SearchCycling to Rome: Day 3 (Ypres to Maubeuge)
Monday 12 June 2023
Alex writes: When we set off this morning everybody was in thoughtful mood. Maybe this was occasioned by witnessing the daily Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate the previous evening, and an attendant contemplation of man's inhumanity to man, or maybe the beer had just flowed a little too freely. Whatever, our spirits were soon raised by cycling on delightfully smooth rural roads, with hardly a car in sight.
Our first destination today was Roubaix, and in particular the velodrome there - a pilgrimage of sorts.
On then to Tournai for lunch at a place besides its imposing cathedral. Slightly surprisingly everybody chose salad. We must be watching our figures.
After lunch the temperature started rising to reach the high 30s °C again. We had many kilometres on canalside cycle paths, which were great when the surface was smooth; rather less so when it was concrete slabs or stony track.
Then a final flourish climbing onto a plateau before arriving at our hotel in Maubeuge. The exertion in the heat had proved quite discombobulating and none of us would have wished the day longer.
Word of the day: whiffy
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