Dad was well out numbered, Mum, Jules, Mand and me filling the Mercedes with distinctly non-male odours. Jules was getting along surprisingly well with our new house guest – just as well as after Japan she’s charged with herding Mand to school in Bonn. Of course, it’s not far up to Altenahr, it takes nearly as long to walk from the car park to the Krone!
Mand kept giving me weird looks as we followed the rest of clan Bond onto the bridge.
“What?”
“Um, nothing.”
“Come on, what’s up?”
“You.”
“What about me?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on Mand, something’s eating you.”
“This girl stuff, it’s really you isn’t it?”
“Course it is worst luck, I told you at Gran’s didn’t I?”
“Yeah but like in the summer, it was like you were doing it kind of as a lark?”
“Lark!” I pretty much shouted.
“Come on you two, stop lollygagging,” Mum called back to us.
“Coming,” I called back, “lark, I wish. So what brought on this revelation?”
”You did,” she paused, “when I got to your house, I was expecting to find the Drew that was about in the summer. Instead there’s this girl, no shyness or sign of boy whatsoever, looking and acting just like, well, any girl our age.
“I did say,” I pointed out.
“Sorry, Drew, it just all seemed too far fetched to be real.”
“Gaby.”
“Eh?”
“Drew’s gone, everyone knows me as Gaby here, Drew is just a front for racing and even that ends tomorrow,” I sighed.
“Your dad mentioned something about tomorrow, what’s the crack?”
“Watch the steps, they can be quite slippery,” I advised as we joined the others at the hotel.
Dad had reserved us a table, it can get quite busy on Saturday evenings. We were soon seated; it was a corner booth, guess who got the corner seat?
“Mand was asking about tomorrow, Dad,” I prompted.
“Tomorrow,” he started, “is the last Jüngere League race of the season, most of Germany’s top junior riders will be there. I put an entry in for you Amanda but you don’t have to ride.”
“Me? Ride?”
“It’s what you’ve come for,” I pointed out.
“Getränke?” our waitress enquired.
“Zwei weiss bier, cola light, Sprite, Amanda wie trinkt?” Dad asked
“Eh?”
“What do you want to drink?” I translated.
“Er coke?”
“So, zwei weiss bier, eine cola light, eine Sprite und eine cola max.”
“Ja bitte,” Dad confirmed.
“Danke,” our waitress replied before leaving us with the menus.
“So you fancy riding?” Dad queried.
“I wasn’t expecting to race so soon.”
“Well you’ve got some form, it’ll be good experience, Tali and Gret are coming down.”
“But I’ve not got any Apollinaris kit,” she pointed out, “just my Catford stuff.”
“Course you have, it’s back at the house,” Mum interjected.
“They’ll keep on until you give in,” Jules opined.
“Okay I guess,” Mand submitted.
“Now that’s settled what are we eating?”
It’s sort of in cycling folklore that the top riders eat steak before a race and who am I to argue? From past experience here at the Krone I decided on the steak in pepper sauce served with ‘Bratkartoffeln’. Mand needed help with the menu; well you didn’t think she’d amazingly become fluent since arriving did you? She ended up with the pork medallions, you can’t go too far wrong with that.
“What are you two up to tomorrow?” Dad enquired of Mum and my sibling.
“Getting some overdue mother daughter time,” Mum supplied.
“We’re going to Centro, they’ve got an open Sunday,” Jules put in.
“It’s a huge shopping centre Mand, the girls were on about going there Christmas shopping but it’s like over two hours on the train and you have to get a bus when you get to Oberhausen,” I mentioned.
“Couldn’t you go some other Sunday, leave early or something?” Manda suggested.
“It’s not open.”
“Course it is, those places are open all the time,” Mand stated.
“Not in Germany, you sometimes get a special opening on the odd Sunday but it’s rare.” Jules advised.
“Looks like I’ve got a lot to learn, so if the shops are shut on Sundays what do people do?”
“Gab works in the bakery,” Goth Gurl told her.
“Cleaning or something?”
“Not likely, I’m in charge of coffee.”
“But I thought you just said the shops are closed on Sunday?”
“The bakery’s open from eight till one, I usually hang out with Con in the afternoon.”
