Flanders by Bike - Day 3

A leisurely start to the day as the barge pootled from Dordrecht to our starting point near Tholen. The resounding chorus at breakfast was "oooh, my aching bum-bones" !!!!
It was unanimously agreed that the upright riding position on the bikes puts a lot of pressure in one place, despite squishy seat covers and padded cycling knickers.

By 10.30am we were ready to go, with strict instructions to be an unpronounceable location on the map by 3.00pm to meet the barge for an afternoon cruise into Antwerp.

We followed the route numbers for 35 km through mostly rural countryside. We stopped briefly to wander around Fort de Roovere, built at the time of the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, but stopped longer at a cafe where we could rest our aching backsides on hard, wooden benches and sip coffee whilst eating our packed lunches.

Everyone made it to the allocated meeting point by 3.00pm and re-boarded the barge. Destination: Antwerp.

After dinner onboard, we had our briefing for tomorrow's route and then went ashore to stretch our legs. The barge was moored near the MAS museum which has an open observation deck on the top floor so, after 10 floors of elevators, we had a birds eye view of the city lights of Antwerp.

It was cold. We retreated to the barge for an early night. More cycling tomorrow.Read more