One windy weekend in Belgium.

On the first weekend in December, James Jackson and James Whatling spent a couple of days training in Belgium. Nothing too hard they thought, just an easy day or two, steadily getting the miles in and enjoying the countryside. Alas, this was not the weekend for steady miles, no such luck! The wind blew hard, as only it can in Belgium, and an easy couple of days turned out to be a hardcore training weekend!

Saturday was not such a bad day weather wise, and despite setting out from Essex at silly o'clock, the James' were in good spirits for the riding to come. A good hearty breakfast on the ferry to keep them going and they were off on the short drive across Northern France into Belgium. James Jackson was quiet on the way, maybe he was a bit nervous or excited to be riding on the cobbles for the first time.....or maybe he was asleep! Just as well James Whatling knew the way as the map reader only knew the way to the land of nod....although he did manage to wake up about 20 km into Belgium.

Saturday's ride was planned to be the longer of the two, as the forecast was pretty bad for Sunday, and so the James' made the most of the dry but breezy weather, driving hard up the famed cobbled climbs of the Flemish Ardennes that make up the Tour of Flanders. Four and half hours of strong riding, and more than a few wrong turns later and the James' got back to the car, ready for Belgian recovery food.....Chips and Mayonnaise!

After a quiet night in Ghent recovering and trying a couple of Belgian beers (NB: We did only have a couple, but beware of the 11% beer...it tastes great but it's lethal!) Sunday dawned grey, wet and windy. The wind had increased in strength considerably and it took a lot of strength to keep going, but the James' were the measure of it, pushing hard and even managing to laugh at the severity of the conditions. At one point James Whatling was at the front, riding into a block headwind, pushing 400 Watts and only managing 9 mph.....it was that hard! 

2 and half hours of punishment later, the James' decided to call it a day and headed off to the Tour of Flanders museum in Oudenaarde for a look around before heading for home. It might not have been the steady miles they had planned for, but they rose to the challenge, got the miles in and can be safe in the knowledge they won't ride in many more tough, windy conditions than that this coming season!