Brugge to Zeebrugge to Brugge – May 31/13 – 45 km

This morning the barge stayed in Brugge while we headed off to the seaside town of Zeebrugge on the North Sea.

The start of the ride was pretty “hairy” as we were riding through the business district of Brugge and it is a very busy city. There are still lots of bicycle lanes however with such a large group (29 riders today) it made it tricky getting through the lights, intersections, across crosswalks, and general maneuvering  through, around and with traffic.

We fought a head wind off of the North Sea almost all the way there, except for the odd ride behind buildings, trees, etc. The last climb to the seaside was steep and the wind was right in our face……….. but we made it.

Once at Zeebrugge we were quite shocked with this seaside town. There is a very large and wide beach, then a fairly wide beach walk, a single lane one-way road, some shops and stores and then apartment building after apartment building all rising up 10 to 20 stories and all facing the sea.

On the beach there are some businesses selling food, drinks, renting chairs, etc and then oddly there is about 3 to 4 rows of garden shed sized buildings that are privately owned. This is where the regular visitors to the sea store their belongings and set up their own little space for a day at the beach. All the spaces are leased or privately owned and we understand they can be quite expensive, especially if your spot is in the front row facing the water.

After about a 2 hr stop we head back to the barge which was still tied up in Brugge. The wind was at our back and except for a short detour because of road construction we made it back in good time. However, we once again had to ride through a busy area of traffic, which is very tricky, but we made it safe and sound.

Tonight was our last  dinner on the barge and our American friends are hosting a “Cosmo Party”. What a night, a Cosmo Party includes lots of drinking “Cosmopolitans” Which are made with Vodka, cranberry juice, Cointreau, lime and lime juice. Of course the required dancing and singing and laughing 🙂

After dinner our Brazilian friends held a raffle of their cycling shirts. A husband and wife each gave up their shirt and Brenda was lucky enough to win.  So, I put my Canada shirt up for raffle and one of the Brazilians won the shirt and was proudly wearing it for the rest of the evening. The Captain of the boat added a “Magnifique” golf shirt and one American lady won that. It was a great last night on the barge.