General Cycling Discussion - Moments from '03

Know this is getting a little ahead, but with the cold growing outside, and snow in the forecast, thought it might be interesting to post your fave moments from 2003.

Some of mine, riding centuries, commuting, riding fixed gear, and single speed.

Getting back on the MTB.

Taking the bike camping.

Some of mine so far:

The Good:
That magical day in February when after two dry years, the rain finally broke!

Surviving hypothermia and being accosed by wild horses on the Darling Downs in June

Finally conquering Lahey's Tabletop after taking eight years to discover it existed at all.

However, the greatest of all is yet to come. On December 13 I start my dream tour.

The bad:
Crashing heavily in late July -- all my own fault, too (which makes it even worse).

Having a bike stolen from work back in May (although the new ride could probably qualify for "the good" section.

The ugly:
Missing a couple of weeks off the bike shortly after the rain broke (see above) as a consequence of food poisoning. The dilemma of simulteneous diahorrea (Sp?) and vomiting. yuk!

The highlights: 1. The birth of my son on August 22nd (although 2 months premature, he is doing just fine now)


The highlights: 2. Well the pic says it all - me on Alpe Du Huez in July...

Sorry here is the pic , hopefully,

Getting back in shape and losing 30 pounds this summer after last year:

1. Suffering through unbearably painful Trigeminal Neuralgia (being placed on powerful, mind numbing and energy depleting drugs) and having successful brain surgery in November. Took a really LONG time to actually totally recover from that surgery.

2. Having a bout of kidney stones after the TN.

It is really great to be able to hop on a bike, do a 60 mile ride, and have my energy, strength, endurance and enthusiasm returned.

Great to have you back Denver.

The good.
1)Having a career year racing.
2)Finding out I'm going to be a brother in law.
3)Winning my case against a local developer over starting building houses on land that I own.(They now have to pay for damages and have to tear down what they started.)
The bad.
1)The loss of my friend to suicide.
2)Getting accused of jumping starts(which were proved to be false)
3)Seeing a cousin get messed up right in front of my eyes in a very violent looking endo.
The ugly.
1) Losing grip on a jump and tearing left ACL on landing.

Rode my first MS-150 this year and it was an awesome experience! Here's one of my favorite pics from the ride:

The good:
First race, placed 24th
Getting a trailercycle for my son
Losing 30 pounds
The bad:
Less miles then 2002
The ugly:
Nasty cut from trail riding that won't heal

Good: Starting cycling.
Bad: Not doing enough research to start, buying first bike from Ebay.

Good: Finding this forum to help do research. Got a new bike yesterday.
Bad: Being in the doghouse after I told my wife how much I paid!

Getting back in shape and losing 30 pounds this summer after last year:

1. Suffering through unbearably painful Trigeminal Neuralgia (being placed on powerful, mind numbing and energy depleting drugs) and having successful brain surgery in November. Took a really LONG time to actually totally recover from that surgery.

2. Having a bout of kidney stones after the TN.

It is really great to be able to hop on a bike, do a 60 mile ride, and have my energy, strength, endurance and enthusiasm returned.

Denver, glad to see you are back on the road again. I recall you've had these problems for a few months. Delighted to hear about your recovery.

Bad moments:

Losing weekend after weekend to work


Good moments:

Receiving a compliment from a local pro after I bridged up a gap on a hard group ride.
Averaging 21.5mph on the bike leg of my triathlon.
Riding with T-Mobile Grand Prix winner Chris Horner on the River Ride.
Making my training partner suffer.


Great moments:

Seeing our twins on the ultrasound monitor (proj. birthdate 2/1/4)

Good.....
So much, I put together my first fancy bike this year. I picked out the parts (with a lot of help from Andy at my LBS, thanks, big guy) and had them throw it together.
Bad....
Crashing hard on my first ride in my ice covered driveway, ruining a rear der; and making the cassette act hinky.
Good....
I rode, and I rode, and I rode, and for the first time since I was a kid, it didn't hurt.
Bad.....
I crashed an embarassing number of times, I went down several times.
Good...
There was a training ride I had been dreading, Bath to Popham Fort. Last year it beat the crap out of me, with it's endless series of hills. This year we got down to the fort in over an hour less time, I was able to use the gearing, and the efficiency of the bike to make the hills a lot easier.
Bad.....
my inner demons scream, my knees do too.
Good....
Drove up to Burlington and had a great ride around the lower half of Lake Champlain.
Bad....
Dumb, dumb, I used a cheap map. I then changed the route I had painstakingly laid out using a topo based on what the cheap map was telling me. The next several hours were as much in the vertical plane as the horizontal.
Good...
yes, it is.

