Our everyday life in Belgium

Today wasn't so eventful. Mrs. Clinkspoor drove the itty-bitty blue Fiat into Wetteren as we followed on our bikes so we could get some tubes, a CO2 gun, and cartridges. In true Euro fashion, one second you're practically out in the country, next second you're in a densely populated urban center. I don't have any problems with dense population and all that, but what I find baffling is that there is often, as far as I can tell, no traffic control at many of the intersections, or the quasi-intersections for that matter. So combine the lack of traffic control with a really old, unplanned road system (or path system really) and there is what appears to be total chaos. Being on a bike, and completely clueless, it seems to me---in a very American way---to mean that we always have the right away. No one has honked their horn or made any negative gestures in any way, so as far as I'm concerned, we're doing it right.

Super "smol" Belgie roads:

We got our tubes and headed back through Schellebelle to again take the ferry across the river Schelde to our familiar training grounds. We had some sprints and two-minute efforts on tap for today's training and needed some uninterrupted road. We were nearly to Ghent when we flipped it to come back and cross the river in Wetteren, foregoing the ferry and its grumpy pilot. Back in Wetteren, we searched, in vain, for a market with some soya milch, as the regular cow milch has an off, bitter taste to it. We never found any soy milk, but it was fun to peruse the odd jars of mysterious spreads and pickled unknowns that were available.

Workin' on bikes in the Clinckspoor shop:

Tomorrow, we'll try to pry ourselves out of bed early and head to Mol to recon the course for Saturday. Hear you soon!

Post ride recovery food: Speculoos and Nutella on bread and either a wafel or a Grany.