We want to look like Pros, sure, but what we’re really after is feeling Pro. All the aesthetics are just a tool we use to fuel the fickle internal combustion engine of Morale. In the end, there is little that will make you feel Pro more than clattering along a stretch of cobbles in a small group; instant “select breakaway”. One of the magical things about the cobbles is the risk of crashing is always there, so your adrenaline is always pumping. The other magical thing about the cobbles is that you have to ride them full gas to smooth them out, which means you have the combination of bombing along a tooth-rattling road at full gas with adrenaline coursing through your veins like it’s New York in 1984. And then Johan Museeuw blows by in the gutter and now it’s a real party.
The most Pro you’ll ever feel, however, is clattering along the cobbles, feeling your back rim start to hit the stones and realize the worst: you’ve got a flat. You don’t have any tools; in fact you have nothing in your pockets at all. But fear not, you just swing off, do a cyclocross dismount while reaching for you back QR skewer which you unlatch right as your second foot hits the ground. A snap of the seatpost and the wheel comes loose. You hold it up in the air and the support van screeches to a halt as the mechanic jumps out with a fresh wheel. Moments later, you’re back on the street, in the non-prostitute sense.
This is Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics. I’ve never had a flat on the cobbles, but I’ve seen it enough first-hand to attest to the above scenario. I also recognize that due to my hubris in mentioning the scenario, I will experience it firsthand this year.
Keepers Tour is back for 2015; based out of our Gite outside Lille, we’ll be crushing cobbles and watching the best races of the year in dust-covered front-row seats. Roubaix, Flanders, Wevelgem, we ride them all. Roubaix, Flanders, Scheldeprijs, we watch them all. This is an amazing time of year to be a Cyclist, and it’s the most magical time to be a Cyclist in Belgium. Our trip is 100% all-inclusive; get yourself to Lille and you will not need to spend a dime until you’re back in Lille nine days later.
The provisional agenda is below. Changes will likely be made but the basic agenda of major events will stay intact. All-inclusive cost for the full 9-Day Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2015 is €3,250. A 50% deposit will be collected in January, with the balance due upon arrival in Lille. Register on the Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2015 event page.
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This is a depressing time of year. Once more a trip of epic proportions is planned and for another year I will pretend to um and aaah over the decision before reality hits and I recede back to my regular forays in to the Wiltshire countryside and watching the races on Eurosport. I will look for the updates with relish though..
Now where did I leave that lottery ticket?...
@Chris I'm in for a weekend junket defo!
@rfreese888
or not - seeing as how that option has been struck!! will prioritize the next one for sure.
Yup, not in the stars this year, but that doesn't mean I won't be thrilled from home...
Must a) buy a house b) build a proper bike house behind the house. I think I should be able to pull that off come spring 2015, which will make the VMH very happy...and smooth out the Domestic Cobbles in my life to allow me to plan for KT 2016/17.
Still, this announcement gives me a great reason to plan a proper training schedule and get my slowing, fattening arse in gear.
That option, on that route, on that date has been struck off.
There is still a vague idea floating of a Caen - Cherbourg Cogal or similar for the late spring/summer.
David
@Ron Smoothing the Domestic Cobbles. Now there's a lofty goal.
absofuckinglutely epic! A pity my broke ass will just have to read about it, and gaze at photos I hope will be posted here in full post tour reports.
@Harminator
You'll be able to buy material things for the rest of your llife. But you won't always have the opportunity or ability for an experience like this.
Sign up for the Tour now - buy stuff later.
@wilburrox
The Euro is tanking already. It'll be a screamin' deal by the time you have to pony up the second half.
@Bianchi Denti
This. Who knows even if another one will happen? Waiting for "next year" or "when the time is right" just never happens.