Kalmit

On 7 September it is Kalmit Cup time again. This is the Klapprad race up Kalmit Hill from Maikammer on the western edge of the Rhine Valley not far south of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. About 5% of the participants will be using tweaked Klapprads with a standard frame but a better drivetrain and wheels.  They all will be wearing road bike gear. The rest will be dressed in costume with a lot of cross dressing and riding less souped up Klapprads but some will be tandems or two basic bikes or tandems welded together so they can be fitted with a float to resemble a London bus or an elephant. The race starts at 15:00, but it's a good idea to be there an hour or two earlier to watch the fun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1gQyWeqLwg) and enjoy a glass of riesling.

Is riding an e-bike as good for you as riding a normal bike?

There is an article in today's Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6001373/Riding-electric-bicycle-just-healthy-pedalling-normal-bike-researchers-say.html) that reports on work done at the University of Basel in Switzerland that has shown similar improvements in fitness amongst overweight unfit patients riding e-bikes as those riding normal bicycles. The addition of the motor allowed longer rides.
The only niggle I would have with the article is that the photograph accompanying the article shows a man pedalling a non-electric Klapprad.

Drais Hobby Horse Races

There will be a Karl Drais Hobby Horse race around the Wasserturm in Mannheim, Germany on 11 June 2017 as part of the celebration for the 200th anniversary of the first two wheeled vehicle excursion in 1817. There will also be klapprad races on 11 June and the HPV World Championship races will be held over the weekend of 10 and 11 June.
If you wish to enter the hobby horse races contact: axel.bentz@mannheim.de. Check out: www.monnem-bike.de, www.world-Klapp.de, or www.hpv.org for more details.

Kalmit Klapprad 2016

We went to the annual Kalmit Klapprad meeting for the first time in 5 years on September 3rd. Quite why we've missed it in between we don't know. For those that don't read this blog the Kalmit Cup is a Klapprad bicycle race up hill to Kalmit hill (400m climb over 6km) from Maikammer a village on the edge of the Rhine Plain in the south of Rhineland Palatinate. A klapprad is a pre Brompton folding bike, maybe sitting dusty and unloved at the back of the garage. We travelled there by train with our Bromptons (5 and 10 gear models) and followed two race participants on single gear Klapprads from the railway station to climb about 100m to reach the starting line. They disappeared up the road as if I was standing still and I was half dead by the time I reached the line.
It is a serious race. The winner (male) took just over 19 minutes to reach the top. The fastest signora took somewhat over 24 minutes. However there are also prizes for the best costumes. The theme this year was Italy, so we spectators were treated to a cycling leaning Tower of Pisa, Roman Centurians, pizza delivery vans, Chianti bottles, ice cream cones and, of course, the Mafia. All good fun. This year the requirement that the riders have a mustache was dropped, but registration was only possible if the rider could give their start number in Italian!

Anyone for pizza?

Pizza trike followed by 2 gondolas

"Ben Hur" meets ""Death in Venice"

Bellisimo! The essence of Italy, the flag, the Romans, Pisa, Chianti, the Mafia

World-Klapp le 24 Heures de Schopp

The 24 Heures de Schopp, latest event in the rapidly growing SW German Klapprad racing scene was held last Friday and Saturday in the Schopp-o-drom aka the bike track in Schopp, a metropolis (1389 inhabitants) between Pirmasens and Kaiserslauten in Rheinland-Pfalz. A Klapprad is either the epitome of folding bicycle manufacture or one of those small wheeled folding bikes that were designed to be used to nip round to the baker's for couple of Brötchen (Rolls) for breakfast as long as the baker's was not more than 500 yards away.  Anymore than that and you spent the day crosseyed from the pain in your lower regions. 

