The blackest day in Merckx's career was in 1969, when he crashed in a derny race towards the end of the season. A pacer and a cyclist fell in front of Merckx's pacer, Fernand Wambst. Wambst and Merckx crashed. Wambst was killed instantly, and Merckx suffered concussion and fell unconscious. This accident cracked a vertebra and twisted his pelvis. Afterwards he said his riding was never the same, because he always be in pain, especially while climbing.
That same year, during the "Giro d'Italia", was found to have used drugs and disqualified. He cried in front of reporters and still protests his innocence. He argued that there were no counter-experts nor counter-analysis and that foreign supporters hated him. Further, he stated that the stage during which he was allegedly using drugs was an easy one, so there was no need to use drugs. The Belgian prince sent a plane to bring him to Belgium. This incident was one of the reasons why Merckx thought his first "Tour de France" victory, later that year, his best ever win
The end of his Tour-career came in 1975 (although he did compete in 1977 he finished 6th that year). That year, he attempted to win his sixth but became a victim of violence. Many Frenchmen were upset that a Belgian might beat the record five wins set by Jacques Anquetil. Merckx held the yellow jersey for eight days, which raised his record to 96 days, but during stage 14 a French spectator punched him in the liver. A later collision with the Danish rider Ole Ritter broke his jaw. Although he could not eat solid food and was barely able to talk, Merckx did not retire. During the last stage, he attacked leader Bernard Thevenet (but was caught by the peloton).
Merckx set these records during his career.
Merckx set the hour record in 25 October 1972. He covered 49.431 km at high altitude in Mexico City. The record was unbeaten until 1984, when Francesco Moser broke it using a specially designed bicycle. During the next 15 years, various racers improved the record to more than 56 km. However, because of the more and more strange designs of the bikes and position of the rider, in 2000 the UCI said a "traditional" bike must be used. When Chris Boardman had another go at Merckx's reinstated record in 2000, he beat it by slightly more than 10 metres at sea level. But, Merckx had raced a full road season winning the Tour, Giro and four Classics, while Boardman was a time trial specialist who had retired from road racing and had prepared specially for the 2000 Hour Record.
Having retired, Merckx has a bicycle factory and is a race commentator. He was coach of the Belgian national cycling team during the mid-90s, and part of the Belgian Olympic Committee. Merckx is still asked to comment as an authority on cycling. As such, he has also figured as special advisor for the recent UCI addition "Tour of Qatar" since 2002.
In May 2004, he underwent an oesophagus operation to cure the constant stomach ache which he suffered since he was a young man. He lost almost 30 kg in the process, and started cycling again, but only for leisure.
In 1967 Merckx married Claudine Acou. Merckx's mother asked the priest to celebrate the ceremony in French, a choice that ended up being a contentious issue in Belgium. They had two children: a daughter (Sabrina), and a son (Axel) who was a professional cyclist for Team T-Mobile.
Despite this early incident, Merckx is a perfect ambassador to Belgium (because he does not support Flanders more than Wallonia, but supports the unity of the country). Because of this, he came 4th in the Walloon version of the "Greatest Belgian" contest in 2005, and third in the Flemish (3rd) version..
In 1996 the Belgian king gave him the title of baron. In 2000 he was chosen Belgian "Sports Figure of the Century".
Merckx is known as a quiet and modest person. Many of his former helpers have worked in his bicycle factory and join him during recreational bike tours.
Merckx has condemned doping (he tested positive twice in his career). At the same time he has been quick to point out that cycling is unfairly treated when compared to other sports. In the 1990s, he became a friend of Lance Armstrong and supported him when he was accused of drug use, stating he "believed what Lance told him than what appeared in newspapers". After Armstrong won his third Tour de France, Merckx predicted he would go on to win as many as seven.
Merckx twice tested positive for doping in his career. Because he has admitted doing this publicly the city of Stuttgart, Germany did not want to invite him to the world cycling championships being held in the city in 2007
Monstera
Monstera is a genus of flowering plants. There are about 60 species in the genus. The genus belongs to the family Araceae. Originally, the plants occur in the tropical regions of Central and South America.
The plants are herbs or evergreen vines. They climb other trees. They can grow to a height of about 20m. The plants also have aerial roots. These can act as hooks on branches of the tree that the plant is climbing. They grow down into the ground to support the plant. The leaves are leather, dark green, and often have holes in them. The flowers grow on a special inflorescence called a spadix. Some species have edible fruit.
Many people grow some of these species (esp. "Monstera deliciosa") indoors as a houseplant. "Monstera deliciosa" is sometimes also grown for its fruit, which tastes somewhere between a banana and a pineapple.
In some parts of the world (other than Tropical America), some plants started to grow in the wild. This is the case for example in Portugal, on Madeira, Morocco, some parts of India and Malaysia as well as in Florida.
Vine
A vine is a climbing plant which use stems or runners. These runners trail on the ground, and will climb up when it is possible. It is a growth habit or life habit which makes use of trees to reach light in natural habitats.
In the United Kingdom, the term "vine" applies almost exclusively to the grapevine, whereas the term "climber" is used for all climbing plants. The grapevine, genus Vitis, carries berries which can be made into wine. In the United States, all climbing plants are called vines or ivies or sometimes creepers (like the Virigina Creeper).
Most vines are flowering plants. These may be divided into woody vines or lianas, such as wisteria, kiwifruit, and common ivy, and herbaceous (nonwoody) vines, such as morning glory.
Aerial root
An Aerial root is a root which is above the ground. Different plants have grown them. They can have different functions:
Tropical wave
Tropical waves, or easterly waves, also known as African easterly waves in the Atlantic Ocean, are a type of atmospheric trough, an extended area of moderately low air pressure, leaning north to south, which move from east to west across the tropics creating areas of cloudiness and thunderstorms. West-moving waves can also form from the tail end of frontal zones in the subtropics and tropics and may be called to as easterly waves, but these waves are not properly called tropical waves; they are a form of inverted trough sharing many characteristics with fully tropical waves. All tropical waves form in the easterly flow along the southern side of the subtropical ridge or belt of high pressure which is north and south of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Tropical waves are normally carried westward by the prevailing easterly winds along the tropics and subtropics near the equator. They can lead to the formation of tropical cyclones in the north Atlantic and northeast Pacific Oceans. They can also lead to tropical storms which can also lead to hurricanes.