Riding hard in Madrid (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Europe schmuurup! I tried to go get a result in Europe at the world cups again and it didn't really happen; maybe next year. Madrid I was pretty happy with after starting row 11 and moving my way up to 37th.
So Belgium was next and it ended up being more about bike running instead of bike riding; I would say they probably should think about the possibility of rain in Belgium and maybe, just maybe, design a course that can handle it. I definitely like it when I can ride my bike a bit more; I ended up slogging away to scrape into the top 50 or something.
The best thing about Belgium is always the beer; they like their beer so much they sell "table beer" instead of "table wine" at the grocery store. The "frites" are pretty good too but it was kind of ridiculous that they didn't have drug testing for the second time this year at a world cup; what's up with that?
After Belgium it was off towards the North Pole where it was mixed rain and snow in Fort William, Scotland. After eating too much dirt and the near freezing temperatures it was hard to get motivated to get on the bike again. I did get to the start line in a full sleeve windproof undershirt and long-sleeve skinsuit and barely managed to stay warm; I think some people had cracked before the gun even went off. I had a few small issues, rode pretty average and was looking forward to getting back home after another barely top 50 finish. Once again we failed to catch a glimpse through the fog and clouds of the top of Ben Nevis; maybe next year.
Read the entire Geoff Kabush diary here.
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