Inline Skating Notebook

On the road again:

Day 1: Lille => Oostende
It was 9:00 when we find ourselves at Thierry to make final checks… and weighing bags: 9kg to 12kg for Thierry and Tonio. The sky is blue, no clouds on the horizon, a photo before the start of the adventure and go. 9:20: we are heading towards the Grand Place de Lille to give the official start of the raid. Another picture then we start in the direction of Lambersart, St. Andrew, Verlinghem, Frelinghien then Warnetton. From there, we take a narrow path along the canal from the Lys that will take us up to 10km of Ypres. It was 11:40 when we stop to eat. At 12:30, we resume our journey, arrive at Ypres, and from there we follow the canal until the yser Dixmude. The raid Ypres / Dixmude is a classic in ROL, we thus land known… The start was too easy… Soon, the wind just to mix with us and putting oneself in the face, it will stay that way all day. We therefore continue our momentum. Out of Diksmuide, we still along the channel (Ijezer) on the bitumen rather average. We go out to Shore to pause and take the opportunity to recharge the GPS, including the battery started to show some signs of weakness. It was 16:45 when we leave. As we prefer to avoid the main lines we take small roads that pass through the fields. The GPS shows 85 km and we are still not arrived. To guide us, we take as a benchmark the tall buildings of Oostende. Arriving at Oostende we are asking the help of a cyclist to find the youth hostel, the person living in the vicinity, we propose to follow him, we are going through the whole city quickly in the next What luck! It was 19:15 when we arrive at the youth hostel, the GPS indicates 107 km (20km more than what we thought). 21.30 after giving some news to the family and friends we are going to bed.

2nd day: Oostende => Maldegem
For this 2nd stage, we know that this is not a day too long, therefore, we take the opportunity to make a grace morning (8:15 lifting), we take breakfast at the inn and leave. 9:00 therefore we leave Oostende along the coast, after a few minutes, Tonio realizes he forgot to set up GPS… We decided to go through Zeebrugge and make our lunch break, why we follow the symbol, of course, between us and the sea, a highway and a tram track (not as terrible decor, it will be so, therefore, to Zeebrugge with a ground not always comfortable for our feet. We will make a break De Haan, Tonio opportunity to buy a tube of Biafine to treat its few sunburn, no problem today the sky is gray and the wind always face. It is 11:50 we pause for refreshment breaks, 12.30 According to a "special" croque we leave. Driving along the coast still hand this time near the dam, which is much more pleasant. After 30 minutes we do a map, carried into our momentum, we realize that we went too far and we spent the channel that we had to take: half turn towards the channel that runs from Zeebrugge to Strobrugge. arrived on the channel, we do not regret our half round, unlike this morning, the landscape is nice, the ground is perfect and the wind pushes us. kilometres We swallow without difficulty, we will pause for 15 minutes around 14:00 in a field, then leave still along the channel (it is necessary from time to time to cross a road and change sides). 15h50 we leave the canal following the indications of a panel which states: Maldegem: 2km. arrived in Maldegem we seek the youth hostel that we can find without much problem with the panel. 16h00: Arrival! We are pleased to see that this is a chamber of 2 (we did not want to be disturbed in preparation for the big step that we will achieve the following day. time we have before us, we take the opportunity to go shopping, a visit to the laundromat. After eating we decide to go see a friend who lives Maldegem and who can tell us the best path for tomorrow. 21h30 we go on and look at the road map for the future, measuring us on the map fall in the 140km, we agree to put the clock at 6:00 to start no later than at 6:45.

3rd day: Maldegem => Antwerp
It is 6:10, the alarm has already sounded for 10 minutes, we are lifting, breakfast we had bought the previous day (youth hostels offer breakfast usually between 7:30 and 9:00). We are ready to go, it is 6:50. Today we face a big step, we must reach Antwerp, in the raid last year we had already made a part of this stage, wanting to innovate, we decided to go through Breskens to take a boat up Vlissigen to. We are therefore following the directions of our friend saw yesterday, they will be more valuable than (thanks Martin!). We put 2 hours to get to Breskens, through good bicycle paths, except when we are wrong route and borrow a path paved during wet ½ hour. We will have the right to what is becoming the usual head wind and the sky not very pretty. We thus arrive at the port of Breskens to take a boat to Vlissingen (Holland), bad luck, we have to miss, we therefore expect 25 minutes to take the next boat. We take the boat for 30 minutes, we take the opportunity to blow a good shot. Arriving at Vlissingen, we can start with this time as accompanying a fine rain, by chance it will not last too long (just enough to moisten the soil and make it slippery). From there our sole will be the first road that goes towards the east. During 1h we drive on a bike path along the major port warehouses. It was at this meeting that the rain decided to make his reappearance, wetting the road extensively in its path, unfortunately this is no longer there is a fine hour. We continue to roll eastwards, and when we decide to take breaks this will be under bridges roads. Of course we are soaked to the bone, our goal is to reach as soon as possible southern Bergen Op Zoom. After more than 70km in the rain, it is 17:30 we arrive south of Bergen Op Zoom, we decide to do a few races, rollers and bags to the basket, when we move close to fresh as we claquons teeth. Upon leaving the store we host, we decide to put own business and to stop there for now, we go to Antwerp in buses, not to visit sick either. We will therefore several buses to reach our youth hostel. It is 18:30, we settle into our room, for tonight we will be in room 6. After a cleanup rolling, a well-deserved meal, we give some new friends and the family. We chips in a coup dœil GPS, he said: 7:30 and 100km roller, an average of 13km per hour, not bad with 2 / 3 of the trail in the rain. 22h30, we will sleep tomorrow a small step ahead.

