Tour of Flanders sportive
Comments
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After reading all the above about this sportive I'm getting tempted to do it myself now!0
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IainHounsell wrote:After reading all the above about this sportive I'm getting tempted to do it myself now!
Doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!
It's a cracking event, and a great weekend if you stay to watch some of the pro race.FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
Best cycling weekend ever!
We did the 260 - don't even think about anything less. We stayed at a little family run B+B in Brugges, dropped a car off in Ninove the night before and got the train back to Brugges - it takes about an hour and cost 11€.
Then in the morning we were 30 seconds away from the start.
Started at 7 on the dot and got in with a team from Bergamo in Italy who dragged us all the way to The Molenberg in about 3 hours (120km!!)
The rest took us just 5 hours so all in all a great day.
Next day we got the train again to Geraardsbergen, walked up the Muur stopping in every bar on the way up until we could hardly talk by the time we got to the top to watch the pros come through at about 4pm.
Just made the last train back to brugges.0 -
After getting back into the road biking again the last few years and riding more sportives over here our little 'club' in work have set this as our target for 2011.
Reading all your info is wetting the appetite no end and now slightly tempted by the 260 rather than the 140 although the common start/finish plus that many miles so early in the season a big concern - plus I'd be that wacked I won't be able to sink a proper amount of Belgian beer on the saturday night before crashing out.
Keep the info coming and looking forward to hearing your experiences this year.0 -
After getting back into the road biking again the last few years and riding more sportives over here our little 'club' in work have set this as our target for 2011.
Reading all your info is wetting the appetite no end and now slightly tempted by the 260 rather than the 140 although the common start/finish plus that many miles so early in the season a big concern - plus I'd be that wacked I won't be able to sink a proper amount of Belgian beer on the saturday night before crashing out.
Keep the info coming and looking forward to hearing your experiences this year.0 -
I've got the Vittoria Pave tyres, but which wheels should I put them on:
- Mavic Ksyrium Elites
- Handbuilt Open Pro on Hope Pro3 Hubs.
In theory the handbuilts are more comfortable, but the freewheel is super loud.
Also, is the route on the road or on the cyclepaths (beside the roads). I'm guessing the
roads?
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Use the handbuilts. The noise will save you from shouting people out of the way.TheStone wrote:I've got the Vittoria Pave tyres, but which wheels should I put them on:
- Mavic Ksyrium Elites
- Handbuilt Open Pro on Hope Pro3 Hubs.
In theory the handbuilts are more comfortable, but the freewheel is super loud.
Also, is the route on the road or on the cyclepaths (beside the roads). I'm guessing the
roads?
You have to use the cycle paths where there are any. Main roads only. The police are quite keen on this.0 -
Is there anywhere to register for the long ride on Friday?
From their email today, it seems registration and start are at 7am Sat. Was hoping to be
ready and on the line before 7. Will be a long, long day.
... I won't mention what metcheck are saying the weather will be !!! Fairly worthless this
far off.0 -
I'm doing this :shock: the long one :x
Going to be 'fun' biggest ride I've done on a roadbike!
Registration:
'On Friday 2nd April between 11 am and 7 pm at the Town Hall from Ninove (Centrumlaan)'Colnago C60 SRAM eTap, Colnago C40, Milani 107E, BMC Pro Machine, Trek Madone, Viner Gladius,
Bizango 29er0 -
Got my email and i'm number 38 - out of 19,000!
Is there something that's the opposite of a raindance we could do to keep it dry on the day? (a sundance, i suppose).kop van de wedstrijd0 -
Hi all,
Having put virtually no thought into it whatsoever, I have decided that I'd really like to have a go at the long version of the race. Currently, I have me and my bike in London and a vague idea about getting down to the south coast on the Friday, catching a ferry to Ostend, registering, finding somewhere to sleep, riding, finding somewhere else to sleep and either going home or watching the pros do it the next day.
The only factor that is holding my rather mad plan back is that I don't have a car!
I don't suppose anyone from here is heading down there with a vehicle and would be amenable to picking up a stray rider and his steed? More than happy to pay petrol money plus beer and chips (with or without gallons of mayo). I know this is a big ask but I thought I'd try anyway.
Regardless of the outcome, I hope you all have a great ride and look forward to reading the race reports!
All the best,
Ed0 -
ejls2 wrote:Hi all,
Having put virtually no thought into it whatsoever, I have decided that I'd really like to have a go at the long version of the race. Currently, I have me and my bike in London and a vague idea about getting down to the south coast on the Friday, catching a ferry to Ostend, registering, finding somewhere to sleep, riding, finding somewhere else to sleep and either going home or watching the pros do it the next day.
