Riding in the Ardennes

Yesterday, the coffee boys and the Irish lads headed out of the Irish cycling centre in Merchtem for a wicked 5 hours ride in the Ardennes, a region in Belgium famous for the spring classics Liege-Bastonge-Liege and Fleche Wallone.

In just a short drive south, we went from roads as flat as a board to roads with 5km after 5km climbs. First up was the finishing climb of Fleche Wallone, the Mur de Huy. I'm not sure how steep it was, but Mark had a 21 cog on and by the top he was having a very hard time turning the legs over. Some names were still painted on the road, it was pretty cool. The rest of the day was made up of six 5km climbs, three going out and three back on an out and back route, with a sweet and well deserved bakery stop for some pastries and a pop at the turnaround.

During the ride the weather was a bit of a lottery, one minute sunny and warm, the next black clouds and sprinkles of rain. For the ride we had to bring along every piece of clothing we had, because we never knew what we would get for the day. In the end it didn't rain, I guess Mother Nature knew better than to rain on us because I've seen enough of that stuff for now.

The drive back to the house was a quiet one, we were all good and tired.

Tomorrow night we're racing a 120km kermesse, a first time for Zeb and I. As for the weekend, there are 5 races on each of Saturday and Sunday, followed by an impressive 11 races on Monday. Think there are even 5 races in all of Canada this weekend?