Day 5: Sint Armands to Ghent

Sint Amands to Gent 62 kms

It was a five layer day this morning, and it didn't really get any warmer. The whole group rode to a small town, Dendermonde, with an impressive church, and then the Brazilians rode off to see what they could see. We to went into the wind for about an hour, stopping at a little cafe for morning tea and a pit stop. Unfortunately the place was closed, so we had to cross our legs (which can be awkward when riding) for another 15 mins until we found a bar.

Our picnic lunch was enjoyed in the wind and cold, then we rode on to Gent. We were expecting the boat to arrive before us, however, we received word that it would be at least two hours late, so we had time to ride into the centre of the city. Our 45 km ride was turning into a much longer ride. 

We had to park our bikes and walk in search of a bar and toilets. Always the two most important places on a group ride. Gent is full of amazing buildings, lots of crazy bike riders and trams, with accompanying pesky tramlines. 

We found a bar on the main canal, and proceeded to wait for confirmation that the boat had arrived. We were still in the freezing wind, with the sky getting darker by the minute. At least the bar provided some rugs, and Ray was able to warm up with hot chocolate and a delicious Belgium waffle.

One of our group is diabetic and took a turn for the worse. She had to catch a taxi to the boat, which we discovered had just arrived around 6pm and was 7 kms away. It had docked in a remote place. The Brazilians, who we had come across in the city centre, made it back to the boat before us, but had great difficulty in finding it. We arrrived at 7.15 and hoped that dinner wasn't all eaten.

All turned out well in the end. Sharon, the diabetic, made it back to the boat, and didn't die, the chef, Emile (appropriate name don't you think?), did not serve dinner until after we arrived, and rather than raining, the sun came out as we stepped on board. Last riding day tomorrow.

Not sure what the building in the distance is but my guess was it is the control tower for the busy port of Gent.

Our welcome to Gent

Some hero ripped off the hand of a giant and stood on his head. 

The Gent Town Hall

Gothic style buildings in the Gent Square

The Gent Cathedral

A sculpture near the entrance of the cathredral which represents a myth about a child and his dog who died whilst trying to get into the cathedral. So much for the generosity of the catholics.

Near the dock just outside of Gent. Just beside the goat track to get there.

Ride Notes

We actually started a few kilometres just south of Sint Armands as the dock was not available.

Unusually, we landed on a dock just outside of Gent, instead of in the city centre.

This was a particularly crappy dock, which caused quite a bit of unhappiness with the riders. Particularly because our finishing spot changed about 3 times during the day.