VeloVeritas

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Ten, Dwight Yorke Stadium Criterium (0)

“Abraham takes on the world,” said the headline in Thursday’s paper; USA, Canada, Jamaica, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Switzerland – that’s not a bad cross section.

But did he beat the world? All will be revealed.

“Stop playin’ de ass hole an’ listen!’ Dem Trini shop manager girls don’t put up with no nonsense from their staff.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Nine, Back to School (0)

Tobago is hot, real hot, damn hot – it’s just the strong breeze which is preventing certain parts of me from spontaneously combusting.

We’re staying in Viola’s at Lowland, which is the flat coastal strip between the capital of Scarborough and where we are now – Pigeon Point at the south west tip of the island.

This is one of the top ten beaches in the world, albeit that a lot of it is covered with seaweed, which dilutes the ‘paradise’ vision, just a little.

Unicycles (0)

I was sitting in a little plaza in Girona the other day, tucking into a gelato and enjoying the dream, when a dude on a unicycle with arms outstretched furiously pedalled his way past me. It got me to thinking: Has there ever been a worse invention in the history of mankind?

Think of any other mode of transport with no brakes, no gears and no steering. It is less efficient and more dangerous than walking, and also looks awkward. At least cigarettes give you a buzz.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Eight, Off to Tobago (0)

If you want to escape from politics, Trinidad ain’t the place to come.

In Rituals coffee shop they have the novel idea of screening the News channel, where politicians pontificate endlessly about the upcoming election (sound familiar, folks in the UK?) whilst ‘New country’ wails from the PA.

There’s one song that reckons that if you play a Country song backwards; ‘you get your wife back, you get your house back, you get your dog back…’ and so on, down to the washing machine, stereo, etc. It’s a good sound track for the rants up on the screen.

Back to Essex (0)

For the first time in two months I’m back in the UK.

I’m back for this Sundays East Midlands Cicle Classic/Rutland Melton and with the form I’ve built over the last couple of months in Belgium I am going into the race with great optimism.

Having spent three years at Loughborough University (just down the road) and thrown myself into the break in what was my first attempt at doing the race in 2008, it’s a race I am looking to go well for this time around.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Seven, Taking Stock (0)

All night drive-in pharmacies aren’t really the place cyclists should be seen at gone midnight, but Leif liked the ‘skin powder’ the Red Cross guys used on his abrasions so much that we had to pop in and see if we could get some.

They didn’t have any, but it was another one for my ‘experiences’ file.

Like Pete said; ‘if Leif hadn’t crashed and Roberto hadn’t gone home, it would have been a good night!’

Humbie Mountain Time Trial 2010 (0)

Stuart Moran (Perth United) made it a successful trip to East Lothian for the Humbie Mountain Time Trial today, taking the win over a hard two-lap circuit by 20 seconds.

Torrential rain before the start didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm it seemed, but given the instructions that the village hall wasn’t to have turbos or rollers on its beautiful floor, ingenious methods for warming up were needed – with riders utilising umbrella-weilding loved ones, dry spots under the reaching boughs of the local Elm trees, and bus shelters. Some didn’t bother at all and sat in their cars until it was time to meet the timekeeper.

Over the following couple of hours however, the sun came out and the day warmed up, strengthening the south-easterly wind and making it that bit harder for the later starters.

Scottish 10 Mile Time Trial Championship 2010 inc. the Jason MacIntyre Memorial Trophy (2)

On a lovely sunny afternoon, Arthur Doyle (Dooleys Cycles) rocketed around the Scottish Championship 10 mile course at Corpach outside Fort William to take the gold medal for the third year in a row.

Second, 33 seconds back, was Shetland Wheeler Carlos Riise, and Alistair Robinson (Leslie Bike Shop) only three seconds further adrift in the bronze medal position.

Arthur also won the fabulous Jason MacIntyre Trophy, awarded in memory of Jason who was tragically killed just over two years ago and who was the winner of ‘the 10′ himself four years back.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Six, Roberto Storms Off at Arima (0)

I felt like one of those football reporters who has the copy all neatly spell checked; then the 2-1 down losing side bangs in two in the last 90 seconds.

Roberto Chiappa was going to win the sprint final 2-0 against Home Boy, Sellier.Lots of applause, nice ‘personality’ pics, run the 40 lapper and go for a Carib. But Sellier hadn’t read my copy and came back late in the second match, when he was one ride down, after Chiappa out jumped him.To all the observers – and both riders, it looked like Sellier hadn’t quite made it and Chiappa had won 2-0.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Five, Skinner Park Track Meet (0)

If you believe in God, you have to believe in the Devil.

And I’ve seen him – and one of his neebz – down at Skinner Park Velodrome in San Fernando, Trinidad & Tobago.

But that was in the dark of a Saturday night – it was daylight when Pan Am keirin champ, Giddeon Massie; six day stars Donadio, Lampater, Marvulli and Muller; Olympic madison champion, Perez; Swiss amateur, Dominique Stark; Dutch Rabobank girl, Carola Groenenveld; Peter and me clambered into Main Man Arnold’s wheels.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Four, we go for Ice Cream! (0)

I took in excess of 200 shots at the race on Wednesday night, that takes a bit of editing; and the minute folks see you with a camera, they want pics too – still, if it means you get Olympic madison champion Walter Perez’s email address, then it’s not so bad.

As well as Pez, VeloVeritas, Walter Perez and the race organiser, pix had to go to Franco, Leif Lampater, Sebastian Donadio and Roberto Chiappa – it all takes time, so does the copy and it was early afternoon before I shut the lid on the laptop.

Callum Macgregor – organiser of the Duncan Macgregor Memorial (0)

Last weekend saw the Duncan Macgregor Memorial road race take place in Fife. The race almost didn’t happen, so we thought we’d ask organiser, Callum Macgregor what the story was.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Three, Queens Park Circuit Race (1)

The trouble with getting up before 06:00 and not getting to bed ’til 01:45 is that by the time the next day – that’s today, comes around, it seems like last year.

The morning disappeared pretty quickly – pics, words, chat.

Pete suggested that we head up to the Saint James area of Port of Spain for a look.

We did the thumb out thing and got a lift in an old brown US sedan – it’s hard to know who’s a passenger and who’s in with the bricks but it always seems to work out.

Tour of the Meldons 2010 (1)

James Cusick (Glasgow Couriers) showed the rest of the field how to ride a hilly, chilly 20 mile time trial, this one around the picturesque Meldons in the Scottish Borders.

The early starters also had horizontal sheets of rain to contend with, and together with the obligatory cattle grids and potholes, it was another hard lesson in winter under-preparing for many.

There were also one or two fallers on the technical descent down into Eddleston, but thankfully noone was seriously injured.

Trinidad & Tobago – Day Two, Maracas (0)

It’s always good to wake up at 05:50 to an ear-nipping message on the BlackBerry – but that’s life, I’m in Paradise but life goes on back in the ‘real world.’

Where, I’ve just been made aware, all of the airports are closed due to the hazard of ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland – they’re hiring at Burger King down town Port of Spain and I have my application in.

It’s appropriate that the local coffee shop is named ‘Rituals’ – it’s part of my ritual, now.