Magnificent Muur

(Trip log part 3)

    Even before I discovered a family connection with the country, I had been interested in Wales – it’s history, language and music. Many times in this blog I’ve mentioned one of my favorite bands, The Alarm, who were formed in Rhyl, North Wales. During the European trip my family took in 2009, I had the opportunity to visit the country and absolutely loved it. I also think Wales has the coolest flag in the world, which is probably why I was so drawn to this photo:

   The image features one of my all-time favorite cyclists, Fabian Cancellara, as he is making the winning move on the Muur de Geraardsbergen in the 2010 Tour of Flanders. With the wild crowd (including the chap waving the red dragon) stacked on the mound near the top of the Muur, the photo always stands out among a stash of cycling images that rotate onto my desktop. When Sue and I first started planning this year’s European trip and discussed renting bikes, one destination immediately came to mind.

   I found that there were plenty of places to rent bicycles in the countries we were visiting. The only problem was finding one that rented road bikes, not the utilitarian city-bike or upright, touring-style bikes in such common use in the lowland countries. After consulting some folks on online forums, I was able to find the BMC Concept Store in the town of Nazareth, just outside of Ghent. After an exchange of a few emails back in March, I had reserved a super-modern racing bicycle.

   We woke up early at the bed and breakfast in Brakel and headed downstairs to fuel ourselves (I took in a little extra) for the morning. Because she didn’t have to worry about the ingredients, Sue got a little daring, as she tried some of the odd-looking packaged "treats" (actually, not much so) labeled in Flemish. I then headed back to the room to dress for the ride and gather the gear I had brought along, including my own shoes, pedals, extra tube, repair kit and hand pump – I’d be riding on cobbles, and thought it best to be extra-prepared!

   The store ended up being as impressive as I hoped it would, with a large open-plan, balconied main space to display the stock. Being the lead sponsor of a UCI pro team, of course the floors were full of high-end BMC bikes (you have $10,000 lying around, right?) and equipment, even with a few other brands thrown in. There were also huge floor-to-ceiling posters of current team star Greg Van Avermaet, who has won practically everything since his Olympic title last summer.

   The guys at the desk were very friendly and, as we experienced throughout our trip, spoke fluent English. Jesperch (“Like Jasper,” he said) helped to set me up on a BMC Roadmachine RM1, which is the company's carbon fiber endurance road bike, meaning it has a bit more relaxed geometry than their pro racer. I was excited to try out the electronic shifting (battery remote, push-button – no cables folks!) and disk brakes. The frame also had more wheel clearance to allow 28mm tires that would better cushion the ride over cobbled roads.

   It was a bit warm and humid, so I knew water would be an important consideration, but bouncing on cobbles and losing a bottle was a concern. Fortunately they had a supply of BMC bottles (great souvenir!), which of course fit snugly into the BMC cage. Most of my ride would be in bike lanes (as was about 90% of the riding we did on the trip) often curb-separated from traffic, but a helmet was still a concern, and I was a bit surprised they didn’t have any to rent. One of the mechanics let me borrow his, and I was extremely thankful, even if its blue color ruined my strangely fanatical preference to color-coordinate.

   Although I was perfectly willing to let her roam around town or do whatever she wanted, Sue sweetly insisted on taking some pictures of me doing the ride, so I drove her to the attractive top section of the climb that was narrow and wooded. It also was the steepest part with the nastiest cobbles, which would make for dramatic shots at a slower speed. I bet a little part of her was hoping for photographic/video evidence of me struggling up the hill.

   I left the car in a lot near a riverside park, which just happened to have its ticket gates malfunctioning, so parking was free that day – good omen! I planned to loop out to Brakel and back for a warmup, since I knew the way, and then tackle the Muur. There was a road that wound slowly off the back of the hill for a nice restful coast, which I hoped would provide needed recovery time for me to be able to climb up a second time.

   I’ve often “ridden” this route with a YouTube video while pedaling on my indoor trainer, and I would even put a riser block under my front wheel and change the resistance to mimic the climbing effort and position. I had every twist and turn of the Muur memorized as I turned left off of the N42 and descended towards town.

   There is a short, sharp climb over railroad tracks, just to throw in a bit of early intimidation, but you hit it with a good amount of speed, and with what is ahead in the back of your mind, you hardly notice it. The main “straat” changes names a few times, but heads directly toward the base of the climb, which begins just after crossing the bridge over the Dender River. The cobbles here have softer edges, more like pavers, as you wind through the market square and turn left at St. Bartholomew’s Church.

   Unfortunately, some jerk in a Mustang, a car that really stood out in this area, decided to mess around and kept weaving and slowing in my path, not letting me pass or get enough momentum so that could back off for an easy gear change, as I was standing/grinding on the pedals to keep crawling forward. The last thing I wanted to do on this hill was come awkwardly out of the clipless pedals OR drop the chain by aggressively popping a shift while pedaling under load - I think the driver knew exactly what he was doing to me!

   Luckily he was making a right turn just beyond the square, and I was able to shake him. I was stunned to realize that I was nearly halfway up and was still in the big chainring! I thought, “I might be paying for this later”, when the road gets steeper and bumpier.

   I really was having a blast, spying all the landmarks that I’ve seen so often during races, and I thought about the racers trying to stay in the gutters to somewhat smooth out the ride. Oh, I was going to savor the rattling – I would have none of that easy way out!

   The last few hundred meters up to the Oudenberg Chapel is closed to traffic, and I pedaled between the bollards to catch a view of the nastiest section of “road” I’ve ever taken on two wheels! You don’t want to grip the bars tightly and make the vibration in your arms worse, yet you feel like the bars will be yanked out of your hands if you don’t. I’ve heard pros say that on these cobbles it is impossible to stand and pedal when it is wet, as you would completely lose traction, but even when dry, it is still better to sit and power up the climb in order to keep the back wheel from bouncing too much. I followed the advice to a tee, and since I’m not really the light “mountain goat”-type climber who dances on the pedals uphill, the power technique fits me perfectly.

Here is the view a short walk up from the bollards

And looking down from that spot

Nearing the bend where the incline approaches 20%

Looking down from the bend

Lion of Flanders stenciled into the park path near the chapel

   Sue was there on one of the last bends up the Muur, along with a couple of new friends who helped to shout encouragement, and she took some photos, then sprinted ahead to try some video. She realized later that she had the camera sideways, which isn’t a problem with still photos, since you can rotate them when editing, but you will always have to turn the screen to watch the video. She corrected the problem on the next lap.

Click image above to view video

   I certainly enjoyed the second run more, without my Mustang buddy getting in the way and being able to find my perfect gear the whole climb up. Certainly, my legs were more fatigued on the steepest section this time around, and I actually got up out of the saddle for a short time just to increase my pedaling cadence when I lost some momentum. Sue had me pose at the top in front of the chapel, and although I was having trouble catching my breath, it wasn’t the out-of-shape, panicky type of breathing you fear you might not get back - this was just a hard ride!

A final view: from the chapel, overlooking town

   I was a bit sad coasting down the back side to the car, as I didn’t want to give up the sweet bike and knew anything else I’d be riding the rest of the trip would be a real clunker, by comparison. Back at the BMC shop, I thanked Jesperch and his colleagues for being so helpful and providing me with the ride of a lifetime. If only I could have taken it for a spin around the Roubaix Velodrome!

Next up, an interesting drive down to the beautiful city of Namur...