Ooh-la-la! Anjou Velo Vintage

Another Retro Event!

Turning off of the boring (and expensive!) Autoroute, I headed my rented Skoda station wagon along a secondary road in rural France, somewhere between Nantes and Angers and saw a sign for a chateau in Oudon. Leisurely proceeding, I soon found myself on the northern bank of the Loire, admiring an impressive medieval fort. The Tower of Oudon dates back to 1392, although most of it was built in the 15^th Century and then, after falling into ruin, restored after 1866. It was the subject of a painting by the famous British artist J.W.T. Turner.

Continuing towards Angers I found yet another impressive residence, clearly from a much later period, and it struck me that if I were to continue to look at every fantastic castle in this region—there are so many it is not surprising there was a French Revolution--I would never make it to Angers that day. And the whole point of the trip was not to look at admirable castles but to participate in another retro-ride, the Anjou Velo Vintage.

After enjoying the Retro-Ronde in Belgium and then the much more modest Retro-Pedale in Rüsselsheim, Germany soon after, it was time to go further afield. I flew from Düsseldorf direct to Nantes on the Air France affiliate airline Hop! (yes, "!" included in the name) since there did not seem to be any other reasonable way to get there. The Peugeot PXN-10, my ride of choice from l'Eroica, was making a return trip to its homeland. Rather than the usual unwieldy bike case, I had a soft-sided bag for it, stuffed with foam. This turned out to be much easier to deal with than the case and on arrival in Nantes everything appeared to be in order.

The Anjou Velo Vintage event is spread over several days and this year's edition (the third) had Saumur as its anchor but Angers was a key component. This year the organizers had included a ride from Angers to Saumur on June 22 that would follow 83 kms or so of the original final stage of the 1903 Tour de France. To participate in “le Rétro 1903” it was necessary to get to Angers first and the organizers had set up a bike corral so participants could leave their bikes there and take a shuttle bus from Saumur the next morning for the ride. My plan was to leave my bike in Angers and then drive the Skoda to my hotel, which was east of Saumur.

Angers was much larger than I expected and I was a bit nervous driving in but the GPS took me close to where I wanted to be. I found a big underground parking lot (noticing that there were big signs that it would be closed at 6 pm that day due to various events) and found an excellent spot with a lot of room around it. It was here that I pulled out the bike bag and my tools and put the Peugeot back together. It all went swimmingly until I had a heart-stopping moment when I could not find the seat binder bolt. I had not come all this way to be defeated by the loss of a tiny part but, calming down, I carefully shook out the bag and out the bolt fell. Victory! Tires pumped up and brakes adjusted, the sea-green Peugeot and I headed outside into the street. Straight into a violent rainstorm.

the Old Bicycle Corral in Angers

The rain hammered down and I sheltered at a storefront as everyone in Angers took flight. It was really nasty and cold to boot but eventually it stopped. After asking some policemen where the square was that I needed to reach—they needed to call in, even though it turned out to be less than a block away!--I found myself in the heart of Anjou Velo Vintage. Avec mon vélo.

Some enthusiastic helpers took the Peugeot off my hands and stored it safely in the bike corral. There were a number of stands set up and I met the charming Marie at one promoting a bicycle museum mid-way between Paris and Angers. She gave me some brochures and did not laugh at my French at all. There was also a stand selling English candy and another with a nice selection of cycling books. Raymond Poulidor was there autographing books, as was the widow of Laurent Fignon, Tour winner in 1983 and 1984. 

 

To entertain the passersby a gentlemen demonstrated a high-wheel bicycle (called “un bi” in French) and then let some children sit on the saddle. The rain was intermittent and I had had enough so I left the garage after I received my registration package in good time and made my way to my hotel.

The registration goodies not only included a musette and aluminum water bottle but also radish seeds

  

Le Rétro 1903

 

On Saturday morning I left the hotel early, figuring I could find some kind of breakfast before the ride. It was very easy to find the Anjou Velo Vintage Village in Saumur. Signs were everywhere and there was a big parking lot opposite the famous Cavalry School so that took care of one concern. Picking up my minimal stuff (a small saddlebag with tools, tire repair stuff, emergency food and the as-yet unused plastic rain jacket from the Retro-Ronde) I walked passed the not-yet open Village with its many tents and promises of interesting experiences to be had to where I could see several buses 

 and lots of people in cycling gear but without any bicycles.

I caught up to Dave W., an English rider with a lovely 1950s Claude Butler whom we had met at the Retro-Ronde, and a number of his countrymen. I was struck again by the fact there are so many British participants at these Continental retro-rides. They certainly seem to have the right bicycles but apparently there are no events there. In any case, it would be hard to surpass the kind of event we would enjoy in France over the next two days.

While waiting for the bus we also got to know another Dave W., this time from Ireland and equipped with a Raleigh and superb vintage-style sideburns. He had ridden the Anjou ride last year and his sideburns had gotten him noticed enough to become the AVV poster boy for 2013! Soon it was time to board the bus and we had a jolly trip to Angers, arriving just over an hour later. 

