The weight of fatigue is taking its pound of flesh
If the only kind of wind they have in Belgium is a headwind, then the only kind of flats they have in Northern France are false. In Vlaanderen, they specialize in a delectable combination of the two. (Everything that isn’t a windy false flat, it appears, is a windy cobbled climb.)
The most obvious way to get your head kicked in on a bike is to point your bike down a road bespeckled with loads of climbing. It doesn’t matter what sorts of hills or mountains you’ve got at your disposal; the Commutative Property of Climbing states that big climbs and little climbs will jack you up equally so long as you do the same amount of climbing. But a long grind into the wind on a dead-straight false flat might be the most mentally agonizing kind of riding you will ever do.
The riding we do on Keepers Tour generally revolves around the iconic roads in the region, but to focus on those portions alone is like evaluating an individual’s life via their photo albums; some of the most amazing moments are experienced in the margins where no one is looking for them.
The rides we set upon were long days in the saddle, often leaving from the gite and requiring some time to arrive at the spectacle of cobbles or climbs; 20km to the Trouée l’Arenberg or 30km back from the Carrefour de l’Abre, for instance. For me, the rides back are what stand out the most; the group is weary but excited from having ridden some of the most amazing and difficult roads our Sport knows, and the late afternoon winds are blowing swiftly across the landscape. Talk is sparse as our legs are heavy with fatigue and we are each of us confronting the familiar barriers our minds and bodies lay before us at times such as these.
These moments when the body and mind want to give in but something intangible drives us on are my most cherished moments of Cycling in general and Keepers Tour in particular. These are moments when each rider is riding on the strength of those around them. The Laws of Physics tell us that it is impossible to make something from nothing, that the only energy we get out of the system is that which was fed into it.
The Laws of Physics obviously don’t apply to Cyclists.
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I saw Rush in the seventies once.
I think.
@frank For the second time this thread..fucking Rush, are you for real?
Fucking Rush... That's three. Can't stand fucking Rush ( inadvertent fourth)
Awesome words Frank, powerful and poetic. KT16 for me maybe.
As a lowlands dweller (Norfolk, UK) I get plenty experience of these soul searching stretches through unsheltered terrain, nose full with the smell of fertilizer, squinting down through sweaty brows to check my HR in an effort to convince myself that 'I've got more to give'. Times like these I call to mind words from legendary figures like Voigt, LeMond, Hinault - praying at the 'Altar of Pain' to keep me strong, keep me quick.
The thing I really love about this whole game of ours is how it hardens you for life's other events, the knowledge that you have (and can) gone beyond, in torturous conditions - flipping the V in adversity's face. My non cycling mates just can't fathom it. That, to me at least is pretty fucking cool.
As a newly anointed Velominatus I've become a bit obsessed with Rule 5 and made myself a phone screen saver. V inspiration is now but a button press away!
I ride mainly in the Vienna Woods, its hilly in my view it's still the Alps, or in Toscana if I am lucky and on vacation... So when I read the article, I thought to myself ok its cold and muddy looks unpleasant but whats all the whining and what the hell is a false flat?
Today I rode in beautiful weather but with a very stiff headwind on the supposedly non-hilly side of Vienna, and was confronted with false flats, strong winds in every direction except as a tailwind, and non-mountains that turned out to be tough hills. That was tough, and I get the point... another step in my V education and Chapeau gents.
I am reminded that after the tearing, roaring wind as you climb a false flat, there is nothing like the turn home with a tailwind. The gentle hand of Merckx on your back, the unearthly quiet while flying at magnificent speed --- clearly beyond the laws of physics. Great article, thank you!
Did our annual "Ferry-Roubaix" yesterday 90 miles with about 30 of it chunky gravel.
Last 45 miles steady rain and temps dropped to 40*, under dressed, means pain cave the rest of the ride.
Shear mental will, and Rule V, amen.
@Roger
Sounds like fun, cheers
Just back from the Hot Chillee Dunkerque - Roubaix ride. Imperial Ton through France and a bit of Belgium including 9 sections of the Paris - Roubaix Pave, plus a timed section incorporating 5 sections of Pave. Great event which with the weather on Sunday gave us dry Pave, Wet Pave and Wet Muddy Pave. As others here have said, nothing can prepare you for the beating the Pave lays out for you. The thing that surprised me was that the part that hurt most were my upper arms. Just felt like the muscles were being flayed from your bones. Finished in the stadium and we were able to shower in the shower room. Geraint Thomas and Stephen Roche were the special guests. Seeing Geraint riding the Pave at speed after you have ridden the Pave yourself was something else.
Finish in the Stadium
Bike room the evening before
Ready to go
Pave section list
End of the timed section at Cafe L'Arbre
The Showers
I'm only clean as I was wearing a rain gilet for most of the event
@Hoover
I read that the tailwind is actually a disadvantage, relatively speaking, because your increased speed means you start generating more drag, relatively speaking, which means you're not getting an equal return on the investment you made on the way up.