3 Jours d'Geneve Live Update: Scratch Race

Our second night of the race was a 36 lap scratch race, all riders together (12 teams, so 24 total). Things started out quick and strung out, with Adrian and I rotating at the front, chopping back down into the line the way we learned in Dortmund and Munich. People seem to be a lot less aggressive here, so it was a bit easier to force your way back in. Anyway, Adrian attacked, and I was on his wheel, so I just sat at the front and blocked things up for a few laps. Picture, if you will, the "Great Wall of LGR" that has become a fixture of Blaine cat. 1/2 racing. Now picture me trying to do that all on my own. Not too successful. Someone caught on, and it was only a matter of time until Adrian was swept up. Things were nearing the end, so there were a handful of more futile stabs, but ultimately it came down to the final sprint.

I had drifted towards the back, but found Jackie Simes' wheel there, and knowing his pack sprinting prowess, figured it would be a good one to tack onto. He was picking his way over the top, so I felt pretty good about my choice. True to form, he attacked over the top at the perfect time (about 3 to go, I believe), right as things bunched up. I was pinched off his wheel, and while Jackie went on to win, all I could scrape together was 6th. Not too bad. Not too good. Jackie, reached for comment after the race, was rather passe about the whole thing, like he does it all the time. The consummate professional...

Next up: Elimination

3 Jours d'Geneve Live Updates: Points Race

Alright, we survived the first 24 hours in Geneva. Not only that, we started racing. Unlike the UIV Cups, where we were the first event, finished up, and then the pros were on, here we're racing in the Open Category, and are interspersed, along with juniors, cadets, and women, among the pro schedule. So this means we have lots of down time. Our first race was finished by 6:45. We don't go on again until 9:30 for a short scratch race, and then again at 10:30 for an elimination. This is going to be a long night, so here come some live updates to fill the time.

Vel d'Hiv is only 167 meters, so they split our 80 lap points opener into two groups. Adrian had the first 40, then a few neutral laps to change, and I took the second 40. We both got into breakaways in our respective races, with Adrian taking second twice and fourth once (he almost lapped the field, but was gapped off by the rider in front of him throwing in the towel) and I won a sprint while in the break, but didn't take any more points. As it stacks out, we're sitting in fifth right now, just behind the other American team of Simes and Wiswell.

The dry air is seriously compounding my cold and cough, so we'll see how the rest of the night plays out. Stay tuned for the scratch race update to follow.

Geneva

Winter hit Tübingen with a vengeance last night. We got out just in time.

Sub-par training weather.

Snow, ice, everything. Fortunately, we were off to the train station, and as of 8:02 this morning, on our way to Geneva. It was snowy all through Germany, and a bit past Zurich. By the time we hit Laussane, it looked downright balmy outside. Lake Geneva to our left, with terraced vineyards stretching down to the water. In actuality, it's still cold, but it looks like. I wouldn't mind spending some time in Laussane. It looks like quite the inviting place. Maybe some summer training...

We hit Geneva, got off the train, rounded up a few Swiss Francs, got ripped off by a lazy cab driver (there was no way they would let us on the bus with all our gear) and made it to the track. On that note, here's a video from an lap around Vel d'Hiv this afternoon:

The management at this track is about as helpful as we could hope for, and then some. The director offered to let us keep our bikes in his locker, and when we asked if there was a place to store our cases as well, he went and got a key for the storage area to give us for the weekend. Pretty sweet. If nothing else pans out for housing, Adrian and I have come to the conclusion that we would be content just sleeping with the bikes. The location is unbeatable.

Perhaps it would make us bike hobos to live here. On the other hands, there are showers just down the hall...

Now it's off to find some food and meet our CouchSurf for the night. Racing starts tomorrow evening. Maybe I'll find something fun in Geneva tomorrow to talk about. If not, you'll need to wait until later for a distraction from work.

I'm Czech?

I've only raced in two 6-days so far, so I'll admit my experience is pretty limited, but Munich really doesn't seem like they had it together, especially not compared to Dortmund. Case and point: If you look at the results on CyclingNews, they have me listed as being Czech. I'm not sure how this came about, particularly when you consider that we were invited as Team USA. Adrian is still from the US, even though he also has Hungarian citizenship. How did that happen? Also, all the points we earned over the three days of racing seem to have disappeared. It's not that we have zero listed as our total, there's simply a blank where there should be a number. Maybe Adrian was on to something when he postulated that there is a points exchange rate screwing us in a manner similar to what the Euro is doing to the Dollar.

One problem with racing in Europe, however, is the exchange rate. Not just the half-again Dollar to Euro exchange rate, but the way foreign riders are scored during the race. For instance, if a foreign team, let's just hypothetically say two handsome young lads from the US on the red team from the 2007 Munich 6 Day, were to score 10 points and finish at 2 laps on the final night of racing, in the results they will show up with 7 points and at 3 laps. Got it? The same exchange rate is also applied to all other non-German teams, even those on the Euro.

-Adrian

In other news, I woke up this morning with a cold. It was about 33 degrees outside, and going between snow and rain. I think it finally settled on sleet. These elements combined to give me approximately 90 of the most unpleasant minutes I've ever spent on a bicycle. You're probably familiar with the phase "That really chaps my ass." Today's ride gave me a whole new appreciation for those words.

