Category: Cycling

Gent Wevelgem and Home

After leaving the campground in the morning we tried to find a place to get a SIM card for the mobile wifi device. We were directed to the town of Zottegem where, I was told, I would be able to find a place that sold them no problem.

Well – it was a problem. First I took my ipad and wifi device into a kind of fancy shop that sold phones and all accessories and asked for a SIM card – I was told that I must have Belgian ID and would have to wait at least a week. I asked if there was any other place I might get a card without all the fuss and was directed to a place near the train station. Arriving there I eventually narrowed it down to a small ‘variety’ store and upon asking was immediately presented with a new card off the shelf without any need for ID or a waiting period.

But…that wasn’t the end of it. When I put the card in the mobile device it didn’t work. The owner of the store got his young teenage son to have a try, but after almost 45 minutes I had to give up as nothing he tried would make it work. You need to go onto a phone and download an app, then scan a bar code – I was lost and so was the young fellow.

I then took the card back with me to the first store, and they also tried for about 15 minutes without any more luck. I don’t know why it had to be so complicated and was so frustrated I wanted to throw something – although not at the fellows who had really tried to help.

After that exercise in frustration we headed to West Flanders to find the route for Gent Wevelgem which was the next race. We’d been in the very same area six years ago – not far from the Ploegsteert and one of the beautiful and moving war memorials and many cemeteries.

We followed the route almost to the Kemmelberg and found a nice spot on the side of the road behind a couple of other campervans. Along the way we spotted several different groups of people apparently on tours of the WWI sights. There were four or five large golf-type buggies, then some sizeable walking groups.

After a nice quiet night I was, as usual, up early. There are some marked paths for walking, cycling and horseback riding and I followed one for a bit, only stopping when it crossed a farmer’s field and curved in the opposite direction from where I wanted to go.

As usual when on a race route there were many amateur cyclists going by, so after breakfast I walked down the road to see what was ahead. Just around the corner down from us were some ‘race marshalls’ for the sportif/fondo that was going on.

I asked them just to make sure we were on the Gent Wevelgem route and was told that the race would be coming down three times from a small side lane and turning sharp left onto the road we were on.

Then 400 meters on they would turn left again and go up the Kemmelberg. I asked three different people and was told the same thing.

Colin and I took Max and walked down to the turn up the Kemmelberg – fans were already trecking up to claim their places. There was a nice little park at the bottom with some amusing carvings.

We had to leave Max in the campervan as he’d just get too excited by the race and all the fans, and picked our spot right where the side lane joined the main road.

The first sign of the race arriving was a bunch of motos – all coming down the main road, then the riders arrived – coming down the main road that we were parked on! So much for getting advice from folks that are supposed to know.

The first time they passed us they arrived just before 1:30.

Two of the racers each threw any empty bidon to the little fellows on the road above us – they were so thrilled!

The final pass did come down from the side lane, and Mads Pederson was in the lead…

…and ended up winning.

The next morning we made a serious decision – we chose to return back to Mansle rather than chase and watch the other races. Back in 2019 when we saw 10 races in three weeks it was very exciting, especially for me, but now it was just very tiring, especially for Colin. Also – not to be discounted – the toilet in the campervan got screwed up and was not opening/closing – not good!

We got back to the house in two days, and were very happy to watch the next few races on the big screen.

North to Spring Classics

After getting the campervan serviced we left the next day for Belgium. Rather than trying to get up in two days we left a little later in the morning and took three days to get there.

The second night we stopped behind a church just an hour or so from the border.

They had a lovely memorial to WWI.

We crossed from France to Belgium without seeing a border – the road in the photo below is in France, and the church is in Belgium.

We arrived at the camperground in Zwalm before noon.

The fluffy white cat was still there – its deaf and has one blue eye and one green eye and is very friendly.

We headed the next morning to Kwaremont on the route of E3-Saxo and found a nice place to park just out of the town. They’re erecting a VIP tent and have a large flat area for campervans – likely for another race later in the week.

We walked down into the town – there were a bunch of folks enjoying a beverage in the town square.

I went into the nearby church, which was nice, if a bit gaudy inside.

The first racer arrived around 4:30 – Mathieu van der Poel…

…followed by Pederson, then Ganna. Van der Poel ended up winning in style.

Vuelta – Montana de Manzaneda

The drive on Wednesday to Thursday’s mountain finish wasn’t too far – the GPS told us to leave the road we were on a little sooner that I expected but we were headed in the right direction so we kept going.

