We decided we needed to find some hills after all of the flat riding. The weather finally turned for the better and we headed south to one of the storied climbs from the Tour of Flanders, the biggest race in Belgium. It is a one day classic in April. The weather is usually terrible and the course is full of short, incredibly steep climbs, like the Koppenberg:
Notice that the profile is 22% and not smooth. That's right, it's paved with cobblestones. We had the fortune of climbing the backside first and riding down the cobbled climb before we ever had a chance to climb it. It was a bit frightening how steep and rough it was. On the way down I was assuming that climbing it is significantly safer but no less difficult.
The road is wide enough for one car and maybe a bike and we also had the fortune of having a car go up the road as we were coming down. The driver showed his confidence around bicycles and did not stop for us, even though it was on the part of the road that never gets any sun and is always wet. The only thing harder to ride than cobbles are wet cobbles. I'm pretty happy none of us slid under his tires.
Once we were at the bottom we oriented ourselves, got some memorable photos and got ready for the climb. I don't think these pictures really do the climb justice. I hope you get the idea. To take a photo of the steep part of the climb is madness because you can't restart and keep climbing, you would have to go to the bottom and start over.
I managed to go straight to the top but Andrew and Jeremy had some difficulty in the wet section. I think Andrew got out of the saddle for a second and lost traction and fell over, taking Jeremy with him. It was pretty funny, especially because I didn't go over. Don't worry, nobody was hurt and we all had a good laugh about it. I also happy I didn't get caught behind crashes on two consecutive days.
It was a great day and it is amazing what some good weather will do for you. We had good time and spent a while riding in the saddle. Being smoked from all the races leaves little opportunity for long training rides like this one. That's Jeremy in the back there.
Pending some solutions to technology barriers I'm hoping to have a couple of videos up with a couple of funny clips from the day. Thanks to Andrew Macfarlane for the pictures here. Hopefully you'll see him in the videos.
Notice that the profile is 22% and not smooth. That's right, it's paved with cobblestones. We had the fortune of climbing the backside first and riding down the cobbled climb before we ever had a chance to climb it. It was a bit frightening how steep and rough it was. On the way down I was assuming that climbing it is significantly safer but no less difficult.The road is wide enough for one car and maybe a bike and we also had the fortune of having a car go up the road as we were coming down. The driver showed his confidence around bicycles and did not stop for us, even though it was on the part of the road that never gets any sun and is always wet. The only thing harder to ride than cobbles are wet cobbles. I'm pretty happy none of us slid under his tires.
Once we were at the bottom we oriented ourselves, got some memorable photos and got ready for the climb. I don't think these pictures really do the climb justice. I hope you get the idea. To take a photo of the steep part of the climb is madness because you can't restart and keep climbing, you would have to go to the bottom and start over.I managed to go straight to the top but Andrew and Jeremy had some difficulty in the wet section. I think Andrew got out of the saddle for a second and lost traction and fell over, taking Jeremy with him. It was pretty funny, especially because I didn't go over. Don't worry, nobody was hurt and we all had a good laugh about it. I also happy I didn't get caught behind crashes on two consecutive days.
It was a great day and it is amazing what some good weather will do for you. We had good time and spent a while riding in the saddle. Being smoked from all the races leaves little opportunity for long training rides like this one. That's Jeremy in the back there.
Pending some solutions to technology barriers I'm hoping to have a couple of videos up with a couple of funny clips from the day. Thanks to Andrew Macfarlane for the pictures here. Hopefully you'll see him in the videos.
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