5/24 Diest to Zolder

We arouse early hoping our days weather would be similar to the day prior - cool misty morning till burnoff around noon. Well it didn't happen- there were blue skies with a warm morning sun right from the start. But we were rested, our feet seemed better and packs lighter after we sent home more then 7 kg of unneeded stuff. Most of the morning and half the afternoon was in the shade of breezy paths and lanes, which made the heat quite bearable. The route made its typical frustrating winding progress but did takes us by a massive 1000 yr old oak tree apparently of historical significance with an interpretive sign.
We stopped in the village of Lummen for lunch but when we sat down in a cafe and asked for a food menu, but we were told drinks only! So we backtracked a ways to a butcher shop and obtained great sandwiches after waiting 30 minutes for the bread to cook. We finally pushed on and as we approached Zolder we could hear engines roaring in the distance. Circuit Zolder is a formula one racetrack on weekends with motorcycle racing weekdays. We made good time with the heat was well tolerated as we had shady breezes, the correct clothing and plenty of water. Dropping off the GR5 we followed the Albert canal in the scorching heat and direct sun and we were knackered when we arrived at our lodging "De Pits".As the name suggests, our room gave us a view of the track and pitstop right outside our window. After 7 pm the track opens to cyclists and they turned out in numbers to train.
We dined right in the upscale hotel decorated thematically to celebrate the racing. After the heat we wanted a light meal- Tammy had chicken Cesar while I picked seared tuna with linguine. I went. Down well with a chilled Chardonnay. Sleep came soon after.