I have a huge capacity for watching bike racing on TV. I’ll watch hours of it even when nothing is really happening. I’m certainly not bragging. So I’m quite certain I could sit in the cramped, possibly smokey, noisy, Gent velodrome and watch an evening of six-day racing. I bet the ratio of men to women (who actually want to be there) is 10,000 to 0. Add the availability of beer and frites and I’m sorry to say, we have a pretty damn fine night out in Belgium.
I have never been to a six-day event. It’s on the big list. It will take considerable alignment of the planets for it to ever happen but I sure hope it does. If one goes on the Keepers Tour in April one could ride in two velodromes, neither of which are the Gent velodrome and by April the six-day season is long over.
But right now, while Bjarne is climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, Boonen is clubbing in Monaco and the rest of us are months away from Milano-Sanremo, many people just like us went to bed at 3am and will be back in a velodrome by 6pm tonight to do it again.
Here is a brief explanation of a modern six-day race.
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Likewise Gianni, it's on the bucket list, but I aim to make this one happen. Perversely, much as I loathe second hand cigarette smoke, having beer spilt on me and being abused in Flemish, it would be a price worth paying to experience a six. Back when I first started on the path, an English Guy named Tony Doyle was making a good living during the winter in Ghent. My first Cycling Weekly had a great shot of him getting a hand sling ( NOT a euphemism) Awesome days.
Gianni, I agree completely. I could stare at cycling all day, even if was recorded earlier, which I can't do for the ball sports. However, thank Merckx I know a little bit about what a 6 day race is, that piece was quasi-worthless. My take away from the video about 6-days: great place to drink a shit load of beer (refer to them later as "mineral waters"), watch a bunch of guys ride around a great big oval while other dudes poop in buckets in small tents, a "hang sling" is not something that is on the price list in Amsterdam. On the plus side, there is a link to "Ten best gifts for Cyclists" that I'm gonna leave open for my VMH to see.
@gilly
Yeah, my tolerance for smokey places and for staying up until 2am have waned as I turn into an old bastard. Still, I'm more than ready to find out. Somehow, a six-day in Zurich or Copenhagen just doesn't have the same cache as one in funky Gent. I wouldn't even care that I couldn't understand the announcer as long as the beer server and I could reach an understanding.
@Ccos
Yep, that video is a bit lame. Better to be there in person.
This is a better bit for getting the feel for a six day race.
@Gianni Sounds a bit like test cricket (five day matches). Not everyone has the endurance to sit through them either in terms of the mentality or alcohol consumption.
As an easily amused simpleton with a proclivity for all day sessions, the Ghent Six has been on the list since I first heard of it.
Can a Cogal be a Cogal if it doesn't include throwing a leg over a bike?
@Gianni . That understanding with a barman you refer to. I was recently in Bruges for a day and the beer was unbelievable, not necessarily in a good way. Small, medium or large, or you can try a sample tray of six from the menu. We're talking about 150 ml tasters and by the end of the tray, to my great embarrassment, I was wobbling like I'd just removed my stabilisers.some of the beers were 14%!
@Chris
Like cricket but with excitement! But yes, it is a test for the spectators, I actually would only be good for one session.
Wasn't that your idea of a Cogal with city bikes, pub to pub, each pub near a bike stand? It is still a genius idea and needs to be followed up somehow. Do it in Gent, ending up at the velodrome. That would work.
@Gianni
Between us, there's some insane, evil genius going on. If you weren't so old I'd suspect we'd been separated at birth.
Lets make it happen.
Does Ghent have city bikes or are we going to have to appropriate them from some other European city and have them back in the rack every twenty four hours as per the London to Ventoux Boris Bike Escapade?
@Chris
I'm up for it
@Chris Not sure if anyone in Ghent needs a bike.
I spent a couple of days in Ghent one spring and I have never seen so many bikes in one place in my life. The scene at one train station was like this:-