I heard that once. Actually, I have heard that more than once. In fact, I heard it this past week in Waterloo at the Hullabaloo. What is the Hullabaloo you ask? Well, I will tell you exactly.
The Hullabaloo is mythical. Not in the sense that it cannot be found or defined. But, in the sense that it is a little bit like that ice skating race in Holland that they only have every 25 years or so – when the ice is just right. Of course you do not need ice in significant quantities for the Hullabaloo. But, trying to get someone from Waterloo to tell you about the Hullabaloo is pretty tough. I’ve tried. Once I was in Rhinelander Wi, and they have something there called a Hodag, but the Hullabaloo doesn’t have anything to do with that. There are people in the UK that think that a group of pugilists is necessary for a Hullabaloo. Nope, you do not need flat forehead pugilists or Hans Christian Anderson or any mythical beasts… You just need a few crazy cyclists, preferably a couple of Belgians.
We held the Hullabaloo this past week. We threw some cyclists into a ring on trainers and asked them to go fast. Really fast. Axel Merckx was there, he even raced a guy that looked like a young version of his dad. Axel cleaned the floor with him. That pretty much proves it for me, Axel is faster than his dad was. I am going with that.
The Hullabaloo was an online match race on trainers. The Bontrager LS team vs. old guys in the office. Youth vs. experience. In order to even out the teams, Axel rode with the kids. (They are his kids after all). The old guys did pretty well, but in the end the final 4 were all from the U23 Bontrager LS team. And, as we got to the finish, Axel was certainly proud to note that the final was an all Belgian affaire.
Axel vs. Jesper. That is my amateur video.
We have had one weekend of the first of the classic races. Not the Classics proper, but the first of the big Belgian races, the Omloop Het Volk and KBK. In the end, the spring time is all about racing in Belgium. It is the perfect time of the year. Snotty Belgium weather, bike racing, bad roads, crazy fans…Everything is right with the world.
It is spring time in Belgium, the Galactic Center of Cycling. I know what I will be doing the next weekends.
That is the professional video.
Out,
Joe
I hope I could watch this. I am a cyclist and I do love your blog. I'll keep visiting for more of your posts.
Posted by: Nitrogen Tyre Inflation | March 31, 2012 at 12:01 PM