Thursday ride

William took a ride to Sluis, Netherlands on Thursday.

On Thurs the 8th, after heading over early to the bike shop in Fort Lapin to pick up the carry bag for the spare tube, crescent wrench, patch kit, and the all- around universal do-it-all handy gadget of allen wrenches and tire removers, I headed North out of Brugge towards Koolkerke along highway N374. I passed a bakery along the way, did a u-turn, and for 1.25E had a nice torte for the road.

Fort Van Beieren was a bust, no rideable paths, and not much to see, so I continued north towards Oostkerke, notable for its stubby sawed-off tower. Tying into the Damse Vaart canal north of Damme, with its nice smooth bike path, it was clear sailing with the breeze at my back onwards to Sluis and the Netherlands. Jon and Cyndi had ridden there some time before on the 'cross bikes (with better times), but soon I was there and riding the downtown tourist sections with its own H&M, Blokker, Hema, and C&A stores. No "coffee houses" to be seen, but plenty of sex shops lining the streets.

A cafe caught my eye: Cafe Boo. I was thinking of Grandson Benjamin (Boo) and hoping that he was recovering well from his traumatic events. Across from the big, Dutch windmill, Cafe Boo was a nice pit stop for a couple of Leffe Bruin drafts. I soon hit the grocery for a croissant, cheese, and chocolate, then headed back to Brugge.

One of the characteristics of this part of Belgium is that it is as flat as a fart, and being near the North Sea, the winds pick up as the day goes on, moving from sea to land. The light breeze at my back on the way to Sluis now became the 15 mph wind in my face on the return to Brugge. Not much to do except head down and power on. Chocolate power.

Past Damme, close to Brugge, along the canal with hardly anyone about, I was surprised to hear a rider along side me. Glancing over, it was a woman in a flowing, white quilted coat, gray haired, 60ish, speeding by. I tried to keep up; she was steady at a high cadence. I got up on the pedals; she pulled ahead. I tried to follow in her slipstream; she gradually moved ahead. Better legs, for sure! And, for sure, a lifetime of riding.

I caught up to her at the stoplight on the edge of Brugge; the equalizer. I was soaking wet from the effort; she looked cool. I resolved to do more riding in he future.

He took a few pictures on the way: The canal with the ferry that only goes part way.

Windmill in Netherlands

Cafe Boo

Even little cars can have trouble finding the space.