Friday's plans and Belgium

What they don't tell you...
Well, the longer I stay here in Belgium the more I guess I will get to know, but today (Friday) is going to be a riveting day..spring cleaning the house! No-one told me I this is part of the full time cyclist life, my word… Ha ha. Ok, so how it works is every Monday the house gets cleaned. We skipped Monday because the owners are coming Friday afternoon, so we must clean the kitchen, bathrooms, lounge, dining room, etc today.

Cycling
I will do a short recovery ride today, as I think my legs need some rest after 3 long days (140km, 100km incl 60km race, 170 incl 120km race ). This weekend the races are all far away, so we will have to see what we decide on – a long training ride or a train trip to the race.

Belgium
Ok, so a few days ago I said something along the lines of the Belgians being ‘different’. Well, what would Life be like if we were all the same, hell no! So I feel it is only right to explain my view of Belgians after being here for just under a week: I have never met such a soft-natured nation in my life! The South Americans come close in their friendliness, but Belgians are unreal. The harmony between Busses, Vehicles, Pedestrians and cyclists are only but one example of this nation. It was particularly evident in the racing too. Everyone from shop owners and attendants to bike riders have such a gentle nature. Wow, this is a remarkable place. The longer I stay here, the more I am falling in love with this place. I honestly don’t know why people are immigrating to Australia, please, if you want to give up on SA come to Belgium where the weather is pretty good, people braai, you can speak Afrikaans everywhere, you can have a few ponies and a cow or 2 in your back yard and the place is pretty safe!

Race #2

Race # 2

Now I am not all that eloquent, so I thought I’d let the picture of me after the race do the talking in describe my physical state.



Firstly, thanks for all the replies to yesterday’s post re my first race. It gave me all the incentive needed to prove that I can race differently; I just don’t find it nearly as exciting. I mean, where can you experience nail-biting adrenaline rushing moments pushing your body to the limits (albeit that they keep moving) and feel so in touch with yourself as you do when racing off the front from the gun.
Anycase, the race was fortunately close again – only a 20km ride to the start. The race consisted of 15 laps, roughly 8kms per laps totalling around 115kms. Lap 1 and 2 I found some shelter in the group and stayed out of the wind and mischief. I was falling asleep on the bike, so I spent lap 3, 4 ad 5 getting into moves, bridging, etc. The Belgians have a strange way of racing – as soon as they find themselves with a foreigner in a break they sit up – most annoying thing! Lap 6 I spent hanging onto the back of the group trying to recover to swing up to the front for lap 7 again. The split in the group came and I found myself in a chasing group of around 12 riders, some 35s off the front group of 20. The next 8 laps were a blur, except that we caught them with 3 laps to go and then things shattered on the 2nd last lap. Final lap I popped off with the 2 other riders but managed to pull of a 26th place and 10EUR for my efforts. We covered the 115km course in 2:30, and 33C. The temperature is the big thing I am struggling with at the moment.

So yesterday’s race was good to get the body re-introduced to lactate which allowed me to race hard today. I am also well impressed by my recovery pants. It is possibly a combination of a stress-free environment, ample sleep and the pants which gave me legs today.

The races we do are called “Kermesse” races. This is also the Flemish word for “fair”. The photos below shows the festivities in the little town right next to where the racing takes place. Also see the pub where you enter the races. Something else they do here is to print a list of the entrants with their respective clubs and countries and hand them out to all the spectators. This means each spectator knows who is who – brilliant for supporting!





The view out of my bedroom of the church of Tielt Winge.




Want to sell your bike? Sure, just park it outside and put a sign on it saying “For sale”

First race

Updated - see race report below.

Today's my first race on Belgium soil. the description reads:
110 km - 800 EUR. - I: Café Sente-Vermaelen, Gemeentestraat 63, 3210 Linden - U: 16:30/17:45/18:00 - K: Café Sente-Vermaelen - Contact: Hubert Vermaelen, (Tel.: 0486/128262) - Extra info: 10 euro (31-50) ; 13 ronden van 8,5 km

I planned the day poorly - should have gotten up earlier and could have fitted a ride in. Oh well, I used today for updating the blog and doing some more grocery shopping.

