Nine months is both a long time and a short time. On one side of the coin, if you’re recently pregnant or have a pregnant wife, girlfriend or secret lover, then nine months will fly by in a whirlwind of nervous excitement, logistical planning, learning and equipping yourself with the necessary skills and equipment for the impending arrival, although none of this may be the case if you’re in the secret lover category (in which case possibly a ticket to South America would be advised, although the planning and skills will still be required).
On the other side of the coin, nine months can feel exceedingly long, especially if you’ve managed to get yourself an entry to the Trans Provence. The preparations may stir similar feelings and fall into the same categories as the pregnancy scenario (though hopefully without the belly). The nervous excitement exists, so too the preparation, acquisition of new skills, and of course some new equipment is in order, along with the logistics of making the whole thing happen!
Along with a handful of other Kiwis, I managed to snag myself one of the highly sought-after entries to said event next September. Nine months can’t go quick enough!
Not sure what the Trans Provence is all about? The below video should pretty well sum it up…
MAVIC® TRANS-PROVENCE 2012 ::: HIGHLIGHTS from Trans-Provence on Vimeo.
Who am I? 32 year old desk jockey, not much hair left (even on the legs), a penchant for all things bike, 17 years on a mountain bike (DH, 4X & XC), periods of BMX, recently lots of road, a few skids on a fixxaaay to stay hip, and a cross bike in winter. I’ve done countless races on all those bikes but victories are countable on fingers and toes; terms like “jack of all trades, master of none” and “midpack fodder” come to mind.
Over the next nine months I’ll be creating my Trans Provence prep list and one by one checking things off, with the final goal to arrive at the start line in Sisteron, Provence (France), fit, healthy, prepped and ready to do some shredding! Along the way I’ll be rolling out this column, writing about anything that may seem interesting, or it could potentially take the shape of a soap box to get something off my chest, although that may be more at home on a Facebook page. I’ll take my chances until you start complaining in the comments! Hopefully we can get some of the other Kiwi Trans Provence riders to offer some insight into their prep along the way.
Keep it locked…
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blog: Theblower.co.nz
twitter: @lesterperrynz
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Sweeet! Just watched the vid
Good luck Lester !!!
Awesome man…great vid too. Really enjoyed the 2012 coverage as the race progressed. Only 72 riders last year? Not a big field so you did well to score an entry this year. Have fun with the prep. Now you’ve got an excuse to upgrade that haro! Look forward to the updates.
Great, I’ll live my Trans Provence dreams vicariously through you…
Don’t make me look bad.
Congrats on sneaking a place! I am in a similar boat but I have a month less time… Gestation time of 8 months – the Trans-Savoie beckons me! Time to dig out a wall planner and ticking off days with a sharpie while all the while cutting down on beers and burgers and upping the miles! Look forward to seeing how your preparation progresses.