Day 14 - Martijn's Birthday

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

With a few sore bodies following the Tremelo kermesse last night we opted for a bit of a sleep in and didn't wake til after 9.30am. Eventually we had a quick bite to eat and were out the door on the road to Diest. The weather was beautiful so we were all happy to take a seat outside of La Bas and enjoy the sunshine. Stijn took our standard order (we have been craving a 'Chocolate Coffee' ever since we missed out on Monday) with Brad also selecting a Quiche from the menu. The coffee was an absolute treat and Brad loved the Quiche. Whenever the bustling cafe wasn't too busy we would chat with Stijn and some of the other staff including his wife Brenda who is coming to watch us race in Rummen tomorrow. We didn't have much on for the day so we sat at La Bas for another 20min or so before we picked ourselves up and rolled around the corner to Michael's bike shop.

Michael made us an espresso and told us he'd been trying to get in contact with us for a few days now but Glenn's mobile has been offline. We hung around the shop and caught up for 30min or so, chatting about races as well as mine and Matt's plans to race for Belgian teams next year. Customers came in occasionally so we wandered around the shop and checked out his Velos Deluxe bikes. Matt was blown away by a Campagnolo Super Record group set on sale for only 1299 euro! We took down Michael's number and promised to catch up with him for dinner/drinks before we leave on the 12th of September. Somehow we made our way back to the road we came in on and set off for Mol. Only ten minutes later we bumped into Craig Johns riding the opposite direction. He turned around and joined us as we rode back into Mol (lucky we had him to guide us!). Craig didn't have much on the agenda for today either so we stopped and had a coffee around the corner from home.

When we got home both Glenn and Martijn were having an afternoon nap on the couch following Martijn's birthday celebrations from the night before. Martijn woke up soon after and took off to set up for his dinner party around the corner at his parent's place while the rest of us cleaned up then went into Mol to pick up a present for his birthday (we told him we were going grocery shopping). We searched a few shops but eventually settled on an Ikea like homes store were we found a very modern styled lamp and a clock for his house. It was starting to get chilly so we swung by the house to change before we drove a street away to Martijn's parents place to help set up. The house is located on a large property connected to Martijn's older sister's house. When we arrived most of Martijn's family were already there with a few of his friends yet to arrive. Martijn's parents were hard at work preparing fresh mussels and mouth watering fritz which kept being refilled on the table as we made our way to the bottom of the bowl!

Slowly Martijn's friends began to arrive and joined in eating and drinking at the large table. Martijn had a sophisticated 'keg on tap' set up as well as an iPad which was being passed around connected by WiFi to the sound system across the yard. Both houses and the property were amazing inside and out. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food and definitely ate their fair share! Their were a wide range of nationalities sitting around the table including Dutch, Belgian, Romanian, Czech and Australian! Lucky for us everyone stuck to English for most of the night so we could keep up with conversation. With the 140km Classic in Rummen set for tomorrow we made it an early night and got dropped back at Martijn's before the drinks really started to flow! The race kicks off at 4.00pm and should go for just over 3 hours. Typically a classic consists of one big lap (approx 70-80km) before finishing the remainder of the distance around a small circuit (8-10km). Winning a classic is very prestigious and is worth several hundred euros, at least 150 riders are expected to line up tomorrow. We're all very excited and can't wait to fill you in on how the race unfolded.

Day 13 - Tremelo Kermesse

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

Our race in Tremelo this afternoon wasn't until 5.00pm so we had plenty of time in the morning to do our usual hour recovery ride. We rode along the canal up to Geel and back down through the town back to Martijn's apartment. Most of us didn't have a few good sleep so after some breakfast we all went upstairs to rest for awhile. Brad went back to sleep while Matt and I watched a movie. We spoke to Wim and organised to meet him at his house in Rotselaar before the race as he lived only 10min from the course. The fridge was looking a little bare so we rode down to the Colruyt with some backpacks and stocked up on some groceries. Like usual we had a coffee or two and made the most of the free sample displays. We also bought Martijn a chocolate cake for his birthday but when we returned home we were devastated to find he didn't have a baking tray suitable for the oven! It was nearing the time we had to leave so we put the packet aside and would resolve that later.

I made everyone some oats while Brad and Matt packed the car and Glenn revised the directions to Wim's place. We were running a bit late but 'strategic' driving by Glenn helped us dodge some road works and arrive just on time to meet Wim and his two son's in Rotselaar. Wim had organised with some friends for us to use their house to get changed before and after the race as they lived a street away from the course. The 3 of us quickly got kitted up and rode down to the inschrijven to collect our numbers. Nominations were a lot quicker then usual so we still had a bit of time to roll up and down the finishing straight before the start. A problem with the support vehicle left 90+ riders waiting on the line but shortly after with a wave of the flag and blow of the whistle we were off.

Today's race consisted of 18 laps of a dead flat ~6km course. The race started quickly and by the second lap the entire 90 strong peleton was in a single line. Their were only 5 corners on the course with 2 very long straights were the pressure was really put on. I rode very aggressive early determined to make the break. However frequent premis of about ~30 euro were held every few laps keeping the bunch together. Several times throughout the race a break would move off the front but each time it was swallowed by the peleton a lap later. Brad and I worked quite well together countering attacks and jumping out of the bunch to bridge across to break aways but the bunch wouldn't allow anything to escape out of sight. With each race we have gotten better at using the courses to our advantage like the Belgians do including attacking down the footpath! Matt rode good position in the beginning of the race but slowly made his way to the back of the peleton and raced the hard way in the back half of the bunch. After yet another break away was pulled back with 3 laps to go the bunch was still together and things were looking very promising for a bunch finish...

To give you a better indicator of the course profile; within 200m of the finish line was a sharp left hand corner which came back on itself before 800m to the next sweeping left hand and then a long section approximately 2-3km long. At the end of that road was another sharp left (many riders used the footpath to gain better position before the turn) for a kilometre before a sweeping left then the last 2km down a main road until the last left hand turn 250m from the line. We zigzagged through the first 2 corners and were swamped by 1/3 of the peleton through the tight bends. A moments hesitation by the bunch allowed 10-12 riders to slip away on the long section after the corner. The bunch would chase hard and then stall for those remaining laps getting ever so close to catching the tail of the break. To the break away's credit they rode hard and didn't look back until the final kilometre. 

Brad worked like a dog on the front to help bring the break away back but several attacks and then hesitations disrupted the chase. On the bell lap with only a kilometre remaining the break away was just ahead of us and we were getting closer and closer. I followed Brad as he tried to bridge the gap but an optimistic attack from about 10 wheels back looked very dangerous. The win was still a possibility so I made took the chance and followed the rider as he attacked down the left hand side of the road. As most Belgians do if they attack and are followed they quickly sit up as they would rather go back to the bunch then give someone a 'free ride.' He immediately borked and I was left horribly out of position. My gamble hadn't paid off and the bunch quickly surrounded us on either side. I took the last corner with a good line but there were simply too many riders to weave between that I could only manage 20th. The break away crossed the finish line a mere 15 seconds earlier.

