Final preparations

Sunday afternoon; it's raining cats and dogs.....it's pissing down and it's not the first day. We've had rain like this for two consecutive weeks now and although I do not mind to much, it's giving me bad vibes for the 5-day Raid that I am about to embark on.

The last two weeks have been filled with preparations at Sospel. I was sleeping in my tent and luckily I put up the big one. Luckily, because that way I did not bring in the drab, the humidity of my shoes....I could take it off in the 'living-area' and sleep dry and warm, thanks to an excellent silk sheet and down sleeping bag.

We've had fun, held a bbq, yelled and cursed and kept on preparing our raid. Last week we've been busy mapping our routes. It is up to us to find appropriate roads, single-tracks and escape routes, to put it in a road book and to map the direction (compass) and mark each turn, twist and change of surface. Very good practise and I enjoyed it. It's part of the course, because as a guide you may have to map your own itinerary some day and spend 5 days with a group of people and lead them through the mountains and forests.

All said and done, I still fear this thing. For two weeks now I have a nagging feeling that something is going to happen and so I basically decided not to participate. This normally means failing the course, but I rather argue for my life as of why I don't want tot participate, than to break a leg, arm, shoulder or knee only to say afterwards: "didn't I tell you so". The internal battle is enormous. The pressure from my envrironment is hard to take, but this one is up to me. My decision to keep me safe and sound.

The weather forecast for next week, during the raid is bad....very bad. A third week of continuous rain is foreseen....so this means riding and cycling and slipping and getting wet and probably cold and nasty, every day, one hour after setting off in the morning. Is it wise? Is this the right thing to decide by the course leaders? Are they truly prepared to put suffering and misery before the educational benefits of a Raid like this?

Questions they have to answer!! I'm not convinced. Look at the picture of my bikes. My bikes? Yeah, they are there....underneath the sheet, to protect them the best I can againt the rain.

Preparations for a Raid

The course year is coming to an end. The first of 3 intense weeks has come and gone, the group is living under tension and it is gonna be hard for me to finish them.
We are preparing for a Raid; 5 days of tough riding, without support. The major goal is to start and finish as a group and, very important, in one piece. But 'the group' doesn't exist. A few of us are living in or near Nice and go home every night, one of us has a job to do and he has the permission to miss days and weeks....which I am starting to resent.
About 5 guys are staying in a little bungalow on a campsite, where I used to go, but I don't like the owner and I can no longer stay with these 5 guys....the tension is too big, the bullshit they're talking about too stupid and so I moved to another campground, where I'm happily living my life. Boy, it was so nice to be able to decompress at night. To make my own dinner at the time chosen by me and to get some studying and reading in as well. And then there are Antoine and Gaetan, who are sort of squatting on a parking lot, in one of those white converted vans.. They are the 'white van men' but I adore them and consider them my buddies.

We climbed the Turini last week; 24km. of climbing up to nearly 1800 mtr. A big one, my first, and it took me and them 2 hours. But, it will be the first mountain to climb when we start our raid on Monday the 26th. It's going to be tough, very tough, with a backpack on and the pressure of climbing this sucker of a mountain as one of three and the first 24 of 140 km of that day.
However, I did it and I did it in style and the guys were happy for me! Here they are on the Friday, before we can head back home for two days of well earned rest.

I must tell you about Collin and Joanna, an English couple whom I met in Sospel on Thursday. I recognised them as my neighbours on the campground. Because the spaces are big, 'neighbours' is slightly exegerated, but they were the closest by.
Anyway, Thursday night they invited me for dinner and a nice glas of wine. Excellent company.....good, honest meal and a few laughs. It was such a nice way to step out of the Sospel and the cycling circle that I wish to thank them through this entry. Thanks guys...and I do hope that we'll meet up again. Whether it's in Sospel or surroundings or in the UK. Even though the cycling circle will be my future, there is so much more and we tend to forget this, when we are encircled in the group-dynamics. "We" may not be the right thing.....I'd love to be slightly off the beaten track, even when the course dynamics demand total devotion. A lot of guys think, eat and sleep bike and stepping out of their environment is very, very neccessary for me. I believe that Antoine and Gaetan have similar attitudes...why we get along. So, the campground dinner with Collin and Joanna did just that. It allowed me to step out of the glas bowl and be me.....
In about 10 hours time I'll be back in Sospel for the second to none preparations. I'm tired.
I went for a ride last night and this morning. The new tire is enabling more grip and gives more stability down hill, but it's heavy uphill. This morning I went for another ride. Both were just one hour rides, but at 100%. The recovery was good enough this morning and that relieved me. My right leg is tight and tires quickly and I will have to manage this carefully.
See you later.

