LSRF BOMBA TOUR 2024

The launch of a new cycling collection can be celebrated in many ways. But what better way to do it than by hosting a social ride? Not one in Amsterdam this time, a city that is already the centre of many universes, but a bit further away. Unknown territory. So, we decided to go east.

The city of Zwolle could not have been more welcoming. Roderick, Klak Af! member, had invited us to host our party at his grand café Lübeck. After days of gusty wind, snow, hail and rain, the sun decided to show herself again on Sunday 24th. A weird meteorological phenomenon took over and made this day probably the warmest Sunday in late November ever. On the day we were going to present the new LSRF Fall Winter collection, we were able to ride in shorts and short sleeved jerseys with armwarmers, which, although being a weird fact, definitely added a bonus to this day. Gravel or road, about 100 cyclists found their way through the city, into the wide open and off to the woods.

But why did we call it the Bomba Tour? What’s up with that name? To explain the Bomba, you have to know a little story about a man called Eros Poli.

Eros Poli is from Italy. And when he was a pro cyclist in the 90s, he was the type of guy, that, besides being dead fast on a bicycle, could squeeze lemons between his biceps and underarm. Not to mention his impressive length of 1.94m.. Not really your typical modern day skinny cyclist. When he succeeded in winning a big mountain stage in the 1994 Tour de France, after a long solo on the Mont Ventoux, he became instantly famous. Laurens and him met during an InGamba cycling holiday trip in Italy, long after Eros had retired. Laurens was still a pro cyclist back then and Eros was curious to know what Laurens was taking in the final hour of the big stages. Not really sure what to answer and maybe a bit overwhelmed by this question, Laurens responded: ‘’I don’t know, nothing special really. A bit of caffeine and maybe some painkiller, if needed.’’ Well, that was when Eros smiled and let him in on the big Bomba secret.

 ‘’That is not enough. Let me tell you. What you should take, is this: for the grand finale, you need some strong stuff. So you take two egg yokes, right? You mix them up, you add two espressos, you add a shot of grappa and you mix in some sugar. Or a lot, if you like that. Shake well and bottoms up. That, my friend, is what we Italians call a Bomba.’’

 
Of course Laurens tried it himself, when he got back home. He did not dislike the taste of it, but the idea of having raw eggs in a warm bottle in his jersey was just too much. Not much later, the team at LSRF designed a hip flask and named it the Bomba, after Eros’ recipe. We filled it up with many things, but no egg yokes were included. The Bomba was our friend on camping and bike trips, all-nighters and 5 to 9 adventures. At one point, the Bomba Tour was created, which was basically yet another excuse for Lau and Stefan to go on a little cycling adventure and to check out the local moonshining business. That Bomba needed to be filled, right? Do check out the movie of that trip later - it’s linked here. 

So, back to the story, halfway our LSRF Bomba Tour route, all the riders were asked to stop. In the woods, there was a little stand from Distillery Blauwvinger. They had joined the party to let everybody have a taste of their product and to fill up those hip flasks. Their coffee liquor was highly appreciated by the group. The ride continued after this little break and back in Café Lübeck, it was time to relax and watch the cyclocross World Cup of Antwerp on the screens. Everybody was free to check out and try on the new LSRF collection or get personal sizing help from Willem. Burgers and bites were provided by The Bastard, who had set up their cooking tent in front of the café. After a live Live Slow Ride Fast podcast, the day had ended in style. We had a lot of fun and we want to thank everybody who joined us.

 
The LSRF Bomba Tour is definitely here to stay, if it is up to us. We are already looking forward to discovering new routes and meeting new people. What city is next? What region is ready for more cycling? And most importantly; where can we fill up those Bomba’s? Local moonshiners of the Netherlands and Belgium, home distillers, legal or illegal brewers, let’s hear from you!