eeeeek

Life has been moving very rapidly, and find that it has taken a complete 180degree shift from merely 2 months ago. As you all know I was racing in Europe and now I'm living the chilled life here on PEI. I went back to my old job of being a kayak guide which is pretty stress free and also a great way to stay outdoors. Along with that Ive been pulling the odd shift at Smooth Cycle.

I haven't dropped off my bike duties completely and still ride often. My interest in cycling has never wained but sometimes the motivation to pound out a hard 5 hour ride does. With that being said though I hopped into the 100km Mtb race Concour the Pass with Ardelle and Brucious. It proved to be a tough day for me though day for though as I suffered from heat stroke and pulled out at the 70km mark. During the last section of single track I wondered whether I was going to make it out alive as I was so dizzy riding the rig. Luckily I had the shops Scott duelly equipped with a Fox Talas which in all honesty did most of the riding for me in the last parts. Not only was I not accustom to the distance, but also the high heat just killed this guy. Bruce had a great race and is showing great form now. The old man took the show...you know who I mean.

I ordered a new MTB being a Opus Stackh. I plan on throwing some of the parts from the Fhast onto the frame along with ordering a couple new bling pieces to spruce it up. When I ordered it I asked for white, but received last years color......which you either love or hate as with most Opus paint schemes.....this one Im not so much a fan, but I think it will grow on me. As it stands I'm waiting on a new derailleur then the bad boy is ready to be built up.....ohhhhh exciting!

I think life is a continual search for balance and Im constantly working on it in pursuit of happiness. PEI in the summer offers this and I find work, riding,fun, and dancing are fairly well balanced in my life right now. Im still throwing in the odd race here and there which is good for me. The problem with racing is that it falls after a Saturday night. Hah.

(Damn bridge was out...added over an hour to ride for 10pm roll in)

Spell Check works in Canada

Life has been moving on. After France I absolutely needed some time off. I needed to see my friends and family and have some beers and live the easy life here on old PEI. I think I hit the rest a bit too hard as its been about a month since Ive done a race. hah

Im starting to get back on the bike mixing between some mountain bike rides and the odd ride with the boys. The itch to ride and race is gingerly coming back. I felt my life was so one sided in France that when I rolled back into Canada I had to go the opposite direction for a little while....which was a success for sure. I find myself looking to go back on the rig again...which is a good feeling. Toward the end of my time in France I was getting burned out thats for sure.

The Cyst has gone....It lingered for a good few weeks and I tried to pop it a few times with no luck as I didn't have the "balls' to go as deep as I needed to. One night I simply got tired of the damn thing and drove that needle in as far as the bite piece could take and managed to get to the root of the bastard. Its good as new now!

I haven't been taking my camera out on rides mostly from being absent minded so no pics this post.

IN other news Im selling my SRM. Mainly because I want the money to put toward MTB parts and because having the numbers there drive me crazy. It works great, but not for a guy who is slightly obsessive compulsive. hah $1700 or best offer.

New Lands

Racing has been going horrible to tell you the truth. I was in the Tour de La Manche late last week. It was a 5 stage, 4 day race and is one of the premeier races in the region which has a very high calibre of racers, mostly filled out with DN1 and Dn2 teams.

The first stage proved to play out for me as most other races have done this year. I rode well the first 50km. When we went into the hills I got a flat and had to chase. I managed to get a horrible wheel change from a friendly team that too way too long, and I also got a Campagnolo cassette which didnt work very well at all. Its tough trying to get back onto the pack after a series of tough climbs, especially when the pack is 150 guys strong and pushing it. Needless to say I didnt make it.

So, becuause I didnt make it back on I rode that last 100km by myself into a the head wind(pt to pt) with the broom wagon 15 feet behind me. My lead moto got lost 3 times and twice I had to stop and wait for them to look at the map of where to go. It was brutal.

Ive been nursing a solid cyist that I got form riding my TT bike a few weeks ago and nothing seems to make it better. I even got a perscription form the doctor for it, but its still keeping on.....Anyway. So I rode he TT a good 14km. Nothing crazy..I wasnt the best but wasnt the worst either. The problem was the 20 minutes hard effort with MR cyist caused it to inflamme like crazy.

I started the next stage later in the day, but pulled out after 50km as it was like riding with marbles under your skin...what a nightmare.

So that was it for my racing in France. I go back to Canada......tomorrow actually...and Ill be looking foreward to it.

I had 3 days left in Flers and couldnt ride becuase of Mr cyist so I decided to take a little trip up to Caen to help the time pass. Its a bigger city and there is more going on. I mostly just walked around and did some shopping. Nothing crazy. Its and old town right on the coast of the continent. You may know it as its the closest city to the Juno beaches where the Allies landed during the war.

