Gedinne - Classic road racing

Wapping said:
An excellent weekend.

A very relaxed ‘uncorporate’ race meeting on closed public roads. The entrants, no matter what their ability (some / lots are very quick) and the relative power of their machines, all do their best to entertain and to win. Good natured marshalling on what is, if you cock-up, not a particularly forgiving circuit. In short, it’s not far from the edge of the road into a bank or (worse) down the bank, through a four strand barbed wire fence and into a field.

Facilities wise, the shower block (EUR 2) is good and the crappers (50 cents during the day, free at night) pretty adequate. The beer tent is well stocked and pretty efficient at serving. The camp site is well laid out, with everyone ‘getting on’ if you get my drift.

My thanks to Andy and the posse for letting me join their gang.

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Some good shots there; for someone who has never seen Belgium rd racing it comes as quite a suprise how close you get to the action and how laid back it all is; there seems a lot on the banking up near the start and finish; great stuff.:beerjug:
 
snelly said:
Some good shots there; for someone who has never seen Belgium rd racing it comes as quite a suprise how close you get to the action and how laid back it all is; there seems a lot on the banking up near the start and finish; great stuff.:beerjug:
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reckon this is now on my list of "to do" for next summer. Thanks for the post
 
snelly said:
Some good shots there; for someone who has never seen Belgium rd racing it comes as quite a suprise how close you get to the action and how laid back it all is; there seems a lot on the banking up near the start and finish; great stuff.:beerjug:
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Those shots were taken from either at or very close to the bar in Patignies.

I’ve got to be honest and say I’d never walked there before because I’m essentially a lazy bastard and a creature of habit but we were looking towards the village with binoculars and I convinced myself I could see a bar. Richard walked over that evening and came back to inform us that there wasn’t one bar, there were two so off we went on Sunday :beerjug:

I've been banging on about how good Gedinne is since 2011 when I went for the first time but I think the days when you could rock up on Friday evening are long gone because the campsite was already busy by 4pm on Thursday when we all arrived after having lunch in Rochefort.
 
AndyB_11 said:
Those shots were taken from either at or very close to the bar in Patignies.

I’ve got to be honest and say I’d never walked there before because I’m essentially a lazy bastard and a creature of habit but we were looking towards the village with binoculars and I convinced myself I could see a bar. Richard walked over that evening and came back to inform us that there wasn’t one bar, there were two so off we went on Sunday :beerjug:

I've been banging on about how good Gedinne is since 2011 when I went for the first time but I think the days when you could rock up on Friday evening are long gone because the campsite was already busy by 4pm on Thursday when we all arrived after having lunch in Rochefort.
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It's a great place Andy and we have spectated from all round the circuit at one time or another; the first shots were taken at the right hander that takes you down to the start and finish; and the others were taken as you come to the right hander at the end of the start and finish; oh ; and a bit of the chicane; but you will know that; i dont know if i would be able to walk the circuit these days; but i'am determined to get back and give it a shot;:beerjug:
 
From the campsite to the bar in Patignies is a shorter distance than than from where you park bikes at Chimay to the first corner and probably about the same as the walk to the last corner if you’re sitting on the banking but that depends on how far along you walk after stopping at the bar.

The only way that Chimay beats Gedinne is the fact that if you stop at the municipal campsite you can comfortably walk into town for a meal. I like both circuits but if I could only visit one then it’d be Gedinne.
 
As a Gedinne virgin, I really enjoyed the whole experience.

If I went with my motorhome, I think I’d arrive early and see if I could park at the top of the hill, where you enter the campsite. The other alternative might be to tap-up one of the locals, to see if they’d let you park on their plot, as we do for a few euro at Le Mans, Arnage. I’d maybe take a bicycle too, just to pedal out to the back of the circuit. You could walk round but you’d probably need to climb several four strand barbed wire fences and / or time walks along the track between races. All that being said, the basic camping was fine, with roughly half of the track easily available to walk to and spectate at.

Next on my list is Dijon (if they still race there), Pau and the ‘Race around the ramparts’ at Angouleme, though these are more car oriented and more commercial.
 
Having done both Chimay & Gedinne over the years, including Ged. this year, I prefer Gedinne as it is more twisty & has a lot of elevation changes, hence the 'TT' comparison. At 35 euros for 3 days racing what is not to like. We camped here which is a 10 min ride to the circuit https://campingcroixscaille.be/en/ good value and great facilities.

Problem with the Gedinne campsite is that it is on one hell of a slope!

Both Gedinne & Chimay are racing in a bygone era and have to be seen to be appreciated & at those prices what is not to like.
 
Cheney Triumph said:
Having done both Chimay & Gedinne over the years, including Ged. this year, I prefer Gedinne as it is more twisty & has a lot of elevation changes, hence the 'TT' comparison. At 35 euros for 3 days racing what is not to like. We camped here which is a 10 min ride to the circuit https://campingcroixscaille.be/en/ good value and great facilities.

Problem with the Gedinne campsite is that it is on one hell of a slope!

Both Gedinne & Chimay are racing in a bygone era and have to be seen to be appreciated & at those prices what is not to like.
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Stopped there every time we've been; it's a great little site; a bit hilly but the pitches a big and flat; foods good ; but it's never been warm enough for my budgie smugglers in the pool;:D:beerjug:
 

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We always rough it at the campsite opposite the paddock at Gedinne :D

It was a bit bumpy this year and absolutely full of rodent burrows but we were on a fairly flat area almost in line with the start line and about halfway up to the road. I’d say that year on year the facilities have got better from no toilets in the camping field to about 4 or 5 and now there’s a mini enclave where you pay €0.50 for a dump but they’re cleaned regularly and there’s always paper. There was one free portaloo closer to where we camped but you needed your own paper though it’s 4 shits for a free pint if you compare it to paying €0.50 a go :beerjug:

The first time we went was 2011 and the campsite was quiet at 5pm on the Friday then near enough deserted by 5pm Sunday. Now it’s busy by mid afternoon Thursday and you’ve still got a lot there on Monday morning.

