Flanders

                                   

We're a couple of days further up the track now having ridden a 60 kilometre day and a 50 kilometre one to get us over the border and into Belgium. The beer is improving and the undulations in the road are decreasing. We got back to the boat today (Monday) at about 3:15 and immediately set sail to Tournai to moor for the night. We were greeted back on board by Annyta who served us up her elderberry lemonade that she had been brewing up from fresh elderberry flowers for the last couple of days.

Our rides have been fairly uneventful except for Laurita taking a bit of a tumble one day. A visit to the hospital that night had her back on the bike in the morning with about a dozen stitches to repair the nasty gash on loose skin on her arm.

                                 Sietse, our tour leader having a bum break with Laurita and Cheryl
                     

                                                              Always plenty of scenery

We really notice a lack of road kill here. In 8 days riding, I reckon I've seen one hedgehog, a rabbit and a bird. In Oz, we would have seen dozens of kangaroos, foxes and rabbits in the first couple of days alone.

We had a flag waving ceremony in the middle of the road this afternoon at the border when we had Belgium on one side and France on the other.
We are now on the Escaut River. While we biked through the countryside today, Fiona and the crew navigated half a dozen lochs to be able to meet us at the arranged meeting point. We had a stop at a bunker boat which is like a huge floating service station. We took on 800 litres of diesel and topped up the water tanks with fresh water. The bunker boat is huge and carries general supplies needed on a boat like rope and gas. The bunker boat was moored next to an Aldi store so Annyta was able to take advantage of the pit stop to replenish the larder.

  

                                      One side of the road is France and the other is Belgium

Tuesday afternoon.
We're now in the Flanders region which is the Flemish speaking part of Belgium. It was a tough 50Km's today into a headwind all day. Fortunately it was either along the channel or on a rail trail so hardly a hill to conquer. The temperature was down too with the 30Km/h wind. We had a fright too when we walked into a paddock to have a look at the Lucerne crop flowering. Right in the corner of the paddock was a WW1 bomb that the farmer had cleared and put in safe keeping next to a marker. They still find heaps and bomb disposal come and make them safe or dispose of them.
We're in a place called Oudenaarde which has a large town square. We've found the public library and are making the most of the wifi.

                                                            Feniks leaving us to ride for the day

                                                                We've found some great bars