FNRttC FNRttK Brussels-Ostend RIDE CLOSED. Full up!

[mmmmartin]

costing how much? (asking for a friend, obvs)
EDIT - ignore that, £104 for the return ticket plus the bike, and with a folder (Brompton, hired for two days) that's not a bad deal actually.
I'll probably do a car/tunnel thing, or possibly a three or four day train/ferry/bike/train/ride/tent/ride/ferry/train thing.

 

[swarm_catcher]

Apologies, I have been out of the loop for a while.

Yes, very happy to lead out of town and then continue all the way to the coast.

Yay!!!!

 

[StuartG]

I'll probably do a car/tunnel thing, or possibly a three or four day train/ferry/bike/train/ride/tent/ride/ferry/train thing.

Yep that's my thinking. Make a bit of an occasion out of it before or after. Rule out after as I'm rubbish for days following a night ride. I was thinking of basing ourselves in Gent but whether I get there by beloved Megabus, bike it from Dunkirk with a friend or whatever I do find hard to get my mind around decision making this side of Easter. But if you have car space you want to fill and share the costs ...

 

[mmmmartin]

@Gordon P is in. He may then go on to recce bits of The Tour.

 

[mmmmartin]

• My current thinking is to hire a Brompton and go on Eurostar.
• Which means any of us thinking of the normal train to Dover, ferry to Dunkirk, ride to De Panne in Belgium, train to Brussels Central, then find the Grote Markt by 11pm as a means of getting out there might like to PM me if they need advice.
• As for the return, I have three times taken the kusttram to De Panne, and twice ridden to Dunkirk and then the ferry to Dover, then train home.
• And the worst bit sadly, is the ride from Dover station to Dover docks.
• Note that the sea wall has collapsed under the railway line between Folkestone and Dover, so there is the curse of "buses replace trains".
• That means either train to Folkestone then ride over The White Cliffs of Dover to get to the ferry. This can take a while, and involves climbing from about sea level to the summit. Which is OK going out. But coming back after no sleep is Type 2 Fun.
• An alternative might be to use trains via Canterbury - beware there are two stations in Canterbury and you have to ride from one to the other. Note the return journey is on a Sunday: trains less frequent.
• Now you can see why I'm going on Eurostar. During the ride I'm going to flaunt my wealth by waving my train ticket as Poor People who have to travel on Megabus.

 

[mmmmartin]

Looking at the list of particpants in @swarm_catcher's little adventure, I think my post above may apply only to @Gordon P and @ianmac62. To whom I can recommend this link: http://bit.ly/1QC2bXC

 

[StuAff]

• My current thinking is to hire a Brompton and go on Eurostar.
• Which means any of us thinking of the normal train to Dover, ferry to Dunkirk, ride to De Panne in Belgium, train to Brussels Central, then find the Grote Markt by 11pm as a means of getting out there might like to PM me if they need advice.
• As for the return, I have three times taken the kusttram to De Panne, and twice ridden to Dunkirk and then the ferry to Dover, then train home.
• And the worst bit sadly, is the ride from Dover station to Dover docks.
• Note that the sea wall has collapsed under the railway line between Folkestone and Dover, so there is the curse of "buses replace trains".
• That means either train to Folkestone then ride over The White Cliffs of Dover to get to the ferry. This can take a while, and involves climbing from about sea level to the summit. Which is OK going out. But coming back after no sleep is Type 2 Fun.
• An alternative might be to use trains via Canterbury - beware there are two stations in Canterbury and you have to ride from one to the other. Note the return journey is on a Sunday: trains less frequent.
• Now you can see why I'm going on Eurostar. During the ride I'm going to flaunt my wealth by waving my train ticket as Poor People who have to travel on Megabus.

Eek. The cheapo services from Dover to Fratton (via Brighton not London) now take nearly six hours on a Sunday (no, that's not a typo). Bike spaces (£30) may still be available on Eurostar for there and back. You can't book them online, you need to ring EuroDespatch- I did the ring up/book ticket online combo to make sure I got the service I wanted. Folding options must be bagged (a cover will do).

 

[srw]

Enjoy Provence! And maybe see you in 2017.

Hello @swarm_catcher. There's an outside chance I'll be available after all. If so, is there still a place available?

 

[AKA Bob]

Els I am probably going to bail as your ride is on the same weekend as the 7across 400km Audax. As I am already doing the 3Down earlier in the month it makes sense doing both......

Mmmmartin also says it's a pleasant event to do and allows a couple of days recovery.

Once again sorry and catch up soon

 

[swarm_catcher]

Thanks for letting us know Titus, that 400 is indeed a good'n. Have fun!

Els I am probably going to bail as your ride is on the same weekend as the 7across 400km Audax. As I am already doing the 3Down earlier in the month it makes sense doing both......

Mmmmartin also says it's a pleasant event to do and allows a couple of days recovery.

Once again sorry and catch up soon

 

[swarm_catcher]

srw, yes there is. Just let us know when confirmed.

Hello @swarm_catcher. There's an outside chance I'll be available after all. If so, is there still a place available?

 

[swarm_catcher]

@mmmmartin
@Flandrienne
@swarm_catcher
@StuAff
@StuartG
@wanda2010
@ianmac62
@BalkanExpress
John S (also known in another place as Salvatore)
@srw TBC
@GordonP
David Chan

 

[Gordon P]

+1 please @swarm_catcher

I am booked on the 1052 from St Pancras via Faversham to Dover Priory (arr. 1237) & the 1400 ferry to Dunkirk; ride to De Panne & train to the beating heart of Europe.
I plan to stay on after & recce the 2nd half of the Vi(v)a Colonia Tour route. I have not yet worked out the details, but probably Sunday morning train Ostend-Aachen (takes 3 hours), stay in Aachen & ride west along the route: Leuven, Gent, Dunkirk returning home Thursday

 

[StuAff]

+1 please @swarm_catcher

I am booked on the 1052 from St Pancras via Faversham to Dover Priory (arr. 1237) & the 1400 ferry to Dunkirk; ride to De Panne & train to the beating heart of Europe.
I plan to stay on after & recce the 2nd half of the Vi(v)a Colonia Tour route. I have not yet worked out the details, but probably Sunday morning train Ostend-Aachen (takes 3 hours), stay in Aachen & ride west along the route: Leuven, Gent, Dunkirk returning home Thursday

Take the inland route from Dunkerque, you don't want to end up getting stuck when one of the bridges open. Trains from De Panne are only one an hour, so having to backtrack could mean a long wait.

 

[StuartG]

I have succumbed to @mmmmartin 's outrageous bullying and ruined my reputation by Bromptoneering the Eurostar services from St Pancras @ 16.04 and Brussels @ 17.56. I'm just calculating how many Calvados' that I could have consumed on Megabus and still come out ahead. Oh well ...