FNRttC The latest news on The Fridays Vi(v)a Colonia Tour......

[mmmmartin]

@Gordon P says he is ok with that.

 

[kimble]

Achilleses still failing the stairs test this morning. So I'm going to loiter at the hostel for a couple of hours and have another train day. Enjoy the ride everyone.

 

[mmmmartin]

Ok, thanks for telling us. Bad luck. Our thoughts are with you.......

 

[kimble]

I've used a bit of cargo-cult ticket-machine-fu and I've found a train that's hopefully heading in the right direction. Had to wheel the bike through a market that wasn't there yesterday, which was suboptimal; riding hurts much less than walking. Bored of this now. (But it's still better than trench foot.)

 

[kimble]

Brompton-spotting in Brussels.

 

[kimble]

Now pitched up in Ghent. Had a bit of a ride around the town, but didn't want to overdo it after having to carry my bike and bags down some stairs at Gent-sint-Pieter station, which is currently a building site.

This campsite has a bit of a 1970s aesthetic, but hot and cold running WiFi and the showers are free and have the best litres/minute rating yet this trip.

Weather seems ideal for a bit of cycling, hope it's all going well and nobody's got trench foot.

 

[AndrewClark]

If it's the big one on the outside of town (Blaarmeersen) you could have a nose around the Eddy Merckx velodrome which is on site/.
I've stayed at that site a few times, it's OK, but a good walk from the town centre.

 

[kimble]

If it's the big one on the outside of town (Blaarmeersen) you could have a nose around the Eddy Merckx velodrome which is on site/.

So it is. I shall go and have a look...

 

[kimble]

So it is. I shall go and have a look...

Found it! https://twitter.com/kimble4/status/776816170083180544

 

[redfalo]

So today we had one rider out due to a knackered archilles heel, a puncture, two people hitting the deck (separately), construction works adding a 10km detour, a snapped chain and a lost rider. And the evening entertainment has not even started...

 

[StuAff]

Lost? Lost? No, solo breakaway In B&B. Failed to catch Team Fast up, missed a turn. Opted to keep on following the river & signs for the city. I know where Bidon is and B&B is just south of St Pieters station anyway. It's lovely, btw, reviews accurate.

 

[srw]

So today we had one rider out due to a knackered archilles heel, a puncture, two people hitting the deck (separately), construction works adding a 10km detour, a snapped chain and a lost rider. And the evening entertainment has not even started...

...and a broken spoke (unless the chain was actually the spoke, if you see what I mean).

 

[redfalo]

Lost? Lost? No, solo breakaway In B&B. Failed to catch Team Fast up, missed a turn. Opted to keep on following the river & signs for the city. I know where Bidon is and B&B is just south of St Pieters station anyway. It's lovely, btw, reviews accurate.

glad to hear you found your way. really sorry we dropped you - we all thought you'd chosen to stick to other group.
and no, the chain wasn't the spoke

 

[kimble]

Meanwhile, I have a cunning plan for tomorrow: There's a direct train to Veurne from here. I will aim for the waypoint in Hondschoote to meet up with whoever is still the right way up on a working bike and isn't lost, for the victory ride into Dunkirk.

ETA at Hondschoote would therefore be handy. I'm guessing 3-4pm.

 

[srw]