WAY OF LIFE

New day and the weather is gloomy with heavy rain so onto the rowing machine indoors before breakfast and lunch. Fatty did a Blog on his swimming activity some time ago and mentioned how you forget where you are and the need to have a lap counter. Well I multi task on this trainer as even though it has a “computer” it does not work correctly, close the eyes and count and you find that the count is inaccurate if you pull hard over a period of time. When I start rowing I have the clock and the MP3 , of which I have three, and eyes closed I think of all that I have read in other people’s Blogs recently and soon I realise that the count has jumped.

Now if I cannot keep count whilst listening to a MP3 on the rowing machine, how can a person concentrate on driving a vehicle whilst talking on the mobile phone with the radio blaring in the background as they shuffle through their paperwork and consume their lunch. Easy to forget that you are driving a lethal weapon and ignore/not notice all around you as you progress at 60kph towards your destination! Multi tasking at any age requires concentration and at the desk it means that you are able to do little damage, on the rowing machine who cares if you get the numbers wrong but in the Vehicle it can result in a traffic fine at the least or a casualty if someone is unlucky to be in the way.

“PYGMYS” are out there bleating about how “cyclists” are causing “mayhem on the roads”, how dare they “slow them down”, “get in their way as they rush to work”, “block the road”, “ride on the pavement” , “ride through traffic lights” and so on and so forth. Traffic is at a standstill and the cyclist works it’s way to the front where there is a “marked cyclist area” at the traffic lights which are red. In Europe the lights change and off go the cyclists and some are quicker than others so they get off down the road allowing the following vehicles to overtake before the next red lights without any recriminations and honking. In England and the USA there will be a small number of “aggro incidents” on occasions because there are drivers who cannot remember that it is they who decided that they did not need to allow the reasonable time that was required to make their journey in a tranquil way.

Harmony is a thing of the past, aggressive driving is becoming the norm, selfish behaviour in all parts of the world is a growing problem in all walks of life. Rushing your food, rushing those around you , rushing in the street, rushing your colleagues , rushing your work , but what are you getting out of all this?
An item came to my attention recently in a another blog:

For now, here's a brief introduction to the nine behaviors we believe can lead to living longer, better:
1. Move (find ways to move mindlessly, make moving unavoidable)
2. Plan de Vida (know your purpose in life)
3. Down Shift (work less, slow down, rest, take vacation)
4. 80% Rule (stop eating when you're 80% full)
5. Plant-Power (more veggies, less protein and processed foods)
6. Red Wine (consistency and moderation)
7. Belong (create a healthy social network)
8. Beliefs (spiritual or religious participation)
9. Your Tribe (make family a priority)

Some of these points may be of value to those who believe “rush” is the way to live. Continually living in stress cannot be good for a person’s health so some of the above points must be of value in slowing the tempo of life. Personally I enjoy no.6, each evening meal regardless of where I am I try to get into the wine , when it comes out of a brick then it gets flavoured with some Gluwein and frizzante water to improve and dilute. Better classes of wine get better treatment of course.

There is a web site that I visit from time to time www.cyclingfever.com it has Dutch and English chat lines and it is busiest when the cycle races are on with links offered to the Major Cycle Tours. The Dutch chat line is the busiest and as they understand English they have been quite helpful to me, I know they have logged onto this Blog on occasions and I thank them for doing this. Perhaps some of them have been kind enough over the past decade or so to feed and water me on the various Cycle Tours which I have ridden. There may well be some who have photos from these encounters, if any of you can pose the question on the chatline or in any other forum that you participate in then I would be grateful. Connection can be made direct by email on skippi@ausi.com .

Veloreviews.com is another website that I visit and in the near future they have asked that I join in a pod cast which will be about “Disabled Sport” in the main but I guess will also bring up experiences from past Cycle Tours. I will advise on www.Twitter.com/Skippydetour once this has been recorded .


