There was a recent string of days here in Belgium with non-stop rain. In a 24 hour period the city of Gent saw more rainfall than it does in an average month of August. Impressive. On this very day I went to Mere for a race.
This shot was taken when the rain was heavy (photo credit Heidi Lannoo)
The rain was bad enough and pace slow enough that the officials cut 2 laps (16km) from the race for all the participants. This shortened the length from a full 120km to just 104km. Despite being on the short side of the distance spectrum for a regular kermesse the winner’s time was 2h38m. I was 30 seconds behind him.
In action on a very rainy day (photo credit Heidi Lannoo)
A similar grimace to the one pictured above was stuck on my face most of the day. From the very onset of the race I found myself in a 3-man breakaway. The pace set by my companions forced me well beyond my capabilities in order to pull through for them. In the all too typical fashion they yelled and forced me to keep coming through despite the fact that it was slowing us all down. Once I got the more verbal rider to speak in English he began to encourage me. His favorite expressions were: Do your best! and We must drive faster! My trio was caught after 50 minutes of racing. I no longer had to constantly pull through but the pain face remained.
During my post-race clean-up session in the kleedkamers (changing room) I witnessed something peculiar. A John Saey rider, having just worn white socks in a downpour, simply threw away said socks in the nearest rubbish bin. I wish I had expendable pieces of kit like he does. My socks were also white at the start and grey at the finish, yet unlike his mine will see further action.
My glasses rested on the tip of my nose so that I was able to peer over the top of them. I need Rain-X on the outside, and anti-fog on the inside of the lenses (photo credit Heidi Lanoo)
This day of heavy rain was half a week in the past. Since then the sun has come out and my shoes have dried. It had been my intention to come home with good form and make a run at the Carolina Cup in Greensboro, NC. But alas, the Cup was the longest running race in the south. This year’s edition has been cancelled. Despite this loss of a goal I’ve managed to keep my focus and motivation. I’ve had a recent top ten result as well as strong rides in both wet and dry races. Maybe I’ll stay longer…
Update: Scratch all that, I’ve just heard the Carolina Cup is a go. Good thing I didn’t move my flight again…
