2014 tour of Flanders sportive

durhamwasp

Not long now!

3 of us heading over in a campervan for the weekend, not a single space on any campsite, but no worries. Should be a cracking weekend - Sportive, Womens and Mens races and gallons and gallons of Primus n Jupiler!

polocini

If anyone needs accommodation for the ronde I've just had a cancellation and we've got a few spaces at the b&b we use in Nokere. It's the perfect location on the Nokereberg with lots of room and bike storage. Dm me for info.

Apologies for any thread hijack.

Cheers
AL

durhamwasp

What are the feed stations like? reliable, or better packing your own stuff?

Mainly thinking about some energy drinks to top up with, and also some cakes and the like. Otherwise will take some packets or energy powder and mix the water in myself.

How many feed stations are there, and at what points?

Thanks in advance

cal_stewart

Anyone else staying at the outsider.be campsite?

If so anyone fancy a beer on the sat night after the sportive

Dark prince

Hi cal Stewart ,yes stopping Fri,sat,sun night at the outsider,doing the long ride,so will be up for a beer and maybe a sneaky one on the Friday..early start though getting the bus at five.has the outsider got showers?sounds a silly question.

cal_stewart

Yeah, they been good with the emails I've sent them, was staying for 10 days but works fucked that up. 7mins from tent area so they say with the wc's

cal_stewart

I'm I being mad or does the koppenberg have a big screen on it for RVV?

durhamwasp

Oude Kwaremont does...

Checked out the feedstations, pretty much every 30km. So, nobody on here has any knowledge of how decent/reliable they are?

mm1

durhamwasp wrote:

Oude Kwaremont does...

Checked out the feedstations, pretty much every 30km. So, nobody on here has any knowledge of how decent/reliable they are?

Feed stations pretty good, free isostar, waffles and fruit (sadly I can't stomach bananas, but they have orange segments) etc. I have found myself getting a bit sick of the sweet stuff, so take some of your own stuff if that's likely to be a problem. Last year they had some great little salami style sausages as some sort of promotion - hope they have these again this year!

durhamwasp

mm1 wrote:

durhamwasp wrote:

Oude Kwaremont does...

Checked out the feedstations, pretty much every 30km. So, nobody on here has any knowledge of how decent/reliable they are?

Feed stations pretty good, free isostar, waffles and fruit (sadly I can't stomach bananas, but they have orange segments) etc. I have found myself getting a bit sick of the sweet stuff, so take some of your own stuff if that's likely to be a problem. Last year they had some great little salami style sausages as some sort of promotion - hope they have these again this year!

Thanks!

cashy16

I'm going to this one on the Friday staying in Ghent with a few lads from the club here in stone,staffs.

Planning 25 mm tyres and extra bar padding. Hope gents got some night life as I'm going to need some nice beers after the ride:))

bigmat

cashy16 wrote:

I'm going to this one on the Friday staying in Ghent with a few lads from the club here in stone,staffs.

Planning 25 mm tyres and extra bar padding. Hope gents got some night life as I'm going to need some nice beers after the ride:))

Gent has the best night life you could hope to find - awesome city. Overpoort is a student bar strip which is fantastic midweek but tends to be a bit dead on Friday and Saturday nights. There are some great bars in the historic centre though - we'll probably be heading to Platte Beurs on Kleine Turkije (sic) on Saturday night / Sunday morning. There are a few others round there and in the square behind (Charlatan used to be good). For novelty beers / jenevers there are a couple of touristy places by the river worth checking out - usually mentioned in the guidebooks.

Caveat to the above is that its now 16 years since I lived in Gent (way to make me feel old) but I was there a couple of weekends ago (during the day) and it didn't look to have changed much.

There's also (or used to be) a bar owned by some eccentric guy with bikes hanging from the ceiling. Can't remember where it was (I was always very drunk) but its fairly central and worth checking out early in the evening when more cultural / interesting things might be more relevant!

colinsmith123

Dark prince wrote:

Hi cal Stewart ,yes stopping Fri,sat,sun night at the outsider,doing the long ride,so will be up for a beer and maybe a sneaky one on the Friday..early start though getting the bus at five.has the outsider got showers?sounds a silly question.

We'll be there too from Friday. Good food and beer in the restaurant. I think they've changed the type of timing chips to the 'disposable type if this is the case there's no particular need to go back to the start, other than to ride through Oudenaarde. So once you've crossed the finish line, ride past the barriers to the end turn left and ride past the lake back to the Outsider Bar for some warm applause and a hot shower.