Those that have visited this Blog should consider “bookmark” as an aid to visiting and notification of when new postings take place. On the RHS you will see a blue box with a number which apparently advises the daily rank of this blog. There are about 30k in the internet so I was quite pleased to see with your help that the rank has got into the top 15% on occasions, thank you! www.fatcyclist.com which I have asked people to visit because of a recent fundraiser to help a Cancer Victim gets upwards of 53000 visitors to his entries so I will have to be a lot more entertaining and informative to encourage you to tell your friends that this is a Blog worthy of your time.

At the bottom of this Blog I installed a counter today which will I hope prove to be of some value in encouraging “Sponsors” to consider helping the “2010 Project”! Whilst there are some who have indicated an interest in joining, there is still a need for more Volunteers to assist the “Disabled Athletes” who wish to participate. Word of mouth and introductions to more internet users will be just as critical in getting this project to become a reality. During the past week the Blog has had visitors from 16 countries through a variety of sources and this can grow only if you my readers choose to assist.

Back to the rowing machine as the weather is no better and the “derriere” yesterday was just a little uncomfortable so an extra day off the bike will allow recovery. On the “Giro d’Italia” at Agrigento in 1999 I was given the “Concor” saddle by San Marco’s rep Johnny and during the first six days of riding the whole route the “derriere” suffered the adjustment from the previous saddle shape . Lance was using this San Marco Style saddle until 2005 as were many of the racers but I am unsure which saddle he uses these days. Next days I hope to increase the distances and hours in the saddle so as to switch back to the Carbon saddle as soon as possible.

GEELONG TO ADELAIDE

With the World Road Race Championships arriving in Geelong will come the rest of the world. I am speaking of Equipment , Media , UCI Officials ,Protour Team Officials , their mechanics and other support staff , families , friends and supporters. In addition to those with connection to the racing will be visitors with an interest in Cycle racing some of whom will be retired and will have an interest in seeing more of Australia than two cycle events.

I will not be the first to have thought of this but I wonder what has been done in the last years to make sure that those that arrive early for Geelong will prolong their stay so as to be at the Tour Down Under. In recent weeks we have heard mutterings about the TDU being the race event of South Australia but little of making other events more prominent so as to capture the interest of a wider audience. Tourism Australia must certainly be well aware of the huge opportunities provided to them by these two events.

Each of the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France starts and finish sites have huge amounts of equipment trucked in on a dily basis but the Worlds sites set up at the start and at the end strip out their equipment. The point I am making is that there is all this equipment that will be available for use whether for existing events or for events that are created for this period. Many existing events can perhaps be expanded to allow for visiting racers to participate. What UCI regulations need amendment to allow this perhaps temporary arrangement I am sure Cycling Australia can sort out easily enough.

Each cycle season is planned years in advance and to not see the advantages posed by the Worlds and TDU falling within a short period of each other will leave cycle fans wondering about the level of leadership in their sport. This year the TDU was helped by the arrival of two major individuals but throughout the years there has been comings and goings of teams and athletes so there should be a level of flexibility in event management. I fail to see that UCI would refuse to allow variance of regulations during this period so as to allow visiting racers the opportunity to enjoy a prolonged stay with their families in an enjoyable environment.

Every winter the Protour teams and indeed all cycling teams at other levels have get togethers, Team training sessions whatever you like to call these events but on occasion bad weather intrudes so being in Australia could solve some of these needs.

Having looked at the UCI calendars it is easy to see that there is time available to add or upgrade events so as to utilise the opportunities presented by those visiting that wish to remain in Australasia during the Southern Hemisphere Summer months and enjoy a change from the Northern Winter.

Sponsors that do not see the possibilities I am sure will welcome the addition of other Sponsors who do so as that will in the long run benefit them also. The bigger the event becomes the larger the media contingent present thus the possibilities of increased returns for their outlays. Jayco must be feeling pleased that their Tour starts within days of the Worlds concluding and will be hoping that the New Mens World Champions will participate in their event. It goes without saying that the media room will contain more international correspondents than previous years although some will wish to be at the Giro Lombardia.

