End Of The Season
Well, it`s that time of year again. The break is over and December 28th has been earmarked as the official Start Training Again Day. I’ve had three weeks off, somehow put on 4 kilograms, and can feel the once honed and toned muscle fibers beginning to get soft. I had intended to stay on the bike throughout, but I’ve been at it non-stop since last January, I figured I needed a good break.
So, as bad as it is to have put on the weight (Tommy Simpson reckoned that every excess kilo of fat would take a 100 miles to ride off ? so 400 for me!), I can say that I cannot wait to get back on the bike. Chomping at the bit!
This season has been a real eye-opener. I was straight in at the deep end, at the UCI Asia ProTour Tour of Kumano. I’d never done a stage race in my life, and never raced at that level, but pulled off a decent 20th overall.
Then things went from good to bad ? and then to worse. Out of the next I think 6 races, I finished only one. Mechanical trouble was the cause of four DNFs, severe cramp the other.
Still, I managed to get in a win at the KisoMura Two Day race, and even though the field wasn`t top-notch, there were some decent riders there. Most bizarre though was the first prize, proudly handed over to me by the Mayor ? a dead deer`s skin. Which was nice. I offered it around to my teammates but no-one fancied it, so it went straight into the trash.
This was also the race in which my team-mate totaled his bike. Anyone squeamish should look away now. Somehow he managed to walk away completely unscathed, which is more than can be said for the bike?
Away from the racing, I was lucky enough to be able to get a lot of time in on the bike during the week, and to discover the seemingly endless routes that litter the land near my new house. There are so many little, winding roads up in the hills that I spent half my time getting lost, but often joyfully so, as each adventure led me to new and beautiful training routes.
I also discovered the pre-race meal of all pre-race meals ? the Chicken Rice Bowl. This little delight is packed with over 1000 calories per serving, and is available at the Sukiya restaurant chain all over the country ? and it`s 24 hours! Great stuff.
The end of the season unfortunately saw my first crash ? well, my first two crashes ? of the year. Both came in the same race, and both were completely my fault. We were riding a tough course that went up a 7km, 9% climb, 7 times. I was holding my own with the big boys, all the good climbers, feeling so good that I let my concentration go ? on the 3rd lap I started thinking about when I should attack. I might have got away with the lapse of concentration had we not been barreling down the hairpin descent at 65km/hr. I just overcooked a corner and I was suddenly out of control ? luckily some netting caught me or I`d have been going down about 20 meters. I got a replacement bike and headed off, felt ok, but failed to remember that the brakes on the replacement were the opposite of my bike. Same corner, next lap, I went for the back brake and the front wheel just went, I skidded into a concrete banking and was lucky to be able to get up and continue to the finish.
But, them’s the breaks I guess. To have the chance to race at the top level here in Japan was fantastic ? it`s a proper war out there! I came in 49th in the country, which is not great, but I only finished 6 of the 12 races, so I can take heart from that. Next year I`m joining a new team, and we will hopefully be racing more on the Asia ProTour. Very exciting.
Thanks for reading this year! Stay Safe and Ride Happy in 2010!
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