Well, I'm home safe and sound. Body felt pretty good afterwards...maybe not ride another 85 miles good, but good none the less.
De Ronde - I was joined by my Irish friend Ian, who talked me into this, & his mate Mick, our English driver. The rest our the gang was Tony (RVV '07) Eusketel fanatic & Paul, our UK host & London black cab driver. I was chastized all weekend for riding an off the peg American bike, but I had to remind the boys that a Trek has won the TdF 8 of last 9 years. I will admit Colnagos & Pinarellos are "sexy", they're just not in BBP's budget.
I was signed up for the 140 km sportive version. This included 15 of 17 climbs the PROs would ride the next day. I was hoping for '07 conditions (60 degrees +), but it is Belgium in April. We drove from Brugge to Ninove for our start. It was between 36-40 degrees, not bad considering. We rode the first 19 miles pretty comfortably. Then we hit the Molenberg. My first experience with the dreaded Kaissen. The cobbles are rough, misaligned & have gaps that would swallow a 25 tire. The climb came to an abrubt stop as a knucklehead on a recumbent fell over in the first 25 meters. Thank god for mtb shoes...I hiked to the top & rode on. The next obstacle was a 2500m section of cobbles. What an experience. Pros use big gear and power through, BBP used 34-20 something bouncing along for over a mile at maybe 10-14mph. Back on the tarmac I greet Ian & all I can do is laugh. Off we go for a killer threesome...if only.
To add to the fun, after almost 2 hrs of riding it begins to rain, hard at times. Remeber it is in the low 40's at best. This keptup for almost 3 hrs...ahhh Belgium.
The first of the 3 is the Oude Kwaremont, 2,200m, 1,600m cobble, max 11.6%, avg 4%.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/oudekwaremont.html
I rode the majority, only coming off in first few hundred meters because of two stopped cars. The Belgies are great. I'm sure an ugly American driver would have beeped, screamed at, etc. the hundreds of cyclists that blocked his way. He just waited to drive off when he could. Next was the Paterberg, 360m, all cobble, 20.3% max, 12.9% avg.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/paterberg.html
No chance on the Paterberg. Steep,wet & slimey, & filled w/ bikers. I rode as far as I could, then walked the majority of the climb. This was the lead up to the legendary Koppenberg, 600m, 22% max, 11.6 avg.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/koppenberg.html
At this point I was feeling the effect of the previous climbs. My goal was to ride until I reached a roadblock of cyclists, or I reached the top. The Koppenberg is an awe inspiring climb. I had to put a foot down on my own, just couldn't climb it. FYI, Pros walked it this year.
So that is the first 5, only 10 to go. The Belgian countryside is beatiful. Narrow country roads. rolling hills, and quaint villages. How fitting, hills in Flemish is Helling. There were only 2 I was concerned with now, the last 2. The Muur -Kappelmuur (Muur van Geraardsbergen, Muur de Gramont). My disclaimer is that is is probably 500m of climbing to reach the official start of the Muur. 475m all cobble, 19.8%max, 9.3% avg.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/muur-kapelmuur.html
I was in the 34-27 on the early part of the tarmac climb. I continued to grind away, making the right onto the cobbles. Low and behold BBP climb the ENTIRE effin' Muur. I did look at the computer and saw 3.5 mph. Oh well, I DID IT. There are a few epic cycling feats, and this has to be one of them. I have done something on the bike that the Legend hasn't (with his aversion to overseas travel I may hold the title of only Hebe to climb the Muur).
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/oudekwaremont.html
I rode the majority, only coming off in first few hundred meters because of two stopped cars. The Belgies are great. I'm sure an ugly American driver would have beeped, screamed at, etc. the hundreds of cyclists that blocked his way. He just waited to drive off when he could. Next was the Paterberg, 360m, all cobble, 20.3% max, 12.9% avg.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/paterberg.html
No chance on the Paterberg. Steep,wet & slimey, & filled w/ bikers. I rode as far as I could, then walked the majority of the climb. This was the lead up to the legendary Koppenberg, 600m, 22% max, 11.6 avg.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/koppenberg.html
At this point I was feeling the effect of the previous climbs. My goal was to ride until I reached a roadblock of cyclists, or I reached the top. The Koppenberg is an awe inspiring climb. I had to put a foot down on my own, just couldn't climb it. FYI, Pros walked it this year.
So that is the first 5, only 10 to go. The Belgian countryside is beatiful. Narrow country roads. rolling hills, and quaint villages. How fitting, hills in Flemish is Helling. There were only 2 I was concerned with now, the last 2. The Muur -Kappelmuur (Muur van Geraardsbergen, Muur de Gramont). My disclaimer is that is is probably 500m of climbing to reach the official start of the Muur. 475m all cobble, 19.8%max, 9.3% avg.
http://www.rvv.be/2008/eng/hellingen/muur-kapelmuur.html
I was in the 34-27 on the early part of the tarmac climb. I continued to grind away, making the right onto the cobbles. Low and behold BBP climb the ENTIRE effin' Muur. I did look at the computer and saw 3.5 mph. Oh well, I DID IT. There are a few epic cycling feats, and this has to be one of them. I have done something on the bike that the Legend hasn't (with his aversion to overseas travel I may hold the title of only Hebe to climb the Muur).
Lastly , onto the Bosberg. Almost a kilometer, half cobble. It is wide and well driven, making the cobbles somewhat smooth. Ian & I were together, only because he punctured & lost over 30 minutes, to climb the last hill. I was able to jump into a group for the dash to the finish. Was actually able to wind it up to 25+mph at points in the last 10km.
I am so glad and pleased that I rode Flanders. The Pro race was a good time, made better by the accessability of the teams post race. I am becoming more & more of a Slipstream fan.
Me & Magnus
