OLI’S BLOG: Where Did That Branch Come From?

Today Charlie Boy and I bled during Stage Two. For me, it was in the proverbial sense – where every pedal stroke felt like having my fingernails pulled – while for my partner … well … poor old Charlie Boy bled in the literal sense.

Photo: Oakley

Deep in the pain cave, and with only 15km to go, he rode full tilt into a low lying branch that precariously rested across a dimly lit section of single track at head height, most likely dislodged by the gale force winds that caused most of our proverbial bleeding. On the bright side the branch hit Charlie on his Giro XAR which absorbed most of the impact.

With me dangling off the back of our group of three teams, I was unawares that he had even hit the branch. It was only when Nic Lamond passed me his blood soaked Radarlocks that I realised there was something wrong. Charlie Boy is not the kind of guy to look for sympathy so a snort and shrug was all I got in reply to asking whether he was ok to continue.

We did manage to lighten the mood by cracking a few jokes about how he was starting to smell like an abattoir as the blood on his shirt started to dry. How inconsiderate, please go and ride at the back we told him. Considering he is known to apply moisturiser  hair product from time to time, it was also noted that the severity of the gash on his head was most likely due to the silky smooth and soft nature of his scalp. How we managed to laugh given the circumstances, I’m not quite sure.

Jokes aside, Charlie Boy proved himself to be one hellava tough customer. It was incredible to see just how calm he was under fire, as if nothing had happened. I knew that those hard yards I had put in for him during the stage were rewarded ten times over when he looked across at me, smiled and said ‘Pinner, let’s rock and roll bru.” The blood was still wet with sweat.

Remarkably we have moved up from 31st spot to 25th in the overall GC. We ain’t leaving anything out there. Every day is a case of go ’til you blow.

This, my friends is what being part of a partnership is all about.

Ciao ciao

Oli

post from sitemap