Some interesting notes....

I have a little book - 'The cycling miscellany' - it contains snippets of interesting facts and information - I'll post a few to give you the idea....

Training.....

Jacques Anquetil (5 time winner of The Tour de France)
Jacques would plan a route of around 75 miles taking in as few hills as possible. he would send out someone in a car driving at a steady 34mph - then he would keep pace with it - no slowing down, if he got bored he would take the lead! Most of his teammates would be unable to keep up the pace after about 15 miles - Anquetil was said to lose 6.5lb on each ride.
On his race preparation Jacques said "A few whiskies, a few cigarettes and a woman"

Eddy Merckx (the greatest racing cyclist of all time)
"If the training is hard the racing is easy"

Fausto Coppi - Italian champion
"Ride your bike, ride your bike, ride your bike"


Hydration.....

"It was so hot that the tar was melting under our tyres. I was completely dehydrated. I ended up stopping beside a farm and I lapped up the dirty water from a cattle trough. And that's how I got foot and mouth disease. It's usually only cows who get that"
Raphael Geminiani (Tour de France stage winner)

Pain....

To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain... at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal or a town sign - if you never confront pain you're missing the essence of the sport. Without pain there is no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment - and no deep down joy. Might as well be playing tiddlywinks" - Scott Martin

Love life...

" A real professional concentrates exclusively on his job. When I was winning, I permitted myself one sexual encounter a year" Alfredo Binda (5 times Giro d'Italia winner)