L Ride for Belgians
So today was no ordinary L ride, this was an L ride for Belgian hardmen and proper Belgian weather; cold, wet and windy slightly breezy. Soaked to the skin, cold, hungry and thirsty the six of us set off on the usual L Ride route towards Moana, noting absences of former Belgian hardman like Paul M, Colin W-L, RD6, Patrick and Matts.
Belgian hardmen: Stefan, Gaetan, Maarten, Michiel, Stefan
The bike track is a bit of mess at the moment and not easily accessible from Griffiths Drive, so a detour down Grand Boulevard and up Dalkeith Rd was necessary to get us back onto the track. With all the Belgian weather we've had this week, the other end of the bike track at the Victor Harbour Road is also a bit of a mud bath, particularly with all the construction work going on down there, so BTFU and get on with it take care around that area.
Belgian pastimes: watching a Belgian Owl
Being Belgian Hardmen, no one was allowed to escape off the front down California Road on either of the climbs or the descent, the patch of gravel on the LHS of that descent has now turned into an open grave waiting to swallow cyclists a pretty nasty pothole which I'll be reporting to the council - I hear it nearly swallowed Scott Swinfield later on after we went through.
At the end of California Road we engaged in a favourite Belgian pastime - owl-spotting. Sitting on a post across the road was a rare Belgian Owl (OK, so it turned out to be a couple of pigeons, but it did look a bit like an owl, kind of).
The group made good progress across Malpas Rd and back along the bike trail and like true Belgians, we didn't stop for a drink or a rest at any point until Maarten decided that we needed to brush up on our punc***e fixing skills, not once but twice, just to keep us on our toes - Belgian style.
Stefan holds Maarten's bike single-handed for 3 hours
Not content with one puncture today, Maarten insists on two to prove how hard he is
The roaring Belgian Ocean (Moana)
Undoubtedly the course record would have been broken today by this group of Belgians, but due to putting in some extra time on punc***e fixing skills we arrived back at Becks at more or less the same time as usual.
Total distance: 40km
Metres climbed: 260m *
Average speed: 24.7kmh
Pun***re Fairy visits: 2
Grin factor: Belgians don't grin
Belgian hardmen drink their coffee outside on days like today
The weather was so Belgian, my sunglasses broke when I got home
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Steven Ellison on -
Very well done Phil. Now to spoil it, we did not have a single drop of rain for the entie ride and the temp only dropped as low as 14C ;-) Sounded good but I would rather people, those who piked out, know they missed a fantastic day for a ride :-) BTW aprox. 30 mins in paused time! No wonder we didn't get back early....
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Permalink Reply by Phil Crick on -
I'm pretty sure I didn't say it rained, I just said it was wet (it was or the roads were). The forecast said we were going to get a good soaking which is what everyone had prepared for, but as you say it turned out quite nice by the time we got back.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Brennan on -
lol - I think that is the best write up from any ride I have seen this year :)
I felt very nostalgic looking at those photos.
It was a magic morning at the Glandore oval today as the Flagstaff Hill ..fig.....hmmm they don't have a nickname for the school team yet...took on St Anthony's for a hard fought 7-3 win.
My sneakers and socks got wet....so I feel a little Belgian.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Crick on -
You have forgotten to mention your amazing wife's editing skills again :-p
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Crick on
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Yes Paul, just giving Phil training for the GS and making up for leaving him at home with the kids whilst I was away. Should be back for Muddies ride next week ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Peter Hill on -
great write up Phil. See you at Yank tomorrow, for more tough stuff.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Stevens on -
was a great read Phil...might see you tomorrow where your Belgian training ride might well come in handy.
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Permalink Reply by RD6 on -
perfect training for tomorrow's GS, how's that infamous dog on California road?
RD7's soccer team flogged the opposition, it was one team affair
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Permalink Reply by colin ware-lane on -
hope to ride to the GS tomorrow in time to see the 1st riders return after lap 1.
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