dont know why, but i want to go to Belguim in feb or march.
i know it will be a bit damp and cold (possibly), but i have a urge to pootle around for 2 or 3 days, and imbibe in the local hospitality.

anyone fancy it?

Yes, but in June and on a KTM, riding Spa circuit 🙂

Try and go when one of the spring classics is on, even if you don’t go and watch the race at the roadside, the atmos in the pubs is great with everyone watching it on tvs.

Alzheimers are doing a charity ride to belgium beer festival, Bruge is lovely, Hitler thought so too.

Ronde van Vlaanderen weekend 30-31st March. Ride the Sportive on the Saturday, watch the race Sunday. Take a day either side. If you are buying beer for take home then shop at one of the discount warehouses. If in Bruges go for Drankencentrale Rotsaert,about 6 miles south, just off the motorway, but take cash – they do not do cards

Pop in to here in Bruges if you go

http://www.excellerbikes.com/

Lovely spot and the guy who runs it is a true gent.

I can report that the food and beer in Bruges is fantastic, and the people very welcoming.

we did this for my 40th last year

ferry from hull

day 1 – zeeb – bruges – ghent
day 2 – ghent – ypres
day 3 – ypres – oostend – zeeb

all on belgian cycle path network

was ace.

I went many years ago with a couple of mates for a boozy weekend on North Sea Ferries.
Not saying it was cold but a Big Merc had skidded into a canal and was just sat there on top till they winched it away.
Ice must have been a foot thick.
Take your long johns, Ton.

We did SSEC there a few years back, brill people, brill beer. The Belgium SS Club are a good bunch………….

If a group makes it up there, please post up. I’ll pop up with either an MTB or a road bike depending on what the bike part is likely to consist of as it’s only a couple of hours away

just me myself and i then. 😐

No, il join you Tony… Just through me some dates over?

I’m there for the RVV sportive at end of March, followed by spectating and crazy Belgian beerness on the Sunday 😀

Nick, will do.

Bruges bored me t death if I’m honest Ghent loads more fun I reckon, oh and never go to Belgium on a Monday.

Bruges alright for a day trip.

I was thinking of going over for Liege Bastogne Liege Sportive, and then race the day after in April.

Dn’t worry, the weather will still be gash.

I raced there as a teenager and in my early twenties. Brilliant it was.
Belgian beer wasn’t a massive deal like it is now, it was just Belgian beer and different.
I love the simple food, it’s not very PC but welcoming most of the year round.
Hospitality is great, we could keep our bikes in our rooms and we always got well fed.
Cobbles that everyone seems to spaff over are a PITA, a romance with them is usually a short one.
Back then no one gave calls or signs on the road, you look out for yourself, something I still do.
I’d rather go riding there, than follow the greats around France in the summer.

Edit; that was a very long time ago.

Belgium is great just Bruge I don’t get it feels to me like a tourist Ghetto, whereas Gent feels like a proper city because it is, not picture postcard lovely but arguably the most impressive town museum I’ve ever visited in the shape of the Stam.

I ride in Belgium most years as a mate of mine lives in Brussels. It can be a lot of fun but it can also be cold wet windy and miserable as it actually rains more in Belgium than it does here!! Most of the villages look depressing and dark and the road surfaces are shockingly bad (and that’s without the cobbles).

Having said all that the Ardennes are a great destination for a long weekend of riding. You can put your bike on most local trains for a fairly small fee, and if you go Eurostar to Brussels you can go onward to any Belgium station on the same ticket, provided you make your journey within 24 hours of your arrival. It’s the same on the way back.

looking like,
dunkerque to brugge on friday
brugge to ghent on saturday
ghent to ypres on sunday
ypres to dunkerque on monday

hopefully……and it will be a pootle concentraiting on the social aspect of touring by bike. 8)

Whatever you do, get out of dunkerque as fast as is humanly possible. It’s a wasteland/dump and will sap any joviality you may have.

Gent (Ghent) is a great place. Brugge is full of Italians & Japanese.. Nothing feels authentic…
(But maybe I’m biased as I live in Gent)

Brugge to Gent is a short sprint in comparison to your other days plans.

Weather can be a bit fickle in March so keep that in mind. When its raining hard & its blowing a gale it soon wipes much of the pleasure away from the flatlands.

Flashes – Maredsous was ace wasn’t it?

I’ve got trips planned for the first and last weekends in March. First one is a day ride from Zebrugge, last one is RVV sportive. If anyone is over there and fancies joining outer group (14 mixed ability), give me a shout.

This sounds fab. Have fun.

Edsbike – which distance are you riding on the RVV sportive?

Did this trip last november, got very lucky with the weather and had a great time. highly reccomended!

France Belgium trip:

Calais to saint Omer: 24

Saint Omer to Lille: 44

Lille to Brussels: 66

Brussels to Antwerp: 30

Antwerp to Brugge: 65

Brugge to Dunkirk: 47

Dunkirk to Calais: 26

Approximately 302 miles in total.

Marge, group of around 10 of us doing the 140km. Probably not all riding together.

Was at SSUK a few years ago and rode part of the way there and then back to Brussels. Weather perfect.
In 2009 did the Flanders sportive/race weekend. Weather perfect.
Last summer travelled through Belgium as well as France, Luxembourg and Germany in a week. A bit to warm for my liking!

Great place to ride and loads of nice little towns, though would avoid Charlroi. We camped rough all week.

And as oldgit says the cobbles are tough. Only thing worse than climbing them is descending on them! Have fun.