First bush fire of the year?

I was happily eating a bisquit in the kitchen, looking out of the window to look at the cat, when I noticed this vale yellow haze in the distance. Just behind the Malmont....I was wondering....when all of a sudden it daunted to me; A fire. A big one by the looks of it and not far. At first I thought it was La Motte, as usual, but no...it's closer. Figanieres perhaps.

Merde. With the wind blazing since a few days, it's obvious that this is a tough one to crack for the firefighters. The wind from the Mediteranean, gusty, and sometimes even nippy....up to 80km/h.
It is this yellowish, brown colour that I will recognize forever, after my bush fire experience in 2005, when I had to secure the campground where I was working, where a van caught fire and burned down, because there was no pressure on the waterhose and where we ran from spot to spot with our big extinguisers, because the pine cones exploded and flew tens of metres far away to immediately catch fire on the ground.
It's a haze of clouds that veils the light of the sun and the sky and that turns your environment into an evening of sickening colour; that weighs heavy and that makes you bow your head.

It's the first fire of 'the season'. Coincidence that it happens with this wind? Has somebody been negligent with his or her cigaret but? Somebody burning leaves in the garden....surely, you're carefull with 80km/h blazes around your house. Will we ever know what has caused it...?

It truly is a Mountainbike Paradise

After a weekend of tough riding, I decided to take it easy today. I'm in full training mode for the 5 day Raid which is coming up in two weeks time and I might even overdo it slightly. Next week is a rest week, while I will be in Sospel, for the first of 3 heavy weeks.

I stumbled upon a steep path uphill to the Malmont. It is a on the property of the Domaine du Dragon, one of the many wineyards around Draguignan. They knew I was up there....I had permission to have a look. They had warned me it was a steep climb, but with the smallest and lightest of gear I happily and slowly went up their hill. I cannot judge about their wine, but they sure have the best view and coolest area to grow and nourish their wine. Who does not want to work in a wineyard high up on the Malmont hill, with stunning views and no nuissance of nearby roads. The best thing yet; who would think that high up on the hill there is a treasure of good taste.....It was another wow experience.

They also have holiday homes for rent....Not bad. It's an old bastide, well done up, with a magnificent pool. If you bring your mountainbike along, I'll guide you aroung on the Malmont, on the best tracks of the area. Afterwards...the pool!! What a joy.

surprise - no brakes - long live the adventure

Don't you just love surprises....
In one month I have to participate in a 'Raid', part of my studies. We will be out on our own, by bike, during 5 days and without any outside support. 5 Days of riding by mountain- and road bike out on the trails of the Mercantour National Parc. Me and the 15 guys of the course and so it is in my best interest to be prepared.

So I prepare myself seriously by riding and practising. Although I am still a bit handicapped because of the pain in my hand/wrist, I can ride my roadbike for hours. Now here comes the surprise....
Here I am, happily turning the legs around on the roads and my speed increases and increases....I have always wondered whether my brakes worked well and the guys and mechanics have made fun of me that I didn't know how to ride a roadbike......Until last week, a car decided not to give me the right of way on a roundabout. I hit the brakes, hard....and nothing happens. The damned bike DOES NOT STOP. Well, that was it. That was my 3rd almost accident and I have had enough of it.
I don't hesitate, ride to the shop immediately, tell of my 'adventure' and finally, after 6 months of complaining that the brakes on the damn bike are useless, he believes me. He believes me....
Unfortunately, changing pads will not solve the problem, I'll have to change the brakes entirely and it's gonna cost me, 'cause the bikebrand has issued a frame that does not allow many deviation of the original parts.......To be continued this week!!

spring is in the air

Wind, rain, thunder and lightning....we've had it all this last week. For a couple of weeks the weather has not been what one expects. Although a bike ride is less fun, when the wind beats you from all sides, one still has to ride to remain in form and to improve our form. A three hours ride, feels much more than a beating in such conditions, than when the sun is shining and we stroll along to finish the 80km at hand.