It would be several hours before the ride was to begin but a lot of events had been planned. It was bitterly cold so we all piled into a cafe near the square and after Irish Dave battled through the crowds we were able to enjoy some hot coffee. At an adjoining table was a familiar group from Dűsseldorf's Klassikerausfahrt, all of whom had also been at the Retro-Ronde. As we were enjoying warming up, a gentleman came around with a big basket and handed out fresh croissants to everyone. Very civilized indeed!

Leaving the cafe, we saw that groups of cyclists had gotten their bikes out of the corral and were enthusiastically chatting in various languages. There were some truly marvellous bikes, including a wonderful old 1905 Peugeot with truly beautiful brakes. And not just the bikes were old: on the stage there was a presentation taking place with “Legends of the Tour de France” being briefly interviewed. These worthies included Raymond Poulidor, “the Eternal Second,” much loved in France for his determination. Although he came second in the Tour three times and third five times, he never wore the Yellow Jersey once. That was not the case for two others: Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk,wearing a vintage Yellow Jersey on stage, won the Tour in 1980 and Frenchman Bernard Thévenet, who won twice with his first victory in 1975 marking the end of the era of Eddy Merckx at the Tour. In addition there were some other French riders and even Roger Legeay, who had been the final manager of the Peugeot pro team and then manager of the Z pro team when Greg Lemond won the tour in 1990. This was a pretty amazing group to present to fans of vintage cycling.

Legends of the Tour de France

Me and Joop Zoetemelk, Winner of the 1980 Tour de France

While eating yet more croissants, our little group of English Dave, Irish Dave and me were accosted by a very attractive and very pregnant lady who interviewed us with an accompanying camerman. Her French was perfect but she was actually a British actress and presenter named Louise Ekland. The other two both said their piece as she turned to them and when there was a break Irish Dave told me I had to jump in and say something. It appears the plan worked since only my interview was kept in the video! I was so excited that I forgot to speak French after my initial few sentences but it all worked out.  I am in the video below starting at 0:42:

A fleet of antique cars assembled, everyone was marshalled into place and “le Rétro 1903” was launched into the cobbled streets of Angers. There were around 250 riders and, as usual at the start of retro-rides, a lot of squealing from the totally inadequate brakes as we swooped through cobbled corners, but soon we were off at a nice pace, passing the historic buildings and heading downhill to the banks of the Loire. Irish Dave set such a good pace we soon lost him but figured we would join up at the food stop.

We joined the north bank of the Loire at Les-Ponts-de-Cė and headed eastwards, directly along the river and soon along a really excellent bicycle road which had no vehicular traffic except our accompanying antique cars. The big group had already split and English Dave and I rode at a reasonable pace, passing quite a few cyclists, particularly those on particularly ancient machines. At one point we were overtaken by an old flatbed stake truck and standing on the back was a cameraman and a man with a boom mike who proceeded to interview two particularly picturesque riders while moving for about 7 kms! This procession was actually holding us up so when the way was clear I sprinted past, English Dave following soon after.

Now we rode along the Levée Jeanne de Laval, the main road along the river, and a rather rickety tandem overtook us. As there was now a noticeable headwind it was time to take advantage of the situation and I quickly pulled in behind the creaky tandem, having explained to Dave the principles of drafting. It was new to him and at first he had some trouble keeping the pace but after a while we had a good rhythm going. We kept up until Km 27, when we came to the small town of Saint-Mathurin-sur-Loire and crossed the old bridge southwards.

 

Now the countryside changed a bit as we rode away from the river into some small hills as we wheeled through the mixed forest and farmlands. We caught up with one of the old Tour de France domestiques who was maintaining an excellent pace in spite of his post-TdF beer belly but the group split up as we reached the steep pitches on the road at Blaison-Gohier and outside Saint-Sulpice. We took a break there and while I had drinking from my water bottle I missed the chance to photograph Joop Zoetemelk, who rode by being paced by a motorcycle.

English Dave and his Claud Butler bicycle

Near Km 44 we had a real break as it was time for lunch, a hot meal served up at the magnificent Chateau Brissac, the tallest chateau in the Loire region. It dates backs to the 11^th Century but has been rebuilt numerous times. The Duke of Brissac acquired it from the King of France in 1611 and his heirs still own it although it was ransacked during the French Revolution and had to be restored yet again in the years following.

In addition to our couscous and other tasty victuals, we enjoyed a performance of local folk dancers in the regional costume. One or two cyclists joined in with much more enthusiasm than skill but we all had a good laugh. Irish Dave was there and soon departed and English Dave and I soon followed, joined by Stephen, another British rider. We continued along the empty country roads, with one or two climbs, but after Km 49 it was pretty much downhill back to the Loire.

We rejoined it at Saint-Rémy-la-Varenne and followed the south bank now, passing through small villages named Saint-Maur, Le Thoureil and Gennes. Other settlements were just crossroads with a few houses. There was no traffic at all on this Saturday morning and we made excellent time as our little paceline picked up speed in spite of the fact that the road took us very gently uphill. Sooner than expected we found ourselves at Km 84, the beautiful old city of Saumur and the end of the ride. There had been a lot of fast riders and I had the feeling that of the weekend events this was the one that would attract the more serious cyclists, even on their old bikes. There was a rather surprising 480 m of climbing on the route and we managed the route at an acceptable 24 km/h average, not getting lost once due to the excellent signage and the numerous marshals on the course who stopped traffic for us. 

