Some more pictures

The obligatory Ronde Centrum shot

The bike room, all racks are filled

In all the excitement we almost forgot that Gilbert won de Brabantse Pijl, beating Leukemans in the sprint. His team, Omega Pharma-Lotto fired Matthew Lloyd and the Italian police took Katuscha's files from their headquarters in a doping sting.

Also in the Pijl, Peter Vanspeybrouck suffered a bad crash that broke his larynx and his eye socket. The rider lost consciousness as a result of the crash. He will be out for several weeks.

Next up the Amstel Gold Race, where Cadel, the soon-to-be oldest winner of the Tour, passed due to a quadriceps lesion and Quick-step will field only one Belgian, Dries Devenys.

Monday, the Boston Marathon. Monday is a holiday in all of New England, called Patriot's day. On this day, New Englanders remember the war of independence, and busy themselves re-enacting some key scenes that led up to that war.

Belgium

We got to Belgium early. The flight was scheduled for 9:20 but it arrived at 8:55. The skies were overcast and the temperature 7C/45F. In Chicago we met several National Team and Hot Tubes juniors. The National Team were going to Belgium to take part in the Ster, the Hot Tubes were going to do a stage race in France. If the plane had gone down, the future of American cycling would have changed forever.

Juniors at O'Hare waiting for the United 972 flight

Gregg picked us up at the airport and after a short drive we were in Oudenaarde. The boys were hungry so we went shopping first. Then we headed out on a ride. We rode part of the Blue Loop, over Nokereberg, through Wannegem, over the Huisepontweg to Lede and the over the Doorn section of cobbles. After that we took the highway back to Oudenaarde and then rode along the Schelde to Kluisbergen.

John, Alex and Addison arrive at the Chainstay

Here everyone started to feel tired and they all wanted to go back home. We skipped the Oude Kwaremont and the Paterberg, and took the bike path. Then we headed over the Koppenberg and down the other side to the Ronse highway and back home. Afterwards everyone ate, took a shower and fell asleep.

All in a day's work--on the couch at the Chainstay

Catching ZZ's

Alex stayed awake and played with his Mac, trying to catch up to Belgian time.

Oudenaarde and the Ronde

The big news on the eve of the Belgian season opener is Oudenaarde' s bid to host the finish of the Ronde in 2012. The city is already host to the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen and the central hub in a network of Ronde-related cycling loops (or lussen).

Oudenaarde

This once sleepy small city with its beautiful Gothic monuments is quickly becoming a major tourist hub in Belgium. Tourism in Oudenaarde is inevitably linked to cycling and racing.

If Oudenaarde were to win its bid, the course of the Ronde would change rather dramatically. The muur-kapelmuur in Geraardsbergen, the traditional final or decisive climb would then become the opening climb. The Oude Kwaremont, a climb that can certainly match the muur in difficulty, and that is now the opening climb, would most likely become the final challenge before riders head to Oudenaarde along the Schelde river.

For those of you unfamiliar with this classic race, it probably sounds a bit confusing but essentially the race has three parts. The Ronde has always started in the flat country-side of West-Flanders. Bruges is the current start site. In the olden days, the race included a detour along the coast, where crosswinds and resulting echelons made a first selection. That loop was deleted for several years but has been re-introduced recently (but it is absent this year again).

RVV 2007 without the coastal loop

From the coast the race heads inland to the hills around Oudenaarde, better known as the Vlaamse Ardennen (Flemish Ardennes.) Here it twists and turns into every little farm-road and bike path within the Oudenaarde - Ronse - Kluisbergen triangle. The space is surprisingly small, a nearly equilateral triangle that is less than 15 km (9 miles) on the side. Within that triangle and on its outskirts lie all the major climbs and cobbled stretches that have made the Ronde famous.

2010 with the more traditional coastal loop

Here you find the Paterberg, the Oude Kwaremont, the Koppenberg, and the Steenbeekdries.

Finally, the race leaves the tight loops and heads towards the capital. Along the way it hits a few more climbs and cobbles then Geraardsbergen and the infamous muur, before finishing in or around Ninove. The new route would essentially invert the sequence putting the last third first and finishing in what is now the middle third.

If this new route is accepted it will make Oudenaarde the place to be in Belgium for cyclists, amateur and professional alike.

You may have noticed that many of the climbs and cobbles in the Ronde also feature prominently in other races, including the season opener, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and the semi-classic Gent-Wevelgem.

Stay tuned for opening weekend with the Omloop on Saturday and Kuurne Brussel Kuurne on Sunday.

