Stage 3 - Pedalling their hearts out

Hard data of the day

Day: Friday 10 June 2023
From: Vaals
To: Vaals

# kilometers: 72
# altimeters: 1,050
# flat tyres: none
# bananas consumed: 10
# hours on the bike (shortest): 2.45 hours
# hours on the bike (longest): 3.30 hours

Hero of the day

The Hero of the Day is Johan Vlaminckx. As a first-time joiner, it was immediately clear that he had opted to get the most out of this trip. He did not want to cheat by having a recovery shake or sports massage after the rides, but understood that good hydration in the evenings with drinks based on natural ingredients, such as grapes and barley, would be elementary for the next day. 

Johan was clear about his ambitions: “I am going to make it on my own and deliver results.” And he did! Big kudos to Johan for not giving up, for being great company, and for making it till the very end—well done!

Trivia of the day

Did you know that Frederik DB cannot ride any hills together with the peloton? Every time he envisages an uphill section, varying from a (longer) hill to a bridge crossing a road or river, his legs start to tingle vigorously and he has to take a powerful sprint uphill. Luckily our Gateway office has no uphill sections.

Story of the day

The last day of this cycling trip took us to the region around Eupen. Despite the limited length (only 72 km), 1,050 altimeters made it a challenge. I believe most of us liked the fact that most of the climbing was concentrated in the first half of the ride. We reached a top around 430 m above sea level, and then welcomed a nice decent toward the valley.

Four additional colleagues joined us for today’s ride by bringing new stories and especially strong legs as three of them opted to ride from home to the hotel and back, making the distance of their ride 175 km and 2,000 altimeters. I am still struggling to understand why they did not get the memo that they could complete the total distance over a three-day trip and there was no obligation to hit the target in one single day.  

At the end of the ride, some suffered sore legs and felt tired, but still we managed to cheer and applaud the last riders who made it to the top of that last punchy hill. I have been told that this made the day of Johan, and one could expect a highly productive professional time to come as he will continue to live on his pink cloud for at least a few more weeks. 

As this was the third day of our three-day journey in support of the charity Athletes for Hope Revalidatie Weide, we can summarise this trip as being a bunch of enthusiastic colleagues pedalling their hearts out on a charity ride. Accountants, lawyers, and consultants all decked out in brightly coloured spandex jerseys, helmets, and bikes equipped with fancy gadgets. With an almost unending supply of energy bars, we cycled through the beautiful region surrounding Vaals and joined forces to deliver our Purpose and raise funds for the charity. 

A big thank you to Sofie VB, Jurgen F and Wesley B, not only for their great riding skills and their pleasant company, but also for organising this event, ensuring everybody felt included and it was a great ride.