Next Year's Retro Ronde
- Thread starter Johnsqual
- Start date
Thanks again, I hope this works out, it should be a relly fun day.
@Bugloss: Oudenaarde is on the mainline to Brussels-Midi station, so train transport should not be a problem, even on Sunday. I can probably arrange some sort of lift to get your bag to Oudenaarde for the Saturday.
I've had another look at possible routes, and it's theoretically possible to make a short detour to the Eddy Merckx metro station in Brussels, where they keep the bike he (allegedly) used for the hour record. Could be a cool thing to add to the route...
Also, I've even found the exact address of the house where Merckx was born, so we can really make it a mini pilgrimage.
Johnny
@Bugloss: Oudenaarde is on the mainline to Brussels-Midi station, so train transport should not be a problem, even on Sunday. I can probably arrange some sort of lift to get your bag to Oudenaarde for the Saturday.
I've had another look at possible routes, and it's theoretically possible to make a short detour to the Eddy Merckx metro station in Brussels, where they keep the bike he (allegedly) used for the hour record. Could be a cool thing to add to the route...
Also, I've even found the exact address of the house where Merckx was born, so we can really make it a mini pilgrimage.
Johnny
bugloss
Retrobike Rider
Sounds great, I'll do my best to make it work from my end. I'm sure we can rope Flandria in to do the long route on Friday, eh Flandria ?
I'd like to see that hour bike, but I'm slightly fearful that we may make it a Beast of a day if we try to cram too much in. I'm planning on riding back to Brussels on the Monday as well, so I'll need some legs for that too.
Adam
I'd like to see that hour bike, but I'm slightly fearful that we may make it a Beast of a day if we try to cram too much in. I'm planning on riding back to Brussels on the Monday as well, so I'll need some legs for that too.
Adam
OK, yeah, if we get at least three of us that's a start. I may be able to get some more people from over here involved too.
I'll probably test out some bits of the route myself. I'll see how it looks with the Merckx Metro station and decide later if it's worth including.
Hopefully we can keep some momentum up - if anyone has any contacts who might be interested, please let them know.
Johnny
I'll probably test out some bits of the route myself. I'll see how it looks with the Merckx Metro station and decide later if it's worth including.
Hopefully we can keep some momentum up - if anyone has any contacts who might be interested, please let them know.
Johnny
bugloss
Retrobike Rider
Re:
It's the thread back from the dead!
It's approaching fast and what are the plans for a ride, if any ?
I've recently gone audax mad and am willing to arrange a "DIY by GPS" 200km audax from Brussels to Oudenaarde on the Friday starting at about 11.00 am if anyone wants to join up or has any suggestions etc, etc.
It's the thread back from the dead!
It's approaching fast and what are the plans for a ride, if any ?
I've recently gone audax mad and am willing to arrange a "DIY by GPS" 200km audax from Brussels to Oudenaarde on the Friday starting at about 11.00 am if anyone wants to join up or has any suggestions etc, etc.
Attachments
Re:
I'd be up for the audax thing, we could start at the metro station where Merckx's Hour Record bike is - it's on the outskirts of Brussels on the right side for Oudernaarde. I wouldn't recommend riding in the centre of Brussels though.
I'd also be more than happy to organise the ride to Merckx's birthplace that I suggested before, though the original response to the idea was not overwhelming
Johnny
I'd be up for the audax thing, we could start at the metro station where Merckx's Hour Record bike is - it's on the outskirts of Brussels on the right side for Oudernaarde. I wouldn't recommend riding in the centre of Brussels though.
I'd also be more than happy to organise the ride to Merckx's birthplace that I suggested before, though the original response to the idea was not overwhelming
Johnny
Re:
OK, so Bugloss's idea has inspired me. It's about 75km direct from the Merckx metro station to Oudernaarde, so definitely doable in an afternoon. Could add a detour to Geraardsbergen for a bit of an extra challenge too.
You can take bikes on the Brussels metro, so anyone arriving at, say, the Eurostar terminal or an airport could quite easily get there without having to brave the maniacal Brussels driving and horrible street layouts.
You can use the Flemish cycle network to plan a route without the need for GPS - most of the network is on paved but low-traffic or traffic free streets, so there's less chance of suddenly finding yourself on either a screaming highway or an unpaved muddy farm trail.
http://www.fietsnet.be/
Johnny
OK, so Bugloss's idea has inspired me. It's about 75km direct from the Merckx metro station to Oudernaarde, so definitely doable in an afternoon. Could add a detour to Geraardsbergen for a bit of an extra challenge too.
You can take bikes on the Brussels metro, so anyone arriving at, say, the Eurostar terminal or an airport could quite easily get there without having to brave the maniacal Brussels driving and horrible street layouts.
You can use the Flemish cycle network to plan a route without the need for GPS - most of the network is on paved but low-traffic or traffic free streets, so there's less chance of suddenly finding yourself on either a screaming highway or an unpaved muddy farm trail.
http://www.fietsnet.be/
Johnny
bugloss
Retrobike Rider
Okeydokey....
I wanted to do the Audax by GPS as I want the ride to count towards my International Super Randonneur award type thingy.
All that really means is that we plot a route with Google Maps set to walking mode that is 200km's + a little bit and I'll send it off to the man who says it's ok, then we ride the 200km's plus a bit at audax speed.
Once we've done that I send off my GPS track to the man and he ticks the box.
The route can go wherever as long as there are say 7 or 8 points that are visited during the ride that were plotted on the Google map that was sent to the man for approval. So you want to visit the humble home of the Merckx man, we can do that and that can be one of our points and we can also start at the Metro station of your choice and use the cycle network too. I just need the track to fit the map and distance, it's easy peasy.
I wanted to do the Audax by GPS as I want the ride to count towards my International Super Randonneur award type thingy.
All that really means is that we plot a route with Google Maps set to walking mode that is 200km's + a little bit and I'll send it off to the man who says it's ok, then we ride the 200km's plus a bit at audax speed.
Once we've done that I send off my GPS track to the man and he ticks the box.
The route can go wherever as long as there are say 7 or 8 points that are visited during the ride that were plotted on the Google map that was sent to the man for approval. So you want to visit the humble home of the Merckx man, we can do that and that can be one of our points and we can also start at the Metro station of your choice and use the cycle network too. I just need the track to fit the map and distance, it's easy peasy.
