Holy moly. You have never seen cobbles like this. As expected this was the deciding section of the race. The section as probably 2km long. It felt like miles. By the second lap selections had been made. I believe one of our guys (Kristian) ended up finishing in the top 20 or so. As for me first time through the cobble section my right shifter shook loose and slid down tighening my rear brake. Once through the cobble section I ended up having to get off and fix it. I chased but to no avail and spent 5 laps by myself. I am disappointed because I know that I could have lasted longer but that’s the way it goes. Another race tomorrow. Rock ‘n roll.
August 29, 2005
GP Beuvry la Foret.
August 27, 2005
Phone Number.
I got a phone number today. If you want to reach me here in Belgium you can call 314-714-JOEW. It’s a St Louis number so if that is long distance for you then it will cost you money. Other than that it should work like every other phone. I better not get any late night prank calls from Jay Thomas.
August 26, 2005
Finally, a UCI.
Looks like I will be racing a UCI in France on Monday. Hopefully this one happens. From what I hear it includes some cobbles from the Paris-Roubiax. Pretty cool.
August 25, 2005
Trappist of Westvleteren.
All the good beer in Belgium is made by monks. According to many that I have talked to and a few websites Westvleteren 12 (shown here) is the best beer in the world. Today some of the guys and I went to the abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren where it is made. They make very little (something like 500,000 liters a year) and were sold out soon after we got ours. For this reason they only alow one case (24 bottles) per car. I haven’t tried any yet but I’m sure it’s good stuff.
An interesting note, the bottles don’t even have a label. The only identifying mark is the cap. They make three types, yellow (the 12, dark), blue (the 8, dark) and green (blonde). The 12 and 8 are least common, like I said earlier they sell out of these quickly. The green is more common and can be bought at the abbey most of the time. They also say that you should let the 12 and 8 sit vertically for at least 6 months for the best taste. Apprently it makes it much more potent too, reaching around 12% alcohol.
The Belgians must take their beer seiously when we showed up the military was present. I geuss they were protecting the monks from crazy drunks.
August 24, 2005
Ruiselede Kermis.
Tough race today. It was windy and lightly raining the entire time. The front part of the course was full of corners and had a really tough chicane. The back side wasn’t nearly as bad but had hard cross-head winds. I lasted around 30 minutes. We had a few guys finish but none in the money. I took a few pictures, but they are kind of blurry. Sorry.