Going home

After the race on Sunday, we headed back to Kortrijk for a quick bite to eat and to help Rich and his crew move some of their stuff to the train station.  After this, we headed to Brussels to check into our hotel and pack our bikes.  We had left the bike boxes at the hotel so we would have more room in the van.  At this point, we were just hoping they were still there and not on eBay.  All was well when we arrived and we got things packed up.  After packing, Rodney, Steve, Cleve and Hank headed to the bar for a final beer.  Paul was exhausted so he went to sleep. 

At 7:00am Monday, the gang got up, packed the van and headed to the airport.  After Paul dropped the baggage and the rest of the guys off at the departure gate, he headed out to get gas and to drop off the van.  With that completed, the guys checked their baggage and headed through security.  The TSA agent who checked Tebbetts realized he could dismantle the airplane with his bike tools so he confiscated all of them.  (That or he just needed a birthday present for his kid.)  Randy had a used CO2 cartridge in his carry on which caused him a little difficulty. You know how dangerous used cartridges can be.  After checking in, the guys had time to get Starbucks coffee.  This made them very happy because the coffee they had found in Kortijk was not to their liking.  Once in the air, the flight from Brussels to Philadelphia was relatively uneventful.  A crying baby was seated across the aisle from Paul but he had earplugs and Ambien so all was well with the world.  

When we arrived in Philly, we had to pick up our luggage and carry it to another part of the airport and check it in again.  The bikes should have been delivered to the “Oversized Baggage Claim” area but for some reason, they ended up two carols aways from where the suitcases came out.  We had been standing around with the US U23 womens team for over 30 minutes waiting for the bikes.  Finally Steve took a walk around the baggage claim area and noticed them.  We all rushed to get the bikes since by that point, our two hour layover was down to one hour.  Tebbetts almost got in a fight with the luggage carrier because he had his cart sitting in the way.  The carrier was neither very nice nor very good at his job.  I guess that is why he works for TSA. 

We had to go through security again and we started getting concerned about making our connecting flight.  We made it with time to spare and the guys had time to get more coffee.  We loaded on the puddle jumper and wondered if they would get seven bikes on the plane.  Luckily they did and all of our bikes arrived ok. 

As we headed out to the cars where our loved ones waited, I started reflecting on the trip and realized it was the end of our jouney.  It was a great time with a great bunch of guys and I am very glad I made the trip.  It is not often you get the opportunity to go on a trip to Europe with a bunch of your friends.  While we all missed our women folk back home, we had time to bond more with our friends.  These are the kind of trips you remember forever. 

Paul

Paris – Roubaix

On Sunday, we loaded into the van and headed to the Forest of Arenberg in France to watch the race.  When we arrived, we had a twenty minute walk from the parking lot to the course.  Cleve and Hank went in search of coffee while Rodeny, Steve and Paul looked for a place to watch the race.  First we found a nice old railroad bridge to sit on.  It would offer a great view of the race that most people would not be able to experience.  Cleve and Hank made the climb and sat for a while.  As a few more people joined us, so did the gendarme.  They ran us off so we went in search of another place to watch. 

Forest of Arenberg

We wanted to be closer to the end of the forest but it would require a longer walk.  While we were good for the distance, fighting the crowds to get back to the van so we could high tail  it to Roubaix was at the front of our minds. 

Our new view point

We setlled in and watied for the race to come through.  People started packing in around us and on the other side of the road.  There were some interesting characters there.  I guess races just bring the weirdo out. 

Blues Brothers

Finally the racers came along and they were  flying!  They came through so fast that we were hardly able to get pictures. 

Fast!!!

After the main groups came past, we ran for the van with a few thousand of our best friends.  Traffic to Roubaix wasn’t bad but due to road closures, we had to stop and ask for directions.  We parked the van and headed into the velodrome.  They had a big screen TV there so we were able to watch the ~50k of the race.  As you all know by now, Cancellera was off solo again and cruised into the velodrome.  He did his lap and was cooked. 