If you are in a camper van, remember to fill up your water storage before arriving.

colinsmith123

durhamwasp wrote:

Not long now!

3 of us heading over in a campervan for the weekend, not a single space on any campsite, but no worries. Should be a cracking weekend - Sportive, Womens and Mens races and gallons and gallons of Primus n Jupiler!

Contact the Outsider, five mins from the finish line. We were amazed it was not full last year, so they may be able to squeeze you in.

info@outsider.be

Dark prince

Hi Colin smith..the outsider sounds great..really looking forward to the ride..are you doin the big un?the long range forecast is looking really promising...21and sunny,the shower will be much needed and so will a steady beer..good reminder about the water for the van

nicknick

Has anyone else had issues with booking the shuttle back to Brugge? Due to a cockup with emails, the shuttle is now full and I don't have a space, so currently don't know how I will get back after doing the full distance! Just wondering if anyone is in a similar situation?

mm1

There's also (or used to be) a bar owned by some eccentric guy with bikes hanging from the ceiling. Can't remember where it was (I was always very drunk) but its fairly central and worth checking out early in the evening when more cultural / interesting things might be more relevant![/quote]

t'Velootje http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/7457/

mm1

297 bars in Ghent apparently. There's foodie type guides on both the Guardian and Independent websites and as this student guide might be useful: [url]/http://ghent.use-it.travel/[/url][url][/url]

Cranksnapper

Hi everyone!
I've entered the 245km route and I'm staying with friends on the Dutch border from today for a few days gentle training before Saturday's brutality commences.

My number has arrived and I have a question which I hope someone on here can help with-do the three routes have a corresponding colour code? The reason I ask is that on the front of the envelope it states that I have entered the long route as I requested but on the route map the 134km is shown in green and I have a green number, the 245km route is shown as black and I know from UK sportives that each route has it's own coloured number. Should my number be black?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, by the way the weather is INCREDIBLE here today

durhamwasp

colinsmith123 wrote:

durhamwasp wrote:

Not long now!

3 of us heading over in a campervan for the weekend, not a single space on any campsite, but no worries. Should be a cracking weekend - Sportive, Womens and Mens races and gallons and gallons of Primus n Jupiler!

Contact the Outsider, five mins from the finish line. We were amazed it was not full last year, so they may be able to squeeze you in.

info@outsider.be

Thanks! sent them an email the other day but no reply. We are happy to wildcamp tho, so no problems - worth a try.

Weather forecast looks almost unbelievable!

cal_stewart

Which forecast you looking that?

I'm getting 17C and showers

Dark prince

Yes weather looking very good 15 sunny intervals..with a shower later on..I will take that..nice temp for riding though will be a little chilly at 7 in the morning no doubt..hope to see some of you guys at the outsider campsite...or in the bar

durhamwasp

Think we'll turn up at The Outsider and see what the crack is, I can't find any 2014 information, but there is a 2013 'Ronde in Oudenaarde' website that suggests you can turn up with your camper and pay €10/night.

15 and sunny intervals is way better than I expected, and actually great weather for cycling.

cal_stewart

Weather looking even better. I've shaven my legs as I won't be in longs

simongwyn

Is there a possibility of parking in the assigned car parks in Oudenaarde on Friday night and sleeping in the car? Or are the car parks closed till Sat morning?

Dark prince

Hi Durham wasp..reckon you should be ok to get on the outsider..prob be a a good idea get there early Friday...are you doing 245 km ride?what time you landing in oudenaarde?

jimmurray

A little tip. Pay very careful attention to where you have parked as you may have been directed to park quite a way away. It's very easy to find the start from the parking, just follow everyone else. It's not so easy to find where you parked from the finish. :oops:

durhamwasp

Got a reply from The Outsider today, saying we can use their 'campervan overflow' carpark next to Den Dronk Tavern for €10 a night, that's us sorted, no worries about being shifted from parking spots (tho I did print out the map of closed roads, and planned to avoid them).

Should be there around 1pm/2pm on Fri

Dark Prince - doing the 135km ride starting and finishing in Oudenaarde.

TheStone

Check your ferries. French on strike today, no-one seems sure if 24hrs or longer.

Grantmk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-26864367