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Ronse (Belgium) - There are days, and there are days, and there are two of these days in a row… Days on which everything turns into a challenge. Challenges you don’t want to have on that day, or actually not at all. And two of those days in a row is just too much to handle. I am broken. My legs hurt, my head feels like it is going to explode, my forehead feels stuffed with something that is common in winter, and las but least there is a little mental setback.

A lot can happen in two days as I found out. It all looked promising! Two days in Belgium to get some hills in on both the bike and run. An early morning swim was planned and at 10:00 I was in the car heading to Ronse. Easy to find! First exit after Gent and follow the signs… Google maps told me it was roughly a 4 hour ride and without traffice and my phone showing me the way that was a piece of cookie?! Wrong!

Of course I lost my way in Belgium… And instead of 4 hours in the car, it took me 6,5 to get to my destination… No more cycling, just a hard run… But with two legs stiff from the long ride, that turned into a nasty set as I discovered the morning after… Two wooden chop sticks… Combined with a terrible night in a hot hotel room, dehydrated madly, I was cooked! And besides that, it was poring with rain… No way that I was going to ride my lovely bike out there and put myself at risk this close before an event.

Change of plan! In the car, off to Breda where my sister lives for a cup of coffee and then towards Groningen, to be kicked out of the car for a 5 hour ride… Great, easy, and looking forward to the sun that was shining in Groningen. But even before we left Ronse, we were lost again… Turn… And off we went. Passed Gent, Antwerp and into Breda. Awesome! Enough time left to get that big ride in… Even with the wooden chopsticks.

There was even enough time to squeeze in a 60 minute run before we tried (!) driving to Groningen again. But not before putting in some petrol… Petrol? Again a change of plan. Petrol and diesel cars just do not make a good combination… My ride just disappeared into thin air… Think, think, think…

There was no way that we were going anywhere without having the fuel tank emptied, so I got changed and fixed my bike to squeeze in a ride from the gas station… A bit strange if you ask me, but at least I got my legs to spin and get some of the wooden strings changed into muscles again. And above all, I got the opportunity to bike in places where I had never been before, which always makes the rides so much easier! So thanks to my dad I had an hour of fun on the bike, riding from Breda to Gorichem!