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.
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