A large part of the English-speaking delegation: English Steven, English Dave and me

Of course, our heroic arrival in Saumur did not mean the end of the day's activities. Leaving our bikes in the convenient bicycle corral with volunteers, we took the opportunity to walk through the very extensive Retro Village, which featured a bicycle jumble sale, retro fashions, a retro barbershop, two museum displays and all kinds of fun products, including a special umbrella to fit onto your handlebars for rainy days, a concept not really meant for anything except Dutch roadsters, I fear.

It was also time for the “Concours d'Elegance” and we enjoyed watching the participants as they paraded in their period clothing with their vintage bicycles before the appreciative judges and a capacity crowd that cheered them on. We recognized several of the contestants as clearly people love retro-riding so much they attend all the events, whether in Belgium, Italy or here in France.

 The highlight for me had to be the pleasant chat I had with French cycling icon Raymond Poulidor, the beloved “Eternal Second” whom we had seen earlier in the day in Angers. He was happily autographing books for all and when I asked which of his books I should get he shrewdly suggested: “All of them!” Poulidor at 77 is in great shape and between his own races and then covering them in PR work subsequently has seen no fewer than 50 Tours.

Different nationalities, different languages but united by cycling: the author meets Raymond P.

   

For “Convicts of the Road:” The Ride

Breakfast in Saumur

Day 2 of the Anjou Velo Vintage had on offer a choice of three rides from Saumur: “the Discovery” at 37 kms; “the Stroll” at 46 kms and “made to order for cycling aficionados” was “the Ride” offering 86 kms. Our start time was 10:30, giving us plenty of time to wander around the Retro Village and look at many interesting things on offer, including getting a haircut in an old-style barber shop with a period-attired proprietor. The bicycle fashion show had been rescheduled and we enjoyed watching the participants, judging for their clothing and bicycles, parade before the appreciative judges. The weather was not as cold as it had been on Saturday but it was still grey and overcast but the enthusiasm of the crowds of people in the Retro Village gave us all courage for the start.

the Retro Village

There was a lot of jostling about as the announcers called us all up to the start line. The 46 and 86 km route riders were all to start at the same time, with the 37 km riders beginning half an hour later. Things eventually got sorted out, the antique car, with Raymond Poulidor as the honoured passenger, at the start line rolled forwards and we were off!

We quickly passed the chateau of Saumur and rode along the broad road along the Loire, heading southeast. We had nicely gotten sorted out and we starting to pick up speed when all of sudden after 10 kms we raced up a steep little hill and then found ourselves riding underground through a tufa cave! 

 

This was the village of Souzay-Champigny (population 743) which offered fine houses alongside the river and a series of underground passages where people lived and stored their wine. Tufa is a soft, workable stone that is easily quarried and was used in building all those chateaux. The caves where it was quarried are dry and consistent in temperature and humidity, so people just moved in. It was my first time cycling in a cave, manmade or not, and we were delighted to be offered wine along with the usual cycling standards of bananas and energy bars.

Always time to sample the local vintage...

Unlike the previous day's route, the Ride featured a lot of little climbs and descents. Leaving Souzay-Champigny we climbed away from the river to the south at Turquant and just outside Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg we came up to an impressive gatehouse and a high stone wall, which we followed in a loop through the little town of Brézé and discovered the remarkable Chateau Brézé, site of some of the largest underground fortifications in Europe and site also of our lunch. We had only put in 26 kms on the road so it seemed to be pretty early to stop but as the lunch stop was being shared with the 46 km route riders it appears to have been done for logistics reasons. We were already ahead of the others and it was clear that the longer route group was smaller than the one for “le Rétro” had been the day before. Even Joop Zoetemelk was doing a shorter stretch today.

Irish Dave samples the local vintage...

Chateau Brézé dates back originally to 1060 but the current building was modified in the 16^th and 19^th Centuries and is in the Renaissance style. However, we made out entry through the cellars, which are 12^th Century, and provided another strange cycling experience as we rode around the interior, going from the dark cellars to a bright courtyard. We climbed back out of the historical darkness and lunch was served with a fine view of the impressive building.

The charming village of Le Coudray-Macouard was only 10 kms away but it also offered another refreshment stop but we did not tarry as the skies to the northwest were looking dark and threatening. We put on some speed but when we came to Le Puy-Notre-Dame I called a halt when I saw a bus shelter with two Dutch riders already standing there. We dashed in just as the rain began. And it poured and poured for 20 minutes. Other participants passed by, soaking wet, but we were comfortable and dry. Soon enough the clouds parted and we were on our way again.

Another food stop and we were into the home stretch. We reached the larger town of Doué-la-Fontaine (“the Rose Capital of France”) at Km 68 and our route took us into another totally unexpected discovery: the amazing underground cathedral at Le Perrières, carved out when the stone was quarried in the 19^th Century (for sarcophagi!) and featuring ceilings a good 12 m high. Again, a strange experience to ride through the passages, which were lit and airy.

