Stage 2 - A journey of endurance and teamwork

Hard data of the day
 

Day: Sunday 5 May 2024
From: Nîmes
To: Avène

# kilometers: 140km 
# altimeters: 2200m
# flat tyres: 
# bananas consumed: 
# hours on the bike (shortest): 
# hours on the bike (longest): 

Hero of the day

The hero of the day is Roberto of Kortweg.

Trivia of the day
 

Nicolaas VM receives the trivia of the day after igniting the ‘Chamois gate’.

Story of the day
 

When a pilot of an airliner is confronted with the announcement of bad weather on his radar he will try to fly around the red zone. Last night at the dinner table I learned that we can find a problem for every solution. Some people noticed, according to the app, the weather forecast for the Monday ride didn’t look to good. The app we consulted was pretty clear, pouring rain on Monday. Under the leadership of Donald N. we decided to look for an alternative app that provided a sunny forecast.

Looking at the presentation yesterday of today’s track by Rolf D., I also realized that the new joiners aren’t aware of the metric system we use. It is a general accepted metric system amongst the cycling partners but not always a general appreciated metric system. Let me give some explanation. We count our distances and altitudes in Rm, not in m. The formula is : 1 rm equals to 1m x 1sf. I will disclose the abbreviations. 1 Rolfmeter equals to 1 meter multiplied by one surprisefactor.

According to Rolf D., the life of a cyclist can be extremely easy. The description of today’s track was pretty straightforward… One climb up, down to the lunch, one other climb up and down to the hotel. Now that we digested the ride we can all agree that it was a brilliant summary.

This morning at breakfast I sat next to Philippe DC who expressed a formal ethical complaint, …. if Deloitte strives for gender diversity, he also wants Kortweg to do so. He posted his candidacy already to keep an eye on next year’s massage list. Phil’s sense of unbiased responsibility really touches my heart.

We left Nimes today at 8:25 am. The weather was outstandingly good, probably Donald D. secretly used his special gifts. Today’s ride was 140km with 2200 altitude meters.

The first 25 km we cruised on a flat cycling path. The only obstacles where the poles (paaltjes). Every time a pole comes on our way we shout out loud the word ‘paaltje’ to avoid people hitting these obstacles. After 20 km of shouting out the warning, it was clear for me that we have a peloton of hidden musical talents. Wesley B. and myself initiated the warning ‘paaltje’ in a tenor voice, repeated by the bass voice of Marc M., repeated by the soprano Sofie VB. Due to the headwind we couldn’t hear the rest of the peloton, so a hidden castrato is always possible.

The day evolved rather smoothly. We know, out of experience of previous years, that some people are very eager to get mentioned in the blog. We fully understand this point of view as eternal fame is the reward.

Caroline C. wondered what would happen if she dropped her bidon in the bunch of  fellow cycling partners. Stress all over the place which ended in the crash of Nicolas VH. Luckily no real harm done and additionally two people obtaining eternal fame. After Nico’s crash Caroline C. came riding next to me. She told me “oh, it wasn’t my intention to ride next to you”. It took me a while to realize it was the headwind that bothered her, so it had nothing to do with me in person.

Our appearance at the Nimes arena did pay off. At lunch a French journalist interviewed our CEO. The result will be disclosed in the local press.

Unfortunately we were confronted with a second crash. Besides some abrasions and a few bruises luckily Els VP could rejoin the team. Thank you Kortweg for patching up our fellow cycling partner!

We were also confronted with an idiot who overtook the support car and almost ended in our peloton when he had to swerve to avoid a crash with oncoming traffic. We were very lucky!!!

At our last provisioning stop two medals were earned. The trivia of the day and the hero of the day.

Nicolaas VM receives the trivia of the day after igniting the ‘Chamois gate’. Chamois is an ointment to prevent pain in the buttocks. I won’t put too much focus on the details but Nikolaas VM didn’t just oil the back. Generously Nicolaas offered the Chamois jar to the next one to use, …everybody refused but fun all over the place. Els forgot all her suffering. 

The hero of the day is Roberto of Kortweg. When Agne arrived at the provision area after the long climb she complained a bit ‘bout some discomforts and a few ailments. Roberto’s Italian blood started to boil. Witnessed by numerous fellow partners Agne was heavenly treated by Roberto. Thanks Roberto to keep the Italian heritage alive!

Looking forward to tomorrow’s ride. Rolf D. will explain the track.