To keep chickens is to walk a path towards introspection. From the songs they sing after laying an egg (which I assume is “chicken” for “I’m Every Woman“) to the sheer glee they show when they find a worm in the mud, chickens provide a perfect example of living life in and for the moment. The most interesting aspect of their social interaction is whenever a new chicken is introduced into the flock: all of them freeze in place and stretch their necks out as high as they can, the winner presumably being the one whose head boasts the highest elevation.
As a Dutchman, I am born with the genuine belief that I can stretch my head higher than anyone in Belgium can. Where Americans make Polish jokes, the Dutch make Belgian jokes; we unrightly view them as a sloppy, dim-witted lot. Jokes of indoor airstrips, helicopters with ejection seats, and windshield wipers perplexingly installed inside the car windshield filled my youth and caused endless side-aches from laughter. This is all to say that I carry a healthy sense of superiority over our neighbors to the south with two notable exceptions: riding bikes and making beer.
Especially when it comes to riding bikes, Belgians have the market cornered on Rules #5 and #9, not to mention the entire lexicon pertaining to being Casually Deliberate and every Look Pro article not having to do with climbing, if you can ignore Lucien van Impe. But mostly, they own the art of riding Belgian Style.
Riding with hands on the hoods is a critical element of finding both power and comfort on our machines; it blends aerodynamics with leverage and casual cool like no other position does. The key to keeping from getting sore (or even numb) on a long ride is to constantly change positions; beyond the tops and drops the Belgians have explored the vast world of possibilities of riding on the hoods like no other group has. Learning from their lessons, we can distill the usual V points of reference:
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@frank
Picture 3. That's one helluva mullet.
Lead picture. I had to look twice to see that it was Terpstra not Tommeke. The Dutch champ bands on the sleeves were the clue. Those bars sure ain't level.
"Belgian Style" riding becoming prevalent is a function of a billion factors. Modern STI/Ergo levers (or rather, the demise of the downtube shifter) are probably a root cause: Suddenly it's as easy to shift from your hoods as it is from the drops, whereas before the drops were the shortest way between shift- and brake-levers. Ergo, you lower your bars to put the hoods where your drops used to be - the default position changes name, but it's still the same point in space. Now your drops can be lower for sprints, descents or when whenever you're hauling ass and need the leverage.
@wilburrox
She was also probably more aero than if she had her hands on the drops. Less surface area = mo fasta. Level forearms on the hoods is second only to clip-ons in terms of speed.
I finally got round to buying a copy of A Sunday in Hell.
de Vlaeminck's style (and kit, and sideburns) = astonishingly cool.
@wiscot
@@blackpooltower watched it the other night - I thought Roger deserved the win, Demeyer was wheel sucking at the end. Incredible film.
@rfreese888
It gets even better after the 100th time.
Cold weather Belgian style= long sleeves plus no gloves.
@frank
Dug around yesterday to find 3ttt bars and bid. Nice used bars 23.75 and includes shipping. Going MEX 158mm to the drops.
@rfreese888
When you learn the ropes as one of the 3 Musketeers (Pollentier, Maertens and Demeyer) you learn to be crafty. Some say wheel-sucking, others say riding smart. Demeyer died of a heart attack at 31!
Well goddamn, am I relieved. I thought I was the only one constantly changing how many fingers I have in front/behind the hoods/lever. Phew!!
Also, I have owned "A Sunday in Hell" for a good few years now. I have never been able to force myself to finish watching. Something about keeping it forever new and awesome. I've started it countless times, but I have yet to watch the finale. It's okay, I know my logic is illogical.