Last night I made my debut racing here in Belgium for 2010. I raced in a local warm-up race in Rumbeke. I have been struggling to get a proper night's sleep since arriving. This is a typical symptom of a "trans-atlantic" flight. Regardless, Rumbeke was my first race in almost 3 weeks. It served as a good "shocker" shall we say, but I felt strong. I have prepared well [I hope] as I was able to get into the winning break-away, which contained some professional riders, most notably from the An Post Sean Kelly Team.
Unfortunately, I was unable to shift, as my gears and drive chain were skipping out of control. Who knows, maybe the flight and the dissembling of my bike affected something. I was soon stuck in my 53x11 gear ratio. Not the worst situation, as the race was fast enough, but it was most certainly not the ideal gear ratio in the sharp corners. Slowly, my muscles wore down from pushing such a massive cog. I lost contact with the break-away with 20km remaining. Simultaneously, I bonked, as I was going so hard in the break-away I forgot to eat! I had a gel and managed to hold on until the end.
Last night was a good start - and wow, it sure feels great to be back in Belgium. The atmosphere was electric with tons of fans screaming and cheering everyone in the race. Tomorrow will be first "big race" the Dwars door de Antwerpse Kempen. It is a UCI 1.2, U27 Race. In total the race will be 178km - essentially 102km loop, followed by 8 laps of a 9.5km circuit!
Should be doozy! I hope everyone enjoys the pic. I am planning to update my website in the next couple days. Also! Check out ROAD Mag - I hope everyone who reads enjoys.
All the best - thanks for the support, I would not be here if it weren't for everyone around me.
--
Charles R. Bryer
www.tempo88.com
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