by Chris Geiser

It is absolutely unbelievable to imagine that what started in January as almost a dare, is nearly a fait accompli! Jack, Aleksandra, and myself made our way through France this week by TGV (story coming next week), to meet @Tom Niccum, take care of some unfinished business, and then flew to Lisbon from Marseille on Thursday morning. With our unfinished business, finished, we had a great dinner, packed bikes to the car, and got some sleep. We were up with the sun on Thursday to eat the last of the food at Tom and Nancy’s apartment, and make the 90 minute drive to Marselle. (Cue Guy Ritchie montage):

Cue Guy Ritchie music — leaving at sun up to make a noon flight to Lisbon

1. Drop Jack, bikes, bags, refuel car, drop off at rental counter
2. Get to flight check in early enough to be first-ish
3. Check in, sweet talk baggage pricing
4. Get bike ex-rayed
5. Get through security
6. Get shaken down by security
7. Lunch
8. Board
9. Fly
10. Land
11. Maciej!

Security shakedowns aside, everything went pretty smoothly. We were met at the airport by the hardest working man in show business, Maciej! By 3PM we were in Cascais, and into our apartment overlooking the race course, and the Atlantic, and only a few hundred meters from the start line. We got setup, built bikes (this was our 6th such activity of this type this week), and started to figure out what dinner was looking like. The whole group was now in Cascais (with the exception of Clarence), myself, Jack, Aleksandra, Tom, Adrienne, Ari, Greg, and of course, Mirko. With the expo not yet open (although we stopped by to say hi as they set up), we were ready for dinner and hit the local seafood joint directly downstairs.

Veranda strategy session for the Medio route in the morning.

The Medio Route

Over dinner and on the veranda, we made plans for a recce of the Medio route first thing in the morning. Leaving from the start line, we wound out through the beach roads of Cascais heading for Sintras and points beyond, with the anticipated coverage of about 80 kilometers for the day, and about half the climbing we would see on the Gran Fondo route on Sunday. With Mirko leading the ride, we got going, and kept a brisk pace through the first few kilometers of the course. It was of course time for a photo.

The hambones on our first beach siting as we rolled out of Cascais on the Medio Route

With a quick climb up, from the beach road, I heard Mirko telling the group “this will be the first selection, on Sunday”. I asked him later what he meant; “so many will go out hard, and as they get here, they will slow down as they realize they are climbing”. We wound up and out through traffic, and got into the town of Sintras. Famous for its castle, but we were there for coffee.

Quick coffee stop in Sintras, to try the local custard tarts, and refuel.

As we pressed on, the traffic started to lighten up, and the roads seemed to magically widen, as we did more scenic climbing, and wound our way up some of the biggest climbs of the Medio route. Not too long after, and right along the route, I could smell the brine of the Atlantic as we approached the town of Azenhas do Mar. We went down a quick, steep, hairpin curve, and stood up to push up a steep incline to an overlook point, to a vista that took everyone’s breath away.

An amazing view of an edge of the European continent. Jack getting down the ramp to the overlook for a closer view.

We stood with our jaws dropped, took selfies, and joked but time was starting to slip away. So we got going, and pressed on. Through a few quick descents, and a couple of nice easy flat sections, we began the first part of several climbs. The group started to split a little, but we were mainly staying together and pressing on. The climbs were beautiful, and challenging, and a good test of what I had learned about myself and my training in Germany, and France, leading up to this ride. With a long fast descent ahead, we were quickly hammering along a beach road back to the marina where the expo was waiting for us.

It was good to get registration out of the way, talk to folks that we had only met via Facebook, and continue to get acquainted with Cascais.

The expo is open, the pirri-pirri is fabulous, and the view from our apartment is unbeatable.

It was time to try the local food on for size, and it did not disappoint. While we had a very nice lunch, the main event, was dinner at Somos um Regalo. A fast walk through the town square, and off the beaten path. There were no tourists, and they seated out party of ten immediately via some sweet talking from Tom.
Waiter: “Are you ready to order?”

Me: “But we haven’t seen a menu?!”

Waiter: “It’s chicken, and would you like rice? And a salad? And butata frita?

Me: “Yes”

And we were off. Some of the best pirri-pirri chicken out there. An amazing feast, and for a chicken lover such as myself, one of the best meals I have ever had. At roughly 10 Euro per person, it was also maybe, the greatest food deal I have ever seen, and I ate to hurt myself before being dragged out by the rest of the group with a leg bone hanging out of my mouth. We were fueled for the 7AM GFNY Group ride run by the GFNY founders, Uli, and Lidia in the morning.

We set out from the start line, and head in the opposite direction than we did on the Medio route. The idea was to do an easy 40km or so, and get as many of the GFNY World travelers together for the ride as we could. Our new friends Noel, and Luis, just in from Puerto Rico, were with us, and Clarence had arrived from Germany to establish “Gruppo compato”, the whole group together spinning out along the beach and back up the last descent we had done yesterday. This was a fun climb, twisting and turning up and out of Cascais, until hitting a short descent down to the most Western Point in Europe. Along the route, folks got acquainted, and reacquainted, and provided the proof to why GFNY is a global cycling language all its own.

Cabo da Roca is the most Western point in Europe. The closest we will be to home before we fly home. But first — there is racing to be done.

Uli and Mirko cranking it up. Mirko getting ready for the Portuguese Swan diving team, team photo en route to Cabo da Roca (the western most point in Europe).

Climbing back out of Cabo da Roca, we kept the conversations going until it was time to take the big descent back to the beach, and then hammer back to the Marina. We definitely saw a headwind along the beach as the wattage required was significantly higher today than it was yesterday.

Once back at the expo, I decided to figure out a completely obnoxious and self-serving sign in, and presented Ana Paula Cavalcanti with a copy of the Italian Job.

#SurfGFNY #GFNYDoubleDouble #114 is checked in and ready.

Trains to Lisbon and Back

With some time to kill, we headed to Lisbon to check out the old city. We had some Pirri-Pirri (yes, again), and climbed the hills to the Castle of St. Jorge. Then down and around and back on the train. With the heat on the train I got a little sleepy. Race anxiety crept in, and I had a dream that I showed up to the start line without my bow tie. I don’t know what it means, but if that is the only problem that I have tomorrow, I can do without the bow tie — this time. We are heading out for our pre-race dinner. More this week as we complete the #GFNYDoubleDouble and get ready to surf! I leave you with a gratuitous Lisbon photo!

Well, where did we leave off? It’s been a crazy couple of days of travel, packing the bikes, unpacking the bikes, on the train, off the train, back on another train (and as we say in Staten Island — that’s a whole other thing), back off the train. Another rental car, snafu’d by Google Maps, the backward parking garage, my new 8 legged roommate, and a whole bunch of whole other things. But I digress. We are here to talk about the race. As we wrapped up in the last go-round, I was stuffing my jersey pockets (MacGeiser style), for the 161km, and 2200 meters of climbing that lay ahead. Outside of time trials, this was my first real road race back on the bike since going ass over tea kettle in April, in Upstate New York. I really wasn’t sure what to expect.

At our dinner, Clarence asked about my time goals for the race. I went with a “would be delighted with 6:30, but 6:45 would be completely acceptable”. Really anything under 7 would have been nice. And anything between 6:42 and 7:09 would rival my best GFNY races to date. But I was sheepish. I didn’t know how my training would add up. I felt good, but would I stick to my strategy. There were a lot of factors in play, and I was lining up (thank you Kenny), in the elite VIP corral sporting bib number 24. Jack and I rolled over to the start line, and got ourselves in position about 30 minutes early. I hadn’t had any coffee — which for a race day for me, was unheard of.

Rolled to the start line early. Before the corrals filled we took the opportunity to introduce ourselves to some new friends, and reacquaint with some old ones.

