Ora et labora, the trappist rule

Benedict of Nursia, aka St. Benedict inspired the most successful order of monks in the Catholic church, known as Benedictines. The order was formed long after his death and it is unclear whether or not Benedict intended to form an order, although he founded a monastery and wrote rules of monastic life.

The Benedictines live by these rules and one of these rules says: ora et labora, or pray and work. The Benedictines (cistericians) believe that they have to work and be self-sufficient. Hence the Benedictines started out doing manual labor and sell the fruits of their labor. Pretty soon though the good intentions went out the door and Benedictines refocused on spiritual work and teaching instead. That did not sit well with some who considered it frivolous, lax and what have you, and in 1664 a reform movement took hold.

The reform movement created a new order of cistercians of strict observance. It all began at the abbey of La Trappe in Normandy, France. (not to be confused with many La Trappe's in existence today) so the strict monks called themselves Trappists. The movement spread and their Belgian brethren quickly began brewing beer. The Trappists also started wearing a white habit -as opposed to former black- and are therefore known to some as White Monks.

A White Monk practicing Ora

Just this weekend I read about Benedictines who founded the monastery of Christ in the Desert in New Mexico and these monks too brew a Belgian style beer. They are not the only ones apparently and monastery brewing is on the upswing in this and other countries.

That said, Trappist is a synonym for Belgian beer to many people. To others it is a style of beer and some breweries that have no affiliation with a monastery brew what they call Trappist Ales.  Even so, "authentic trappist beer"  is a designation of origin similar to Appellation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) for wine.  A hexagonal insignia is added to the bottle to prove authenticity.

It just so happens that only 7 breweries are thus recognized and 6 of the  7 are in Belgium. The breweries are: Achel, Chimay, Koningshoeven (La Trappe), Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren. La Trappe is the Dutch entry and for a while it lost its license.

Chimay Beer

Although most people equate Trappist with dark beer out of short fat bottles, there are quite a few authentic blondes in the line-up. La Trappe even makes a wit (literally white) wheat beer.

Apart from color, Trappists typically come as singles (often not named), doubles and triples, depending on the alcohol content of the brew. The breweries also put out specials such as Reserves, Extras and Dorees (golden) and all have some brews that are only available at or near the abbey. That is no doubt in response to the enormous success of Westvleteren, a brand that can only be bought at the abbey, and in limited production, and by jumping through various hoops.

Recently however, the abbey of Westvleteren upgraded its facilities and now the monks are considering selling their beer in the supermarket to pay for the expenses. There were rumors they had signed a deal with Colruyt, a low cost provider, but so far the issue is up in the air. The "move" made serious waves in Belgium, not in the least because it would take Westvleteren's status from highly exclusive to rock bottom in one fell swoop.

Although Trappists are probably the most famous Belgian beers, they are not my favorites. I find most of them too thick or too bread-like and too chocolatey. The ones I like the best are the blondes and Westvleteren blonde (green caps) -if you can get it- is definitely worth the price. Coming to a Colruyt near you??

Although I do not recommend overindulging in Trappist ale while racing in Belgium, I do recommend visiting the various abbeys on rest days.  Here is some great information about bike routes and Trappist (in Dutch). Westmalle is spectacular with lots of art deco, while Rochefort in the French speaking part is considered by many the most spectacular of the abbeys.

Oh and do remember, the Trappists are not supposed to talk much on mostly only when spoken to, and laughing is considered in poor taste. These are all part of the rules of humility devised by Benedict.

San Diego

In the US, we have this expression, on the wrong side of the tracks, and you could say that here in San Diego I am staying on the wrong side of the freeway -the California equivalent of tracks. The Hampton Inn SeaWorld may be a convenient location for those visiting Sea World, or those waiting for their cruise ship, or those wanting to stay close the airport, but it is not in a nice part of town. On the other side of the freeway however is one of the nicest spots in San Diego, aka Old Town. Unfortunately, without car, Old Town is on the other side of the Universe.

