cross

As you may know, a few of 36th Street Racing’s finest made their way to Belgium to pre-ride the Ronde van Vlaanderen course. Wim, Joe “Crazy Joe Davola” Davant, and Darren left Charlotte to meet up with David Hay – flying in from Switzerland – in Flanders. for cobbles, freezing weather, more cobbles and Belgian beers. Here is how it happened.

JOE’S REPORT
So how was the ride? It was a lot of things – a ton of fun, bitterly cold, hard, beautiful, fast, slow, cobbly (my new word), incredibly challenging (mentally and physically), extremely long, sunny, dark (truly dark), brutal, hilly, ridiculously steep, painful, international, full of friends, really, really tiring and a lot more. Did I say it was freaking hard and unbelievably long?????

The ride is also huge – there were about 4,000 people doing the 259 kilometer (155 mile) ride, so they have a rolling start from 7:00 to 8:00. We started with the later group at about 8:00 Saturday morning. The first part of the ride headed south from Bruges over very flat roads for the first 75 or so miles. We had a tailwind as we headed south, but when we turned east at mile 40 we had a nasty crosswind that made us work.

I was feeling good and everything was going fine until I heard and felt big CARUNK as I tried to change gears at mile 50. I looked down to find out what the hell was going on and saw my rear derailleur hanging off the bottom of my bike. When I pulled over to check it out I saw the bike was toast. You just have to love rental bikes. We quickly realized there was nothing we could do to fix the bike, so we called the number provided by the ride organization to get me and my bike picked up. I was pretty bummed to have flown 3,000 miles only to have my bike break after only 50 miles. In addition to calling the ride organizers, I also called my Belgian friend, Rik Pappijn, to tell him that we would not be meeting him later in the ride. When I told him I was out of commission, he said he was coming to pick me up. While I waited for Rik, a bunch of amateur riders came by me, and then a group in black and blue came by – it was team Sky with the team car right behind! Boassen Hagen was in his Norwegian Champion’s jersey and Ian Stannard was in his UK champion’s jersey. It was cool to see them out on a training ride, mixing in with the amateurs. The Sky riders looked at me as they passed and hesitated for a moment. I thought they were going to stop, but they didn’t.

After waiting about 45 minutes in the freezing cold wind on the side of the road, Rik came to pick me up. We went to his local bike shop, but they could not fix my bike, so Rik decided that I should ride his road bike and that he would ride his mountain bike on the short route that cuts out a bunch of the climbs. What an unbelievably nice, unselfish guy! I was incredibly lucky to 1) know someone close by who could pick me up, 2) know someone who had a bike that would fit me, 3) that Rik’s bike had peddles that worked with my shoes, and 4) that Rik was willing to give up his bike and let me do the ride. It was SO lucky!!

Rik estimated the point in the route where we thought we could meet up with Wim, Darren and David, and drove to that point. On the way there, we passed a Katusha rider motor pacing behind the team car. I guess that kind of thing is an everyday occurrence in Belgium, but it was pretty cool for me to see. About 10 minutes after we got to the point where we thought we’d see Darren, Wim, and David, the guys showed up. Amazing!! By re-starting my ride at that point, I had to skip about 25 miles of the total route, but I only missed one of the “bergs” (read big hill/climb). About 2 miles after starting to ride again, we hit the Koppenberg. It’s only 1/3rd of a mile long, but it averages 12% and it maxes out at 22%. And don’t forget that it’s paved with cobbles. The cobbles add a whole new element to climbing. In addition to getting bounced around you have to stay seated on the steep parts to keep from slipping. Riding those steep short cobbled hills is hard! My legs were cold when I started up the Koppenberg, but they were plenty warm by the time I got to the top. After the Koppenberg, the route takes you over a relentless series of cobbled hills and cobbled roads for about 65 miles. Thankfully, there were some fantastic winding one lane paved roads mixed in between the cobbled roads.

I felt good as we started this hard section of the ride, but as we continued, the wind, cold and cobbles just wore me down. Climbing the 17 named bergs and the numerous unnamed bergs that were mixed in probably had a little to do with wearing me down too. The roads went up and down and right back up, then down again, so you could never get in a rhythm. Some of the descents were paved with cobbles, and those were crazy. You’d try to hold on and brake while bouncing all around. It felt kind of like trying to control a rogue jackhammer while screaming downhill. Of course going up was no better. There was a sign at the bottom of each berg that showed the length of the climb, the average grade, and the max grade. After a while, I did not want to read the signs because they all sucked. They might as well have just read “Severe Pain Ahead”. It seemed like every sign of them said the max grade on the next berg was at least 13%, but some of them were even worse – between 18 and 22%. Of course, David Hay would go screaming up the bergs, with Wim following close behind, and then I’d come straggling up, weaving back and forth, looking like a drunk. If you want to see us coming up some of the bergs, click on the following link and then type in Wim’s number 3365. You’ll see David come by first in his white 36SR vest, then Wim in a black jacket with his new 36SR shorts and leg warmers, and then if you wait long enough, you’ll see me in a black and blue jacket with long black bibs. Sorry Shawn – it was just too cold for me to sport the 36SR gear. In the video, the cobbles don’t look bad at all, but I promise that riding them is a different story. http://chronorace-web.cloudapp.net/rvv/tracking.aspx?lng=EN

