, maybe half the peloton had them on too. They keep your hands dry and they’re also windproof. You should have seen how many rubber gloves there were littering the streets of the finishing circuit (when it gets warmer, you pull them off and toss ‘em). I also employed my old Belgian trick of putting plastic bags over my shoes but under my shoe covers. This allows your feet to stay dry and warm without having to wear big heavy thermal shoe covers. And again, to my surprise, I saw many riders with bits of plastic bags creeping out from underneath their shoe covers.
And finally, here’s another video of Hoppy and a few neat cold weather clothing ideas he had:
Alright folks, there you have it… a handful of videos from the US Open Cycling Championships. All in all, a very solid and tough race. Hopefully, everything works out and the event is around for years to come. Although, it may be many years before we see epic conditions like this again.
Talk to you later.
Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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