Solo win. Again.

It was a very cool race to witness.

Paul

Coffee ride

Cleve, Rodney and Paul

On Saturday, Rodney, Cleve, and Paul headed out for a relaxing ride to Oudenaarde while Steve and Hank recovered from yesterdays ride with George. The idea was to take a circuitous route that would lead through a bunch of little towns. Steve and Hank would drive the van over later and they would meet up. All of the guys would ride back in the van.

The riders headed out a little after noon and as soon as they could, they turned off of the main roads onto the one lane roads that crisscross the country. A number of times we turned around just to get on the narrow one lanes roads.  While rolling along we stopped to take pictures of some of the really cool houses we passed. 

Cool house

Coolest house

 

 You don’t see any cookie cutter neighborhoods over here, just nice little houses that are all different.  No vinyl siding either!

Nice house

The first town we stopped in was called Anzegem.  Rodney had a cafe latte while Cleve had a cafe latte and a beer.  Paul just sipped on his Endurox. 

Church in Anzegem

From here the boys went on their way and Paul pointed out that they were going a little too fast and needed to slow down. For the first hour, they were crushing it at about 15 mph average. For a true coffee ride you should not exceed 12 mph.

The rest of the ride to Oudenaarde was much the same as the first part.  Ride slow and take pictures of whatever we felt was worthy.  We climbed the Oude Kwaremont again and Paul stopped to take a few picutres of the Rodney and Cleve on their way up. 

Rodney on Oude Kwaremont

 We then followed the Eddie Merckx route for a while and took pictures at the bottom of the Koppenberg. 

The Koppenberg

We finally pulled in to Oudenaarde with 30 miles and two hours and ten minutes.  Rodney and Paul met up with Hank and Steve while Cleve went to watch the U23 race finish.  We then all headed back to Kortrijk for dinner.  This was the last ride we did while there and was the perfect way to end it.

Paul

Roubaix re-con

In overhearing the many conversations of the day the words that kept popping up were, brutal, incredible, glorious, surreal, humbling: each uniquely describing our day on Roubaix.  Through the week the G’vegas gang had been talking about when we would take the 100k drive down to meet the course at cobble section 17, Arrenburg Forrest (There are a total of 27 sections making up almost 60k of cobbles).    How many sections would we do, all of us but Rodney not knowing what to expect, but still amped up to give it a try?   Worst/best case, depending on one’s perspective we would do a maximum of 100k 

Trouee d'Arenburg

 

The convoy assembled at the Hotel Broel at 9:30,  and after packing 8 bikes into the van….thank goodness for the van….we set off for France.   Northern france is mostly just farms, but also has a significant industrial sector that was evidenced by considerable smog; probably a combination of heavy traffic, smokestacks and off gassing from organic matter…poop!   From the main highways this is a fairly unimpressive part of the world, but at ground level the small villages scattered sparsely in the wide open takes one back to a different time and I expected to see farm wagons and horses. 

I think most of us did not realize that it or perhaps it just worked out that way that Big George was going to be our tour guide for the day while he was prepping for Sunday.   Just don’t get in front of him!   Straws were drawn for the first leg in the van and Paul ended up taking the first shift.    2k  warm up (not much!!) and we turned onto the most famous section of pave’,  the Arenburg Forrest which lived up to its billing as brutally rough. ….I knew this was going to be a long day.   Everyone quickly separated but we all arrived intact at the end gate to wait for the BMC team car with George and Marcus. 

