Frank Vandenbroucke and the Love Bubble
The Love Bubble - Kind People Are My Kind of People
From day one of the AIDS Lifecycle, people in camp will talk about the Love Bubble. This refers to the safe, positive, kind, and all inclusive vibe that hovers around all things ALC. The Love Bubble is real. I can not think of any negative moment throughout the entire week. People were understanding, with a can do attitude, and going out of their way to help each other.
A La Vandenbroucke
I just finished reading God is Dead: The Rise and Fall of Frank Vandenbroucke, Cycling’s Great Wasted Talent. Frank was an amazing Belgian cyclist, whose legs, when he was mentally focused and stayed off the drugs, could go forever. He had an abundance of energy. He also suffered from an ailing knee from a car accident in his early youth.
I thought often about Frank on my ride to LA. On day two, my knee started the hurt a bit. Thanks to the ALC sport medicine team, this was remedied swiftly with three pieces of strategically placed Rock Tape. Amazing!
My cycling capacity grew throughout the week. I had never ridden 80+ mile days consecutively. I wondered how my body would cope. As some riders in one of the grand tours experience, I got stronger every day. My training and tapering surely had something to do with this. I felt, even on that long 109 mile day, that my legs could keep going on. I also moved from following the pack (in dutch: wieltjes zuigen), to pulling from the lead, with my node in the wind. Let it rip! I even joked as we neared Santa Monica: “Who’s up for continuing to San Diego?”.
I rode my first AIDS Lifecycle a la Vandenbroucke (in his clean and sober days that is).