EURO TRIP 2014: Kermesses....O le’ do it

Checking out the local crops. Yep, they're good.

We’re in Europe for the next 7 weeks. We have one task- it is to bring honor to America.

We are very patriotic.

We (myself, Heather and Korina) will spend the next 7 weeks racing the Kermesses. According to Wikipedia, "Kermesses are typically found in Belgium, especially in the northern Flanders region, where they are the most popular style of amateur bicycle race. They also exist in the Netherlands. The bicycle race borrows the name from the kermesse (festival) where the bicycle race is often held on the same day as a town festival, though not always."

From this Kermesse experience, we’ll gain the skillz necessary to negotiate the European peloton, become better tacticians, and (hopefully) learn how to win a bike race.

We found ourselves on the same flight last year, but this year we are much faster and better looking. 

We’ve had a full schedule on the national circuit with DNA Cycling p/b K4 Racing. All those hours in the saddle, chamois time (in the most comfortable chamois on the market), and all the beets we blended in our BlendTec Blenders, have prepared us for this moment. As a wise man once said, “you only got one shot- this is your time to go, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” That wise man was Marshall Mathers, also known as Eminem.

oh yeah chamois time

we did a group ride with the self-proclaimed "c-team." they blew a whistle when it was time for snacks. it was awesome

we rode a ferry over the canal to belgium. it took approximately 30 seconds.

So far we’ve done our first 2 races- Gravenwezel and Schellebelle.

Gravenwezel

This s*%! was hard. 100kim, 24 laps, 300m of cobbles each lap- longest crit of my entire life. It took a few laps to find my groove, but I made my way to the front and started following moves. We were trying to follow everything- until we realized that we weren't superheros. The racing here is much more aggressive, and girls are constantly attacking. It'll take some getting used to, learning which moves to follow, and how to conserve more. 

Schellebelle

90 km, 15 laps, more cobbles. This race went way better. I was able to stay in the top 10 riders the entire race. I covered a lot of attacks with Heather, made it up the road a few times, but everything came back together. The roads were super narrow, so only 2-3 girls could go through each corner at a time. There was a section of cobbles, and then some really tight corners near the end of the lap. On the last lap, I moved to the very front and fought to stay there. I managed to get a 10^th, Heather 15^th and Korina 31^st. We’re starting to learn how the peloton moves over here, and what it takes to be in the front group on the final lap, so that's good. We're learning lots of skillz! It's very exciting. 

this is our life. we normatek and go on the internet- and train sometimes (most the time)

our view from coffee mundo- our second home

We found a castle

#LeatherForever 

GGGGGGANGSTA

These funny Dutch names might not mean much to you, but here’s the schedule.

Schedule

6/29 Wielsbeke

7/6 Beveren-Waas

7/7 Waterliet

7/12Moerzeke

7/16 Arendonk

7/18 Vrasene-Beveren

7/22 Strijpen-Zottegem

7/25 Erpe-Mere

7/26 Sint-Maria-Lierde

7/27 Haaltert

7/29 Kapellen

7/31 Herentals

8/2 Lotto Cycling Cup

8/3 Ninove

8/4 Oostkamp

9/5 Brugge-Dudzele

8/9 Heusden

8/10 Massemen-Wetteren

Stay tuned for more on EURO TRIP 2014: LEATHER EDITION.

Special shout out to Alex and Cathy Kim, DNA Cycling, USA Cycling, and Jack Seehafer for making it all happen. This wouldn’t be possible without you. We’ll make you proud.

Also thanks again to everyone who donated to my RallyMe campaign. Without your support, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue this incredible opportunity. You should all be expecting postcards.