After the race we got changed and showered at Wim's friend's house before walking back to return our numbers and collect our prize money. The results sheet had Brad crossing the line in the top 30 with Matt a few positions behind. Both Brad and I once again collected a small amount of prize money which would become our dinner money later on. We were thrilled when we arrived back at the car, Wim had bought us all a carton of Chocovit (like Cecemel) to share so we sat by the car and had a bottle each while chatting with everyone. By this time we were all pretty hungry so we drove to a nearby Frituur bar which also makes incredible rolls. After a short wait we collected our food and drove around the corner to Wim's place to eat. As soon as we sat down at the table we devoured our dinner and put our legs up for awhile. Wim's kid's were very excited to show us their signed Rabobank jersey from Oscar Freire as well as many other things their uncle Tim had acquired for them (one of the many perks of working as the Rabobank mechanic I'm sure!). We watched a bit of tv and lazed around, Wim had been invited to ride along in the team car for a recent race so we looked over a few photos he'd taken before we started the long journey back to Mol.

When we arrived back at Martijn's house he was out celebrating his birthday at the pub so we left him a card and the box of chocolate cake and his bed promising to cook it for him when we had the right utensils! Most of us were in bed very soon after and we apologise for the late blog entry :P . Tomorrow we will have a cruisey ride in the morning and hang out in the afternoon before going over to Martijn's parents house to celebrate his birthday with a big dinner. The best mussels and fritz in all of Belgium were promised so we look forward to that! Thanks for catching up on the blog and we hope you've enjoyed following us so far.

Day 12 - Pannenkoek

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

With not much on the agenda for today we had a sleep in and eventually got out of bed to kit up and head out on the road. We came up with the genius idea to skip breakfast at home and instead ride into Geel and have some Pannenkoek (dutch pancakes) at the cafe from Friday. The weather was chilly but the rain held off for the majority of the morning. We each ordered a warm Cecemel to have with our Pannenkoek which arrived shortly after. Glenn and Matt went with the pancakes with ice cream & chocolate while Brad and I got ours with syrup (jam). We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast and procrastinated for awhile before we jumped back on our bikes. Originally we planned to ride 40km into Diest to visit the guys at La Bas but luckily we remembered they were closed Sunday/Monday so we saved ourselves the trip. We altered the route and followed Glenn out of Geel.

We passed through Turnhout and were trying to find the same canal which lead us into the Netherlands  a few days earlier but somehow we got lost along the way. For about 20km the followed the road we thought was running parallel to the canal which actually wasn't. When we finally admitted defeat we stopped at a supermarket in a small town (most likely in the Netherlands) to gather our bearings. A young lady walking past pointed us in the right direction and we were back on our way shortly after. With a bit of back tracking and a few left-rights we flew through the town of Arendonk and suddenly we started to recognize where we were. We had a bit of fun on the way home chasing some trucks and seeing how fast we could go on our 2cm tyres before we cruised through Mol and arrived back at Martijn's at about 4.30pm. Matt fixed up some tuna pasta and I handed Glenn another defeat in Chess.  Monday is Martijn's day off so we had a chat with him and planned to have dinner later on. 

Martijn took off for a few hours while we showered and got ready for dinner. When he returned he picked us up and took us to a nearby warehouse to look at a few floats being prepared for an annual street festival held in Mol on Saturday night. About 30 people were frantically working on several different displays throughout the warehouse, all equipped with various lighting and high tech hydraulics. After exploring the warehouse we head to 'Hanger 31' in the centre of town for a drink and to decide where we'd go for dinner. We agreed on a restaurant across the street (Glenn and I had been here previously with Brett in 2010) which we sat down at and promptly ordered our meals. Martijn assured us we'd be very satisfied with a meal on the menu which basically translated to Steak with frietjes. Glenn, Matt and Martijn all went with this dish while Brad and I chose the Steak with Kroketten (deep fried balls of mash potato) and salad. 

When the meals arrived we were shocked. The guys who were ordered the Steak with frietjes were stunned when the entire plate was piled high and completely covered in thin fries you couldn't even see the salad or steak beneath! Brad and my plate's almost looked bare when they arrived with a large piece of steak, a bowl of salad and on a separate plate the Kroketten with dipping sauce. The steak was beautifully cooked and the Kroketten was lovely. After shoveling most of the fries aside the guys were able to find their steak and cut a piece. They commented that the food was incredible but I honestly believe no one could consume an entire meal that size! After dinner Martijn and Glenn planned to see a movie in Turnhout so they dropped us off on the way (with the race tomorrow afternoon in Tremolo we needed a good nights rest so we declined on the offer.). 

We washed our cycling clothes then headed upstairs to watch a DVD. Tomorrow's race in Tremolo is just around the corner from Wim Dejonge's house so we've planned to meet up with him beforehand. All of us are looking to have a good race tomorrow after the disappointment of missing the split in Hove yesterday. Every result becomes important for the guys looking to find a team to ride for in 2012. It has been difficult in the beginning as both Brad and Matt had never experienced anything like the intensity and race strategy of Belgium whereas I had but had to nurse a broken collarbone and was very restricted in my preparation. Fingers crossed tomorrow we can put our heads to together and produce a good result.

Day 11 - Hove U23 Kermesse

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

We opened the blinds to a pleasant looking Sunday with the sun in sight and not too many troublesome clouds about. Matt & Brad cooked up some oats before we took off for our standard hour ride to roll our legs over before this afternoon's race in Hove. Like usual we tapped down the canal but had to battle a headwind on the way out before we turned and zipped back home. Glenn researched the directions to Hove while we all packed our race bags. We planned to leave between 1-1.30 to leave us enough time to pick up our numbers, check over our bikes, kit up and have a quick warm up. After tidying up the house a bit Matt cooked up some tuna pasta which we all sat down and ate once the car was packed and ready to go.

When we arrived in the town of Hove we realised how big today's race actually was! A motorcade of sponsors and promo cars drove a few laps of the circuit throwing lollies and balloons out to all the young children lining the streets. There were people everywhere and lots of cars trying to find parking spots. We battled through and finally found a place to park on the course. 'Inschrijven' was  easier than usual because Tim nominated us over the phone earlier in the week but they still had to take the time to enter all our details into the computer (all the Belgian's licenses have a barcode which they just scan). The race had 90 starters aged 18 - 22, while the course was 11 laps of a 10.8 circuit (~118km). It was quite chilly by this time and the wind had started to pick up, occasionally sneaking a few rain drops in. We dressed and got our bikes prepped with all three of us going back to the car to pick up arm warmers. After a brief warm up we rolled to the line and were given some last instructions (in dutch) before the flag was dropped and we were off.