“Watching that stupid Tatort thing,” Jules interjected.
“It’s not stupid!”
“Well it’s hardly realistic is it?”
“And Corry is?”
“Girls!” Dad admonished.
We’ve argued on the subject before, it’s one reason I usually watch Tatort at Cons.
We weren’t late getting home; I was however glad I’d put some tights on as it was turning a bit chilly as we walked back to the car.
“Don’t be too late going to bed you two,” Dad ordered as I ushered Mand up stairs.
“No, Dad,” I agreed.
“Night, kids!” Mum called out.
“Nite.”
“Goodnight,” Manda added.
“Come on,“ I urged.
“I’m not sure about tomorrow, Gab.”
“You’ll be alright, it’s not like Switzerland, more sedate.”
“Last week I was riding a 3,V, J,” she mentioned.
“You were okay riding with the others in Switzerland, it’ll be fine.”
“If you say so.”
“You’re gonna be racing in Japan next week,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, I can’t believe I’m even going.”
“Me either.”
“So what are you doing this week?”
“Mostly hanging with your mum I think, I need to get registered at this school place and your mum was on about some sort of train ticket?”
“We can do that online,” I suggested.
“So what do you do, apart from school and riding?”
“Mondays it’s cheering, Garde on Friday night, nothing much the rest of the time.”
“Garde, that’s that dance thingy you told us about the other week yeah?”
“Yeah, I’m not on the regular team but it’s a good workout.”
“Think I’ll give it a miss.”
“You’ll have to meet the gang, maybe Tuesday afternoon.”
“Me no speak German!”
“‘S alright, neither do they,” I chuckled, “seriously though we do English at school so we can all get by.”
“I hope the rest of my stuff arrives okay.”
“You’ve got more coming?”
“Course, I could hardly bring my computer and shoe collection on the plane could I?”
We chatted for a while longer; I was surprised how late it was when I headed up to my nest.
The sky had barely lightened to pre dawn when I woke minutes before the alarm was due. Why am I awake at this time? My kit bag was already packed, no harm in checking it though, shoes, helmet, mitts – yep, looks like everything – ooo, licence, yup. I padded downstairs and knocked on Manda’s door.
“You up, Mand?” I whispered.
“Urgh.”
“‘S time to get up.” For once it’s not me oversleeping.
“Get up,” she repeated.
“Breakfast in five minutes.”
“Yeah.”
I descended to the kitchen to find Dad already sat with his coffee.
“Amanda up?”
“She’s awake,” I allowed, “you need help with the bikes?”
“Already loaded, everything in your bag?”
“Yup,” I confirmed before taking a long drag of my coffee.
“Mornin’” Mand greeted us a few minutes later.
“You want coffee?”
“Is there any juice?”
Maddy Bell © 25.11.2014
Comments
Was ist das?
>> Last week I was riding a 3,V, J << ?
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
an explanation
Although the categories vary from country to country, cycle racing is run in different categories depending on age, ability and gender. Often these categories ride against each other but for different prizes, juniors (J - under 18's - strictly speaking under 16's are classed as Juv or juvenile and only allowed to compete on closed roads/circuits) and veterans (V - over 35s) being the most common. Away from the pro ranks all women ride in one category (L) but men have several levels, at the time of the story the UK had categories 1,2 and 3, with 3 being the lowest. (the system has since changed to better reflect abilities with extra levels at top and bottom)
So Mand was riding events with vets, juniors and the least able men (there being too few women in most areas to have their own event).
That pretty much gives a simplified version of how it's set up for racing. In other spheres like the sportive/RTF events they ride all categories ride together regardless of age, gender, ability although there may well be some award structure relating to age/gender. The only restrictions will be in place to protect younger riders from over exertion so under 16 are usually restricted to events under 150km, 100km for racing unless they have special dispensation.
In the story I have used a bit of artistic licence at times with longer distance events than strictly they would ride and bumping the Wunderkind and pals up a bit in terms of the events they ride. In reality the guys would not yet be riding junior events like the Swiss tour, but hey, it is fiction!
Hope things are a bit clearer now
Mads
Madeline Anafrid Bell