The VIP Corral

I must admit that I felt a little bit like George Plimpton, in Paper Lion being in the front corral. Elite athletes, like our friend Clarence, Felipe Castro, the national champion of Costa Rica in his category (both of whom will be in the GFNY Portugal race as well), and a host of others. We made some new friends, and saw the racers that I would have perceived just by looking would be in the top ranks at days end. As folks talked to me there was a little bit of “how did you get in here” in the introductions. But I quickly got over it. As the corrals filled, the music got louder, the announcements started, and the race directors car moved into position to get the neutral start underway. Something of a festival atmosphere in the center of Hameln, the race directors car, being the Pied Piper, leading us all to the course. Once out past the neutral start, we would be on our own. Photographers took pictures, more announcements were made, and then finally there was a palpable hush.

In the last seconds before the starters clock hit 07:00:00, the chill in the air, the slight hint of dewy moisture, and the amazing hush, made this an almost startling moment in its silence. It screamed that something great was about to happen.

The Race Directors car getting into position as the corrals started to fill.

And We Were Off…

Chasing through the twists and turns of Hameln heading out to the country side with the race directors car out in front. The race was not neutralized for very long, and the speeds out of the gate bordered on the ridiculous. At one point I looked down, I was spinning at over 100rpm, in the 53 chain ring, and my heart rate was in the 170’s. We were less than 2 kilometers into the race, and I was already revved to the red line just to try and keep the 42–45 kilometers per hour pace that the leading groups were producing. I could feel myself being shot out the back like a potato that was jammed in a muffler pipe, and jetisoned out when the car started. I was being passed left and right, and as we hit the country roads was now surrounded by Medio course riders. This was a predicament. My new friends were keeping me to their right side, and so I had a tough time creating anything close to a chase speed that could reconnect me with the front groups. Jack, and Aleksandra were off and running, and I would not see them again until the finish line. With my heart still racing, I found my way out to the left, and spun my way out to the front of one of the medio groups. I would try and drive from their until the climbs and then see what happened.

As we hit the Daspe-Heyen climb outside of one of the first towns we rolled through, I began to get into my strategy. The Daspe-Heyen, was not what I would refer to as a categorized climb, but it was a punchy little kicker (sounds more like a kangaroo), that reminded you what lay ahead. Usually this is the type of place where I would throw everything into trying to get to the top fast and not lose any time. But, today was different. Instead, I used it to allow me to peel back my effort, and recognize that the length of the course required a sound strategy. A strategy that I had worked out, but just hadn’t followed in the first 15 kilometers. This is one of my more common problems in time trialing, but this was no 40km affair that would be over in an hour. This required settling in, being disciplined, and following the plan.

The Daspe-Heyen — in the grand scheme of things, not a categorized climb, but kicks enough to remind you what is coming.

The Daspe-Heyen succeeded in calming me down, and allowing me to make a little space between myself and some of my Medio friends. Between here and the next set of climbs, I would leap-frog with several groups, but was mostly having a series of blind dates with folks jumping on my wheel for the flats, passing me on the downhills, and watching me take back the front on the climbs. The plan was working.

There were several punchy climbs that took us to the Roter Fuchs (the Red Fox), where we twisted and turned up a beautiful Ardennes like climb that had a little bit of a bite in the middle. With several double digit grade sections, the average grade reported on the course map was a little deceptive. At the top, at the Roter Fuchs tavern, was the first aid station. I chose to keep going. I made it up the climb in fairly good order, and was starting to realize that my efforts to stay disciplined were paying dividends in time. With the descents being sharp, but not terribly technical, I was able to take some time back, and gain some momentum as we rolled through the towns.

Have I mentioned that the course, at this point, was completely closed to automobile traffic? When descending, using the entire right side of the road affords you an incredible amount of control at higher speeds, and allows you to make up some of that time that you give back on the climbs. It was an amazing way to “Be a Pro for a Day” (the GFNY motto), racing through the streets of the towns with closed intersections, highly visible markings, and volunteers cheering you on.

40KM to Go! Really?

Given that the GFNY Deutschland Gran Fondo route is a double loop (hey double), the Medio Fondo route is shared through the first loop. With 40KM to go in the Medio route, I wondered if I had missed a turn. I asked the gent next to me “Ist der medio?” I got back a very fast answer in German that I couldn’t process. “Kein Deutsch, Anglisch bitte!” I asked. My answer came with a very thick British accent “you’re alright mate, we are sharing the road to the turn, but we have a little way to go, and a couple of climbs. You will see what I mean when we hit the split, but we have two climbs yet to go”.

I thanked him and kept pedaling. As I got to the first of the two climbs he was referncing, I measured it out (Thank you Tom Niccum), and kept my match burning damage low. As me and several others descended into the next round of straightaways, another rider said to me “I think that is the end of the race car behind us, is that car the end of the race car?” I looked back but saw no car. But it was certainly conceivable that the broom wagon was nearly upon us as I was completely owning that I was at the back of the Gran Fondo field. As I turned down the next main street, there was a sharp left, that went up a very steep grade for a short kick, there were a number of riders who had missed a shift, or dropped a chain that were off and walking, I was determined not to join them. With all of my weight leaned forward, I just kept spinning the cranks as hard as I could until I was on the flatter section of the road. This 100 meter section was the only section of “bad road” I saw on the entire course. But let’s qualify that. While perhaps a “bad road for Germany” it was a completely “standard and acceptable paved surface by the standards of the NYC Department of Transportation”. So, as Jack would say “we had that going for us”. The transplanted section of Staten Island street, led out onto the Lauenstein Kehrenspaß, the last of the categorized climbs for this loop. I kept checking my time versus my distance to see if the strategy was still working, and it was, so I maintained my discipline. On the way up I saw two familiar signs from the GFNY NYC Championship route.

53/17 (as I passed this sign, I went to shift my cassette, but my right hand slipped, and I accidentally extended my middle finger at the sign)

What would Eddy do?

These two laugh riot signs seemed to have made there way across the Atlantic, in what was obviously an attempt by race organizers and race founders to make me feel more at home. Yes, that must be it.

As I continued up, there was a camper van at the top, with a Tour de France Polka Dot baseball cap hanging from the mirror. A perfect accompaniment, as I got a lovely hello from the woman occupying the camper, I readied myself to start making time back toward the cutoff. As I emerged from the forests of the descent, I saw the familiar stacks of the nuclear plant marking my way back toward Börry — where I knew a nasty climb awaited on the second lap. There were great discussions with riders from all over the globe along the way. The U.K., Sicily, and many others that made the day so enjoyable. But I was about to lose all my friends for the rest of the day. I had been so embedded in the Medio pack, that when we hit the cutoff, I went left, and they went right. I was now on my own. It was now an 80km time trial to the end, as I rounded away from the cutoff, and back out onto the seemingly deserted roads back to the Daspe-Heyen. But while I wondered how far in back of the field I was, I never stopped racing.

My thoughts on camera as I made my way to the second half.

I was through the cutoff in less than three hours. 2:58 to be exact. I decided I needed to memorialize not only my pace for the first half, but also my sense of being DFL (Dead Effing Last for the uninitiated), as I got through a small town and out to the first little climb. I was pacing well, and having a great ride, and maybe even a great race, but the field was now very spread out on the course, I had the course to myself.

As I pushed on through several little towns, thinking I was DFL, I yelled out to the volunteers “ich bin der langsammer” (I am the slow one) — hey if you achieve that status, the black jersey, the lanterne rouge, why not celebrate it. As I hit the Dasper-Heyen for the second time, I realized that the race had not actually been lost yet. From a distance, I saw a lone green jersey, standing up on the steepest part of the climb. “DO NOT TRY TO CATCH HIM ON THE CLIMB”, my professor brain shouted at me (Thanks Turkish). I stuck to the plan, and knew that I would and could reel him back in. Knowing that the next bit of climbing was more my cup of tea, I did what I could over the short and punchy last bits, descended to the turn, and begin roleuring up the next phase. There would be a technical descent at the end of it, that may be my chance. It wasn’t. Not until I hit the more open roads did I begin to really make back time. We played cat and mouse for 2–3 km and finally I was able to overtake him. We were locked in a battle to not be last. But, suddenly, we had more and more friends that we could depend on to help us in this fight. Up a steep bit that ran to the next section of flats, I saw the ambulance and broom wagon making there way. I realized then that, here in Europe, the race pace, and broom wagon follows at a higher pace. So I began racing with the intent of not fighting the broom wagon’s pace, but fighting the pace of every other rider I could.

Creeky Bottom Brackets

My bottom bracket had been making some awful noises over the past few days. But it was nothing in comparison to the Cervelo rider that I played leap frog with several times. I not match for him on the climbs, he no match for me on the flats. I knew two dislikes of his, the first the sound of his bottom bracket, the second, the sound of mine passing him. As we hit Roter Fuchs for the second time, he spun away from me, but we would rekindle our friendship several times before the finish line.

At roughly 50km to go, and at the top of Roter Fuchs, I made my first stop. I filled my water bottle and dropped an SIS caffeine tablet in. I hit the head, talked briefly to one or two other riders, and was off. I didn’t want to lose time, and with all that I had told Clarence about my goal time, I kept running the number 6:19 through my head. Could it be 6:19. Why 6:19? Well, why not I guess. I periodically checked the time to see if I was making the grade. It would be close.

The climbs went slower the second time around, as you might expect. It was getting hotter, and significant energy had been spent to get back to Börry. This was where the final climb, and for my money (while short), the toughest climb on the course. It would precede a screaming fast run in to the finish line that I would take full advantage of. But first, I had to say hello to an old friend. As I stayed within earshot of his bottom bracket, we started to climb, with the pitch getting rising to a steepness that matched the intensity of the heat I was feeling from the sun on the back of my neck. This was a tough effort and there was no relenting during this climb for fear of getting started again. Over the last few kilometers, I had also been leapfrogging with another De Rosa rider named Marco (or so his bib said). He had caught us on the climb and was now matching climbing capabilities with my friend on the Cervelo. I was encouraged that I was able to stay as close as I did.

The climb out of Borry was brutal.

This was the last climb and I had to leave something for the run into the finish. It was a good 10km to the finish line, and I had to assume that being a little conservative here would mean a better chance of having a tiger in my tank for the run in. As I got over the top, I passed my new friends and began to use the last of what I had. And I didn’t stop. I kept pedaling, and for the first time since the morning was back in the 53 to give it all I had at a high RPM. If my heart rate got away here — so what. But the difference between the time I wanted and the time I would get, would come from here, those last couple of minutes where, had I played the role of survivor instead of aggressor, would have left me back several more places in the standings.

As the finish line crew finished providing me with my medal, my new friends arrived at the finish line. Dropped is a relative thing. If you are trying to place above someone, you can’t turn your back on them for a second without pedaling like you stole it. Had I relented, I realized that they were close enough to have caught me. Not that it mattered, the placement, but surely that would have made a demoralizing difference in the time.

6:23 — Clock Time, 6:20 Garmin Moving Time

With a finish of 6:23, and a moving time showing 6:20, I couldn’t help but think that my 6:19 instincts were pretty close to spot on. I had beaten 6:30. I had beaten my best GFNY NYC time from 2014. It gave me the feeling of rounding into a better rider, a different kind of fitness, and full of confidence for the week that lay ahead in our epic adventure.
As I write this, I am in Provence, and packed for Portugal. GFNY Portugal will be up next on Sunday, and I am feeling like there is nothing I can’t handle. The inspiration of racing the GFNY Double-Double provided the motivation and measurement required to kick my cycling up a notch. We won’t stop now!

Up next, Abbott and Costello meet the TGV

by Chris Geiser

Well it’s about that time. We have had a great couple of days discovering Hameln, visiting the expo, riding the bike roads, checking out the course, and finding a bratwurst, which took longer than we thought it would. We have discovered, that Hameln is the only city in the world where if you say the word “rat” in a restaurant, no one gets upset. Since it is race day morning, and I have finally gotten up on time, I will keep it short so I can get to the start line.

Jack and Aleksandra get signed in.

We hit the expo as early as we could given my propensity for oversleeping. Tried on jerseys, talked to the mechanics, and caught up with some of the folks we have been meeting along the way. As usual, people were from everywhere, maybe living here now, but once lived in New York, we had a number of interesting conversations before heading back to do a little leg loosening out on the farm roads surrounding the city.

Marking the start line on the way out of the expo.

With the day being relatively short, and knowing we would want to have a more normal schedule, we would keep the ride fairly short and pretty easy. We went out via the course markers, and onto the bike roads, and did a few zigs and zags to see what was out there. At a certain point there were a few tourists and e-bikes out there so we had to keep the speed to a dull roar as some of the roads are narrow, but that gave us a chance to soak it in. The weather could not have been more perfect.

Back to Hameln, back to the expo, and back to get to the supermarket to buy food for the morning, and for the train trip on Monday. We wandered through the squares of the city on the quest for a quick bratwurst, and finally found the perfect place. As we got to the front of the line — they were out of bread. We waited while the baked the next batch, and it was worth it. By this point I was so hungry, I was ready to order two. Somehow the more reasonable sector of my brain took over and corrected me. But that may have been because while we were walking and following the Pied Piper tour guides, I was sneaking cookies out of my grocery bag. Sue me.

The Preparations

With the last of the preparations underway, pumping tires, putting numbers on jerseys and doing a cleat change. This was not a good time to find out that my worn cleat on my left shoe was so hammered-up that I couldn’t get it off. Luckily my spare shoes, saved the day and I put the new cleats on those. But not until 45 minutes of trying to get the last screw out proved fruitless without a bigger screw driver. I would not have gotten that far, if Clarence had not arrived with a more diverse set of tools. Clarence is a triathlete, runner, cyclist, and all around good guy who lives part of the year here in Germany. He was with us at the Gavia camp in May right before GFNY Championship NYC, and was staying at the same hotel here in Hameln. We got in touch, and he mentioned that he recognized the De Rosa SK from all the photos, and he and his friend Philip came back to the garage to finish prepping with Jack and I, before we all headed to a pre-race dinner. Half-way around the world, we run into people we know, and create great times.

Dinner at the same Italian place as Thursday evening. L-R, Clarence, Philip, myself, Aleksandra, and Jack.

Well — it’s about that time. A quick shower, something to eat, and off to the start line to get it done at GFNY Deutschland! There may be more after the finish, but definitely more as we make our way on the train tomorrow morning!

Tschüss!

by Chris Geiser

We are here! It is very difficult to believe, that all the planning has panned out and we are actually here at the start of our #GFNYDoubleDouble adventure. Three people, three airports, three different cities, bike cases, luggage, and a rental van, and the only kink, was a slight delay on Jack’s flight from Las Vegas (connection from Seattle), to Frankfurt. The best way to have a trans-Atlantic flight is for it to be uneventful. Upon my arrival in Frankfurt, I flew threw immigration, and upon walking outside, saw my bike case sitting at the oversized luggage waiting for me, like a loyal pet. Luckily Tom’s booster seat was right there with it! It took a careful evening and early morning of packing to get it right. Many things put in places where they couldn’t be forgotten. Garmin, pedals, pedal wrench, tool kit, helmet, shoes, spare cleats — oh wait, I need to change my cleats — spare cleats — fudge, no spare cleats, put it on the list. OK, what else, helmet, gloves shoe covers, jerseys, kits, socks (yeah that’s right — I own a few pairs), floor pump, spare tubes, take cartridges out of flat kit, and let’s see, what else, oh, right, BIKE!

The art and science of bike packing. The trick is to offload weight fro your other bag, into the case, because they are going to charge you for the bike no matter what. On the left, the loyal machina awaits my safe passage through immigration.

All the way to Philly, I am thinking, “did I put my pedals in the bag with the seat post? Did I put the seat post in the bag? Where did I put the bag? Is the Garmin in the bag or is it in my pocket? Will I be recording the damn race on my damn phone — don’t laugh it could happen! Passage through Philadelphia was fast and easy, confirming in my own mind the good choice that it is for flying internationally. It takes just as long to get from Staten Island to Kennedy, and there are more spacious and direct flights from Philly. #winning. Dear EWR (Newark), there is a lesson here for you!

