With the Giro de Italia (won in 1988 by WF Student Andy Hampsten the first and only American to win this Grand Tour) going on in all her full, Italian Racing glory and bickering...the month long Grand Tour is giving ilg all sorts of inpsiration for my 09 bike racing debut this coming weekend in Durango, Colorado...above; The sprint for second place at the finish in Bergamo, Stage 8.
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
wow does the saying go, Abu? "Hockey and {Grand Tour} Bicycle Racing are the only true sports...all the others are merely games."
yesterday's stage in Italy saw a horrific, spine-breaking crash of Rabobank racer Pedro Horrillo. he (thankfully) has come out of his coma. and you wonder why i force you all to FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!!! WF was born from extreme sports and if i tell you to FOCUS on your Breath during, say, Early Morning Ritual, i mean it for very, very important reasons!
Rescue workers head towards Pedro Horrillo (Rabobank).
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
***
only 6 days to go before i lay - once again - my New Daddy Practice of Wholistic Fitness® on a Start Line. my target is my first Stage Race in years;
the IRON HORSE BICYCLE CLASSIC in my h(om)etown of Durango, Colorado...ilg admits nervousness.
of course there is the perennial Doubt which accompanies any dyed-in-the-soul warrior of Wholistic Fitness when it comes to competing against the 'sport specialists.'
However, within the last month, my cycling fitness has been creeping upward, gently, yet upward. Yesterday, on the ferocious Club Ride where the full-season cyclists flock to spray their testosterone upon any and all comers, ilg began to hold my own against the Big Boyz...leading the peleton into the first hillclimb and hanging on - desperately - for a 10th placing, then finishing in the mid-sprint in 6th place and on the final kilometer nearing mile 48, when the Big Dogs upshifting from 28 mph to 34 mph, ilg scrambled and found the wheel of a Canadian pro woman, came around her, and with the help of Nordic Champion and Ironman Age Winner, "Young Ryan", we put our heads down and came to within seconds of the 4-person lead group as i barreled ahead of Ryan for the finishing sprint, squeezing every ounce of my WF training, especially my HP YOGA PROP WORKOUT induced strength and coordination and mental focus to get across the Line...
so, ready or not, your humble coach will roll up (on my new Student-supported racing bicycle which i'll unveil during my Race Updates) to the Start Line in Durango and - with my family coming in from New Mexico and California to watch - i'll be doing my best to arrive through each Stage 1) safely and 2) soundly:
Stage One - May 23rd: Road Race - 47 miles, 5,700 ft of climbing, thin air, and fast descents).
Stage Two - May 24th: Time Trial - 13.7 miles - finishes with seven sharp turns
Stage Three - May 25th - Downtown Criterium: 45 minutes plus 3 laps. Supercharged double steep hills and a scary fast sweeper hairpin.
Only DL Subscribers will be invited to vicariously live and breath every Stage along with their feeble, yet willing Warrior ilg as i attempt to stand up for wholeness of body/mind/spirit training against the sport-specialists...
stay tuned and
keep fighting the Noble Fight...
toe a Start Line of something frightens you...
apply thy Practice under duress
and
watch the Divine start beating Her Pulse within you...lifting you uniquely Higher into Thyself...
sport is go(o)d;
sweat is (w)holy;
and
Start Lines are Bardo Training...
off and onto my cross bike for a 45-mile hill workout on pre-fatigued legs from yesterday...because ilg wants to do his best for his Noble Sangha in Durango...
Om So Ti on this Sundays of Sundays...
ilg