Cycling Australia and Cycling Sponsors have the opportunity to provide the up and coming talent with better racing possibilities than in previous years. Will they seize this opportunity and present the cycling community with an unrepeated feast!

FATCYCLIST and BLOGGING

THE CYCLIST ON THE ROAD ALONGSIDE LANCE IS KNOWN AS FATTY!

he has raised $136000 for two charities in a little over two days.




THE $US1million "SKIPPYS LEGACY " still available to establish the "PARRABUDDY FOUNDATION".

In the past months I have been looking at a variety of Cycling Blogs to gain an insight as to what people are saying and enjoying.

People return to interesting and action packed blogs. I hope what I am offering will prove entertaining and worth visiting regularly. During 12 seasons of riding the routes of the various cycle tours that I have chosen I have met interesting and entertaining individuals throughout Europe. My primary objective has always been to motivate others to help “Disabled /Paralympic sport” in their own way. Each individual has their own perspective on how they can contribute to their community.

Returning to the blogs I am following, the outstanding example is “Fat Cyclist”. this guy has had a rough time these past couple of years with personal tragedy in his family. He has risen above the grief and continued to work at helping others.

Two weeks ago he sent a humorous letter to Johan Bruyneel which I picked up on Twitter and then went to @fat cyclist and to his Blog/fatcyclist.com. I will let you read and enjoy at your leisure as repeating here will not do the story justice. I watched the thrilling action with amazement! Fatty as he is known by his followers met the challenge thrust on him with an adroit skill few possess. It is an envious situation that “Fatty” found himself in as a result of the help of his team. “Fatty” motivated an instant result by his generosity and the lives of his followers, the beneficuaries of his fundraisings and the onlookers such as myself have been enriched as a result! Johan Bruyneel has risen to the occasion also in the way he received Fatty and arranging a range of “goodies” in addition to what Fatty had anticipated.

I have met many members of the “ Radio Shack Team” in their previous teams and his first report of the Saturday evening bears out my good opinion of them all. Nevertheless I envy the opportunity he had to go one on one in their space.When on the tours I have met the cyclists and their support staff in a variety of locations and generally they have been preparing for the upcoming days work.

Occasions have arisen when I have been able to have a reasonably relaxed chat. Chris horner at the “tour de Suisse invited me into the team Pullman he was curious about what I was about ,how I got around and where I stayed. As I was leaving I said “remember when you are standing on the podium tonight say “aider handisport” as this is the French speaking area of Switzerland, he laughed. Later that evening at the hostel I saw the last 25kms on tv and was able to see the TV interview after. Chris was not good with his French and certainly forgot what I predicted he should say! When I saw him the next day he was laughing as I congratulated him and asked if I thought he had enough on his plate trying to remember to mention his sponsors let alone speak in French!

Being on hand at the finish of an etappe can be a real thrill particularly when an aussie is on the podium, lots of people take the time to offer congratulations and ask what the particular rider is like up close and personable. Knowing my way around the back area I am generally able to get into a position to voice my approval of their success on the same day. A particular case was Dave Mc kenzie in the Girod’italia some years ago. I had finished the etappe and arrived in the finish area near the large TV screen. When it became apparent that dave was out front I got out the aussie flag as he went through the finish area for the first circuit. Some locals saw this and invited me up to their balcony to join their party. Plenty of time for food,drink and sign language, of course the flag was on the railings and then the cameras were focused on the party . Before leaving the finish area Dave acknowledged the group much to their pleasure.

I then excused myself and went looking for the “doping control” shook hands with dave , collected a team cap which he autographed and went back to the hosts of the party, who were thrilled with the souvenir. Later that evening in another town that was the next days start I found that I was staying in the same hotel as the Giro motorcycle route checkers. They were very complimentary about the result buying wine to celebrate the occasion.

