Derny Racing

Things must be going well since time seems to be moving quickly. I picked up team bike, a Riddley, from the factory here in Belgium. Riddley is a Belgian bike manufacturer and hopefully built this bike for the Belgian cobbles. The Riddley seems to move fluidly around the Belgian roads; it is nice to be on a new bike. I really notice the difference in how smooth the new parts are. The parts on my Cannondale must have been really worn. I would like to thank my parents for sponsoring my new bike; without them I would not be able to afford such an expense. Thursday I also raced at Wondelgem. The race started well and I was active for most of the race but I got caught behind a crash. An American from the Cycling Center in Hertsberge, Belgium overlapped wheels and met the pavement. Unfortunately I was the first rider behind him and had to completely stop. The single file group shot by and I jumped into the line as soon as I could get up to speed. The race stayed single file and at a speed of 52 km/hr for about three laps. I knew I was in trouble because the race was being made while I was stuck in the back. I tried to make up for the mistake but was not able to accomplish much. Friday I put my new bike together and was able to do a short test ride but could not tell much from such a short ride. Friday evening Rein, Ruben, Vicky, Niko and I went bowling. I wanted to see if it was similar to American bowling and of course it was exactly the same.
Derny racing is a blast. The derny is a motorcycle that is custom built for motor pacing road bikes. The derny looks like an old style bike with a motor built in. The derny has pedals and a huge chain ring so the derny drivers can pedal along with the motor. Racing behind the derny is a very interesting experience; the derny driver navigates the course and the rider behind him regulates the speed with voice commands. Allez Allez, is the command to go faster but don’t get too aggressive because the derny can reach 75 km very quickly. Ow Ow, is the command for the derny to slow.
On Sunday my teammate Brian Fagin and I participated in our first derny race. The race was in Rotterdam, Holland around an oval shaped go-cart course. It consisted of three races for points and the one with the most overall points won. It was a perfect place for Brian and I to have a crash course in derny racing. Walter and Luk were our derny drivers and were the perfect teachers for Brian and I. Walter is from Antwerp and was Brian’s driver. He taught us a lot about the racing and also happened to ask if I knew a Jack Simes. Walter had raced against Jack about 30 years ago when Jack was a strong sprinter racing here in Belgium. I know Jack as one of the local cycling fixtures at the Lehigh County Velodrome. Luk is from Gent and owns a bowling alley, which happens to be the one I was at Friday night. He motor paces professional riders like Mathew Gilmore and Frank Vanderbroke and also does a lot of work with riders at the Gent velodromes. The races were hard and fast and Walter and Luk took care of Brian and I, placing us well and giving us a good work out. It was a very strange feeling to be racing with the motorbikes. We hit tops speeds of 60 km/hr and battled it out for the finish. Of course our finishing places helped with myself coming in 4th and Brian placed on the podium with a third place finish. We are looking forward to future derny races. Sometimes they go down roads and over long distances. I would love to get a chance at one of those.
Monday I raced a kermesse in Puivelde, Belgium. Since the Belgians had their local championship races over the weekend Monday’s race was full of foreign riders that hadn’t raced all weekend. The race started off quick but had a strange twist. About 30 minutes into the race, we were stopped because we had caught up to a police car that was blocking our race. I am not sure what the police car was doing but the race was restarted. The break that was away was allowed to get its gap back and then the race was on once again. Storms were blowing across the area and it seemed like no one wanted to race in the rain because the pace would slow whenever it started to rain. I was trying to race aggressively but it seemed like no one could pull through but they could attach and crack into the wind. The race was not very hard because of the strange tactics but the rain made it miserable. The most interesting thing about this race was the drug test after the race. This is the first kermesse that I heard of having drug testing. My friend Jake Stephens, an American who is here just for three weeks, was selected for the testing. I can’t wait to hear about the test from a personal point of view. I hope every one is enjoying hearing about my Belgian adventure and please keep in touch.