Happy Easter

Lots have been happening, and many kilometres have been ridden (and driven) since I last posted here. And yes, I did the Paris-Roubaix Challenge, with a couple of incidents (of course), and finished it. But before I go into that, I will write a bit about the other rides I did. Not doing so would be terribly unfair to this great cycling experience I am having. No time to be apologetic, I will just try to remember some of the great things and the great riding we have been doing.

Sat, 24th March: Koenigstein

We did leave Senftenberg, our home town for almost four weeks, but before that we did a trial run with the motorhome by driving to Koengstein and Gohrisch. Sandra spoke a lot of this area and the climbing we were going to do but I thing I got a lot more than that… The climbing was very good, true, but she didn’t tell me how interesting the villages along the river Elbe were. And I didn’t really know (or listened) we could ride from our camping spot, down to old Koengstein, up to a medieval fortress, turn around, ride through villages along the river Elbe and cross the border to Decin, in the Czech Republic.

Time: 1 h 20 min
Dist: 46 km
Elev: 540 m

Sun, 25th March: Gohrish – Decin (CH)

Time: 3 h 40 min
Dist: 72.7 km
Elev: 716 m

Tue, 27th March: Goettingen

The motorhome passed the test. We packed it and drove off. The next stop was Goetingen. A short ride after we parked the motorhome got us through the town and to the hills. More riding and climbing, yes, but this town (a big academic and cultural centre with a huge natural reserve) had so much character I felt in love with it.

Time: 1 h 58min
Dist: 26.7 km
Elev: 336 m

Wed, 28th March: Gottingen

Time: 1 h 50 min
Dist: 28.9 km
Elev: 320 m

Thur, 29th March: Moers

This was a bit of a “just roll the legs” type of ride. Going through the small pretty village of Rheinberg was interesting though. And we were on our way to Belgium.

Time: 1 h 35 min
Dist: 30 km
Elev: 41 m

Fri, 30th March: Liege

We stopped in Blegny, a few kilometres from Liege, somewhere on the hills. The riding was beautiful, farm houses, windy and cold. This was Belgium in Spring.

Time: 1 h 50 min
Dist: 33.3 km
Elev: 417 m


Sat, 31st March: Perrone to Saint Quentin

Time: 2 h 25 min
Dist: 31.6 km
Elev: 213 m

And then, there was the Paris-Roubaix Challenge, without a doubt the hardest ride I ever done. Unfortunately, we must get going. I will put a little post soon.

Cheers,

Alberto
Cafe Bornhem, Gent