The course was fairly straightforward but their were many obstacles to avoid so you always had to have you wits about you. Like in the tour there were many marshals with whistles and fluro flags to warn us of sharp corners and/or traffic hazards. I'm fairly sure everyone kept upright and after a few laps you began to learn the course anyway. We weren't entirely sure what to expect with racing against only U23 after the previous two races were against fully grown men. The result was a few kmph slower but the race was fairly aggressive and also quite negative at times. In the early stages the 3 of us rode very good position in the front of the race to keep out of trouble and monitor any sneaky escapes in the beginning. A few times Brad and I were off the front in the breakaway but they were generally shut down quickly. A front bunch formed shortly after we were caught with about 20 riders in it. The peleton stalled and the riders quickly gained an advantage. The few attempts made by riders to reach the breakaway were fruitless including an optimistic attack by Brad which only just fell short when he was a mere 20m or so in arrears. We didn't see the break away again.

The bunch went through many different stages from chasing hard to stalling to then aggressive attacking. Riders continually tried to escape up a slight rise on the course but it never eventuated into anything more. I felt particularly good today whereas Brad was a bit tender and Matt took a conservative approach to the race and just concentrated on remaining within the bunch and getting the experience/kilometres in. It became extremely frustrating at times when the peleton would stop chasing and without time checks we never knew whether or not we were gaining on the riders off the front. In the  final lap a few riders managed to sneak away including Brad which rode to the finish just ahead of the peleton. A left hand corner 250m from the finish line was difficult to negotiate but I took a fairly good line and had good position. A rider who was caught 150m or so from the finish was dawdling up the right hand side and I nearly ran straight up the back of him. I had to 'bork' which ruined my run at the line which concluded a very frustrating bike race! 

We made our way back to the car and cleaned ourselves up/changed before going over to rego to return our numbers and find out our placings. Brad managed top 30 with the last lap break away whereas my interupted sprint left me with top 40 and Matt in with the rest of the peleton. All 3 of us received appearance money with Brad and I also collecting a bit of prize money as the organizers paid down to 50th. The drive home was much easier than the way out and we returned home with relative ease. Matt prepared dinner while Brad played on the computer and I gained another victory over Glenn in chess. Our legs were pretty smashed after the race so we didn't hang around long after dinner, everyone making their way to bed before 11pm. We now have enough experience to be able to read the races and should be able to finish the remainder of the trip off strongly with at least 7 races remaining. Our next races are set for Tuesday with a kermesse in Tremolo as well as a 140km Classic currently scheduled for Thursday in Rummen. Tomorrow we'll head out for 3 or 4 hours on the road most likely making the journey over to La Bas for a coffee and chat!

Day 10 - Canals

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

Friday night at the local pub in Mol seems to be quite an event as their music was blaring straight through the window into the Arbitrage team house 2 doors down! Hardly any of us got a good night's rest but we still rose before 9am to have breakfast, kit up and head out on the road. Glenn stayed behind so it was up to me to navigate my way through the streets of Belgium. We decided to find a different route to normal so it wouldn't become too monotonous towards the end of the trip. Surprisingly we managed to find our way with relative ease jumping from one town to the next until we reached one of the main canals. The canal stretches for miles crossing the border into the Netherlands without so much as a road sign. We rode down the undisturbed canal for at least 30km occasionally passing commuters and cyclists. Eventually we took a few corners and following Glenn's instructions from earlier started to head back in the direction of Mol along a different canal. 

We made a pitt stop at a quiet restaurant/cafe where we enjoyed an unusually good coffee and hid out of the rain for 20 minutes. The weather had been pleasant earlier with both Matt and I deciding to show our pins for once and leave the leg warmers at home. But as can be expected in Belgium the weather gradually turned and became chilly with some light rain. After thanking the friendly staff we jumped back on our bikes and headed in the Mol direction. Naturally we made a few wrong turns but we managed to correct ourselves with a bit of backtracking and arrived at our doorstep just after 1pm. Bread was a rare commodity so Brad rode down and grabbed some more from a local bakery while we chopped up some salad to make sandwiches. A few chess games were played while we decided what we'd get up to later that afternoon. Everyone was still fairly tired so Brad had a nana nap, Matt read a book, Glenn watched a movie and I had a Skype date with family back home.

A few hours later we decided to head into the town centre as up until now we'd visited Geel and Turnhout but not Mol itself (besides whizzing through the streets on our bikes). We parked up and wandered around looking in some book stores and very expensive clothing outlets. A festival was being held in the centre of town later that day to coincide with the end of a marathon race. Many stages were constructed all around the cafe we took a seat at. The waitress satisfied our Cecemel requirements for the day and we caught up on the Vuelta a Espana via a tv inside but we didn't stay for long because the sound checks of each stage were extremely loud. Martijn's restaurant where he worked wasn't far away so we popped our heads in to say hello. He knocked off in 20min so we went and picked up some groceries at Colruyt before driving back and meeting him for a drink. 

Martijn had a wedding to attend at about 8pm so we went back to the house and chatted for awhile before him and Glenn left to wander down to the bar around the corner. Brad and I took up the cooking duties and fixed up a carbon copy of last night's dinner while Matt hang up the washing. Everything ran smoothly and the 3 of us sat down to a healthy meal of veges. Tomorrow's race is an U23 kermesse held in the town of Hove. We discussed how we thought the race would pan out and planned what time we'd need to leave to get there in time for a 4pm start. After washing up the dishes we hung out upstairs and watched the original classic Lethal Weapon on DVD. We are all very excited for tomorrow's race having already raced twice and gained a lot of experience we're confident we could produce some good results! Be sure to check in tomorrow morning to read the play-by-play of our 120km battle through the streets of Belgium. Thanks for reading once again,

Day 9 - Rainy Day in Mol

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

Last night we came to the agreement that we'd turn our alarms off and go riding whatever time we rolled out of bed. For most of us it was around 9.30am but the rain started to pour so we further delayed our recovery ride. We have 2 days before the U23 kermesse in Hove so we would only head out for a few hours whenever the rain cleared. Martijn's cleaning lady was due to come around 1pm so we planned to go grocery shopping and then head off for a ride so we would be out of the house while she cleaned. The nearby supermarket / warehouse that we've been shopping at called "Colruyt" has been extremely handy and cheap so we returned there once again to stock up on supplies. The supermarket also has lots of 'free samples' in several of the aisles including waffles, pieces of chocolate and even a self serve coffee machine. The coffee was strangely good probably one of the best we've had in Belgium (besides the fantastic coffee at La Bas of course!).

After the 'basics' were thrown in the trolley and we'd made the most of all the free samples we headed to the check out where we picked up a few cheap-cheap DVD's to watch throughout the week. Martijn had told us 1pm for the cleaner but we weren't exactly sure when we'd rock up so we threw our kit on and bummed around the house until she arrived 20 minutes later. The weather was average but you can't have blue skies everyday (especially not in Belgium!) and we set off on our reverse reco loop of Turnhout - Geel - Mol. Brad had yet another puncture which I think brings his total to 6-7?? While he changed it Glenn, Matt and I wandered around an exotic caryard home to Ferrari's, Bentley's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's and Corvette's. I'm by no means a 'car-nerd' but from what I'm told these are nice cars... We rode for about 30km before we stopped in Geel for a coffee covered in mud and dirt. Glenn and Brad were feeling peckish so they ordered a few servings of Pannenkoek to have with their hot chocolate (Cecemel). It was quite chilly outside but lucky for us many cafes in Belgium have blankets/snuggies so we rugged up and sipped our hot chocolate while our bikes got rained on.