Sure enough, we need the rain. The rivers are running low and we had already begun to water the plants and vegetable....in april. We do hope, however, that when this depression has passed, we will have some sun and nice temperatures to warm the body.

I went for a mountainbike ride yesterday. The first in 7 weeks. Man.....I simply cannot explain the joy and energy it gives me.....I took some precaution. My hand is more or less protected from the heavy shocks and of course I sometimes pay more attention to the pain than the rocks in front of me....ahum. It thrilled me. The legs are strong...it all feeeels good. Although my hand was strapped, I did ride my road bike. After a couple of weeks of sun I had two white lines across my fingers and after cutting-off my cast, my hand was all white and my thumb all tanned. Anyway, the cast is off, let the fun rebegin.

To show you that I do more than cycling, I would like to share with you the flowers in our garden. The colours and smells are amazing and this time of year remains the most beautiful. I could show you hundreds of photos like it, but it would just be much better to just come down here, see for yourself and enjoy the trails on your bike at the same time. I'm here to guide you along....of course.

While my colleagues are struggling to master steep descents, and while we are practising our teaching skills in Sospel, the big guys, the elite mountainbikers were in Saint Raphael for their first stage of the Coupe de France.

I could have been there....of course....well, I could have been in the starting line-up, just for the experience and to defend the club's colours. It was my club who organised the event, but I had to still watch from a distance. The hand, still the hand, but all is well, considering. The weather was gorgeous, the wind fierce, the dust hurt the eyes and the number of flat tires was immense, but the athmosphere was old-fashioned. Our french world-and olympic champion was there, of course, and after playing cat-and-mouse during the first 8-km lap, he quickly established his dominance. After almost two hours of race, he was the first to raise his arms. Mission accomplished....can I go home now to the missus, who is just 10 minutes away, cause you're riding in my back yard...kind a thing.

In Sospel, the sun was beating down; I even had a headache at the end of the day. Unable still to ride on a mountainbike, although on the road the pain was bearable, I watched from the sideline. Extremely frustrating!! I was not a happy camper that week. I fulfilled my contract, taught my two sessions to gain experience, was present during the 30 other sessions and mastered the orientation skills on foot, while my colleagues hunted down the marks by bike. I did well, I must admit. While the grand majority of my colleagues opted for 0 points, I had 10 and 8 at the end of the two exercises...On foot!!

What else do I want? I still have the slight impression that lots of my friends and colleagues think that I am on an extended holiday. The sun, a couple of training weeks and then a few weeks off, a broken hand, but heh, with a broken hand you don't have to work.....All sort of things must go through peoples minds.

Well, it's not a holiday! I work; I teach english and am a student teacher at the BMX club. There's two days filled for you. I study hard, another two days and am very pre-occupied to have my dutch diploma legalised in France. The last thing alone can fill my week....My weekends are always filled with some kind of cycling thing; just to gain more experience. True, I do not have to wake up to an alarm clock.....but that is as much holiday feeling I can thing of. Just to set the record straight a bit. No hard feelings.....Happiness is the biggest joy of all. Not the money that comes with working 5 days a week. I'm still one of the happiest people around, cause I can live my passion!!

See you next time.

Bionic woman

Hé, it speaks for itself

Le Mont Ventoux

While I looked on and enjoyed the sun with my broken hand, my colleagues turned and turned their kilometres on the velodrome (the track) of Cavaillon. At the end of the week one of us was ready to chunk his bike, however.....
There still was a mountain to conquer. They had thought it a good idea to ride the Mythic Mont Ventoux. 22 Kilometres of continuous climbing.....
And why not; we could see the beast from our 'hotel' the snow was white and beckoning and the weather to good to let the occasion pass.

Vive le BMX

After a first race in the regional BMX championships I felt satisfied.

When I had to put my helmet on for the second race, I felt I wasn't ready. I asked myself a 100 questions; my body was shaking and I felt tired. Tired while the adrenelin was supposed to give me the vibes. After the first strait line I was last. Undeterred I continued; less afraid of the big Dracenoise immediately after the first bend. All went well.

