How the time flies! We've been home about week and I haven't written a thing! Mike and enjoyed 10 days in Belgium (with a side trip or two to the Netherlands!) for his birthday this year. After too many hours in a plane (or several planes), we landed in Brussels and were met by our old friend Mark at the airport there. We were beat, but it was only about 10 in the morning so we needed to stay awake as long as possible that day! Mark took us on a tour of the Vermarc (clothing) facilities before we headed over to the Ridley factory in Tessenderlo.
It was our first time visiting the Ridley Factory in person and so we enjoyed a tour and hung out with Jochim, Jo and the crew from Bicycling Magazine. On tap for the afternoon was getting our bikes sorted for the special ride of the Tour of Flanders, which takes place the day before the Pro's do it. (For fun, go to www.firstfotofactory.com and click on the English language and search for rider # 31482). After dinner with Jochim and the guys who are busy building the NEW Ridley factory (yes---more growing!), Jochim organized a vehicle for us to use before taking us to his Lake House in Mol. Wow---there are not many lakes in Belgium, and this one was about 6K around. But it was lovely! We had an early morning wake-up call to meet everyone to head over to Ninove (near Ghent) for the Ronde Ride.
Talk about crazy! 20,000 riders of all abilities riding roads where barely a single small car can drive through. I opted out (I was jet-lagged and I am not good in crowds of this size---though I will do it next year if I get the chance!) and Jo and I sat in a cafe and ate and drank the afternoon away. Afterwards it was off to Brugge (actually we stayed in nearby Oostende for the night) for (another) early morning start for the Ronde van Vlaandaren. It was a damp and (by my standards) freezing morning and the highlight of my day was getting up close and personal with Johan Musseeuw! (Oh the luxuries of a VIP/Press pass from my friend Mark Vandereyt!)
After the start, we had two choices: ride in the caravan and follow the race, OR ride to Mol, do our own ride and watch the 4 hours of commercial free live coverage on the TV. With the added bonus of a Tom Tom Navigator (also from Mark), we chose option 2. And we drove home and into warm sunshine (gotta love Limburg!). We had this exclusive lakehouse for our whole stay! Wow!
A week filled with Flemish riding, running and racing. The day of Ghent-Wevelgem was the rainiest day---but watching it snuggled up on a couch with Mike was fun for sure! On Mike's birthday (after our morning jaunts around the area), we were going to go to Zolder (but our plans changed) and so we headed to Maastricht, Nederland. A lovely mid-evil city (and the start for Amstel Gold). I was finally feeling relaxed and on vacation! Mike and I have celebrated his birthday over here several times and so there was something very familiar about being in Belgium/Nederland for his special day. Have I mentioned the beer? Mike was in beer heaven. I never saw him smile so much!
On Friday we went back to Tessenderlo to spend the afternoon with Jochim and Jo from Ridley! We had a long, long lunch on a local lovely golfcourse in the warm sunshine! Mark met us at Jochim's house on Saturday morning to take us back to Brussels for our LONG flight home. This was way too short a trip.
And as has been the case for the last year, I am back on the road this week. I am heading to Greenwich, CT on Thursday and then to Manhattan. This time next week I will be running in Central Park (Springtime in Manhattan!) But today I am off for a long ride in the High Sierra Mountains. Yes---80 degrees and no wind. Happy Sunday!
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