Holland
VALKENBURG, THE NETHERLANDS
Every day begins with a hearty breakfast and that is easy to do at the Mondorf Park Hotel.
We left the hotel in a motorcoach that pulled a custom-enclosed bike trailer. I can’t imagine any bus company in the U.S. having such a trailer. But this is probably not uncommon in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, or Belgium.
Once we arrived in Valkenberg we were delayed as one rider forgot shoes and was taken to a bike shop for a quick shopping trip. Other riders had to walk carefully the dog poo that seemed to be everywhere in the park where we were waiting.
This was not unlike my first impression in Arreau, France in 2010. Americans do better at curbing their dogs than Europeans.
Fränk announced the seven names of the riders in Group A. He paused and then said that it wasn’t based on ability but just broken out that way. The pause seemed like he protested too much and I sure didn’t believe him.
Oh well, it really didn’t matter. The nine riders in the group not called Group B would be led by Brian and Gusty. I was in this other group. We had the five Florida friends, Bob and Heather, and me.
I was feeling bad about this arrangement while at the same time understanding that based on yesterday’s riding this is where I belonged. True, I added 33 kilometers in the morning and went farther than anyone yesterday but that’s not really an excuse. I cramped and Fränk helped push me up the last climb.
At the base of the first climb today I passed a guy on what looked like a cargo bike. It had two front wheels with a cargo area and the cyclist sat on the saddle like a traditional bike with one wheel in the rear. I could see a child riding up front. As I went to wave I could see the “seat” the child was in was a small wheelchair.
No matter how I may feel be it soreness or cramping, I am healthy and pedaling a bike. That little fellow may never get to enjoy the pain and suffering we willingly undertake to enjoy the freedom and exhilaration we get from pedaling our bikes. That was my lasting image of the day that trumped everything I did on the bike. (No photo)
After seeing him I never once cared about why I was or was not in a certain group. I would enjoy the freedom on the bike and the beauty of the countryside.
I did not know how my legs would respond to yesterday. How could I forget my HotShot cramp drinks? My simple goal was to achieve three PRs since the Strava program shows three segments without clicking to see the full route. It’s nice to show those first three lines with PRs.
And with that, I was very successful. Although I had already secured three PRs on minor climbs it was the big climbs that I really wanted PRs. Before we would come to the first climb, Will turned a corner and dropped his chain. In doing so the chain severed the Di2 wire on his rear derailleur.
Although Will was going to try riding in one gear, the derailleur was stuck between two gears so kept shifting from one to the other. Just 500 meters farther he was able to jump in our SAG wagon.
Our group was delayed by construction and a detour. We were further delayed by a flat on Gusty’s bike.
The first major climb was Eyeserbosweg. I climbed it and had a PR. Our second one was Keutenberg. Depending on your body type this may have been the toughest of the day with gradients in the earliest portion of 22%. I hit the climb and was eight seconds down. I kept at it and brought the time back for a PR and then descended back down the climb for photos and to shepherd some riders to the top.
The Cauberg was the last major climb and true to form I set a PR. On all of these, it seemed I was consistently fourth behind Bob, Carl, and Doug in my group. I was not racing except against myself. On some of these, I started last wheel and may have been higher than fourth. But on all, there seemed to be a major gap to the remainder of our group.
I asked Dan who the oldest Rooster was. He mentioned Margaret (73) but he was referring to all time. On this trip once I confirmed my age (67) he said I was. I don’t know who’s over 60, if any, let alone 65. While I may have been down just a little bit, all day long I was above the line in our group and always AGE GROUP WINNER!
Back at the bus at 5:00, we had a spread for lunch. Our bus trip back to the hotel would get us in at 9:00. Dinner was served. I made the decision to skip dinner. I haven’t been recovering the way I need to and food in my stomach at 9:00 was not the best thing.
All in all, I had a great day in Holland. Our group was shorted a little on distance due to our mechanicals. But even with a poor recovery from yesterday, I rode well. I am healthy. I am on a bike. Peace.
My Strava Times (2023 vs 2019)
Cauberg: 4:15 (4:19) – Well that wasn’t much improvement
Eyserbosweg: 5:34 (5:50) – A bit better
Keutenberg: 7:14 (11:30) – Massive improvement