Returning above ground, we continued northwards towards the Loire, passing Chateau Marson and another chance to try some wine (actually, I really enjoyed the sparkling grape juice) before joining up with the cyclists on the 46 km route, whom we effortlessly overtook as we approached Saumur. But one more surprise was in store...

8 kms before the end of the ride we were directed off the road and through a set of shipping doors. Yet once again we found ourselves underground and to our delight discovered we were now in the wine caves of Bouvet-Ladubay. Slowly riding through the candelit cellars we saw stacks of bottles behind iron gates and then we reemerged onto the winery's main floor where everyone was enjoying unlimited glasses of excellent sparkling white wine, the vin mousseaux for which the Loire is celebrated, made using the same technique as that for Champagne.

After making a serious dent in the cellars, we shakily remounted our trusty steel bikes and headed outside for the final stretch. While we had been riding around indoors the rain had returned and the streets were wet but now the sun was shining and we quickly passed the final intersections (all with marshals, including two policemen on horses!) and found ourselves back at the Retro Village at the Place du Chardonnet. We celebrated our arrival after 89 kms and 670 m of climbing with a justly-earned beer. Another circuit of the RetroVillage was made and that was for us the end of Anjou Velo Vintage 2013.

A highly-entertaining and exceptional event with wide community support, Anjou Velo Vintage takes you through pretty countryside with some memorable detours you will not experience on any other ride. It is not like l'Eroica, which is much more racing-focused, but rather is an exercise in general nostalgia. While we were tearing up the roads on our Golden Age lightweights, many other people were riding the shorter routes on classic roadsters or rusty tandems while in period clothing. The event boasts first-class organization and is reasonably priced serving as an excellent introduction to the Loire region which offers many choices of historic routes to cyclists.

Mark it in your calendar for June 2014!

www.anjou-velo-vintage.com 

Men of Steel

From the column“Schlussattacke” by Martin Gerstner

Roadbike magazine, 04/2013, p. 145

translated from the German original by the Sprocketboy

The issue of this magazine lies heavily in one's hand since we print it on thick handmade paper and bind it in a cover made up of multiple layers of pressed airmail paper. It was written on an Olympia typewriter, made in 1954 and taken from the Land Surveyor’s Office in Cologne. Typing mistakes are corrected using 60-grit sandpaper. With the return to the working methods of yesterday we prove our reverence for the retro-trend in cycling.

About time too, as everything was becoming too easy. Our articles are cut-and-pasted from old texts; in our carbon racing bikes we hide electric motors; with the GPS on our handlebars we are told what route to follow. It could not go on like this. Mankind, and especially cyclists, was born to suffer. We do not seek perfection but the romance of failure—even on our local 35 km circuit.

So more and more cyclists are dragging old steel steeds out of the basement and parade in wool jerseys with mysterious names like “Molteni” embroidered on them. Fumbling with the downtube shift levers means sometimes falling in the street but wearing a flat cap and a 3-day growth of beard makes it seem that much more daring. Their lace-up shoes are 100% water-permeable and make every ride in the rain into torture. The silhouette of the retro-rider reminds one of the Michelin Man: with 42/22 gearing he develops huge thighs and always rides with 2 pounds of steak in his cycling shorts.

When getting his hands caught up in the loops of the brake cables while reaching for his smartphone the retro-rider must long for the trend to turn back to the modern lightweight bike. But until then we will stay true: in the next issue we will provide details of how you can change tubular tires using your teeth.

(Dedicated to my many retro-friends: Nick, Tom, Bernd, Corey, Dale, Peter W., Ricci, Karsten and Konrad and the Klassikerausfahrtgruppe, English Dave, Irish Dave and all the rest).

The Retro Ronde: May 25 & 26, 2013

Just imagine: a place where once a year great food, fine drink, and vintage bicycles being ridden on unsuitable roads come together in a multi-day festival in a country obsessed by cycling and racing history. Sounds like l’Eroica in Chianti, right? Well, yes but this description applies just as well to Belgium’s Retro Ronde, which has just completed its seventh edition on May 25/26, 2013. And you get a glass of beer at the end.

Growing rapidly, the Retro Ronde offers an impressive menu of events , including vintage racing and the opportunity to ride some of the brutal Hellingen, as the steep cobbled climbs of the Tour of Flanders (de Ronde van Vlaanderen, which marked its centennial this year) are known. It is centred around the town of Oudenaarde, which for many years hosted the finish line of the Tour of Flanders. Ourdenaarde, easily reached from Brussels, is the home of an impressive cycling centre/museum/bar, the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen, one of a multitude of sponsors of the Retro Ronde.

