Tommy Nankervis

Winter is Back

// May 17th, 2010 // 8 Comments » // A Day Down Under

Just as soon as we thought Summer was here, the three days of 25 degrees Celsius were followed by more than ten days of not even passing 12 degrees Celsius! So there went the nice weather, and it was back to leg warmers and long gloves and thermals!

So I am still having some trouble with the photos here, but I have included all the ones I wanted you to see again, so if you click each title you should be able to see them all. Below all of them, I will do my best to write about them…

Pave sector in France

Pave in France with me in the middle in white kit

moto leads the bunch over pave

So the weekend just gone, we raced what would probably be the amateur’s Paris-Roubaix. It was up in the Northern region of France, and used a few of the pave sectors from Parix-Roubaix. It was a pretty nice race, and was great to do some mor racing across the cobblestones of France! I love racing across the cobbles! Unfortunately, in at one point in the race I got a bit carried away on them, and thought I would be able to solo across to the breakaway from my group. I guess I learnt a pretty good lesson there, and that is to slow down around the corners on cobbles… It is really quite painful to crash on them! It is quite strange, because usually when you crash, you get a moment to realise it is happening, but before I even knew it, I was on the ground!

It ended up ok though, I later made it back to the lead group, and I wasn’t too badly hurt. It is too bad you just get bruises and bangs on the cobbles, because I don’t have too many wounds to show off to people. However, that is not to say I am looking forward to losing skin, I am quite happy with it all where it is!!!!

me and my new training partner!

motor pacing!

Training partner

Kortrijk-Gent canal

In other cool news, I have acquired a new training partner; my beautiful fiancee Keally! We have got ourselves a nice little scooter, or “brommer” as they say here in Belgie! It will be great, as now Keally has something more to do while I am out training, and she can see all the cool things that I see each day, as well as see Belgium for what it really is, rather than just all the cities and places accessable by train.
Our first training session was great, but it was a little bit cold for Keally, who was basically blue after training was finished, from the cold weather! It isn’t so bad when you are pedalling along behind the scooter, with a wind block, and keeping the heart rate up, as opposed to sitting there blocking the wind, doing nothing, in 10 degree weather!
It is a perfect place to pace along the canal, and we can go unobstructed for a couple of hours, no worries!

It is best if you don't skid on Veloflex tubular tires!

So here is what happens when you skid on Veloflex tubular tyres… Not the best thing for them… Two weeks ago, we raced in France, and this is where the problems start with the new “no radios” rule. Team directors need to speak with their riders at times, and because of having no two-way communication without face-to-face contact, the directors will drive their cars into the bunch to talk to their riders. In this case, the road narrowed quickly, and the driver hit a post, flatted his tyres, and took out two of his own riders, as well as about ten others. Somehow I managed to stay upright, but this was the cost; my tubular. I guess that is better than crashing though!

Belgian and Northern French countryside all looks a lot like this

So there is a bit of an update on things. I will start taking more photos, and hopefully this sun that is (supposedly) on the way is going to bring more blogging motivation (hopefully)! I really need to get the photos situation worked out, but am still not sure if it is my computer or the website…

It is nice to see that my Missing Saddle site has become a way of communication for Dad (TinBilly) and Leigh (LSDsnr) too, so that is nice! If anyone else wants to use it for the same purposes, feel free, because the more comments the merrier!

While I think of it too, I have just sent an email to fellow Missing Saddle rider, Ted King, and I got this response which I found very funny:
Gmail out of office Auto reply;
I don’t have an office, per se, but I’m currently out of my livingroom which I suppose is something of an office for me. More to the point, I’m racing the Giro d’Italia throughout the month of May, so please be patient with my slow response to emails.
haha, brilliant!

Henry Waterman, of New York, invented the elevator in 1850. He intended it to transport barrels of flour.

The Legs Are Out!

// April 29th, 2010 // 11 Comments » // A Day Down Under

Summer is here, and today marked the first day where I was able/willing to ride without my leg/knee warmers! Talk about crazy Belgians, I think it got to 23 Celsius today, and everyone was walking around in singlets and shorts, there were people sunbaking on balconies, and all over the place. I think the whole place went into “shut-down” mode! We have been hinting at some warmer weather for a few weeks now, but it wasn’t till last week that I could smell the “summer” in the air, which unfortunately was followed by a bunch of pollen and bugs in the face!

I love it here, especially when we had our first sunny day, and there were just people out everywhere in next to nothing. I would see people riding along in knicks and jerseys, and then realise I was in leg warmers, shoe covers, long-sleeves and a thermal vest, with a beanie, and thoughts like, “am I really that soft that I need all this clothing?” Or, “geez, if I stay in Belgium long enough, is 10 degrees with sun going to feel warm for me too?”

So I hope these photo links are going to work, because here is a funny one of three of my Belgian team mates, who on the weekend decided it was definitely summer, and rocked up to the race in matching shorts. I thought they had just been to the pool!

