There is something about Northern Europe in general and Flanders in particular that exudes The V; you feel it in the air the moment you set foot into the region. Such terrible things have happened here for so long that living with hardship and suffering has not only become part of the culture of the region, but being tough has become a principle characteristic of the people who live there. To paraphrase Johnny Green’s words, the things that have happened here are like a torn curtain – it just kinda hangs there.
Roubaix may be the Queen of the Classics, but for me, the greatest one-day classic of the year is the Tour of Flanders. Cobblestones are one thing, cobblestones combined with mud and racing another, but cobblestones, mud, and 20% gradients are a different matter altogether. The Americanized name of the race obfuscates an important point: in Flemish, “Flanders” starts with the V – Vlaanderen. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it has a beautiful symmetry to it, and that’s good enough for me.
This race, more than any other on the calendar, represents the people who host it. The stones, the climbs, the weather, it almost seems as though the very spirits of those who have perished in these fields been drawn into the route. In their honor, I will be hosting a cobbled hill ride in Seattle on Sunday, April 3. For those of you who live in the area – and those of you close or crazy enough to make the last-minute trip into town, I will be leaving the parking lot of Speedy Reedy in Fremont at 10am sharp to embark on an honorary ride over the hills and cobbles of Queen Anne and surrounding areas (as well as several uncobbled climbs). Nothing compared to the challenge of de Ronde itself, but beggars can’t be choosers. This will be as easy a ride as possible, given the terrain we aim to cover and given my poor level of conditioning. Also be aware that I haven’t done the recon into the route that I should have, so there may be some route-finding involved.
Rain or shine, obviously. Kinda hoping for rain, actually.
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@Pedale.Forchetta
hey, nice photo BTW
@frank
won't be able to make it to Seattle due to time constraints (i.e. other side of the world and work on Monday) but best wishes with your own tour, hope you get plenty of starters
Hey! This is realy fine writing. I like it willbe checking more often.
For those that might be looking for a live stream SBS Cycling Central is happening at 20:30 AEST hopefully you'll be able to access it from anywhere on the planet or broadcasting it on the telly from 22:30 AEST on SBS ONE in Oz.
Well said Frank. I'm not aware of any cobblestoned roads in Sydney which could be used during an honorary ride on the weekend but here's hoping at least for some foul weather...
Sweet! I've been looking forward to this.
In fact, I'm going to do a recon ride tomorrow morning to find some cobbles in Capitol Hill that I discovered a few months ago.
Hopefully bike #2's aluminum frame can handle it.
@Wayne Schimmelbusch
You could pop over to Welli on the following weekend for some gravel action...
I don't know about that? Given the poor condition of most roads in Sydney (and possibly most other major cities?), what with potholes, broken glass, roadkill, cat's eyes, road work, blown truck tyres, bad drivers and so on plus the wet weather these last few weekends - while it's not the same as cobblestones or Brett's Welli grave, one can give the bike and body a good run for their money without trying too hard or looking too far I reckon!
Damn sounds like wicked fun. Ill be pumping as much V as I can to pull of my first metric(solo)
I still haven't decided if I want to wake up super early and stream in the race or if I want to watch it on Versus in the afternoon.
What wet weather. 32 degrees C and sunny the last few weeks and not looking like changing. Ahhh Perth.....
No mud cobbles or hills for me (not unless I spray some water on the back lawn, build a ramp out of paving bricks and ride ten million circuits)
When's the VSP going up??? I may struggle to get back online over the weekend until the race starts!
I'm loving that we're getting it free to air in Aus! I'm going hunting for some (non Stella or Hoegaarden) Belgian beer to throw in the fridge so I can get a more authentic experience watching it in Brisbane!
Can't wait!
Oh, and your bike ride looks like fun too. Heh