FNRttC The not the Fridays Tour 2016

[User169]

Good options for some hills on day 6!

Drielandenpunt, keutenberg and cauberg are all between Aachen and Maastricht - not very long, but short, sharp shockers.

 

[mmmmartin]

@robgul the tram goes ostend-de panne. it takes about the same time as a bike with a fit rider and a following wind, but we have used it at the end of the Fridays ride from Brussels to Ostend overnight, and we're all knackered. it's interesting. and better than riding into a headwind.

 

[robgul]

@robgul the tram goes ostend-de panne. it takes about the same time as a bike with a fit rider and a following wind, but we have used it at the end of the Fridays ride from Brussels to Ostend overnight, and we're all knackered. it's interesting. and better than riding into a headwind.

... so the suggestion that it goes from Ghent is wrong?? My Googling tells me that the tram goes from Kokke all the way along the coast to de Panne - are you talking about some other tram or train that goes from Ghent to the coast?

Rob

 

[Gordon P]

renewal of our 'Friends of the Unspellables' membership

Yes indeedy. Vriends op de Fietsen have addresses not only in the Netherlands but also in Belgium so Leuven & Ghent are possibles. Only one in Cologne & none in Aachen as far as I can see.
We should share thoughts about where to spend 2 nights in Cologne - it is on the Task List

 

[Gordon P]

Does the tram go from Ghent to de Panne

No! Error Alert!! (Thanks for spotting it.)
The tram goes from Ostend (it starts further north along the coast at Knokke, then via Zeebrugge & Blankenberge to Ostend & on to de Panne.
We will ride from Ghent to Bruges which is approx 45km then another 25km to Ostend by bike.

 

[Gordon P]

short, sharp shockers

Like this year's Kemmelberg then

 

[User482]

@Gordon P I think this looks terrific. I wonder, in the spirit of inclusiveness, if there is any potential for people to do a shorter tour? It occurs to me that given there is a rest day in Cologne, it could be possible for people to head home from there via Brussels and the Eurostar. Trains could prove problematic - I know that you can't take bikes on the ICE German service - but do our learned correspondents have any experience of local train services that can take unmolested, full-size bikes?

 

[User169]

Like this year's Kemmelberg then

Well they're in NL, so the quality of the road surface is somewhat different!

 

[Gordon P]

potential for people to do a shorter tour

Of course: you come for as short or long as you wish.
Others e.g. @redfalo can tell you more about what is possible on the trains

 

[mmmmartin]

I wonder, in the spirit of inclusiveness, if there is any potential for people to do a shorter tour?

yes- people have often deviated from the rest of the group. It happens regularly. This year @redfalo left early and @frank9755 arrived a few days late. You need to sort your own travel out cos we CBA to do that for you, but by all means do so. It's no problem at all. At the end of each day this year the group went to a central point known as "Fridays Central" and dispersed from there to accommodation and met up at that point in the morning. If someone isn't there we assume they're off doing their own thing and set off without them.

Spoiler: so......

this does have the unintended consequence of ensuring everyone is there on time.

 

[Gordon P]

@Gordon P please can my name be added to the list. I'm a member of the CTC an' everything.

me too, me too

Count me in.

Emails please as requested

 

[robgul]

@Gordon P I think this looks terrific. I wonder, in the spirit of inclusiveness, if there is any potential for people to do a shorter tour? It occurs to me that given there is a rest day in Cologne, it could be possible for people to head home from there via Brussels and the Eurostar. Trains could prove problematic - I know that you can't take bikes on the ICE German service - but do our learned correspondents have any experience of local train services that can take unmolested, full-size bikes?

Yes - the local Belgian and Dutch trains are very bike friendly - you need a bike ticket (from the English language) machine with your passenger ticket - some are free, some are 10 Euros IIRC - I use the trains to go from Koln/Cologne to Leuven stopping off overnight at Sittard in Holland - total of 6 trains with out a hitch. [It was during this year's club outing when I was recovering from quite serious illness and opted out of cycling for a couple of the days]

And - the IBIS in Koln is good value for a big city and right in the centre by the cathedral (Dom) and main station - bikes in your room!

Rob

 

[StuAff]

Emails please as requested

Done!

 

[StuAff]

Ghent-Bruges-Ostend....doing a nocturnal recce for that one

 

[velovoice]

No! Error Alert!! (Thanks for spotting it.)
The tram goes from Ostend (it starts further north along the coast at Knokke, then via Zeebrugge & Blankenberge to Ostend & on to de Panne.

Corrected on the website.