With the 2011 Tour de France in the books, it is easy to let a post-race malaise set in as we wait patiently for 2012 to get here so we can cheer on our favorite riders once again. This is the time that we console ourselves with our own long rides while day dreaming about our own days in the Yellow Jersey. Fortunately, the post-Tour cycling coverage over at Outside Online can help ease the pain of not getting our daily fix of Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett.
First up, Outside says that we can fight our annual "Tour withdrawal" by drooling over all the new bikes that made their debut there and will be arriving in our stores soon. In this article, they preview some of those hot new bikes, which includes offerings from Cannondale, Cervelo, Pinarello, and more. These are state of the art bikes, and as you would expect, they come with hefty price tags. Some of them are approaching $10,000, which is out of the price range for most cyclists, but it is still fun to dream. Plus, by the time the 2012 Tour is over, features from these bikes will start to trickle down to something a bit more within our budgets.
Late July also happens to mark the start of RAGBRAI, one of the biggest cycling events in the world .The name stands for the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, and each year more than 20,000 riders take part in the annual event. The ride kicked off this past weekend, and even Lance Armstrong dropped by for a spin. Outside takes a look at some of the statistics from this event, which is hugely popular back in my home state. For instance, more than 700 cases of beer are sold nightly at the camps for the event, making RAGBRAI as much of a party as it is a challenge. There are also an estimated 1500 support vehicles following the Peloton as well. It is a fun, not-too-serious event that I'd recommend to any cyclist.
Finally, have you ever wondered what kind of food the riders eat to keep them powering on the road for 3+ weeks? Outside also has one of the favorite recipes of Team HTC-Highroad. The simple, yet tasty-sounding, Potato Gnocchi Tourmalet includes two pounds of potatoes, eggs, zucchini, garlic, and more, and is guaranteed to power you through a mountain stage. Sounds good to me!
So how do you combat the Post-Tour Blues?