22 July 2008: Stage Sixteen: Lessons Learned
Lessons learned today: if you have to crash twice, land on your left
butt cheek (plenty of padding and no bent derailleur); if you have to
have two flat tires (and you are only carrying one spare tube and the
sun is going down and you have 15 km of hard climbing to go and you are
out of food and your brother is waiting for you in Jausiers with a full
bag of groceries), have the second one somewhere near a Danish bike
mechanic named Jans; if you have to tackle two of the toughest climbs in
the Tour in one day, be sure to eat lots of pancetta and sun-dried
tomatoes before starting; if someone jokingly holds out a beer as you
are hammering through the last 8 km of climbing in a desperate attempt
to finish before dark, grab it, chug it, and wave happily at the
cheering drunk people; if you have to stop in the middle of a
freezing-cold, sundown descent to add to your attire, do so next to a
camping car that just happens to have a pot of coffee ready; if you have
to write a blog entry after midnight and wake up ealry, make it short.
Tomorrow will be the toughest day of the Tour--two hc climbs, and
another pass that's not on the Tour route. Thanks to everyone who has
followed Rick's Ride this far. Your support and prayers are keeping the
Czelusta boys going.
