Train-a-dilly-trainer session

Today was a great training day...for riding the trainer that is. First, I set a personal record...2hrs! Hells yeah. The cool thing was that I had no idea I was even on for 2hrs. I decided to do the Tour of Flanders today instead of Amstel Gold for whatever reason. Man that shit is steep. The part I rode was from the 180Km mark through the Finish (about 85Km/51.4 miles). It included the ball-punch climbs of the Koppenberg, Kwaremont, Volkenberg, many other "-bergs" and the Tenbosse to name a few. Here's a clip. Hit "start" to watch the video. And...here is the profile.
Here's a bit o' history...

Also known as Ronde van Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders is the brain child of Karel Van Wynendaele. He was an unsuccessful race cyclist and abig fan of Cyriel Hauwaert. He earned his living by writing articles for local papers. He was impressed by the bicycle races: Paris-Bruxelles and Paris-Roubaix. In 1912 he was asked to cooperate on the creation of the newspaper "Sportwereld". Although cycling was rather in a dark period, Karel had a good eye in it. Publishing a national paper gave him the possibility to organize a bicycle race himself. Henri Desgrange, the man of the Tour of France, was his great example and they met regularly.

1913 was the historic year of the first Tour of Flanders. It was a devilish tour of 330 kilometres. In those days such a large distance was common, not to mention the bad condition of the roads. Van Wynendaele was rather an emotional man and wanted his tour to pass in all the beautiful places of Belgium ; Gent, Brugge, the cost and the heart of Flanders.

The first tour was not at all a success. Only 37 race cyclists participated. One year later there were only 10 left. During the first worldwar it was impossible to organise the race and so it should be said that there was no future left for this young born child.

But in 1919 Van Wynendaele came back. The circuit was more or less the same but for the first time the Kwaremont was included in the race. But again it failed. The sponsors stayed away. But the next year they did come, these French bicycle constructors and so the international sympathy started to grow. In 1923, Heiri Sutter, a Swiss, was the first foreign winner of the tour.

During this period, other cycling races were held in Belgium, without no fame. Although the Tour of Flanders survived thanks to the perseverance of its organizers.

Tomorrow, I'm thinking about pulling a double...that is, ride the trainer for about an hour in the morning, then get a good 3-4 hour classic session up at Eldora. I'm thinkin' Zarlengo's will be nice and fast, and then throw in Phoebe, the Meadow Loop, and finally Ja Sure. After that it's massage time!!!! Yeehaw!!! Ertzie von Ertzington is interested in going, but he's going to skate. We'll see. It's supposed to be cold tomorrow, but they completely missed the forecast today. It was sunny and gorgeous today (albeit 8 degrees), while they called for lots of snow. Tomorrow's forecast for 20 degrees is just the right temp for a nordic day. A little Dermatone on the face, some Sportsbalm on the legs underneath the gear, and we're set. The temp can drop pretty quick in the afternoon up there once the sun starts to go down, so I want to start by 11am...maybe that trainer session is not gonna happen. We'll see though. Heck, maybe I'll set up the steering unit and race! Gotta run!

Stay warm.