Alex and Luc kick my butt

Possibly my last toertocht in Belgium for a while, the Linkhout edition.  A 4-star tocht, so they say.  Linkhout is a division of my town Lummen so I could easily ride the bike there in the morning...the bike that I finished assembling 30 minutes before departure.  Can't make it too easy.

After weeks of crappy weather the belgians were out in force on a reasonably sunny, and not too muddy, sunday.  The trails around Lummen are pretty well known and these tochts are always popular.
Alex was pimped out with new waterproof pants and his 11-euro aldi jacket.
You know it's going to be a good toertocht when they are giving out jager shots at the start!
I learned my lesson on the Lummen tocht - hard, frozen trails and lots of flat sections = no fun on the single speed.  So today I saddled up on the 29er.  Nice big 2.3" tires just to scare away the belgians.
Here Luc adjusts his riding garments.  Despite working at Ridley for 4-5 years, Luc still has one bike - the universal cross bike.  A simple tire change transforms his steed from toertocht destroyer to group road ride attacker.
Halfway point!
Some thirsty belgians out there...
Here are two of them.  Getting some warm and salty soup on a frozen day of riding is pretty deeply satisfying.
Fluorescent green sports drink, anyone?
And afterwards, into the soccer field bar (start/finish of the event) for a cup of soup and maybe something to drink.  All in all, an excellent ride!