 

Dear Newark — have you seen this?

Arrival in Frankfurt

I am having trouble finding humor, sarcasm, irony, or anything remotely objectionable or troublesome in the next sequence of events. I picked up a van I had reserved, and set out to find Terminal 1. Oh wait, there was that thing about getting lost trying to find the airport — FROM the airport. #Meta. Ask your Google Maps app to find Frankfurt Airport as you are pulling out of the rental garage! #Hijinx. I twisted around the roads surrounding the flughafen for about 15 minutes before realizing that the small sign that said terminal 1 was actually pointing at, yes, you guessed it, terminal 1. So I stopped ignoring it and pulled in. With a minimal amount of texting Aleksandra and all her stuff were in the van and we were on the road to nowhere. With two hours to kill before Jack arrived I tried to find us someplace to sit quietly and have coffee. But there really is no such place within earshot of the airport, so we drove around for a while. Both of us had only gotten a little bit of sleep during the flight, so I could tell this would be a long day. We finally made our way back to the airport, parked in the short term lot (best 10 Euros I ever spent), and got sandwiches at a cafe inside the airport while we waited for Jack. We bought a sandwich for Jack and water for the road so that we could get going as soon as he arrived.

Sidebar

At the risk of offending my fellow Americans, please skip down if you run the risk of being offended by a story describing how stereotypes are created. If you’ve ever wondered why the American image in Europe is what it is, we can start with this little ditty.

On the way into the airport to find food, and friend, we passed a number of signs for a small mall within the airport. There was a sign for a MacDonald’s in there. We continued past those signs and found a lovely bakery (that is probably a chain here, but I am over it), and proceeded to order lunch. As we ordered, I spoke English to Aleksandra about what we were ordering:
Passer by: “Oh do you speak English?”

Me: “Yes, we do”

Passer by: “Oh, thank goodness, do you know where the MacDonald’s is?”

Me (to self): Really, because I am American you think I know where the fucking MacDonald’s is? (but that’s not the point of me telling you this)

Me: “I don’t know, I think I saw a sign, but I don’t remember.”

Aleksandra to me: “Maybe it was in that little mall we saw the sign for”

Me to Passer By: “Oh yeah back there those escalators go down to a little mall, it could be in there, maybe”

Passer By: “Over that way? (emphatically) ARE YOU SURE?”

Me to self: No, I don’t fucking know, so I was trying to be nice, and I now have no fucking idea what to tell you. Oh wait. I have an idea.

Me to Passer By: “No, I am not sure, in fact, I have no idea where it is, and I am sorry that I can’t help you”

Karmatically speaking, I will pay for that. I HAVE TO. But, come on! I just completed a wonderful exchange of money for food with my broken German to a person that spoke no English, and had food and coffee to show for it. Now I am going to have the piss taken out of me by one of my countrymen for not knowing where the god damned MacDonalds in the Frankfurt airport is? Karmatically speaking, I am very lucky, that I didn’t say “oh yeah, it’s in terminal 2, I am sure of it.”

Gruppo Compato — Now Get in the Van!

With Jack in hand now, we re-packed the van and were on our way. We caught up with each other on the ride, and Aleksandra did some power napping as we made our way toward Hamelin. Run of the mill traffic and a little bit of rain hampered our speed a little, but we were progressing and not too far behind any schedule we might have had. We made a quick stop on the highway as it had been well over 2 hours since my last cup, and I was starting to feel the imaginary withdrawal bugs crawling all over me.

Some very nice food for an airport — although we never did figure out where the MacDonalds was. Bottom right the menu at the highway joint was pretty impressive — for a gas station — real plates, and side dishes.

Our arrival in Hameln was right around rush hour, and with the various zigs and zags it took us a bit to get oriented. I dropped Jack and our bikes at our hotel and drove Aleksandra to hers. The super narrow and cobbled streets were awkward with such a big rig, so I pulled us on the sidewalk so we could get her checked in. After check in we lugged her stuff up three flights of stairs, and I headed back to the hotel Jungestild so that we could get our bikes together. With a key operated garage, that was for all the cyclists in the hotel, we had a nice, clean, dry place to get things together and do a mini shakedown in the street outside.The key operated automatic door felt like I was opening a missile silo. Cases were unpacked, and bikes together very quickly. It was time for dinner.

“La Machina” De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Campagnolo Super Record 53/39–11/29, Bora Ultra wheels Continental 4 Season Grand Prix 4000 tires, Powertap P1 Pedals, Selle Italia Saddle, FSA stem and handlebars. Now you know.

Closing Time

After putting things together it was time to forage. We let Aleksandra know we were coming, and started across the medieval square that makes up the beautiful town centre of Hameln. What we didn’t realize was how late it had gotten. Probably because in places like New York City, and Seattle, 21:00 isn’t really late when it comes to food. So we didn’t think about it. But they were rolling things up in Hameln, and after a little walking we were able to find an Italian place that was open until 23:00. Interestingly, my German is soooooo rusty (after little to no practice-impressive right?), that I managed ordering better in Italian than in my attempt to order in German. We were so hungry, it felt like we ordered everything on the menu. I think we came pretty close. All of it was good. But the best part was that a gentleman from across the room realized that we were here for GFNY, and came over to talk to us. We introduced ourselves to him and to his wife, Philippe, and Jackie are here from Costa Rica for the full #GFNYDoubleDouble! Bravo! Ironically (or maybe not), we ran into them again tonight at dinner at a different place.

The Shakedown

With a shakedown ride planned for this morning, an important step would have been waking up at a decent hour. My alarm set to 06:00, I got up, read a few emails and fell right back asleep. I awoke at ten for a work call from some colleagues up in Denmark. With the call finished, I texted Jack and realized that he had also overslept. Meanwhile, across town, Aleksandra was awake, had eaten breakfast, and was dressed and ready. We had a great, late breakfast of pickled herring, small sausages and bread and jam, and walked over to meet Aleksandra. We brought one of our foot pumps so she could finish getting her bike ready. Mission accomplished, we set out for more coffee — I managed to get the order right in German, but realized that I may have been doing more harm to our cause than good. This was the third or so conversation that I started in German, reasonably thinking if, I can say what I mean, and mean what I say, the rest will take care of itself. But then they answered. Quickly. Like I lived here and spoke German every day. Not like I run the Babel app a couple of times a month on the bus.

Der Langsame

That’s me. Der Langsame. “The slow one”. Not on the bike, not on the walk, not in general. But when I realized that my conversations were going nowhere as fast as they could speak, I said “Langsam, bitte, mein Deutsche ist nicht sehr gut!” This always stopped them dead in their tracks, put a light smile on their faces and prompted the reply “would it be better for you in English?” I really hated to admit that it would, but yes, thank you, it really would. I aspire to someday be able to consider myself a multilingual citizen of the world. But that takes time and effort, that I need to put in the same way I put in hours on the trainer. If I want to go faster, I have to train. It’s a universal rule. It applies to, basically anything.

Coffee, a change of clothes, and bikes out of the garage, we were on our way. I navigated us down as many bike lanes as I could to the start line of the GFNY, but we also had to find a bike shop and some CO2. We found a couple of bike shops, one called Fun Corner. It was a huge layout, with a friendly staff that delayed their lunch to help us out. We found the cartridges, and I asked about the cleats — they had them. We paid, and were on our way. We navigated back to the route start, which didn’t yet look like the route start and decided to follow the route markers until we were out of town, and see if we could do a little of the course.

With traffic on the roads, we made sure to make full use of the bike paths and farm roads that seem to be the accepted way of riding here. Lidia Fluhme had emailed me and clued me in that the place to be is on the bike/farm roads and that drivers know it is GFNY time when they start to see road bikes actually traveling in traffic lanes. We got about 20km into the route, making a nice pace, and ran into a really nice little berg, only about 800 meters long, but relatively steep, and on a beautiful road. Most of the roads here in Hameln are spectacular, but this especially so. We summited the first little bit of it, and pulled aside to let a tractor go by before we headed up the steep bit. After another small climb we realized we were starting to get late in the day, (waking up at 10AM will do that to you), and headed back to Hameln.