The good
My legs ;)
How I feel before, after and during a ride!
The people i have met.
This forum!!!!!!!!!!

the bad
Laying the bike down at 30mph, and the rash that i got from it :(

The greatest
completing my metric, and seeing parts of VA I would never have thought to venture into.

This has been an incredibly good year for me.
I became single again. That's good. I didn't die. That's also good.

The bad is hard to describe. Actually there is no bad because I didn't die.

Good:
-got my road bike and first clipless pedals (no crashes)
-competed in my first triathlon (well, duathlon when the swim was canceled)
-watched my girlfriend complete her first marathon
-my sister moved back to the States
-we took in an older, orphaned cat (her owner passed away)

Bad:
-not much after a lousy 2002, but too much rain interfered with cycling and golf

Here goes, the final attempt to attach a pic of one of my highlights
of 2003

Here goes, the final attempt to attach a pic of one of my highlights
of 2003

First, hearty congratulations on the birth of your son. I suppose we can expect to see a trailer attached to your bike in the years to come!

Great photo. Captures all the pain the Alp is famous for. I noticed you are standing. I always had the idea of taking my Gemini mtb up the Alp but now I am not so sure. Is it really as ghastly a climb as it is made out to be? What time did you do it in? Is there a formal starting point, a sort of base camp where every meter that follows is up and up and up?:eek:

2003 - The low.

Very, very few. But one stands out, chicken'ing out of a technical descent in Coed-y-Brenin, north Wales, and opting to walk the bike instead. That still bugs me.

2003 - The highs.

1. Started on an insulin pump and experiencing the joy of being relatively free for the first time of diabetes-enforced lifestyle restrictions.

2. Setting a personal best at the gym of riding a spin bike for 30 minutes non-stop, standing! My target next week is 40 minutes, and then an hour!

3. Notwithstanding the low point above, but going to Coed-y-Brenin and enjoying three amazing rides.

4. Discovering a whole new love of biking and finding some super forest tracks near where I live.

5. Loving my wife more and more. My best friend in the whole widest world!:love:

Hi Bokkie

Sorry to see about the Springbokke - never liked that stupid Strauli coach anyway....

The picture I attached was actually taken on the Col De Galibier. My wife reminded me last night - she took it !

Yeah Alpe Du Huez is frightning. That is the truth. I have never (until the last 8km of the Col De Galibier) seen or ridden anything remotely like it. There is a "basecamp" so to speak, just before the actual climb. It is in the form of a little information centre, with details of the climb and previous winners etc. Here you can attain a little time stamped ticket thingie. (sort of like the ticket you get at airport parking)
Once on the top of the monster climb itself you can take this to the tourist information centre and have it stamped again to verify your time.
I did not do this though - trusted my POLAR for this task

Each one of the turns on the climb (switchbacks) are numbered, and also show the height at that particular point. Halfway up on your right is a small restaurant with what has to be the worlds most expensive Coke, I have personally ever had. An important point her is that there is no refreshments (i.e water) available on the way up. You drink what you carry up...

During our stay of 10 days, I went up the Alpe Du Huez several times and was impressed by how many ordinary riders seem to come up it, and finished every time I went. On one of these days I actually cycled past a guy with one leg !! - Yes he finished as well.

My best time for the climb is/was 53 minutes. I got assistance from a rider of Spain that particular day, who inadvertantly helped pace me up it.

I used a 39 X 26 ratio for all my efforts in the Alps, but will settle next time for a triple chainring.

highlight - having a lovely french nurse poking a temperature gauge in my ear 3 times a day while i was in hospital after a big crash.

lowlight - missing rest of road race seaon with broken collarbone, coming back to do last (and favourite) road race, puncturing then finding out it's the last time that course can be used.

The good:
- riding in the Berkeley hills almost every day for a month in the summer
- riding up Mount Diablo, my very first climb, and 2 hours of incredible fun that I will never forget!


The bad:
- My first (and only so far) century (Toronto-Niagara Falls) with my club, where I tried really hard to keep up with a little group for the first 100 km, ended up hurting my knee for the last 60 km and got dropped by everyone as soon as I started hurting. I ended up using only one leg to pedal (Thank God for clipless pedals), averaging 15 km/h for the last 60 km...