Day 37 – Wed 16 Jul 14, Asse

Forecast: 14-25 deg C, partly cloudy; Listed distance: 0km; Actual distance: 39km; Cumulative distance: 1457km; Av speed: 15.4 km/h; Max speed: 40.8 km/h; Asse: 15 deg C; Start time: 9:30am; Stop time: 12:30pm; Ride time: 2h22m

Two sleep-ins in a row, we are getting quite spoilt.  After a lovely leisurely breakfast Guido took us for a Tour de Asse.  It was nice riding without the panniers in fine warm weather and the route was a tad challenging in some places.  Guido showed us along a marked circular cycle route around the district via a wide variety of paths, back roads and cycle lanes.  The setting was mainly rural, with the normal farm animals and crops, with some suburbia thrown in.  The district looks, clean, prosperous and well cared for; a real nice place to live and bring up a family.  Of course, like just about everywhere at the moment, there are some economic and social concerns. The main thing we saw is that they look after their cyclists with good infrastructure. 

We were back home in time for a nice lunch of big juicy cherries, bread, salad, cheese, and Carpaccio. We are getting to like this raw meat dish very much. 

Guido and Greg then visited a huge bike shop at a nearby village, Aalst, and spent a good hour or so in a great shop, whilst Wendy read, napped and chatted with Magda.  This was followed by a quiet evening of eating, drinking, listening to music and catching up. We had another excellent prepared meal of spaghetti bolognaise and then tiramisu, made with Amaretto instead of Tia Maria.  It was so nice to see Guido and Magda, along with other members of their family, in their own home and see how real Belgians live.  You just can't see that from a motel room.  We are looking forward to their visit to Oz one day so we can return the amazing hospitality they provided us.  It will be sad to leave in the morning.



A llama dressed up to look like a poodle
Guido, Wendy and an old church
Us

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