Day 1

The first ride of any tour is usually a chance to test out the equipment as the riders. As shown in the ride trace below, we started at our hotel in Mechelen and took a large clockwise loop. I'll be reporting distances in kilometers since in Europe distances are measured in SI units and not imperial units.

Belgium has been at the crossroads of various army marching across it's lands for centuries. I expect that we'll see evidence of these past struggles on our 2 week tour.

Today at the 30 km point we reached Fort Breendonk, a WWII concentration camp set inside a moat, preserved as an educational monument. A 90 minute tour was arranged. I don't have the words or background to write about the horrors that were inflicted on those prisoners that were confined and died here or in other similar camps that were used in WWII. 

The sights on the ride today were very reminiscent of the tour that Yan and Eduard arrange in 2018 in the Netherlands. Cycle paths everywhere, roads that have integrated bikes into the transportation infrastructure. I expect in future blog updates, I'll be taking about the infrastructure that that I can only envy.

At the 60 km point, we stopped in the town of Lier for an afternoon coffee and stopped at a cafe in the town square across from the above clockwise. Within minutes other riders from the tour entered the square and pretty soon we had a number of riders sipping coffee, beer and cokes before the push back to Mechelen.

Link to today's Photos

Happy Biking,

Brian

Day zero

 I'm calling entry as Day Zero since it's the day before the first day of riding. Some folks like myself arrived yesterday and other folks are arriving today. Folks that traveled from the US are trying to acclimate to the time zone difference. I spend a couple of hours napping in the early afternoon.

The rental bikes were being driven from Paris to Mechhelen, the town where we're spending three nights.  Once the bikes arrived, the riders converged on the hotel's meeting room to started to make any necessary bike adjustments. When renting bikes, we typically bring our own peddles that match our shoes, maybe seats and electronics such as lights and GPS units. 

Then its time to take the bikes out for a spin to make any further adjustments for comfortable riding. In my case, I needed to adjust the saddle tilt and height. I also adjusted the brakes and made sure the the shifting was correct.

Bikes awaiting final setup and adjustments

At 6 PM a ride briefing was held to discuss the upcoming 13 days for riding. Jan and Eduard gave us the lowdown. The following pages were distributed and mainly focused on the road conditions and safety items. Oh these Dutch guys are so well organized and prepared.

Page 1

  

Page 2

Tomorrow we'll have a choice of 2 loop rides (starting and ending in the same location). Both ride follow similar route. One ride is 41 mile and the other is slightly longer at 56 miles. Lunch will be supplied on route at about 19 miles. The plan is to be on the road by 9 AM. The first riding day is often a shake down ride with an easier route.

Before I wrap up today's blog, I have to talk about the hotel that we'll be spending 3 nights. The hotel is a former converted church (l'll have to find out more about it's previous life). The hotel is now a gorgeous full service facility. The sanctuary has be turned into a breathtaking dining area hosting both breakfast and dinner. Click on the photo link below. Pictures are more descriptive than words.

Today's Photos

Happy Biking,

Brian

I'm off

  Well the time has finally come. Finished packing this morning before heading to the airport. I always travel with a check list. But no matter how hard I try, I'm bound to forget something. Sitting here at that KLM gate, I think I have everything important. Checked my single large rolling duffel bag and passed thought security, so I haven't forgotten my passport or boarding pass. 

I have a backpack for my laptop and various charging devices. So far, so good. I have a rental bike waiting for me in Belgium but I still brought my own saddle, peddles, shoes, helmet, Garmin GPS and blinking lights. I just hope that my checked bag makes it to Europe with me. I've installed an electronic tracker (Tile) so that if it does get lost, at least I find out what country it's in.

That's all for now,

Brian