Well let’s see now, I am trying to find out where the route goes on my phone but seem to be missing the big-ass “route this way dummy” sign dead ahead of me. Strecke = Route

The Despe-Heyen was a 2KM effort with about 800 steeper meters at the end. It was a good reminder of the type of climbing we will face on Sunday.

The Hardest Working Man in Show Business

As we rolled into Hameln and past the expo area, I shouted “let’s go see Maciej — Maciej and his crew keep GFNY races all over the world running smoothly, from getting the expo set up, to marking courses, and doing everything that allows thousands of riders to be pros for a day. We didn’t want to take too much of his time but we were able to meet his crew, including the gent that was driving the broom van in Italy last year and followed my friend Massimo and I to the finish line. Hmm, Massimo, I wonder if he is riding on Sunday?). We could see how the expo was shaping up, and after a few minutes, I heard my name called. It was Kenny Abel the race organizer. “Mister Double-Double, you are here, welcome!”

Kenny and I had a great chat about the race and how Hameln is the perfect place for it. The roads, the people, this will definitely be a special day of racing (especially if the beautiful roads we were on today were any indication). I let him know that we got about 30km into the course, and gave him our feedback on how beautiful we thought it was. To be racing that with not traffic — that will be something.

Maciej, the Hardest Working Man in Show Business

And now onto a late lunch, as we rolled back to the town square. We found an outdoor cafe, with great food, and soaked in the atmosphere and the people watching.

I will condense the rest of the day. Because it’s primarily concerned with eating. But the eating was fabulous. A beautiful, light lunch, spaetzel, pretzels, wurst, and nice coffee. For dinner, one of the best Jager Schnitzels I have had, thank you Lidia for the recommendation. For all the charms of the food, the charms of this city are 10x as amazing. The town centre is so picturesque, you really do feel like you are walking into an Aesop’s fable, or a Grimm fairy tale. The Pied Piper is everywhere. On every wall, a painting, or a picture, or a plaque. There are Pied Piper tour guides, and even “rat bread” a lovely rat shaped piece of bread being sold at the front desk of our hotel. The cobbled (not Roubaix cobbles), streets are beautiful, and clean, and the people are very friendly. We have only scratched the surface, and so the plan for tomorrow is to get to the expo at nine — packet up — and get cracking on a short ride (maybe 90 minutes), and then back for a timely lunch, and some exploration of Hameln. We will be rolling out early on Monday to head to France, meet Tom, and climb the Ventoux (#subtoux — meaning I would like to beat my PR of 2 hours), then off to Lisbon on Thursday for GFNY Portugal. It’s a busy itinerary but we will take tomorrow afternoon and evening for seeing as much of this beautiful place as we can.

Auf Wiedersehen — and please allow me to leave you with some gratuitous photos of food, and food consumption, as well as some even more gratuitous Pied Piper themed photos. I plan to take a lot more tomorrow.

It’s 5 o’Clock somewhere, but not what you’re thinking…

by Chris Geiser

The phrase “it’s 5 o’Clock somewhere” haven’t meant much to me for almost wo years now. Or at least, it hasn’t meant the same thing. As I am writing this, I am somewhere over the Atlantic. We are wheels up to Frankfurt, and the GFNY Double-Double adventure, has officially begun. Jack was delayed in Vegas, Aleksandra boarded at JFK, and the GFNY Deutschland crew of the GFNY Double-Double is on its way. En route, finishing up some loose ends for work, emailing Tom on the West Coast, texting #Toto and the whole Gavia crew on the East Coast, and giving Uli a hard time about Cozumel, while he is wide awake somewhere in Asia, made me realize, that it is indeed 5 o’Clock somewhere.

That means that somewhere, a group of GFNY jerseys are rolling out on a group training ride — it’s 5 o’Clock — AM — training time! Or maybe a solo training ride. As we start on Sunday in Germany, they will be complete at GFNY Indonesia — halfway around the world they will be racing, while we toss and turn and think about the wake up, the first cup of coffee, and the start line. I have been meaning to get back to this, for over a week. With the special editions in the books, life gets in the way. What are you gonna do? Well, you collect your thoughts, get on a plane, put on some Alice Cooper, and get typing.

We are a little photo shy, on this one — Sorry!

In my haste to get something out, I neglected to think about how Medium and airplane wifi would get along with respect to uploading images. Again, what are you gonna do? Collect your thoughts, keep typing, and promise better visuals throughout the trip.

But back to the important stuff. A few posts ago, we got into training. How would this go, this epic trip, with two GFNY races back-to-back, Sunday-to-Sunday? I decided to apply a little Lean Six-Sigma to this gig, and made the assumption that whatever I wanted to achieve would be a function of what I put into it.

Y=f(x) — yes of course — that must be it! It is!

In this case Y is the output, or how we hope to do in both GFNY events. Our results in the GFNY Double-Double. The variable x represents the training effort since publicly declaring the following on July 12, 2018:

As an aside to this — accepting where I am in the process, while part of the process, is not the end of the process. With every pound lifted, every kilometer pedaled, and every minute that I don’t take the two GFNY European Double (double-double) races ahead for granted, I am working to change the situation in my favor. If you know me, you know that I will be happy to be in both races. If you know me, you also know that, being there, while an epic adventure, will not be enough. While DFL is better than DNS, and DNF, it’s still not where I want to be, and I am in control of that. There is a little bit of AYFKM to all of it! (you’re welcome Jeff).

There you have it. For every byte of data I have collected, wattage, calories, beats per minute, meters climbed, kilometers pedaled, TSS, IF, CTL, Fatigue, Form, whatever! None is as important as Y=f(x). Without that equation, and without understanding that equation, more attention paid to what the results said (good or bad), as opposed to effort put in. “Believe in yourself, believe in your training”, it’s a great way of saying Y=f(x). (Thank you, Maestro). For every night that I got home late, or had to be up early, or traveled, or had a family event, and managed to find a 10 or 11 PM window, or a 5AM window (it’s 5 o’Clock somewhere — see what I did there), we are building x. We are hopefully building x into what we want Y to be. But what is that? Is it elapsed time, average watts, moving time, average speed — NO!

Getting on the trainer, getting out to Gateway, getting to the weight room, and putting the time in. There is a severe loss of control that comes with race day. Tires puncture, chains fall off, rain falls, the bonk decides to visit. We have all been there, and we know we can’t control it. We stoop over our handle bars at the start line and hope that none of that will happen today. When we accept our Lean Six Sigma equation, we understand that our output, is a function of our input. It is not a function of that which we do not control. Our result is measured via our output. As non-professional racers, we have to accept that view that while we can’t control our place in the standings, the strength of the field, the conditions on the course, those things cannot matter. What matters in our result are those things that we control and how we make our own luck through what we put into it.

Y, the result of the effort put in over the last 8 weeks has to equal a much more important stat. How close we can get regret to zero. When all is said and done, in both races, with the effort put in over the last 8 weeks, no matter the elapsed time, average watts, moving time, average speed — it will all equal zero regrets. We’ve done our best to prepare, we have done our best to plan, we are with the right people, in the right places at the right time.

SO LET’S GET IT ON!

Let’s do this GFNY Double-Double thing! (and it’s definitely, definitely a thing now — told ya!) Look for updates from Europe on a daily basis. They may be shorter, but I will get them out day of, to make sure every highlight is captured and crystallized.

Next Up: GFNY Double-Double — Day 1 — Frankfurt to Hameln

by Chris Geiser

Busy schedules abound! My own, in family, full-time work, and planning an epic GFNY Double-Double experience, and also Kenny Abel’s — the driving force behind GFNY Deutschland and my very gracious contact for informing the folks on this side of the pond about the race. We are now less than two weeks away, and with our travel plans all but finalized, that gives us some room to talk about the race- — the whole reason for the trip. I was able to catch up with Kenny recently to get some insight into the third year of the GFNY Deutschland, which is also the GFNY European Championship. The race takes place in the Lower Saxony region of Deutschland, in the legendary town of Hamln, home of the fabled Pied Piper.

