In his comment on Part 2, Dave wrote, “I can’t imagine what your arms feel like after all those cobbles!” On the cobbled climbs, actually, it was all about the legs and the lungs.
When Anita and I talked about our rides in January, she talked exclusively about needing strong legs and endurance. At some point, it occurred to me to ask, “You never did any flat cobbled sections did you?” Anita had no idea what I was talking about. So as Rachel planned our Return to Flanders, I insisted that Anita had to experience something very special from my ride in January.
The Mariaborrestraat is almost entirely flat. On a map, it looks like an indirect way to get from the Koppenberg to the Taaienberg.
The Mariaborrestraat is also a cobbled road in very bad condition. After my experience in January, I wanted Anita to see what cobbles could be like, at speed. (more…)
It’s hard for me to explain Anita’s love of cycling. She genuinely enjoys the toughest inclines and the worst weather. She’s been doing sport cycling for all of a year, but she already looks at a windy, drizzling sky, and says, “I’m in the mood for a ride!”
I consider myself, perhaps unfairly, to be more normal. I like the sensation of speed and control from a well-tuned road bike on a straightaway or a downhill — preferably on a sunny day. I get a thrill from rushing down narrow trails in a forest. I enjoy the way that a bike takes me through neighborhoods and landscapes at an ideal speed: fast enough to keep my attention from wandering, but slow enough to actually see and feel the environment. Uphills are a necessary part of it, and I typically don’t get much more from them than the sense of accomplishment that I get from a freshly-vacuumed room or finishing my errands for the day. (more…)
I was happy to spend a few years building fitness and suppressing memories before returning to the scene of the crime. Anita was not so easily discouraged, and she leapt at the very next opportunity to face the challenge again. With January weather and overly competitive hammerheads out of the picture, I was much more willing to go along. (more…)
When your bike starts making an unfamiliar noise, you start to worry. Was I hearing things? Was I just being nervous? Or did I have a flat tire?
In fact, I did have a flat tire. I called out to Jan, “I’ve got a flat,” and pulled off to the side of the road. Jan asked me if I had what I needed to change it. I replied that I did… although I might need a bit of support, as I have only changed a couple tires. Nerves jangling and adrenaline racing, I flipped over the bike, took off the tire and got out my levers. It was at this point Jan asked, “Do you have a pump?”
Eh… no. Will has the pump on his bike and he hadn’t realized I’d flatted. Jan thought we might stop another rider, so I kept changing the tire. Sure enough, a nice man name Nico rolled up and had a whole bag of tricks. He offered to wait and let me use his pump. Nico was not in a hurry, because he explained that the pace of the groups was too fast for him, so he was taking his time and enjoying the ride. He was a local, so he knew the route well and wasn’t worried about the lack of a guide or signs (more on this later). (more…)
Our group gathered for the start. The first part of the ride was a long, flat section along the river.
The group took off like a bat out of hell. Will most likely would have kept up with them, but I started falling back. He dropped back to help me by breaking the wind. Before too long, it was Will, me, another struggling rider (who we’ll call Jack) and Jan, world’s best ride guide.
Arriving at the first climb, Will and I were spent. He had just gone flat out, dragging me along with him, for several kilometers. And now we had to climb the Oude Kwaremont (11.5% grade). Imagine a roughly cobbled hill going straight up. I’ve included a few photos of the hill from 2013, when Will watched the pros race up it. On this day, under our own power, neither of us had the wherewithal to take photos. (more…)
Our blog posts in 2013 were rare for several reasons. While some of those reasons might not pass scrutiny, the fact that we are now cycling more than ever is certainly true. In 2013, both of us purchased road bikes and did our best to ride* multiple times a week.
In September, I did my first organized ride with my friend Amanda. The ride was sponsored by the Schleck Fan Club and it was a wonderful day. Amanda and I had a terrific time, even though we weren’t the strongest riders participating. No matter, the fan club made the day great for everyone.
When I saw that the new UCI team Trek Factory Racing was having a fan club ride in January, I was terribly excited. Will and I are big fans of the new team and big fans of the Classics races. How much fun would it be to do a small part of the Ronde van Vlaanderen? Will expressed doubt: our fitness level wasn’t there and we weren’t ready for something like this. Nonsense! I replied. This is a fan club ride. I’ve done a fan club ride! We’ll just take our time and have fun. We’re there to make memories, not win a race. (more…)
Back in 2011, we spent a lovely spring afternoon at a women’s pro cycling race called the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs. It was a one-day race won by the incomparable Marianne Vos. (The two runners-up are pictured below posing for the press.) (more…)
Let’s look back at the 2012 Tour de France! After La Planche des Belles Filles, we drove a little way off the course to our hotel in Mulhouse, which is not far from the Swiss border. Also in our hotel: the promotion team for Nesquik. We enjoyed watching their nightly routine — mostly refilling the hoppers for the young women who tossed goodies to the crowds each day.
