The great Christmas ride

Road cycling has always had an obsession with food. Together with liquid it is essentially what drives your engine, and without it you will sink like a stone at sea.

In the old days of Grand Tours riders used to throw their bikes, run into the nearest grocery store, grab what was at sight and head out to continue their stage with pockets full of sausages, wine, bread and whatever you can think of. In the beginning stores wouldn’t charge, but as things became more organized the stores would eventually send a bill to each team and make sure payment was made.

In the spirit of Christmas Isadore Apparel Scandinavia wanted to revive this tradition. Needless to say without the daylight-robbery, but definitely in search of the open roads of picturesque North Sealand and on the hunt for the smallest ecological farm-butcher shop in Denmark. Christmas and food are inseparable so together with friends, the Danish Isadore Ambassadors Team, headed to the secluded farm-butcher to buy Christmas specialities and ride home Christmas in the tradition of the old Grand Tours.

The weather in December in Denmark can be inhospitable, and with a Winter storm raging the night before an air of nervousness loomed as dawn broke. Would this be a ride for dear life in gale force winds? To our amazement it was as if Mother Nature had understood that “The Great Christmas Ride” was as important as Christmas itself, and treated us with glorious sunshine and a light tailwind as we headed North.

Contrary of what most people believe Denmark is not flat as a pancake. The narrow country roads of North Sealand provide plenty of lighter grades, which bite bit-by-bit as you struggle with Winter-legs in the brisk morning, and there are plenty of them to keep your inner “Grimpeur” entertained in small, short doses.

Having passed the Royal castle in Fredensborg the roads become wider as we headed towards the lake of Esrum. From there a sharp turn inland would lead us directly to the small farm-butcher in the tiny town of Horseroed, with the only claim to fame being its open prison known for holding financial criminals.

Greeted by the local, shy farm-dog bikes are parked where horses once stood and sipped water as we enter the small butcher.

In a time where most food is processed through large industries here, in this tiny room, it is as if time has stood still. The old butcher and his wife care for their specialities and proudly upholds a craft eliminating any industrial processing and instead process their food directly from the field to the counter. Juicy steaks, homemade salami’s in variations of lamb, chili or classic, freshly made liverpaté and homemade sausages are readily available at the counter in a room decorated with farm-themed paintings of animals. If you are a lover of meat it is extremely difficult not to get carried away in a meat-frenzy, and in the spirit of Christmas Italian Christmas beer is equally available much to the joy of one rider.

With our musettes packed, sausages securely in pockets and a large Italian beer shared and consumed we head South again, and feel the leftover Winter winds from the storm the night before directly in our faces. Any other December day these winds would have cut grimaces in our faces, but today, with the sun blazing down, the ride home, with Christmas in our pockets, feels like pleasure all the way.

Or maybe it is the thought, that once home, warm moulded wine with Rum or Brandy will bring a warmer glow through our bodies as we pack together on the open roads thinking how burdened André Leducq, Ottavio Bottecchia, Lucienne Buysse or any other rider at the time must have felt with their pockets packed with meat, bread and wine.

Merry Christmas

Jesper