The only factor that is holding my rather mad plan back is that I don't have a car!
I don't suppose anyone from here is heading down there with a vehicle and would be amenable to picking up a stray rider and his steed? More than happy to pay petrol money plus beer and chips (with or without gallons of mayo). I know this is a big ask but I thought I'd try anyway.
Regardless of the outcome, I hope you all have a great ride and look forward to reading the race reports!
All the best,
Ed
Would have but five of us and five bikes, good luck though......Colnago C60 SRAM eTap, Colnago C40, Milani 107E, BMC Pro Machine, Trek Madone, Viner Gladius,
Bizango 29er0 -
No worries! Thanks for replying. Will keep my fingers crossed.
Hope you have a great ride.
E0 -
SO GUYS LESS THAN ONE WEEK TO GO.
DO YOU WANT THE BAD NEWS OR THE GOOD NEWS ?
BAD NEWS IS THE FORECAST IS RAIN
GOOD NEWS IS THAT ITS RAINING ON SUNDAY AS WELL :-)
http://weather.msn.com/tenday.aspx?wealocations=wc:50500 -
Rain? Careful on those cobbles, chaps.FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
I have...a vague idea about getting down to the south coast on the Friday, catching a ferry to Ostend
Just ride down. It will make a good leg loosener. It isn't actually that far (Gent to Zeebrugge, which I've ridden before, is only 100km, as I recall).
See you all in Bruges and then in Ninove in the massive beer tent at the end..!
S*d the rain - it's going to be another great trip to Flaaaaaaaaaaanders. 0 -
Mmm..usually I get all bullish and demand 'classic' conditions.
However, forecast looks horrible. Another repeat of 2008 I suspect, wore my gore-tex jacket all the way round that time :shock:0 -
The forecast for Saturday is the same as for today & so far today it hasn't rained over here.
It's not cold though there is a bit of wind which is unpleasant.
Glad I am doing the short course & avoiding the long windy drag coming back from the coast (forecast as a headwind - SSW)0 -
What kind of weather is best/worst?
Normally I don't mind the rain as long as it's warm, but do the cobbles become a lot harder?
Don't like wind and looks like a head wind for most of the long course, but if big groups,
might not be so bad?
If temp around 8C, I'll go for shorts, which I find more comfortable over long days.
Excited now ...0 -
Heh heh...yes the cobbles get harder.
The roads aren't level, they can have humps in the in the middle, which means your wheel can slip off into the gutter. The climbs get very greasy and getting traction on the rear wheel becomes tricky. The downhill section becomes tricky when braking.
Mud seeps off the fields into the roads so you get covered in belgian toothpaste.
First time I did it, it was carnage at the first cobbled sector, people in ditches, bidons lying all over the road....0 -
Yep, not had much experience on the cobbles, but hopefully ok. Is it about 20km in total of them?
Good point on the bidons. I think I fix some old metal cages that seem to hold the bidons
tighter.
To take the average of the forecasts, we're looking at about 8C, light rain, strong wind from
the south.0 -
Koppenberg in the wet is a really slippy.
I've seen people struggling to stand in road shoes when it's been damp.
With the crowds it's hard to be the master of your own destiny too.
SW Wind is about forecast at around 20kph which is enough when your coming across the flat lands from the coast :-(
Find someone who looks big in Brugge to sit behind. (Hollanders are usually great windblocks - big & used to riding in the wind)0 -
light showers, 12 degrees, a wind from the south - sounds delightful. No snow, relatively warm, rain under control... what can possibly go wrong....?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/21360 -
I have to ride out from Brussels to Ninove on the day, anyone done that before? Any suggestions on route? I've searched the interweb but to no avail!!"And the Lord said unto Cain, 'where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: I dropped him on the climb up to the motorway bridge'."
- eccolafilosofiadelpedale0 -
You can easily get the train from brussels to Ninove...usually...not sure of how many locals will be doing same ..but maybe worth checking out ..
ps. Im a couple of hours away at the moment in NL. Its pxssing down and Im seeing snow reports in UK on BBC. Cobble errors expected
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Weather is brutally windy today in the region (Oudenaarde). Occasional rain storms too.
Fingers crossed it disappears...0 -
And comes back on Sunday 0
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still raining just up road here...and lots planned for saturday
yay0 -
still raining just up road here...and lots planned for saturday
yay0