Brad's tyres clearly weren't up to the harsh terrain of Belgian roads so we rode around the corner to Van Eykes and he picked up a pair of Pro Race 3 Michelin tyres for a steal at 46 euro (you do not want to know how much they charge for these in Australian bike shops...). A few New Zealanders were wandering around the shop (sticking out like sore thumbs) so we chatted to them for awhile while they got a Zipp wheel fixed. One of the rider's was in our criterium yesterday in Aarschot while the other was an U19 who'd just finished racing in the Junior World Track Championships and on his way to the Road Worlds in Copenhagen after they spend a few weeks in Belgium. We didn't catch their names but we hope little Brad Linfield causes them some strife when he represents Australia next month at the World Championships. The roads were slick so we took our time rolling home through the streets of Mol especially since Matt had a little tumble on Wednesday. Some of the curbs in the town's have a small deceptive lip on them which put Brett Schnitzerling on his backside last year as well. For anyone heading to Belgium to ride their bikes stay clear of these death traps!

Everyone rides bikes here in Belgium from children going to school, adults riding to work, delinquents heading for the pub and even the cleaning lady who passed us on the street after straightening out Martijn's house. Bread doesn't last long in thee Arbitrage team house so we stopped at a bakery and picked up a fresh loaf. Brad protected it in the crook of his arm like a newborn child as he weaved through traffic back to Martijn's house (both loaf of Brad arrived safely). We fixed a few sandwiches and had somewhat of a 3 way chess tournament between Glenn, Brad and myself while Matt watched a movie upstairs. I beat both Brad and Glen (1-0) while their played each other and ended in a stalemate. Eventually we grew hungry so Brad and I played chef for the evening. Brad cranked up the stove while I chopped various vegetables, we had a good system going for two young men who clearly don't do a lot of cooking (we love you mum's and girlfriend's). The brand new Red Hot Chili Peppers album "I'm With You" was a good choice as background music.

Somehow the meal was edible although I must admit it is extremely difficult to mess up vegetables & mashed potato. None of us are racing again til Sunday so we didn't need to stock up on excessive carbs or protein but we did allow Brad to eat some pasta because we're trying to fatten him up. The guys cleaned up the kitchen while Glenn and I locked horns in a few games of chess with me emerging victorious at 2-0. We talked bikes for awhile until we all grew tired and made our way to the couch to watch a movie. Since we arrived we have been waiting for a warm day to go and check out the famous Zilvermeer Lake which is supposed to be ridiculously busy the minute the temperature is higher than 25 degrees. It's unlikely for this week with the remainder predicted at overcast with the chance of showers. Hopefully we'll continue to dodge it but then it again it wouldn't really be Belgium without some rain!

Day 8 - Aarschot Criterium

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

The alarms were blaring at 8.30am in the Arbitrage team house and we opened the shades to a beautiful sunny Thursday. Today was the day of the Aarschot Criterium so we planned to ride an hour or so in the morning then eat/rest until we left the house at 12.45. Brad & I rode down to Tim's place in Dessel where Matt's bike had stayed overnight because we couldn't fit it in along with Glenn's mattress last night. Glenn & Matt took the team van down there and met us on the street before we took off down the canals. There have been a lot of road works throughout the surrounding towns of Mol so we tried to avoid them and play it safe with the canals, especially considering the amount of punctures we've had over the last few days. We rode up to Geel and stopped into Van Eykes to grab 12 tubes and a new front tyre for Matt because his was cactus (I promise we will have photos of the shop in our next blog!). Matt changed the tyre out of the front of the shop then we slowly made our way back to the house.

 I cooked up some oats while the guys showered (seperately mind you) and packed their bags for the race. A short time after we realised we'd mixed up packing the van in Booischot and had left behind my helmet. We searched for 10min or so before we realised the mistake that we'd placed it on the curb to pack the car then it had never made it back in when we drove off. It was a bit of a set back but didn't matter too much considering the helmet probably should have been turfed 6 months ago and I have a new one waiting back at home. Tim was driving down to the race so he lent me his as well as a pair of gloves to cover my blister bandages from yesterday's trip over the cobbles. The detour while we waited for him only took 10min out of our plan but it didn't matter as we had plenty of time and were well on schedule. For everyone who doesn't know what a hotdog criterium is, it's basically a long stretch of road which we race down then do a complete U-turn come up the other side, do a U-turn and race back past where we started. When we arrived at the course the U19's were racing and practically the whole town was already there drinking and lining the circuit beyond the barriers. The bar was located directly in front of the finish line so they could both drink themselves silly and watch us come past in the hurt box every couple of minutes! They really know how to put on a bike race here in Belgium.

We unpacked our bikes and rode down to the 'inschrijven' (nominations), paid our 8 euro and picked up our numbers, by the way you get 5 euro back when you return them at the end of the race! Paying only 3 euros to race is absolute madness when you consider how much we pay back home in Australia. Today's race is 50 laps of a 1.4km long with 10 euro 'premis' (cash bonus's) for the first man over the line ever second lap and 25 euro for the last two laps before the finish. We barely gave any thought to this thinking that we'd be busting our ass just to stay in contact for 70km let alone competing for primes as well! Our bikes were checked over by Tim and we had the all clear to make our way to the start line after a brief warm up. Somehow I managed to roll straight to the front and be on the start line for the beginning of the race. Normally in Australia the race starts 10 minutes before the flag drops when all the rider's jostle for position on the line. This is extremely common in the Bay Criteriums and also the Perth Crits where riders will line up early, enter the course from the side through the barriers or even ride the circuit backwards to ensure they are placed in the first few rows. 

The race started just as we imagined... Exploding out of the blocks. It was a mad rush to the first corner but with the Belgians being very crafty / intelligent bike riders they cornered perfectly all afternoon and there was barely a single crash despite the dangerous nature of hotdog circuits. Brad immediately got a puncture but he was given a lap out and resumed shortly after. A world class mountain biker named (will find this out and get back to you - Rudi Van Houts) was very aggressive early spending a lot of time on his own off the front collecting rent money. I made a wise decision to 'forget' to wear my heart rate monitor for the race as I'm sure no good could have come from it! Each time we accelerated out of the corners you had to chase hard to stay in contact and not drop the wheel or risk a serving from the guy behind you. With each lap we got better and better at cornering and finding the best gear to use so we could save as much energy as possible. Brad was having another good day and followed a few attacks before slipping off the front for a few laps and collecting a 10 euro prime. He gained quite an advantage but they suddenly chased hard and reeled him in quickly narrowly missing out on collecting another 10 euro to the kitty.