I am attending a USAC power clinic, where I am learning all the ins-and-outs of cycling with power. What I have learned so far today was enough to tell me that my intuitions about power and power meters were essentially right and that I have been using my power meter correctly and for all it is worth. That is good but not unexpected. It is also not due to any special powers of mine. If there were secrets to the power meter that normal mortals could not divine one would have to seriously consider that the device was yet another form of snake-oil. It is  not.

Today I learned the origin and background behind such concepts as normalized power (NP), Intensity Factor (IF) and TSS, all of which are on my Ergomo display. I also found out I had used these values correctly and as intended by the developers -It turns out most of this is the work of Andy Coggan. Since Andy's presentations are on the web, I probably could have known about all this much earlier, but for some reason I never did. Firstly, because I was unaware of Andy's key role. Secondly, because I always assumed NP was a proprietary calculation done by Ergomo as is this is what their manual says.

A large part of the clinic is devoted to TrainingPeaks and WKO+, which is a nice piece of software but essentially a fancy form of Excel combined with some web and file transfer tools. WKO has now become the de facto standard for power users. The good side is that it has some very nice features and some dazzling displays. You can do all the same things in Excel (I do since WKO only runs on Windows). But it is easier to use WKO since all functions are built-in in menus and you don't need to think as you would in Excel. The big caveat is that -like any statistical visualization package- WKO teases people with many fancy-looking but otherwise meaningless graphics.

The danger of overanalyzing data is great. So great that it was readily apparent in the questions coming from the audience. Both coaches and their clients want to, and feel the need to, and are driven to, massage the data and derive conclusions that are often unwarranted.  It is something I often saw in medicine too but in medicine, reality often bites and then puts a stop to extreme fancifulness. In coaching no such hard stops are apparent and so the danger of misuse is much greater. The only stop athletes and coaches see is frustration after years of delusion and self-delusion. That is a hard price to pay. Fortunately most coaches have enough common sense to stop before that happens.

Stay tuned for more racing in Belgium next week.

Power clinic

I am off to San Diego this weekend for a USAC power clinic. The clinic is a two day event to be followed by an exam, after which I will be entitled "to coach with power." Certifying coaches to coach with power is a big driver for USAC. I think they see it as a great opportunity for coaches to bring in extra revenue. In that sense it is no different from getting one's ECG certification as a physician. I still remember those days!

I have had a power meter for several years now and I had ample time to work with power devices both using myself, my son, and a few clients as guinea pigs. I think I have learned a lot about what can and can't be done with power meters and where their application is most useful. As usual I took time to double check my results to make sure the numbers are consistent. I have also tracked my power output during the bike leg of several IM races. All that has -I think- given me a good feel for the devices and their application. I am therefore quite interested in seeing what the experts think.

I am also planning to test something else. In my post on tubeless tires last week I mentioned liquid sloshing around, which evoked a comment from a reader. That made me think. Did I fall victim to the same preconceived notions I was warning people about? Can you really feel liquid sloshing around in tires? It is definitely worth testing and I plan to begin doing so as early as next week. I will fill some tires with the recommended amount of sealant and see if I -or anyone else- can detect its presence while riding. Stay tuned for yet another update on tubeless tires soon!

A season in Belgium: are you ready?

Before you embark on a season-long trip to Belgium, ask yourself this simple question: are you ready for the challenge? Being ready doesn't just mean being physically fit, although being very fit is a prerequisite for success. You also need to consider other issues such as your financial fitness. Although it is possible to survive in Belgium by being frugal and doing well in races, not everyone can do both. Living off your racing is something that is only feasible for those 19 and older. It is not an option for junioren or nieuwelingen. It is also quite difficult for first-year beloften (racing age 19).

Race entries in Belgium are EUR3 plus a refundable EUR5 and prizes often go 20 deep. If you manage to place you will easily get your money back. Many American juniors who go to Europe in summer are able to race at least one event where they come out ahead. But that is a far cry from making a living, or even paying for the other race-related expenses. You can save money by riding to the venue as most towns are within riding distance. That will save gas money but you still need to eat and pay for your stays. Bringing home EUR12 may sound impressive but it isn't going to pay for the day, let alone a three month stay.

