Friday, July 3, 2009

Diggler...


It seems the proper way to conduct the first ride on the Colnago was to drive to the Italian Alps and ride the Gavia Pass (the same one Andy Hampsten used to win the Giro in 1988):
From The Day the Big Men Cried, a tale from the 1988 Giro d'Italia, where there's a blizzard during stage 14:
I grabbed a plastic hat, long-finger gloves, and Oakley Pilots and took off down the pass for Bormio, a mere 15 kilometers away. I thought I could ride 15 kilometers in any condition, at any time, anywhere on Earth. I have never been more wrong in my life.

After a brilliant climb, Van de Velde, forsaking extra clothes in order to gain time on the descent, was the leader on the road and had the pink jersey waiting for him in Bormio. Only 2 kilometers of descending later, Van de Velde was on his knees in tears. Savagely hypothermic, he crawled into a car to warm up. One hour later, he got out of the car and rode to the finish way outside the time limit....

Meanwhile, I kept my head down and hammered, following the tire grooves through the snow. After only 1 kilometer, I was bloody cold. After 2 kilometers, I was frozen to the core. After only 3 kilometers, I was laughing like a lunatic and passed Rolf Sorensen, screaming at the top of my lungs in an attempt to generate some warmth. After 5 kilometers, I was crying and about to slip into a frozen coma. About halfway down, I was not thinking straight and was making poor choices. At one point, I got off my bike and began to run back up the hill in a lame attempt to warm up.
Fortunately, I had GREAT weather (despite a chilly descent).
The bike will be named "Diggler" because it's stiff, but can be ridden all day long... Probably not appropriate for all audiences, but it's just an accurate description of the Colnago EPS.

1 comment:

Rob said...

ok, first thing, awesome picture

and second, "Diggler"?

ROTFLMAO!!

well played