Saturday 25 May 2019

OR COFFEE and ZWARTWIT

 OR COFFEE

In fact I am a bit late to introduce (or should I say re-introduce) the Or Coffee Bar.
The Or history goes back to 2001, when two coffee lovers started up their own roastery in Aalst. After some hard times Tom and Katrien decided to open a coffee lab.
The best place, and lucky for us, was Gent, simple, that is where they were living.
And it became one of the first places where you could drink real good coffee. I think I went to this place the first time in 2010, not long before the Australian Drapac Cycling Team discovered the place too. One of the riders in those days was Rhys Pollock, who told me that this was the best in town. And even their sport director (Italian short black drinker) asked me a week before they came back to Belgium in 2011 to go and buy coffee beans in the Or shop for their staying in Oudenaarde.
When professional bike riders tell you that the coffee is great, well you better believe it. It is a kinda marriage, coffee and bikes!
Many years Or Coffee was located in the Walpoortstraat on the corner, only few years ago they moved to a building across the road of the rectorship of the Ghent University.
A nicely decorated place where you find lots of students and young people working on lap tops. Yes, I hear you saying that this is not the cosy atmosphere you expect of a coffee place, but you are in the University area so..... young public and lots of computers, cell phones etc...
But it doesn't

mean that the barista's aren't friendly! Just check it out, you gonna love it!
And more! you can follow courses to become a barista. Interested?, well have a look at their website


OR COFFEE BAR - Sint Pietersnieuwstraat 126a - 9000 Gent
https://orcoffee.be/en/bar/espresso-bar-ghent-city-center / open daily

ZWARTWIT

Not really a coffee shop, but I was a little surprised cause the quality was excellent. You ask me why I walked in to a restaurant to get a coffee? Simple, this new place (former Chess Cafe) is in fact on the finishline of our bike ride along the canal to Oudenaarde. Hundred meters away from the Gent soccer stadium Ghelamco.
So it happened that one of our New Zealand riders stayed in Gent and was out on training, he called us if we were up for a brew. Sure why not! We told Matias to meet at the Ghelamco Arena (everybody knows where that is). And twenty minutes later we enjoyed a nice cappuccino.
When the sun is out, it will be a great place to have a coffee while waiting for the bunch to go for a ride.
The place is kinda split up in two different businesses, Zwart (Black) is the restaurant and in the arvo a coffee and cake place, while Wit (White) is a big hall you can book for after work parties or dance nights, a place for 400 hundred people.
Can also be used as a conference room, with big companies, hotels, sport arena in the neighbourhood not a bad idea for this kinda set up

ZWARTWIT - Ottergemsesteenweg Zuid 802 - 9000 Gent
https://www.facebook.com/zwartwitgent / closed in the weekend

Friday 17 May 2019

BELARUS with CMI

With C.M.I.tours on tour. That is how you can describe a bike race with this American team. C.M.I. is a team that travels to race and race to travel.
After our pleasant journey on the Isle of Rhodos few weeks ago, Lieve and I were looking forward to the invitation of the manager Sim to meet him and the other riders in Belarus.
Meet "them all" is probably to much to write as most of them didn't make it. The appointment was to see each other on thursday 9 May. But that is not what the airport crew in Toulouse or was it Lufthansa tought. Most of the flights were cancelled.
So it happened that Lieve and I (and with us two Dutch riders) landed in Minsk Airport somewhere in the afternoon on thursday. A phonecall and fourty minutes later and we sat in a bus towards the centre of Minsk.
If you have no idea of Belarus, you would think of grey buildings and boring streets. Of course the road from the airport is the same all over the world, big boulevard with screeming billboards.

