Farewell tour of Flanders !

As it's my last full day in Belgium, I thought I'd do a mini tour of Flanders and visit my favorite climbs again. My favorites are Kwaremont (my jorno was on the climb that day and said there were 50,000 on the climb cheering me up ... Cool !) , Paterberg (my first real climb), the koppenberg (of course) and the Muur (again of course). I had decided to leave out the Muur as it is just too far away. However spurred on by some comments from the Falc about a race on Saturday I added the Muur back in my planning and headed off.

Well... 6 hours later and 105k's later, I've relived the dream ! What a great day out, sunny, 25 degrees, as some would say "Perfect for cycling".

I'm not sure what drugs were in my system on Saturday... But those climbs are pretty tough!

So.... I also learned a few things...

1. My new seat post is ace ! It feels so much better.... I think it's mostly psychological.... But it's all good !

2. Those climbs are tough !

3. Any short cut back road will just lead you to more cobbles and another Berg ... I found 3 from the Ronde that i wasn't looking for !!

4. Yes, the cobbles are a lot smoother than Paris roubaix !!!

5. Its a long way to the Muur !

6. These Belgians sure know how to make bikes feel welcome on the road !

So.... I'm taking tomorrow off riding to transfer to my new hotel (yet to be booked !)... and pickup the Chicken from Paris airport. My next ride is Paris roubaix, and i guess I'm as prepared as i can be. The weather forecast is clear and sunny... So it could be a great day !

Cool new seat post and bag... Works a treat !

I wanted to be a real dork and use the timer on my camera... I had to show Supergal a shot of me wearing my new Aussie top she bought me !

Looking uo the last few meters of the Kwaremont ... Minus the 50,000 cheering fans i had last time !

The start of the Paterberg... I still think it's my favorite !

Koppenberg from the bottom... A lot less crowded that last time i saw it.

Every back road leads to one of these nasty Ronde signs !

Checkout the road.... A cycling lane... Then a safety margin.. Then the road, and the same in the other side. It's effectively a 4 lane road where the cars only get 2 lanes. All the bigger roads and most small ones have cycling path or lane !!

Yes...I made it back to the Muur... It's such a beautiful place... Something special abut just being there. (this is technically the Kapelmuur .. I'm not sure where the Muur stops and the Kapelmuur starts !)