Klapprad racing is a fast growing sport. The rules of 24h racing are simple:

• The bike must be an at least 30 year old, single geared Klapprad with the original handlebars.
• The hinge must still function.
• The rider must wear an outfit from the 1970s with moustache. Think Jason King.
• The Klapprad must be fitted with two functioning brakes. 
• Because the race was to be held in part in darkness, the bikes needed lights, either battery powered or with dynamo.
• Fake moustaches or full beards are verboten. Ladies can obtain a Bartwuchsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (beard growth inability certificate) from the official race hair stylist.
• Each team has four members. 
• The team that cycles the farthest distance wins.

So what do the bikes look like?

Well originally something like this:

To get them to have a decent turn of speed you need to replace the wheels, fit narrower tyres and a bigger chain wheel (almost as big as the wheels):

or

You slipstream the field and let someone else act as windbreak. This photograph also shows the bar codes worn by the contestants that allowed automatic counting of the number of rounds:

Another view of the same technique showing the field and the Klapp-o-drom:

Not all the contestants seemed to address the race with the necessary earnestness:

Thirty eight teams from all over Germany took part and the winner was the Capri Sonne team:

who covered 1860 laps of the .45km track, i.e. 837km in 24h at an average speed of just under 38.9 km/h. (This is not much under the fastest speed we've achieved cycling down the Gotthard Pass with a following wind - 45km/h on bikes with good brakes and gears. That was terrifying.) Second was Klapp Sabbath at 1843 laps. Third  place was taken by the Early4Birds Team with 1828 laps. Even the tail end Charlies: Team Honnecker, we take it from the former East Germany or at least their bikes were, managed an average speed of 18.4 km/h. 

On a personal note we visited the event on Saturday afternoon almost at the end and should have introduced ourselves as members of the international press as we had to cough up 5€ a head to get in. Coffee and cake though were a very reasonable 1.50€. We also missed the riding in rain and darkness the night before which does not look as though it was enjoyable. We also wonder how much of the Pfalzer scenery the contestants saw in the dash round the circuit.  We'll see you guys in Kalmit or maybe in the Pfeiffertal on Whit Monday. Can we get a Press Ticket next time?

World Klapp The Le Schopp 24 Hours Race

Over the last couple of years we have written about the klapprad races organised by a group called the Pfälzer Klappvereins (Palatinate Klapprad Club). There is an annual hill climb up Kalmit on the edge of the Rhine Valley in early September. Last year the club went to Berlin and held a short 7.2km race around the government quarter in the German Capital. This year the klapprad community requested a longer race so that members of the Klapprad community could spend more time together.  Thus the club is organising a classical 24h race 24 hours le Schopp in the village of Schopp (Schopp-o-drom) near Kaiserslautern on 1st and 2nd May. Each team will have four members. The team that has completed the long distance wins. There will be a maximum of 48 teams. At the time of writing thirty teams have signed up for the event.  The racing machines must be an at least 30 year old 20" wheel single geared klapprad with its original handlebars.  Every starter needs to reflect the styles of the 70's, when klapprads were king or queen. This is especially true for the obligatory mustache. Fake mustaches or full beards are verboten. Ladies can obtain a Bartwuchsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (beard growth inability certificate) from the official race hair stylist.
Much more information and registration forms can be found on the World Klapp website: www.world-klapp.de.

World Klapprad Races in Berlin

The Giro starts today in Northern Ireland and the Tour de France starts on 5 July in Yorkshire, but both events pale beside the one on 17 May (next week) when the World Klapp Race Series takes place away from its Ludwigshafen home in Berlin for the first time.  The Merkel Loop, the 1.8km long circular course along the Straße der 17. Juni past the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and Platz der Republik offers excellent viewing for the expected 20 000 visitors, including Chancellor Merkel from her office window. Brits should imagine a bike race from the Houses of Parliament, up Whitehall around Trafalgar Square and along the Mall to Buckingham Palace and return. In total 32 teams of four riders all of whom must wear moustaches*, will complete three circuits of the course riding Klapprads with carefully defined characteristics:

• The Klapprad must be at least 30 years old. Folding bikes like Birdies or Bromptons are not allowed.
• The Klapprad shall not possess gears or a duomatic gear. A suitable gear for Berlin can be mounted.
• Racing or time trial handlebars are absolutely excluded - use the original handlebars, or similar.
• Klapprad tandems are not allowed
• The use of click pedals is recommended
• Ideally, the Klapprad has mudguards, foxtail and a functioning lighting system

The time of the third fastest member of the team will determine the winners.  The winners will receive the Berlin Bear Trophy, with its cool shades and, of course, a moustache.

