Day 8- Friday, April 7
Another P-R ride.
Right after breakfast Francaise
des Jeux was packing up to move to
No hard cobble sections today, this ride was designed
to get to velodrome to scout Sunday’s finish.
At the track the gate was open so I took a lap of the venerable old
track. I was surprised how steep the
banking was in the turns. On TV it
doesn’t appear that way. At the Club
House (a pub that was a mini museum) adjacent to the track I asked if there
were tickets for Sunday. “No, no, no… it is free, but get here
early!”
Next stop the tavern at Le Carrefour de l’Arbre. This was Friday morning and fans were
beginning to stake out there spot for Sunday.
After a quick look inside the tavern (not large for the number of fans
to come), it was off to the hotel.
Day 9- Saturday, April 8
The Rain Returned, but the Wind Hurt More.
The plan was for the Koppenberg today, but I had another adventure today (I
forgot the map and got lost). I did find
the Ould Kwaremont and went
up it instead. It was hard but
do-able. On the way home the early
tailwind had turned to a strong Belgian headwind all the way home. Several low % long climbs really hurt when
combined with the wind. The road didn’t
seem that long going out…!?!
Finally the 10% climb to
hotel was welcome, the end was near.