On
and
Off
the
Road
by
Chuck
Coyle
-
7-Up/Nutrafig
Team
7-Up/Nutrafig
Team
Website
After
being
on
the
road
for
over
a
month
I
couldn’t
wait
to
get
back
to
Boulder,
relax,
catch
up
with
my
friends
and
pay
those
bills
that
have
been
piling
up.
After
now
being
home
for
less
than
a
week
I
can’t
get
back
to
racing
soon
enough.
I
am
going
through
some
type
of
masochistic
pain
withdrawal.
At
first
I
wasn’t
that
bummed
out
about
not
doing
Redlands
but
now
I
find
myself
living
vicariously
through
the
rest
of
my
teammates
and
friends
who
are
there.
Over
the
last
couple
days
I
have
been
scouring
the
internet
for
results
and
calling
my
teammates
and
friends
who
are
in
Redlands
to
get
the
inside
scoop
on
what’s
really
happening
and
get
up
to
date
on
the
current
state
of
affairs.
I
was
on
the
phone
last
night
with
the
guys
celebrating
their
much-deserved
win
in
the
Crit
at
Redlands.
Charles
Dionne
has
been
riding
like
a
rock
star
and
deserved
nothing
less.
It
was
also
a
great
birthday
present
for
him.
I
may
have
to
treat
him
to
some
popcorn
when
I
see
him
in
a
few
days
(inside
joke).
My
good
buddy
Alex
who
rides
for
Prime
Alliance
killed
himself
during
Friday’s
road
race
helping
chase
down
a
break
that
did
not
include
their
GC
leader
Chris
Horner.
Alex
e-mailed
me
yesterday
and
said
that
he
had
done
5500KJ’s
of
work
during
Friday’s
race.
That
means
that
he
burned
over
6000
calories
in
only
4:30
hours
(and
I
was
proud
of
my
3600KJ
that
I
did
today)!
Although
it
would
be
nice
to
be
there
I
don’t
think
it
would
be
that
much
fun
to
work
like
he
had
to.
It
is
a
strange
feeling
knowing
that
my
teammates
are
out
there
suffering,
hitting
their
physical
(&
mental)
limits
every
day
while
racing
and
the
best
thing
that
I
can
do
right
now
to
prepare
for
the
Sea
Otter
is
to
rest.
I
feel
like
I
should
be
out
slamming
it
just
so
I
feel
as
if
I
am
doing
something
for
the
team.
Today
was
the
only
day
where
my
coach
gave
me
the
go
ahead
to
uncork
it
a
little
bit
during
Boulder’s
infamous
group
ride.
Other
than
I
just
need
to
stay
off
my
legs,
what
a
job!
--Chuck Coyle
