Late last year, a very polite French gentleman messaged me on the social medias inquiring as to whether he could possibly reprint some of the race stories I've written for gravelcyclist.com for his international online cycling magazine Spotzle - in French. I'd encourage you to use the translate button to read the variety of interesting stories from around the world on his website, the stories of rides, trips, and races from all over are fascinating. Recently I went back and read through my own, curious as to how the translations worked out. It was too good not to pull some snippets and post here. Enjoy.
Dirty Kanza, 2018: https://spotzle.cc/listing/dirty-kanza-2018-lannee-du-vent-et-du-bonk/
"even if I drive at 12 km / H, I have exceeded a lot of people, some lay in the ditch, close to abandonment or a nap, or both."
"My bike was tuned to the onions and prepared in advance with carefully chosen equipment,"
"I spotted a jar of pickles and some fruits with personalized messages for the race."
"I pulled a guy on a "Fat Bike" who insisted that I roll harder than him. It does not matter. Then, I accumulated an XY chromosome train behind me for about 8 Km before shaming them so that they roll a little too in the wind. Seriously, will you let a woman of 50 Kg shelter you all day?"
"Thanks to my friends for the support and thank you for stopping me from eating a plastic wrapper."
"And anyway, I had drunk enough coffee enough not to suffer an IMMINENT DESTRUCTION."
Elrod's Cirque, 2018: https://spotzle.cc/listing/elrods-cirque-gravel-race-2018/
"Towards the km 148, I found the initial course. My bike made 50 % noise as if death itself had taken over it and 50 % as if my transmission was maintained by paper clips.Another apocalyptic story from Adrienne Taren."
Spotted Horse, 2018: https://spotzle.cc/listing/st-charles-spotted-horse-gravel-ultra/
"I had yellow Gore overshoes, and after the last few hours struggling in the mud, I was about to officially declare them dead at checkpoint 2. In any case, they were not even covering my feet, which was caught in a sort of sarcophagus of earth."
"I thought "victory is near"! Because now, the ball bearings have given up!"
"There was this strange moment, probably because we had been on our bike for many hours, where I asked Cory if he would be upset to be run over by a deer in the middle of the night."
"I think I asked if I could lie on the road, right there, and drive the rest of the way to the cellar. I think the answer was no."
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