Jackets and Leg Warmers? In August???

I'm the guy that rides in triple digit weather with a huge smile on his face. So when we have filthy-belgian 55 degree no-sun weather with rain and strong wind blasts in the beginning of August, it's a downer. Today was one of those days. I waited all day, with hopes of the weather clearing up, but it only got worse. After searching all over for the leg warmers i'd put away so long ago, I hopped on and went for a ride at 6:30pm. I pray that upon returning to California in October, we'll have one of those XXL summers that last 'till December. I remain optimistic...


Ah...there's a shot from last week's uphill TT in Burzet. The weather that day was terrific -though still a little brisk by summer standards. As I mentioned, small, local-style TT with a monster 1500 euro purse! 95% of which consisted of wine, pate, sausage, awesome t-shirts, goats, gift certificates for more sausage, and cheese. It was really fun, and of the 100 or so entrants, I think 95 people walked home with some combination of the aforementioned stuff. I got a t-shirt that says "Ardeche..." something on it. It's euro XL but fits me like a US small, and it's bright turquoise! I wear it all the time 'cause it helps me pose as a local better. I guess a photo would help...


There we are...lookin all tough and mean for the 'net. And: the first instance of photoshop usage on the blog. This is becoming a real milestone entry, in many respects. So...the Burzet TT. Lots of swag. Good TT, fun times. Everyone went home happy. It was a bizarre day in many respects (culminating with the wild boar session that same evening), and after the TT a teammate said, "Gee, Aram, I wonder how you're going to blog about this one...". He said this because it was a pretty irregular day, even by Ardeche standards. For instance, there were podium girls. 20 of them. All dressed in matching outfits. All tall, blonde, amazing-looking, and from the Czech Republic. Huh? I don't know, blog people. They were just there. They did not dance, but looked as though they were about to. They had an accompanying band. The whole entourage arrived in a giant bus, marched to the podium area in neat formation, and the band played a little ditty each time a name was announced.



There we go, pictures to prove. But really, it was much stranger than it looks. No shots of my time up there, but it was a nice time, all around. Simon and I hauled ass after the podium ceremony to make it back in time to see Lewis Hamilton dominate the Hungarian Grand Prix (Formula One). A few words about the TT itself: The first picture up above is the beginning. That's the steepest section. The rest of the 7k is pretty mellow, and I even had some big-ring time in the middle and the end. My time was 17:40, and the winner's time was in the low 16's. I was 10 ticks from 5th place, and KNOW I could have gone harder, but hey. It's an uphill TT, and relative performance was up to standard. Here are a few shots of the scene along the TT course. Note the clock tower...and the time. It's correct. ALL clock towers in France function properly, perfectly. I've never actually seen one that works in the US...anyhow, some fots: