Taylor Phinney - Pro cyclist Trek Livestrong Team

Deja Vu, on the banks of the Garonne

We are staying near Cambes on the banks of the Garonne river.  A giant murky tidal river.  Every six hours the water sweeps in - a mixture of salt and fresh dense with silt and fish.  We can sit and watch it flow in, and out.  It’s hypnotic and lovely to be on such a large river.  In Colorado, most rivers rush from up high to low - and the noise can be deafening.   This river makes no noise, but it has power all the same.  They say in fall and spring that locals will surf the tide in but in summer there are no waves.  Surfing on a river?   There’s an absence of boating activity probably due to this constantly changing current.  I think it would be lovely to kayak with the current and back….but if you messed up your timing, you would definitely have your work cut out for you.But I digress.  We are in this area near Bordeaux to recover from our trip to South Africa and rest up for Beijing.  Here in the French countryside, it is exceptionally calm and far removed from daily hubris.  We could not have made a better choice.  The road network in this area is unsurpassed.  Even the ‘busier’ roads are relatively free of traffic and have adequate shoulders.  The smaller roads are like bike paths and there is even a 500 km network of bike paths that run on an old railway bed.  The road surface is exceptional and the road markings are good too.   Many times I’ve had a sense of deja vu as I was here in this area on my first trip with the National Team for spring races.  Where we were exactly will remain a mystery but I remember fondly that first trip because it was so messed up in typical ways but also so great for me as I started to find my place in cycling.  We raced in fairly extreme weather (ie, rain) and it was cool - back in those days (1977), we raced in wool (!) shorts and jerseys so things took a while to dry.  We were housed in a French family’s farmhouse (chateau-like) and we four girls shared the bath one particularly wet rainy day in an attempt to get clean before the precious hot water ran out.  In the middle of the cleaning frenzy, our mechanic Bill Woodul walked in to get a pail of water.  ”Ladies, he said, skin is skin.”  Filled the bucket and walked out as we shrieked with laughter. Now here 30 years later, I’m able to ride with Taylor between his harder efforts and to chat about a multitude of topics.  Relishing the time, enjoying the scenery, and happy to be here right now.Taylor has some work to do.  Just 4 or 5 hard workouts and about 6000 air miles – separate him from his ride in Beijing.  He did some hard efforts Saturday just to test his legs and the track, he was atypically inconsistent in lap times.  That will settle out as the week progresses.Pursuit is a game of prowess - both mental and physical.  Training is a game of managing your time, biding your time, and then making every second count.  T is focusing on what he can do, so that he can do his best in Beijing and beyond. Me, I’m enjoying the ride - the countryside, the track, the memories and the journey.  It’s all good.  Stay tuned.