If you really want to make ends meet simply by racing, you need to join a local club. Not only will the club pick up most of your expenses, and often pay for bike maintenance as well, joining a club is the only way to enter the more lucrative interclub events. Joining a club and getting a spot on their team is only realistic if you have a respectable race resume so it is typically not something first time visitors can do. Interclub races have bigger pots and they often have prizes for sprints, king of the mountain competitions and the team as a whole. For a good team that can quickly add up to a respectable sum.

Another way to make a living is to sell your races. Although you can argue that selling races defeats the whole purpose of going to Europe, it is a common practice among expatriates. It is something you can't really plan for and it is only an option for riders who are in a winning break and are known to be good sprinters.  They can often sell their spot for much more than the winning prize money.

Foreigners also survive by taking on odd jobs such as bike mechanic, soigneur or waiter but this is something that cannot be legally done without the appropriate visa and permits. Although the government is cracking down on the practice, there is still a lot of under-the-table work in Belgium.

Apart from fitness and finances, the other key issue is separation. There is no doubt that cell phones and the internet have made things easier, but many people still have a hard time being away from family and friends for an extended period of time. Many experience culture shock, and go through several phases of adjustment, often without their knowledge. Symptoms of the honeymoon phase are clearly evident in facebook postings from nieuwelingen attending European camp or juniors racing for the National Team. Many of these kids are simply in love with Belgium and all things Belgian. Even the rain and the wind have a romantic charm to them. For someone like me, who was born and lived in Belgium and wanted nothing more than to escape the miserable weather and trade it in for California sunshine this is a bizarre thing to witness.

Culture shock can cause many other problems, but the one most often seen is excessive racing and overreaching. More than half the U23 racers I met who were staying at a popular cycling housing outfit last summer were suffering from overreaching. Many were exhausted and burned out and quite a few admitted that they were overdoing it. The resident coach told me this happens every year and despite his best efforts and frequent admonitions people repeatedly ride themselves into the ground during the season.

One way to prevent overreaching is to take some time off to go sightseeing, or partake in other activities such as kermesses, the beach, and one of the many festivals.

Belgium: bike clubs

Belgium has hundreds of bike clubs that are members of the Wielerbond Vlaanderen. You can find a complete list on the website. You will notice that clubs are listed as clubs met renners (clubs with racers), wielertoeristenclubs (cycling tourist clubs) and organizerende clubs (clubs that organize events). Check one of these options and click the zoek (search) button to see a list of clubs in that category. The listing shows the club's location and the contact information.

You can select alle provincies (all provinces) or choose your favorite province. You can also sort clubs (sortering) op postnummer (by zip code), op gemeente (by town), or op stamnummer (literally by tribe number).

Flemish provinces are West-Vlaanderen, by the North Sea and around Brugge, in the upper left corner; Oost-Vlaanderen, home of de Vlaamse Ardennen (Flemish Ardennes), Oudenaarde and Gent, to the east; Antwerpen, the Northern most province around the port city of Antwerpen. Limburg in the upper right hand corner around Hasselt, and Vlaams Brabant, the Flemish part of the central province around Brussel.

Zip codes are four digit codes that start with 8 in West Vlaanderen, 9 in Oost Vlaanderen, 2 in Antwerpen, 3 in Limburg, and 1 in Brabant. The provincial capital has three zeros so Brugge is 8000, Gent is 9000, Antwerpen is 2000, Hasselt is 3000 and Brussel is 1000.

Also note that a club with racers has separate teams for every age group they serve. Most clubs that support youth racing do so from miniemen up to the junioren level. They will usually have an aspiranten team, a nieuwelingen team and a junioren team. Some of the best nieuwelingen and junioren  team clubs do not have a beloften (U23) team and so riders are forced to switch when they reach 19. In most races beloften race with Elites z/c (amateur riders).

It is possible to join a team for a race or a set of races if you contact them beforehand and they have slots available. Usually a team will have many more riders than they can field in an interclub event and internal competition for these events is fierce. However that does not mean you can't get a slot. Due to age restrictions, younger riders will often have to give up a spot in order to remain eligible for other events. Sometimes riders will give up prime slots in stage races (where they are restricted to just a few events per year) in order to race in other countries with the Belgian national team.