I knew I would probably find some English here. It seems like finding English people is what I would think buying drugs is like. Everyone seems to know someone who is from England or is fluant in English. The thing is you have to ask, and they may or may not know depending whether they like you or not.

I had my ears open all day listening for the framilier English jibberish when finally at the end of the day I heard two gals speaking English to each other. Now, this is where it gets tricky as you dont want to appear like some crazy person. Basically what I said to them was "You speak English! want to be friends?!"

So this is how it went down. The two gals are here for school to better their French and they are from differant parts of the US. We later got some pizza and met up with two of their friends form England and had a few beers in an Irish Pub. It was great!

Being in an Irish Pub speaking English is very bizzare for me. When ordering you definetly get a shock when you realize your not in either Ireland or Canada for that matter.

It ended up beign a great night. The next day I bummed around the town a bit and headed down south to Flers. Here I sit at the computer desk with my life skattered all over the floor as I have to pack and do laundry...tie some loose ends and fit my life back into the suitcase before heading to the Great White North.

Uncertain Days

(Canada comes out on top!)

No posts in awile but a few interesting things have been happening. Zack and I went to Mont St Michelle last week. It is a huge attraction in Europe, but I had never heard of it until Benoit mentioned it. Its basically an old Abbey that was made in 700Ad, which turned into a jail and a few other things throughout the years. Words cant do it justice, as its turely amazing to see. It was nice to be purely a tourist for a day.





The real fun started later that night when Benoit dropped us off at the train station. No big deal. He was headed to see his girlfriend who lives in the area, and the plan was the take the train back to Flers for the night.

We soon found out that there is only three trains that depart from that town in the course of a day, and of course we had missed all of them. Well friends, we didnt really have many options of what to do. I miraculously had Francks number in my bag so we called him in Flers to see if he could get us, but he wasnt home. Zack and I then walked to an internet cafe and facebook stalked Benoit to get his cell number. We tried calling him to see if we could devise a new plan, but it turned out Bens cell had died.

Well it seemed Zack and I were shit out of luck(excuse my French). We walked around the town with the ten oclock hour approaching and went into random bars to see if we could use their phones, to make a long distance calls to Flers. Of course with this I had to buy beer at each place. Zack doesnt drink so I found myself with 3 beer into me at 3 differant bars within an hour.

Anyone who knows me knows Im a cheap date, and I was feeling pretty good by this point. Also, it had becoome obvious that no one was answering their phones and we should find a place to stay for the night. The train station seemed like the best option, but was something each of us were looking to get out of.

Keep in mind I dont speak french well, Im basically useless to tell you the truth. Any progress we had made was solely from Zacks french skills, which he tells me arent very good. If it were up to me to get us home and we had gotten ahold of someone, I would have no idea how to get the message accross that were stuck in a town 100kms away. My key role in this was to drink the beer that got us the use of the telephone.

So, Zack and I walking around this cool little town when we spot a group of 4 girls. We walk up the them and Zack speaks french when they abruptly cut him off and say "We speak English" in perfect English! Turns out we meet 4 gals who are teachers. Ones from England, ones from Mexico who speaks perfect English and the rest are from France who also speak English well.

I instantly have a mini freak out, as other than Zack this is my first face to face conversation with anyone who speaks English in over a month, Ho daisy.

So we head to the bar. We all get drinks and I have a couple more beer which puts me in a good mood. The ladies offer us to stay at their place for the night and it ends up being a great night, and an even better story.

The next day Zack and I wake up early and head out to explore this little town that proves to be a sight in itself. Its directly on the water and reminds both of us Maritimes boys, of home. Feeling the salty air and seeing the active fishing harbour is something only a guy from the Maritimes can appreciate.


With that we get some breakfast and wait for the train to take us to Flers. An omlette and a few coffees later we meet up with a brother and sister from Austrailia that just finished an extensive bus tour of Europe. They were quite the cats and we chatted for a good 45 minutes before they had to take off to find a rental car.



We made it home later that day with tired bodies and the scent of adventure still in our minds. It was the random and uncertain days like that, that will stay with me as memories from this trip.

No Blue in France.

This week is an easier week for me here in France. Easy weeks are dangerous buisness, as there is the potential to go stir crazy. Im not one that likes waking up and having nothing to accomplish throughout the course of the day, so this leads me to have to fill my time with something when the bike demands only a few hours a day.

Ive been having a hard time sleeping as of late. Wether this is from too much on my mind, or too much time at the coffee shop I dont know. Most likely its a combination of both.

As mentioned, in France they dont have coffee shops per se....just bars that happen to serve coffee. I have carved a spot in a couple of small bars here in Flers, and each has its own unique characteristics and benefits.

One is the 'happin' spot in town I guess you could say. Its right in the center of town and it draws a lot of the youth of the town. the atmosphere is good, and the coffee ok. I always feel at odds with the manager though. In realilty, I only go for coffee and the odd beer which doesnt amount to much money spent at once. The fact I dont speak French seems to make it difficult for everyone and sometimes it seems like Im the odd ball of the place.