I'll have a sleep this afternoon to ensure I'm fresh this evening. It is strange to race at 18:00 - a full 12hour shift from racing at home. I know understand the routine here:
Get up at 10:00 and have breakfast followed directly by a ride if you are racing later otherwise go back to sleep after breakfast
14:00 lunch
16:00 afternoon ride for a few hours or leave for your race
22:00 supper
24:00 to bed

I don't know how I am going to cope when I get home, ha ha ha.

An upbeat blog, let's see what I have to say tonight...

Race report...

Ok, so I got home, had some supper, stretched and it is now 23:55. See, that is why we have to get up at 10:00!!

Anycase, so my first race and a learning experience. Race entries take place inside a bar by people looking the same as CSA officials. No further explanation! Once you have breathed in enough smoke and dodged some beer spillage, paid 8EUR, you back on the bike. We were about 120 starters today. Only a handful of team vehicles lead by a police motorbike. Along the route people were picnicking - old and young.

Just before the race, I had a quick chat to Clyde who was here 3 years ago:
Clyde:just do not chase anything for the first 2 laps!!
jaco: ok
Clyde: no matter how tempted you are
Clyde: i know you

Ok, so I didn't attack and sat quietly in the group..for 400m. Then moved to the front and had lots of fun for the next 3,5 laps. Chasing down the split and attacking on the side, guttering the group all great until I thought, wow, we must have done around 80kms, nope, 30kms. Eish. The next 2 laps I sat desperately looking for shelter, real "hak en kak" scenario. This provided me with enough recovery time to launch a few attacks to bridge to the leading 12-man break. Half a lap later I was spat out the back. 1 lap of chasing and then it was over. So 6 laps out of a 13 lap race is poor going, but (here comes the excuses) I haven't raced for a VERY long time, I have been off the bike for around 3 weeks and I lost my bottle over some bumpy roads after 4 laps. Fine, stop the b1tching and get back on your bike. Rest assured, that's exactly what I am doing. 20kms to tomorrow's race in Halen followed by 15x8km laps and 20kms home. Can't wait!

116 km - 800 EUR. - I: Café ´De Markt´, Markt, 3545 Halen - U: 13:00/14:15/14:30 - K: Sporthal ´ De Koekoek´, 3545 Halen - Extra info: 15 x 8 Km

I'll add the stats from my Polar (woooo) tomorrow. For now, I need some rest. 00:15. Good night.

First Begijdendijk Ride

So there is a group which meets at 13:00 in a town called Begijnendijk (http://www.begijnendijk.be/). Rachel took me to the town, some 25kms away. The group was roughly 100 people and I was wondering how they decide when to leave - i.e. when will more people come, etc. While I was contemplating how one would decide, the big church bell rang at 13:00 and everyone clipped in and left. Easy enough.

It was an easy'ish 140km ride. Faster than a recovery ride and slower than a hard ride,. nevertheless, I got to do some work at the front, got shouted at by some old Belgium toppie for pulling the group too fast and tried to get use to enter intersections from the wrong side. I still look in the wrong direction for traffic.

I met a rider from Hongkong, ex Marco-Polo rider, and we'll be riding together later this week. Spotted some scenery along the way while riding home:






Now I am use to riding in the dark with several layers of clothes and it is Winter at home. That is my excuse for frying myself red like a tomato on this ride!

Jaco's arrival in Tielt-Winge, Belgium

Let's start at the beginning, well, not really the very beginning of this trip, but at least from 1 August, T-9hrs.

10:30 Man on wire, Rosebank Mall
Wow, what a movie. If you feel you are lacking drive and motivation in life, go see this movie and feel embarrassed about how mundane your life is - a real feel good movie! Ok, a contrary there, but the question is posed, and it is beautiful "To me, it's really so simple, that life should be lived on the edge. You have to exercise rebellion. To refuse to tape yourself to the rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge. Then you will live your life on the tightrope. - Philippe Petit". Oh, and another one: "It's impossible, that's sure. So let's start working. " BRILLIANT! Ok, so that got my into the spirit and mind set need for the trip.

