Riding with Moser

Apologies to all for the lack of posts in recent times . Fact is with the " Le Tour " , Olympics and now the WCF Masters , i have been far too busy to get all that has been happening onto the internet / paper .

Topping off lack of time , was the arrival yesterday of Francesco Moser demanding i get organised to ride  within minutes . Normally he turns up on Wednesdays in St Johann , but with his lifestyle and the demands for his presence at a variety of events he has to juggle all the commitments  coming his way . Vic Haines ( google ) , a British Cycling Legend was there also  , seems he will be adding to Francesco's network of Wine Distribution by releasing the Wines in the UK in the near future .

When riding with Moser , you can ride to his shoulder , but passing him , particularly on a hill will provoke a response . Had warned Vic of this , so the first climb was  tempo but as we were on the actual WCF racecourse we had a couple of racers pass us . This caused Francesco to pick up the pace and so we were tootling along leading out these Guys , paceline style . Several kilometres passed in this way with a variety of surges along the way through rolling hills and shaded forest areas . On the second climb Moser led the way but close to the top i had to ask him to cool it since Vic was off the back conserving energy for his Time Trial effort on the next day . Reluctantly we had to let the others go and drifted along for a while so as to allow Vic to come up at his own pace .

After passing over another bump on the course we stopped so that Moser's rear wheel could be topped up with air , since he had developed a slow puncture . As we headed through the back part of the course several race groups passed and it was up to me to sprint so that we could latch on for a few kilometres whilst Francesco had a chat with some of the Racers . Arriving in the finish area we played a little cat and mouse but Moser decided that a sprint wasn't on today .

After attending the refreshment tent we watched some of the racers finish their race . Spotted a couple of Aussies at the barriers so asked one of them if they knew of Moser and was met with a blank look . Took Francesco over to introduce them but all that was said " we saw him introduced earlier "! Francesco , according to Vic Haines arrives in a restaurant and ALL are on their feet applauding , and yet for aussie cycling fans it's a yawn , too hard to get the autograph ! Puts me in mind of the occasion i was going to introduce Charlie Gaul to a group of Aussie Journos , their reply was they only wanted to meet 5 time winners ! Wonder if they recall meeting Lance ?

At some point i will air more of my views on the " kangaroo Court " treatment of Lance . Suffice to say that in stepping back from looking after his legacy , the public have been showing their support by increasingly reaching into the back pocket to support LiveSTRONG ! Says it ALL , does it not ?

Tonight the Paralympics start in London , i won't be there , i spent 15 seasons riding , Advocating more support for these Amazing Athletes . Best place to see their efforts is on the TV , so many more Countries have finally woken up to how entertaining these people can be and are looking to increase their ratings by showing their efforts !

TO ALL THE PARALYMPIANS !

You are already WINNERS by being selected for your country ! BE THE BEST YOU CAN , any madals will be icing on the Cake but a few NEW WORLD RECORDS along the way will demonstrate your courage and alert the SPONSORS to new opportunities !

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU !

Addition on Friday 14th Dec 2012 !

Congratulations to YORKSHIRE !

Today it was announced that Yorkshire had won their BID !

6th July 2014 , those that are in Leeds will be able to PARTICIPATE in the GRAND DEPART ! ENJOY !













Meanwhile , here in Snowy Austria , i am riding the Tacx wearing the Shirt seen above and the Bib Shorts you saw on Francesco in the photo above :

FRANCESCO MOSER

Fricking Posterous lost the ORIGINAL post when i tried to upload the " photos " !

Now that i have been awoken early i will try once again !

Wednesday is always the day of the " Time Trial " for those visiting the " World Masters Cycling Federation " Events ( formerly run with " UCI involvement ". So after lunch i headed over to the " Depart area " . Tapped on the shoulder i turned to discover Francesco bare chested enjoying the 100+f sunshine and the warmth of the sun on his skin . He was alone in this as all others were seeking as much shade as was available . Leaving home that morning in in Italy he had driven through even warmer conditions to be at the Time Trial once again , he attends most years and Maurizio Fondriest another of my " sponsors " has also put in an appearance on this day !

After a while he proposed we make a short excursion , turned out to be two circuits of the Road Race Course , and knowing his way of riding i was " what in this heat " ? So he kitted up and after i had called " PIANO PREGO ! " we took off heading back to St Johann which is the start of the Road Race Circuit and then turned on to the " Road Race Course " . Francesco at 60 is still the young stallion that was "World Champion and Hour Record Holder " so you DO NOT challenge him on a climb , so as we went up the climb i rode up to his shoulder knowing from dozens of previous encounters that passing him would provoke a display of " power climbing " and with the current century heat the body temperature was hot so i wasin no shape to race him even on the flat . During the ride i told him of www.fatcyclist.com 's latest fund raiser and said i needed the shirt he was wearing and autographed to send across to Fatcyclist to Add to the many prizes already on offer .

Arriving back at the finish area i encountered an english guy wearing the " Roadpeace Tricot " , he told me today that he did not hear the name as i made the introduction but when Francesco headed out once again i had to chase to catch up and fortunately there was cycle traffic so Francesco did not take a lot of catching . No need to go into the details of all the ride " Same old , Same old " but when we got back to St Johann i grabbed a couple of shirts to swap so as to collect the " Autographed Maillot " ! Francesco put on the Italian " Vivo Sports " shirt

but bucked about putting on the Austrian " Peto Bikes " Shirt , since the French use " Peto " as slang for a " fart " ! Wondered during the TDF why i got so many comments about this shirt from the locals !

Well everything was OK until the Race Director turned up and demanded the shirt ! " His Perogative " ! This guy is as wide as he is tall so there is no chance he can wear it himself and so i guess it will go to some crony who will deposit in a drawer and then forget about it's existence . So much for the www.fatcyclist.com fund raiser contribution ! As i write this up there are indications of the target of 1000 bikes for Zaire already being passed and " Rita" being the knowitall that she is had better bite her tongue . Nice to be anonymous when putting the acid on someone !

Not being in the USA or having a MTB these days i rather envy those with the opportunity to join the " Leadville 100 " but my previous experiences of crashing around the course in the Lago Garda MTB event somewhat discourage a repeat performance .