I thought my race was over when I also front wheel punctured at almost exactly the half way mark. Tim's brother Wim had came along to watch and quickly organised a replacement from a young rider sitting on the curb watching the race. Before I knew it I was back in the race and it actually became a blessing in disguise as I was able to catch my breath and rapidly improve my position, slotting in to a top 10 position. At this stage of the race several break attempts had been thwarted but a group of 5 or so were working well together 30m or so ahead of the peleton. The elastic band began to snap and many rider's were unable to keep up with the high speed of the race (exceeding 60kmph in the straights) and were forced to withdraw. Matt too was unable to stay in contact and had to abandon. The replacement front wheel I'd taken didn't have a sensor so by this stage I had no indication of how many km we had to go (the commisaires only began counting laps from 10 to go). I was absolutely mortified when Glenn informed me that there was 19 laps to go when my legs were already screaming.

Both Brad and I remained in the front bunch rapidly declining in numbers as the race became more and more aggressive with rider's getting a taste of the finish. The Omega Pharma Lotto team was one of the teams really laying it on the line to get away along with several other quality top competition teams. The crunch really went down with 5 laps remaining and I was caught behind a dead wheel which all but finished my race. I was absolutely on my knees by this time and easily rolled the remaining laps to finish the race and get a placing. You would be hard-pressed to find a race I dislike more than a standard hotdog criteriums especially those that are 70km long and raced with the best amateurs in the world but I was happy to finish the race and couldn't help but wonder how things would have panned out had I not been drilled by a car door a month ago! Anyway 'laat maar' (nevermind) as they say in Belgium, back to the race! ...

Brad was riding well and had good position in the final stages of the race. 2 riders had slipped off the front and were working well together, despite the peleton's best efforts they were unable to reel them in before the line. Brad unfortunately made a few tactical errors in the last lap which left him exhausted for the sprint, miraculously crossing the line again in 21st place. We discussed the in's and out's of the race several hours later and he learnt a great deal from the race and understood where he went wrong. Look out Belgium if Brad mixes a good race brain with his current form there is going to be trouble! After the race Matt & I made our way to the change rooms / shower block while the rest of the guys chatted with the locals. When we returned we packed up the car and were introduced to a few friend's of Wim. As we made our way back to the inschrijven we watched the theatrics of racing continue when they hosted an 'old boys' one lap time trial! We collected the results sheet and found that only 30 rider's finished the entire race with me sneaking in by a couple of places. Both Brad and I collected some prize money with Brad also receiving money for winning a prime. 

There was a bar close by so all of us sat down (Tim, Tinny, Wim, Glenn, Matt, Brad, myself and 2 of Wim's friends) and had a drink or two before wandering over to a restaurant and taking a seat outside for dinner. No one was too brave with the meal selection, generally everyone chose a steak, pizza or some form of pasta. We told a few old war stories and joked over dinner with Tim also helping me with my Dutch lessons. It started to rain for twenty minutes or so despite the superb weather all day so Tim helped move the umbrellas while the rest of the table went to battle with a rogue wasp. Eventually we captured it and I'm fairly sure it ended up in the dregs of Glenn's wine glass. After dinner we walked back over to the bar and chatted some more before we said our goodbyes and made our way back to the car.

On the way back to Mol we followed Tim and made a detour past a friend of theirs named Bart. I'd met Bart last year when he was racing and working at Van Eykes. Recently he has built a house with his girlfriend so we explored in amazement and were stunned by the 4 levels it contained! The lowest level (beneath the ground) was practically a bike shop with several rooms of top quality cycling, mountain and cyclo-cross bikes as well as the Vespa that Bart and Tim have recently been renovating. We made our way back to the ground level and were spoilt with ice tea, chips, crackers, strawberries and home made ice cream laid out in front of us by Bart's soon to be wife. By the time we left we felt as if we'd eaten everything in their pantry! They were very accommodating and we assured them we'd visit again soon if we couldn't twist Bart's arm to come out training with us.

Finally we arrived home just after 11pm, quickly unpacked the car and threw a load of wash on. Glenn and Brad continued on their conversation regarding the day's race while I stretched and listened in. We practiced some synchronized teeth brushing before everyone went their different ways and fell asleep almost immediately... except for me whose still awake updating the blog! We have a few days just training out on the road before we tackle a U23 race on Sunday in the town of Hove near Antwerp. Thanks to everyone who has been following the blog we've been enjoying over 100 readers a day so please keep it coming! Hope everyone is well back home and we'll do our best to make you proud

P.S... Day 5 is now online after a few delays!

Day 7 - La Bas & Cobbles

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

We were all pretty tired after our first kermesse in Booischot yesterday and rewarded ourselves with a sleep in. Eventually we got our act together and headed towards the town of Diest. Glenn knew the way but one of several punctures for the day delayed us for 10min or so. The streets of Diest were busy with people shopping at the local market but we zig zagged our way through and finally arrived at the footsteps of the famous La Bas. The cafe/restaurant is popular among cyclists and owner Stijn came out to greet us as we parked our bikes up outside. Only 2 minutes after we took our seat Craig Johns arrived and filled us in on what he'd been up to over the last few months racing in Belgium. 

The chocolate coffees we ordered were just as good as Glenn and I remembered with a few of us even treating ourselves to a second. Matt & Brad also tested out the cake cabinet and were silent for a good 5 minutes after so I presume they enjoyed them! We chatted for awhile and were lucky enough to meet the newest member of the Simms family when Annaliese (Michael Simms wife, son of Terry) brought in their month old daughter. Michael's new bike shop was just around the corner so we said goodbye to La Bas for the day and rode over to say hello to Michael and perve on his beautifully crafted Velos Deluxe bikes. Again we played catch up for awhile until we agreed to tackle a particularly difficult cobble section only 10km away. We were all slightly hesitant considering the horror stories Glenn has told of this particular section. After tightening our shoes, squeezing our biddon cages (help to prevent bottles from falling out) and taking one hell of a deep breath we launched ourselves onto the ~2km section.

The cobbles were brutal and smashed every fibre of our body not to mention the amount of hell our bikes were going through beneath us. Craig led the way trying to find the best line through the cobbles but we generally just tried to ride straight up the centre. Lucky for us the section was flat and dead straight so we didn't have to negotiate any corners although it did back on to a T intersection which made it difficult to build speed before we reached it. By the time we reached the finish we all took a minute to catch our breath and wonder where all our biddons had gone. We snapped a few photos and Matt fixed a puncture (#2) before we rode back up the section (albeit a little slower) to try recover all the things we'd dropped. Making our way back into town we stopped once again for Brad to fix a puncture (#3) and for Glenn to grab a cola. Ten minutes later we were heading towards one of the only hills within a 50km radius when for the 4th time that day we heard the gut wrenching hiss of 100psi becoming 0. Without any tubes left we planned to ride back to the bike shop when an old man stopped to help and lent us a tube. He was very happy to assist and we thanked him several times before we set off again to tackle a short but quite nasty climb. Craig had a race scheduled for 6PM so he rode us halfway home before pulling off to head back to his house in the town of Tessenderlo. 