But the city looked nice, clean and busy.
Once in the hotel, we met Thomas, one of our French riders who made it. And an hour later Kento from Japan arrived too. Our other riders would arrive late at night or even on Saturday.
The next morning, Lieve and I had to go to the permenance to pick up numbers, accreditations and a car. All this happening in the afternoon. Good to see my Chinese mate Zhe Suen aka Alex, with his Chinese team Ningxia.
Because the other guys haven't turned up, we had a full day to stroll around in the city. The beautiful boulevards, the huge buildings, the street art, the beautiful riverbanks of the Svislach and the pleasant streets of the old town, all this was really enjoyable to discover.
Lots of things we didn't expect in a former Russian state, such as brown caffees, coffee shops.

The first race, Minsk Cup, we had to start with three riders, Thomas, Kento and Mathieu (who arrived after midnight the same morning). We missed him at the airport (48km away from the hotel) cause we got completely lost in the darkness of the night and a deviation who took us into a forest and further not one little sign directing the airport. We got back at Bonhotel at 2am !!

The first race, five laps around the lake just out of Minsk. And a final straight to the city centre.
Kento finished 15th, Mathieu 88th and Thomas 102nd, all soaked wet after the rain came down buckets full.
The other side of the (friendly looking city) medal, we experienced the day of race number two, G.P.Minsk.
The circuit was stretched out over the city, A 15km loop that the riders had to cover ten times. The whole city was blocked off. And when I say blocked off it is blocked off. Even us team managers with accreditated cars and staff could not get in. We tried first at the main "entrance", two hundred meters away from the teams parking. The police on duty didn't say no he screamed NO and GO while his eyes nearly popped out of his face! Sim and I argued a while but the cop turned pink, red and by the time purple came up Lieve told me to move.

Let's try the next street, two big trucks blocked the road, but I saw a gap big enough to drive thru, which I did, but same scenario, police officers didn't want to open the fench. Again I argued, same result, angry officers, yelling and screeming. In the meantime more team cars lined up behind us.
And suddenly two giants turned up. You know the kinda fellas, two meters tall, black suit, one finger on their ear (former KGB someone said to me). They started a discussion, more police cars turned up and yep the door went open. Finally! Fiftheen minutes before the start. That we got body searched and had to open every bag in the car and someone searching underneath the car with a mirror are only details.

The result of our race, a bunch kick with again Kento in good shape (19th)
Not a surprise that we had a few beers that evening to talk over all our stories.
Thanks again to Simeon "Sim" Green, Guillaume "GuiGui" Soula, Thomas "Peyroton" Dartet, Mathieu "Giby" Gibaud and Kento "Old Bobby" Omachi.

See you soon guys!

Tuesday 7 May 2019

WASBAR

Tuesday, afternoon,
I'm just beginning to see,
Now I'm on my way,
It doesn't matter to me,
Chasing the clouds away.

We've been out for a short coffee ride. Cloudy sky, dry, 11° and perfect cycling weather and The Moody Blues on my headphone. The clouds were gone in the afternoon. And now it is not only me anymore who wants a warm drink (read: coffee) after a ride. Lieve wanted to go to a kinda new place (for us tho) in the middle of town. Only foot steps away from my favourite "Take Five" coffee bar.
Anyway, I followed the misses and ended up in a place called Wasbar. Bit scary when you know a wasbar in Flemish means laundry.
But if you stroll in town you find more places where they serve coffee on the side. A bookshop, a jeans store, a barber shop ..... they all have coffee while you wait or shop.
So also in this wasbar, that is situated on a lovely little square, busy little street full of pedestrians.

And the clouds disappeared while we sat down. A nice afternoon sun, just what we needed.
To be honest the drinks were great. Because it was a little late in the afternoon I got meself latte caramel and Lieve a Matcha tea, both served the way it should be by friedly staff.

This place is part of a business group that combines coffee and bagels and salads,with a laundry service. Do your washing while you enjoy breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea or a quick espresso.
Inside there is lots of choice to find a calm spot to do some work on your laptop or even reading a magazine.
I guess I will need to go back to try out their bagel burgers cause they really look delicious.

O, and for those who want to organise a little party, also that is possible!

WASBAR - Kalandestraat 3 - 9000 Gent
open every day from 9am till 7pm

http://www.wasbar.be