Gotta love Belgian's clothing when the sun comes out!

I love it how they also have matching shoes, socks, and usually sunnies and shirts! Haha, pretty funny young lads, and we are never short of a laugh! The guys think that after the readers from Australia see their shorts, they are all going to want some the same. I told them those shorts are a bit like the “mullet” haircut; it lost its style in the 80′s, but is now coming back again, so maybe they are right. That made for some interesting reading for me, as to explain the mullet, I just sent them to this link!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullet_(haircut)

Here are some photos from a ride to the Flemish Ardennes a week or so back. There are a few photos from the run-in to the Oude Kwaremont, and a couple of the Koppenberg. It is so cool riding around anywhere in the Flanders region of Belgium because there is just SO much support for cycling, it is amazing! Everywhere you go there are these paintings done with everyone’s favourite cyclists. You can see some of them if you click on the Kwaremont photos:

Oude Kwaremont

Oude Kwaremont

Oude Kwaremont

Koppenberg

Koppenberg

Lollies/candy/bonbon anyone?

So there are a few photos to look at. Wouldn’t you just love to get your hands on that big truck full of Trolli lollies? I really wonder if that would be a truck full of lollies and nothing else, or if it is full of all sorts of different things, but happens to have Trolli advertising on the outside?

Also, I should take this chance to plug a handy little product, Aussie Butt Cream! The roads in Belgium are terrible, and having some good lubrication definitely make life a lot easier, so Aussie Butt Cream has been keeping my Aussie Butt in good condition in all elements here in Belgium! I know you can find this at most bike shops throughout Australia, and it will be in a grey tub, and is as good as any chamois cream that I have ever used. It has tea tree oil in it too, so it has healing properties as well, which can be useful if you have any troublesome spots and want to put the cream on after training/racing too… Also, feel free to take use of the helpful page on their website about trouble prevention “here”.

Hopefully everyone can see the photos, and if you are still reading, shoot some comments this way!

Go the Dees, hopefully four in a row this weekend!

Australia’s 85.7 million sheep (mostly merinos) produce most of the world’s wool. With 25.4 million head of cattle, Australia is also the world’s largest exporter of beef.

EASY????

// April 21st, 2010 // 3 Comments » // A Day Down Under

So in a kermesse race on the weekend, I was told by a rival rider that I had it easy. I just thought, “whatever”…

As I was making my way along to the race today, riding 50 kilometres into a strong, block head wind, with my heavy back-pack, I felt the urge to make a blog post; or a whinge post if you like!

Of course, cycling is my choice, and I do love every minute of it. I consider myself SO fortunate that I am over in the home of cycling, racing my bike, chasing my dream. Even if I don’t make the “big time”, I am going to have great stories and adventures that I will remember forever. BUT, here is today’s “easy”, that wound me up a little bit:

I had to look on a Belgian map to find where the race was today. 50 kilometres due North. No worries; I write down all the towns I should go through on my way to the race. It was very windy, so I gave myself two hours to get to the sign-on. I know I might be complaining a bit, but for a cyclist who isn’t used to riding to work with a back-pack, two hours one direction with a back-pack is not too comfortable!

I pay my entry and sign on, getting the usual interrogation from the Belgian officials for no reason whatsoever, except that I am not Belgian. Here is where I feel the “easy” ends… After the long ride to the start, I need to find a team mate to team mate, or a friend, who I can depend on to look after my bag. Today it just so happened that I found a stranger who knew me, so I put all my trust in him, and left all my stuff there. Then the “easy” part starts; basically I need to finish in the top 20, or top ten rather, to ensure I make some money for the day. Top ten is best, because there is more money, and also a team bonus that I am dependent on, in order to make enough to pay the rent, and bills, and internet! So yeah, to that guy who says I have it “easy”, well, yeah, that is my situation.

Not for one minute would I have it any other way, aside from being on a big shot professional team! This is exactly what I choose to do, and I couldn’t think of anything better right now. I am very lucky to be racing my bike, with these great experiences and opportunities, and to be chasing my dream. I can not do it without the support of some very important people, but that is a whole other story in itself!

Oh yeah, so I came 5th today, after getting out-numbered in the finish, and finding myself in a situation that was too hard to win from. It was a nice race, and I wound up with about 220 kilometres by the time I got home… That was off the back of a 6th on Monday, and a 13th on Sunday (after puncturing out of the winning breakaway). A nice easy four days for me…!

Now for a try at some photos. No particular order or relevance, just some photos. Please click on the following things:

VDB, Nico Mattan, and me, at Nico's supporter's club #25 or something!

VDB forever

Mechano extraordinaire Jean Marie

VDB's final resting place

My bike

Racing across the cobblestones!

There are at least six universal facial expressions. They are: happiness, sadness, disgust, fear, anger and surprise.