Ride report: Going Dutch Day 2 – Ghent to Middelburg

After a fine evening in Ghent I awoke to an equally enjoyable breakfast in the grand dining room at the Charme Hotel Hancelot.

There had been some rain overnight and weather forecasts suggested the coming day might also be wet around lunchtime, brightening later with temperatures around 12-14°C. Not great, but fine with the right clothing choices.

I was feeling pretty good as I’d managed to sleep quite well. How untrammeled must be the repose of my retired companions if just one day of cycling and not working produces such an effect!

As has become my habit, I was careful to treat my neck carefully before bed, with a series of gentle neck stretches. I wasn’t entirely successful; waking up I found a bit of neck tension but it soon faded as I moved about the spacious bedroom.

I was looking forward to the days ride, in part because I’d had a chance to review the planned route and tweak it to include a much quieter exit from Ghent and a slightly meandering path up to the Briskens ferry.

Once again, JR decided to sit the day out and meet us via a convoluted train journey to Middelburg. His main concern was not to aggravate a minor niggle into a more serious issue as he has bigger rides ahead of him this summer.

Leaving Ghent

We left Ghent with a much clearer plan to the night previously, where our exit from the train station led us on a circuitous route to the hotel. Having dropped JR back near the station, we continued away from the centre on blissfully quiet roads and cycle lanes to the west of the town.

Our overnight stay in Ghent was enough to see it would be an interesting place to revisit for a day or two, but not enough to feel I know it at all. Much like large towns in Flanders though it seems to have an enviable standard of living and fine residential areas.

Rolling on, within five miles we crossed the Ringvaart canal and were headed north, on our way to Briskens.

I found our journey north exceptionally enjoyable, we were rolling along comfortably with not far to go and plenty of time to do it in.

The cycle paths are incredible! More often than not you are riding alongside neat polders, smart houses and open fields with the mixed use paths linking it all together. It’s like riding along the A24 cyclepath but without the heavy traffic and extending over tens of miles.

Where the route did necessitate roads, the drivers in Belgium are remarkable. Their insurance terms are such that – broadly speaking – you break it you pay for it. Hit a cyclist and its your fault unless you can prove otherwise and thus trucks and cars are ever ready to yield to the bike. I imagine similar terms apply to cyclists and pedestrians; the more vulnerable road user is best protected.

The result shows that systemic solutions create better outcomes (and greater harm when not optimised). The cycling infrastructure is important but it can take a broader policy to get the full benefit. Rarely have I felt more comfortable riding my bike.

Adding to my enjoyment was my trusty Cannondale Topstone which is currently sporting S-Works Pathfinder 42c tyres. They roll well and are nice and supple, well optimised for tracks, tarmac and everything in between given the fundamentally dry conditions we were experiencing.

My neck too felt OK and after limited miles since Christmas it was great to spin the legs steadily.

The Netherlands at last

Crossing into the Netherlands near Goedleven brought a subtle change to our riding as Gordon spotted we had time to make the ferry with as little waiting around as possible.

I wouldn’t say we upped the pace particularly, rather we maintained a steady effort in the run up to Briskens, harried slightly by the threat of rain in the air over the last 8 miles.

Our effort paid off as we reached Briskens with ten minutes to spare for the crossing to Vlissingen on the other side of the Scheldt river (which runs up to Antwerp).

My route plotting brought us with no confusion or detour right into the Briskens terminal all the way from Ghent, which was very pleasing. I used Plotaroute (best to use the desktop version for this) as I’ve always found it very reliable to plan routes in combination with Google Streetview.

Almost on cue, the rain that had threatened started as we got on the short 25 minute ferry ride to Vlissingen. The ferry crossing was fast and efficient and provided a welcome pause in the day.

On arrival it was still raining enough that we ducked into the nearest cafe for a bite of lunch, familiarising ourselves with the Dutch way of catering. One way or the other we managed to get what we wanted and waited out the rain.

Split plans

By now the temperatures were not warm. The original plan had been an extra 20 mile loop out to Westkapelle to see the site of the Marines landing in WW2. From there they worked across the Walcheren island to clear out German positions so that Allied transports could move through to Antwerp. It was, I’m told, rather bloody.

I had other plans personally. Having fully intended to go, I decided to nurse my neck which after 3 hours or more of riding was at risk.

The cold and slightly damp temperatures didn’t appeal either so while MarkJ, our resident military nerd (more accurately one of our resident military nerds) and Gordon headed off, DaveS and I decided to cut things short and head up the canal a further five miles to our stop for the night, Middelburg.

I was expecting DaveS to go easy on me, but in an effort to keep warm he set off at a brisk pace before handing over to me for the last two and a half miles. Not wanting to let the side down I did my best to maintain Dave’s pace with the result neither of us were cold any more!

Middelburg

Middelburg is an exceptionally pretty town, the capital of Zeeland. It got badly damaged in WW2 but you’d never guess as we rode through streets that look unchanged for centuries.

Our overnight stay was in the Poorthuys B&B and I can’t recommend it highly enough so long as you can easily navigate stairs! I was a great place to stay and I had a lovely room to myself with comfortable en suite.

We stabled our bikes in the cellar, arriving just 20 minutes before JR turned up, to coincide with a large group of friendly South American cycle tourists as they booked in.

A quick turnaround meant that as the late afternoon swapped rain clouds for sunshine, DaveS, JR and myself had time to explore a little of the town, stopping for coffee and a delicious cherry and vanilla cheesecake before mooching into the main square for an early beer.

Meanwhile, Mark was getting his fill of tanks!

Our evening was rounded off with more beers and a large steak (cooked not quite to our high standards) in one of the local restaurents.

Nevertheless, I thought the day was very successful and while I regret not making it to Westkapelle I had a very nice afternoon with Dave and JR and an excellent nights sleep at the Poorthuys.