Belgium
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Five go mad in Belgium

Five intrepid Ealing cyclists decided to try a weekend on two wheels in Flanders in early June. The small, old town of Damme was chosen as a base for our excursions as it seemed the best compromise of offering a good choice of accommodation and enabling easy access to the many excellent cycle paths that criss-cross the province.

Damme is located just 3 miles from Brugge and only 5 miles from the beautiful Dutch town of Sluis and the Belgian coast easily accessible to the west. It is entirely possible to spend several days touring this area without having to leave the dedicated cycle routes for more than a few minutes.

The countryside, while entirely flat, is certainly not without it's charms as you will discover for yourself if you care to visit. Conveniently tree-shaded canals, and their associated cycle paths, take you across beautiful farmland and through quiet woods too. Due to the well established popularity of cycle touring in this area we found that we were never far from a cafe or restuarant where cyclists were not only welcomed but probably formed the majority of the patron's customer base.

We were reminded of the Belgains' love for surreal art on several occasions as we cycled past impromptu cast bronze statues amongst the trees and, not least, by a restaurant in Damme that had scores of blue wellington boots nailed to it's facade!

Despite the hot weather we managed to see a good deal of the area and cycled just over 80 miles in two days. We were close to developing a dependency on ice cold glasses of Lipton's Iced Tea as we rode on the blisteringly hot Saturday...a delicious life-saver. Two brave souls in the party took a refeshing dip in the sea at De Haan and all of us look forward to returning some time soon. The standard of Flemish cuisine is internationally renowned and beer afficionados are naturally well catered for high....why not join us next time?