For youths it is generally easiest to join a team for a junioren event. Here is where you often find the optimal conditions in terms of age restrictions, number of available team riders, and number of available events. It is also fairly easy to join a team for a Elite z/c event (i.e. amateurs in the open category). Furthermore, by age 17 most solid riders have enough of a resume to convince team managers that they will live up to expectations. Without a resume that shows at least some racing in Belgium, convincing a manager may be tough to do.

The various cycling houses  have affiliations with local teams and if you show good race results while staying there, you may get a slot for a team-only event. But it is not required that you stay at one of these in order to make a team. Getting yourself noticed during a race and talking to potential managers and riders afterwards is often enough to do the trick. Nearly all big races from the nieuwelingen level on have talent scouts in the crowd. At a nieuwelingen stage race last summer I noticed Omega Pharma Lotto, Rabobank, and RadioShack along the course.

Going on training rides -almost always welcomed- with a team is another good way to become visible. Many teams are attached to a local bike store and hanging out in the store (especially in the back where the mechanics are) will get you connected to the right people pretty quickly. Although nearly everyone speaks English, it is definitely helpful if you learn some words in Flemish. And the best place to learn relevant words is to go on rides with people.

Tubeless: an update

Since the beginning of this year I have been riding tubeless tires on my road bike. I was very enthusiastic about these as I had a wonderful experience on my mountain bike, so I fully expected my road experience to match that. To a large extent it did. Here are my findings.

All tubeless tires on the US market are made by Hutchinson. I have tested both the Fusion and the Atom. I also tested the Specialized S Works Turbo, which are made by Hutchison as well.

Here is the good: I stick to my original point that tubeless ride as well as any other tire. I have since had ample opportunity to test this concept on others and I am convinced riders can't tell the difference. What I do know is that people are very good at detecting small differences in tire pressure and even inexperienced cyclists can detect a 5 psi difference. If riders do sense a difference in how tubeless handle it is usually due to pressure differences. Also make sure to do a blinded test.

This situation reminds me of a rigorous review of hifi speakers I once saw. It turns out nearly all the perceived differences between high end speakers were due to differences in loudness. Once researchers corrected for loudness, none of the experienced judges could tell the difference between the sets in a blinded study.

I also know tubeless prevent flats due to potholes. Many times I have hit a pothole without any problem. Most of these hits would have resulted in snakebites using clinchers. Once on a fast group ride, I hit a pothole so hard that it dented the rim but I did not notice until afterwards: no flats!

It damaged the rim, but no flat!

You don't need sealant. I never use sealant and I have never had a problem. You also don't need a special pump. You can pump tubeless tires with a handheld pump, provided you have a large volume pump (the little carbon pumps don't work) and provided you pump fast initially. The key is to pump 10-15 strokes really fast until the tire seals. The air will leak out and you may be tempted to stop, but do not, keep pumping and the tire will seal.

The not-so good: Tubeless tires are harder to mount, especially the first time around. Road tires are not much better than mountain bike tires in this respect. Good technique -using the palm of your hands instead of your fingers- helps but it is still a whole lot harder than mounting a clincher.

Tubeless do not prevent all flats. You can still get flats due to piercing (California has some roadside plants that have very sharp long needles) and cuts. With my mountain bike I very rarely get flats, but that is not true on the road.

When you do get a flat, tubeless are more of a hassle (but see below for my new fix). There are some products available to help you but all have drawbacks.

To fix a flat use one of these.

Vittoria Pit Stop (and similar products) is the easiest to use, but my experience so far has been less favorable. Although it is a pressurized can and it will fix a flat and pump the tire at the same time (without the need to remove the wheel), I found it only works for the tiniest of holes and then again only temporarily. But it will get you home even when home is a few hours away. Unfortunately, it is expensive and it can only be used once. I would keep it for a road race or the bike leg of an ironman. Fixing a flat this way is very fast: just remove the offending object, apply the bottle to the valve and off you go. It is fast enough for you to be able to catch back on in a race. But be aware that it may not last.