When we arrived home we had a small bite to eat but generally just showered and lazed around until heading to Tim's around 6.30pm for dinner. The food smelt beautiful as we entered his apartment and we all chatted while Tim and his girlfriend Tinny prepared their own special recipe chicken. We were treated by Tim who bought us our own special 'post-race kit' including a towel, bowl and special wash to remove the oil and dirt from our legs. Glenn and I played a couple games of chess (1-1) while Brad and Matt flicked through a few cycling magazines and talked with Tim. We came to the agreement that tomorrow we will ride a 70km criterium in Aarschot instead of the kermesse we'd planned in Waasmunster. I wasn't entirely thrilled about the prospect of riding a hot dog criterium (by the halfway mark I always promise myself I'll never do one again) but Tim assured me their would be some important people coming to watch which I'd need to meet to help my chances finding a team for the 2012 season. The race is capped at 50 riders with the corners placed on roundabouts not witches hats (alas the horrible Riverside Drive and former Kalgoorlie Criterium). This will hopefully make the race somewhat easier as we battle through the hurt box for an hour and a half. 

The rice and chicken dish Tim served up was lovely and we all had second servings. After dinner Tim helped Matt fix a problem with his front break caliper and then we scrummaged through the cupboards in the spare room (Glenn's room) and had a good laugh at the stories to all the things we found. Tim's neighbour is a nurse and sat me down to wrap some bandaids and fixamol around the 5+ blisters I'd accumulated on my hands while smashing it over the cobbles. When I was all patched up we continued chatting with Tim for awhile until we realised the time and began to pack the van. We had a bunch of stuff to take home with us including Glenn's mattress (no more couch) and the many presents Tim had spoiled us with. Tomorrow we are all planning on driving to the race together leaving just after 12.30pm so we can sign on, kit up and get our bikes ready to go for a 3.00 start. All kermesse's (dutch for 'circus') are very organised with banners lining the finish, children's rides and showbag alleys as well as drinking tents constructed for all the spectators! The race in Aarschot will be even bigger with an 'old folks' race and fire works display planned for the evening. There is expected to be lots of people watching tomorrow so we all look forward to having a good race and keeping you updated! Be sure to check in tomorrow morning for full results and race report.

Day 6 - Booischot Kermesse

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

The heavens must have opened overnight because every corner of the street was slick with rain and by looking up at the black clouds hovering it didn't appear optimistic for the rest of the day. We planned our ride to perfection and managed to get an hour recovery ride in before the entire sky turned black and a thunderstorm rolled on straight through Mol. The rain came down hard with frequent lightening and thunder echoing throughout the house. We came to an executive decision that if the horrible weather continued we would abandon as it would be too risky especially with me still nursing a broken collarbone from a training accident 5 weeks ago. 

After our ride we lounged around for awhile and had our fingers crossed for the storm to pass by 3.30. We sketched up a shopping list to pick up the things we'd forgotten on Monday / replenish the food we'd devoured over the first two days. Martyn told us of a great supermarket / warehouse that was very cheap and had just about everything. Although extremely tempted we fought the urge to buy a 3L bottle of Cecemel (liquid gold). The only obstacle we came across during our 45min shop was the great 'find the Tuna fiasco' however we overcame that and left the store happy campers.

By some miracle the weather had taken a turn for the better and had actually stopped raining. We packed our bags as soon as we walked in the door and sat around nervously before we finally left at 3.30pm en route to the town of Booischot. So far our team van has been brilliant with all our bags and bikes fitting neatly inside (kudos to Brad & Matt for the great job). The town of Booischot was only 40min or so away with Glenn and I knowing the town quite well having ridden their last year. For some reason the race commisaires were iffy about our international licenses despite having our card and all the documentation. They eventually got over it and we paid our 8 euro before being given numbers 49, 50 and the famous 51 given to Matt Irvine. For all you who aren't complete cycling fanatics for some reason the #51 has an incredible record and is seen as good luck by cyclists. We made our way back to the car and went through our race routine of kitting up, checking over our bikes, filling our biddons (water bottles) and oiling up (well that was just me today). 

Some may say choosing a 1.12 kermesse as your comeback race from breaking your collarbone would be a bad idea but i've never backed down from a challenge and was looking forward to the race just as much as Matt and Brad (Glenn has decided to become the team's DS for this trip as opposed to racing). I was fairly confident I would be able to endure the race although I knew my lungs would take a bit of a hammering considering I haven't been able to push hard in the pedals for going on 5 weeks now following my accident. As if just to complete the full circle of weather conditions in a 12 hour period the sun actually came out and an absolutely miserable morning became a pleasant afternoon with a few of us actually putting suncream on! Glenn helped us fix our numbers to our bikes and gave us a quick pep talk before we rolled up and down the finishing straight waiting to be called to the line. Drie, Twee, Een and we were off..

Today's race consisted of 16 laps of a ~7.5km circuit. In characteristic kermesse fashion their were several tricky off-camper cobblestone corners which were interesting to say the least! We managed to negotiate them well and I am happy to report that not one of the 90+ riders who started today's race had a fall (although I'm sure their may be a crack or two in some of the rider's full carbon wheels...!). Kermesse races are often considered so difficult because of the Belgian's / Dutch ability to jump out of corners and string out an entire peleton at over 50kmph with today certainly not being an exception! Their were fewer corners then usual and the long straights made this kermesse definitely one of the harder courses. The race was aggressive from the beginning with some of the race favourites launching off the front from the first kilometre. With very few of the rider's not willing to be in a break for 120km, the bunch paused while several rider's tried they luck at bridging the gap before it took off at out of sight. For many rider's it was all about just trying to survive the first 40-50km whereas the real 'hitters' in the race were the ones causing hell up at the front.

By the halfway mark their were several break away's all working together to catch the leading 3 riders which had escaped in the very early stages of the race. Back in the peleton splits were occuring more and more often with people launching attacks and rider's unable to keep up with the excessive pace. Matt had a tough introduction to racing in Belgium when he was dropped from the main bunch and withdrawn by the commisaire shortly after. We still have a whole handful of races to come so we assured him to keep his head up and battle on! Brad had a great debut riding very aggressively and leap frogging from group to group across the road. After a solid 1-2 laps the peleton managed to reel in the closest break but Brad had already moved on to the next one! Most kermesses are run with a 'rolling' road closure so the minute the break away(s) gain a significant advantage on the remainder of the field the commisaire withdraws the peleton giving them 1 lap to go the next time they pass the finish. I was a little disappointed by this because I was riding myself into the race and craved the intensity to help me get back to the level I was at before my accident. Although still nurturing my collarbone I felt I had a good ride and look forward to tapping into the form I had back in Perth.

