Wanna do the Tour of Flanders ?

1. You don't have to enter the race well in advance. In fact you can enter on the day, though you'll probably pay 25 euros instead of the early bird price of around 15 euros.

2. As this is not a timed cyclosportive it doesn't matter what time you start. Anytime between 7.30am and 10am is ok, though setting off early gives you a clearer run up the bergs.

3. Take clothing with you for all weathers. This year was good as it was fairly sunny, but the weather can turn quite quickly.

4. Most people ride the shorter 140km distance rather than the full 260km, so you can get to "sample" the bergs without it having to be an epic ride, or without you feeling that you were that much of a wimp !

5. The long ride starts in Bruges main square. The organisers lay on an early morning coach to take riders from Ninove to the start in Bruges. If you don't want to use that you can catch the train, though services will be better from Gent in the early morning.

6. Train services between the key towns of Gent, Bruges, Geraadsbergen, Aalst, Oudenaarde, Ninove etc are reasonably good. Belgium Railways take bikes, though they charge 4 euros to carry them.

7. Aside from the whole biking thing there are also the sights.

Bruges is pretty in a quaint, twee sort of way. It's awfully touristic and pretty expensive, though worth the trip so you can get the T-shirt.

Gent is less touristic, more lived in and down-to-earth. It's got 3 picturesque church squares, and a nice canal with Belgian beer gardens along the edge. We particularly liked the Patershol neighbourhood. An arty neighbourhood with character and good quality restaurants that have locals in rather than tourists.

OK - so rendez vous next year !

http://www.b-rail.be/main/E/

http://www.rvv.be/2007/eng/deronde/index.html

Flandrien hors d'oeuvre !!

Saturday

I woke up bright and fresh, ready to take on the main challenge of the day. However, my heart sank when Him Indoors announced that he wouldn't be riding. He felt too ill and his cold had gotten into his chest. Wise decision, but it was still disappointing, especially given that we had decided to do this back in January, and he had actually done the training for this. So I was going to ride for the both of us, and make sure I claimed all the goodies/memorabilia there for him so as not to lose out too much.

Breakfast was a fairly busy affair. Most of the guests at the hotel were cyclists - and not just amateurs. The newly formed Tinkoff Credit Systems team (featuring Tyler Hamilton) was there. Their riders were up at the crack of dawn just to do their training ride. Speaking to the team manager the previous day, he commented on how crazy it was for so many of us to turn out for the cyclosportive. "How can 15,000 people get to ride through those narrow bergs ?? Incredible !"

I'd originally planned to leave the hotel at 6.30am -ish, but ended up having to wait until after sun-rise as I didn't have any lights for the 12km ride down to Ninove. Once at the PTI, the event HQ, I was met with a lively atmosphere, including music and commentary. There were various exhibition stands selling anything from sportswear to bikes to sports fuel. Everyone had come out on show, it seemed. Lots of riders were actually signing up that morning to do the race. Because the weather forecast was looking good (in contrast to last year) many people had made a last minute decision to do the cyclosportive.
This swelled the number of participants to around 18,000. But nevertheless the organisation still seemed to roll on smoothly.

After alot of faffing around on my part, I finally made a move to the start line just before 9am. I'd been running around trying to get my control card stamped before leaving the event, until I discovered that this wasn't necessary. There is no designated start time. Some start as early as 7am - others as late as 10am. Unlike other events that I do, this is not a timed event. The challenge is to get through all the bergs.

The group I was with sped through the streets of Ninove, passers-by looking on, admiring our courage (or lunacy) at taking on the challenge. Police escorts stopped the traffic as they waved us through junctions and roundabouts. I was the only woman in my group, and was an object of curiosity to the other riders. They were effectively road racing along at around 40kph and I was still mixing it with them ! There were jerseys from various European countries - France, Spain, England, Holland, and of course Belgium.

Very quickly we were out of Ninove and into the Flanders countryside - the road twisted and dipped a few times, then climbed only very gently. Essentially it was a fast flat ride. I made the most of the tow I was getting from the group, as I needed to save my energy for more important matters later.

