It’s referred to as the Hell of the North not for the misery the race causes on its riders, but for the landscape the route carries the riders through. Terrible, unimaginable things have happend there. Napoleon’s troops marched those lands, falling by the thousands at the bayonet and cannonball. More recently, the First World War took place there, a war fought with something resembling modern weaponry but using something too closely matching classical battle-line tactics.
The kind of agony that escaped the bodies of the soldiers who died on those fields is the kind that seeps into the ground and hangs in the air for centuries; you feel it in the air even from a distance when you first disembark the plane at the airport.
For those of us who love the Northern classics, there is a special week when the greatest one-day races of the year are held, de Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. Both races are equally magical, for what Flanders lacks in the roughness of its cobblestones, it makes up for in the steepness of its muurs. Similarly, what Roubaix lacks in decisive climbs, it makes up for with the savage granite paving stones known as the pavé. Which is the tougher race? We intend to find out; join us for this magical week in Belgium and Northern France to ride the roads and watch the races first-hand.
I don’t think any of us dream of riding the cobbles of Northern Europe in the expectation that it will be enjoyable in a classical sense anymore so than any of us harbor the notion that resting your chin on a running jackhammer would provide rest for an invigorating nap. Quite the oposite, in fact; this is the type of experience that starts to become enjoyable only the moment you’ve climbed off your bike, and becomes more so with every day that passes after. But the memory will stay with you for ever, and the lessons you learn about yourself during such a physical challenge will strengthen your life and harden your character for all your remaining years.
I should think that those of us planning, hoping, or wishing to go on the Keepers’ Tour share a healthy degree of apprehension about climbing the steeps of the Kapelmuur or dashing down the Troueé l’Arenburg. Questions are creeping into our minds about frames, wheels, and handlebars, wondering how best to modify our bikes to endure the the roughest roads the Pros race on, even if there might be some difference in the speed with which we do so. But after having accomplished the feat, we’ll in some small way identify more viscerally with what the Pros experience when we watch them race the same roads on Race Day.
We have several package options available: the flagship fully accommodated, all-inclusive 9 day/9 night tour (2250€), full weekend tours with or without accommodation (500€ and 250€ respectively), as well as daily tours with or without accommodation (200€ and 100€ respectively). A full break down of pricing and booking options is available on the Keepers’ Tour: Cobbled Classics 2012 Event Page. Once booked and confirmed, we will coordinate directly to collect a down payment of 15%, with the balance due upon arrival in Lille, France. Everything is included in the packages: food, drinks, support car with spare wheels, Gent velodrome ride (if applicable), Cyfac bicycles for those not bringing their own (limited sizes and quantities available), energy food, and insurance. All-inclusive packages include accommodation; packages without accommodation are also available for those living in the area or wishing to look after their own lodgings. All packages, with or without accommodation, include dinner and drinks after each day’s ride.
Attendees of the full 9 day Keepers’ Tour will be greeted with a Velominati Musette stuffed with a commemorative V-Pint and V-Shirt. Given the abundance of Belgian beer, the V-Pint will be well used. We will also have a Velominati Flag to wave at the races. A Cogal welcoming all riders will also be arranged, details pending finalization of the itinerary. Also note that only attendees of the full Keepers’ Tour will be eligible to ride with Museeuw and to join the Merckx Factory Tour. Weekend and Daily Tour attendees will be eligible to buy the commemorative V-Pint directly.
We’ve made a few adjustments to our itinerary; confirmed are the ride with Lion of Flanders, Johan Museeuw (who is such a badass his last name even rhymes with the Flemish word for Lion, Johan Museeuw, de leeuw van Vlaanderen) and tour of the Eddy Merckx Factory. Updated (but still preliminary) itinerary, guided by Pavé Cycling Classics:
[product buttonid=”3FBBYVSTR5B6W” unitname=”Keepers’ Tour Gift Letter” unitprice=”0.50″ unitoptionslabel=”Gift” unitoptions=”Keepers’ Tour: Cobbled Classics 2012″ image=”http://www.velominati.com/wp-resources/products/v-gift/v-letter-thumb.png” shipping=”Shipping is free to domestic and international addresses.”]The V-Gift letter is intended to be given in leiu of giving the Keepers’ Tour on the day of an occation. It is carefully crafted and personalized before being printed on thick parchment paper and sealed with a hand-dripped wax V-Seal for wrapping and giving on the day. This beautiful letter can be wrapped and given to its recipient, announcing to the recipient the impending Glory of Merckx which will befall them upon their arrival in Belgium in April. The cost of the letter is only to cover the cost of postage.