I inquired about the history of the race and how Kenny got involved.

GFNY Deutschland was a huge success in its first two years, and is the GFNY European Championship race. Please tell us, how did you get started with GFNY? What inspired you to create the race?

This is a long story. The originator of GFNY Deutschland is Paul Fasse from Eldagsen. He rides a lot GFNY races all over the world and get in contact to Uli and Lidia. I met Paul and we have put the idea into action in 2016. We visited some GFNY races in NYC and France and spend a lot of time to discuss and talk with other GFNY organizers, for example, Alex from Indonesia, or Shaun from Mexico, and Jerusalem and learn a lot about GFNY and the special spirit of the races. We grow up from year to year and now we see a lot of GFNY jerseys all over Germany and we are very happy, that so many other riders like it and feel the same spirit like us.

For anyone who wondered about the town, and the area for the race, I asked Kenny to give us a feel for the region, and what to expect.

Please tell us about Saxony as the location for the race. We are very excited to visit, but what was the inspiration for having the race in this area?

The Pied Piper doing his legendary work.

The region of Lower Saxony, and the Weserbergland, are a typical kind of landscape in Germany. We have on the one side, big cities and on the other side some beautiful green areas with rivers and a hilly landscape. The northern part of Germany is mostly flat but we were able to create a hilly course in a beautiful landscape. Furthermore is the town of Hamelin a very historic town with old houses, and, of course the most important story — about the pied piper — In the near of Hamelin are a lot of castles and palaces. There is much to discover in the region.

Please tell us about the course. For instance, what is the most challenging climb? What should the riders expect in terms of challenges?

The course of the GFNY Championships Europe are a hilly course, like in GFNY NYC Championship, or the pro courses in the Ardennes. The course is flat at the first 30km and then the climbing starts. The first long climb of the day is the Roter Fuchs (in english red fox). This is a climb about 5,4km and a maximum grade of 16%. The Gran Fondo rides the Roter Fuchs a second time. After the first climb of the day the next mountain is after a short flat part. The Lauensteiner Berg is the second challenge of the day with 5km and 3,6% grade in the middle.

The Gran Fondo rides after them a second loop and the Medio Fondo goes back to Hamelin. But for all riders the last 10km before the finish line in Hamelin is the steepest part of the race. After the small village Börry the street climb over 19% to the last final kilometers. With a good endurance and the right speed the Gran Fondo and the Medio Fondo is possible to finish. (editors note: perhaps reminiscent of Cheesecote or Queensbury). Next to the track you have the whole time a very nice view in the Weser valley with a lots of green hills, small villages and a very beautiful landscape. Enjoy your race and get a small view away from the course to the nature and the countryside.

GFNY Deutschland is unique in that it races on 100% closed roads. How were you able to achieve this?

We spent a lot of time with the officials at the town, villages, the police and the local townspeople. We have a fully closed route for all riders after one hour behind the leading rider. By the second lap there are a lot more riders inside the first-rider window of 1 hour. The people here are very happy about the race, and proud, that riders from all over the world come to Hamelin, visit the Weserbergland region and spend there time racing and exploring.

Please tell us about your volunteers?

We have a lot of enthusiastic cycling fans. Germany is in the past, not a cycling sports country. But the scene is evolving, and new races are coming to the cities. Also the GFNY is a platform or tool to grow and mature the German cycling spirit. We have in every town and village a small group of volunteers. They support us and some students use the GFNY to improve their foreign language skills.

Who else is involved in GFNY Deutschland? For instance, the moto crew, volunteers, towns, celebrities?

We have, on race day more than 450 helpers at different parts of the race. A big part of the volunteers are the firefighters in the towns and villages. They are very organized groups and the have a lot of fun at the races. The police are the important part for the security at the race. A lot of officers get the security of the course by car, moto or blocking off the routes for the riders. We are very happy about the huge support and we are growing with the police, the authorities and the town. We are happy when the race is started and all riders live their own dream and their own special race on German roads.

My gratitude to Kenny for the time he took to answer my questions as we are now so close to the race, he must be as busy as the Pied Piper himself.

The GFNY Deutschland is the kickoff of our GFNY Double-Double, and will make for a great test for a recovering athlete, hopefully #ridingintoform at just the right time to put on a great performance. I know those of us that are tuning up for GFNY Deutschland can’t wait. We are wheels up for Frankfurt on August 29, arriving the morning of August 30, and then making the 3.5 hour drive up to Hameln, so that we can do a shakedown, explore the town, and hopefully host an evening for wayward travelers in one of the local establishments
Hopefully, we will see you there. If you are coming — please get in touch with me through Facebook, or through Medium, and we will get you connected with the rest of the group.

Until then — PROST!

by Chris Geiser

So a guy, you know the guy, this guy, this guy walks into this burger joint. You know the one. No names, but it has the secret menu, and it’s only available in certain areas, and they cut their fries from fresh potatoes, but no names. Suffice it to say, for as up as I thought I was on the secret menu, how to get the right onions, how to get the extra whatever sauce, and how to even get the burger wrapped in lettuce. Dude. Really? We need to have a talk if you are that guy. Go the whole way, treat yourself, just maybe don’t have the 1700 calorie chocolate shake. Have a bun once in a while. Ok, we are off track. Anyway — the secret menu…I had to test a theory.

With my last trip to California, I had to know, was there a hidden archaeological link between my use of the double-double, and, you know, the double-double. I put it to the test. I sauntered up to the window, to see what the burger guy (BG), knew about our GFNY Double-Double.

Me: Hey, so this secret menu.

BG: Yeah, what do you need to know?

Me: Well I want to see if I can get a GFNY Double-Double, Portugal and Deutschland style?

BG: The what now? Dude, all I caught was double-double. (Editor’s note — check out how dude is clearly dealing with the wrong thing, he doesn’t even capitalize double-double. I had heard these were the politest people in the fast-food game, but come on).

Me: Well, see, I just hear that there was a “double-double” (non-capped), as you had said, and I am like, well, I wonder if they mean a GFNY Double-Double — because, what else is there?

BG: Dude, I don’t know what that is, and dude, there’s a line, and people look pissed. Are those three dudes with you?

Me: Yes, but, forget them! Now, I must know — the GFNY Double-Double — with Portugal, and Deutschland — the inaugural GFNY of Portugal, do you have it? The GFNY European Championship, do I get it here? Dude, do you know what a Double-Double really even is?

BG: Look man, I don’t know what reality show you guys are working for, but do you want some food or not?

Me: Well, yeah, I guess, I will have a double-double- you know with the small letters, if that is really a thing.

BG: It’s a thing dude. Fries?

Me: Sure.

So I ate it. Sue me. But anyway…(continued below photos)

 

Well there it is in Red and White, and Yellow (psychological thing I think). Should I redact the logo?

Back to the Real Double-Double

We are starting to wind down to the magic week of the GFNY Double-Double. With my Training Peaks warning me today that it was only 4 weeks until GFNY Deutschland, I had yet another, “Home Alone” moment in realizing how much planning, training, and anticipation there is yet to go before we board that plane for Frankfurt.

With our plans in full motion, there were some observations made by Tom and by Jack about some of the logistics that we were facing. All this in the face of my call with Peugeot about the short term lease we had arranged for that would allow us to drive a brand new van from Frankfurt to Lisbon, via Belgium and Southern France. I had booked the reservation, confirmed it, paid for it, and got a confirmation email that said Lisbon to Lisbon. Hmmm…that’s not very convenient, you know, with the arrival in Frankfurt and all that? I got on the horn…(with apologies and adoration for Bob Newhart — if you read this in his voice, I promise it will be funnier).

Me: So, I want to inquire about this reservation confirmation number is 555, 1–2–1–2, yes, 1–2 that’s right.