Back out on the road Brad was working well with a big group of rider's (approx 15-16) to chase down the groups spread across the road. The situation was (3 leaders, group of 4, group of 8 and then Brad's group). A mechanical or some other misfortune brought the leaders from 3 to 2 but they had such a significant advantage that the win was guaranteed for one of them. Neither of the groups could reel the other in so with a few laps remaining each echelon began to attack each until their were basically 25-30 riders spread out on the course! Brad tried gallantly to stick with the flurry of attacks but just came short, still crossing the line in 21st to cap off a great debut and gutsy ride. Morale was high on the drive home and we enjoyed some comfort food from the Nacht Winkl as we discussed the in's and outs of the boy's first kermesse race. Tomorrow we plan to smash each other over a nasty cobble section before we ride in to the town of Diest to visit our favourite coffee shop in all of Belgium; La Bas as well as visit Perth native Craig Johns who has been riding strongly with a local club team throughout the season.

Day 5 - Van Eykes

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

We lounged around a bit in the morning and watched a DVD before heading to the famous bike shop 'Van Eykes.' To give you a indication of how big this store is, it used to be a supermarket! The best of the best cycling equipment from bikes and wheels to clothing and nutrition lined the aisles of the massive shop. Matt & Brad wandered around like kid's in a toy store while Glenn picked out a pair of pedals and some tyres to rebuild the Jonesman. We also grabbed a few tubes each as Belgium is notorious for punctures. On the way back to Mol Glenn showed us a cobble section we'd probably ride over later that afternoon and we popped into Tim's apartment in Dessel to say hello.

We spent a good fifteen minutes catching up on all that had happened in our worlds since the last time we saw him in January. Lucky for us Tim was also about to fix himself and his girlfriend some lunch so we arrived at just the right time! He made all of us Pannakoek (Dutch pancakes) with his own home made syrup (jam) and different types of sugar. We were starving so we certainly ate our fair share. By this time it was late afternoon and we hadn't gotten out for a ride yet so we rushed off and organised to have dinner there on Wednesday night. When we got back to Martyn's Glenn built his bike while the rest of his got kitted up and met him outside ready to roll. It was getting late so we left the cobbles for today and instead found a good 2 hour circuit through Mol-Geel-Turnhout so rode that throwing in a few efforts along the way to help get our legs pumping for our first kermesse tomorrow in Booischot. We had organised with Martyn to have dinner with his parents later that evening so we had a quick shower and were out the door less than fifteen minutes after we got home.

The restaurant Martyn picked was beautiful with a cosy cottage-like feel. Martyn's parents were very friendly and curious about both us and our distant homeland Australia. We spoke slowly in English to help them understand and they returned the favor by translating the parts of the menu we were stuck on. Glenn, Matt & I went with a delicious 350g piece of prime steak with mushroom sauce while Brad chose the spaghetti carbonara. The meat was cooked to perfection and there was barely a word spoken during our meal! Martyn chose a Dutch dish which simplified is bread & meat while his parents shared a large bowl of Mussels. We also shared a bowl of fritz which were great as always here in Belgium. Martyn's parents wished us well for our race tomorrow and invited us to visit anytime to say hello and borrow their pool. The restaurant was only 15km or so from Mol but we got lost on the way in so we hopped in our van and followed him home, making sure we thanked him for dinner.

Matt, Brad and I were in bed shortly after while Martyn and Glenn head off to a local bar where they were meeting a few friends. Tomorrow the race will be between 110-120km which will most likely consist of laps of a 7-8km circuit. The race begins at 5.30pm with registration between 4.00-5.00. Martyn promised us he'd find a Garmin to held us navigate to our races but regardless we're planning on leaving at about 3.30. All the boys are prepped and ready, looking forward to their first European race!

(We didn't have many photos to show off so we threw in some of Martyn's pet snake!)

Day 4 - First Ride in Belgium

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

Brad and Matt were still a little 'time confused' and were up quite early. I found them outside at about 8am unpacking and building their bikes as if it were Christmas. Besides our unsightly ankles from 20+ hours of flying we were all pretty excited to get out on the road but we had a few more errands to run before we could set off. Glenn had stripped most of his Jonesman (the Belgian version of a SHOWGUN NINJA) from last time and had forgotten to bring a pair of pedals with him. The weather was all over the shop and we experienced 4 seasons in about 15 minutes of bike mechanics. Tim Dejonge (adopted by Perth last summer) lives only a 10min drive away so we tried to salvage what we could from his garage but unfortunately we'd need to visit the bike shop to have Glenn on the road today which was impossible as they were all closed. We attempted a food shop and collected most of the essentials but we forgot a lot also and would need to return later. After a quick bite to eat Brad, Matt and I kitted up and were off on the road heading towards the town of Turnhout.

The instructions were pretty simple (follow one road for 25km, do not turn until you reach the coffee shop) but we still managed to get lost after road works took us off course. Somehow Matty Irvine the youngest in the team emerged the best navigator and got us back on the right track. The boys got to experience their first cobble section as we road into Turnhout but I warned them that the cobbles we planned to ride on Wednesday were 10x as harsh and not to get too complacent! Glenn met us about five minutes after we sat down and we all enjoyed a 'koffie' or 'cola'' as the temperature began to rise. We were all stunned when a nearby sign on a shop displayed 11am and 30 degrees Celsius! It was also uncharacteristically windy for Belgium so we just cruised a similar way home detouring along one of the many canals. Many locals were celebrating their sunny Sunday by riding their bikes and finishing along the canal. Eventually we grew hungry so we turned around and made our way back to Martyn's house where Glenn had prepared 4 giant salad rolls for us to enjoy. He told us not to get used to the hospitality but we were all too busy devouring what was probably the best bread rolls in Europe.

The weather took a turn for the worse after lunch so our plans to go swimming at the popular Zilvermeer Lake were axed. We instead opted to go back into Turnhout were Brad & Glenn went to watch a 4.30pm movie while Matt & I searched the streets and cafe's for some WiFi hotspots to catch up on all the news from the Junior World Championships in Moscow and to check the status of my beloved West Coast Eagles. My laptop struggled to connect to the WiFi but Matt's iPhone was in good form and we sat at the Stadscafe in the centre of town for a good hour of so. By this time the weather eased although we were occasionally annoyed by a 5min period of 'belgian rain' (very light rain). Matt & I made our way back to the 'Utopia' cinemas and waited for Brad & Glenn who emerged a few minutes later after watching Captain America. 

Matt was the designated chef for day 2 in Belgium cooking up a simple but tasty dinner of sweet & sour chicken with rice. Time once again had gotten away from us and the late sunset in Europe still had us confused when it was still light past 9.30pm. Up until now our sleeping arrangements have been cosy to say the least there is definitely no doubt about the love shared between team mates! Tomorrow we plan to get out on the road and have a bit of a hit out in preparation for our first race in Booischot penciled in for Tuesday.

Day 3 - Road Trip

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

With free breakfast provided at the hostel we were all up fairly early to enjoy the international standard ‘coco pops breaky’. When you throw in a croissant or seven we were some pretty happy bike riders. The car rental at the airport wouldn’t have our van ready until at least midday so we had several hours to continue discovering Paris. We walked back up the Montmartre to enjoy the sights in daylight and explore the shops and cafes surrounding the summit. The Montmartre was even busier than the night before with many tourists enjoying some lunch on the steps and walking through the Sacre Couer. Tucked away in the corner of the town we found a few artists who offered to draw us in cartoon form which we unfortunately had to decline as it we were stretched for time.

