This Saturday, January 8, recreational cyclists will gather in the Belgian coastal town of Diksmuide for a fund-raising ride to help the victims of the tsunami in southeast Asia. There will be numerous well known riders present, including Filip Meirhaeghe, who will lead a mountain bike ride at 9:30am, Peter Van Petegem, Johan Museeuw, Nico Mattan, Ludo Dierckxsens, Leif Hoste, Stijn Devolder, Cedric Vasseur, Bert Roesems, Andy Cappelle, Dave Bruylandts, Jurgen Vandewalle, Jurgen Van Loocke, Nick Nuyens, Evy Vandamme, Sebastien Rosseler, Serge Baguet, Niko Eeckhout, Freddy Maertens, Eric and Roger De Vlaeminck, complete with the Zimbabwean cyclo-cross team, Michel Pollentier, Stan Tourné and many more.
Riders will meet in Diksmuide's Grote Markt in the morning, with MTB riders going off for a 40 km spin and the road riders doing 55 km. There will be plenty of non-cycling action as well, with a children's playground in the Boterhalle, where drinks, soup and pancakes can also be acquired; snack and gin bars in the Grote Markt; a raffle and a cycling auction; and cartoonist Nesten will sell his work with all proceeds going to the Tsunami 12-12 fund.