I like Gedinne and if I ever decide that I’m having one last shot at glory on a weekend licence it’ll be Gedinne rather than Chimay.
 
AndyB_11 said:
We always rough it at the campsite opposite the paddock at Gedinne :D

It was a bit bumpy this year and absolutely full of rodent burrows but we were on a fairly flat area almost in line with the start line and about halfway up to the road. I’d say that year on year the facilities have got better from no toilets in the camping field to about 4 or 5 and now there’s a mini enclave where you pay €0.50 for a dump but they’re cleaned regularly and there’s always paper. There was one free portaloo closer to where we camped but you needed your own paper though it’s 4 shits for a free pint if you compare it to paying €0.50 a go :beerjug:

The first time we went was 2011 and the campsite was quiet at 5pm on the Friday then near enough deserted by 5pm Sunday. Now it’s busy by mid afternoon Thursday and you’ve still got a lot there on Monday morning.

I like Gedinne and if I ever decide that I’m having one last shot at glory on a weekend licence it’ll be Gedinne rather than Chimay.
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That Monty of yours would be just right round there;:okay
 
snelly said:
That Monty of yours would be just right round there;:okay
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So I keep being told. I certainly wasn’t thinking of trying to get the H2 through that chicane because it’d drag its arse round the right handed even with/expansions fitted.
 
Cheney Triumph said:
Having done both Chimay & Gedinne over the years, including Ged. this year, I prefer Gedinne as it is more twisty & has a lot of elevation changes, hence the 'TT' comparison. At 35 euros for 3 days racing what is not to like. We camped here which is a 10 min ride to the circuit https://campingcroixscaille.be/en/ good value and great facilities.

Problem with the Gedinne campsite is that it is on one hell of a slope!

Both Gedinne & Chimay are racing in a bygone era and have to be seen to be appreciated & at those prices what is not to like.
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Thank you for the heads-up over the camp site.

As it’s nice to have options, I contacted the owner, who’s confirmed that he’s happy to have my 7.9m motorhome on his site for the duration of the meeting. Details etc to be sorted out in 2023, God willing.
 
I’ll not tell me wife or she’d want to go there and cycle to the circuit.
 
It’s certainly not far.

4.7 km (3 miles) and mostly flat….. I like the word ‘mostly’ which ignores the vertical section.

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I have an electric bicycle, or use my Brompton, or take the Himalayan.

I feel a cunning plan coming on.
 
It’s not far from the hairpin either walking or cycling but I’d not fancy the walk up and over the hill to the paddock on a daily basis.

If the other half prefers going to hippy festivals in Devon next year I might put the roof tent on my truck and fit my tow bar cycle rack then give civilisation a try out. One serious bonus would be that if I’d got a guaranteed camping slot I’d travel over a day later but go straight to the circuit rather than stop in Rochefort. I’m also leaning towards getting the Monday lunchtime ferry so I’m home about midnight and that way I’ve reduced using my annual leave allowance by two days.
 
All good points.

I am helped in that it’s not far (90 minutes) from home to the Chunnel. Even so, I like going across to be in France the evening before, if possible, not least as it saves the check-in / crossing time and the hour lost due to the time difference. Rather like the overnight ferry, better to have a meal, a few drinks, a kip and breakfast, starting the day on the Continent in good fettle for the jaunt ahead.

I dawdled along on my return journey from Gedinne to Calais, using N and D roads only, as a try-out for a return trip from Spa later this month. We plan on stopping in Givet for lunch, so my friends thought it would be a nice idea for us to deviate slightly so I could show them the Gedinne track, it not being too far from Givet. Hopefully some of them might join me for the event next year. I then deviated off at the end to pass by a hotel, before then going onto Calais. Even taking that scenic’ish route and with stops, I was near to Calais in the mid-afternoon.

Either way, it’s certainly not far from Calais (or the North Sea Dutch / Belgian terminals) to Gedinne, meaning even with a reasonably leisurely start, a lunchtime or mid-afternoon crossing back to home is definitely possible. That, and that it’s a good weekend of easy fun and entertainment, persuades me it’s worth going back to next year and hopefully in the future thereafter.
 
I don’t think you’d have a problem cycling on the track between races but you’d need to have a look the evening before to work out where you’d be able to avoid the barbed wire fences. Having said that I’m confident there’d be no shortage of places where you could dump a pushbike then walk to your chosen viewing spot.

I’ll certainly be back but now I’m on a fixed amount of annual leave taking 5 days is a bit excessive so I’ll be looking at cutting that back to 2 one way or another.
 
Wage slave for the Yankee dollar.

I’d never thought I’d hear it said, lap dog of the imperialist scum.

:D :beerjug:

Depending on what time the return crossing boat sails, I guess you could pack-up in the morning, to leave after the racing finishes on Sunday (around 16:30’ish) and scuttle down the motorways to the coast, to be back in the UK for Monday morning.
 
I’m feeling wounded by that comment but I’ll bounce back.

Realistically I can be there by mid morning on Friday if I leave home at about 5pm Thursday and get a 10pm tunnel then pack up Sunday and get away as soon as racing finishes and as long as I’m home it’s up to my employer to decide what I do on Monday. The ideal scenario would see me working somewhere in the SE (or better still Western Europe) where it all gets much easier.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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