When I felt my speed was higher then before on the 'pro' my mountainbike instincts took over. Instead of jumping and pushing the bike forward to continue on the back wheel; I dove forward, ready for anything and all went black....I felt my helmet crash into the ground, I felt my chest being thumped and compressed and I started screaming to liberate my anger and to make sure my lungs and chest were not seriously injured.... Apparently I made quite an impression. I learned later that some people had been seriously afraid to approach me after my scream. Surprisingly enough I was back on my feet and BMX, after the medics had told me to relax.

However, As soon as I was back on my BMX I felt a sharp pain in my hand....I finished my race. Analysed my crash with my clubmate in the same race, took off my helmet with one hand and went to the medics.


Iwas rushed to the specialised hand-hospital in Toulon, with a broken hand and the terrifying news it needed surgery the same evening. I had had breakfast only and all of a sudden I couldn't eat nor drink anymore, while it was an exceptionnal 25 degrees outside.

Here I am 5 days later....X-rays, two casts later and a lot poorer from all the bills to pay upfront. Yes, my hand is broken, yes I can move, but not ride and yes it hurts. But no surgery is necessary, just a very close monitoring of the broken bones. It could have been worse! Much worse.

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.

Well, here they are. Some of them anyway. The angels of the BMX-club of Draguignan. As you can see, the sun has had a chance the dry the track a bit. It felt good to be out in the sun this Saturday morning, because it is still quite chilly when the sun is not high enough yet.

I'm still not teaching and still watching and just not doing all that much. I do feel capable of teaching, however, the boss of the track is taking it very easy with me. I'm not complaining. The kids are nice...well, most of them. They're kids, enjoying themselves on their small bikes. Some need coaching, some need training, some need a pat on their back....In general, it's just good fun!!

An alternative tourist office of Draguignan

I think the tourist office of Draguignan and Lorgues and Entrecasteaux should recognize my efforts to upload this beautiful place to the web. Last Tuesday I went for a ride that turned out to be almost 3 hours.

There are still places that I haven't seen and of course a slow ride on my roadbike was the perfect opportunity to discover. The ride itself wasn't all pleasure; it had to be done to get back in shape and to get hours and kilometers in my legs.....The weather is still a bit off, so every day of riding, in between showers, is a bonus.

In the backland, between Lorgues and Salernes is an area of what I call 'old land'. Entrecasteaux, of course, is a castle whith plenty of history and the land surrounding it is calm and gentle, with a few of these big estates that breath history and nobility. I was surprised and it made my ride such a pleasure that I forgot all about the necessity of it. If I am surprised than so will other people be.....the changes are open. The game plan is forming itself.

More riding to be done today, but today I will take my mountainbike out for a tour. The sun is out, the mud hasn't dried yet and the hunters will be sleeping-in or at work. There is a lot of wind, so I will stick to known territory to stay sheltered (brrrr....don't like the wind).

"It's Raining Again"......

I'm tough enough to hike and ride in the rain for days on end, if it is a means to an end.....that is, if it is the only thing to do to arrive at my destination.

But I am also whimp enough to stay indoors and get some exercises and alternative weighttraining done at home, when IT JUST DOESN'T STOP RAINING.

Last wednesday was my first day of student teaching/instructing at the BMX club here in Draguignan. Well, all I did was observe and ask questions and get to know the people at and of the club. It was long afternoon, because the track was wet and muddy and the kids complained it was too hard. Apart from that the sky was grey and heavy and in an area where you're used to the sun, this kind of weather presses heavy on the mind. Everybody was just a bit grumpy....

But hey.....I'm used to the grey skies and I did not pay it all that much attentions, I just watched these kids to see what sort of teaching they could use......the eye of the master, sort of speaking, to prepare myself for the months to come. The track here at Draguignan is tough; big tables, doubles and a line of whoops into the finish line. Quite attractive though and I would love to see Luca handle it and give a bit of a demonstration to these kids. I wonder what he'd say about it. Let's wait and see what the next months have in store for me. Looking forward to it.