After several km we came to the village of Paraisas where the road turned into a bit of a goat track more suitable for mountain biking.

We were sure that the race couldn’t be coming through here but some locals told us that the village of Cova was indeed ahead and so we continued on. We joined the proper road only a few miles further and knew we were now on the route.

The turnoff up the final climb was, for once, well marked as it’s a local ski and hiking destination. We drove all the way to the top and were pleased to see a very large paved parking area – perfect for the team buses and tv crews, etc.

Not wanting to be right at the top we went back down a couple of km and pulled into what looked like a perfect spot with lots of room and separated from the road by a metal barrier. There was one other vehicle there at the time that turned out to be a family of hikers who ate lunch then left.

We had a nice relaxed afternoon until a moto cop knocked on our door and told us we had to leave. He said we could go towards the top of the climb, then take the road to the right. We could park there and take the chairlift down in the morning to watch the race. We weren’t that keen on the idea but did go partway up before turning back, as did several other campervans.

We ended up backing onto the edge of a small dirt side road where we parked for the night. We were joined by another campervan and by the next morning a few cars as well. I still like seeing the younger fan riders making their way along a route…

By later afternoon the whole lane was swamped with cars as was the main road – we all agreed that the organizers were stupid!

So many excellent places for campervans and cars to park and they banned us from them all.

They erected a banner just below us showing that we were 2 km from the finish and a cute little boy wrote in chalk ‘Mate’ several times in front of the entrance to our lane.

By 5:00 some of our neighbours were pouring wine down their throats from a wine skin – they did of course offer me some (I did, after all, have the rah-rah skirt on).

I wasn’t as proficient at the pouring as they were, but perhaps with practise…

The entrance to our lane was eventually blocked completely by a police car, which was ok as I don’t think anyone else could have squished in.

The first racer arrived just before 6:00…

…with the main bunch about six or seven minutes later.

A few minutes after that I saw the Canadian champion’s jersey of Michael Woods coming so I quickly took one (slightly crappy) shot of him and for one very rare moment let my camera go and screamed ‘Michael Woods – go Canada!’. He actually looked my way and smiled as he went by.

Shortly after the race had passed we were one of the first ones back out on the road, passing by all of the team busses that were parked in all of the nice wide pullouts on the hill. Very strange that they weren’t at the top where there was so much room.

We drove towards Ponferrada and stopped in a large parking area just off the secondary road we were on – much quieter that a couple of nights ago!

Finding the Vuelta

Leaving the lovely park in the morning we tried once again to find the climb on the next day’s route.

We knew we were on the right roads part of the time but just didn’t know where all of the turnoffs were as nothing was marked yet. We back-tracked to Baiona and decided to go a bit west just for fun – once again we’ve found the Camino! – 150 km to Santiago.

And there’s a parking area with fantastic views of the ocean and a lovely smooth foot/bike path.

We stopped to take in the views and I laughed a bit at the fact that some folks, when presented with breath-taking vistas choose rather to look at their phones!

…

After a bit more to-and-fro we were once again heading north along the coast when we saw a large group of riders making a turn inland – today is the rest day and it was the entire Movistar team doing a recon of the final climb and then down into the finish. The road was not marked and if we’d timed it differently we might still be circling the area!

There were quite a few nice wide places to pull over so we got a bit ahead of the team so I could hop out and take some photos. They were very happy to see us and Enrique Mas posed for a photo with a team-mate as they rode past.

We found a spot for the night on the route and finally relaxed now that we knew we were on the right road.

In the morning the fellow from the campervan that was parked near us was busy putting Belgian flags up everywhere, and he had a lot of them!

We put a few of ours up as well, and as usual as the day progressed more and more fans showed up parking where they could along the road.

There was a bit of excitement at one point when a fan coming down the hill on his bike crashed and the ambulance had to come. There were police with flashing lights directing the traffic and the ambulance took the guy away up the hill – it seemed like a collarbone or shoulder injury so hopefully not too serious.

The race arrived right around 5:00 with Wout van Aert in the lead (we found out later that he won the stage).

Roglic and some of the other main contenders were about five minutes behind.

As soon as the race passed…

…we started to pack up and were on our way to our next chosen race watching place for Thursday. We made it to the city of Tui and found a Lidls to stock up on food, then continued on past Ourense looking for a stopping area along a secondary highway. We did find a place to stop but it was one busy little road and the cars and big trucks just whizzed past all night long – not much sleep happened!