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View Comments
@Marcus
You get shorter every time you post.
@minion
Another 5000 posts and I might get to be almost as short as your country's batting performance yesterday. You boys were disgraceful.
John Daly doesn't know what you're talking about.
@frank
Teaching ethics at the moment to 10th Graders. Looking at moral relativism. Does this attitude mean that The Rules are not absolute truth, but relative to the time and place we find ourselves?
I lean towards The Rules being absolute. If they are not, they would not have attracted a following from across the world. There would not be such excellent examples from the ages.
If The Rules are truth, the large expanse of thigh, and high expanse of sock, on display is cheapening the shot, not I, the humble (hahaha) messenger.
@minion
Granted, Daly probably isn't thinking too clearly at that point. The bear he ate for lunch clearly caught him a few blows about the face before he'd entirely swallowed it.
@frank
Dinner for one. Things like riding are easy when it's dinner for one. Thing is, kids upstairs woke up the two year old in the next room, who came in to our bed and extended the fun for another half hour before we got back to sleep.
Spring? Bah. We have wet and dry. It's wet right now.
I can't. Got to wake up early to study tomorrow. Wish I could.
@frank
It is actually Summer. Which is what G'rilla was still trying to tell himself at 6am on Saturday morning (in about 15 degrees celsius )as he was the only rider in a bunch of about 40 who wasn't in long sleeves. We all thought he was so tough!
@minion
Minion, some poor bastard was promised the +1 badge and I'll be buggered if I can find the post where I called it. That pissed me off. Until now.
Because you just summed up the ethos of Velominati. Badge goes to you. Whoever it was that actually earned it - I'll keep searching and you'll get it next week. Sorry about that.
I'm a conflicted man. I'm mostly Dutch (3/4), a culture of people who yell at each other their opinions but despite their apparently arrogant impression, we are a people who are not interested in matters of pride; we are looking for the right answer. We'll keep yelling and talking over you so long as we think we're right. The instant - the instant - you convince us otherwise, we back off and fall in line. Its a funny characteristic, and one that those who aren't Dutch don't really understand.
The other part of me is German, and my dad - the Loudest Man in the World - is half German and really only identifies with that half of himself, much like I identify with the Dutch side my heritage. And Germans just yell out of stubbornness and really are just interested in being right, which they usually are. In Germany - and I think most Germans will agree with this - the loudest voice is the Right Voice.
So despite my insistence on making my points clear, I'm really just interested in finding the right answer, whether that's mine or someone else's. So long as I am convinced in the end, I'm just as happy when the person I'm arguing against is right as when I'm right, so long as we've found the best possible way forward.
Except, of course, when I get German and all I care about is being right. The fun part? You guys get to work out which personality is arguing when.
@Blah
Ah! Excellent point! The Rules are, of course, an Absolute Truth. They might even be an Absolute Truthe, because adding an unnecessary e to the end of any word gives it gravitas.
But, The Rules are steeped in history, in the culture of Cycling. We can not be where we are today were it not for yesterday. Indeed, the shorts are too short. But that is how it was then. They were as they were, and that is what fed the Goldilocks Principle and brought us to where we are today.
There are to ways to look at this photo. We can look at it and scowl and say, Grinch-style, "Those idiots didn't know a thing about style! Their short are too short! Their socks are too long! Their seat posts too low, their bars are too high!"
Or, we could say, "That was the way it was, and we have learned from their mistakes to better our future. Their sacrifice helped improve our world. And they were still Hardmen, and they were still Awesome. Thank you, Merckx, for giving them to us, and for letting us learn from their mistakes."