Bart's Cycling Scribes 霸特單車遊記: 2016

Another quick bike ride today, I did around 20 km. I went to the nature park and from there to Meldert

Tranquil as usual out here

A bit warmer than yesterday

I like this area a lot. When I was working in Belgium, I passed here twice every day., even in the dark winters.

A few curves and into the mini forest

I know my geography well: instead of taking the main road, I used this nature park to connect to another small road that would lead me to the pharmacy; where I would buy medicine for my dad.

Little pond here

This picture is better. It was mighty tranquil today. Probably because it is a bit on the chilly side for being outside.

I made a turn to the left, to the small town Meldert. I used to go running in that little street often.

A lot of headwinds today, I could feel the wind blowing in my face

I came from Lummen, now going to Meldert

De broekkantstraat

That is a nice place to live, probably very expensive

Many fields around me.

Then I saw a street called Venusberg (Venus Mountain). It filled me with the same kind of sensation I had in Taiwan when seeing a street with the name slope or mountain, or like in Czech Republic or Germany, when something is called Berg. Anyway, the name lured me in and there I went.

Guess what? It went uphill

A view downhill

Not very long but I think it reached 8% at some point. Still nice

I reached an area where I had never been before, that's right , in my own block.

Discovering in my own hometown, it should not be possible haha

The road turned into a gravel road but with 28mm tires it was doable.

I arrived at the pharmacy and bought the medicine, then I went home. Here you can see the EU flag (blue), Belgium flag, Flanders flag (yellow), Limburg flag (to the left), Lummen flag (to the right)

My precious 2014 SW Roubaix. Even though I now have a disc brake Roubaix, I am not selling it.

Kerststal

I took another detour over Zelem and then took many tiny roads home.

Again the sun was setting rapidly. It is the shortest day of the year. As of tomorrow daylight will slowly increase. Great stuff1

I crossed this road and then it was 2 km left.

20 km is not too bad for a very spontaneous short rid.

I woke up early this morning to bring my mom's car to the garage. I threw in my bike so I could go back home like that. It needed a big maintenance. Good thing I brought some clothing because it was very cold.

This reminded me a lot of the early December ride to Tabor when it was -11. This was only minus four but still cold. Luckily the roads were dry so no problem.

It was only a miserable four km to my home, but even those were significant: I was cycling in my home town in December.

When I was in Taiwan, I always flew home around the 20th of December. I always thought it was cold in Belgium then. Now that I come from Prague, where it was minus 11 a few weeks ago, I am able to relativate this.

Glad I took my road bike home. Just pop out the wheels; lower the seatpost and there you go. Easy fix:

It was around nine o clock in the morning and the sun was rising. It gets light one hour later than in Czech republic. In exchange for that; it stays longer light at night as well.