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Today we jumped on the bus from Stavelot in the Ardenne traveled for about two hours to Tournais which was the finish of the stage for today's race.
After parking the bus we set out through the flat countryside, riding along the canal for about 30 km's before stopping for lunch. Then the "fun" started. We set off to conquer the three largest climbs of the Tour of Flanders, which were the Oude Kwaremont, Patersberg and Copenburg. In themselves they were not the worst climbs so far, except that they are
cobbled.
The first climb was long and not too steep but one member of the group still managed to break a filling.
After that the next ride got harder, the front wheel lifting and the backwheel skidding. Chris was going well until he was thwarted by another rider in front of him. He ended up on the floor, no significant damage except for his ego.
The final hill was a killer, and several (including Chris) found themselves with the choice of stepping off and completing the climb on foot, or falling. The cobbles were a huge challenge and those who completed this hill had a real sense of achievment. Well done to Tim. Perhaps it was his extra body weight that assisted with traction....
The remaining 60km of the ride was through lovely countryside andagain dispelled any negative comments we had about Belgium, it is very beautiful.
Our new hotel (Arriane in Ieper) is very nice and we had a great meal in the conservatory
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Tot: 0.06s; Tpl: 0.007s; cc: 9; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0259s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
