Dr. Will Bars in Belgium!

Start of the Famous Kemmel Bergweg climb in Belgium

By Jim Anderson, Team Oregon

Dr. Will Bars were one thing that reminded me of home on my last trip to Europe. I stuffed my carry on bag with a handful and had extras in checked baggage. They were fantastic between long airport travels and sketchy food! This trip was starting out great! I was asked to help with USA Cycling Junior National Team program as manager of the riders at Course de la Paix in the Czech Republic. We had 6 riders doing this 6 stage, 5 day race. I didn’t get much time to eat during the day as we were running around managing logistics, riders and driving in the caravan. Unfortanetly I wasn’t able to convince them to use Dr. Will Bars. This was because I didn’t want them to eat all my extras I brought over and they were happy with their tried and true method of pre-cooked waffles with brown sugar and “smashed” apples (AKA Applesauce) rolled up into small bite sized pieces.

Small, delicious, and packed with energy!

I was very happy one day to find a Dr. Will Bar while driving in the caravan. It was easy to eat as I juggled the horn, steering wheel and stick shift. The race was toughest junior stage race in the world, so I thought I better be properly fueled as manager. I saved 2 bars for my day off on Monday after the race as we were in Belgium at the USA Cycling house in Izegem. I was determined to RIDE, instead of WATCHING riders race/ride! So I headed out…thankfully I borrowed  a Garmin GPS that “pointed” me in the right direction toward the Kemmelberg (a famous short, steep, cobbled climb). I found it! Rode up it both sides, then enjoyed the view while eating my first bar of the ride. The second was eaten shortly after as I under estimated my ride for the day. I probably could of eaten 4 Dr. Will Bars on that 120KM ride. Thanks for reading.

Editor: Jim Anderson has been traveling to Europe to support USA Cycling’s Junior Development program. He will be returning to Europe frequently as well as running the North West Regional Junior camp.  We’ve compiled a small amount of photos of U18 life in Belgium. Please enjoy!