The rules are pretty simple and rather less exclusive than l’Eroica’s: show up with a “vintage” racing bike (not really defined) or a pre-1987 bike or a singlespeed or fixed-gear bike with a steel frame; shifter levers on down tubes; no clipess pedals; vintage or replica clothing without modern accessories. Nobody is checking too strenuously since the whole point is to have fun but you would have felt foolish riding your carbon time trial bike anyway. Registration is a mere 10 Euros (12 Euros at the start) and 5 Euros to join one of the criterium races on Saturday evening. This includes a vintage-style photo of you before you ride off on Sunday, marked routes of 40, 70 or 100 kms, great food stops with live entertainment, mechanical and/or medical assistance and cheering crowds when you roll back up the ramp to finish. Then you get a bacon sandwich and an excellent dark-brown beer. Remember: 10 Euros (US$ 13.50) for this.

Besides the Sunday rides, event s include Friday evening’s Beer Cycling Contest at the Centrum and which appears to involve riding a bike on a training stand at high speed while consuming beer; the jumble sale where you find that special frame or obscure part; the Retro Dansant ball, with music by the Lindy Hop Dansinitiatie and the Dipsy Doodles; and, of course, the beauty contest to choose the “Ravissantste RetroRondeRenner,” or “Most Ravishing Retro Ronde Rider.” The last event had no fewer than four categories: a rider with a pre-1987 racing bike and retro clothing; a rider with a pre-1987 non-racing bike with a retro outfit; an individual rider with a homemade jersey; and a team with homemade jerseys.

A necessary aside on the homemade jersey requirement. As the bike market was closing I met Isabelle Finet who sells patterns for sew-it-yourself jerseys. The patterns come in the form of charming children’s books about la Famille Victor and are available in English as well as Flemish. Popular patterns include the famous Flandria bicycle brand and we saw a number of these jerseys at the event. But once you have the pattern you can choose your own colours and style changes, of course, and perhaps look like Hugo Koblet in the Yellow Jersey in 1951. The rules for the contest stated that to win you should have sewn the jersey yourself (!) or have a family member or friend do it—no pros, please. Furthermore, clever amendments to the Flandria or Superia design put you “in the good books” of the judges. Lastly, the seamstress/tailor should be present at the judging. This is a wonderful idea and reflects the spirit of enthusiastic amateurism and down-hominess that characterizes the Retro Ronde. That said, organization of the Retro Ronde is impressive and professional.

The entire centre of Oundenaaarde is cordoned off on Saturday evening and all day Sunday for the Retro Ronde. On Saturday evening there is a series of criterium races in categories of multi-speed, singlespeed and fixed gear bicycles, presided over by an announcer in a tweed suit with plus-four trousers. This was all highly entertaining to watch. Each of the races, except the final, was 10 laps through the town, mainly over cobbles, and begin with two neutral laps where the riders were preceded by two ancient scooters as pacesetters. 

The riders, none of whom wore real helmets although the infamous “leather hairnet” was much in evidence, were generally d’un certain age, as the French put it, so not only were the bikes rather experienced but most of the riders had been around the block a few times too. This became evident around Lap 7 or so when the field had long broken up into little groups and several of the participants were either brilliantly red-faced and gasping or sampling cruising around hands-off. We were dismayed when an ancient rider on an ancient yellow Faggin was pipped at the finish line by some young whippersnapper after leading most of the race during the Multispeed II crit. Shameless Youth!

RSV Vagabund ’13, the Rhineland’s newest vintage bicycle club, was well-represented with the presence of myself, Nick and Tom, standard-bearers for Canada, Britain and the USA. Flanders is convenient to a lot of places in Europe so there was a strong presence from neighbouring Germany, France and Holland and a huge contingent from across the Channel. Retro rides are growing rapidly in popularity on the European continent but the UK, which has many collectors and many fine vintage bicycles, does not offer the same event opportunities, we were told.

Grant from England with his Raleigh Team Pro

We drove in from our luxurious bed-and-breakfast (you would be amazed what kind of accommodation Flanders offers!) to Oudenaarde and followed the excellent signage to a huge parking lot not far from the Centrum. It had rained all night but the forecast was fairly positive and although it was not raining when we assembled the bikes it was rather bitter and damp. We slowly made our way through the mass of riders. Having already picked up our start numbers we joined the line to the sign-in. Yes, just like a pro race the announce in his tweed suit and flat cap asked us about our bikes and where we were from (in three languages, no less) before we rode up a little ramp to a platform where a big board had all of our numbers. 

One of the costumed crew members—a policeman, a nun, a village priest or a local mayor with a tricolour sash—held your bike while you signed in beside your start number and waved to the adoring crowds. There were many really beautiful bikes, including a purple 1935 Automoto and various marques unknown to me. The announcer noted immediately that I was riding an early 1980s Belgian bicycle, a Cicli Diamant made in Flanders, and I said it was a great opportunity to bring the bike back to its native roads.

Down the ramp and into another line, this time for an Olde Tyme photo in front of a Retro Ronde backdrop. Nick and I had our pictures taken although Tom, sadly arrived too late but there is always next year. Then we were marshalled, sort of, onto the main street in front of the Centrum and around 10 minutes late at 10:40 we departed with the hardcore riders planning to do the 70 or 100 km courses. Fifteen minutes later the 40 km people would leave.

