Don't let schooling interfere with your education. - Mark Twain
They do say that experience is the best teacher and I am gaining a deep appreciation of the Flanders countryside by pedalling through it. I have used seven Mark Twain quotes already so will mention in passing that "Mark Twain" is a nom de plume. With his trademark white suit and flowing white hair and goatee Mark Twain resembled the modern day figurehead for a certain chain of fried chicken restaurants.
Fatigue is catching up with me so the plan for today, a shorter day, is to take it easy. Dipping down into Wallonia last night was a revelation as I observed just how different it is from Flanders. If you will allow me the lazy comparison, it feels like France and not just from a language perspective. For breakfast I discover a boulangerie and buy a couple of croissant to toast my brief taste of France. A future tour of Wallonia may be in order.
At the small village of Hakendover I stop for coffee at a bar and take some snaps.
A common sight in Belgium are the brick built farmsteads that are constructed in a rectanglular form around a central courtyard. There is no fixed design but there are some common features such as the large coach entrance. This isn't a good example and it's a poor photo I know.
Here's another example of a farmstead.
It is a Sunday and the cyclists are out in force. Usually a cycle club with matching kit. Car drivers are also enjoying a day out; I am in Flanders, honest.
You get the idea about farmsteads.
This is a fruit growing area with the single concrete track road being a good example of the route.
Arriving in Borgloon I catch the last lap of the last race of the European Road Cycling Championships quite by chance.
Then the cars with the spare bikes come through.
With the distance to get back on the route at the start of the day and out to my accommodation at the end it was a 70km day but with a slow pace and lots of rests I think I got some recovery in my legs.