Rhodent in Flanders

[Veebee]

Dani has been packed into the bike bag and has been collected by the airline. Next time I ride her, it will be Flandrien as f****. The 031 has provided some wonderful rides! Gonna miss this place.

 

Since time machines aren't a thing yet, I'm going to sleep until next Tuesday to avoid all the nervous/excited/anxious energy running through me at the moment.

 

Hey dude. all the best with your new adventure and the racing there. I'm sure you will do the saffers proud

[Belgian biker]

Don't forget to pack your long cycling trousers and rain gear..... it seems you will be welcomed by some real Belgian weather....
http://www.meteovista.be/Europa/Belgie/Gent/4054720

 

This is also a very useful website when you want to go out riding: pretty precise rain forecasts for the next 3 or 24h. 
https://www.buienradar.be/# 

[pe3nguin]

Don't forget to pack your long cycling trousers and rain gear..... it seems you will be welcomed by some real Belgian weather....

http://www.meteovista.be/Europa/Belgie/Gent/4054720

 

This is also a very useful website when you want to go out riding: pretty precise rain forecasts for the next 3 or 24h. 

https://www.buienradar.be/# 

 

Yeah what the hell! Its April and Gent is being treated to negative degrees celsius! Boooo

 

As usual, thanks for all the useful info!

 

Hey dude. all the best with your new adventure and the racing there. I'm sure you will do the saffers proud

Shot VB. I'll be on my best behavior 

[Belgian biker]

have a smooth & safe trip tomorrow. I hope all goes well, settling in in our country 

[pe3nguin]

have a smooth & safe trip tomorrow. I hope all goes well, settling in in our country 

Thanks. Hoping it goes smoothly. Can't believe its happening tomorrow already.

[Patchelicious]

Thanks. Hoping it goes smoothly. Can't believe its happening tomorrow already.

Good luck dude!! Keep us updated!!

[pe3nguin]

Hey all. I made it! Traveling was exhausting and after three restorative nights in Antwerpen I'm feeling antsy to ride my bicycle. I'm sure this feeling is partly informed by seeing Tour Durban activities pop up in my Strava feed. Congrats to everyone that achieved their goal!

Tomorrow was supposed to be my first race, a 1.12B, but I'm gonna take the train to Gent in an hour and see if I can sign up for a race this afternoon. Small league race. Only 66km but by all accounts, I have been informed that I should expect to hurt. Long haul flying and a prolonged passive recovery means I was expecting that anyway. If I can race this afternoon, I will be using it as a loosener for tomorrow.

 

Things I have learnt:
- Our Fanta Orange in RSA is the most radioactive orange colour imaginable. Fanta orange is far more toned down here. Our fluorescent version has been confirmed as unappealing as **** to foreigners. 

- Flemmings are the most accommodating people on the planet! 

- You can leave your wallet at the laundromat for half an hour unattended and it will be exactly where you found it, inclusive of cash.

 

Things I have confirmed:
- Its cold. Send sun.

 

[Edit]: Formatting

 

[Belgian biker]

haha, it's cold this week indeed. I had to turn on the heating again.
- Fanta: true

- being a Flemming, thanks for the compliment

- wallet: great! Don't try that too often though, you won't always be lucky. 

 

enjoy Gent, it's a much cooler city than Antwerp. Antwerp is a bunch of snobs 

[pe3nguin]

 Antwerp is a bunch of snobs 

I didnt realise this, but a mate just arrived and independently confirmed this to be true.

 

In other news; my family have said that this forum is too complicated to navigate should they wish to follow my misadventures. Whilst I do not share that sentiment, I do enjoy peace and quiet so to prevent any hounding

 

http://flandrienrhodent.blogspot.be

['Dale]

Dani has been packed into the bike bag and has been collected by the airline. Next time I ride her, it will be Flandrien as f****. The 031 has provided some wonderful rides! Gonna miss this place.

 

Since time machines aren't a thing yet, I'm going to sleep until next Tuesday to avoid all the nervous/excited/anxious energy running through me at the moment.

 

[Edit]: Have just received approval for my first 1.12B race on May 1st!

 

Approved.jpg

Whatever you do, get to the white chalk ahead of Assbroeken ????

[pe3nguin]

First race was on Monday and I lasted a whole 20minutes before being shelled. Turns out the drive side crank had busted which is just a convenient excuse because I was in a world of pain and was red lining bigtime. 

 

I'm sitting at the door patiently waiting for the new crank to arrive.

Looks like we have to make a trip to the Netherlands this weekend which means I wont be racing at Assbroeken, as both Saturday and Sunday have been ruled out. Sorry Dale

Next race is 1.12A in Sinaai. Hopefully the bike remains in one piece, because I certainly wont.

 

[The Crazy German]

 

 

Next race is 1.12A in Sinaai. Hopefully the bike remains in one piece, because I certainly wont.

 

 

You might be in a whole lot of trouble cos there is one nasty long cobblestone stretch hiding on the limits of town which is used in some of the local races. Lovely childhood memories for me pain cave for you.

[pe3nguin]

Pretty dull week. After replacing the crank on Wednesday I got pretty sick and have been man down for a bit. Managed a ride again on Saturday before traveling to the Netherlands. The cough still lingers and so I skipped Sinaai for fear of making matters worse. I am done traveling for a while, so hopefully I can spend some time on the bike the rest of this week.

On the topic of the Netherlands, it appears the Flemish dream has died a swift death. Lu (my partner) has taken a job in Amsteelven and the commute to Gent would be killer, so that means I get a few weeks in Flanders before packing my bags and heading north.

After a fairly detailed inspection of the KNWU race calendar, I would whole heartedly suggest any aspirant young roadies head to Flanders. The system appears infinitely better suited to getting your ass kicked on a regular basis. The Dutch do come into Flanders for weekday kermiskoers afterall and not the otherway round.

Apologies to Tombeej. Appears we are going to have a roadside spectacle at Amstel Gold rather than RvV. Plan accordingly!

[Belgian biker]

Ag shame you don't get to stay longer but Amsterdam is not bad either ;-) and still close enough to pop down for the weekend.

The races might be better in Fl but I think the Netherlands is truly cycling paradise, those cycling lanes!

Take care and get well soon!

[pe3nguin]

http://i64.tinypic.com/25jd2d0.jpg

 

So today I tried out the bicycle route running along the Scheldt river, the 'Scheldevalleiroute'. Its heavenly, and packed with roadies and commuters going about their respective activities. Not a whiff of a car around. Just cows and wild rabbits! I'm lead to believe the routes cover over 100km in total, definitely worth a punt if you envisage a cycling holiday in Flanders. It can be accessed within 5km of Gent and can drop you off at the doorstep of Oudenaarde, which is a must visit for any cycling fan.

I would love to tell you that this valley sits at the base of three epic mountain passes, each spanning 15-20km of fresh tarmac and providing a minimum of 1200m vertical ascent, but thats sadly not the case. This is Belgium. It comes close to being a dream ride, despite the lack of mountains and the wind certainly packs a punch.

For those of your familiar with the Durban circuit around the Kings Park region, I would say the winds are comparable, except when a gnarly gust comes a long and tries to line your stomach with asphalt. Durban lacks those killer gusts but can be just as unrelenting.

**** I love this place.

[Belgian biker]

That is indeed a lovely route!There are no mountains but from Oudenaarde, you could continue towards the Koppenberg, Taaienberg, Oude Kwaremont,... plenty of options to do some climbing ;-)

 

You can also folllow the Schelde from Ghent all the way to Antwerp along this path. I often take this long way home, on sunny days. (Not all the way to Antwerp, somewhere halfway)