La Redoute...French for "the fear"

We hit the climb up the legendary Redoute about half-way into our 52-mile ride today in the blazing Belgian sun.

It starts out pretty mild...a few twists and turns, on what amounts to little more than a bike path along side the freeway. About a third of the way up the 2.3km hill, there's a granite monument memorializing something that I didn't understand.

After that, the climb gets tougher...and tougher...and tougher. Leg-breaking sections that, I swear, must have hit at least 20%. And I'm going up this beast on a rent-a-Ridley bike. I'm accustomed to grinding up the hills on a 52-42-30 triple, but this machine is equiped with a 50-34 compact crank. It's OK, but with my knees, it's a real struggle.

The good news...I didn't have to get off and walk, like a lot of the other mortals who were on the same attack. But...merde...it was tough. Not as tough as yesterday's climb up the Cote de Stockeu, but a real bitch all the same.

"The Fear"...yeah, they named this thing correctly.

For the record...three days, 178 miles, at least a bazillion feet of climbing, and temps in the 80s the entire time.

Damn, I love Belgium!

Wust is no wuss

German uber-stud cyclist Marcel Wust joined us for our second day of riding in Belgium.

This guys is the real deal...he's won stages in the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta. He retired in 2000, but even at age 40, he still kicks some major ass.

The truly amazing thing...Marcel should be dead. He had a big-time crash back in '00, and it left him with major skull fractures and only one eye. He was touch-and-go for a number of days after his crash, but he pulled through.

These days, he rides just for fun, but he's stayed in great shape. How good is he these days? Well, on Friday, we were crusing along, about 50 miles into our ride in the Belgian hills, and he decided to draft a passing truck...uphill...on a 3% grade! He hung on the guy's bumper for about a 0.5km, then let him go.

"Wust-ie" came back to our group, and I said (in my best broken German), "Du bist krank in der kopf!" (You are sick in the head). He replied, in English, "No, not sick...just a little crazy."

Marcel, you have my utmost respect.

A big day in Belgium

Let's see...just over 66 miles, more than 8,700 feet of climbing...and did I mention that it was 83 degrees for most of the day? Welcome to global warming, my friends!

But this is a whole lot more enjoyable than what Belgium is usually like this time of year. The "spring classics" are traditionally greeted with big-time wind and rain. The change this season has the locals a little flipped-out, but what the heck...if this is Thursday, it must me Belgium!

Hit the red headline, above, if you want to see all the stats from today's ride.

Safely on the ground, ready to ride

I've safely arived in Belgium for a few days of riding and then the legendary Liege-Bastogne-Liege spring classic on Sunday.

There are already a few rumblings of the race already. The Palais de Justice is decked out in signage for Sunday. By the time the actual race rolls out, it should be full-on nuts here.

And by Sunday, I'll have 170+ miles of Belgian hills and hollows in my legs.

Oh, BTW...my pick for the race? Paolo Bettini. You heard it here first.

Euroweather this week

It's looking good for southeast Belgium for the next few days. ..highs in the upper 70s, lows in the mid 50s. Tres bien!

Stupid is as stupid does

Nearly every day, I pass Coleman Elementary School on the way home from my morning ride. On most days, the kids are out on the playground when I ride by, and I usually go unnoticed.

But today, when I was cruising past Coleman, one of the kids bolted from his group, ran over to the fence, looked at me and yelled, "Pedal, Forrest...pedal!"

I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my bike.

Bound for Belgium

I'm off to Belgium this week, for an up-close-and-personal look at the last of the big spring classic races, Liege-Bastogne-Liege (for more on the event, click the headline above).

Springtime racing in Europe is unlike anything we have here in the US. The weather can be mean and nasty...and so can the riders. This photo from last week's Paris-Roubaix race is a great example of the grit that a race like this extracts...and deposits...on all the competitors in the field.

Watch http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/ this week for my reports from Belgium.

Bubba and the Band

This is from Leah Garchik's column in today's

San Francisco Chronicle:

LEAH GARCHIK

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Bill Clinton was here this weekend, and "everyone just loved him,'' said Cindy McCullagh, who organized what she called "a gathering of old friends'' Friday night in his Fairmont suite. The roughly 20 guests included Google guys Sergey Brin and Larry Page with Lucy Southworth, Steve Jobs and Laurene Powell Jobs, former Defense Secretary Bill Perry, Herb and Marion Sandler, Dick Blum, Gavin Newsom, Susie and Mark Buell, Martha Whetstone, Walter Shorenstein and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Laura Tyson. Clinton was in blue jeans.

After a Saturday morning hike to the Embarcadero and up the Filbert steps, Clinton put in his appearance at a KCBS health event. The Eyewitness Blues Band performed a few numbers before his arrival, but due to over-schmoozing, there wasn't time for music later, and organizers' dreams of a Clinton jam didn't come true.

Interviewed onstage Saturday by KCBS' Mike Sugerman, Clinton got testy when Sugerman interrupted his history of Iraq to ask what he would do. "After 15 minutes, I wanted him to get to the point,'' Sugerman said Monday. "I'm CBS, not NPR.'' The newsman, who'd just seen a tape of a Clinton set-to with Chris Wallace, says Clinton gave him "exactly the same look, (pointing) with the exact same finger. It was scary.''

Later, Sugerman was driving home when Clinton called, wanting to explain -- despite various cell phone blips and the need for repeated calls -- his concerns with health care and with heart problems they'd both had. "So e-mail that story of yours to my foundation, and next time I'm out here, I'll prepare and I'll play my horn with you guys,'' he said. But "he never gave me his e-mail'' address, Sugerman said. "How is he going to get my story?''

(The calls to Sugerman prove my theory. Difference in professions aside, Bill Clinton is Tony Soprano: undisciplined, passionate, powerful, approval seeking and irresistible. Smart Hillary/good girl Carmela loves him and the power of being attached to him.)

Sea Otter update

Chris Holland, the guy I wrote about in the Marin IJ newspaper last week (see below) survived his first race, the Cat 5 circuit event at the Sea Otter Classic on Friday in Monterey.

Before the start, I hooked Chris up with a couple of riders from the local Village Peddler team (note: Thanks, Eric!). Chris hung with them on the first eight-mile lap. He was in the lead group, but then on the second of five laps, he got dropped.

Still, Chris finished in the middle of the pack overall. Not bad for your first race, against some pretty tough competition. And considering where he was less than a year ago, it was a helluva accomplishment.

Off-topic

OK, this has nothing to do with cycling, but it's still pretty cool.

I spent part of the day on Saturday with Bill Clinton. Yeah, that Bill Clinton. I was there to take pictures for my friends in the "Eyewitness Blues Band" (if you want to know more about the band, click on the red title above).

I admit...I was not a big Clinton supporter while he was in office, but when you meet the guy face-to-face, you can't help but be sucked into his charisma. And when he turns and looks directly at you, and says, "Here's what you can do..." you can't help feeling a bit awe-struck.

As I told someone last night, "Clinton is like Elvis...without the drug problem and the silk scarves."

Haulin' Holland

Ya know, sometimes I actually enjoy this job.

In today's Marin IJ newspaper, there's a story on Chris Holland. His dad Mike and I have been friends for years, and in a very round-about way, I'm sorta responsible for Chris' passion for riding a bike. It's a long story...I'll spare you the details.

Chris has a better story to tell. It's a story that can help us all put life and struggle into a new perspective. Click on the link above to read all about it.

Risibisi Rain Ride

It was a great Saturday! 60+ cyclists...the open roads of Sonoma County...enough undulating hills to keep everyone honest...and spitting rain for the first hour. OK, the last part was a real bitch. But the rest of it was great!

Check out the photos by clicking on the red headline, above.

BTW...the next Risibisi Ride is set for Saturday, May 12. Mangia, mangia!

Yawn Ullrich

Reports out of Europe say that experts have been able to match the DNA in samples taken from cyclist Jan Ullrich and the DNA extracted from bags of blood products siezed in Spain as part of the "Operation Puerto" affair.

If this is true, it means a number of things:

1. Ullrich is a cheater

2. Ullrich is a liar

3. Ullrich's past accomplishments as a cyclist will now all be questioned

4. Ullrich ain't the Lone Ranger...many other cyclists are probably just as dirty

Recall the words that Ullrich spoke when he announced his retirement earlier this year:

"I never once cheated as a cyclist. I still don't understand why I was not allowed to compete in the Tour last year. My life as a cyclist collapsed that day. I've been painted as a criminal while I've done nothing wrong."

Yeah, OK. And Nixon wasn't a crook, either.

Be Like Mike

I admit it...I've been a bit lax with the blog postings of late. OK, I didn't post a damn thing during the month of March. But...I did put 872 miles on my bike in March. That should count for something, yes?

Well, now that I'm back, I wanted to share a story...the story of an amazing guy that I met recently at Peet's Coffee in Novato. I wrote about him, and a few other items, in my column this week in the Marin IJ. Click on the title, above, to read all about it.