Jannza

Flanders Tour Day 6
I couldn’t resist a wee pedal this morning as the sun was out & Holland was only around the corner, I’ve never set foot on the Netherlands before so it was a good opportunity to do so!
The route from Brugge to Sluis via Damme has got to be the most beautiful cycle path I’ve ever laid my rubber on! It is pan flat with long, uninterrupted  view & the state of the surface is perfect in most places!
The tail wind on the way out was god sent & who doesn’t like it, even the cross/head wind on the way back in wasn’t too bad either, the view & comfort of no cars also helped!
Back in my B&B now enjoying a cappuccino, then get change & head out to put my tourist cap back on again :-)
Glad I went out this morning ........
Cheers

Hi Folks,
Well, here I am in Flanders again, this will be my 4th time in 5 years & certainly will be my longest stay thus far!
Traveled from Glasgow yesterday early morning, 12 hours later I was in Brussels.
Sitting in my hotel room last night, I was thinking - why am I here?! I’m missing home already & worrying about the busy traffic outside (I’m staying just across from the Eurostar terminal & it’s not the best part of town) & if I will manage to get out of this busy city without bother   All I had was my IPhones google map app & some old fashion paper map ........ I was nervous ..... & my last minute change of plan (only 2 days prior setting off) carrying 2 rear panniers instead of my original single “trunk bag” had me really worried, I only manage a wee test ride of 5 minutes around my street on Tuesday & I did not enjoy it  
Needless to say, I didn’t have a very good night sleep :-/
Fortunetly, shortly after I set off from the hotel this morning, all my worries & concerns prior quickly vanished, I guess my question from the night before had been answered, once I started riding the bike, everything just felt fine  ....... great even :-) That was why I was here!
Despite the busy Brussels roads, the driving & cycle paths are just first class, I felt safe & riding with the rear panniers wasn’t that bad either!
A quick detour into Geraardsbergen was a good call & definitely the only time I would be able to stop & admire the place! The App did not show were the Kapelmuur was so I stopped & asked an auld local who understandably did not speak English, but the “Muur” is famous, he apologises & appointed straight on & left, but he did warn me though :-) - Check my Strava photo please!
The Mulholland & I had planned to meet in Oudenaarde in the afternoon so I made my way there hoping to have lunch with them. As I left Geraardsbergen, I spotted a bike shop & quickly stopped & chap the door, it was shut but the man let me in anyway, I was missing a bar tape end plug (it fell off in the a Eurostar transit) & the tape was about to come loose, not ideal for tomorrow!
Anyway, he sorted me out & as I left he told me he was a pro rider, his name was Tony Bracke & use to ride for Lotto :-) I asked him did he rode with Cadel Evans :-) maybe that’s why he thought I was Australian ..... haha!
He gave me one of his old autograph card - €7 well spent!
Met up with the Muls & now back in my hotel, getting ready for tomorrow ......... & it’s raining outside :-/
Not to worry, I’m sure everything will be just fine when we start pedalling!
Cheers
Chung

Riders set off at one minute intervals, ride to the roundabout and back, no drafting.

Riders set off at one minute intervals, ride to the roundabout and back, no drafting.

I had cramp in my ears from listening to Billy shouting “ease up”
I wish. He’s going too well.

Interesting short video testing Old faithful, superman position and a modern TT bike.
https://www.endurasport.com/#D2ZTECH
 

Interesting short video testing Old faithful, superman position and a modern TT bike.
https://www.endurasport.com/#D2ZTECH
 

Have a look at -
https://www.alpkit.com/bikepacking
 

Sorry I could not join but had an appointment at other winter bogs

Tore my calf muscle last Wednesday, running for the train (highly embarrassing) , so going to be off the bike for a wee while .. enjoy whichever route youse decide

Strava Widgets on the homepage have been updated with the official feeds.
Some background on the activity of the last couple of days.
We agreed to do the forum upgrade to the latest software in the last week, this in itself was a fairly trivial process but it was necessary to keep the forum on supported software versions.
In order to run the latest forum software we had to also update the website itself which was badly in need of repair. Bits were broken, stuff wasn't being updated and the software it was running was also well out of date and insecure. We've very quickly put together what is really just a landing page to replace it, running on the latest software, but crucially one that updates itself by using feeds from The Bunch (General and Club Runs as a separate feed), Twitter, Facebook and the Strava stuff.
The Jets twitter account looks like it's frequently updated so we're actually using the tweets to build the latest news section on the Jets landing page. We can do the same with the Wheelers if the account is active. This means you don't even need to access the CMS of the website to update the latest news, just do it all via Twitter.
We can add and built on this over time with additional information and features.
Happy to take on board any comments, suggestions or issues with anything we've done

I just made it up... 😂😂

I can timekeep.

Well done. pink socks!

I've done the TT. Start is just past Port Bannatyne, Ettrickdale to Rhubodach road, goes to a dead turn just before the ferry to Colintraive and back to finish in the bay.

yip, unless I'm away for the weekend

I've done the NC500 but detoured slightly as there was a few places on the west coast I hadn't been to and wanted to see.
 
Are you planning to cook/refuel in the youth hostels or eat out?
 
There's a nice pub in Applecross if you haven't already been.

FYI
 
THE Old Largs Road between Greenock and Largs is to be closed for much of the summer.
 
The route is shutting for around six weeks starting on Monday (19 June).
 
The closure is in place while Rottenburn Bridge, on the Inverclyde/North Ayrshire border is strengthened.
 
The expected date of re-opening is towards the end of July.
 
Traffic will still be able to travel on the Old Largs Road from Greenock and then turn on to Dunrod Road towards the Greenock Cut Visitor Centre at Loch Thom.

FYI
 
THE Old Largs Road between Greenock and Largs is to be closed for much of the summer.
 
The route is shutting for around six weeks starting on Monday (19 June).
 
The closure is in place while Rottenburn Bridge, on the Inverclyde/North Ayrshire border is strengthened.
 
The expected date of re-opening is towards the end of July.
 
Traffic will still be able to travel on the Old Largs Road from Greenock and then turn on to Dunrod Road towards the Greenock Cut Visitor Centre at Loch Thom.

FYI
 
THE Old Largs Road between Greenock and Largs is to be closed for much of the summer.
 
The route is shutting for around six weeks starting on Monday (19 June).
 
The closure is in place while Rottenburn Bridge, on the Inverclyde/North Ayrshire border is strengthened.
 
The expected date of re-opening is towards the end of July.
 
Traffic will still be able to travel on the Old Largs Road from Greenock and then turn on to Dunrod Road towards the Greenock Cut Visitor Centre at Loch Thom.

I only went out on the forecast that it was going to clear up after an hour. Not so but thanks for the company guys and hope you have all dried out now.
 
Dave
 
P.S. Finally got around to having my post as most of the funnies were mine and Carol took the credit.

Should be there. Always seems to be the Friday when I'm working the next day!