With the beginning of a new year, it's time to pick up the pace and start progressing on some serious business. After my arrival on Saturday the 5th of January, I went for a ride on Sunday. Saturday's rain had gone, the sun was out and it was very mild. The only cumbersome thing, the wind, was strong. So I put my head down and put 90 minutes of roadcycling in, against the wind of about 70 km/h. Only the last 20 minutes I could cruise along and my ride finished with a nice 60 km/h descent into the last stretch home.

While cycling, 'cause all you can do on the road is think and ponder, I realised that I'll have to move in on my plans to offer holidays and day-trips to holiday goers in and around Draguignan. As if all has to be this way, I bumped into a guy today at my favorite store 'Bouticycle' who mentioned that someone he knows is building a guesthouse and maybe he'll be needing customers soon, and why not team-up?
I do have to start looking around for a nice Bed & Breakfast or hotel that can accommodate mountainbikers and other interested cycling fans, since the first options opted out. "Not interested".
I also have to look into the paperwork and other legal issues and I already have some leads and I will follow-up on these this week.
Tomorrow another ride, on my MTB this time.....I'm going to look for new single tracks and also put some time into some serious training this week. Looking forward to it. This year I'm looking at my first paying customers!!

Specialized in sponsoring

I miss my bike.....that sounds odd like that. Well, I miss cycling, I miss tackling the hills and single tracks around Draguignan......I've celebrated Christmas in excellent style, about 4 days in a row with colleagues, my boyfriend and family, but I've had enough. I'm still in Amsterdam.

I wanna be on my bike, whether it's an hour on my Specialized just to shake-off the Christmas excesses, or whether it's a couple of hours on my road bike.....I need to ride!!

The picture is taken in Greoux-les -bains, which was my last free ride in November. Looks nice doesn't it those two Specialized bikes......Mine, the Epic, is the small silver one and the one in front is the Marathon of my boyfriend. Looks good this way we think and they're just excellent bikes for the terrain out there.

All I can do now is go to the gym and push weights. Although I take my off-season weight-training very seriously, to me it's an assignment I need to do. Progress is evident though. After the weight training sessions in spring to re-adjust the strenght in my right leg, so both legs would be balanced, these sessions are focused on pure strength. Power and explosive force is what I'm training for and the results are beginning to show.

The competitive season starts in March 2008 and my big goal is the World Championships for Masters in PraLoup in August. The one and only!

With the last days of the year to bridge, before returning to France, I'm also picking-up my search for sponsorship.

My employer finished my contract, the louzy bastard and I'm going to nominate them for worst employer of 2007 and 2008, so the funds will stop very soon, unless I decide to take legal action against him......just for kicks?

Anyway, sponsorship is what it will take to finish my Mountainbike training in France. I've been thinking of the Bever Zwerfsport chain in the Netherlands or the Icebreaker clothing company. For Icebreaker it could be perfect.....France is a big market.

Of course the KNWU partners could throw me a bone as well....It's also in their interest that the best qualified people are related to them and their activities....

It's a big world out there and my knowledge of how to attract sponsors is limited; who will help.

Enjoy the last days of 2007 while you can. Indulge, celebrate and ride wild...

Amsterdam in Winter

All of a sudden it is winter in Amsterdam, in Holland. This morning we woke up to a white world. It takes me a while to get used to winter and the cold, in fact, I don't get used to it anymore at all. No matter how hard I try, I shiffer as soon as I step into my kitchen or outside.

All this has nothing to do with mountainbiking, or BMX or other cycling activities. It's just winter and that's nice too for a change.....

Sometimes your destiny just falls on your doorstep, whether you'd asked for it or not. That's what happened last weekend, when, just back from my week in France, I wanted to get some weigth training done at the gym where I work. Cold 4 minutes after arriving and chatting with some of my colleagues, the new 'floor-manager' approached me with the kind news that this week would be my last. Now....this was news to me, but then management has never been outstanding, so I went into a not so calm discussion with the man. To my colleagues this kind of discussion was not new, and always the cherry on the cake. It livens up the work-day, doesn't it.

In the end it may not be all that bad, I was going to France in January anyway.....however the way of bringing it sucks....Big time!!

Two days later I figure that they are doing me a favour. Let them sort out their mess without me. I'll be biking my legs off. In the sun, and I'll be working with groups and kids. I'll be able to really teach again and enjoy myself. And hopefully gain some money at the same time.