The Muur de Gramont

Today I raced against Peter Van Peteghem of Lotto Domo, Andreas Klier of Team Telekom and Geert Omloop of Collstrop the Belgiam professional champion. It was a tough race that blazed through the center of Geraardsbergen. Up the paved lower section of the Muur de Gramont a famous hill in Flanders. It was beautiful race and I just wish I could get some condition, many of the riders that were attacking and making the race were ones that I consider myself equal to when I am in form. I have been training hard my body just doesn’t seem to want to respond in a positive way. My chiropractor noticed on Monday that my heart was beating a little odd. I listened to it and it was strange; maybe I am fatigued and need some time off the bike but I will deal with them once I am home in the States.
Sunday I raced my teams race Vlaamse Havenpiljs, a race through all of the major Flemish ports here in Belgium. Starting in seaport of Zeebruge and going past the seaport in Gent and finishing at the seaport in Antwerp. It was a beautiful point-to-point race and went with in one Kilometer of where I am living in Gent. It entered Antwerp under the Schelde through a tunnel that is only open to bike traffic for this race. It was an amazing feeling to race past all the cars waiting for the tunnel. The passengers of the cars wee making the best of it and cheering us on and seemed to be having a good time. I really enjoyed the race and felt strong riding over the cobbled section in the top ten of the pack chasing and closing in on the break away. Unfortunately my luck was not good and I seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was stuck in the last pack no matter how hard I tried.
Thursday the 21st I raced the Wondelgem Kermes. This race is close to where I live and also races past the Boone farm where I spent my time in Belgium last year. It is a race of the foreigners. The Boone brothers have two very different teams Staf runs an English speaking team and his brother runs a team consisting of eastern Europeans. In this race the teams compete and the race is nicknamed the Boone World Championships. I fortunately followed the few Belgian in the race and we rode away from the wheel sucking foreigners and I was able to get an eighth place, my first top ten of the season.

Smelling the Poppies on the Kemmelburg

The Kemmelburg is a tough climb and doing it twice doesn’t make it any easier. I raced with my team Royal Antwerp Bicycling Club the oldest bicycling club in Belgium. The race was in West Flanders through the part were much of the World War I battles were fought. I didn’t have much time to look at the scenery and battle monuments because the race was strait to business. A 30-man group rolled away on the small roads and the chase was erratic. Two of my teammate made the move. A Belgian teammate Jan and my friend Brian, the group gained one minute thirty by the time the reached the Kemmel burg for the first pass. Brian tells me the front group attacked the climb hard and his pneumonia caught up with him and he was not able to recover over the top. The main packs assent of the Kemmel burg was a slower and guys were falling off their bike because of the steepness and rough terrain. The race was single file after the climb and the descent was the scariest part. The downhill is shorter and steeper than the way up and is also cobbled. Looking down the top of the decent of the Kemmel burg is like being o top of the big roller coaster hill and it is a wild ride down also. The race was over rolling terrain for the rest of the course. We ascended the Kemmel burg a second time and then finished in Wervik. I did not feel good the whole race and was just happy with my fitness. It has been very difficult since I broke my collarbone I seem to be hitting a lot of little problems that are keeping me from having a successful come back this year.

Euro Heat Wave

I have crashed again, on Friday in a 1.6 UCI race Antwerp Tielen. It was a silly crash; a few riders got their bikes stuck together and fell over. It was the kind of crash I have gone around many times. I tapped my breaks and swerved around the fallen riders, unfortunately one of the bikes flew up and hit me in the side knocking me over. I landed on my right side where I had broken my collarbone. Luckily I landed safely and only received some scrapes and bruises but I didn’t feel like chasing down the 60-km/hr pack so my race was over.
I have been having a tough time sleeping during the heat wave here. I have to wait until late at night when it has cooled off and I am not sweating so much to fall asleep. It is not so bad to fall asleep at that time because I get to fall asleep to the sweet smell of baking bread thanks to the two bakeries on my street.

Racing Van Petegram and Tom Steels in a Professional Kermesse

Speed is the name of the game. Today I raced a professional kermesse in Heusden just outside of Gent. The race was full of big time professionals. The race was single file from the start and with the heat beaming down it was only a matter of time until the weak cracked. The streets were lined with fans such an atmosphere made it inspiring to race. I unfortunately was pulled out of the race early but still finished about 60th out of 150 starters. The remaining field of about 30 riders had all the some of the big hitters still remaining. Riders like Mario Willems and the others I face in kermesses were driving the pace and inflicting pain on to riders like Peter Van Petegram and Tom Steels. Tom Steels won the sprint finish.
The past week has been very rough. I have had a head cold and it has really made my racing suffer It seems like this year is full of a lot of small problems that are really making it difficult. My friend Dan headed home last Wednesday, it was good to have him here. We had some really fun times and his three-week visit seemed to go very quickly. Dan had a local college student roommate living in Staf Boone’s house while he was there. She did not know anything about the bike racing culture here in Belgium and got a crash course from the riders. My favorite observation that she made was about how strange it was in a house full of guys they though about bikes more than girls.

Pickle Canned Belgium

Hello, I am Dan “Pickle” Bonora from the Reading and Lehigh Valley area in Pennsylvania. I am a cat 3 rider in the states and a semi-pro XC Mt Biker. I am currently visiting John in Belgium; unfortunately I am approaching the end of my three-week stay. My time here has been an excellent experience in more ways than one. I came to Belgium to race and visit John. I wanted to experience the best amateur racing in the world and learn what it takes to become better. Of course coming to Europe for such a short visit to race is hard because there are so many distractions. It is the first time I have left the continent and the culture, sights, and the style of racing have easily distracted me. The Kermesse’s are usually a 120 K long (15 laps) and last about 2 hours and 45 minutes. The field tends to split by the start of the second lap as the Belgium’s put it in their 53 x12 and hammer out of every turn after they just finished breaking harder than ever going into it. Personally they can’t corner or climb. Climbing I can understand because there are no hills here. The way they muscle that 12 out of a 90 degree turn is almost frightening they don’t have the snap of a US criterium rider, rather this long slow acceleration up to 35 mph or more, and they just hold it for the entire race except for in the turns. Not to mention these races are taking place on cement roads barely wide enough for one car much less a pack of 70 plus riders launching attack after attack…no double yellow line rule. The Belgium’s are also known for chopping wheels so you must ride with extra caution and defense. The towns and atmosphere at the race are amazing. Small little towns in the middle of nowhere playing music and drinking beer in smoked filled pubs that we must register in. Although I am suffering greatly on the bike during the races I feel I will benefit greatly from the experience and look forward to racing in the states again soon. The learning curve for adjusting to the style of racing is normally about 3 to 4 weeks or 10 races I am approaching both of those marks stilling hoping to make it the distance with out being pulled or popped. Wish me luck!!!