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If you love cycling, you love Europe
Even if you don't understand it.
It's interesting because I know there's a global audience likely reading this, and for many it might be so obvious that it seems hardly worth writing about. Still, growing up on the west coast of the U.S., the monuments, riders and traditions of this sport that I love seemed as foreign as the languages that are spoken.
Separated by the Atlantic, there are still countless numbers of cyclists who may never make it to Arenberg, Galibier, the Mortirolo, or the infamous Alpe d'Huez, but that doesn't make it any less inspirational. In fact, it seems that the draw is almost more powerful because of the distance. The places and heroes of cycling predominantly still have names that many of us can't completely pronounce properly.
We are proud when "our guys" succeed "over there"—Lance, Andy, George, Greg—but I'd venture to say we might be more enthralled by video like these of Boonen and the Six Day because we can't fully understand it. We just know it's beautiful.
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Comments
Stefan Rohner
7th November 2009 01:13pm
and… Gavia, Stelvio, Tourmalet … and many more
no, please not Mortirolo, two times is enough.
maybe RAPHA could send Lance some nice white SHORT socks… ;)
Mark Pinsent
7th November 2009 08:36pm
Lovely sentiment.
I'm a Brit, and I live in France…and yet I don't fully understand it myself. There's something very, very special about the roads out here. I tried to put it into words after a week in the Pyrenees last May, but I'm not sure I did it justice. Judge for yourself: http://lesveloistesgentils.wordpress.com/2009-perpignan-to-biarritz/
It's spiritual, it really is.
Jon Cannings
10th November 2009 12:28am
Belgium is where it's at for the true nitty gritty of it all. Italy for the pose value, France for the men on bikes with stripey tops and onions. Spain for moody riders, Holland for people of all ages on mad shopping bikes out of control on wet cobbled streets. Germany for trekking bike tomfoolery.
GB for, oh, don't get me started…. ;-)