Our route began by taking is around the centre of Oudenaarde, clearly a test to see if everything on the bike was secure as we bounced over the cobbles. But they were pretty civilized cobbles and we made some good time. It was wonderful to look at the diverse colours of all the vintage bicycles, so different from today’s limited palette of black, black, black and some white or red.

About twenty minutes into the ride Tom discovered that his Continental Puncture-Proof tires were not so we took a break to look after the rear flat. Most of the group passed us, including a cyclist doing the course on a high-wheeler. After some wrestling, Tom nearly had the tire back on when the Broom Wagon arrived. A very large gentleman offered some help and a floor pump. Tom was struggling with the tire but our Broom Wagon Friend took it from him and with gigantic practiced hands simply rolled the Conti back onto the rim with no effort. And we were on our way again, our goal being to pass the high-wheeler and confirm the superiority of the safety bicycle.

This British rider was doing the full 100 km course on his highwheeler!

The Nun With The Stamp checks Tom in

Having ridden all of 12 kms, we now arrived at Control 1 at de Valleihoeve, where the aforementioned nun stamped our cards and we enjoyed some atmospheric accordion music while consuming fresh strawberries that a local farmer was handing out. There was chocolate too and some other nice things to eat. We looked at some of the other bicycles and then went off on the next leg which would see our route separate from the shorter ones. 

We had a brief climb (den Ast) and then two sections of flat cobblestones (Molendamstraat and Oude Dorpsweg). As I had feared, the gearing on the Diamant, which I had purchased only the week before, was totally unsuited to steep climbs but I just dropped into my lowest gear (46-19!) and slowly ground my way up to the top while Tom and Nick, riding more sensible Italian bikes with gearing for humans, went on ahead.

Our route took us through back roads which were sometimes just muddy farm paths and through quiet neat villages with dark-brown brick houses, where often people leaned on their fences to shout encouragement or just beam in pleasure. A very different attitude from those places where the locals are infuriated if the road is closed for an hour of a race…

We were accompanied by a collection of vintage cars that generally were no faster than we were. My favourite was an Austin Seven, but there were lots of Citroens too, including the iconic 2CV and the DS. They all got in the way a bit at times but nobody was in a hurry anyway and it certainly added to the atmosphere.

Passing a small castle near Hoeve Ter Weede, we continued along two more sections of cobbles and then climbed the Nokereberg, another cobbled hill, before coming to Control 2 at In den Hemel. In addition to more live music, we were given big tureens of excellent tomato soup to enjoy. There were more picturesque cyclists and their mounts to admire and everyone was impressed with a family of four in matching gear: father, mother, older brother and, on a tiny bike, the little brother who looked around seven or so. They start they young in Belgium. We also met up with the group of Germans that had been staying in our B&B. Unfortunately, the one riding an elderly Legnano had had some bad mechanical problems and his ride was over. We found out later that he sold the bike on the spot; perhaps he found another to continue the ride!

The tomato soup ladies

Waiting to check riders in

Riding out of the control point we rode through an allée of tall trees, bringing us past the Kasteel Baron Casier, a water castle constructed in the mid-19^th Century in the classical style and today housing a tea room in addition to the fine park we were riding through. We climbed a little hill and then rode just east of the village of Wortegem-Petegem (now there’s a familiar name to Belgian cycling fans!) before approached Control 3 at de Stroheve. We could see everyone at the food stop straight ahead but the red arrows marking the route took us to the right. The reason was that our path now took us directly through a huge stable, where there were many black Belgian horses to admire, including several wobbly colts, and a collection of interesting carriages. And riding to the control we discovered that in addition to the usual apples and oranges and cookies there was a large gentleman smoking a cigarillo and pouring out lemon schnapps for everyone. 

All this cycling was the typical roundabout course you find in Flanders. Having ridden 40 kms we saw a sign indicating that Oudenaarde was 6 kms away! No matter: onward to the hard part of the course. We streamed by another castle, the Domein de Ghellinck, that had been converted into a restaurant/family centre and then find ourselves riding along a fast smooth path along a river. The routes separated again and we had another cobbled flat section to enjoy before the Tiegemberg, another nice little climb, before looping back to join the 70 km course.

This brought us to one of the very famous Tour of Flanders climbs, the Oude Kwaremont, which begins pleasantly enough but soon you leave asphalt behind and the cobbles gradually deteriorate in quality as you approach the 19 percent maximum grade. My legs definitely did not like this much but I managed to get to the top without walking. Nick missed the turn and continued to climb against a one-way road directly to the top.

On the Oude Kwaremont as it begins to steepen

A bit further one was probably the worst climb in terms of steepness. It is described as the Rampe and must be at least 22 percent, although short. Time for Mr. Diamant to get a push since I was walking this one, accompanied by some elderly Brits with some really admirable bikes to look at.  Our next control was in a big barn and featured a duo doing AC-DC music to give us energy. We carefully rode along the cobbled farm driveway and back on course—35 kms to go!

