Today was planned as one of our easiest rides, a half day ride to Ghent, ‘just down the canal’ some 50 km.

We enjoyed a slow breakfast, and did not rush to get out the door.

The weather was cool, and windy!

Being a Saturday, it was not as busy in Bruges, but we still scored plenty of red traffic lights.

Finally, peace and relative quiet.

Just geese to avoid, and plenty of pack riders out, some smashing it heading our way with favourable tail winds.

Some housing and farming, a few villages, but fairly quiet.

If you take a closer look at this photo, you will note 12 men, seated, with their backs to the river.

Behind the men are two ‘supervisors’.

The seated men each have a box, and are literally just sitting there. We watched curiously for about ten minutes.

Nothing happened except for the two ‘supervisors’ walking backwards and forwards.

It was like an after school detention for naughty boys.

Should we go across the nearby canal bridge and seek to liberate these men?

We left with questions. Later on, we asked our Belgian guru for an answer. Read on.

A bridge closing along the canal. As we rode, two motor boats were frequently sighted. We’d get ahead and stop to look at something, and then see them a bit further up the canal.

Some curious art. Reminds me of when I worked at the Launceston General Hospital in Women’s and Children.

Our offices faced onto a very private, non accessible external outdoor area. There were no safety barriers, hence our inability to access the area. However , the Arts group had placed a series of rusty metal art out there. I never did figure out what they represented. It felt like they were out there as they could not figure out alternative locations.

One of our companion boats.

We stopped at a large pill box (cement military armament base, often grassed, housed people inside, armaments on top). We see them frequently on our European and Uk trips.

I picked my love some wild flowers. At home, one of my neighbours calls these ‘Bunnings weeds’ and that sticks with me, but in the right setting, they are nice.

A bit further on, Tony tries out a hammock. It made him dizzy which we do not want given he has Menieres.

Cyclists and runners all use Strava. There is a saying, if it’s not on strava, it did not happen.

Or they joke. If you had a bike crash, they will say, did you press stop and upload to strava (before the ambulance!).

I use Strava heat maps in plotting our routes.

This is something we’ve not seen before.

The sign indicates it is a 600 m section and flat. There was a further sign indicating end of strava segment.

Given there are people walking dogs, kids etc, not sure about the safety of others in promoting this. The alphas will smash it with the right winds.

Nearby a cat topiary.

Some school children art.

After 30 km we pulled away from the canal and headed into Bellem, a small village.

We were hoping for a hot drink but found a little shop open. It was exquisite. I wandered around in awe at their creations that not only included the cakes above, but amazing little chocolates, and other confections.

How to choose? I lost my place in the queue multiple times as I prevaricated.

Well, it was my birthday yesterday. No birthday cake, so this would be my substitute.

We shared these. The one on the left has apple in it. Light and delicious. The chocolate one was well, chocolatey! Also very nice.

I had messaged our Air BnB to say we’d be there at check in time of 3 pm. We had many hours to still kill. I read a message that we could check in at noon. Beaut we thought.

So we headed into Ghent. It was raining again, the cobbles were wet, plus there were metal tram tracks to cross. In fact, I had to ride between the tram tracks on cobbles.

Eeeeek.

We arrived without me falling. Turns out we could just drop our gear off including the bikes, and we were back on the road until 3 pm.

So we wandered around Ghent, in our cycling clothes, in search of a loo! We decided to have lunch as there would be a loo there.

Then we walked around.

It was raining by now, so we needed to keep dry and went up one street with three churches. We were not alone seeking shelter inside these amazing old buildings with various histories back to the 1100-1300s.

They all had very high arches and ceilings, with incredible stone pillars.

Our wander thereafter between rain showers and check in.

L

We got back to the key deposit area at 2.50 pm but the key was not there. Obviously super strict, we wandered for another 10 min and on the bang of 3 pm, the son put the key in the box.

We then enjoyed a shower.

The undoubted highlight of our day was still to happen.

Ghent may have wonderfully historic stories and buildings, but Fran eclipses that.

I’ve known Fran for many years on Zwift. She is one of the earlier legends, being formative in setting up events that still exist with Pride month, plus she established AHDR Ladies (an Aussie group).

Fran is from Belgium, and her two daughters live here still.

Aside from being an incredibly decent and nice person, she is a very talented and gifted artist.

She is back zwifting again after a hiatus.❣️

We were delighted to finally meet face to face and enjoy dinner with her.

We showed her the photograph of the 12 men under supervision, from earlier. Fran had a good think and offered a very plausible suggestion.

Dove or pigeon competitions where the bird flies back to its box.

Best idea yet.

Hugs Fran ❣️

Today’s route.

Tomorrow we head to Lille, in France, via Roubaix (hopefully not too many cobbles!).

Thanks for reading 😊🚴❣️