Jumbo Rules

After a very long night we got up to a cloudy and partly rainy day. Two cars joined us in our pull-out spot. I took a walk down to the bottom of the hill and the parking area there was completely full.

I believe they are mostly hikers rather than cycling fans as this seems to be an area that’s part of a system with many walking trails.

We spent a quiet morning waiting for the race to arrive for the first pass.

A couple of motorcycles joined our group at the side of the road, and the race arrived for the first time just after lunch around 2:14.

The breakaway was fairly large, with Remco tucked in the middle.

The peloton arrived about 5 minutes later with Jumbo at the front.

More fans arrived as we waited for the second pass.

We once again saw our ‘hairy friend’ (as we call him) on his photo-moto just before the breakaway arrived for the second time.

We’ve met him several times now over the last years, starting at the Tour of Burgos in 2018. We’ve seen him at the world championship in Harrogate, and several other times since, sometimes having brief conversations or at least a quick wave as he goes by.

After the breakaway and the peloton had gone by for the second time we took down the flags and got on our way. We weren’t slowed down much by the ‘after race’ traffic and made it to a nice aire in the town of Valdepeñas for the night. Coincidentally it was the same town that we stopped at on the way north to get some groceries.

An early start the next morning allowed us to get home in the early afternoon in time for lunch – it’s great to be home!

Oh – Jumbo Visma swept the podium in the end, with Sepp Kuss taking the top spot (well deserved) and his teammates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic joining him. Jumbo have won all three grand tours this year – a major feat.

On the Bear Trail Again!

Leaving the Angliru as soon as it got light the morning following the last stage we went the short drive north to Oviedo to do some grocery shopping.

After stocking up we headed to the spot we’d chosen for this day’s stage – a place they pass thru twice. As we neared the road Colin said ‘this looks familiar’ – it was the ‘bear trail’ road! We’d been on it a few times in past years so knew of more than one place that might be great to stop in.

However the best place was already taken over by the ‘VIP’ tents so we had to back-track a bit to another spot that was actually perfect. The race splits off the main road on the first pass and goes up a small mountain before circling around and going past us again on the road back north.

For the first pass I walked a very short way up the ‘mountain’ road – it was quite steep and the sun was actually getting very hot…

…but that didn’t deter the fans, both young…

…and old.

The breakaway arrived just before four…

…with Remco once again in the lead…

…about ten minutes ahead of the peloton, with Jumbo all together at the front.

As usual the helicopters let us know as the race approached again.

They arrived for the second time at 5:14, this time Remco alone in the lead…

…with the rest of the breakaway in pieces behind him.

Rather than stay the night after the race was done we drove for a couple of hours, stopping at an aire in the village of La Magdalena a bit south of the Luna reservoir – it was very quiet and peaceful.

Getting started the next morning at a decent time we continued south, skirting Leon and Benavente where the road veers a bit to the southeast and onwards almost to Madrid. We’d already decided to skip Friday’s stage and headed instead to the route of Saturday’s stage that looked more interesting.

There are at least three climbs on the stage that they go up twice so we just went along the route and picked a nice spot at the side of the road not far from the bottom between two climbs.

We are in a rare place that we just can’t get the internet in – I realize how much I use it and have resorted to reading my book instead.

There are a couple of cattle ranches in the valley below with a lovely river running through. In the evening there was a spectacular lightening show with sheets lighting up the sky one after another, followed of course by the thunder. Then the rain arrived – just torrential but thankfully not all night long.

From Rio Luna to The Angliru

The day after the TT we headed north towards one of our favourite campgrounds to have several days of rest. Along the way we stopped for Henry to have a break and noticed a memorial stone.

It was from the Spanish Civil War and named several villagers who had lost their lives – very simple but quite touching.

We took our time getting to Rio Luna, taking the ‘scenic route’ rather than the motorway. The reservoir was the lowest we’ve seen it.

It was so nice to be back at a familiar place – we had chips and eggs for lunch at the campground bar before taking nice hot showers. The next few days rained off and on most of the time – we did manage to get some laundry done and dried during one of the sunny spells.

Mostly we staying inside because of the rain, going up to the bar for coffee each morning and again later in the day to watch the Vuelta on tv.

One of the campground cats had kittens a couple of months ago – they’re very cute but a bit skittish. The owner (whose name, sadly, I can’t remember) asked if I wanted one – I said I’d take two if I could but I don’t think Henry would like that!

One day we took the short drive to San Emiliano for coffee – on the way back to the ‘main’ road we had to stop for a small herd of cows that were walking up the road towards us on their way from one field to another.

