Our summer has been abundant up until now and it is nearly the end of August… The occasional thunderstorm and cool day have been pleasant alternatives to tropical, airless chokers. Again, when one works in an office without airco, where no window can be opened and where nearly 20 people are sweating it out in 35 C temperatures, one is requesting either a day off or a nice thunder's day.
In these conditions, the hours on my bike are pleasant however. During the week the hottest peaks have passed when I put on my colours of OCR, Gaul! or Specialized to go for a session. During the weekend I take in the heat of the sun when I'm out on my endurance rides. I just luuuuvvvv riding in the heat. Two weeks ago I changed my routine and went north..in the direction of Alkmaar and rode my k's through flat, Dutch land. All was flat, some villages a mix of typical post war and hyper modern architecture, some, smaller villages have maintained the original structures, with its typical square farms, high doors and pointy roofs. I also learned something that day…..
Because while I was rescuing a cow that was trapped in the mud because it had slipped of a steep embankment into the ditch, my fellow rescuer (one can not rescue a cow by pulling its ears….it's a big heavy creature, so we calmed it down, helped it maintain a position so no energy was wasted on not slipping any further and it clawed its way out after 15 minutes)….. told me that the infrastructure of New York was based on this part of Holland. It was the reason why the area of Midden-Beemster is on the world heritage list of the Unesco; wow, how very interesting. So if you want to find your way back, you only have to turn corners and head in the direction to wish to go. All is clear, the corners have 90 Degree angles and the roads are as flat and straight as pencil lines.
The focus is there; my energy is spent on 'making bike hours' in the proper proportions of my own personal training schedule and my food intake is changing. I am 6 weeks before D-Day and although shape is a vague term, I am gaining confidence too. I even rode the Roc d'Azur trails as a training session on a stinking hot day in the south of France at the end of July. On a wonderful new bike… And then al of a sudden there is the shaping of a mountainbike trail, in the nature reserve of Het Twiske, north of Amsterdam. Don't get me wrong, the area is still flat, the old turf-collecting fields have filled up with water, but the things one can come up with, with dikes, sharp corners and lush vegetation has made a fine, technical single track trail. It ain't long, but it's fun and we can finally ride an aggressive and technical track without having to travel for at least an hour. It's great fun!
Two Saturdays have I helped the organisers now, with clearing the track, chopping trees and branches and…..marking it up. We signposted the second track today, and now the pilots can check it out for themselves. The direction is set, the marks are up and there are no more drawbacks for kids, girls, diehards and beginners to beat them in. Have fun people, but be careful outthere….and….WHERE A HELMET!