 

Now the real fun (if you want to call it that) begins.   of course I make the mistake of tail gunning as the whole group falls in behind BMC.  It is amazing how the big guys just roll right through the towns, the twists, turns, …and the traffic without slowing down.    It is steady….steady fast!  We hit the section 16 of the pave’ and we all fell in a single line behind George.   Whether you are a pro or not does not change the fact that the cobbles (unlike Flanders) beat the living crap out of you and any gaps that open are very difficult to make up on the cobbles.   If you slow down it is perhaps even worse rather than just lugging a huge gear and trying to “float” the bumps.  Rich and Sperry did a good job of sticking on the No.1 wheel and behind the gaps started to open leaving several of us in no mans land.   Things regrouped after the section minus a few and then we were joined by the Francis de Jeux squad…the only group that rolled past us on the day.  As we got into later sections the group started to thin out  and Rodney opted for the car with sore hands (need gloves and gel wrap)    I was already feeling cooked from nearly 350 miles in my legs in 4 days of riding but kept on getting back when things separated.   Steve was a having a marvelous day, admitting that he had found his new element and was the only one of us who was hanging with George in the last 4-5 sections. Conditions being different I think he would have attempted to pass George, but instead he has decided we are moving UWBL to Northern France so he can keep his jersey. 

As Tebbets described it our surreal moment came when in a smooth section George pulls up beside a guy in a jersey with Museeuw on it.  Sperry: “don’t ask any stupid questions Tebbits!”   It indeed was Johan, leading a group of clients on a tour.   I thought I saw George having a bit of hero-worship as we were doing the same of him!    I was later told that  the FDJ team asked how much we were paying George as a guide…… that just makes me realize what a true gentleman he is to let us into his world….one that is filled with extraordinary pressures and demands.   

Losing multiple water bottles, hungry, and slap cooked we made it through our final five-star (hardest) stretch of cobble, the Carrefour de l’Arbre, having completed 80k in 2:40 an average of 18.8 mph….not too bad for posers! 

turning onto paveHincapie, McCullough, Sperry

 

Hincapie, McCullough, Sperry

A trip to the Muur

Today we headed to the Muur to show some of the Hincapie team some of the cobbled climbs they had missed in their past trips. We did a little sightseeing on the way (ie we got lost) but it was a great trip either way. 

Tebbetts praying for us to find the route to the Muur

 

At the end of the first climb most of the Hincapie boys split off so they could go to Brugge. The more hardy souled headed on to the real meat of the ride. On the road after the first climb, which was paved, we did a nice little dirt road, well it was actually muddy. It was more of a cyclocross course including potholes and down hills. Rodney chose to ride the mtb trail off to the side so his bike would not get as dirty. He had to negotiate lots of roots in sections and started to reconsider his choice of routes.After this section we took some photos of the great view we found. 

The view after the dirt road

 

We continued to make our way to the Muur with a few more side trips to see more dead ends, I mean more sightseeing opportunities.  

We eventually made it to the Muur and took time to take a few pictures after we all climbed it. 

Sperry on the Muur

 

After the photo shoot we headed down the cobbles to have lunch at a dive I would not send my dog to. We were fed though and it gave us the energy we needed to get back to Kortrijk. Unfortunately for Cleve however, Rodney’s pace at the start almost made him experience the gyro for a second time.  

From that point, Hank took over for a bit and then Sperry carried the pace the rest of the way until we got on the canal trail and then we settled into a nice casual ride for the most part. This is certainly Sperry’s kind of riding, flat and windy.  There was the time on the canal where it got a little faster.  This was when Tebbetts decided he would try to race Ally.  She smoked him and left him for dead but that is another story unto itself.  We finished up with five hours fifteen minutes and about 87 miles.  A very good ride.  

We rolled back into town, cleaned up and headed to the Italian restaurant which we have been to before.  We ran into George and a couple of the BMC guys there.  They made an early evening of it and headed back to their hotel.  Some silly excuse about having a big race coming up in a few days.  After we all gorged on pasta and a few glasses of wine, we felt rejuvenated and ready to go again.–Paul

A day in Brugge

Today we left Kortrijk and headed to Brugge for a little sightseeing. We took the 12:02 train and it was about an hour ride. Steve misplaced his phone and we searched frantically until we determined that it was gone for good.

Since Rodney had been to Brugge before, he led us to the city center where we then searched for food. After Paul was accosted by some goober in a pirate costume wanting the guys to have their picture taken at his tourist trap, we finally stumbled upon a restaurant that was reasonably priced. We ordered beers of course and it was the best of the trip. Bruges Zot is a locally brewed dubbel that is very smooth and went down way too fast.

After eating, we walked around a bit in search of chocolate and more beer. We found plenty of both. We hit a string of chocolate shops and bought enough to keep us strung out for weeks. Hank picked up some post cards and Paul bought a present for Caroline.

We found a beer store that was just awesome. They had a beer cellar that had so many beers that it was hard to make a decision. They also had a bar portion which we took advantage of and had another Bruges Zot.

Steve and Cleve were in a competition to see who could drink the most. Cleve tried to attack a couple of times but Steve would counter and finally Cleve popped. It turns out that Sperry is a Pro and Cleve is just a Cat 2. That is ok since I am just a Cat 4. Steve even threatened to throw my water bottle away if he saw me drinking from it again.

We headed back to the train station at around 7:30. Steve checked the lost and found for his phone to no avail so we boarded the train for Kortrijk. Hank and Cleve napped while the rest of us made fun of them.

When we arrived in Kortrijk we stopped at Dominoes and picked up a few pizzas to take back to the hotel. We hung out a bit in the lobby for a bit more blogging and then headed to bed.

G’ville boys beat the bergs…BMC goes home

Today we took the Hincapie boys out for a stroll to ride some of the cobbled climbs that we took in on Saturday. We hooked up with them at their hotel an were led out of town by Och and the BMC boys.

BMC leading us to the Kwaremont

They took us out by way of the canals, a nice easy FLAT ride out of town. Once we were near the start of the Oude Karemont, they turned and headed home. This left the Greenville boys to start the fun stuff. We had decided before hand to take in the Oude Karemont, the Paterburg, and the Koppenburg. All 3 of these cobbled climbs come in a span of about 10-12 k, making it one of the toughest stretches in Flanders. I must say, it is a much different experience when these climbs are dry and you have the ability to stand if you choose, unlike the conditions we had on Saturday. I think the Hincapie crew had a blast, as a lot of them had not ridden any of these climbs.                            

Cleve drafting the BMC boys

 After we had all successfully toppled the cobbles, we headed off for Oudenarde to have a beer and a peak at the Flanders museum. After that, it was time to head home and battle some nice cross and head winds with a little cyclecross thrown in for fun.

So, with a 100 k in the legs and no lunch, when we got home, we showered and changed and headed out for food and drinks (by drinks, I mean BEER).

The G'ville Crew

Crosswinds, Cobbles and Gutters

Rodney taking the field sprint

Today we rode over to Rekkem for the amateur races. The directions we had were not great and it took us almost an hour to do a 20 minute ride. We stopped a few times for directions and eventually found our way. Paul flatted on the way so that was another delay. We finally arrived and the guys went to register.

They had a category for U23, Elite and Masters A, B &C. We had talked about the race before we left the US and decided not to due it due to the $90 UCI license cost. Steve and Hank had brought their US cycling licenses just in case. Cleve was set to race since he has a UCI license. They decided to try it and the promoter let them register without the UCI. Rodney had not brought his license so he had to bring it up on Cleve’s Blackberry so he could show proof of an active license to the officials. They let him race too. Paul was a bit tired and sore from the Sportif so he decided to sit this one out and play photographer.

They started the race with all categories together!  Surprise!  With about 120 racers  the only way to tell if someone was in your category was to look at the numbers. The course was a 2.6 mile loop which they would do 17 times. It was basically a two hour full on kermesse (criterium/circuit race)…..full throttle out of every corner….curb, ditch, in gutter, out of gutter…ooh!    There were two straights with heavy cross winds.  The one hill at the start was either a spring board or a rest spot depending on the lap. If  the hill was in Greenville, no one would consider it a hill but it hurt a lot of the Belgians.

The first lap was a killer and the guys just had to hold on for dear life. They had not had time to pre-ride the course so they had no idea what was coming. The Belgians know how to ride their bikes and the guys quickly became comfortable with them. Guys were getting shelled on the first lap and the field quickly whittled down. Cleve was in a break early but was pulled back. Steve attacked a number of times and was riding strong. Unfortunately he hit a bump with about 9 to go and his saddle tipped down so he had to pull out. Rodney hit it a few times and surprised a few of the Belgians. The must have thought the Americans were just pack fodder. Hank rode well too and looked comfortable. A break got off midway through the race and stuck. There were some strong riders in it and rode well together.

Each time the racers would come around, the bar patrons would come out and watch and then go back in and smoke and drink. There were a great group of spectators.

The last few laps came along and the break intensified their efforts as the stronger riders tried to split the break. The field got faster too and Rodney started moving from the back where was tail gunning to the front. The winner came across the line with ease. The field came along for the sprint and Rodney was at the front after he hit out from the last corner with 300m to go Surprise no. 2…..for the Belgians….this American can sprint.  He took the field sprint with only one rider close to him. He was 16th overall and 4th in the masters. Hank had a good field finish. Cleve finished 23rd.

While waiting for payout, we ate frits that some of Cleve’s friends had bought. Rodney won €15 for his efforts. We had a casual ride back to the hotel where showered and then went to eat. The guys were all worn out from the day, but grinning about getting to play.

De Ronde 2010—Spartacus rules!

After awakening from our comatose state and still pulling Flandrian mud out of several orifices we loaded up the van and headed to Geraardsbergen. “the Muur”, “Kapelmuur” , “Muur van Geraardsbergen”, I am not sure which one or if all are correct but it is the iconic cobbled climb rising from the town of Geraardsbergen and summiting at the famous church. Coming at 15 k from the finish, it is a decisive point of most editions of De Ronde and it has the big screen tv!

just after the cobbles start

Having navigated successfully and finding a great parking spot we headed to the top of the climb and the walked down the course. We were four hours early and the top was already crowded and the party had begun! Walking down the steep cobbles at the top had us all wondering how 24 hours earlier we had ridden up….in the rain! Hank and Paul being rookies at viewing this level of racing, saw a spot and wanted to stake their claim! Rodney, Cleve and I journeyed onward in search of the big screen and beer. The boys definitely had a good spot, Hank took this pic (he missed the pic of Cancellara dropping Boonen, which happened 25 meters from him)

driving on the MuurRodney and I wanted to see the group ride what we had the day before so we watched the last 130k on the big screen. Our on going thought was that it must be nice to ride in the dry and be able to stand! (we rode some of the climbs again on tuesday....dry....I still stayed seated). All in all a very successful day of spectating!--Steve half way up the Muur

Perspective

The waiting is the hardest part.....not really

So I am finally stopping or at least staying in one place in the last 72 hours long enough to make a few notes on what has so far been a crazy hectic, challenging, and downright humbling adventure in the heart of Flanders.  The trip over was like Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, well in our case a van, in actually pulling off the first and perhaps personally satisfying part of the trip in completing the “tourist” version of the Ronde du Vlaandren….all 12,000 plus of us. 

Having reshuffled our room to Brussels the first night because of baggage coming in on three different flights, the apparent unhappy camper, Steve finally got his bike together at midnight…none of us catching more than a wink in the previous 30 hours.   Rodney and I had candy coated bikes after the airlines managed to bust open our sports drinks inside our bike cases.  I was sure the Politie were going to be on our tails with a long line of white powder following us through the airport!