We found a small cafe on our way down the steps which we stopped at for an espresso and to listen to a talented busker playing nearby. Slowly we made our way back to our accommodation stopping every few minutes to take photos and to absorb all the incredible sights surrounding us. After packing our bags and checking out of the hostel we headed down to Gare du Nord to catch the train to Charles de Gaulle (Paris Airports). The train ride took about a half hour so a few of us caught a bit of shut eye until we arrived at the station. We collected our bike boxes and found our way to the car rental section of the airport however a slight miscommunication with the rental car clerk cost us an hour or so before we finally had the keys to the Renault.

Getting all 4 of us, plus our bike boxes and bags into the van was somewhat of a real-life tetris game and took another 45min or so. At first we thought we’d be able to leave the 3 seats we removed from the van at the office but they refused and we had to start all over again. With a bit of elbow grease from all of the guys (bar me with the excuse of recovering from a broken collarbone) we were able to successfully fit everything into the Renault AND close the boot. The drive from Paris to our home in Belgium was approximately 400km providing we didn’t get lost. We did fairly well for ourselves considering the amount of time we were following a French tom-tom that cut out the minute we crossed the Belgian border. A traffic jam had us travelling at 15kmph for a while ruining the good run we were having down the A1 motorway. Glenn managed to navigate us the remainder of the way having travelled to Belgium at least 5 times prior to our most recent trip.

A friend of Glenn’s Martyn had organised for us to stay with him for our entire trip so we met him at a local bar as soon as we arrived in our hometown of Mol 3-4 hours after leaving Paris. Mol is located only 10km from the town of Dessel where we stayed last year, approximately 70km from Antwerp. By this time it was late in Belgium (-6 hours on Perth) but they were currently enjoying an uncharacteristic streak of good weather so we sat outside with a few friends and enjoyed the sunshine until well after 9pm. The sun slowly began to set so we forced ourselves up and drove 10min down the road to Martyn’s new house. We barely unpacked our bags instead opting to find the first available bed and crashing. Tomorrow we will have our first ride out on the road and both Glenn and I look forward to taking the boys over their first cobble section as well as watching them drink their very first Cecemel.

Dankjewel

Day 2 - Bonjour Paris!

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

To put it lightly Paris Airports was an absolute shambles. There was a queue as soon as we walked off the plane which lead all the way to the customs desk. Far too many people were crammed into a small space and it was stuffy and humid. We were all ‘well over it’ by the time we made it passed customs. There was another long wait for our luggage but it all arrived in one piece and it was all worth it when we got to sit down and enjoy a fresh baguette. After half an hour of searching through the airport we found the bag drop and left our bike boxes their overnight. Glenn and I had already been to Paris but we were both excited to show Matt and Brad some of the amazing sights of the city. We caught the 30min train from the airport to Gard du Nord and walked up the street to the same hostel we stayed at last year; Vintage Hostel and Hotel. The hostel was fairly busy and we weren’t able to check in until 4pm so we left our bags behind and set off to explore Paris.

We intended to head straight to the Louvre to avoid the queues like last year but we got lost and ended up walking down the Champs Elysees instead! The busy street was lined with designer shops, fast cars and tourists. As we drew closer to the Arc d’Triomph there were several street acts. Most of them trying to scam tourists out of their money but others were genuinely talented. Like the man who was able to cut anyone’s silhouette out of a piece of paper in less than 2 minutes. We stopped to watch for a few minutes before we arrived at the Arc d’Triomph and put our lives on the line to stand in the middle of the road and snap photos. Glenn and I remembered the long walk to the Eiffel Tower from last year so we opted for a taxi to drop us right at the foot of the tower. The photos took themselves as we circulated the enormous structure. Tourists were everywhere and the lines both to climb the tower and catch the lift stretched across the park. It was quite humid in Paris and cyclists make lousy walkers so we stopped for awhile at a coffee shop to rest our feet and plan the rest of our day.

We still hadn’t made it to the Louvre and the day was getting late so we cut across and walked back down the Champs Elysees toward the museum. There are several entrances to the museum and entering from underneath via the train system cuts out waiting in any queues. A ticket inside costs 9 euro and you can stay for as long as we like. I read in a Paris travel guide that if you were to stop and look at every painting in the museum it would take 7 months so we only planned to stay a few hours or so in order to meet our dinner reservation set for 7.30. We were blown away by the ancient museum with some of the paintings more than 500 years old. Our last stop before leaving was to see the most famous of them all in the Mona Lisa. The painting is held behind a glass case and a barricade keeps tourists at least 10m away. Flash photography is banned throughout the museum but we managed to adjust our cameras and snap a few photos before we left. It would easily be possible to spend the entire day there listening to the audio tapes and following a tour but we’d have to leave that for another time.

A slight error in calculating the distance from the Louvre back to our hostel left us with aching feet and barely past halfway. We caught a train the remaining distance to Gard du Nord and hiked back to the hostel. Because of our late check in we could only manage two people in each room of 3 so we had to share with another tourist. Brad and I roomed with a young Turkish guy while Glenn and Matt shared with a middle age man from the UK. By the time we hiked our bags up the stairs to our room we were already running late and barely had more than 10 minutes to get changed and meet down in the lobby. We got lost for awhile but eventually made it to the restaurant albeit 30min late.

I’d made the reservation for Roger la Grenouille a few days ago while I was back in Perth after hearing it was one of the few restaurants in Paris which still served frog’s legs (cuisses de grenouille). The staff were friendly and helped us to our seats in the small narrow restaurant busy with both Parisian locals and tourists. We spent a few minutes sifting through the menu with our dodgy French before coming to a conclusion on our meals. A few of us were brave enough to try the frog’s legs, with Glenn and Matt choosing the frog’s legs in creamy white wine sauce, I had an entree of frogs legs in batter and both Brad and I had a beautiful tender piece of steak for the main. We’d like to say the frog’s legs were fantastic and recommend it to everyone reading but they were actually quite bland and tasteless. If you had to make a comparison you would say they were somewhat of a mix between chicken and fish. A Russian woman and her daughter found the frog’s legs quite funny and snapped a few pictures of us eating them. Brad and I both thoroughly enjoyed our steak while the bread basket they continuously refilled was also a favourite.

Everyone’s feet were swollen both from the flight and the hours of walking so we decided to catch a taxi instead of walking up to our next tourist sight; the Montmartre. We delayed our trip by 20 minutes when we stopped to watch a group of dancers entertain the streets with their very own ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’ The Montmartre was twice as busy as last year and just as beautiful as I remembered. Overlooking the entire city of Paris with the Basilique Sacre Couer right in the centre we spent hours sitting on the steps people watching and enjoying the view. Finally we made our way down to the bottom and endured the remaining 10min walk back to our accommodation. Everyone was out well and truly by the time their head’s hit the pillow.