I’ll probably be spending a year in the Bruges area starting Autumn of 2002, so I’m just trying to see whether anyone lives around there and ask some dumb questions (like, are there any bicycle manufacturing companies in Flanders-- I know Merckx’s is near Brussels-- anything closer?). Thanks.
Why do you need anything closer than Brussel? Belgium is hardly large enough to make up an Eastern U.S. state, Brussel is in the center, and trains run from Brugge to Brussel about every hour (both directions).
Make that twice an hour.
I grew up 4 kilometers from the Belgian border, but on the Dutch side of things. For two years, I even lived in Flanders. I could answer a lot of Dumb Belgian Questions, but I don’t know a lot about Belgian bicycle manufacturers. Well, I do know Merckx makes fantastic and expensive sports bikes.
Anything else I can help you out with?
Okay Coldie. For 200 francs, the category is Dumb Belgian Questions.
How many kilometers of standard gauge railroad track were in operation in Belgium in 1998?
And for answering our bonus question correctly, you will receive an all-expense-paid, luxury trip for one to Wallonia. Here’s your question.
In 1999, agriculture made up 1.4% of the Belgian GDP. What portion of that 1.4% is represented by sugar beets?
Can I pre-empt the answer by (predictably) saying: Coldfire…
You are the Weakest Walloon. Goodbye.
You know, I used to know all these Belgian statistics by heart untill years of consuming consideable amounts of Westvleteren Abt wiped my memory. 
Railways:
total: 3,437 km (2,446 km electrified; 2,563 km double track)
standard gauge: 3,437 km 1.435-m gauge (1998)
Sugar beets made up a proportional 1/9th of 1.4% of Belgian GDP in 1999, if we use, oh, this site as a reference.
Heh. That’s exactly the publication I used to craft the questions.
Well, DUH. 
BUSTED!
BTW, how the hell do you write the name of city that is pronounced something like “Ruslare”? I have a good friend living around those parts.
— G. Raven
That would be Roeselare.
Ok, here’s a question, and I don’t mean to offend any netherlanders (but I figure with the poor regard for the Flemings as opposed to the high status given the Netherlands fair play is fair): why is Belgium a BEER PARADISE while Netherlands has some trouble (IMHO) on that front-- it’s like, one night you’re in Antwerp with a selection of the most amazing things, the next you’re in Amsterdam desperately trying to find something that isn’t Heineken or Grolsch (which aren’t BAD, per se, but lack the, um, interesting character of, say, the Flemish equivilant local swill like De Koninck or Hoegaarden). Is the Heineken Mafia cartell responsible for this? I know there’s a small brewery in A-dam (het Ij-- Cold, do you know whereabouts that is? I heard that it is the building of an old mill?). Any others?
Also, does anyone know anything about the transportation between England and the coast? How often do hovercraft travel and between what points, about how much does it cost, where does the chunnel emerge continent-side, etc.? I’ve never been to England and I’m wondering if it is an easy trip for long weekends.
Well, for starters, the Dutch beer market isn’t as diverse as the Belgian one. When I want to drink something special, I got to one of the bars that serve a variety of Belgian (and sometimes German, let’s be fair) beers. There’s a few in every city, and finding them may be a tricky business. Secondly, YES, the large Dutch brewers like Heineken (who own Amstel as well), Oranjeboom (yeck!), and Grolsch (who have a majority stake in Gulpener, e.g.) have a firm grip on the market. The only way to start a bar these days is with financing of one of the breweries, Technically, they own your bar, and you poor their beer. As well as every other product they’re affiliated with.
In Belgium, thinks are different. Due to their joi de vivre (for lack of a better word), the profession of bar tender/owner is held in much higher regard than in the Netherlands. The result? Bars are being passed on from father to son, and the owner has a much greater degree of freedom in deciding what he wants to sell.
With your back towards Central Station, turn left and follow the Prins Hendrikkade for 5 minutes. You’ll see an old green Mill. That’s Brouwerij Het Ij. They have a fine, fine selection of beers, of which some are seasonal.
Another good local brewery is the Brouwerij Maximiliaan. It’s located near the Nieuwmarkt on the Kloveniersburgwal, bordering the Red Light District. Be sure to try the Maximator.
The largest Belgian seaport with plenty of connections to England is Zeebrugge (some 80 km’s from Bruges, I reckon). I’m sure a quick Google search on that name and the word “ferry” or “hover craft” will tell you all you need. The Chunnel emerges in Calais, France. It’s some 70 km’s from the Belgian border. Calais - Bruges shouldn’t be more than a two our drive by car. Train connections will be via Brussels, I suppose, so that might take longer.