4th day: Antwerp => Brussels
Following our turbulent stage of the day before we decided to take our time to go, then it is 9:30 when we leave the hostel, to come out of Antwerp we follow the direction of the south, our but as a first step in reaching the town of Wilrijk, then finally Niel Schelle. Niel arrived at around 11:30 we follow the canal which goes to Brussels, after a few minutes we realize that we are heading in the wrong direction. After a short break at the edge of the channel we rebroussons way, we bike on the edge of the channel until 12:30, after changing the bank on several occasions, we will be even separated by a bridge. We therefore our break to eat at lunchtime sandwich menu with the remains of the races yesterday. With a little help dœil GPS 35km, not many kilometres this morning yet we had the impression of having made at least 50, perhaps the state of the coating not very good that we misled. We leave around 13:15 still along the channel, it will be so until Machelen or we decide to redo some courses. We arrive, therefore, on the outskirts of Brussels by 16:00. Unfortunately we do not have a detailed plan in Brussels. We therefore call on our road to a person who we send to the other side of town, while we nétions not too far, and to make matters worse the GPS signal loses in brussels. In short, we will have a lot of time to find the youth hostel. Finally arrived at the hostel, as always, we take the bedding as well as the keys to the room. We record the GPS data that indicates 63km, but we believe that we lack the 10km done in Brussels. While Tonio will provide new Internet friends and family Thierry goes to the laundry. We miss you in the room at 19:30, as a place at 20:00 departure from the hike in Brussels. Coming back from the laundry Thierry said he suffered at his right tibia, after a few minutes of reflection, he decided anyway to make the trek. 20:00 departure of the 1st loop is given, several vehicles advertising before the hike. We take the opportunity to discuss with staffeurs we know, we take the opportunity to discuss the organization of the outing, staffs and the police (2 bikers, 10 scooters, and a small 10aine policemen roller following the hike ). End of the 1st loop on parking, vehicles advertising distribute their contents (water, energy drink and fruity). 21h departure for the 2nd loop with a pace a bit faster, Thierry always suffering of his right leg remains towards the end of the parade. After a few climbs, descents, tunnels and dropped we arrive at the Place Poelaert. We are invited to the 3rd loop (half-time) with the staff, but we will not go there: Thierry has increasingly evil and the youth hostel closes at 1am. We have decided therefore to return to the hostel (Thierry will do on foot sock). It is 01:00, after a good shower we will sleep…

5th day: Brussels => Lille
It was 8:00 when the wakes rings, we are going to take our breakfast with a little more choice than in youth hostels. We are discussing létape ahead, unfortunately Thierry still suffering of his tibia decided to go by train to Lille. 9:00 am, we leave the youth hostel, Thierry takes sadly foot bell and the direction of the station on foot, while Tonio part in a westerly direction in the roller. From now Tonio travelling solo, with the help of the GPS. He has also been careful to lighten their backpack as much as possible, he got rid of his spare clothing (aside his windbreaker jacket) and his toilet kit (big mistake, you will understand thereafter). It therefore follows the guidance of GPS, escaping from Brussels, he is not seeking and goes to the west. 30 minutes later, he was outside Brussels near Dilbeek, then it happens on the road from Brussels to Ninove (great road 15km long in a straight line with alternating peaks and valleys). The pavement Ninove, I had found to his dangerousness, for the moment it rolls on the cycling. Certainly quà later cars travelling at 90 km / h are not too reassuring. After several kilometres, at the end of the cycle track. No other choice, it was travelling on the road, the cars exceeded more or less closely. It benefits from a downhill to a small peak speed result: the GPS indicates 54km / h. He found time to time the cycle track but usually for a short distance. It therefore continued to drive on this road until Meerbeke (a small town just before Ninove). His goal now is to go in the direction of Ath, at the time it passes over a canal, he stops and looks at the map. Parfait, the channel takes the desired direction. 11.20, down to a few steps to arrive at the canal, Tonio benefits also apply to a walker state of the soil, he said that it was travelling very well over 20km. It therefore travelling along this canal until the road is cut off, and turns into a dirt road. It must then return 4km above to find the last crossing, he took the opportunity to eat and drink a little, too. He left the canal and rejoins the road, it calls upon the leadership of riparian RAVEL (Network Autonomous return to), it follows their stated but were unable to find it. It is not serious he continues, through some small towns as Two-Acren, Lessines. Arriving in Ath, it is about 12h30: chocolate, cereal bars, and water, 15 minutes later Tonio again. From there, his path is mapped out, it takes the one that goes from Ath in Lille through Leuze and Tournai: a trunk road with a bicycle path (or at least not when it is full of land, or damaged). 16.15, arrived at Tournai, it benefits from having recovered the network to send a small SMS, Thierry and the family: "France, here I am…." Luckily today, the weather was on its side: not a cloud on the horizon, but it is precisely at that time that his sunburn from 1 day and he reappeared heat calves, he agreed to put from the sun but it is in his toiletry kit being distributed in the morning. Too bad, it continues to drive even if it starts to heat seriously, no longer supporting the pain he takes his jacket windbreaker that winds around his left leg for a further 1 hour. It is 17:15, arriving in Villeneuve d'Ascq! There he knows perfectly the road, it is that I arrive at 17h45 home. Coup dœil GPS: 120km in 7:15 (with an average of 16.7 km / h). Here ends the 2007 raid for Tonio.