Dry and sunny weather at last. It looked like it would remain so for the entire day so I was smiling when I rode out for a long ride. Riding through Bierbeek and Willebringen towards Kumtich, Oorbeek and Hoegaarden. Here, I joined the Ravel which took me nicely towards Jodoigne, Eghezee and ultimately Namur. I ventered into Namur on a double bike-path until I reached the railway station and the bikepath seemed to stop. At that point I had exactly 60K on my counter. So I turned around and started the 7K long climb out of Namur Saint Servais towards Daussoulx. The wind was blowing in my back and I could make good speed on the Ravel which more or less goes downhill until it reaches Eghezee. After Eghezee there is a slight bump in the landscape, with the Hottomont tomb on my left, and after that it is more or less downhill until you reach Hoegaarden again. The wind did shift until it seemed to be blowing from my right during the descent.
From Hoegaarden, I had to face the wind up front, but since it was sunny and the breeze was warm I did not mind. What I did not like was the fool that sprayed me when I was wading through a big puddle on my bike. He rode through it at speed which resulted in me and my bike getting wet. I did consider for a short while riding after him and pushing him in the scenery but I could convince myself he wasn't worth getting upset about. My clothes would dry and my bike would be clean after passing a rag over it. When I was on my last descent,  into Blanden , I got stung by - I think - a wasp. It collided at 40kph against my left ear and remained there for a few seconds. Long enough to sting, the pain was sharp and acute. Ouch. Since I don't recall being allergic to wasp venom I will have to wait until the pain goes away and hope there is no excessive swelling.

Endomondo track


Ride Stats : 121.5K and 635/675 heightmeters (Polar/Garmin) in 4h33mins

8014/70250