This first photo is where we watched Stage 8 the next morning: halfway up a small mountain above Saint-Hippolyte in Doubs. It would be a magnificent race for some of our favorite cyclists. (more…)
In late May, we poured over maps of the stages of the Tour de France. This year, we said, we would travel to see the cyclists climb the real mountains that we’ve seen so many times on TV.
The Alps didn’t fit our schedules and the Pyrenees — well, they are very far away. But there are also real mountains in one of our favorite regions, Alsace-Lorraine (and parts of Franche-Comté), and those stages fell on a convenient weekend. So we found a budget hotel and booked one night, planning to watch two stages.
We were excited about the finish of Stage 7 on the top of La Planche des Belles Filles, which has an incline of 22% for the last 500 meters! Anita’s only concern was whether she could keep from yelling at all the fans that always crowd around the leaders on the top of the big climbs.
It was lovely weather when we arrived in Lorraine.
A typical Valley in the Vosges. Anita drove and I navigated using GPS and paper maps. I’d marked a few ways to get to the bottom of La Planche des Belles Filles.
We were stunned to discover that every road was blocked at least 10 miles from the foot of the finish line. I was not happy.
We had one alternative left, and it would only get us to the last little climb before La Planche. On my map, the road was labeled “RF” and squiggly. After seeing the thin line on our car’s GPS, Anita agreed to drive down the logging road (or “Route Forestière”).
This is as close as we would get to the finish. There were even police to keep us from walking to the final climb. I was a little frustrated.
We fell short of our ambitions, but it was hard to be disappointed by the view at La Chevestraye.
The Luxembourgish presence was no surprise. On this corner, they had come prepared!
It was a lively spot, and people had clearly been camping there since morning. The festival atmosphere was exactly what we associated with the Tour.
This message, “Everyone with Thibaut,” was all along the route. Thibaut Pinot was born nearby, and he was the youngest rider of the Tour.
These young men from Belgium entertained everyone with antics and a megaphone. They were very funny and kept the show going for hours and hours.
After a long time, the Caravan arrived! It was the end of the course, and they looked eager to finish. This woman was a notable exception.
These guys were local promoters who were throwing out little cows on keychains. Adorable!
The CFTC is a major French union. Its message looked less aggressively political than last year’s.
A hand-off from the horse-racing (and gambling) industry.
For the first time in our experience, Luxembourg was represented! They tossed out bike maps of the country.
This may be an effective way to sell laundry detergent. A bit sexist, but eh … this is France.
One should not conclude anything about the popularity of a product from its prominence in the Caravan.
Anita chatted with two Americans who were in France on vacation and decided to see a stage or two of the Tour.
Michael Albasini, of Orica-GreenEDGE led with Christophe Riblon of AG2R — just barely staying ahead of the peloton. They were caught at the bottom of the final climb.
Anita rang her cowbell to encourage a Lotto rider who fell off the back of the peloton.
I believe this is the Illinoisan, Christian Vande Velde. He wouldn’t finish strong today, but he had a decent Tour overall.
Here’s Mark Cavendish in the Rainbow jersey of the world champion. He was just looking to get to the top of the last mountain, at this point.
American Tyler Farrar, formerly of Leopard Trek, had a bad day. He was just ahead of the Broom Wagon when we saw him.
After the race passed, the police blocked the way to the finish. But several groups of cyclists did the course in reverse, including these men in their spiffy uniforms.
We stayed overnight just outside of Mulhouse, not more than an hour away. We were exhausted and spent what little energy we had strategizing for Stage 8.
The race — fifty laps around the Gare neighborhood — included some of the greatest cyclists in the world: the Schleck brothers (accounting for two-thirds of the Tour de France podium); Thomas Voeckler, French hero of the 2011 maillot jaune; and many more. (more…)
In late May, we poured over maps of the stages of the Tour de France. This year, we said, we would travel to see the cyclists climb the real mountains that we’ve seen so many times on TV.
