Inside the Schelde Pelo with Eric Voigt

My favorite ride starts with a solid smash to get to the world famous “Schelde Pelo” group ride on time. The group ride departs from Ghent at 9 am and we (ideally this ride is done with at least 1 good friend) meet up with the ride at the Zingem bridge at about 9:20. After a forgotten water bottle, inner tube, or mid ride snack, we usually end up having to race to the bridge so we don’t miss it. The group ride itself is pretty mundane, just going up and down the Schelde canal, but go mid week and the ride becomes a smash fest. After about 2
hours, the average speed is almost always around 40 kph, while the average power is at a nice mid zone 1 number (sometimes, upwards of 100 people show up to this group ride, offering plenty of places to
hide).

Departing the ride where we got on, the next sensible place to go is straight to the cafe for a mid ride pick me up. This is where the big decision needs to be made… do we go into Ghent to the Bidon Cafe or hit up
“Tom’s” for his famous East Flanders cappuccino with homemade chocolate mousse or waffles on the side. Personally, I’m a big fan of Tom’s (Horebekse Boekhandel is the name of the hidden gem for anyone
that's interested). One of the best things about Tom’s is that it’s only about 10 minutes away from some of the best riding in the area, the hills of Wallonie.

Once a cap [ed. “cappuccino” for those not up to speed with the lingo] or 2 has been digested, and everyone is ready to get rolling, we head out for part 2 of the ride. Surprising to many, Belgium does actually have about 1 nicely paved road for every 5 cement slabbed, morale destroying, tube bursting “road”. While it’s
hard to completely avoid some of the classic Belgian roads, the area around Tom’s has a disproportional amount of good roads, which made it a go to for almost any of my training rides. A good local loop
consists of a few notable climbs such as La Houppe, the Kanarieberg, and the Knokteberg, but the possibilities are endless. My favorite way to chose a route in Belgium is to play a fun game with whoever you’re riding with.

The base of the game is pretty simple: each person takes turns deciding which road to turn down. Every road, bike trail, and goat path is fair game. I think this is the best way to discover where you live, especially somewhere like Belgium that has seemingly infinite roads. By the time you finally find your way back home, you’ve had a 5ish hour day out, your tan lines are stronger than when you left, and you now have the perfect excuse to pop that post ride pizza straight into the oven.