(Editors Note: Part of the Bob Newhart experience is only hearing the one side — just go with it).

Me: Yes, that’s right, I know it says Lisbon to Lisbon, but the problem is that I wanted Frankfurt to Lisbon.

Me: Well, yes, I understand, but the thing is, I booked it for Frankfurt. Oh, yes, I’ll hold.

Me: Yes, still here. Yes, well I wanted Frankfurt to Lisbon.

Me: Well, Yes, I realize that Lisbon to Lisbon would be easier for you. What’s that?

Me: Well, sure, I guess that would be nice, and, yes, we want to end up in Lisbon, and spend time in Cascais, but I am flying into Frankfurt you see. That’s, that’s in Germany you see.

Me: Well, the other side of Spain. No, other way, toward the Alps. Right. Yes, that’s right, yes, but if you get to Denmark you missed it.

Me: So you can’t do that. OK, well can you cancel it?

Me: Thank you, you’ve been very helpful.

AAAAND SCENE! And just like that we are on to searching for alternatives, with the most plausible being an RV. Yes! That’s the life, no need to stop in Spain or anywhere else, we don’t need no roadside bathrooms — we’re mobile! And with the best of intentions, before you know it, a combination of cost benefit analyses and good ole common sense from Tom, and Jack provides us with some clarity. Race GFNY Deutschland, a train to the ancient French city of Avignon (where I once drove a car down a pedestrian alley — if you think the people on line behind me at the burger joint were pissed — wow), drive to Vaison la Romaine, meet Tom, climb the Ventoux, eat, sleep, drive to Marseilles, and Fly to Lisbon. It’s the perfect plan. Less driving, less expense, hit the highlights, and race both GFNY Deutschland and GFNY Portugal with maximum energy.

Some Travel Perspective

With as much travel as I do for work, you would think that you could burn out on travel outside of work, but I would never say that that’s the case. As was mentioned in a recent GFNY podcast (#humbled), I had never left the country until I was 40. I grew up in NY, spent 7 years in Seattle, and thought I knew everything there was to know. In 2007, just after my 40th birthday, I got the opportunity to go to Moscow on one of the most interesting and exciting adventures I had ever had. It completely changed my perspective in that, I had never seen another way of life, and also because, I thought NYC was the biggest city in the world. I found out very quickly, that I didn’t know anything. I was hungry for more, and in 2015 I combined cycling and travel via GFNY, and I was hooked.

In the shadow of Ventoux, I made new friends that I am still in touch with. The following year, I reciprocated, when a rider from Belgium came to NYC for GFNY, and we went out for a training ride together. We have been in touch about cycling and other topics ever since. And if you read the Italian Job, you know how many new friends we made in Italy, including this guy:

Mirko D.P. The assembly of the bike, and the special ceremonial exchange of garments over coffee with Vito Valentini.

Hey, Was this Headed Somewhere?

I am SO glad you asked! It’s absolutely headed somewhere. To Europe in fact. Where we plan to gather, race, eat, tell stories, and create new friendships, new experiences, new adventures. We are bringing folks that are new to GFNY, like my friend Jack. Jack and I go back 27 years. Recently reconnected, I told Jack about the GFNY Double-Double in an airport club a few weeks ago. I sent him the blogs, I told him the plan. He got back to me immediately (before I had even taxi’d out- “I am in”).

Jack and I after an evening of training for the GFNY Double-Double in Seattle

After an evening of training, and streaking through the I-90 bike tunnel in Seattle (an experience I thought I had caught on video but didn’t hit the right button DOH!) we headed into the sunset and the last climb up into the downtown area.

Me: Jack — how are you feeling, are you ready for the GFNY Double-Double, Deutschland, Portugal?

Jack: Maybe not this second, but in six weeks I sure will be.

Me: Are you excited?

Jack: You know what, I am. When we talked in the Alaska Boardroom that day, I thought, this is one of those life experiences you have to jump on, you have to do it when you are 54, so that you don’t regret not doing it when you are 64.

Me: the good news is, if you start doing it when you are 54, you will probably still be doing it when you are 64!

And We are Off to the Races

With that — I think it’s time to focus on the races. After all, that’s what is driving our trip. I won’t pretend that the European travel adventures I have had have not been rich experiences, but the races are the essential DNA in creating those experiences. In the next two editions, we will focus on the races, and the race organizers. With a little reversal, Portugal will be coming up first (published simultaneously with this article), and my conversations with Ana Paula Cavalcanti, an originator of GFNY Brazil, and now in Portugal getting set to produce the inaugural GFNY Portugal!

Read all about it here: https://medium.com/@chris.geiser/gfny-double-double-a-edi%C3%A7%C3%A3o-especial-de-portugal-7a5821af3c4d

by Chris Geiser

The Inaugural GFNY Portugal

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ana Paula Cavalcanti, the organizer of GFNY Portugal. A cyclist herself, after her experience in the 2014 GFNY Championship NYC, felt that she had to bring that experience to Brazil, and now that she is in Portugal, she is bringing the experience there. In the city of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera, the first ever GFNY Portugal will take place on September 9, 2018. A dream for Ana, realized through her love of cycling, her passion for the GFNY mantra of “Be a Pro for a Day” and her ability to connect the right people at the right time, and to leverage a regional love of cycling, to produce a top-tier cycling race for over 1,300 cyclists.

With the time differences between NY and Lisbon in play, I spoke to Ana via a Facebook messenger call while traveling home from a time trial in Upstate New York, on a Sunday afternoon, at close to 10PM Lisbon time. Ana’s patience for taking a call at that hour was very much appreciated. I wanted to make the best use of her time and to get right to it.

The Course

I asked Ana about the course — what are the challenging aspects, what were the high points?

The course has a beautiful combination of the ancient and the modern. While seeing castles and medieval history along the way, you will also pass one of the most modern and advanced universities in all of Europe. Riders will also get to experience the beautiful coast lines, and get their fill of climbing throughout.

How about the climbs? Are the climbs challenging?

Oh yes, there are climbs that punch up for 10–12% in some places, and take you through winding old European roads, as well as through beautiful forest land.

Our read of the course shows an undulating profile, where you are really never finished climbing, but with some fast, and some technical descents that will challenge the most experienced riders looking to get to the front of the pack.

What would you say the most challenging aspect of the course is?

For sure it will be the elements. The course goes through varied terrain, and while going in and out of shadows and forests, into sun, and down to the coast line where the wind will surely challenge every rider, keeping your temperature managed, and being able to ride against a headwind will be key to a great performance in the race. You will heat up on the climbs, and need to be ready to cool down some on the descents. 8,100 feet of climbing over 100 miles, you will be challenged throughout the course.

Support for the Race

Listening to the Daily Cafe with GFNY you can hear how the support of the town, region, and country of the race, is critical to it’s success. Portugal’s cycling culture is ready to roll out the red carpet for the event. Ana, tells us how the various governments are ready to support.

We will have professional Moto support from the same group that provide moto support for the Tour of Portugal (Volta a Portugal), they are the professionals who love cycling, and know how to provide safety during a race of this type. The Portuguese Cycling Federation is also in full support of the race. Riders should note, some, but all roads, will be closed to traffic, so we remind riders to obey our local traffic laws at all times.

We will also have amazing ambassadors for the race, such as mountain bike rider/teacher Beto Liber, who is an accomplished triathlete, mountain biker, road cyclist, and ultramarathoner. Daniela Reis, the Women’s Time Trial champion will also be an ambassador, as well as many of cycling’s elite from across Portugal and Europe.

I was grateful to gain some insight into the race via my phone call with Ana. As a follow up, and in preparation for writing this, I was excited to learn more about how she got involved with GFNY, and how the ideas for bringing GFNY to Brazil, and to Portugal came about. As it turns out, we both raced our first GFNY’s in 2014. That was my best GFNY result to date — but it’s early days yet. After speaking with Ana, I am focused on taking a deep dive into Portuguese culture and history, possibly learning to surf in Cascais (where do you think #SurfGFNY came from), and to ride and race the beautiful and historic roads of GFNY Portugal through Cascais and back to the ocean, where we will all celebrate a fantastic day of racing at the team villa!

