When you dream of riding in Belgium you think of springtime and Flanders and 16,000 crazy people lining up to ride the Ronde van Vlaanderen sportive. I’ve done that and it’s amazing. I can still taste the mud in my mouth and remember sliding around corners and over cobbles and hoping, dreaming that I would make it to the finish line. That is a bucket-list experience for any cyclist, but the adventure we went on this time was different. It was better.
Save the Earth—it’s the only place with Belgian beer.
— Anonymous
Flanders is a year-round cycling destination, with this year most people starting with In Flanders Fields in Wevelgem (formerly Ghent–Wevelgem) on March 29, Dwars Door Vlaanderen on April 1 and De Ronde on April 5. It’s an action-packed spring package that should be on your list of cycling adventures.
But who would go to Flanders to ride bikes in October? It turns out, the entire Fausto crew did this fall and after victory and defeat and incredible food and beer and chocolate we’d like to shout from the rooftops that you should do the same. The roads were quiet, the climbs were deserted and the riding was sublime.
In partnership with Strava, Cycling in Flanders created the Flandrien Challenge in 2020. It consists of 59 segments ridden over 72 hours in an effort to replicate the challenging nature of the spring classic events for amateur riders. If you accomplish this, you are declared “Flandrien” and your name will be engraved onto a cobblestone to be placed on the Wall of Fame at the Centre Ronde van Vlanderaan in Oudenaarde to commemorate your achievement. According to Cycling in Flanders, “A true Flandrien is a man or woman of steel. A heroic cyclist who never gives up, relishes a challenge and eats pain for breakfast.”
So, this was our goal: to complete 59 segments in 72 hours. We started with four Fausto crew members, including Tim Schamber, our creative director, who has climbed 570,000 feet so far this year. And we brought in a French ringer, photographer Nicolas Joly, who lives at the base of a ski resort outside of Grenoble and who climbs like an angel. No problem? One of us would surely finish, right?
I personally opted out of the podium by choice in order to ensure we had a proper breakfast, lunch and dinner, coordinate trains and cultural visits and take in Flanders in the fall. For me, if I could ride three hours a day and pick off all the major bergs, I considered that a victory even if that was outside of the official rules.
That left three remaining Flandrien options for our three-day adventure.
Day 1: Victory
We began in the historical city of Ieper (Ypres in French) under the Menin Gate, an awe-inspiring monument to the 54,896 British and Commonwealth soldiers who perished in World War 1 on the Western Front and have no known grave. Every evening at 8 p.m., there is a vigil called the Last Post which is a tribute to the fallen. Our plan was to ride 75 kilometers, climb close to 900 meters and get this thing started off right. Three of us made it—and my ascent of the Kemmelberg will be remembered by all, as at one point, due to oxygen deficit, I began to ramble on about my childhood and the crisp air, the perfect riding conditions and the intrinsic beauty of Flanders in the fall. Although we did complete the day, there were some discussions about missing segments due to computer malfunctions and coffee stops.
At an incredible dinner in Oudenaarde with a fine selection of Belgian beers, the remaining three opted to pivot. Instead of trying to pull off the intimidating Day 2 schedule of 190 kilometers, 2,400 meters of climbing and at least eight hours in the saddle, the trio decided instead to attempt the Day 3 route of 142 kilometers with 2,150 meters of climbing in roughly six hours. This was possibly a mistake.
Day 2: Truce bordering on defeat
There was still a great deal of hope in our group as we set off for a solid day on the bike. I can’t emphasize enough the incredible infrastructure for cycling in Flanders: bike lanes, marked paths and routes, Strava segments painted on the concrete, the challenge of so many cobbled climbs and the mystical beauty of Flanders in the fall. It is so different from riding in Italy or France or Switzerland. Tim and Nicolas made it all the way, with a few missing segments due to exertion and delirium and seven hours of twists and turns and cobbled climbs. The team returned broken.
That night before dark, Nicolas returned after nine hours on the bike, a total of 50 segments completed and happy that he gave it one last shot.
Day 3: Defeat and joy
At dinner in Oudenaarde, the team had to come to grips with the possibility that we would not finish the challenge within 72 hours. We continued to eat and drink and discuss, and then concluded that Nicolas, our French recruit, was the only possible candidate on our team. The other three decided joyfully that we would wake up and ride the 40K to the base of the Muur and accompany Adam to the top as he had never experienced the famous climb.
