I suddenly find myself here in 2012, regrettably unable to train due to a sinus infection for which I have been given antibiotics and orders to lie down a lot. This is clearly interfering with my ambitious training plans for the coming season, particularly sad as here in Düsseldorf we have not had anything much like a winter. There was heavy rain in December but the start of the year is quite pleasant so I hope to do something out on the road soon!
Every year I set out my resolutions for the coming year out here in public where the world can see them. My planned efforts for 2011 did not work out so well.
To recap:
1. Weight down to 78 kg by mid-June 2011. Not remotely close, so this will have to be a recycled resolution for 2012.
2. Complete my high-intensity training (HIT) program on the home trainer. Nope, didn't happen. Try again.
3. Do more writing on the blog. 61 postings for the year doesn't seem bad at all, although I still need to finish writing up the 2010 Lost Boys Tour of Europe before starting to post the 2011 one from June! Still, it is my lowest total since setting up the blog in 2007. Must Do Better.
4. Organized rides. The list is very short due mainly to the horrible weather we had this past summer. I did not make those chosen for Amstel Gold but I did ride the dreadful Bonn-Eupin-Bonn ride, along with the Berlin Velothon, several RTFs and l'Eroica. The Lost Boys trip this year did take place but the distances were short, made up for by the steepness of the roads. And I did several rides with the Klassikerausfahrtgruppe of old people on old bikes.
5. In touring rides, there were a few successes, including the Erft, the Ahr and the Sieg bike routes, the Sauerland Radring, three days of great riding in the Ardennes with my friends from Cycling Camp San Diego and three days of Münsterland riding to check out castles. Nothing multi-day, however.
Although I was pleased that the world was not destroyed on May 21, I regret that I still have made no serious effort to learn Italian.
So here we go again: Resolutions for the Coming Year
1. Get serious about training, and get the weight down fast. 78 kgs. Now.
2. Organized rides:
6 Hour Charity Spinning Event, Netherlands (January 28)
Amstel Gold Sportif 150 km (April 14)
Lake Garda (1), including watching Giro d'Italia team time trial (May)
Lake Garda (2) Pezcycling Camp with climbs up the Gavia and Stelvio (May-June)
Gran Fondo Damiano Cunego, Verona, Italy 85 km (June 3)
Paris-Roubaix Sportif, France 210 km (June 10)
2012 Lost Boys Tour of Europe: Corsica, France (June-July)
L'Eroica, Chianti, Italy (September)
3. Touring
Roman routes, including the Xanten-Paderborn route and beginning the Limesstrasse
Pfalzer-Wald weekend
Bad Driburg weekend
Critical Dirt Revisited
4. Do something about learning Italian.
So, let's see how this shapes up over the coming 12 months!
And since I cannot do anything bike-related except cleaning and polishing at the moment, I have actually been watching television. Here is a clip from a rather silly 1968 French comedy, "Les Cracks," starring a once-famous comedian named Bouvril. He portrays an inventor of a new and improved brake system who ends up in a bicycle race going from Paris to San Remo around 1900. A review of entire movie will follow on the blog, sooner or later!