My final evening in Belgium this past November was spent in Brussels conversing with a couple of native Flandriens in a smoky, Flemish bar. While we touched on a variety of subjects, the heart of our conversation dwelled on two topics near and dear to my heart: beer and pro cycling (more specifically, this evening, all things beer and pro cycling in Flanders). I was reminded of that particular conversation this past weekend while noticing a sure sign of spring in North Carolina–the sudden proliferation of daffodils emerging overnight en-masse as if by magic. To my Flandrien friends the telltale harbinger of spring was represented by one annual, blockbuster event: Het Volk (occurring the same day all of our daffodils sprouted this side of the Atlantic). It was with almost religious fervor that they spoke of Het Volk, ensuing hints of blue sky and warmer weather, and the steady crescendo of racing throughout March culminating in early April with the largest event on the Flandrien calendar: The Ronde…part Super Bowl, part Fourth of July, part Holy Day.

I heard tales from years past of seeing Het Volk, Gent-Wevelgem, and the Ronde in person—of daring driving and insider, back-road knowledge put to the test in order to view the parcours from multiple bergs before navigating to the finish line. More recently, however, the insanity of seeing the races in person grew too much to negotiate and the races were instead viewed via television from the comfort of their favorite bars. Which brings me to a phenomenon of Flanders chronicled in a book purchased at the Ronde museum…the ubiquity of wielercafes throughout Flanders. One hundred twenty one, to be precise. 121 bars devoted in one way or another to pro cycling whether owned by an ex-pro, a fan club of current pros, or just cafes owned and operated by die-hard cycling fans. Wielercafes in Vlaanderen investigates them all and provides the raw materials to string together the pub crawl to end all pub crawls. I propose one fine tune the Vlaams, get the liver in tip-top shape, and hit about 3 or 4 wielercafes per day for the entire Spring Classic season. And document it all Zane Lamprey style for the posterity’s sake. Word.

(If you just want the bare bones facts, here’s the master list.)

Everyone who loves professional cycling should spend at least one evening in the Kuipke.

The evening’s race schedule:

World Champion Erwin Vervecken emerged from his camper fully kitted out and proceeded to check the tire pressure on one of his four bikes. No pressure gauges for Erwin…it was assessed simply by pressing his palm down on the tire and letting the mechanic know whether air needed to be added or released. World Champions do not pump their own tires, or even let air out…truly the essence of PRO.

I’ve returned from Belgium and will have much more to say about the World Cup at Koksijde as well as the 6 Days of Ghent. I’ve got about 120 photos all together from both events plus two short video clips from Koksijde.

As Mac Canon previously stated, “50 degree banking, baby!” The electronic screen above the track shows the results of the UIV Cup flying lap TT still in-progress.

Pictured are 1 of 2 American teams taking place in the UIV Cup, an espoir precursor to the pro event, at the 6 Days of Ghent. Fore is Guy East, rear is Austin Carroll. Unfortunately for these guys, Austin Carroll ate it hard near the end of their 200 lap madison and he was taken away in a stretcher with a separated shoulder. At this point I was purchasing bratwurst and beer and I totally missed the incident. And as you can see, if you’re not racing the pro event you don’t get a bunk to set up shop. It’s uber low budget all the way…folding chairs, duffle bags, and rollers out in the open on the infield.

The pros are taking processional laps for approximately 25 minutes as all 13 teams are introduced. They form a tight double paceline with the teams in reverse order (ie…team 13 at the front down to team 1 at the rear). The announcers run down the palmares of the team on the front, once completed that team pulls up high on the track and waves to the crowd for one lap, then they drift to the rear in order for the next team to get their due. At this point it’s pretty early in the intro laps…the team in the solid red jerseys near the rear of the double paceline are Team #2: Iljo Keisse (the local Gent hero) and teammate Robert Bartko (a German with tree-trunk legs). Behind them in white are Team #1: the Swiss duo of Bruno Risi/Franco Marvulli. It’s only 8pm-ish…the stands didn’t fill up until the first madison, the fourth event of the evening, got underway at about 9:30pm. Racing went until 1am.

Greetings from the Ronde van Vlaanderen Museum in Oudenaarde. My efforts to hot wire this rig and rage throughout the Flemish Ardennes proved unsuccessful. And those Freddy Maertens Flandria bikes on the roof were awesome. First generation 1970s Dura-Ace, awesome PRO graphics, I started hearing voices, “take me to the Koppenberg, the Paterberg, the mud, the cowshit, the rain…just get me off the roof”. Instead, I just rode the computer simulator in the museum up the Muur. I nearly hocked up a lung trying to hold 350 watts.

Who knew there were different kinds of pave stones. There was a fascinating old b&w video about how Belgian miners made cobbles.

I’m in Gent, Belgium this week. First up on the “things to do before I die” list is catching a night of the 6 Days of Gent. That will be Wednesday evening…I’ll be drinking beer in the center of the track all night. Next up on the list is a ‘cross World Cup in Belgium…so it’s off to Koskijde on Saturday. Tomorrow my mission is to ride from Gent to Oundenaarde and back so I can ascend the Koppenberg. And not pull a Skibby.