Flanders by Bike

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. - Mark Twain  Today is Bruges, a common tourist travel destination and if anything a little too touristy when Leuven, Antwerp and Ghent have much to offer. I enjoyed Mr Twain's specific points on how travel broadens the mind. Leaving Ghent I couldn't resist a typical street view not far from the centre before moving on to the standard tourist photos.   Unusually for my tour in Belgium there is a castle though Belgium is dense in castles manor houses and the like. In the UK we think of the Norman invasion and the church, cathedral and castle building that went after that and we see the vestigaes of that to this day; Norwich cathedral from my last cycle tour was a good example of the Normans stamping their mark. They were saying "we are here to stay", and they did stay, though England switched back to an English monarch in the mid-12th cent...

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. - Mark Twain Today is 93km according to my plan, which probably means it's more. I've had my rest day and a prompt start is all I need to get me to Ghent on what is a flat day though with a day off I need to shake off the cobwebs and be alert as I navigate out of Antwerp.  My first stop is after 20 miles. Getting out of Antwerp was easy, rather than trying to stick to a set route I headed in the right direction and just took the path of least resistance and this let me see the back streets of Antwerp on a Sunday. Peaceful, with a flea market starting to assemble itself. To cross the river I take a lift down to the tunnel that allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross easily.  Sunday and all the weekend cyclists are out in groups numbering 4 to 20. This was a group of 10 in what I thought was swanky matching kit. Interestingly the rider closest to the camera has an all black bike so she has gone for brown walled tyres to break-up ...

I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any. - Mark Twain Today I will arrive in Antwerp and tomorrow I get my first full rest day. A day off from cycling unless I choose to roll around the city on two wheels which might be fun. Mr Twain was on to something back in the nineteenth century as it is during the sleep and rest periods that the body recovers and gets stronger though you need to have done the exercise first.  An 8am start to avoid some of the heat and the conditions are perfect for trundling through the countryside on well maintained roads and cycleways.  Good roads come with various roadworks and every day requires some navigational judgement to get round them. Cycle along the verge, find an alternative route, wait for the heavy machinery to stop their work. My Komoot route doesn't always match the signposts and I generally follow Komoot and it never takes long before I am back on track. Norma...

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause. - Mark Twain  A rightly timed pause for this tour would have been Leuven, that relaxed city I passed through earlier.  However, tomorrow I reach Antwerp and get the first of my three pauses, the other two being days off in Ghent and Bruges. Today is also a pause as there is only 40km involved and the terrain is easy and flat. The day starts with a ride along the Kanaal Dessel-Schoten . I linger over the view and just as I start to leave the bridge goes up.  Passing through Dessel the main attraction is the water pump, now a monument.  My destination today, Kasterlee, is reached easily after 40km. A true rest day which ends with a restored windmill. Index

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. - Mark Twain  If you are a strange person and enjoy cycle touring then you lose easy access to food and drink as you are limited by what you are prepared to carry and what is available. Your body also starts to crave healthy foods that will keep you pedalling such as fruit and nuts and treats like snickers bars become acceptable. What's not to like. Because it looks like a slow news day here are some statistics. Naturally I have picked days through the heart of the Flemish Ardennes with plenty of ascent though now the going is flat as I head west towards Antwerp. Generally my speed is a 10mph average with the dreaded Muur (wall) and other steep climbs dropping that to 9mph. The clock is kind to me as it pauses every time I pause; 5 hours of pedalling takes me 8 hours of elapsed time. I start the day with a 5 mile ride to some lakes then b...