Blote benen!

Het is nog steeds februari....Na 3000 km in mijn autootje in 1 week tijd werd het zondagmiddag tijd voor een ritje. Met lange mouwen en een lange fietsbroek toog ik op weg na een stevige maaltijd....die viel wat zwaar....maar ja, het is tenslotte zondag en dan eten we goed.
Die lange mouwen vond ik wel lekker en die kunnen we altijd nog opstropen...maar die lange broek werd na een kwartier al erg warm.

Dus, UIT die Broek en lekker met blote benen verder. Dat zijn van die dingen die zo lekker zijn; de zon op je benen, ook al is het nog februari. Tja, als je dan een gemeen doorn takje niet ziet, omdat er nog geen blaadjes aan zitten en het takje niet opvalt tegen de achtergrond dan krijg je nare schrammen. Van die schrammen die zo heerlijk branden. Waarvan je je na 10 minuten afvraagt, of dat takje nou echt de oorzaak kan zijn? Als je dan even langs je been kijkt en je ziet wat bloed, dan weet je weer wat mountainbiken is met blote benen. De eerste schrammen van 2008. Haha.
Al met al een lekker ritje, maar er is nog wel veel werk te verrichten voor de eerste wedstrijd. En we weten inmiddels ook dat we weer op 11 maart in Cavaillon mogen aantreden voor de hervatting van de opleiding. We beginnen met BMX, de baan en wielrennen.
Oh ja, de Tour du Haut Var was ook nog in Draguignan. Veel spektakel, weinig sfeer! Sorry!

Amsterdam, it's cold and damp, like the old movies. It's nice to be home for a week though! Of course there is always too much to do and too many bills need to be paid, but it is also comfortable.

Tomorrow I will drive back down south for a number of weeks. In a few weeks time we have to re-present ourselves in Sospel. I'm looking forward to it, although the questions about my riding will be asked.....How much, how many hours, how technical....brrrrr.....I have to get some more riding in.

Last weekend I went for a ride around Arnhem. I used my old Trek bike which I brought along for my cousin. She can have it when she's a bit older and taller. Anyway, the old Trek did well. It's so much lighter and more nervous than the Specialized. It felt like a test ride.....It was for the first time in over a year that I really rode on technical bits on that bike. Even though the bike feels too short for me now....the maniability is better than the Specialized. It reacts quicker and that feels good. Weight plays a part there....

It was quite a revelation, I must say. It makes me think that a full suspension is not the best in all circumstances. It was an interesting experience!!

Back to France now.

It has been a while....Why? Because I have been busy! I have been busy on the BMX track of Draguignan, busy biking myself and getting a cold as a result and busy with the wonderful wonders of french administration.
The administration issues led my to Toulon, to have some documents stamped and on my way back I passed at the Domaine La Sauveuse, where I bought a box of nice wine......Hopefully it's as good as its promises!

I've been riding and training like crazy. You have to make the most of the good weather. The winter is still in the air....out of the sun it's cold and damp, although my cat doesn't seem to mind too much. He's just happy being up in a tree.

Wow, the new tracks I discovered are promising to take out a group in summer. This time around there were mud pools up to my ankels and I got very wet feet, but the tracks are cool; rocky climbs that require skill, a descent with plenty of surprises, singletracks that make you realise that the woods are fast and deep and single tracks with those little tricks that make you want to do it again.
Throw in a few beautiful views, stunning scenery and you know you're in a mountainbike paradise.

I had another knee check-up as well. To see the holes and gaps created by an operation, on a MRI scan is impressive. I sincerely thought that there was no bone left to support my muscles and weight, but in fact my orthopedist explained that the gaps have been filled up by bone and the structure is super strong (I can count for that), just that the MRI shows the different structures that have been created.
Whow, and then another thing......For the first time since the summer of 2006 I went to an area close the the district 'La Leutenante'........the red earth, the single tracks and the sometimes very technical downhill tracks, remain such a pleasure.....Man....mountainbiking is the best thing that has happened to me. I keep learning and I keep discovering. I do things now that simply freaked me out back then.
Let me take you out there, dear people. Let's roll together and discover this red earth on one of your mountainbike holidays.
See U soon.