It’s so close I can almost taste it. The mud. The dust. The heavy Spring air, turning to rain, blown across the fields of Flanders, where many a battle has been fought, in trenches and on wheels. Battles fought against other men, battles fought within each man. My own mind is in battle; am I worthy? Will I be prepared for the beating my body will take, and will my mind deal with it? Well, I’m not going to my own grave without doing this. I will survive on V.
The Keepers Tour just gets better and better. The team at Pavé Cycling Tours should be known as the Mailmen of Flanders, because they just keep on delivering. It seems almost every day there’s an email informing us of an addition to the tour, and our responses are more and more ‘screaming teenager’ than composed adult. To say we’re excited about this trip could be the understatement of the year. We’re excited.
The latest gems from Alex and William include;
Of course, this is all in addition to the already confirmed awesomeness of riding with The Lion of Flanders Johan Museeuw, touring the Eddy Merckx factory, riding on the Gent velodrome, touring the Brunehaut brewery (where our organic Malteni beer is produced) and another cycling museum visit in Beveren. There’s a heap of other activities confirmed too, so email us for the full presentation.
And the best part? All of this is included in the super low price! Everything. All meals, all accommodation, all drinks (yes, beer!) and hanging out with a cool bunch of like-minded bike nuts.
Sell your first-born if you have to, but don’t miss out on a week, or weekend of pure Classics bliss. There are still a few seats available, so book yours now.
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View Comments
@Bill
the socks are all yours mate, all yours
This trip just sounds better and better all the time. Meeting Freddy? That's awesome. Riding with the Aussies from Cycling Tips? That should be cool. And all the other great parts of the trip. Hmm, now I'm seriously considering selling a bike off and coming along...
Hope they get this cleared up - maybe no Arenberg this year?
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/10965/Forest-of-Arenberg-in-danger-of-being-left-out-of-Paris-Roubaix.aspx
@Ron
Merckx, first the Kappelmuur, now perhaps the Trouée?
@Ron
Arghhhhh
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
@Ron, @Dr C
I'll be gutted if we don't get to ride the Arenberg. All the sufferfest roller sessions have etched it permanently onto my mind. It doesn't matter how far I've ridden and what the conditions are like at that point, I'm now pre-programmed to hit those cobbles full gas, sur la plaque and turning 110rpm. Even if I only last for another 20 metres.
@Chris
+1. Me too. It will be like one of those Homer Simpson moments of uncontrollable enhusiasm. Then one of us will crash into a tree and burst into flames.
@Chris, @Bianchi Denti
SETTLE THE FUCK DOWN PEOPLE. We're riding the Trouée and we're riding the Kapelmuur. Fuck the official routes, we're riding the legendary stuff. That's one of the beauties of not doing the cylosportives. We are there to ride on hallowed ground, not to yield to the will of whatever the race organizers want to do.
Even if I have to break the law, I'm riding l'Trouée. Who's with me?
FMB's have arrived. Shipping manifest is cool enough to give me heart palpitations.
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@frank
So outside of race days, or when they are replacing cobbles, are these routes normally open to ride, or do you have to have some sort of connection, like the Pave folks?
It sort of seems like living over there would be like having the most badass bike paths in the world. Shame if you couldn't ride them at your leisure.