One of the really cool aspects of riding up the bergs was going between the barriers that were set up for the pro race. The barriers had the advertising signs on them and you could see the big tents and viewing areas that were set up next to the road. There were even a number of Belgian fans staying in campers along the route, drinking and cheering for us as we came by. I have to admit, I was very tempted to stop and grab a beer.

After going up 3 or 4 bergs, I got a little tired of David Hay and Wim being the first guys to the top of each berg, so I attacked on a downhill and went as hard as I could up the next berg. I had a good jump on Wim and Hay, but I had picked the wrong berg to attack on. It was a long one, so they eventually reeled me in and passed me just before we got to the top. Dammit!

I found that I was better on the cobbled sections that did not include climbs, and I managed to be the first of our group to reach the end of a couple cobbled sections, so at least I got some satisfaction in that.

One thing that was different about this ride from other rides I’ve done is that we stopped at every single rest stop. You could tell your body needed food and water as often as you could get it, but you did not want to stay long at the rest stops because as soon as you stopped, you’d realize just how brutally cold it was.

All those stops made the ride take longer than we expected. At the second to last stop, we realized we’d be finishing in the dark, and none of us had lights. After coming over the Paterberg (the last berg where Cancellara dropped the hammer on Sagan on Sunday), we cruised down and into Oudenarde, finally crossing the pro finish line just before 8:00 at night in complete darkness. I was SO glad to be done! The computer picked up your chip and flashed your name and time on the screen. It was a cool experience to ride through the pro finish line! We certainly had not planned to be out there for 12 hours, but we were. There were a number of other riders who came in behind us, so at least we were not last.

The next day we got up early to tour through the pro buses and to watch the start of the race in Brugge. When we got up, we saw the team buses driving past our hotel and parking in the square just in front of the hotel. We had not realized that they were going to park in front of our hotel, so that was a great surprise. Wim’s friend had arranged for us to get passes into the bus area, so we walked through the bus area and saw a bunch of the riders come out to get on their bikes. After cruising around the buses, we walked into the center of town to watch the riders sign in, get interviewed and then start the race. If you have eagle eyes, you’ll be able to find us in the attached photo between the stage and the road near the barriers. After the race rolled out of Brugge, we drove back down to Oudenarde and then to a huge tent at the base of the Oude Kwaremont (one of the bergs) that was to be our home for the race. The tent had big screens, food and all the Belgian beer you could handle. Our Wim and our other Belgian hosts made sure we had plenty of everything, especially beer. We watched most of the race on TV and then saw the riders go past us 3 times as they did circuits that took them over the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg 3 times. Each time the riders came by, the tent would empty out to watch them fly by, and then we’d rush back inside to see them on TV. The crowd in our tent cheered like mad when Cancellara dropped Sagan and then cheered again when he crossed the finish line.

I remember thinking that we’d probably leave after the race ended, but I clearly underestimated the Belgians. As soon as the race ended, the band started playing and the beer really started flowing. Then the Belgians started dancing, singing with the band, and eventually doing conga lines through the crowd. They know how to have a good time! It was around this time that Darren met Liz Hatch, who turned out to be a pro racer from the US. She used to be one of the Vanderkitten racers but now she races in Europe. You may be surprised what you find if you Google her.

The post race tent party was a great way to cap off a fantastic weekend of riding and watching the pros race. (Bill – the post race party would have been the perfect place for a team meeting.) The whole trip was an awesome experience, and I’d love to go back and do it again – although I think I’d opt for the 135k route that cuts out a lot of the flat riding but includes almost all the bergs. Apparently Hincapie came over and rode the 135k route, so he must have known that was the best part of the ride.

