I can hardly believe I am here!!!Well, y'all may have mud otter/ sea donkey and mudslinger this weekend, but there's mud here too! I didn't believe it actually rained in Belgium, but today, my second day in Houffalize, I woke up to rain and actually rode in mud. After a first day of sunny and dry. It was too good to last.
I arrived yesterday after a long standstill on the freeway due to an accident. I was maybe a quarter of a mile back, so stopping at the gas station to check a map a bit earlier to make sure I was going the right way may have one, saved my life or two, cost me a lot of time. Oh well. Everyone was parked and out of their cars, hanging out, etc. It was comical. After 10-15 minutes, I saw a Trek on the back of a car not too far up (see picture), so wandered up there to see it a bit closer and sure enough, it said "Susan Haywood" on it, so I said 'hi'. I am sure we were not the only ones stuck in that stall.
Traffic jam! I got a lot of knitting done.
When I arrived in Houffalize yesterday, it was chaos! I really have never seen so many bikers in a small town. And no wonder, with the open field being over 500+ registered riders and the elite being a over 250 for men and 130 for women. Then the kids, masters, etc. It is seriously a total takeover of Houffalize by bikers. Yesterday I rode the course twice while it was sunny and warm, and took some pictures. I was shocked by the amount of people hesitating on parts of the course and just standing around. I was not in a patient mood, so I just went over drops that I could not see below. Hmmmmm? Was that so smart?
This was the first descent I encountered from a later vantage point. Easy to ride, but everyone was parked at the top of it. It makes you wonder if you are doing something stupid when you just ride through the crowd and roll over the top. How bad could it be? There were some ruts and one little drop in the middle, but nothing too major here.
I figured if I hesitated, it would be the death of me. And I rode everything just fine. It was actually fun and challenging at times and a bit of an adrenaline rush. But I have already been warned by a wise Wendy Simms that it could be a whole different story during the race: "be prepared to be frustrated and walking a lot!" Well, when you start 117th out of 130 women, I don't really have a choice. I am prepared.
I got up this morning and rode the course prior to the 500+ racers that were going to destroy the course at noon, only to find that conditions had changed immensely. The ruts and mud have made very ridable sections into marginally scary sections. Oh well. Chances are if someone is walking in front of you, you will have to walk too. What to do??? Just have fun, relax and enjoy the ride.
One of the death corners where they had someone catching you before they put up the fence. Hard to see. Sorry. But I rode it just fine yesterday and today.
I am psyched to be here. Yesterday I was a bit overwhelmed and amazed that I was here riding. It is going to be a great experience, no matter the outcome. What do I have to lose? When you start in the very back, you have only one way to go, and that is forward. The start loop has a steep, paved climb right off the gun. And I mean STEEP! I really didn't believe it when someone told me. I mean, really, how bad can it be? So when I checked it out for myself, I realized they weren't kidding. It is steep! It will be a great long climb to try to move into the top half.
O.K. it doesn't look steep in the picture, but see where you can not see the road anymore. It is because it drops straight down.
Tomorrow is race day and I am excited and nervous all at the same time. Wish me luck...
I arrived yesterday after a long standstill on the freeway due to an accident. I was maybe a quarter of a mile back, so stopping at the gas station to check a map a bit earlier to make sure I was going the right way may have one, saved my life or two, cost me a lot of time. Oh well. Everyone was parked and out of their cars, hanging out, etc. It was comical. After 10-15 minutes, I saw a Trek on the back of a car not too far up (see picture), so wandered up there to see it a bit closer and sure enough, it said "Susan Haywood" on it, so I said 'hi'. I am sure we were not the only ones stuck in that stall.
Traffic jam! I got a lot of knitting done.When I arrived in Houffalize yesterday, it was chaos! I really have never seen so many bikers in a small town. And no wonder, with the open field being over 500+ registered riders and the elite being a over 250 for men and 130 for women. Then the kids, masters, etc. It is seriously a total takeover of Houffalize by bikers. Yesterday I rode the course twice while it was sunny and warm, and took some pictures. I was shocked by the amount of people hesitating on parts of the course and just standing around. I was not in a patient mood, so I just went over drops that I could not see below. Hmmmmm? Was that so smart?
This was the first descent I encountered from a later vantage point. Easy to ride, but everyone was parked at the top of it. It makes you wonder if you are doing something stupid when you just ride through the crowd and roll over the top. How bad could it be? There were some ruts and one little drop in the middle, but nothing too major here.I got up this morning and rode the course prior to the 500+ racers that were going to destroy the course at noon, only to find that conditions had changed immensely. The ruts and mud have made very ridable sections into marginally scary sections. Oh well. Chances are if someone is walking in front of you, you will have to walk too. What to do??? Just have fun, relax and enjoy the ride.
One of the death corners where they had someone catching you before they put up the fence. Hard to see. Sorry. But I rode it just fine yesterday and today.
O.K. it doesn't look steep in the picture, but see where you can not see the road anymore. It is because it drops straight down.I am staying at a very cute, quiet town outside of Houffalize called Nadrin. I found my hotel without too many problems, except having to drive thru the venue to get on the road that went to Nadrin. Comical, but I got through. It is very casual. They walked me to the 'annex' and it appears I am the only one in the whole building. It is a bit eerie, but I had a hard time finding anything available, so I am content and Wendy and Norm are just down the road, so I have dinner dates. That is nice. And breakfast was quite amazing this morning. With good coffee. Here is the view from my balcony...
Tomorrow is race day and I am excited and nervous all at the same time. Wish me luck...
1 comments:
Good luck Sue!
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