We then drove further west to the town of Villablino and continued south a bit along a small lake. Not finding a decent cafe or restaurant we stopped at a nice pull-out and had lunch in the campervan.

After our nice interlude at Rio Luna we headed to our next race watching place – partway up the Angliru.

We weren’t sure how far up we would get as the road does get closed to traffic. I think we made it about halfway when we encountered several police cars that were turning people back. There were some campervans a little further ahead but apparently no more space beyond that so we turned back.

We ended up at a nice pullout that was on very solid ground – with all the rain lately many of the spots that look good are very soggy. We saw a few campervans in spots that we wondered if they were going to get out of but our place was ok.

On race morning fans started cycling up before it was even light out and during the day literally thousands of cyclists and walkers passed us on their way to the top.

I wouldn’t have wanted to walk up – we’re a good nine or ten km from the top so it’s definitely a bit of a hike.

I found a great place to watch and photograph from – you can see down the hill a ways and the valley opens up for a beautiful view.

Just down from us some folks have painted the Quickstep rider’s names on the pavement and they’ve covered up the ‘Angliru’ sign with ‘in Remco we Trust’.

Unfortunately Remco lost a ton of time on the Tourmalet a few days ago so is out of GC contention but he still had something to prove – he was the first racer to pass us…

…although the peloton wasn’t far behind.

The descent of the fans after the race was the largest I’ve ever seen – it took almost two hours for all of the cyclists, walkers, cars and motos to get past us on their way down. They kind of came in waves – a bunch of cyclists, then a bunch of walkers, then a lot of motos and some buses and campervans – then it started again. We stayed put rather than trying to fight the traffic and get nowhere fast.

Off to the Races Again!

After corresponding with his oncologist back in France who told Colin that his most recent blood test wasn’t that bad we decided to go ahead on our planned road trip up north to see some of the Vuelta.

On the first day we made it a fair distance – past Toledo and on to the shores of a reservoir/lake. We were looking for a park-4-night place but ended up just pulling over on a very wide spot with a lovely view.

The second day’s travel was much shorter as we stopped in the hilltop village of Portillo – you could actually see Valladolid in the distance to the north.

We stayed at the park-4-night for two very rainy, stormy nights, emerging from the campervan during one break in the rain to walk to a local restaurant for lunch.

Along the way we noticed many gray gates that we could see weren’t made to keep people out, and realized after awhile that they were for the bulls.

Before leaving on the second morning I took a walk to a nearby viewpoint – there were wonderful views in all directions.

The trip to Valladolid was quick and easy – we knew exactly where we wanted to go and for once the GPS took us right there. It’s just to the south of the city in a large nature park with plenty of excellent places to spend a couple of nights, and most importantly it’s right on the Time Trial route for Tuesday’s Vuelta stage.

On the Sunday afternoon there was a huge group of motorcycles that rode past, accompanied by police – not sure what that was about but it was kind of impressive.

With Monday being the first rest day of the Vuelta we got to see many of the riders doing a re-con of the course. We were joined at our chosen spot by a couple of campervans from Belgium, one of whom had a Giro wolf and a Vuelta bull in his front window – also a moose from a race in Norway.

In addition on race day they put out a large teddy bear in Jumbo kit that they called ‘Wout van Aert’ – since he’s not riding in the Vuelta I guess he’s just hanging out enjoying the sun and watching.

As usual on race day more and more folks arrived to watch – we’re just before the 8 km to go marker and at the top of a very small hill.

Throughout the morning most of the racers did a lap or two of the course…

…as current world TT champion Remco was in the rainbow jersey.

I got a decent photo of Ganna approaching us with the photo-moto right behind him – he ended up winning the stage. If only he was on a different team I would be a huge cheerleader for him.

The crowds at our place got so big we even got our own police guards.

Remco flew by…

…and shortly after the current leader Sepp Kuss, who managed to keep his overall lead. Remco did make up a bit of time on his main GC rivals so it was a good day overall.

As per usual within a very short time almost everyone had left the site…

…and another quiet night was had.

Racing in France, Colin Returns, More Racing in France (a different kind), Garden Flourishes

Colin got back from France as scheduled, and all of his tests were ok. While there he helped the cycling club with their annual youth races in Angeau – the kids are so cute.

And the winning team was – the local organizing club Guidon Manslois (Colin’s club)!