A HUGE thanks goes to Wim for all the work he did to arrange the trip, riding, rental bikes, race passes, hotels, rental car, and all the crazy logistics that went into the weekend. If he ever decides to get out of the textile/waffle/chocolate business, he can definitely have a career in cycle-tourism! Thanks Wim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DARREN’S TAKE
Joe pretty much covered things as we kind of talked about this on the flight back from Paris, but there are a few things I’d like to add. One that is killing me and it was a struggle for about 50 miles for me. I was not able to complete the ride. I made it to about 110 to 120 miles somewhere in that range. Ironic because I was the one who pushed for the full distance…

A few details about the ride. I was cold, really fXXXXXg cold. 28 degrees at the start and it was humid. Up north in Brugge the wind comes in off the North Sea and it has a lot of moisture in it. Now if you know about humidity, you’ll know that it’s relative to the temperature. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold can, so in order for it to be moist as it was, there was a lot of moisture in the air and it went right through you. It was cold and the sun only came out at about 4:00pm, the rest of the day it was mostly grey and overcast. Did I say it was cold?

Anyway, as we were heading south on the flats I noticed a weird feeling of being fuzzy, or dizzy. Like my vision was blurry. It was strange and I just chalked it up to the cold, figured that I’d be fine if I just rode through it. About this time, Joe had his issue with his derailleur exploding on a flat by the way (Rental bikes…). We stopped for about 15 minutes and once we established a plan we headed off again south, Wim, David and I. David would get in front and stand for 1/2 hour, 45 minutes at a time. (No Shit, and we’re on the flats!) But that’s Dave. When we got to the southern part of the ride we turned east and guess what, wind. (Though there was no forecast for Wind today, but it is Belgium). At least it was a cross wind though.

It just wears on you as you fight it, then comes the Bergs, cobbles and the Berg/Cobble combos. What a bitch! Honestly the TV does not do them justice. They suck speed from your bike like riding in sand. If you are rolling at say 25 mph and you hit them, you will immediately slow to 15 mph and it will feel like Joe said a rogue Jackhammer. You cannot grab the bars, only rest your hands on top and hope to guide them in the correct direction. Some are better than others and some are just damn bad. Your vision is blurred, it’s a wonder they ride over the damn things! But I can’t wait to do it again! As we were covering the miles and the Bergs, I noticed that there was just nothing in the legs. They didn’t hurt, my back was fine, but there was just nothing in the legs to get me up the Bergs. It was as you can imagine, very frustrating. The thought of quitting after all the cost and logistics was not an option. But I realized that about half way through the bergs the difficulty was increasing and the legs were empty. I was now holding up the guys and they were having to wait at the top of the bergs, not long, but waiting nonetheless and I hate that.

It was now 4:30pm and we’d been on the road 8.5 hours, and the finish line closes at 8:00pm. So with about 40/45 miles to go, I decided to end the ride as my body was now having a tough time staying warm. I stayed hydrated, ate what I think was enough and just felt miserable and frustrated. If you know me, I don’t like to quit. I did BSG a couple years ago with a severely sore back that at only 7 miles into the ride, told me to get off the bike. For the next 97 miles, there was a severe argument between my heart and my head. My heart won that day and I finished all 104 miles in spite of the pain. It was the slowest century I’d ever done, but probably the most rewarding. So having to call it at the Ronde, was as you can imagine, not what I had planned. So guess who comes to my rescue… Rik, the same friend who lent Joe his bike. The guy who when I met the first time pushed me the last 15 miles of Tour de Lure two years ago when I was cramping really badly. I think Rik is my Belgian saviour. I cannot say enough about Wim, Rik and the rest of the Belgians and their hospitality, friendliness and willingness to help the two crazed americans have a very memorable once in a lifetime experience. Thank you Wim and Rik, you guys ROCK!

Funny story now… Since we left kind of late in the day, we were usually the last to roll through the refueling stations. I called it at the second to last station and looking for warmth, I noticed that everyone was packing up. There was no place warm to stay and remember it is bitter cold now and the wind is blowing, not good. I thought about asking the Shimano guy if I could sit in the Van, but he was packing up all kinds of tools and in and out of all doors so I ruled that out. Looking around I noticed a little Chapel across the road and found refuge in it. It wasn’t much warmer in the Chapel as this was no heat, (you could actually see your breath) the heater was broken I found out later. What I did notice were candles burning up near the front. So I found a comfortable position standing over the candles so my upper body and face could feel the heat. I stayed in this position for an hour and a half until Rik made his way to retrieve me. I tried to sit down on the pews for a bit as my legs were toast and could have really used the rest of sitting, but it was too damn cold! So back to the candles and there I hovered. Amazing what you can do when trying to stay warm…

So now all the people have packed up and left the rest stop, save for but a few. I hear a car pull up and figure that since were way the hell out of the way, it has to be Rik. I look outside and I see Rik pull up to the few folks left and after a couple of exchanges, I see them point towards me and hear laughing. Rik told me later that he pulled up and asked if they’d seem a lost American, to which they replied, no, no Americans here. Then “Hey look, over in the Chapel, he’s hiding in the Chapel…” So Rik gathered me up, put the rental bike on his bike rack and we went for a drive on the rest of the course. Yes, we drove up Oude Kwaremont in the car amongst the last remaining cyclist, Rik slipping his clutch the whole way as it’s very steep! You could smell it, I’m sure the cyclists behind us were not very happy.

