2. You will
begin to understand the metric system.
3. You will
start to comprehend temperatures in Celsius.
4. You will possess
money from many different countries.
5. You will
wonder why American money is one color.
6. Going to
the supermarket is an adventure.
7. You will
buy things at the supermarket that you don’t need because you think they look
cool.
8. You will
get tired.
9. You will
get sick.
10. You will
get tired of race food.
11. Waiters
will get you anything you want.
12. You will
miss Mexican/Chinese food.
13. Waiters
cannot get you a burrito (no matter how much you ask).
14. You will
get tired of hotels.
15. You will
wonder why windows have no screens.
16. There
are a lot of bugs in Europe.
17. You will
watch a lot of Eurosport.
18. You will
watch a lot of Mtv.
19. You will
see a lot of television that you don’t understand.
20. The
movies have an intermission.
21. There
will be one American song that you will hear incessantly.
22. You will
hear Euro-techno-pop-dance thumpity, thump at all hours of the day.
23. You will
want to buy a scooter.
24. You will
wonder why America doesn’t import small/nimble/economical/well designed/diesel
engined cars.
25. You will
wonder if you really need an SUV.
26. You will
rarely see an SUV.
27. You will
be amazed at how fast people drive.
28. You will
be amazed at how narrow the roads are.
29. Drivers
will not yell/honk at you while you train.
30. You will
motorpace. A lot.
31. Races
are fast.
32. Italian
races are faster.
33. You will
race a lot.
34. You will
record very high heart rates and wattage.
35. You will
spin out your 53-11 regularly.
36. You will
spin out your 53-11 uphill (in Italy).
37. You will
love any bed.
38. You will
cherish the act of sleeping.
39. You will
cherish the act of eating.
40. You will
love the bread.
41. You will
love anything for sale in a bakery.
42.
Everything in Italy tastes better.
43. You will
begin to understand a foreign language (or three).
44. You will
try and win races.
45. You will
try to not drop out of races.
46. You will
get dropped at races.
47. You will
hear rumors of drug use.
48. You will
think that some riders are on drugs.
49. You will
race in the most ferocious wind ever, every time.
50. You will
race on cobblestones.
51. Race
promoters will always find cobblestones.
52. Race
promoters will always find a really annoying hill (or mountain, or two).
53. Race
promoters will always find at least one dangerous turn.
54. Race
promoters will always play Queen’s “We are the champions”.
55. You will
have this song stuck in your head for the entire drive home.
56. Euros do
not like turning.
57. Euros
will fight for every centimeter of space.
58. You will
be cut off regularly.
59. You will
curse at other riders and they won’t understand you.
60. You will
crash.
61. You will
not fill out a release form for anything.
62. No one
will ever yell at you for not wearing a helmet.
63. You will
wear a long sleeve jersey even though it’s hotter than hell.
64. You will
wear leg warmers even though it’s hotter than hell.
65. You will
see riders racing on equipment that you wouldn’t train on.
66. These
riders will beat you regularly.
67. You will
learn to get by without things you once thought you needed.
68. People
you hardly know will help you.
69. People
you hardly know will wish you luck.
70. You will
see a lot of spectators at races.
71. European
women wear very tight clothing.
72. European
women wear transparent clothing.
73. Italian
women are the sexiest women on the planet.
74. You will
miss your girlfriend.
75. You will
be happy that you’re not racing in an industrial park, again.
Billy Innes, Team Specialized/ USA Cycling Junior Director
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