I try to put something back into cycling as I get around. At this years Giro d’italia I was passing out “Livestrong wristbands to people I came across in wheelchairs, some I handed out, some I whizzed out as I raced past with a call of “Aiuto Disabili”.Livestrong had a party of volunteers giving out the wristbands at the start and finish areas but even though I asked them to pay attention to the “disabled “ as they drove the route it was not always easy for them to be prepared to slow down and hand out an item. A couple of times people have come up to me and told me of seeing me doing this on previous days, goes to show how many people follow the tours in their own way.

The Caravan vehicles at the “Giro d’italia “ are not as numerous as the “Tour de France” but they are more friendly and more approachable both at the start and at the finish. There is also the sponsors villages at both ends which are accessable for the general public.In past years particularly on the flat I have found as they pass me they passed out food and water to keep me going. In the towns they slow so it is not as easy to make my way through, particularly when they are stationary. Many of the workers are ski instructors in the winter as I am so this helps the connection particularly those who work with “disabled sport”.a lot of the workers return year after year so it is a pleasure to see them as it helps make a favourable connection.

When I was at Torino 2006 Winter Olympic I was waiting the passing of the “Olympic torch” a car came to a screeching halt and I found myself in a bear hug with one of the “Giro staff”. He arranged for me to run with the “torchbearers” for a period, which did my feet no good as I was wearing steel cap boots and my “Dryasabone coat” with the aussie flag hanging off my shoulders. About 10km later after their rest stop I hobbled off back to my friends appartment. Through these guys I was invited into “Casa Italia” once again.

On the first Sunday evening at “Casa Italia” I was introduced to “Sergio “ the Major of Torino. On arriving back at the appartment Ricardo, my host mentioned that Sergio’s office had been in the front of his building for a number of years. When I mentioned on another occasion this story to Sergio he immediately named Ricardo and arranged for him and Giovanna his wife to be guests on the final evening. Before leaving Torino I was introduced to the “Mayor of Vancouver, Sam Sullivan”, he was in his motorised wheelchair entertaining the public on the handover of the “Paralympic flag”.

In 2005 I was cycling into Torino and saw an Aussie team cycle jersey ahead in the traffic so I chased him down through the traffic. When we got talking it was Ricardo who had been given the shirt, as the story progressed I finished up with an invitation to overnight in his apartment. He fed me and took me to a party where I met some of his mates in a typical Italian party.

Next morning he rode with me towards Navarro on my way to Milano and the conclusion of that “Giro”. As we parted he extended the invitation to stay during the “Olympic period”. between times I had him visit in Kaprun where I was skiing and wintering that year.Last year he was on the Petit St Bernard pass but we missed each other in the crowds and I was pushing to get to Bourg St Maurice before road closures. That day I had to be in Bourg to try and catch up with Alain a Paralympics cross country skier whom I had not seen since the previous year when he handbiked up the major climb on the route to Cuneo. Again no luck with the crowds so I had to cycle to Albertville, chamonix and Martiney to collect the car which had been abandoned by the driver.

In the years of riding these tours I have found that transport is more of a hassle than value. Rarely have I been able to rely on a driver for more than a few days since noone is prepared to commit to the full 4 w/ends. 10 tdf transport free were really so much easier to enjoy. The first tdf in 1998 I was supported to some extent by an Englishman who wanted me to return to Pau when the repair job to the bearings that he half did on the cheap failed. I continued through to Albertville before I saw him again, subsequently I saw him in Pontalier.

He later dumped some of my gear in the campsite there, the valuables I am still awaiting as the problem happened in France the Sheffield police were not interested. Each time I have seen him since he decamps before the police arrive. During the 2004 Vuelta I had my Athens Olympic shirt lifted by the Frenchman with the megaphone. Whilst in the shower he substituted the shirt with a toilet roll, he also does a bunk whenever he sees me after I had the polizei to the Verona youth hostel during the world champs.

Over the years I have been invited into so many homes to eat or to sleep and as said before I do try to email, write or keep in touch. Sometimes it is frustrating to get close to their home and find that time has run out due to not riding at strong enough pace but on other occasions a landmark flashes past that gives you deja vue. To all those kind people out there once again my heart felt thanks.

Another ramble down memory lane closing for the moment!