Stage 7 - From France to Spain: a week full of fun and challenges

Hard data of the day
 

Day: Friday 10 May 2024
From: Sant Feliu 
To: Sant Feliu

# kilometers: 100km 
# altimeters: 1200m
# flat tyres: 0

Hero of the day

I want to express my admiration for one rider in particular. He suffered a lot during this week, especially on the climbs, but never a complaint and always looking forward to next day. He managed to ride all 738 kilometers and 11.500 altimeters. Pierre P., congrats for this extraordinary performance, you are the hero of the day!

Trivia of the day
 

The trivia of the day goes to two partners who were able to find a cozy bar at the beach and immediately informed the others to share their joy. Thanks Agné and Vincent. Unfortunately the author of this blog had to skip because of editorial obligations.

Hero of the week
 

It is now time for the election of the hero of the week. The hero of the week is not one person to be pinpointed on. The hero of the week is a team. A team of which I refrain to name one person individually. A team whose harmony is the Olympic standard. Thank you, Kortweg, thanks for tilting us to this level.

Story of the day
 

Last night we had a dinner in the hotel in Sant Feliu. No special events to report except the good atmosphere amongst the cycling partners.

As I already stated in yesterday’s blog, DJ Fred did a good job in cheering up of the troops. He is also asked to entertain tonight’s party. DJ Fred is a real professional. Every detail of his act is rehearsed. This morning at the breakfast table he rehearsed his famous walk-on for tonight. Under the guise of frying sunny side up eggs, he left the plancha switched-on after which the entire room was filled with smoke. Well done Fred, you are a real pro.

This morning, we split up the group in two teams. At 8:00 am a limited number of scouts was sent out to pave the roads for the team of favorites which started-off by 9:00 am. On average the ride of today was 100km with 1200 altitude meters. 

The team of favorites was immediately recognized by a pro-rider Niels Vandeputte. We had a nice meet and greet on the road. Very nice guy, we wish him a lot of success in his career.

Because our fellow cycling partner Wes B. was familiar with the local tracks and trails, he claimed the planning of today’s journey. Wes is a very popular partner with a lot of friends amongst us. During the climb of the Mur Tamariu, the number of friends of Wes was reduced to a quarter. All hard feelings were washed away during some well-deserved coffee stops. The number of Wes’ friends rose back to the original level. 

The team of scouts also improved their cycling knowledge. They found out that in the UK the brake levers are connected in reverse in comparison to ours. Another fellow partner confirmed, on top of this knowledge, he learned that from our perspective Australian cyclists ride upside down.

The ride was a great one, we talked about last week, how privileged we were, I repeat David D.’s words, we are all winners.

The scouts and the other riders arrived together in the base camp, thank you Wes B. for this great piece of calculation and alignment. We were welcomed again by a great lunch prepared by Franky.

I want to express my admiration for one rider in particular. He suffered a lot during this week, especially on the climbs, but never a complaint and always looking forward to next day.  He managed to ride all 738 kilometers and 11.500 altimeters. Pierre P., congrats for this extraordinary performance, you are the hero of the day!

The trivia of the day goes to two partners who were able to find a cozy bar at the beach and immediately informed the others to share their joy. Thanks Agné and Vincent. Unfortunately the author of this blog had to skip because of editorial obligations.

I also want to thank two fellow cycling partners for organizing this event. Two people who did a tremendous job in preparation and who were always available for questions and assistance. Thank you so much Sofie and Wes!

It is now time for the election of the hero of the week. The hero of the week is not one person to be pinpointed on. The hero of the week is a team.  A team of which I refrain to name one person individually. A team whose harmony is the Olympic standard. Thank you, Kortweg,  thanks for tilting us to this level.

Looking forward to next event!

Dirk