Day 4: Schardendijke to Brugge, 64 miles

Ike touring is fun when you're rolling through flat country, but only for about 30 miles per day. 40 is a bit of work. 60 borders on a death march.
Today was also very hot. Not a cloid in the sky.
We managed to hit the road at 11 am, and rolled south through the province of Zeeland. When the feitspad was shady, it was nice. But it wasn't shady all that often. Around 3 pm I declared a rest stop (in yet another adorable town with an old fashioned windmill) and prompty took a nap inder a tree. After stocking up on water we kept heading south, thinking that if we pressed on, we could make it to Brugge before sunset. At mile 45, we had to stop for dinner (at another fine restaraunt on another town's main square - it really doesn't get old). By the time we were done with dinner, we thought we could make it to Brugge before it got really dark, if we hurried. The air was cooling off, and riding through the paths along the fields was pleasant again. Even out in the middle of nowhere we still passed local folk riding around on bicycles. So awesome.
Then Carrie got a flat. On the rear tire. Thanks in part to the double espressos after dinner, we combined forces to change that tire in record time just as the sun was setting.
We turned on the headlamps and kept on going, making it to our hostel in Brugge a minute before midnight. They were still open and happily served us four victory beers. Delicious. We all slept like rocks that night.
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