Working Dawgs Training Camp 2025 part A

[Jeffrey Rasch]

Bon jour mes amis,

I hope this email finds you all healthy and happy.  The committee is very excited to get our little camp going next week. The committee is happy that we are having a trial of two camps this year, as the long term forecast for next week looks iffy. A camp in May is the traditional time for the camp, but it carries the risk of less than ideal weather conditions. But as the committee says, the miles must be ridden, the form improved.

 As always, the rides will start at 5:30AM, we will meet in the alley between Owenhouse Cycling and Rockford Coffee Company. We will ride the 50 mile Working Dawgs training loop, the same loop every day. There is a ~ 6 mile section of gravel, please come prepared. There are many places to cut this loop short and return to town early if work, family or life are interfering with your training. We are usually back in town around 8:15-8:30.  Although this is not a no-drop ride, we do stop 3 times to let dropped riders catch back up and to regroup. The link below is for the loop.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36676391

The committee has good news, Luke Mauritzen has volunteered to be our ride leader on Monday May  12th. Un grand merci, Luke.  I will handle all emails, etc. I will see you all on Tuesday May 13th, because your humble domestique is a working dawg. 

The committee is pleased to announce that Family Promise is our local charity for fundraising this year. This is an organization that helps many families in the Gallatin Valley in their very important mission.

Please read below for a summary of their mission and goals 

https://www.familypromisegv.org

Our vision is  to end homelessness in the Gallatin Valley, one family at a time. 

Our mission to empower families experiencing housing insecurities to secure a safe, affordable home, a livelihood, and the chance to build a better future for their children

Bernard Hinault was a Working Dawg. Hopefully we don't have any weather similar to this past Monday's next week. 

read below about his epic victory in the 1980 Liege Bastogne Liege....aka.. "Niege Bastogne NIege". 

Niege = snow in French

“La Doyenne” (the Old Lady), Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the oldest surviving classic (first run in 1892) and carries with it the history and prestige of the five great cycling monuments. Every year Liege-Bastogne-Liege is a transition from the cobbled climbs of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix to the longer hills of the Belgian Ardennes. 

174 riders came to Liege on April 20, 1980 for the 66 th edition of La Doyenne. The riders arrived at the start line in a raging snow storm. Many in the media called it the worst Ardennes weather in the history of L-B-L. After one hour of racing more than half of the 174 starters had abandoned the race. It was merely survival for the remaining riders as the race passed through Bastogne and turned back towards Liege . 

Image ©: www.letour.fr 

Two riders, Rudy Pevenage (Ger) and Ludo Peeters (Bel), broke away from the frigid and shattering peloton and gained a 2'15” lead over the famed Stockeu climb. Always a front runner, Bernard Hinault (Fra) began to increase the pace on the Stockeu and broke clear with Silvano Contini (Ita) and Henk Lubberding (Bel). After a 20 km chase the Hinault group caught the leaders on the Haute Levee climb. With 80 snow covered kilometers on the road to Liege, Hinault rode straight through the leaders to plough a lonely path to the finish. 

Bernard Hinault increasing the pace (from Archive) 

The biting cold and pelting snow increased the pain of the difficult terrain on the roads back to Liege. Hinault's exposed face was stinging from the snow as he steadily increased his advantage on the peloton. The frozen Frenchman dismissed thoughts of abandoning while in the lead. Driven by immense pride and a potentially colossal moment in cycling history, Hinault ignored the pain and flew towards Liege . 

His Renault-Gitane teammates, long since abandoned, welcomed a near frostbitten Hinault from the warm confines of a Hotel along the finish straight in Liege. Across the finish line Bernard Hinault claimed his second Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory, a devastating 9'24” ahead of second placed Hennie Kuiper (Ned). 

True champions have an innate ability to suffer during a race. On April 20, 1980 Bernard Hinault suffered above and beyond normal limits to claim one of the greatest classic victories of ALL TIMES! 

I know you all will be in good hands with Luke leading the charge on Monday morning. 

Look for an email on Sunday evening.

I look forward to riding with you all on Tuesday Morning.

Your humble domestique

Jeff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjo0wTuDqYw