Welcome to Flanders

Welcome to Flanders…

Day one was to be a baptism of fire for me and my two English flatmates.  We were woken at 7am and, with a belly full of muesli and pockets crammed with brioche we set off just after sunrise to go and meet our new team mates in a nearby town.  Having been told team training was a steady five hour ride I settled down for a long haul.  The winds gusted at 40mph, considered breezy by the locals but a mild 10 degrees meant the ride seemed easier than my home roads of Yorkshire.  I can’t say Belgium could hold a candle to Yorkshire in terms of views, but in terms of a cycle friendly approach the Belgians are way ahead.  It seems possible to ride on good quality cycle paths everywhere here!  After an eventful 5 hours with around 15 other riders we were greeted by soup and pastries at our local café who sponsor the team as well as making sure we were well fed.  Just as we were ready to ride home the barman switched over the television to ‘Sporza’.   A few more locals sat down and we were obliged to watch the local heroes: Sven Nys and Neils Albert duel over an hour of cyclo cross.  All I can say is it was fantastic inspiration and a refreshing change to see so many people on the edge of their seats and shouting at the television whilst watching cycling.  By the time we were home we had over 6 hours on the clock, not bad for a first spin.  The following 2 days saw 5 more hours clocked up and a trip to a suburb of Brussels to Ikea.  A set of shelves later and my room was complete, it may be missing a poster or two but I’ve got seven months to make it feel like home. 

So far I’ve learned just a couple of Flemish phrases, here they are for your benefit (excuse spelling)

Lynx-Left

Rex- Right

Rektor- straight on   

Vudvordomme- ‘God dammit!’

Danku- Thank you

Dakh- bye