A steep climb at Kuihol saw some admiring children rush over to give us a push, although Nick got a slap in the leg from a little boy, and we were making our way through the hardest part of the course. Next up was the Taaienberg, also a featured cobbled climb in the Ronde and then one more paved climb before the last control point. We were left with just 18 kms to go but this included four climbs, including the rather painful Kapelleberg and one final stretch of cobble, which ran through the village of Jagerij and must have been the inhabitants’ pride and joy.

Now the end was in sight and we tore downhill into Oudenaarde, rolling up the finishing ramp and signing out with 102 kms and 1075 m of climbing in our legs, three of 535 participants at the Retro Ronde. A welcome sandwich was provided and an even more welcome cool brown beer. We enjoyed our refreshments while listening to the Vindaloo Five perform and then it was off to use the showers at the Centrum, say goodbye to our British friends who were packing up and jam Tom’s Fiesta full of our gear and take the highway home.

Entertainment at the finish line

Everyone had a smile on their face and all have agreed to come back next year for the full program since missing the Beer Cycling Contest was tragic. We may even work on our sewing skills in preparation for next year but no matter what the Retro Ronde is one of the most entertaining (ravishing!) weekends you can have on a bike. Admission is a bargain: entry is 10 Euros, there is plenty of reasonable accommodation in the region and as to getting equipped: well, my handbuilt Diamant, made from quality Reynolds 531 steel and with excellent Shimano Arabesque components, cost me complete roughly half the price of a modern wheelset alone. But that sprinter’s freewheel has to go!

RSV Vagabund '13 looking good!

For more information about the Retro Ronde go to www.retroronde.be

 

And because you really want a vintage-style jersey or want to sew one for a Significant Person, ask Isabelle at www.lafamillevictor.be.

Just a little club ride...with 5,000 participants!

In deepest Hessen

In 2001 I rode the Rhőnradmarathon, a rather difficult organized ride near Fulda in the eastern part of the German state of Hesse. For my efforts I received a participation medal and a t-shirt—the former I still have but the latter has gone to T-Shirt Heaven after being used for workouts until it faded away. I had ridden the Classic version of the ride but this time planned to go for the Marathon version: 202 kms and 3400 m of climbing. I persuaded my friends Nick and Bernd to sign up since places are limited.

This just goes to show the changes in German cycling in the last decade. The professional sport is dying as races have been cancelled until only a handful are left, only one of which is a UCI Pro Tour event. On the other hand, bike marathons, which were a scarce novelty a decade ago, have boomed as amateurs make the most of the sport. Jedermannrennen, as races for amateurs are called in Germany, did not exist in 2001 but now there is a whole series of them as well. A bike marathon must be 200 kms to be called one but, like the popular Radtourenfahrt (RTF) that covers shorter distances and can be found throughout the country on every weekend during the season, it is not a timed event. The Jedermannrennen is timed but from my experience at the Velothon Berlin only the hardcore riders take it seriously.

The Rhőnradmarathon is organized by the local cycling club, RSC '77 Bimbach, which was founded in 1977 and ran the first Radmarathon already in 1979. It is one of the most loved events in Germany and extends now over two days during the Pentecost Long Weekend. On Saturday a number of RTF rides are offered, including a 20 km family event, with the longest being 152 km. On Sunday more RTFs are offered from 20 to 112 kms but the Big Event is the Radmarathon, which now comes in three variations. Besides the Basic and Classic lengths two years ago a brutal “Extrem” route of 238 km with 4500 m of climbing was added. Described as the hardest bike marathon in Germany, it is for crazy people.

On Friday, May 17, Nick picked me up at the Siegburg train station and then we headed southeast to Lauterbach. The drive was harder than expected as we ran into very heavy fog in Hesse as Nick's GPS took us along some very small roads. In the end we reached our base for the next two days, a spacious apartment, around 10 pm, feeling pretty tired.

Our B&B: Haus Ortwein in Lauterbach

On Saturday it was time to ride. I had signed up for one of the RTFs and was hoping to do the 112 km version, while Nick was considering something shorter. In the end it did not matter as Nick's Garmin took us to the registration in Bimbach the long way, meaning a 27 km route rather than the expected 13 km one. This meant we were too late to start but the weather was decent, if overcast and humid, so we decided to ride our own variation of the 48 km loop. I did get my start number for the RTF but was not too concerned about food stops or controls as I had only invested 5 Euros anyway.

In addition to the registration set-up, there was a beer tent and some tents for people selling things. Nick lusted after some Lightweight wheels but, more importantly, he also had the chance to have his failing rear wheel trued by a brilliant mechanic.

 

Nick, lusting

We set off from the muddy start area and were soon cruising through Hesse, which boasts truly excellent roads. The Rhőn area is considered by Hessians to be the prettiest part of their state and the lack of traffic and the fine pothole-free surfaces of the streets make it a great cycling destination.

Propaganda for yet more rides!

Riding through small towns along the Fulda River, we noticed not a lot of activity for a Saturday. Hesse is one of the German states where rural areas are depopulating at a noteworthy rate and the villages we saw generally had no stores or cafes in them. It was only when we got to a larger centre that there was more activity. This was in Schlitz, where there is an impressive castle that is now an old age residence and there is also a fine hotel. We climbed up through the cobbled streets to take a look around and came across a group of ancient motorcycles assembled for a vintage run. Some great old machines, including ones with sidecars.

