With the runaway success of l'Eroica in
Italy (with its 17th edition just completed and now about
to be franchised to the United Kingdom and Japan), retro-rides
continue to blossom. With the enthusiastic participation of local
tourism agencies we see new events throughout Europe. Having
participated in the 6th Retro-Ronde in Flanders in May, I was bound to go to the other linguistic half of the country for
another Belgian retro-ride and was present for the inaugural
edition of “La Savoureuse” in French-speaking Wallonia at Ciney
on August 25.
 |
| The chateau at Parc Saint-Roch, Ciney |
It was an easy two hour early morning
Sunday drive, taking me past Namur on lightly-travel roads in Belgium
to the Parc Saint-Roch in the centre of Ciney where cars with bikes
on their roof carriers were already beginning to crowd the little
parking lot. The organizers had set themselves up in a tent in front
of the stone chateau, which was an impressive building with a big
gate but in fact had only been built in 1906 but in the style of an
older building. Changing facilities were pretty limited There were
lots of vintage bikes to be seen in the inner courtyard, with famous
brands from the Netherlands and Italy evident, along with a few
British rarities and some unidentifiable marques. Along with a few
Merckxes, my Cicli Diamant was about the only Belgian-made bicycle
around. Unlike l'Eroica, the Retro-Ronde or Anjou Velo Vintage,
there was no real bicycle market featured although a custom
framebuilder had a display and there was at least one tent with old
bikes.
Registration was very quickly
accomplished and everyone received a nice cloth musette with the “La
Savoureuse” logo printed on it and containing a number for the
bike, along with plastic cables ties, a wristband with sections to
tear off at each of the food stops, and a “Carnet de Route,”
providing information about the routes (20/60/90 kms). There were
also some brochures from the sponsors, including the primary one, the
Maison de Tourisme Condroz-Famenne, which was promoting the “Vallées
des Saveurs,” or the “Valleys of Flavours” and hence the name
of the ride. Additional brochures informed us of other events,
including the Festival of the Tomato and Its Family, as well as the
Festival of the Cheese Route. Ah, Europe!
As
an aside, as is the case with other events like this one must give
credit for the excellent graphics employed. The La Savoureuse
posters (in Flemish and French) look wonderful and the website
(www.lasavoureuse.be in
French and English) is also an example of commendable design.
 |
| Getting ready to roll: old guys on old bikes |
The
starting gun was fired at the very civilized time of 10:30 and the
assembled mass of cyclists rolled gently through the stone arch gate
and up a little hill, where already some of the riders experienced
some athletic challenges. The rules of participation are quite
liberal: a bicycle built before 1987 (or one built in the traditional
way of steel frames), downtube shift levers if it has variable gears,
and no clipless pedals. Singlespeed and fixed gear bikes are allowed
(but no carbon ones!), and, oddly Brompton folders. There were some
very fine bikes, including a rare and beautiful Rene Herse, as well
as the heavy “roadsters” beloved by participants in Tweed Runs.
The organizers suggested suitable clothing and although I did not
entirely return to the moustache era I had my appropriate RSV
Vagabund '13 (our imaginary classic cycling club) wool jersey, cotton
cycling cap, white socks (of course!), retro Roeckl gloves and a pair
of Wayfarer-style sunglasses. However, while it makes a much better
photo if you are not wearing a helmet, and riders in Europe don't
seem to care about them at these events, this was my first long ride
without modern head protection in many years and it made me somewhat
uncomfortable.
 |
| photo by la Maison de Tourisme Condroz-Famenne |
The
weather had been forecast to be quite poor but by the time we left it
looked fine and I dispensed with my rain jacket. Nobody at these
events goes particularly fast but I found myself overtaking many
people as my bicycle, from the late 1970s, would have been one of the
more modern ones but just as I was coming nicely into a rhythm it was
time to stop at the Chateau de Ry for our first food stop. We had
ridden all of 9 kms.
One
of the stated goals of the ride was to provide participants with a
sampling of the local products in the “Valleys of Flavours.” The
Chateau, a private estate that has always been in the hands of the
Counts d'Aspremont Lynden, was built in 1598 and is sited in a lovely
park. We rolled in along the gravel driveway, set up our bikes where
convenient and lined up for a glass of champagne and a “sucette de
foie gras,” or chocolate-covered pate of duck liver. This is quite
different than the usual bananas and energy bars!
After
chatting with a British couple in period costume who had gotten some
rental bicycles for the event, I returned to my bicycle and proceeded
up some steepish hills, riding through the villages of Nettinne,
Heure, Moressee and Maffe and was beginning to think that the next
food stop would be coming up soon. However, although the route was
well-marked I somehow managed to miss the second stop at 24 kms
entirely. This was a bitter disappointment as the featured
delicacies were beer and sandwiches made with local cheese.
The
90 km route is a Figure 8 and when I came to Hamois I found another
food stop but in fact this was the fifth one but I used up one of my
wrist band coupons and had a glass of beer, even if it was out of
sequence. There was live music, which was the case at most of the
stops, and a party atmosphere. I also noticed that there was no
other food but did not realize that this could be a problem later.
The
next stretch from Hamois via Havelange through Petit-Avin was along a
very nicely constructed trail built on an old railway right of way.
There were signs along the route with photos of what things had once
looked like and a had a brief stop across from an old station to read
about the nearby sanitarium where patients from Brussels had once
been treated.
Stop
3 was a farmyard in Ossogne, where I enjoyed fresh strawberries prior
to setting off down the road the wrong way. I had thrilling descent
on a wonderful road with new asphalt before realizing it was the
wrong direction, so I turned around and dragged myself back up the
big hill and found the signs pointing me the right way.
Stop
4 in Barsy was located next to an unusual museum, the private Musée
Monopoli, which looked like a fun place where lots of old automatons,
mechanical musical instruments and other oddities were on display. I
enjoyed a soft ice cream here and then headed southwest in the right
direction. At least I thought it was until I realized I had not seen
any route signs for a while. I may have been lost but I was making
good time and as I sprinted along the empty road I was immortalized
on video by a crew filming the event.
At
one point I rode up a gravel road and came to an intersection where,
a moment later, another cyclist doing the ride went by and I joined
him as we rode back towards Hamois (where I would not be entitled to
another beer). We had a nice conversation en
français
and
rejoined the rail-trail bike route but then he flatted near Emptinne
and insisted I go on. I retraced my route to Hamois and then turned
around and came back with a fast return to Ciney. My 90 km course
had somehow become 97 kms, with 1300 m of climbing. The roads were
generally good, cobbles and gravel were minimal but there were some
challenging uphills as we passed through charming rural Wallonia.
But as much as I enjoyed my strawberries and champagne, the lack of
food during the ride was telling. Luckily I had bought some energy
bars with me since there were no stores or bakeries to be found en
route. This problem, and the lack of showers at the finish, are the
only criticisms I can make of what was an excellent organized ride
and I am sure that the other 170 “pioneers” who rode the first La
Savoureuse would agree.
Rolling
back into the grounds of the Chateau at Ciney there was lots going on
as the bar was doing good business, as was the barbecue. And no
wonder: Belgian beer cannot be passed up after a nice bicycle ride, a
Balade a Velo
Vintage, like
La Savoureuse. The other attraction was the drawing for all sorts of
great prizes, including more beer but also baskets of local products,
some snappy vintage-style clothing and, best of all, a handbuilt
frame, presented by the builder himself and won by an older Belgian
who was beyond ecstatic, to everyone's huge amusement.
Every
retro-ride has a different character but they all share one thing in
common: all the participants are there to have fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment