Today was catchup day and with the rain I was taking a day off, cruising the web and saw this through the Black Mountain Cycles Blog , great way to kill an hour and a half:
This played right into some recent comments Esteban had made about riding his bike on the route next year while teaching in France. It also got me thinking back to the screening of Race Across the Sky I had seen a month or two ago, documenting the Leadville 100 race in Colorado. Both of these movies left me with almost the same feeling. These routes are beautiful, I would love to ride there, or should say ramble. That is the big difference. I want to visit these places, see the area, envision the history, explore a little and take my time.
My inner racer never really developed. I love the personal challenge of riding in tough conditions, I love to cruise through incredible countryside and I even enjoy going really fast sometimes, but have never felt compelled to race. This is probably part why I never really did well in team sports. Untill recently I have not even ridden with other people since I was a kid, only to re-discover social cycling can be fun.
That said I love watching older race footage. There is tons of knowledge buried in there: the graceful spin of racers cruising, the bike set up, older bike racks on little cars, culture and countryside and tricks like the chain tied to the rear brake with a toe strap while the frameset is being transported with the wheels off. All good stuff.
Enjoy the time inside, but get out in the weather if you have a chance – Happy Monday
Hey, thanks very much for sharing this video. I’m recovering from surgery and won’t be able to ride for several weeks. As you might imagine, I’ve been feeling very antsy, and this is just what I needed while i recuperate.