I’m glad for many reasons that Colin is back but a big one is that I really don’t like being alone in the house at night. It’s frequently windy and things blow around and make noise – kind of freaked me out a couple of times.

The garden is coming along nicely – the weeds are tenacious, but so are the gardeners!

The Tour de France has started – the first three stages were in northern Spain and now they’re working their way north, then east. We’re both very sad that Mark Cavendish has crashed out as we were sure he would break the stage-win record in this, his last Tour. I was somewhat cheered up yesterday, however, when Michael Woods won on the Puy de Dome.

We’re trying to find a used pram or stroller for Henry – he can’t walk as fast or as far as he used to and Colin often ends up having to pick him up. In search of one we drove south yesterday to see if we could find one at a large second-hand furniture place but she didn’t have anything appropriate. She did have a beautiful german shepherd guard dog and a black cat with orange eyes.

We’ve put up a fly screen on the french doors so we can now have them open in the early part of the day – nice breezes come through. But all windows and shutters get closed by noon or so to keep the heat out. Our swims are later now also – usually around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening because of the heat, and also the angle of the sun.

My arm rash has come back and I’m treating it with apricot kernel oil so I don’t end up looking like a leper. As long as I stay out of the direct sun it subsides and isn’t itchy so mostly I’m staying inside during the day and doing any of the outside stuff in early morning or late evening.

The herb garden is doing very well, especially the basil. I’ve made pesto twice now (for pizza) and it’s awesome to be able to go out and pick it, then crush it. I don’t have any pine nuts so have been using almonds – but what else would I use in almond-growing heaven?

We’ll be having fresh cherry tomatoes soon as one of the plants has gone crazy and already has fruit on it – small and green now but in a week or two…

Most mornings I do a bit of tai chi and chi gong on either the front terrace or the side terrace – it’s so peaceful and quiet and I get to see the sun come up over the hill to the east.

The birds have finally discovered the bird feeder and we now have to fill it every couple of days.

We had a nice lunch out at the bar in Los Cerricos – once again the cats were hiding from the heat.

The Ikea delivery arrived! We met the truck down at the restaurant/gas station and they followed us up to the house – now the office is full of the new kitchen in boxes.

Henry tried to walk on the pool cover again – luckily I spotted him right away. It was ok when he got out on the winter cover as it was tied to the sides, but the summer cover just floats and even a smallish dog like Henry caused it to start sinking. Fortunately he was near the shallow end so I just went down the stairs and fished him out – wet shorts was a small price to pay.

I finally went for a bike ride – not long but getting hot by the time I got home – I’ll have to leave earlier next time.

Milano-SanRemo from the Poggio

The drive south was uneventful, using the lesser road rather than the paege. We arrived at the Poggio on Thursday and got a good spot in the far corner of the parking area at the top.

The house right below now has a Ukrainian flag painted on it’s roof.

Friday was very quiet for us – late start, cappuccinos at the cafe, then lunch at one of the bars. I ordered the ‘wild boar hamburger’, expecting, as the name said, a burger. But no – it was a meat patty with nothing else. Very tasty, but not, in my mind, a burger.

There was a local club of older riders that stopped for coffee – they kindly posed for a photo…

Race day was sunny but very windy. We had another cappuccino at the bar, and made a reservation for lunch later – they were already setting up extra tables and had at least three times the staff on.

This time we both ordered the lasagna, although they were mostly pushing out pizzas. I couldn’t believe how busy it was – must be their busiest day of the year.

We knew we had time but left the bar early so as not to have to rush. Leaving Henry in the campervan we walked down to stake out our spots – really wished that I’d worn my warmer winter coat rather than the lighter black jacket. The wind was fierce – I also wished I had my wool hat and gloves!

In any case the race arrived in due course – a fellow near me had it on his phone and we were well warned when the riders were near as the crowd went wild! Actually it was one of the best crowds I can remember – very boisterous and all happy. There was one table of ladies – with a bottle of wine – overlooking the road and every time the overly officious fellow on the road below blew his whistle at someone they called him out – it was hilarious.

To great cheers the first one over the top and around the corner was Van der Poel…

…followed seconds later by Pogacar, Ganna and Van Aert…

A few minutes later, while still watching the rest of the race go by, I heard the crowd inside the bar screaming and cheering as they watched the end on tv.

When we got back to the campervan we watched the last 15 km on GCN and were both very pleased to see that Van der Poel had such a convincing win – the most dominating performance in many years.

I did see myself on tv – a black blob on the very right of the screen just at the turn after the top of the Poggio.