12:30 Pack
Now I heard yesterday that I was going to be whacked 400USD for taking my bike, darn fine print! So I decided to take everything I could live without out of my bag and scale down big time. I think I did well: a 6 week trip and my total check-in weight (excluding bike) is 10kgs which includes they weight of a heavy backpack. I was confident that the airline company won't charge me as I am now totaling 24kgs with a 20kg allowed check-in limit (and that they wouldn't weigh my 12kg hand luggage).

15:00 Presents
Wow, am I fortunate or what? A new wallet, a pair of linebreak (http://www.linebreak.com.au/) pants and a top-end Polar watch. Thanks guys!



Goodbey
Little did I know that the 400USD was not to with weight but to do with the size of the luggage, so I got whacked it in anycase. Fortunately they reduced it to "small sporting equipment" and only charged me 70EUR. Time for the last kiss (for which my raisin burnt lip recovered just in time) and off I went.

As I am sitting and contemplating life, as I do (!!), the Swiss Airbus thrusts its engines and the plane accelerates forwards. I am leaving. That was the moment that I realised, bey bey South Africa, see you in 6 weeks.

Travel time

A boring flight:The movies were old and I was squashed by an overly sized Italian woman next to me. Food was good though for aero plane food. Breakfast at 4am was a suprize!

I had a short transit at Zurich International airport, so I had to make a move to get to, no wait, long queues – charming! Some more queuing for general congestion, escalators, passport control bus taxing to terminal, boarding aeroplane, sigh. The security checkpoint did not really approve of my energy gels in my bag but fortunately they passed it through after making sure each one was still sealed. Thank you for checking security, I would have been as pissed if it was open!

Now I’m sitting on my Zurich – Brussels flight waiting for some passengers who couldn’t make the long howl to Terminal A quickly enough. Funny how we rush to queues and then end up waiting for the last guy in any case...

Now I am sure you have all experienced the sinking feeling you get when you waiting for your bike or item of luggage and the belt stops, i.e. there are no more bags coming and there you stand waiting for your bag, great! So off to the baggage counter and after waiting 40mins I get served. The bike stayed behind in Jhb. I guess that is better than telling me they don't know where the bike is! This was possible a blessing in disguise as I had 1 item less to carry in trying to find my address. The trip included a train trip to Leuven (station in photo below) followed by a bus home.

Now I seem to be the only 1 that gets confused with my address: I stay in Tielte which is in the Tielt Winge area or something like that, not quite sure. But if you ask for Tielt, you get sent 200km in the opposite direction. Well, I arrived safely at home some 4 hours later.

It was a bit depressing on the first day - knowing no-one, not having a bike, raining miserable weather, no food because all the shops are closed, tired, the 1 couple in the house packing because they leaving the next day, flip, what have I done. I scoff some of my peanuts and raisins as feel good food and go watch Ace Ventura on the TV - that provided

some upliftment. The next day I felt much better until I call the luggage handlers and they tell me they don't knwo where bike is, they will notify me when the find it. Arg. Nevertheless, after another few phone calls they discover it in standing lonely in the back of the storeroom. Having nothing else to do I missioned to the airport to go fetch my bike

I managed a 2hr ride on Monday afternoon after building my bike and felt a whole lot better about life thereafter, ha ha, cyclists are strange people. Except for Belgiums - they really are different!

The Next Chapter in the Story

Bastille Day in Franschoek

I felt I was being left behind a bit on the technology front so have decided to start 'blogging' and send through all our updates from Cape Town on this website.
As I always say, time seems to whizz past and before you know it suddenly a few months have already passed.
The miserable winter weather has eventually dampened (quite literally with all the recent flooding) the hearts of Cape Townians and all the fun outdoor stuff we usually get up to has quitened down a bit! But we have still managed to get out and about with celebrations in Franschoek recently for Bastille Day which included lots of wine tasting, sitting on hay bales and eating baguettes, chocolate, strawberries and pancakes! We have had a few people over to stay including a good friend from JHB, Sean and my parents who stayed in the B&B section of our complex - yes our lovely complex has accomodation for rent at very good prices if you quote the name "cronje' - well they should give us discount since we live above the office of the B&B and are very quiet 'neighbours'.

