“Look at them. They’re like goldfish out there'” each one sucking air as they “turn themselves inside out”. The “peloton makes natural selections” as it “stretches across the road like a long sausage”. And, at the front…well, he’s “an absolute beast of a man”.
“His face giving nothing away. He is in complete concentration but I imagine that his ears are twitched back just listening for the whistle of a tire on the pavement -- the sound of an attack.”
The ride would be arduous and the weather at times was “something of a damp squid”, but the boys were “feeling quite frisky today”. With the lightning behind them, all but one rider mindfully repeats "Don't look back. You know what's going on back there, because you just left." Focus on the task at hand.
That lone rider gives the sky ‘the look’ as if to say “well, are you coming or not and the answer is NOT!”.
Up ahead, the “crowd is cheering for their pin-up boys”! The lead-out man knows “he's done his job at the front and now he must concentrate on getting his enormous carcass up the rest of the way.”
Despite this being “a pedigree group of men, they are holding on by the skin of their shorts”. “It’s a viciously cruel sport”.
It was only a few kms ago that they were “passing a field of white cows. This region…is known for its bovine....Of course, none of that matters to any of the riders, except that they might like a nice steak at the end of day."
But the rider at the back knows what that means. He is “crawling all over his bike” to stay on the next rider’s wheel. He knows that the title of lantern rouge means that he’ll be doing dishes and clean-up after dinner. That’s enough incentive to be “stamping on those pedals” and stay with the lead pack.
With the finish line just around the corner, “the shadow boxing is over”. Their “grimace is turning into a smile now”. “The crowds are going berserk”
These “riders know how to win in style” and they have “added another page to this fairy tale that just keeps going on”.
What a Tour de Muskoka! This is “not a made for television event”. You need to ride it to truly appreciate it!
Today, each rider wears a badge of honour with some bragging rights…”tomorrow he’ll wear little more than a pained expression"
Forget about tomorrow…where’s the BBQ?!
L to R : Dave, Paul, Mark, Martin (photo by Stacey)
special props to Liggettfan site for compiling so many great Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwan quotes.
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