Müllermilch

Perhaps the single greatest revelation of this trip has been Müllermilch.

My new religion?

Every now and then you hear about how chocolate milk is the perfect recovery drink. I never really went for it, but then again, I don't like drinking milk, and making it chocolaty only helped a little.

Enter Müllermilch. This is some sort of chocolaty, malty, dairy-based godsend. My German is shaky at best, but I think one of the ingredients is buttermilk. Maybe that's what does it.

Whatever they put in it, Adrian and I have been drinking this stuff like it's our job.

As of noon today, our trashcan contained nothing but 5 empty bottles of Müllermilch. We went back to the grocery store this afternoon to restock. We only bought Müllermilch.

I also went on a ride this afternoon with a local cyclist names Andreas who I had met on CouchSurfing. The weather was still cold, with a high of 36 today, but he was still willing to meet, and we put in about 2 hours along the Neckar River. At the end was a nice long climb, where it was snowing at the top, and cold enough that it was accumulating on the ground and buildings. It was still fairly nice when I left Minnesota, and outright warm when I was in Canada, and somehow the idea that I would be in Europe, in winter, riding my bike, has only begun to dawn on me. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder. I'm glad I brought my shoe covers...

Riding through small German towns is fun, even when the weather is cold and dreary.

Me and Andreas back in Tübingen in front of his favorite beirgarten.

Exploring Tübingen

Today was our first full day in Tübingen, and offered our first chance to really look around. The weather cooperated as well, and for the first time in nearly a week the rain subsided and the sun came out.

The view from the balcony of Csaba and Emese's flat. You can see some of the University buildings on the ridge across the valley.

Adrian has a cold, so I put my bike together and struck out on my own to investigate the city. The downtown is at the bottom of the valley, on the Neckar River, and there are other pockets of buildings scattered around the on the hills, at the top, and in various little draws.

Another balcony view, looking in the direction of the downtown. It may appear idyllic, but it's actually damn cold. The sun is a welcome change though.

Csaba and Emese live nearly at the top of the hill, which makes for a brutally steep ride back up after forays into the city. Probably the most fun in Tübingen is hopping from one little area of the city to another. One part will look very new and industrial, but turn a corner, and you find a handful of roads like this:

Winding, cobblestone, and confusing. At least they almost all dump out onto a few main roads.

Fun to ride on, albeit challenging.

Adrian opted not to bring a road bike on the trip, instead just bringing some training wheels and a front brake. Up to this point, it seems like a great plan, as traveling with just one bike is a lot easier than two. But now that 45 x 20 gear combination is going to be tough. I guess we'll see just how tough he really is. To his credit, one afternoon in Munich when we went to train at the track, he forgot shorts. Not one to be sidelined by such problems, he safety-pinned his leg warmers to the bottoms of his underwear and took to the track. A bit of thigh flashing ensued, but by and large it worked out. It takes a real man to ride a velodrome, in a stadium, in Europe, in your underwear.

This makes me proud to be an American.

A (6) Day in the Life of Brian

8:00 AM

Wake up, roll out of bed

8:05 AM
Wander out in search of breakfast. Try to figure out where you are. Something about a rowing center...

8:06 AM
They look like they know where they're going. Follow them to food.

8:07 AM
Success. Breakfast is in here.

8:20 AM
Look out the window at this thing. Turns out this was the venue for the rowing portion of the 1972 Olympic Games. The summer games. Maybe that's why it's so damn cold in the dorms.

10:00 AM
Round up every warm piece of cycling clothing you own. Dawdle because you don't want to go ride in the cold.

10:15 AM
2 km of canal, with smooth, flat service roads on either side. Perfect to spin out on.

10:30 AM
Remember the cold? Well now it's raining too. Shouldn't have waited so long to ride, moron.

10:45 AM
It's still raining, and you're still riding.

11:00 AM
Lap after lap after lap.

11:10 AM

Back to the compound. Quite a step down from the Hilton in Dortmund, but at least they give us all our meals.

11:15 AM
Survived the ride. Take a shower, and go find lunch.

12:05 PM
Lunch. Didn't I say something about mystery meat before?

12:45 PM

Sit around. Get used to this, as you'll be doing a lot of it on race days.

3:30 PM
Arrive at the track

4:00 PM
Have a look at the track itself. Still not open. Consider the possibility of warming up in the metal sphere those motorcycle nutcases ride in.

5:00 PM
Hang out in the room they give the UIV Talent Cup racers before the riders' meeting. This meeting will mean almost nothing to you, as 75-80% of the speaking will be in German, with the English translation making up the remaining 20-25%. Spend these 30 minutes wondering what else you didn't hear. On thing you do pick up: They've decided to make the race U-26 rather than U-25. Someone who was too old must have wanted to race. Yeah, rules, whatever.

5:45 PM
Warm up on the track. Wear the TROY jersey so that Super-Rookie can't complain. Try to be enthusiatic about this. 240 laps of all out madison looms in your immediate future. It will hurt. Reconcile yourself with this fact.

8:15 PM
Eat in the Fahrraderkantina after the race. You don't have any say in what you get, but it's free, and you're hungry. Eat it anyways, burned soup or not.

9:15 PM
Load up the van for the trip back to the compound.

9:25 PM
Distract the person driving your van down the Autobahn with flash photography. Fall asleep shortly after.