(The Old Man Bar)

The other place I know as the 'Old Man Bar'. Its a small place tucked away in the corner of Flers. I call it the old man bar as there is only old men and sketchy Turks that go there. The bartender is a solid guy. Ive never been able to have a real conversation with him obviously, but I noticed one day his hands were that of a working mans hands in a former life. This guy would have no use for something as silly as a pair of oven mits. In my mind I picture him tending a farm or being a mechanic and giving it all up one day to open up HIS bar, accomlishing his dream after a lifetime of manual labour.

The coffee is cheap and the beer is good here.

Of course the hip bar seems to draw in the few attractive women that Flers has. Its nice to sit and simply hear people talk who are your age. So here is the draw back, Do I go to the place with the cute gals and the sketchy Turks, or the place with the unreal bartender with the old men and the sketchy Turks?

Either way I cant talk with anyone, so in reality it doesnt matter. I guess varition is the spice of life when it comes down to it. A bar to suit your mood when the mood strikes. When you only know how to order one type of coffee and one type of beer, consistant change in scenery becomes very important.

Clear Days

I raced in the beer league this weekend. There was a higher end race that the team also went to but there was only so many riders they could send. Since Ive been sucking as of late I got to race in the beer league.

Keep in mind, a beer league race in Canada means that some of the riders have beer guts....but in France they are old pros and upcomming strong guys. Since people have a 'relaxed' work schedule in France, everyone has a ton of time to train aswell. Beer league also brings out about 100 guys at least, even with another big race going on.

About 85% of the races that Ive raced in France, the break has always gone within the first 20km or so. Keeping this in mind for this race I had a good warm up and tried to get in everything that moved. I had some great attacks, and managed to be at the front and got in about 3-4 good breaks but they didnt stick and only lasted about 10 minutes or so.

I rode my ass off until the 50km mark and I thought to myself "Well Ryan, maybe it'll come down to a bigger group today." The course was pretty flat so it was probable. After 5 km of sitting in the pack I looked up and saw the pack split. It was one of those breaks where you knew it was the break of the day.

I thought to myself why me...and moved to the front again and attacked to try to bridge up. I was in no mans land for a good 5-8 minutes when a couple other guys bridged up. We worked for about 20km to try to bridge up but we couldnt find the last bit of juice to get up there. Even in France it seems there are guys who want to bridge up and guys who just want to look cool for their friends, and we had a couple of these guys which didnt make life easy. It was in this group that I finished. I rolled in about 35th or something.

This time of year co-incides with allergy season, and today was quite the show. There wasnt a time when my nose felt clear. Most people wouldnt know, but the farmers blow(close one side of your nose with your finger, and blow) is a constant action among all us cyclists. Usually by the end of the race your covered in both your own and other peoples spit and snot. Its not uncommon for someones snot to get carried by the wind into your face. Its funny, because at the time you dont really think about it, as its just something that happens, but if it happened to me on the street I would be pretty disgusted.

I caught myself walking down the street in Flers and had the urge to clear my nose. I had a finger on one side of my nose to blow...when I caught myself and realized that this is something not to do in normal life. hah.

During the ride with Arnault(Bens brother) last week he came around me and I didnt see him as he pased. Just as he passed I spit out a pretty solid piece of spit...and caught him right in the hip..dead on. A big "ahhhhhh' was let out by both of us and I sincerly appologised in my best French as it was an accident. He relaized this and I whipped my loogie off of him with my hand and rubbed it on my shorts...again appologising.

When was the last time you spit on a FDJ rider?

Lucky 300th

This is the 300th post on The Fine Grind!

I had a great training week this week, a good hard 3 hour ride with a chill 4 hour ride yesterday. Benoits brother decided to hop in with us. He's an unreal guy who you can sence would never think a negative thing toward anyone. He has absolutely no conceided head on him. This for someone who dabbles between the French National team, and FDJ Protour team. Good Company.

The people here in France have treated us Canadians so well during our stay. I could not ask for anything more and the hospitality has been simply unreal. To take someone you have never met, accept them into your home, feed them for months, and never ask for anything in return is humbling.

One of the things that has been hard on me living in France is that my french is not good enough to actually communicate with these people. I can sence the quality of these people and I know under differant circumstances many of these guys would be my best friends. Because we cant speak, my relationships stop at simple greatful gestures and smiles. It really is a damn shame. Its something I know Ill regret, but not something that I cant really remedy.

The weather has been holding out, and we have a nice day again. I got a tubular flat on the weekend. Because you have to replace the tire this is usually a huge pain in the ass and can be very expensive($30-$120) so its not something you want to do often.

You know cycling is ingrained in the culture when you can buy Vittoria tubulars at the grocery store. No Joke!