Well the big new for this update is that my lovely husband had decided to pursue his ultimate dream of going to cycle with the pro's in Belgium for a month and a half. He is leaving on the 1st August and will be staying 1 hour out of Brussels in a 'cycling house' where he rents a bed and eats, breathes and sleeps CYCLING!! I am so happy that he is finally fulfilling this dream of his which has been at the back of his mind for the last 5 years. His company have given him the time off unpaid, and I am going to be moving to JHB for this time to live with my parents and work from the PAG Head Office in Sandton. We have also managed to rent out our CPT flat for a corporate let - so I am basically being kicked out rather than moving out voluntarily! So I would love to catch up with as many of you as I can while I'm in JHB (1st Aug - 6th Sept). Didn't have too many fond memories of the place when I was there recently for a stressed out week of work at PAG - flip that place is blerrie cold!! Had forgotten about that biting cold - much prefer the damp, hair frizzing weather here thanks!

But I am braving the weather and bringing my bike up too so hopefully I can try and put some mileage in for our next big adventure: Cycling from CPT to JHB on our tandem this December for charity!! But more about that later!

Electrical Storm over Table Mountain and Lion's Head

So we are very busy trying to get the house ready, get the last minute things for Belgium and also packing for the 5 day Otto Trail hike which we start next Saturday. Am a bit worried that we might get washed away with all this rain and that our car will disappear into the sea (not sure if you heard that hikers had to be evacuated from the Trail about a month ago due to bad weather). Well I suppose it is our fault for booking this 'holiday' during winter but those were the only available dates! Despite that, we are trying to get excited about eating smash, bully beef, 2 minute noodles and instant spag bol when you just add water, not to mention carrying all the food and clothes we need for the 5 days. I am looking forward to it though as I've never (yes can you believe it!!) been along the Garden Route before so it will be new experience for me. The day after we finishe the Otto Trail, we drive back from Knysna to back up our house and then off up to JHB where Jaco will leave for Belgium. Never a dull moment for the Cronje's!

Other highlights recently have included weddings in Stellenbosch, Kenton-on-Sea and the Natal Midlands all in the space of about a month! I felt like a real jet-setter during that time! Jaco took part in a target shooting practice with some old school friends and I got to experience what a sniper feels like (ok snipers don't wear green army overalls and they don't lie down on cold floors of a school hall!). We went for our first tandem ride the other day and poor Jaco had to bear the brunt of an engine failing after 60 kms as he though I was just chilling at the back and not pedalling! Jaco's stadium in PE has finally been completed so he is no longer racking up the air miles travelling there for work every week. He is working on some exciting projects at the moment including houses of mega millionaires in Bantry Bay and Plett along with a hospital renovation, the CPT Bus-Rapid Transport (BRT) System for 2010 and all the CCTV camera installations around the Greenpoint Stadium for the Football World Cup. So my baby is pretty busy along with his training routine of getting up at 4am every morning to rack up the miles before work! My studies are coming along well - especially after the FANTASTIC news recently that I was granted credits for 2 subjects which I've previously done which means that I'll have my Honours Degree at the end of this year (if I pass my exams in November of course!) . So I am frantically trying to complete all my last set of assignments for my 3 subjects. We have made some great friends at church and attend a cell group every week where Jaco has impressed us all by preparing alot of the recent teachings.

Target Shooting - I missed !

Home Group From Church

I think that is enough now for my first blog!! Please add yourselves as a subscriber so I can keep you up to date with J's trip to Belgium and my wonderfully exciting life in JHB hahaha!
You can email Jaco while he is in Belgium on jaco.cronje@gmail.com and I would love to hear from you at christie.cronje@pag.co.za.

Love The Cronje's