*In spite of this, ten of those taking part are female. 

Kalmit Klapprad Race 2012

Last year we went to watch the Kalmit Klapprad Races which is held on the first Saturday in September.

Kalmit is one of the Pfalzerwald Hills in Rhineland-Palatinate and lies across the Rhine west of Heidelberg (Germany). The Kalmit road up to the hut near the summit climbs 1551 feet in 4 miles 22 chains, i.e. on average 1 in 15 or 7%. In the early nineties of the last century members of the local community organised the first race up to the summit of Kalmit on 1970s Klapprads from the village of Maikammer. The race is now traditionally held on the first Saturday in September (http://www.kalmit-klapprad-cup.de). Over the years the rules have crystallised to allow only single gear Klapprads or Klapptandems. Challenge Cups are awarded for the overall winner, the fastest lady, the oldest oldie, the largest family (Bring the appropriate paperwork!), the fastest tandem, the fastest youngster and three prizes for the best outfit and the most original folding bike. In view of recent royal marriages this year the race was held under the motto "Welcome to the Royal Klapp!” and participants were encouraged to dress accordingly. We felt it was our duty as British Subjects not only to visit the event to report to the far flung corners of the world and, of course to offer technical advice on matters appertaining to flying the Union Flag, clothing, dress and etiquette. We had no desire to see the Bolton Lifeboat called out because someone was flying the flag upside down.

It is an ill wind, of course that blows nobody any good and our original plan to visit a folding bike shop in Germersheim before going to watch the Kalmit race were stymied by the late arrival of our tram at Mannheim Central Station, so we were in Neustadt an der Weinstraße much earlier than expected. We decided to cycle the four miles to Maikammer rather than take the train. A great idea. The Weinstraße cycle route climbs and drops through the vineyards along the lower slopes of the Pfalzerwald Hills. On arrival we presented our credentials to the race administration but they were not accepted as earnestly as we had hoped. Freed of this role we had more time to observe and photograph.

The Klapprads fall into three groups - old and rusty, brought wearing the dust from the back of the garage; the majority that have been polished to improve wind resistance, tuned by sticking go faster tape on the frames and accessorised with teapots, horses’ heads, bouquets, amongst other items; and  completely rebuilt with disc brakes, hydraulic forks, new wheels and handlebars where only the frame is original. Which you use is a question of what cup you hope to win. The fastest up the hill are naturally on rebuilt hot rods and with fastest times under nineteen minutes they do not hang about. 

This area is a stronghold of Karneval, the pre-Lent celebrations when fancy dress is the rule rather than the exception, so Kalmit is another good chance to pop on the mother-in-law’s cast off floral polyester summer frock to cycle five miles. Normally this event is a paradise for cross dressers, but this year because of the British theme, kilt wearers were well to the fore. Large sticky out false ears were removed before the start of the race to reduce wind resistance. 

The results: Just over three hundred cyclists took part: 264 Kings, 25 Queens and eleven tandems. My dear left turner, the fastest gentleman up the hill took just over nineteen minutes; Lady Eve the fastest lady just under 25 minutes and the fastest tandem piloted by Kate and Pippa 27 minutes 20 seconds and Tail End Charlie just over an hour. A good time was had by all. After the race before the promised party started, weeping with emotion raised by repeated versions of “God save the Queen”, “Auld Lang Syne” and “Land of Hope and Glory”, we made our excuses and left.

This year? We missed it I am afraid. The race had a religious theme. We had an invitation to visit a former colleague of mine and wife in Frankfurt on that very day (1 September 2012) to look at their new son. However next year we will be there and if I can find a klapprad in Sperrmüll, I might take part. Course I might feel a need to swim the English Channel first.