BalkanExpress
Guru
- Location
- Brussels
"It's the first ride I've been on where you get a menu as s well as a route card"
This remark from Peter, A German riding the 1970's Viscount he had had since being a school kid, summed up to perfection La Savoureuse.
http://lasavoureuse.be/en/ , "the tasty one" is a vintage ride that takes place in the Ciney area of Belgium in late August. It is supported by the regional authorities and ties into their Vallees des Saveurs tourist campaign which sets out to promote the area as a region of local gastronomic delights.
As you will have guessed there is a strong food theme to the ride. The 60km route which I rode includes five, yes 5, food stops. We set out at 10.00 am and by 10.35 I was queuing up for the first beer of eth day and some snacks with local crème cheese and pate. Subsequent stops were, beer and cheese and ham sandwiches, vegetable soup and fruit juice, beer and cooked meats and finally fresh fruit and juice.
Of course this is all in taster portions rather than a full meal, but, in terms of calories in and calories out this is not a ride for those seeking to lose a few pounds.
Of course this is all in taster portions rather than a full meal, but, in terms of calories in and calories out this is not a ride for those seeking to lose a few pounds.
It is, however, a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday in the Ardennes. The ride is small, a few hundred at most spread across three route 30, 60 and 90 km mainly on open roads, but these are small local roads with almost no traffic. The route planners also achieved the near impossible trick of including lots of fast downhill without many hard uphill slogs. Route marking was good: at least once I had realized that in addition to the signposts there were also painted directions on the road at every junction.
Would I recommend it? Most certainly, I met riders from France Germany and the Netherlands many of whom were making a weekend of it. Ciney is an hour from Brussels and the Eurostar and is therefore accessible either for a weekend away, or perhaps at the end of a longer European trip.
I have up to this point avoided making any comparisons with a certain well known series of vintage rides which are taking over the world. I have avoided it because La Savoureuse feels so very different: small, with a sense of community, a bike jumble rather than massed exhibitors, a local brass band playing "Poker Face" and a visit to a museum dedicated to coin operated automatons. Oh yes and for €22 you get your ride registration, breakfast of coffee and chocolate croissant and the five feed stops. The difference in registration price almost covers the Eurostar fare
Photos are going up in the media gallery. Having trouble with uploading so here is a link to the Tin Donkey blogpost which has pictures of an earlier edition of the ride. http://www.tindonkey.com/2013/10/la-savoureusea-tasty-ride-in-belgium.html
This remark from Peter, A German riding the 1970's Viscount he had had since being a school kid, summed up to perfection La Savoureuse.
http://lasavoureuse.be/en/ , "the tasty one" is a vintage ride that takes place in the Ciney area of Belgium in late August. It is supported by the regional authorities and ties into their Vallees des Saveurs tourist campaign which sets out to promote the area as a region of local gastronomic delights.
As you will have guessed there is a strong food theme to the ride. The 60km route which I rode includes five, yes 5, food stops. We set out at 10.00 am and by 10.35 I was queuing up for the first beer of eth day and some snacks with local crème cheese and pate. Subsequent stops were, beer and cheese and ham sandwiches, vegetable soup and fruit juice, beer and cooked meats and finally fresh fruit and juice.
Of course this is all in taster portions rather than a full meal, but, in terms of calories in and calories out this is not a ride for those seeking to lose a few pounds.
Of course this is all in taster portions rather than a full meal, but, in terms of calories in and calories out this is not a ride for those seeking to lose a few pounds.
It is, however, a very pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday in the Ardennes. The ride is small, a few hundred at most spread across three route 30, 60 and 90 km mainly on open roads, but these are small local roads with almost no traffic. The route planners also achieved the near impossible trick of including lots of fast downhill without many hard uphill slogs. Route marking was good: at least once I had realized that in addition to the signposts there were also painted directions on the road at every junction.
Would I recommend it? Most certainly, I met riders from France Germany and the Netherlands many of whom were making a weekend of it. Ciney is an hour from Brussels and the Eurostar and is therefore accessible either for a weekend away, or perhaps at the end of a longer European trip.
I have up to this point avoided making any comparisons with a certain well known series of vintage rides which are taking over the world. I have avoided it because La Savoureuse feels so very different: small, with a sense of community, a bike jumble rather than massed exhibitors, a local brass band playing "Poker Face" and a visit to a museum dedicated to coin operated automatons. Oh yes and for €22 you get your ride registration, breakfast of coffee and chocolate croissant and the five feed stops. The difference in registration price almost covers the Eurostar fare
Photos are going up in the media gallery. Having trouble with uploading so here is a link to the Tin Donkey blogpost which has pictures of an earlier edition of the ride. http://www.tindonkey.com/2013/10/la-savoureusea-tasty-ride-in-belgium.html
Last edited:
