The Paris to Roubaix Spring Classic on your dinner table.
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| mmmm flavour country! |
When it comes to the word Cyclist there are usually two kinds of people, you either get a knowing smile or you get a angry red face, spit on the ground as you leave and a toss of salt for good measure kinda person. I'll be up front I am the kind of person who has a knowing smile. In fact my PS4 screen name is Souplesse which in the cycling world means perfect pedalling.
Look, I get it. It's the no shame spandex wearing, we own the road - are vehicles/not vehicles so we don't follow the road rules or pedestrian rules riders. We ride 10 wide on a 2 lane highway and are a shining beacon of healthy living and green transport. Here I am in my giant dually truck sucking down a Baconator. BOOM! GET OUT THE WAY! GET OUT THE WAY! There seems to be stereotypes on both sides.
The reason why I love cycling is because at it's purest it reminds me of my childhood. It was a simpler time in the 80's, my parents didn't hover over us. Unlike today where I'm pretty much my son's personal DJI Phantom we've grown from helicopter parents to quad copter parents.
Ok, back to my childhood. Like I was saying after your training wheels came off you were basically told come back home for dinner and then come back home before it was dark. Otherwise it was FREEDOM! I could go to my friends house, 7-Eleven, and the Playground all on my own! I remember whizzing about with no helmet(very dumb), building jumps with buddies(really no helmet?) and, just having a grand old time.
I think once we learn to drive as adults we really forget about cycling. That's "just exercise" we say and suddenly the wheels have come off and you are huffing and puffing beside other spandex clad people in a spin class. Look the odometer says I've done 500km this winter and I literally went no where!
I renewed my love of cycling in 2009 when I started to train for the first Ride to Conquer Cancer here in Alberta. I had a road bike for the first time in my life and I could go far...like really far. Starting out I could do 10km max and over the summer getting 70km? 100km? sure why not! At my peak I completed a imperial Century 100miles/160km in one day - I was one of the last riders to finish; they were disassembling the finish line structure but I made it!
At this point I started to watch the Tour de France religiously. It also helped that my Dutch Co-worker, is an avid cyclist and fan of the Tour. His stories of cycling holiday through the Pyrenees and climbing the Tourmalet inspired me. I hope to do the same someday with my son once he graduates from his balance bike.
These days it seems all the stories from the Tour are just about unclean cyclists. I guess cycling has always had its sordid past. Including a cyclist who died in the race due to amphetamines and alcohol use during the race. His excuse was everyone is doping so I got to as well!
But the most amazing one for me is one of Eugene Christophe. Who had to reforge his front forks during the tour after them failing not once but many times throughout the different Tours he was in. I guess good metal was hard to find after the Great War?
Wow, we sure did end up in the weeds. Flamme Rouge yes that is why we are here. From looking at the art on the box it would seem that the game is set around the 1920's era of Bicycle racing. The base game is for 2-4 players and you are a team of two; a Rouleur and a Sprinteur.
Each of your cyclists has a deck of cards that you use to make your way through the cardboard race track. On the track are little spaces for you to move through. If you end your turn one space away from the person ahead of you, you get to draft and move up to the spot immediately behind them simulating a peloton.
However if you sprint ahead and end up on off on your own at the front or if you get dropped off the back you will have to take an Exhaustion card into your deck. Just like in the modern TdF you have Domestiques hauling along Climbers and Sprinters to the special stages riding in front. Their noble sacrifice might be the difference between you wearing the Yellow Jersey or being minutes back from the next rider. In this way you will have to manage your deck to be able to get your team across the line first!
The boys over at Shut Up and Sit Down have a excellent review of Flamme Rouge. I highly recommend giving it a view as I am not intending this blog to be a review site.
The game comes with two piece plastic riders which in my copy had fallen apart in shipping. So I decided I would paint them up. I missed out snapping some pictures of the prep work but here is what I have done so far for the bikes. The Riders are washed and ready to be primed. Stay tuned for more progress updates in the New Year!
Update 2: Flamme Rouge:Peloton Expansion arrived this past weekend. 4 More riders to complete. Team Pink and Team White!
The reason why I love cycling is because at it's purest it reminds me of my childhood. It was a simpler time in the 80's, my parents didn't hover over us. Unlike today where I'm pretty much my son's personal DJI Phantom we've grown from helicopter parents to quad copter parents.
 |
| Like this in the 80s without the Upside Down. |
Ok, back to my childhood. Like I was saying after your training wheels came off you were basically told come back home for dinner and then come back home before it was dark. Otherwise it was FREEDOM! I could go to my friends house, 7-Eleven, and the Playground all on my own! I remember whizzing about with no helmet(very dumb), building jumps with buddies(really no helmet?) and, just having a grand old time.
I think once we learn to drive as adults we really forget about cycling. That's "just exercise" we say and suddenly the wheels have come off and you are huffing and puffing beside other spandex clad people in a spin class. Look the odometer says I've done 500km this winter and I literally went no where!
I renewed my love of cycling in 2009 when I started to train for the first Ride to Conquer Cancer here in Alberta. I had a road bike for the first time in my life and I could go far...like really far. Starting out I could do 10km max and over the summer getting 70km? 100km? sure why not! At my peak I completed a imperial Century 100miles/160km in one day - I was one of the last riders to finish; they were disassembling the finish line structure but I made it!
At this point I started to watch the Tour de France religiously. It also helped that my Dutch Co-worker, is an avid cyclist and fan of the Tour. His stories of cycling holiday through the Pyrenees and climbing the Tourmalet inspired me. I hope to do the same someday with my son once he graduates from his balance bike.
These days it seems all the stories from the Tour are just about unclean cyclists. I guess cycling has always had its sordid past. Including a cyclist who died in the race due to amphetamines and alcohol use during the race. His excuse was everyone is doping so I got to as well!
But the most amazing one for me is one of Eugene Christophe. Who had to reforge his front forks during the tour after them failing not once but many times throughout the different Tours he was in. I guess good metal was hard to find after the Great War?
Wow, we sure did end up in the weeds. Flamme Rouge yes that is why we are here. From looking at the art on the box it would seem that the game is set around the 1920's era of Bicycle racing. The base game is for 2-4 players and you are a team of two; a Rouleur and a Sprinteur.
Each of your cyclists has a deck of cards that you use to make your way through the cardboard race track. On the track are little spaces for you to move through. If you end your turn one space away from the person ahead of you, you get to draft and move up to the spot immediately behind them simulating a peloton.
 |
| Pull your weight! |
However if you sprint ahead and end up on off on your own at the front or if you get dropped off the back you will have to take an Exhaustion card into your deck. Just like in the modern TdF you have Domestiques hauling along Climbers and Sprinters to the special stages riding in front. Their noble sacrifice might be the difference between you wearing the Yellow Jersey or being minutes back from the next rider. In this way you will have to manage your deck to be able to get your team across the line first!
The boys over at Shut Up and Sit Down have a excellent review of Flamme Rouge. I highly recommend giving it a view as I am not intending this blog to be a review site.
The game comes with two piece plastic riders which in my copy had fallen apart in shipping. So I decided I would paint them up. I missed out snapping some pictures of the prep work but here is what I have done so far for the bikes. The Riders are washed and ready to be primed. Stay tuned for more progress updates in the New Year!
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| Fixie Gang ready for an Alley Cat Race |
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| Testing out my Color Scheme |
Update 1: Here is my Painting Diary for Flamme Rouge and the finished main game riders
Update 2: Flamme Rouge:Peloton Expansion arrived this past weekend. 4 More riders to complete. Team Pink and Team White!
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