I couldn't resist this post about Bernard Hinault. Belgium Knee Warmers is always good for a classic video and their latest offering is no exception. What got my attention was that it is the Paris-Roubaix, one of the races I'm looking forward to watching for the first time. Having just being introduced to the whole racing scene it has been a baptism of fire trying to understand all the terminology and even the faintest of knowledge of the history behind these epic races. Being a mountain biker my fist taste was the TDF about two years ago, I watched it on and off not to interested. Now I can't wait for a race to show on the tellie. Well back to the Paris-Roubaix!! The second thing about the video was that it was the race that took place in the year of my birth. Technically I was still swimming in amniotic fluid at this stage, probably kicking around preparing those meat stick's for their eventual use. Its great to see these old video's, the way the camera still bounces around and the team cars that now fill the roads with their carbon monoxide but were the cream back in the day. The riders also don't where helmets which is pretty weird watching as they still came off the bike as you see in the video. I also can't believe that they were going that much slower than the guys today so cracking a skull must have been a real bother for the pro's. The last little tidbit of info is the winner of the '81 race, Bernard Hinault. I didn't know much about him but after reading a bit I came across his name in the peleton, Le Blaireau. The tenacity of the rider earned him to be named after a badger so I was quite happy to share a nickname with one of the best for a similar tendency that I had while playing hockey. So this is dedicated from one badger to another:
