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Introduction

Bergs and cobbles might be what spring to mind when you think about Flanders and that was certainly the inspiration for this tour despite the fact that I can't manage sharp hills and I dislike cobbles. Just so we all know where we are, Flanders is the Flemish/Dutch-speaking region of Northern Belgium in contrast to Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Southern Belgium; a third smaller region is Brussels and its surroundings. You may be wondering who speaks Flemish and its a fair question as the word Flemish can be used to refer to the Dutch spoken in Flanders or any number of non-standard geographical variants. Oh, then there is the small region in the South East where German is the primary language.  Bergs are the notorious short sharp hills that with the notorious cobbles define bike racing in Flanders. Names like Koppenberg, Patenberg and Muur van Geraardsbergen will be familiar to those who follow cycle racing. In France the climbs can be long with manageable gradients from ...
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Day 11 - Kasterlee

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. - Mark Twain  A rightly timed pause for this tour would have been Leuven, that relaxed city I passed through earlier.  However, tomorrow I reach Antwerp and get the first of my three pauses, the other two being days off in Ghent and Bruges. Today is also a pause as there is only 40km involved and the terrain is easy and flat. The day starts with a ride along the Kanaal Dessel-Schoten . I linger over the view and just as I start to leave the bridge goes up.  Passing through Dessel the main attraction is the water pump, now a monument.  My destination today, Kasterlee, is reached easily after 40km. A true rest day which ends with a restored windmill. Index
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