In fact important matters began earlier than I'd realised ! After 30km, the road narrowed and became very twisty. We then did a sharp right hand turn and suddenly we were on the Molenberg. Not having been able to anticipate this, many people were caught out in the wrong gear, and needed to dismount. Also I realised that being in a group right up to the start of the berg brings the inconvenience of being caught in very close to other riders, which was a bit unnerving as some of them wobbled alot while climbing the cobbles. One guy who had to dismount suddenly fell into me - luckily I managed to stay on my bike. Although Molenberg was not the most difficult berg, I still found it a challenge simply because it was the first cobbled section, and a bit of a shock after having spent the last hour speeding along smooth roads. And if I thought this was hard, there was more to come later.......

In the Land of Beer, Merckx and Cobbles !!

Thursday :

So the train pulled in at Brussels, and shortly afterwards we were on a local train to Haaltert, near Aalst. Once we were off the train we just needed a few minutes to remove our bikes from the bags, assemble them and start the short trundle over to the Ibis Hotel, Aalst. We couldn't have asked for a more seamless journey !

Friday :

Him Indoors wasn't feeling too good, and the original plan had been for him to get lots of rest ahead of the big day. However, the weather was so lovely under the bright sunshine, and it seemed a shame to spend all day in the hotel room. So we decided to do a "short" ride to Geraadsbergen, and recce the last 2 bergs - the Bosberg, and the infamous Muur.

Riding through the Flanders plains seemed so effortless. There were special cycle paths for us to ride in, and specific cycle lanes at junctions with traffic lights for cycles - not just a cursory affair with cars parked along it, like you get in London. Furthermore, the terrain was pan flat - which made it hard for me to believe that we really were going to be riding up 2 climbs, never mind 18 ! In fact it was too flat - at moments it was like staring into miles and miles of emptiness. This was the epitome of bland. Surely someone could have stuck just one hill in there to spice the view up a little !

Then we arrived in Geraadsbergen. Famous last words - the road gradually began to elevate, as the cobbles became more and more consistent. There was also a growing buzz in the air as we reached the main square. Lots of bicycle bunting, music, and cyclists hanging around in anticipation of something eventful. Some pro cyclists from the Liquigas Team even rode by, fitting in their last minute preparations.

Once in the main square we didn't need to look hard to find the Muur. Lots of signs showed which way to go, and many cyclists were going that way. I began to feel a sense of nervousness. I remembered the words of a local man we chatted to at the hotel about the Ronde van Vlaanderen. "You won't get up the Muur - or at least not the first time you try it. Maybe the second or third time." I could feel the ground getting steeper and bumpier as I prepared myself for a painful moment. I ground away in my lowest 32 x 27 gearing, as I rounded the corner and the gradient rose to 20%. Passers-by cheered me on as I heaved and panted, determined to give it my best shot. Thankfully the road levelled off, and I was able to take a breather before tackling the final 13% ramp. Being able to see the Chapel, which marked the end, and the encouragement from drinkers at the nearby pub, gave me the strength to go for it. I made it up the Muur on my first attempt. Wow !!

I was so pleased I'd done it. This had emboldened me and given me confidence. I even did it again. This time with a harder gear. Recce-ing the hardest part of the ride certainly made me feel excited about doing the cyclosportive and all the other bergs. I was actually looking forward to the next day !

After hanging back to chat with other cyclists, and taking photos etc we then headed homewards via Bosberg (piece of cake) and Ninove (the start town) where we stopped to carbo-load with a plate of spaghetti. Our "short" bike ride ended up being a long day. We did 60km and alot of meandering around, what with taking phots, riding the Muur a few times, and trying to find a cash machine that actually worked (!!).

When we returned to Aalst we wound things down in preparation for the big day to come. Him Indoors was beginning to feel that bit worse, and realised he might have overdone things. We had an early night.

http://www.rvv.be/2007/eng/deronde/index.html