SO BUSY WITH THE RACERS !

Found Vince and Georgethecyclist in Les Herbiers yesterday and at the Team presentation enjoyed chatting with some of the big guns including Cadel whose photo amongst others will be added later .

AT 10 am my only thoughts are who i will find today rather than sitting here in the tourist office talking to you all !

Looks like you like to read BUT NO ONE HAS advised the name of a "PARA ATHLETE they would like to receive a "Conti Tyre " . Guess i get to save the postage monies !

 

ULM Germany

After the TDF i called in on a Ski Buddy from the mid 1990's living in ULM area. His partner had recently moved out and his house was in need of extensive renovation.

The roof was missing tiles , the water was cut off so water is being piped in off the neighbouring house through a hose pipe and there are other less serious issues needing attantion.

I always knew that George was a good cook but hopeless at getting going on practical issues. Fortuneately he is reasonably fluent in english so communication should not have been an issue.

One demand i made in July was that the internet be connected so that i could deal with my communication issues, well a variety of excuses ensued through until i moved in after returning from the Vuelta in early October. Since the beginning of the residency i have chopped the winters wood ,cleared the garden of falling leaves and chestnuts spending mornings before going riding the local roads on the wintery afternoons. Fortunately i have not had to put in much time on the tacx as though cold and bleak there has been little rain.

The past two weeks has seen 70+ hrs of my time digging a trench 12m long by 1.4m deep and 1.2m wide to accomodate the new water pipe. Can you believe the local regs(DIN 4124) call for Wood hoardings using 5cm thick wood at each end of the trench which is mainly solid mud not unstable loose soil. Topping all this is the lack of Plans to show where the Electricity,telephone,television cables are buried and in addition there are no plans for the existing Water and waste pipes. Regardless of all this effort not only has "Prof. Workshy "decided to short change me on recompence but offered the opinion that the work was good exercise . He also revealed that he was in no hurry to connect the internet since he is in the process of changing telephone suppliers. Thought i should have bought a "stick" since i have 2 for Austria.

Well any of you wondering why i have not added to my blog recently will now see the difficulty i have had baring in mind the nearest internet cafe is about 12km away with parking difficulty both for car and bike. Those of you who helped me out during the TDF and Vuelta will i hope be patient as i plan on return to Austria to set to work reporting on those events. I had also planned to have thanked some of my "Sponsors" during the past year by this time but lack of facilities has deferred that task also.

Currently i am seeing little interest by "Para Athletes " in joining me next year so i think that any efforts next year will be directed to assisting another segment of the community. Sad to think that these people do not wish to help themselves.

Recently i have offered a few "comments" to SBS Cycling Central and Roads.cc amongst other blogs. Georgethecyclist.blogspot.com offered me the opportunity to join his latest jaunt in Turkey but after reading his recent blogs i am in two minds as to which situation would have been the more enjoyable way of passing the last few weeks.

PRESIDENT SARKOZY ARE YOU READING

Wrote ¨Sarko¨a note which i published on ¨fatcyclist¨for backup!

Too busy meeting and greeting to look for ïnternet cafe s¨!

Thankyou s are due all those people who have helped me at the Giro, Dauphinee and the TDF but as i am using another's internet i will keep it short!

Staying in the homes of some really inspiring people who have lavished excellent hospitality on me! Wish i deserved this kind consideration and it will be hard to repay the kindnesses extended at all of these events!

Amazed to bump into the Norwegian Para skier(who i first met in Hintertux in 1998), in the street of Morzine on Monday, to find another Para Skier on his hand bike on the top of the climb from Sisteron today, to visit the home in Die of another and get news of many that i met at the Sestriere Winter Paralympics 2006.

Riding the course with the pack is ¨deja Vue¨but shows that the ability to meet and greet is still there.

Those of you who i told to send 10 euro to your National Para committee when shooting my photo: DO IT TODAY !!

Cannot begin to describe the last two months activities in detail, but then you would not believe me anyway!

Read www.george the cyclist.blogspot.com and www.fatcyclist.cpm and you may get some feedback!

GIRO ITT St Vigil

Time being of the essence i have copied in my comment to fat cyclist which details some of the action on tuesday


"Yesterday on the ITT on the giro the racers were followed up the hill by motorbike with the mechanic riding pillion with 2 wheels and in somee cases a complete bike, of course you will have seen Arroya°s support running up behind him with the bike in the last few hundred metres!
Rode the course with Damiana on monday and as he was taking it easy, using little energy, recovery ride pace i was able to stay within shouting distance until the concrete & gravel then forget it time.
Racing the route alone i missed the turn and descended 2km before the light flashed on and arrived back to find the road closed so walked the last 5km of the course,cintinually overtaken by racers who looked like they would rather be somewhere else.
At the arrival most of these racers looked gaunt and pretty much done in so i reckon today will be a slow/late arrival. i will start at Cloz after visiting Fondriest shop in Cles and the Passo Tonale in lieu of the Passo Palides which i have done before.
Lovely photo of the runner!"

Monday i rode into St Vigil looking for the Team Hotels after finding BMC in Brunico, i found Gianni Motta resting in the sun then discovered Lampre team hotel just as Damiano was about to set out. Permission granted i rode with him and a colleague as well as 3 guys from "Fisi:k(saddles,etc)" wonder when they will deliver on the promises made. The first 45 mins was warming up ride then we started into the course but thankfully at a pace i was able to handle. when we returned to St Vigil i found a few riders lazing in a variety of cafes whilst awaiting lunch.

After lunch caught up with Mat Lloyd and then El Diablo in St vigil , ithen went to another area east of Brunico where the bulk of the teams were staying. There i caught up with Richie Porte amongst others. Amazing what some of the team support staff had to say ablout the "worm".

At the arrival area on the Plan yesterday i shared a few laughs with Pat Mc Quaid about the previous weeks cycling entertainment, you could hardly call 4 years of "same old, same old", news?

Times up , now off to the Tonale and then Peio to see the RACE arrival!