Hopefully, we will see you there. If you are coming — please get in touch with me through Facebook, or through Medium, and we will get you connected with the rest of the group.

Next up — the GFNY Deutschland, Special Edition.

by Chris Geiser

But do not despair…It’s merely the End of the Race vehicle. This is where I found myself on May 20, 2018. While I had hoped I could race, circumstance, a culvert, a few non-displaced fractures, and there I was.

Camping Out…

The De Rosa | Gavia Cycling camp was in full swing, during the week leading up to GFNY Championship NYC. With crutches and a thermos full of coffee I took on the role of driving the team car, and providing support, directions, and the ability to drive by the riders yelling “ALLEZ! ALLEZ! FORZA RAGAZZI! If you ride like that on Sunday — the money is up the road and you are through! Let’s GO!” The combination of fake, yet polite laughter, and the telepathic thoughts of “slow that car down you bastard, and I will ALLEZ your face off!”. (This was especially true while they were climbing, but as usual, I digress).

Me and Mr. Wolf (Mirko), pausing for the nectar of the godz — a little coffee, this time NOT in the middle of a race.

Or maybe they liked having me around. It was tough to tell. The mind does wander to the smart phone while waiting for a half a dozen cyclists without motors to get up and down Bear Mountain. The posts from GFNY HQ kept getting more exciting, and missing out on the day just felt impossible. With three starts on the bridge, and one start with a walk of shame on the bridge, I would have been about to finish my 5th, and so the though of not being part of the race was a little tough to handle. Time to put the smartphone to good use.I reached out! (text thread is abridged to protect the innocent and may actually be written in subtext):

M: dude, crashed, out of race, lack purpose, direction, motivation to continue, need meaning on May 20.

U: dude, had a feeling this was coming. Can U drive

M: dude, driving with De Rosa | Gavia camp — right now — yes — can drive

U: end of race?

M: YES!

U: great

M: you made my day!

U: email coming!

So let it be texted, so let it be done. Was on my way to driving the End of the Race vehicle. For the uninitiated, the End of Race car sets a pace that is commensurate with the cutoff time. Drive over the bridge after the last riders, and keep a pace that reaches Fort Lee at 5:30 PM. For anyone you pass, you notify them that the race is moving on, and while they are OK to keep going and finish, all the support is now ahead of them. For those who race, this could be a sinking feeling.
In 2014, at 155lbs, I never saw the end of race vehicle. It wasn’t until 2015 when I saw it as I approached Mott Farm Road. It was coming in the opposite direction, toward Bear Mountain, as I was getting ready to start climbing again to the unforgiving back half over Mott Farm, Pinarello, and Cheesecote. My elapsed time that day, was 7 hours. That should give you an idea. In 2016, having a not great day, and not great season, I saw the car climbing Bear, as I was descending. I stopped in Ramapo that day and it took me 45 minutes to find myself and the will to continue. I signed up at Gavia to be coahed by Vito Valentini the next day. In spite of my difficulties in 2017, I missed the car again, before meeting the Bonk in Clarkstown and limping home.

The 2018 PR I was shooting for (10:30 would have been nailing it, but I wanted more)

Understanding the Race

With an early start time of well before 5AM, I met my partner for the day Cherie, at the foot of the bridge before we proceeded up the ramp to the start area. We were given supplies like water, gels, and instructions on how to brief the riders we would pass. At the bridge, we were kitted with the light bar, and we would roll as the convoy did, the last vehicle to cross the bridge.

Not racing, but proud to be wearing the GFNY logo. The bike leaning up against the car is Frosty! Frosty has spent a lot of time leaning on, or being carried by the car you see — also known as the Gavia Cycling White Whale. We warn that you not refer to the driver as the White Whale — it never ends well!

Cherie was a pro. This was not her first rodeo, her first GFNY, or her first time in the end of race car. She had a great demeanor for speaking to the riders, and a completely professional outlook on how the day would go. There was a lot to this, and a co-pilot was critical. In addition to talking to the riders, Cherie plotted what time we should be at each turn, had water ready for the riders, and kept communication with the command center active so that they knew where we were at all times.

As we commenced, it was mostly phoning in support. It was early, still a little cool and we couldn’t give any water away. It was all good and people were making their way. We had a number of Bear 50 riders we were seeing once the speed of the full course got going through the park and up to the first climb at Alpine. For me, I knew the course. Where the turns were, where the climbs were, and where riders may be in difficulty. As you might expect, the first forty or so miles were pretty uneventful, mostly flat tires, that we would identify for support when they were not already there (most of the time they were), or simple mechanicals that someone was already working on. It became very clear, very quickly, that some of the things that you take for granted while you are racing, are so professionally done. Hearing the motos and support cars communicate, made me feel like I was driving in a convoy in a World Tour race.

When you race any GFNY World event, you see motos, you see support wagons, you see the broom wagon (sometimes you and Massimo see it together), you see the rest stops, and you see the police. The police spend the entire day keeping the race moving, and keeping the race safe. When you slow down and take a look, you get to experience every detail, the sheer number of supporters, drivers, police officers, and volunteers that it takes to create an unbelievable experience for 5,000+ racers. It’s absolutely staggering.
The day was all about tight communication, talking to riders in difficulty, providing encouragement, and helping out however we could. As we got through Haverstraw and closer to Bear Mountain, the day started to heat up. The water that no one was interested in for the last 37 miles was suddenly a hit. We got up and down Bear as the gate was closed for Perkins. The last of the Bear 50 riders were on their way up, and the last few that got up before the cut-off were on their way down. They had successfully completed the challenge and were ready to bask in the spoils of their finisher medal and the knowledge that they had tackled a tough course.

It was time to move into the back half of the course. At various times during the training season, we spend time focusing just on this part of the course. The grades kick up with a maddening frequency providing a true test of your climbing capability. You have just climbed Baby Bear, Bear, back over Baby Bear, and now move toward Mott Farm Road. A sharp, steep, hairpin turn that introduces you to what the next 60–90 minutes of your life are going to be like. You continue to climb on Mott Farm before the respite of a quickie descent, a right turn, and then the sharp kicker of Queensboro and up to the quick descent and base of the Andrea Pinarello, with little respite before Cheescote. Knowing that was ahead led me to look at Cherie and say “I think it’s getting hotter, and even though the temperature is not that high, once you start climbing that sun will bleach you dry”. From the air conditioned purview of the white whale, we started to notice riders stopping here and there. With water and gels to provide we were able to provide some relief to riders that were running dry between rest stops.

On to the climbs. Some riders I knew, some riders I didn’t. The situation was explained, we were keeping a pace, and as we move on, so does the race. But as these brave riders heard the news the response was usually, “but I can finish, right?”.

Like the Grinch finding out that finishing GFNY doesn’t come from a store, perhaps finishing GFNY, thought the Grinch, means a little bit more.

I began to think of how grateful I should be for all the riding I have had the good fortune to do, all the races I have been able to complete. The good days, the bad days. Somehow, replaced at some point by the wattage, and the cadence, and all of the data that starts to take over your cycling life as you start to get deeper and deeper. But what does it really mean? In 2007 I did my first cycling event and barely finished. I had no data except for “I think I left the parking lot around 7, and I got back to the parking lot around 5”. I was never prouder. We all have goals, and every rider we talked to had their goals in site.

More and more as the roads tipped up, and got seemingly close to the sun, the water was flying out the windows of the whale. Folks were asking questions, and we were keeping a careful count. Punctures on the side of the road had been replaced by leg cramps — but they were not deterred from meeting their goals and finishing the race.
When we crossed the finish line, with a view over the dashboard of the kite that marked the end, I had a greater appreciation for GFNY than ever before. As a rider, it’s provided me with life lessons, a great coach, friends, and a second family. As a driver I was honored and privileged to see the sheer determination that develops in competing, completing, and coming back for more.