Saturday afternoon in Schlitz

Our plan to stop for a coffee did not work out as the only cafe had too many smokers on the terrace so we continued enjoying our spin through the countryside, eventually collecting 71 kms and around 700 m of climbing.We returned to our bed-and-breakfast and the welcome opportunity to clean our quite muddy bicycles.



That evening we drove back to the start area for the pre-ride briefing for Sunday's adventures. A Powerpoint presentation had been assembled but first the speaker from the club doing the briefing went into a long and excited monologue slamming the sports press for concentrating only on the doping scandals in cycling and not on big and successful events like the one put on in Bimbach each year. That out of the way, he then proceeded to entertain us with stories of Celtic settlement in the town and then a brief diversion into the geological formation of the Rhön region.

Just as I was thinking I had never heard a pre-ride briefing like this before, the screen featured the route we would be riding. As there is overlap between routes, the speaker just covered the long 238 km version. The route was divided into five segments, each with a slide. After the 45 km “prologue” it got very quiet in the tent. There was a mention of a time cut-off for the 202 and 238 km routes, the first indication of this we had had. There were lots of food stops (hooray!) and a whole lot of climbing. A whole lot, actually. The presentation ended with an animated fly-through of the route in 3D, which did not provide much comfort either.

Sunday: the Day of Truth. Our landlady had left breakfast out for us as we had to get up early. The bikes were already in the car so it was the work of only a few minutes to drive to Bimbach. We were impressed that so many people had already arrived, filling two large fields with cars on the edge of the town. Many of the people leaving for the longer route would have gone between 6:00 and 6:30. We sleepyheads got enter the course with the other 202 kms-intending, along with 171 kms riders. At 7:15 we were off on our adventure. It was a cold morning but no rain, thankfully.

The prologue was marvellous. We rolled out on the empty, pothole-free roads, smoothly climbing and very rapidly descending and having a jolly old time, eventually rolling though the Rhönsprudel mineral water factory (one of the ride's sponsors) and coming to the first food stop. Nick had ridden with a triathlete from Hamburg who was using this route as a training ride. Refreshed with our quick stop, we headed to the first serious climb of the day, just past Poppenhausen. It was slow going but steady enough. Most of the hills in the region probably max out at 8 percent gradient but are very long.

A short descent and then we were climbing again. There was quite a bit of traffic here and it was both in the air and on the ground. Cars, motorcycles and buses overtook us and overhead were light aircraft and sailplanes. To my surprise we had already reached the top of the Wasserkuppe, at 910 m the highest point of the ride and the home of gliding. There is a little airport at the top and lots of tourist kitch places as well. I was last here in 2000 and now I was enjoying the descent I had climbed up more than a decade ago.

Enjoying the smooth fast descent, we came to an intersection where my GPS said we should go right but all the signs pointed left. We knew that there had been some changes in the route and this must havae been one. In fact, as we were to learn at the next food stop, we had missed the time cut-off and were now riding the 171 km route instead of the longer one we had planned. We discovered this at Fladungen, when our cards were stamped KP3 (Kontrol Punkt 3) instead of the KP2 we expected. This was kind of annoying but we decided we could add some distance at the next split. We mulled this while eating big bowls of hot pasta at the food stop.

As usual, the most food is always located before the toughest climb. Our idea of lengthening the ride was wishful thinking as to get to the split we had to conquer a big Category 2 climb and the signs for the longer rides were gone anyways. The sun had come out now and I was definitely struggling. At the Gotthards food stop we debated taking an extra loop but instead opted for the flatter 171 km course section through Morles. This was a good opportunity to recover a bit from our exertions. I felt the odd twinge of cramping in my adductors coming on but stopped, drank, did a bit of massage and rode off in an easier gear with no more adverse effects.

By the time we got to the last checkpoint before the finish at Margretenhaun we were in relaxed cruising mode but eager to finish the ride. There were a few ups and downs until the final little descent brought us back into Bimbach, the ride completion and our commemorative t-shirts.

We were both pretty tired and a bit sunburnt. We made our way back to the car after misdirecting ourselves somewhat and returned back to the B&B. Shortly after our arrival the skies turned black and it began to pour in torrents, not letting up for the rest of the night.

Lauterbach might be bigger than most of the villages around but it still did not offer much in the way of budget eateries so our recovery meal was consumed at the local McDonald's, a first for me! The rain continued and the next morning, feeling a bit stiff but triumphant, we drove back to Siegburg and I took the train home.

It was a great weekend riding some of Germany's best roads at a superbly organized (and sold-out) event. This was the best-attended of the Radmarthons to date and everyone looked like they were enjoying it. Nick and I were among the stoutest people at the event and there were riders who finished the brutal long course averaging 30 km/h, apparently. But the ride is the thing and not the time, as the organizers point out. I was happy to accept my 245 kms of riding with 3400 m of climbing as a pretty good weekend workout at the beginning of the cycling season. Next year for sure, but we will make that time cut-off!