Another amazing edition of Paris-Roubaix, with all the elements: snow, rain, wind, mud, and dust to add to the total misery of pounding over those ancient Roman roads.  Tom Boonen was unbeatable again.  He rode with amazing authority, and unlike almost all of the other contenders, he managed to avoid crashes and equipment failures.  Natural selection is the order of the day at Paris-Roubaix, and Boonen rose to the top once again.

The Endurance Guru Basic Cycling Skills Clinic yesterday was a cold, rainy mess, but we had fun nonetheless.  My thanks to Cindy, Phoebe, Rose, and John for braving the elements and gamely trying to improve their skills.  You all did a great job, and I hope you learned a great deal.  I’ll plan to host another clinic sometime in May - hopefully the weather will be better!  Keep checking in for details, or send me an e-mail if you would like to reserve a spot or get on my mailing list.
I hope everyone had a happy Easter.  Jennifer and I spent the day with Maria’s crazy family, eating a genuine rustic Italian feast cooked by her mother and father.  Delicious homemade sausage, prosciutto, marinated olives, mozzarella, lamb stew, potato gratin, and two delicious ricotta cheesecakes.  Mmmmm.

So Jenn and I are off, heading to New Orleans in a few short hours.  A few days of gluttony await.  See you next week!

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This time of year is always tricky, with constantly changing weather.  It’s impossible to rely on the weather forecasts, and even the Weather Channel denies any accountability for their forecast after 2 p.m.  So if they called for sunshine all day, and it’s raining at 1 p.m., I guess they’re off the hook at 2.  They must head over to the local bar, knock back a couple martinis, and exclaim “Whew, what at day!  Thank God no one expects us to be right!”

So Otto and I probably would have ridden all day and done some great mileage if not for the stupid forecast.  The heavy rain was supposed to begin at noon, so we met early and did a nice loop around Rumson, Atlantic Highlands, Middletown, and Colt’s Neck, climbing pretty much every hill available down there.  Based on the forecast, I had promised Jennifer I would be home around 1 pm, but as I was driving north on the Parkway toward home, the sun came out.  It’s almost 6 pm, and no rain.  Not that I’m complaining, but I think I could do a better job at forecasting the weather.

So hopefully the forecast will be equally wrong for my Endurance Guru Basic Cycling Skills Clinic tomorrow morning.  Maybe there will be no rain at all, the temperature will hit 70 degrees, and there will be no wind.  That would be nice, right?  At any rate, there are still spots open, so if you’re interested just come on down to the Seeley’s Pond Picnic Area in Watchung Reservation and join in.  Class starts at 10 a.m.

This Sunday is Easter.  More importantly - and I am only partly kidding - this Sunday is also Paris-Roubaix, the most evil of the spring classics.  It should be perfect.  The rainy weather that soaked Ghent-Wevelgem on Wednesday should knock down all the dust, but by Sunday afternoon all the cobbles should be nicely dried out.  The Weather Channel forecast looks good.
This is my favorite Paris-Roubaix photo ever:

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Wow, what a day!  The crazy wind of yesterday eased up somewhat, and the sky was clear and blue.  Erik and I met up with the CTS Cycling Team for their long ride to Princeton and back.  It felt great to slip into a comfortable rhythm in a smooth paceline, gliding along at 22 mph into a steady headwind.  We moved along pretty well, steady but not blazing fast, averaging 17.8 for the first half.  While we were stopped at Chez Alice Bakery, the wind shifted, so we faced mostly a headwind on the way home too.  At the 50 mile mark the wind was taking its toll, and a couple of the guys were fading badly.  We were 11 miles from my house and I was going to be late for work if we didn’t pick up the pace.  I said goodbye and soloed off the front, averaging 24-25 mph for the next 27 minutes back to North Plainfield, into a gusty headwind.  It felt really good to be able to go that hard after already riding 50 miles.  Fitness is beginning to arrive.

I dashed off to work and plunged into 5 hours of amazing chaos.  We were shorthanded as hell, and it was the busiest Sunday I have ever seen.  At one point in the day, Sam and Jay and I were all juggling at least 3 customers at a time, and there were still at least 20 people waiting to be helped.  Miraculously, no one walked out, and we managed to help out everybody.  We’ll be recovering for a few days, though.  We close at 5 pm, but it was 6:15 before the last customers left the store.  In spite of the crappy state of the economy, we’re having a smashing year so far.  So I guess we’re doing some things right.

So Stijn Devolder totally humbled the rest of the field to win De Ronde for the second year in a row.  Amazing.  Boonen was a marked man - Pozzato wasted all his energy riding Boonen’s wheel, not even thinking about Devolder.  Stijn just simply powered away on the 20% cobbled grade of the Eikenmolen and never looked back.  It was a phenomenal ending to an epic race.  I managed to make it home from work in time to catch the last 15 km on VS.  Very cool.

This photo from Pez Cycling News says it all:

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Spring is here, and it’s time to get cranking with an Endurance Guru Basic Road Cycling Skills Clinic.  If you are new to road riding, or you just bought a road bike and want to learn to use it more adeptly, come join me for this 4-hour clinic.  For the first 2-1/2 hours we’ll discuss various techniques that will help you become a more confident and capable cyclist.  And the last 90 minutes will be spent on the road, practicing those exact skills and putting that knowledge to use.  It’s a fun way to get your cycling season started.  The course fee is $80 (cash or check only, please).  I will provide a course booklet and  Powerbars and energy drinks for the ride.  Bring your bike and the appropriate gear for the weather.  I promise a great time and much enlightenment!  The clinic is only 8 days away, so please contact me if you’re interested.
For a map to the Seeley’s Pond Picnic Area, click here.

So it’s a rainy Friday, and I’m stuck inside.  For the first time in years we decided to open the bike shop 7 days a week, so I now have my Fridays and Saturdays off.  Which is a fine deal.  Except that it’s raining torrentially with thunder and lightning.  After the first rumble of thunder Winston jumped up on the sofa - bad dog! - next to me and hid his head under the pillows.  So it looks like I’m going to have to resort to swimming to get any training in today.

I’m contemplating an epic 2 day ride to Paul’s house in PA and back.  I mentioned the idea to Paul about half an hour ago, and he didn’t waste a second sending this map over.  With Laura about 10 months pregnant and completely miserable, I think I’ll wait a while to drop in.  But it will be pretty sweet.  My uncle Scott and I rode much of this route on September 13, 2001 on our way to Charlottesville, VA.  It’s scenic and smooth and not exceptionally tough.  It would be great training, though.  Once Erik is out of school for the summer I’ll have to twist his arm and drag him along.
It’s coming:

De Ronde van Vlaanderen, my favorite race of the year, is coming Sunday.  I can’t wait to see what happens.  My boy Tom Boonen has been a bit quiet lately, always near the top, but aside from a sharp win at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, he hasn’t shown us the stellar form he’s had in past seasons.  Not yet.  As always, though, he’s the favorite for Sunday.  The super-steep bergs and rough cobbles require the insane power, raw strength, and immense heart of a true hardman.  The toughest races select the best rider, and Boonen has won De Ronde twice.  Unibet lists him as a 3.5 to 1 favorite.

Best of luck, Tom!

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