Stan's sealant comes in a small container that is easy to carry, but you need to put it inside the tire and you  need a pump afterwards. Many people use it as a preventive sealant before they mount the tire and that is its recommended use, but I found that to be unnecessary. Furthermore, if you do fill the tire with preventive liquid of any kind, it will affect your handling and people will notice the difference compared to a clincher or tubular.

Slime comes in larger packages and it is more viscous than Stan's sealant. The main advantage of Slime is that it can fix larger holes and cuts. Both Slime and Stan's are good for many applications and both can seal a tire more or less permanently (or at least until it needs to be replaced for other reasons).

For a really large cut you will need a tire boot (or dollar bill;) and a tube, although I have witnessed cases that were beyond repair from the get-go.

I recommend taking Stan's or a small bottle of Slime on training rides. There is a very easy permanent fix that I have not seen advertised anywhere. You don't even need to remove the wheel from the bike or the tire from the rim!  But you do need a large volume pump and bike gloves. Here is how it works:

Just locate the hole or cut and remove any offending material. Rotate the tire so the hole is on the bottom. Using one tire lever lift the tire away from the rim. You can do this higher up on the wheel. Depending on how skillful you are you may or may not have to remove a short section of the tire from the rim. If you are careful all you have to do is move the tire away from the rim in one area.

Now pour in some Slime or Stan's. Just a little bit. Make sure the hole is on the bottom so the sealant runs down and covers it. Now remove the lever(s) or reposition the tire (here is where the bike gloves come in handy-they protect your palms). Pump the tire. This should seal the hole and pretty much use up all the sealant you poured in too -so there is no liquid sloshing around afterwards. Done!  


I have used this method several times now and it works like a charm.

Tomorrow more on Belgium. Stay tuned.

Visiting Belgium: visas etc.

If you are traveling to Belgium for bike racing, there are a few things you should know about passports and visas.

Belgium along with 24 other European nations is part of the Schengen area. Belgium was one of the original signatories to the 1984 agreement that is named after a small town in Luxembourg and created a border-free travel zone within Europe. The Schengen area was created independently of the European Union but the agreement has now been incorporated in European Union Law. Even so, the Schengen area does include countries that are not part of the European Union such as Switzerland, whereas other EU member states like the UK are not part of it.

The Schengen Area

Under the Schengen agreement, anyone can travel to any of the 25 Schengen countries with just one set of documents. In some cases that means just a passport, in others a  Schengen visa is needed. American citizens can travel to and from the Schengen area with just their passport, but other nationals may need a Schengen visa.  The latter group includes Russia and many Caribbean and South American nations. A list of Schengen-visa countries can be found here, but it is always wise to check with the consulate or embassy to obtain the latest information as things do change from time to time.

This is what a Schengen visa looks like. This one issued in the Netherlands.

If you need a Schengen visa, you can apply to the consulate or embassy of any of the member states. You will need to apply in person and bring certain documents. For a list visit the website of the embassy of country you will visit first. For people residing in California, the Belgian Consulate in Los Angeles is the place to go. The Belgian embassy is in Washington D.C.

Armed with a passport that is valid at least 6 months beyond the projected stay, American citizens can enter the Schengen area and stay for a maximum of 90 days within a six month window. They cannot work or conduct business there. They also have to provide evidence of sufficient funds and a return airline ticket. Although not strictly required it is good to have evidence of emergency medical insurance as this is considered a key part of "sufficient funds" by many border patrol agents. Schengen area policies are sold by most insurers. As in the US, the immigration agent at the port of entry has the ultimate power to grant or deny access to anyone.

Individuals who want to study in Belgium or conduct business there need special visas. Business and trades people who want to hire citizens or be self-employed and conduct short term assignments need to file a Limosa declaration.

Remember that, while in Belgium you need to carry ID at all times. The only valid ID for non-citizens is a passport. Some riders take copies of their passport on training rides and most of the time this has been acceptable to Belgian police but be aware that you do so at your own risk. I would certainly recommend that you take your passport whenever you drive a car or whenever you put yourself in situation where ID checks are likely -such as going out late at night in a major city.