Last night we came to the agreement that we'd turn our alarms off and go riding whatever time we rolled out of bed. For most of us it was around 9.30am but the rain started to pour so we further delayed our recovery ride. We have 2 days before the U23 kermesse in Hove so we would only head out for a few hours whenever the rain cleared. Martijn's cleaning lady was due to come around 1pm so we planned to go grocery shopping and then head off for a ride so we would be out of the house while she cleaned. The nearby supermarket / warehouse that we've been shopping at called "Colruyt" has been extremely handy and cheap so we returned there once again to stock up on supplies. The supermarket also has lots of 'free samples' in several of the aisles including waffles, pieces of chocolate and even a self serve coffee machine. The coffee was strangely good probably one of the best we've had in Belgium (besides the fantastic coffee at La Bas of course!).
After the 'basics' were thrown in the trolley and we'd made the most of all the free samples we headed to the check out where we picked up a few cheap-cheap DVD's to watch throughout the week. Martijn had told us 1pm for the cleaner but we weren't exactly sure when we'd rock up so we threw our kit on and bummed around the house until she arrived 20 minutes later. The weather was average but you can't have blue skies everyday (especially not in Belgium!) and we set off on our reverse reco loop of Turnhout - Geel - Mol. Brad had yet another puncture which I think brings his total to 6-7?? While he changed it Glenn, Matt and I wandered around an exotic caryard home to Ferrari's, Bentley's, Lamborghini's, Porsche's and Corvette's. I'm by no means a 'car-nerd' but from what I'm told these are nice cars... We rode for about 30km before we stopped in Geel for a coffee covered in mud and dirt. Glenn and Brad were feeling peckish so they ordered a few servings of Pannenkoek to have with their hot chocolate (Cecemel). It was quite chilly outside but lucky for us many cafes in Belgium have blankets/snuggies so we rugged up and sipped our hot chocolate while our bikes got rained on.
Brad's tyres clearly weren't up to the harsh terrain of Belgian roads so we rode around the corner to Van Eykes and he picked up a pair of Pro Race 3 Michelin tyres for a steal at 46 euro (you do not want to know how much they charge for these in Australian bike shops...). A few New Zealanders were wandering around the shop (sticking out like sore thumbs) so we chatted to them for awhile while they got a Zipp wheel fixed. One of the rider's was in our criterium yesterday in Aarschot while the other was an U19 who'd just finished racing in the Junior World Track Championships and on his way to the Road Worlds in Copenhagen after they spend a few weeks in Belgium. We didn't catch their names but we hope little Brad Linfield causes them some strife when he represents Australia next month at the World Championships. The roads were slick so we took our time rolling home through the streets of Mol especially since Matt had a little tumble on Wednesday. Some of the curbs in the town's have a small deceptive lip on them which put Brett Schnitzerling on his backside last year as well. For anyone heading to Belgium to ride their bikes stay clear of these death traps!
Everyone rides bikes here in Belgium from children going to school, adults riding to work, delinquents heading for the pub and even the cleaning lady who passed us on the street after straightening out Martijn's house. Bread doesn't last long in thee Arbitrage team house so we stopped at a bakery and picked up a fresh loaf. Brad protected it in the crook of his arm like a newborn child as he weaved through traffic back to Martijn's house (both loaf of Brad arrived safely). We fixed a few sandwiches and had somewhat of a 3 way chess tournament between Glenn, Brad and myself while Matt watched a movie upstairs. I beat both Brad and Glen (1-0) while their played each other and ended in a stalemate. Eventually we grew hungry so Brad and I played chef for the evening. Brad cranked up the stove while I chopped various vegetables, we had a good system going for two young men who clearly don't do a lot of cooking (we love you mum's and girlfriend's). The brand new Red Hot Chili Peppers album "I'm With You" was a good choice as background music.
Somehow the meal was edible although I must admit it is extremely difficult to mess up vegetables & mashed potato. None of us are racing again til Sunday so we didn't need to stock up on excessive carbs or protein but we did allow Brad to eat some pasta because we're trying to fatten him up. The guys cleaned up the kitchen while Glenn and I locked horns in a few games of chess with me emerging victorious at 2-0. We talked bikes for awhile until we all grew tired and made our way to the couch to watch a movie. Since we arrived we have been waiting for a warm day to go and check out the famous Zilvermeer Lake which is supposed to be ridiculously busy the minute the temperature is higher than 25 degrees. It's unlikely for this week with the remainder predicted at overcast with the chance of showers. Hopefully we'll continue to dodge it but then it again it wouldn't really be Belgium without some rain!
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