The Lanterne Rouge

The Lanterne Rouge is the name for the competitor who finishes in last place in a cycling race.

I thought this would be a fitting name for my blog, as I spend a lot of time off the back of the bunch. This gives me plenty of time for reflection on my cycling abilities, as well as the ways of the world.

The Giro d'Italia is on at the moment, and at last they reached the mountains. After 14 boring stages the race looks to have livened up at last. This week has some incredibly tough stages, culminating with a time trial through Milano. Could go down to the wire. Now if only SuperSport would find a highlights package with some decent commentary...!

I got out on my own bike on Saturday, which is getting tougher to do as the winter months approach. My EMBA license has arrived at last, so I headed for the cane fields on my MTB. Awesome morning, as only Durban can be at this time of year. Cool and crisp as the sun came up, and warming up nicely, which is more than I can say for myself. I just had no legs at all. The bunch looked like they were heading for Balito for some last minute training before the Dusi Mfula next weekend, and soon disappeared into the early morning mist. 12 km's in I stopped chasing, and returned to the parking lot with my tail between my legs. I guess there are worse ways to spend a morning...

Thanks for reading.