We made our way confidently to the Muur, climbed it like cycling legends (sort of) and then spent a few minutes in the chapel at the top remembering our family members who had passed on. It was one of the moments I will never forget. Adam and Nicolas and I in the chapel alone, grateful for all that we had ridden and seen and lived. We were thankful to be in Belgium and riding bikes as friends and colleagues and experiencing this together.
Nicolas held out hope and left the group to see how close to 59 segments he could get in the remaining hours of daylight. Adam, Tim and I rode in silence as a group back to Oudenaarde, realizing we were only human, a bit sad that we couldn’t officially call ourselves Flandrien, but full of smiles as we wound our way back to our hotel satisfied that we had truly experienced Flanders in the fall.
That night before dark, Nicolas returned after nine hours on the bike, a total of 50 segments completed and happy that he gave it one last shot.
Are we Flandriens?
I think we are. We rode so many of the famous bergs, visited chapels and windmills, sampled a large selection of local beer, ate Flemish stew with enthusiasm, visited almost every Leonidas chocolate shop in Flanders. Mastered the train system and bike lanes and learned to appreciate the significance of these roads and climbs and the culture. We did not get a commemorative cobblestone with our name on it, but we did vow to return every year to try it again at least to eventually grab all 59 segments and increase our respect and knowledge of one of the greatest cycling arenas in the world.
Gift package
Because we are competitive even in defeat, we did a little research. More than 2,800 cyclists have completed the Flandrien Challenge since it was created in 2020. According to Dries Verclyte of Cycling in Flanders, about 10 percent of those are riders from the U.S.—so roughly 300 Americans have completed it over five years. We’d like to encourage more of you to try it, so we put together a Fausto Gift Package to anyone who pulls it off. We will offer you a one-year subscription ($60 value) and $100 credit in the Fausto Shop. And, because we are humble in defeat, if you try to finish the challenge and don’t make it (we know about that), we will gift you a free one-year subscription to Fausto ($60 value). Just reach out to us with your tales of woe at info@faustomagazine.com and we will verify your attempt with a complicated system of just trusting you.
Thank you to Visit Flanders and Cycling in Flanders for the incredible hospitality for the Fausto crew for your patience (when we didn’t make it) and the great dinner suggestions!
cyclinginflanders.cc (Riding)
crvv.be/en (Museum)
WHERE TO EAT. WHERE TO STAY.
Words: Adam Reek
After battling wind, cobbles and massive farm equipment on our trek to the fabled Muur de Geraardsbergen, we stumbled upon a quaint bed-and-breakfast/café on the outskirts of Oudenaarde. “Let’s get a Coke,” we said as we walked in. But once inside, we spotted a Kwaremont-branded beer tap, and the choice became obvious.
We asked the very fit-looking barkeeper—who was also a patron—if we could grab a beer. “Okay, we’ll be here for 15 minutes,” he replied. Knowing we only had a few miles left to our hotel, we settled into a remarkably comfortable couch, marveled at the Belgian cycling memorabilia and savored a proper “post-ride” beer.
If you’re ever planning to tackle the Flandrien Challenge, the Bergs & Cobbles Cycling Bar, Bed and Breakfast is worth considering. bergsandcobbles.be
During our few days in Flanders, our go-to beers were Karmeliet Tripel, Duvel, Westmalle Tripel and Brad’s new Trappist favorite, Orval.
We ate a lot of great food in Belgium, including the forever-amazing Flemish stew and pounds and pounds of frites, but it was a burger at an unassuming establishment in Ghent that triggered the alarm bells. We’re not exactly sure what it was that put this burger at the top of our all-time list, but one bite in and we were hooked. We all sort of looked at each other and said “Are you feeling this or is it just me?” The combination of the meat, sauce and bun made this thing absolutely epic. We’ve all eaten a lot of hamburgers in our lifetime… this one could be all-time. Trust us!
STAY
Ariane Hotel Ypres
ariane.be
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Leopold Hotel
leopoldhoteloudenaarde.com
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Nh Collection Ghent
nh-hotels.com
EAT
Dépot
depotieper.be
•
Brouweij Liefmans
liefmansbreweries.be
•
Stadsbrouwerij Artevelde
artevelde.be
