Never mind how far, or how fast, just getting out on your bike at all feels like a major achievement at the moment.

As the wettest November since records began turns into an equally soggy December, we're now all really desperate for a respite from the relentless deluge.

The trick is to be flexible - you have to pick your riding moments. Make hourly visits to Metcheck, in fact make all of your bookmarks weather related, study wind direction and if you see as much as a patch of blue sky jump on your bike and ride like hell.

It works for me. Fortunately I never normally venture out for much more than 90 minutes. So far I've only been caught out a couple of times and even then the heavens didn't open until the latter stages of my ride.

I know I'm tempting fate but my system has worked pretty well up to now. As long as I can get out at least once a week, there's no need to ride the dreaded turbo.

I've never got on with those things, there's nothing more boring than being sat looking at the inside of the garage shutter listening to that relentless humming noise. That's not what cycling is about, it's exercise simply for the sake of exercise and there's absolutely no fun whatsoever in that.

Unfortunately there's no escaping my second least favourite activity. I really will get around to cleaning my bike sometime soon, just not quite yet. I'm waiting for the weather to improve.

If you're the type of cyclist who thinks the cycling season is finished once the champagne has been sprayed on the Champs-Elysées then you've probably just missed one of the biggest weekends, spectator wise, on the cycling calendar.

Last Saturday saw a huge day of racing take place just over the channel in Belgium. The afternoon played host to the Koksijde cyclo-cross. Thousands of people crammed on to a tiny piece of land squashed between a military base and a caravan park to watch the best cross riders in the world battle through thick sand and over 45-degree dunes.

It really is an incredibly nondescript scrap of land, but the Belgians' love of cross, and the fact it's about 30 minutes from Calais, mean it's a must destination for any cycling fan.

Not wanting to leave it there, I then drove down to Ghent for an evening at the Ghent Six. With no Brits riding the main event it felt like there was something missing, but it's still a great evening's entertainment.

Some of the six-day events have been struggling of late, but there was standing-room only in Ghent on Saturday. There aren't many days as packed with cycling action as the last weekend in November, so put it in your diaries for next year.

Simon Richardson is deputy editor of Cycling Weekly magazine

As promised the blog is back to its original roots- I am back in Belgium and certainly back on the bike!

I have recently read about people doing four and five hours now, in November, so I thought that I wouldn't talk too much about what I am doing on the bike; after four or five hours with a bike the last thing you want to do is read about bike riding! I will say, however, that I certainly have not been doing such long rides.

At the weekend I travelled north and over the border to Schijndel, north east of Eindhoven; thankfully not in my clapped out screeching Corsa but rather with new team mate Ludivine Herion in her brand new VW. We met up with seven others from my new team - Redsun Cycling Team - and enjoyed 80km under clear blue sunny skies along the best bike paths that you will find in Europe, and probably even the world for that matter.

In Holland the bike truly rules and always takes priority over the car. While riding two-abreast the nine of us were, for the best part, only occupying one half of the ‘fiestpad'. Now there's a perfect proposition for you frustrated commuters in England (and America!)

After a 45-minute break at ‘home' I was back on the road travelling towards Deerlijk in possession of two pieces of artwork and an invitation to the ‘supportersfeest' of Stijn Devolder. Most pros will have such an annual event which will cater for between 250 and 400 supporters (in fact Stijn has two because he has so many fans!)

It may seem a rather strange concept to many sports fans that their idol is so easily accessible- €12 rewarded the supporters with a great two course meal and complementary drink. No, Stijn was not out of reach, he was mingling from start to finish without being mobbed or harassed.

I find this behaviour so refreshing to see and experience, that a professional sportsman or woman is treated like any other person. This may not always be the case at an event when crowds fight to reach the edge of the barrier for a glimpse or possible autograph and the media mobs the athletes like children in a sweet shop.

On such occasions I would be interested to know how many of these battling fans are actually Belgians. Thanks to the Stijn himself I was invited onto the stage for an official signing of the two pieces that I had with me. My rapidly improving Vlaams was put to good use as I proceeded to sell prints and chat about both my cycling and art with the supporters.

I have had a few similar experiences now in Belgium with respected cyclists and each time my understanding of the Belgian cycling culture grows. It is an ongoing lesson worth learning about I think.

All offers welcome for a signed painting of Stijn Devolder winning the Ronde Van Vlaanderen! It's my turn to give Ludivine a lift to the next team training so I need sufficient funds to get that fan belt sorted, or maybe even buy a VW.

www.emmasilversides.com

We're still five weeks away from the start of the new season, but Team Sky have already started ruffling their rivals' feathers. Britain's new super-team have upset Russian-owned Team Katusha over false speculation that they had signed rising Brit star, Ben Swift.

"It's very bad that a team like Sky goes around thinking that they can buy up riders who are under contract," says Katusha manager Andrei Schmil. "Swift will stay in this team for 2010 despite what Team Sky are trying to do."

The same aggressive poaching policy has also caused problems for Garmin-Slipstream who are still managing to hold onto Bradley Wiggins, despite increasing pressure from Sky. Both Swift and Wiggins are contracted to their respective teams until the end of 2010, but that doesn't seem to matter to Sky, who are still desperate to sign as many riders as possible.

Despite having an abundance of cash, Sky still haven't been able to secure an ideal roster. Only a quarter of the 24-rider line-up are Brits, and with the exception of Edvald Boasson Hagen, the remainder are hardly household names.

With the absence of Wiggins, this is a super squad that still lacks a serious GC contender or major British presence.

It looks as though this cash-versus-contracts row is set to continue, but at what future cost to Sky?

Robert Garbutt is editor of Cycling Weekly magazine