The small adventure really starts around the corner. A few small roads lead to the dike north of the river Lek. Our monos follow the curves of the dike heading west. A detour takes us on a dirtroad to the small city of Schoonhoven. On the other side of the river we follow our route. This part of our home country is great to ride and only forty kilometres from home! Crossing several great rivers on small roads is hardly possible and we take the motorway near Breda and around Antwerp, Belgium. Luckily all tunnels that go under the Antwerp harbour are illuminated. The first time I took this road in 1995 on my Funduro I entered a tunnel in absolute darkness wearing sunglasses...
Small country roads lead us through East Flanders and near Hamme we search for signs of the camp site near the village of Rodendries that is indicated on our map. Unfortunately even local inhabitants do not know of this town... Someone in a shop knows a camping ground near Waasmunster. Surrounded by very expensive villas we find a perfect place to put up our tent.

The next morning we get boiled duck eggs for breakfast from one of the campers. They taste great and we pack our bikes to continue our tour. After Dendermonde and Wetteren we have lunch in the beautiful city of Oudenaarde. After Kortrijk and Ieper we take the smallest roads that take us in direction of the French border through the villages of Dikkebus and Ouderdom. The surroundings are great to look at and to ride through - the sloping land has some impressing steep hills with dense forest on them. In World War One this was a sad battlezone for years and everywere there are military cemeteries.
On top of the Mont Noir we cross the Belgian - French border but for years nothing happens here. On top of the Black Hill you can see a great part of the Flanders. Riding through forests and fields we make camp at Morbecque. The confusion of languages is almost complete: hardly anybody speeks Flemish but all names of streets and villages are in the near Dutch language.

Leaving the next morning we take the first narrow road right beside the camp ground. The rest of the day our tyres won't touch any busy tarmac. The rain that fell in the past days has made some of the dirt tracks hard to ride for the Funduro on T66's. Other dirtroads are great to ride - curving through the sloping land and without any other traffic. We lose track of where we exactly are until we enter the city of St. Omer.

Putting the bikes on centre stand I notice a nail sticking into the rear tyre of Karin het F650... After a sandwich on the rim of the fountain Karin shows passers by that enduro indeed is an attractive sport to watch. Removing the wheel, take out the toolset and together we tread the tyre from the rim. A set of long tyre irons would be nice but the BMW irons do the job just as well. It is grat to see that the nail was indeed very short and didn't puncture the tube. We take some cappuccino and espresso for desert.

Near Watten we decide to ride a piece of a Long Distance walking route. The first part along side the Canal de la Haute Colme rides well. Our bikes are thumpering in the sun. The trees along the canal cast their shadows on the water. Again we discover that there is no need to ride that far to visit beautiful places. After a narrow track the familiar white-red marks are no more and we decide to discover the world on our own. Narrow tracks, curvy roads and semi paved forest roads are everywere. The villages we ride through still sound very Flemish. At the local grocery shop in Volckerinckhove we buy some wine, bread and tomatoes. On a small camp ground near the TGV track to London we put up our tent. The fast trains sound like passenger jets in a bomb attack but the noise is soon forgotten.
My KTM stands upright with the paws of the main stand sticking into the grass and both wheels on the ground. The days before this trick worked at least for one night - until now. Slowly the bike tilts and falls into the grass. I'm very happy that this KTM is very easy to lift even with full fueltank and pack...

The next morning I receive the key to the cold shower cabin. It seems not been used for half a century but the water is absolutely refreshing. The roads to Wormhout, Herzeele and Diksmuide take us through the flattest part of the world - the Nether Lands (term used for Holland and Flanders). The pub on near the Yzer monument must serve unleaded in stead of beer because huge numbers of bikers on Hardley Davidsons and Goldwings are present. On the quit market place we have lunch. My spring salad with new herrings is tasty although it is only 13 degrees Centigrade outside. The road through Zwevezele and Eeklo takes us back to out too much organized and clean home country. We cross the Schelde on the Perkpolder-Kruiningen ferry. On the other side of the water we just like to go home. On absurd conditions (for a Hard Enduro) on the motorway to Utrecht my KTM does really well with speeds between 100 and 120 km/h. Acellerating now and then is no problem at all. Amidst all busy traffic we pass a German biker on some 80cc machine who cruises at nearly 75 kilomtres per hour. It is obvious that even with less than 398cc you can travel where you like...

There only remains one thing - about the comparison of the F650 and my LC4. Riding country roads and tracks I discovered that there is absolutely no need for displacement to have a really good time. Riding the unpaved the LC4 off course is absolutely the best. On the tarmac handling is more like a sportsbike than with the Funduro. The fact that the rider is on top of the LC4 (instead of inside the F650) does much to that fact. For best prestations the 400 engine needs ro make revs! With some stuff in the saddlebags the Fourhundred is very stable even at 140 km/h. Surely no regret buying this bike :-)