Now, after the crashing report (well, the report about things that happened after I crashed), the ride report.
Last year, I waxed lyrical about this ride, even though getting there and back were problematic (hindsight suddenly seems to make those issues so much smaller....). Notwithstanding the above post, I've changed my opinion a bit in view of the events of Saturday night/Sunday morning, you might understand why...
This is (capital letters for emphasis, not quoting the owner of Binky the horse) THE BEST NIGHT RIDE OF ALL. BAR NONE. BEST START POINT. AWESOME CYCLING CONDITIONS ALL THE WAY. THE VERY VERY VERY BEST HALF WAY STOP. IT'S PROBABLY GOT LOTS OF LOVELY BUNGALOWS IN IT, I THINK THEY HAVE MANY IN THE LOW COUNTRIES, BUT I DIDN'T NOTICE THEM, SORRY. BREAKFAST IN OSTEND IS GREAT (I REMEMBER IT FROM LAST YEAR, ALRIGHT?). INTERESTING NIGHT-LIFE (IN AALST). AND KANGAROOS. AND A ZEBRA. YES, REALLY, WE WEREN'T ON DRUGS, HONEST. THERE IS PHOTO EVIDENCE. IT'S GOT COBBLESTONES AND I'D RIP THEM ALL UP BUT THAT'S JUST AN INCENTIVE TO BUY A GRAVEL BIKE IF YOU ASK ME. DO YOU WANT TO DO ONE NIGHT RIDE EVER (NOW THAT'S A NUTTY IDEA)? DO THIS ONE.
In other words, if the lovely
@swarm_catcher doesn't decide to blackball me in an effort to stop the Curse of the Tramlines, I will be back. Well, I'll be back in Belgium in three weeks anyway, but I'll be back for this ride if she'll let me. I knew, before last year, that Belgium did not deserve its image among some as a boring nation. No boring place could produce Rene Magritte, Herge, Front 242, and the massive contribution to sporting life from the likes of Icxx, Boutsen, Clijsters, and of course Baron Eddy Merckx.....After last year, I fell in love. It's just an awesome place even if you don't ride a bike. And if you do, well, you're not a problem, you're among friends. There are compulsory cycle lanes, but they are for the most part sensible and logical things. Apart from letting scooters on them. Seriously, what's that about? Surrealism defining roads policy perhaps. Lovely people, lovely food, lovely architecture....
After last year, I was endevouring to avoid a stressful time there and back. Eurostar is not cheap, unless you get the very best prices, but it is quick and simple. I think I'd rather (metaphorically) have teeth pulled than endure the crawl along the coast to Dover again (HS1 via London knocks a good half an hour off that time, though at nearly three times the price...spend the extra, seriously). And then the ferry (two hours plus minimum 45 mins check in). And then you've got to get across the border (avoid those nasty raising bridges), another slow train from De Panne (or go to Ostend, almost worth the time saving).... Eurostar, OTOH...Up to the smoke, through check-in, minimum half an hour before, and two hours later you are in God's Own Bilingual Cycling Surrealist Nation.
I was into Brussels at 1905, which left plenty of time for my three self-appointed pre-ride tasks: See the Atomium, which I failed to do last year, have a decent pre-ride meal (ditto), and get enough miles in to knock out the Imperial Century challenge off for this month. And jobs emphatically done. I ended up with 100.12 miles on the Garmin. Part of this may have involved an ambulance, 50 mph top speed is a clue, but that still leaves 99 and a bit miles of ride data at my normal riding speed, so I'm claiming it anyway. And I'll be doing another ton this month at some point for the pedants. Will post links to the photos I took later.
The plotted route on the Garmin went a bit pear-shaped- I think it got confused and decided the middle was the end- so I ended up improvising, successfully. Thirteen miles done via the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (a very, very big church) and the Atomium, then back to my chosen restaurant for the evening, Fin de Siecle. Described by
@BalkanExpress as a Brussels institution, he wasn't wrong. No reservations, no credit cards. Drinks menu, everything else listed on a chalkboard. Service a bit chaotic, but friendly, and it's a chaotic kind of place anyway. Get there at 9.35 as I did and the queue will be long. Then you see food coming out and anyone with half a brain decides to wait (as it turns out, the CT scan shows I sort of have half a brain too. But it's half a brain that Manned TFU..). Big platefuls of delicious hearty food look fantastic, and they taste better. Sat after forty minutes, I ordered the carbonnade- a traditional beef stew cooked in beer. I was hungry, but I demolished it because I enjoyed it. In the worst development of the entire weekend, yes, I'm including the events outlined in #85, THERE WAS NO RIJSTAART LEFT. Shocking! I was forced to have the tiramisu instead, which was splendid. Face stuffed and a grin on my face, I left for the Grand Place. La Chaloupe had no rijstaart either (appalling), so I had to make do with a most excellent chocolate cake. The rest of our merry crew had already assembled, including the other (not formerly in the Balkans) David, of our halfway hosts, who'd expressed an interest in joining us last year and proved as good as his word. And it was very very nice, after the events of last year to be there in good time and well fed....
So, again led by
@BalkanExpress, we went off, past the Ancienne Belgique (I probably noticed it last year, but paid it more attention this time as I'll be spending two nights in there with Einstürzende Neubauten...), and out into the western 'burbs and over the border into Vlaanderen. On account of communion duties, David then turned off for home and the rest of us went on into the quiet night. Aalst saw a Belgian version of Essex nightlife, whilst Wetteren had
this....some of us tried and failed to photograph it. ISOs proved too high. There was a bit of duck call entertainment, but lesser volume than last year.
Karen (David's wife) had again prepared an extensive and extremely tasty spread, the highlights being, well, all of it. David resisted the temptation to stay and continued on. Gent was navigated with ease, before we paused for Kangaroo and Zebra Watch. Bruges's lovely (only in an ironic sense) cobblestones tolerated, and we didn't park in the middle of the road this time as we ate further delights from the Vandevelde household. Gordon and Martin bade their farewells at this point to begin the recce for September's tour. The rest of us continued to Ostend. Still lovely, right until the events outlined above....But I choose to accentuate the positive. I will be back!!!!
. Thankfully I was collected at St Pancras so didn't have to ride home or have the P-Fairy pay a visit 
