The Training Continues

The team has really settled in well in Denmark, but unfortunately there has been a bug going around.  So I have been moved to my own room because my roommate Sue came down with it and the last thing I need with my crappy immune system is to get it too!

We have all been to the course a number of times now and are getting really used to the narrow roads and tight corners.  Unfortunately one of our hand cyclists had a crash yesterday.  He is alright, missing a bit of skin on his forearms and hip but not seriously injured.  If anyone watched the Tour de France and saw the rider who flew into the barbed wire fence, well I think MT did even better!  He rolled his hand cycle and flew between the electrified wire fencing!  Not even touching it.  Unfortunately for his coach, who didn’t realize it was live, touched it and got a little zap!  Locals to the rescue… pulled one of the steaks out of the ground and lifted the wire high enough that they could push and pull MT under the fence.  I think if it had been me that would have been the end of my day!  But these guys are tough, he got back on his hand cycle and finished the session, minus skin, bent axles and all.  There is a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. which epitomizes these cyclists as winners or not: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  The winners will always rise to the challenge!



Phil one of the pilots trying the trike
Photo courtesy of Matt Formston



On a funnier note and lighter side to yesterday, a couple of the men’s tandem riders decided they wanted to have a ride on my trike!  Most did okay considering the car park we were in was flat!  But one of the pilots Scotty was having a really hard time!  He kept saying that it wouldn’t turn left…”Scotty” I said “you just have to turn the handle bars!”  It is very different than riding a two wheeled bike as there is no need to balance it yourself so that can be a bit weird!  Next I will make them ride on the road to see how hard it is when the road isn’t flat!

The weather has been great since we arrived, that is until last night when the rain started.  I knew that we were going to get some rain but it has been raining all night and is still raining.  Because of that and logistics of the day it was best that I do a session on the trainer.  This was alright, except for the mosquitoes that I had to kill while I was spinning away!

I also spoke with my friend Irene, who is from Copenhagen, today and I am really looking forward to catching up with her next Monday for a tour of the city with her!

Racing begins in 3 days and I am getting really excited.  A bit nervous but I like that kind of nervous energy, it gets the adrenaline going…I just have to save it for the day!