The Canyon Belgian Waffle Ride is coming April 15, the seventh edition of the extremely challenging one-day, mixed-surface event created in the spirit of the great spring classics of Belgium. The 140-mile course is nestled in the shadow of the San Diego area’s tallest peak, Double Peak. Race organizers promise this terrain will deliver “serious pain near the end of the two-wheeled march of death that’s become known as the Hell of the North (County).”

We’ve set Andy Clark up with a handful of bikes, apparel, nutrition, and accessories, so he can walk you through the thinking behind his selections for this notorious event. In exchange, he’s going to turn himself inside out to finish the grueling race. Tune in every week for video updates as he preps his body and fine-tunes his equipment in hopes of finding success at this legendary one-day event.

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Three Weeks to Prepare

With only three weeks to go, Andy Clark unpacks what the Belgian Waffle ride really is and talks about how he’s going to prepare for it. We’ll get his take on the course, and he’ll share how he’s going to evaluate and ultimately choose the bike he’ll ride for game day. We’ll also get Andy’s first impressions of two of the bikes he’s testing: the Ibis Hakka MX and the Wilier Cento 10 DNR.

Check out more action from Andy’s second week here.

Week 3: The Pre-Ride

It’s course recon week for Andy, as he heads down to San Marcos for the BWR pre-ride. Come along as he gives you his real-time impressions of the route, and how he thinks the Factor 02 will fare on game day.

Week 4: Final Bike Selection

We’re one day away from BWR, and Andy’s finalized his bike selection. He also shares his reasons for not choosing the others, and talks about why he’s going with the 404 NSW over the 303 Firecrest.

Read more about Andy’s third week here.