Of many of the things that I attempted that were a total build up, well this one was dead on.  I soon realized that we were in a country were bicycles are at the top of the food chain.  The start of the Cyclo Du Vlaandren was relatively thin when we arrived, Paul driving and Steve navigating, we got there early enough to park about 400m from the start.   We got everything we wanted in the weather as well…..pure Belgian liquid sunshine and about 40F.  Frankly I did not care.   No mass start…thank goodness..we rolled out of Ninoive just after 8 a.m.in doing the last 150 k of the race that the big guns would be doing the next day with 14 of 15 of the climbs…..and 18 cobbled sections.

the forboding

 

My first perspective was that everyone here can ride a bike.  I was amazed that with all of the people I was never cut off by some idiot who could not take the right line.   The route had no less than 300 turns and I guess that if you learn to ride on all of the winding farm roads, and cobbled tracks you just learn how to stay upright.  Second,  there are bike lanes everywhere.  Not to be negative, and although it is a step in the right direction, our 13 mile Swamp Rabbit Trail seems to be too little too late.  Making bikes equal if not superior to cars is just part of the culture and there is a large societal investment. 

So back to the ride.  The first 50k was rolling through the flowing green of Flanders.  Like most of Europe ,the towns and cities meld seamlessly with an agrarian heritage.  Everything is gorgeous!  No sprawling suburbia with cheesy cookie cutter McMansions.   Rodney started with a comfortable tempo and we spent the first hour passing groups of riders looking for a suitable group of racer types to settle in with. Frankly cyclists’ sense of style is high around here so it is hard to tell the posers from the real thing.   Finally on the canal path leading up to the first climb of the day we hooked up with the Windjammers,who were definitely interested in making pace, most of which we let them do not knowing what was ahead.  We all managed to take a good pull or two just to let them know we were in the game. 

The first climb, the Kluisberg, was paved and not too bad at under 800m, but number two was the Knotenburg which in english means “my first gel wants to get a second taste, and big guys don’t always go up hill slow,  as Windjammer no 1 decided to check out. ”   5k later the first cobbled climb, the Kwaremont at 1600m, was the wake up.   I learned how to ride a bike again!  Lean forward to pull on the bars, back wheel comes up,  not good!  I might add that we did have the best conditions possible fo the epic ride with 20 mph wind, pouring rain almost all day and cobbled sections flowing with water and mud!   No dabs yet.  Next the Paterburg which forces you to come to a dead stop right at the bottom of the climb before you hit the cobbles! Ouch!!!Koppenburg next,  the only climb that Rodney and I had to come off on, not because it was too steep, but we got caught be hind a truck and could not pass.  When you stop there is nothing to but walk!   There were tons of mountain bikers on the course, pigging the good lines in their granny gears, at 3 k/hr and 120 rpms going nowhere.  That  did not help the plight of the roadies who had no bail ring and had to keep momentum to make the climbs.  Sperry took his dab of the day on the Paterburg after getting caught behind a topple of the likes. Paul was the only one of us who managed all of the climbs clean. 

We all regrouped at the top and I had to tighten my headset.  I am convinced that if you lived here you would have to get a dispo-bike. because between the cobbles, mud, grit and wet your bike, components included would be trashed in a year…..well maybe not for the mortals but pros yes.   I also did not expect so many flat and downhill cobbles which were actually worse than the climbs.  Just let go, ride faster, and push a big gear.  The more you try to control the bike the better “body massage” you are going to get. 

Third perspective…I have a totally new perspective that if you race in this country it will make you rock hard tough.   Now I know why people like George H come back to the US and make the challenging courses look easy.  It is just a different level.   I have to say the crown jewel of Flanders is the Mur.  It is not only tough and long but it is truly a historic place with the chapel on top.   All of us made it, perhaps a bit weary but knowing we only had one climb left until a flat 12k to the finish.

Rodney and Hank on the Muur

 Managed to loop around Ninoive a few times and through the actual finish of the Ronde before rolling in some 5:45 after the start and 97 miles…not really that bad considering many things.

I think we were all cooked, but all too proud to admit…that shows up later!  

A++++  It is all still sinking in, well the grit ad grime already sunk in…to our clothes…perhaps an indelible mark of the day.  

souvenier