Tom Boonen says he is ready and that he will definitely be part of tomorrow's race. That in spite of the fact that many of the big names have decided to bail out. Conditions are expected to be rough, but maybe not quite as bad as last year's Kuurne Brussel Kuurne. 

Where to stay

There are many good places to stay in Belgium depending on your personal preferences. If you like cities, Gent is your best bet. It is cheaper than tourist-overrun Bruges, a lot more authentic and a whole lot more cosmopolitan. It has a great university and two wonderful velodromes. One is the "Wielercentrum Eddy Merckx" along the Watersportbaan, and the other is the famous "Het Kuipke," in the Citadel park where six day races have been held in the fall since 1947.

Kuipke--the little tank

In many ways, Gent is the most attractive city in Belgium and it has long been my favorite. You can find good hotel deals on the outskirts, especially around the University hospital. That location has the additional benefit of being near the Schelde (Scheldt in English) river, where a long bike path (all the way to the French border) provides one of the best places to ride intervals.

Gent is also a great place for extended stays as you may be able to find student housing known as a "studentenkamer" or "kot," for a reasonable price. Gent is easy to reach by train and has it has the best public transport connections you can dream of. It is also where the E17 and E40 motorways intersect, the main arteries that go north-south and east-west.

When it comes to bike tourism, Oudenaarde and environs are tops. Oudenaarde is a somewhat sleepy town on the Schelde river that has seen a revival recently. Much of that is due to cycling and the Ronde van Vlaanderen. While Oudenaarde does not have the same selection of hotels that Gent does, it has a lot of vacation homes and bed and breakfast places that are geared towards cyclists. Oudenaarde also has cyclist housing,  great bike shops and tons of fabulous riding. Nearly all climbs and cobblestone sections of the Ronde are within easy riding distance from here.

Tourism East Flanders (Toerisme Oost Vlaanderen) has a website where you can find information regarding rooms, vacation homes and bed and breakfast places. There is a special option to find bike-friendly (fietsvriendelijk) places. One place that comes recommended is Hof Ter Kammen, a bed and breakfast near the Koppenberg.

Hof Ter Kammen

Geraardsbergen, home of the infamous "Muur" is another excellent location. Here too you can find great bike routes, good bike shops, and tons of vacation rentals.

The Kapelmuur in Geraardsbergen

In Belgium lodging is nearly always sold "per person" instead of "per room," and most places include breakfast with a stay. For extended stays, vacation rentals are usually per week, or per month and typically you need to add a fee for utilities and a cleaning to the listed price. Regular houses are 3 year rentals, although you can find 1 year rentals in bigger cities. Student housing is more flexible (the academic year runs from October through June) and is usually negotiated on a case by case basis.

Belgium is a first world country and nearly everything you can find in the US you can find in Belgium. When it comes to biking there is absolutely no need to bring extra stuff, spare parts or lots of tools. All these items are easy to find locally at prices that are comparable to those in the US. Do not bring extra fancy, superlight race wheels to Belgium. Best is to bring a durable wheelset that you can train on and race on. There are no long climbs here but tons of bad roads and cobbles. The latter are favorites among race organizers so be prepared.

Unless you are sponsored by a deep pocket team, it is better to leave the carbon fiber stuff at home. Also avoid one of a kind components with proprietary nuts and bolts that are special order items.

Paterberg--again

Yesterday I took the day off to go shopping with my mom. Ironically enough it turned out to be the nicest and hottest day so far. The sun was out all afternoon and so were legions of bike riders. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it as we had gone to Bruges and would not be back before dark.

Today started out quite cold with frost on the grass, but sunny. After an hour or so it turned grey and we did not see the sun all day. I set out anyways and rode to Anzegem and from there to Ingooigem, Vichte, Tiegem and other villages I had never been to. In Tiegem I found a bike store and stopped by to pick up some goodies. It turned out Carinne, who lent me the bike lives in Tiegem and she was well known there. Her ex is a pro rider and so is her son. I spent some time talking to the bike store owner and received a free energy bar. Life is good.

I rode to Ronse and onto Hotond, then picked up the Tour of Flanders route again to the Paterberg. This time I was much better oriented and had no trouble finding out where I was or where I was going. I climbed the Paterberg and followed the route to the Koppenberg almost without having to look for signs. I did not climb the Koppenberg, but rode back to Oudenaarde and then to Wannegem, this time exploring little side-streets.

It turned out part of my disorientation had to do with my internal map. I thought the village of Kwaremont was south of Kluisbergen and that turned out to be wrong. After checking with Google last night, I created a better map. With that "map" things were easier.

I was pretty cold today but fairly dry so it wasn´t too bad out there.