So then we drove over to the Paterberg and did the same thing! Too funny, that damn thing is so steep at the top, that when you look straight out over the hood, all you see the top of the hood and then just blue sky!!! And it’s so damn bumpy it jars you in the car and it has a suspension!!! Belgians are just damn crazy (but in a good way). When we get to the top of the Paterberg, Rik parks the car and we get out to watch the last remaining cyclists with a bunch of by now drink belgian cycling fans. Rik manages to sweet talk a couple beers for us from a cute young Belgian woman. I think he used “the poor American tried to ride the full 269km excuse” Anyway, she gladly obliged and opened the cooler, but her boyfriend was giving us the evil eye. Fxxk him, two Jupiler’s for us. We wait for about a half hour it is now getting dark. We figure that Dave, Wim and Joe should be by anytime. It is now about 7:40pm. When we don’t see them, we figure they have already past us so we head for the finish in Oudenaarde.

The finish was closed off to Autos so Rik had to figure out a way to get there in the car. Fortunately he did as he lives near there and was familiar with the back roads in and around Oudenaarde. We actually see the boys just after the finish yet still rolling to the gathering point in town where you turn in your chip and catch rides back to Brugge for some. Remember Brugge where the start is is about 60 miles north. Our hotel is there, so after collecting our stuff and turning in our timers, we pack the bikes up, Wim’s brother Filip drove up to pick up our car in Brugge Friday night and then came to Oudenaarde to pick us up and drive us up back north to Brugge. He was so helpful and so willing to do so, We can’t say thank you Filip for making the logistics seem easy, I knew they weren’t.

We were expecting to be in Oudenaarde at 5:00pm, so he had to change his schedule a few times to be there at 8:30pm instead. Selfless. In order to get Dave to his hotel and Wim’s brother home, we split up. Filip takes Wim and Dave and Joe and I head to Rik’s where his wife had spaghetti and wine waiting for us at 10:00pm!!! Did I say that Belgians are crazy? So Joe and I both take showers at Rik’s and he try’s to cloth us with all kinds of warm stuff, but after taking the shower, we through on our outer garments which were dry and we just needed to ride home in the car. Wim finally shows up at 11:00pm and he’s fed by Rik’s wife too. So we all have some wine and finally get leave Rik’s at about 11:30 and head for Brugge.

I’ll skip the breakfast, and watching the start as Joe covered that in depth. Also the crazy partying that started at the end of the race and the constant beer drinking foisted upon us by Wim’s friends, and craziness that ensued, but I will tell the tale of one Liz Hatch.

So were in this big VIP tent and this woman in Brown knee high boots, tight jeans and what looks like a white cashmere sweater that has a big soft, turned down collar walks by our table and all the heads turn. Then as we run out to watch the racers come by, I see that she is sitting alone and not really talking to anyone. Poor girl must of been cold too as you can see from the below photo.

So being the kind hearted gentleman that I am, I decide to see if needs to be kept warm in some fashion or another. Wim says anything goes in Belgium, so I was ready. Anyway, I walk up to her and ask, “By any chance do you speak english?” Then she starts laughing and says “Well I hope so, I’m from Texas!” We both laugh and then spend some time talking and I find out that she’s a racer and now lives in Belgium. She was sweet and asked if I was staying in Belgium, but told her we were just here for the ride and were heading for Paris for a couple days. I asked her of she wanted to go to a Party in Ronse that night, but she said that she had a race the next day and had to be in bed early, to which I replied OK, but I don’t think she got my gist. Anyway, it was a nice encounter and she said “look me up if you’re back in Belgium” So I got that going for me…

All in all, it was an amazing trip. Literally a trip of a lifetime. Made new friends, rode with them, got drunk with them, pee’d on Oude Kwaremont with them, (OK, Only I did that…), but it was amazing, in spite of my not completing what I planned to do.

I cannot say thank you enough to Wim for all that he did to make this happen, it would have been nearly impossible without his sorting everything out for us. Thank you Wim for sharing your home country, for acting as a tour guide, for sharing your friends, showing us around, for taking me to meet your parents and letting me meet to two that created the “Wim” for letting me meet your Dad’s Pigeons, showing us the incredibly beautiful city of Ghent, for showing us where you wrapped your A3 around a light pole, where you grew up, your schools and all that means so much to you. It was a grand adventure that Joe and I will never forget!

So, I have to go back next year to finish what I planned to do, any takers?