Cycling through Belgium

Cycling through Belgium was certainly very different than cycling through Germany. Our days were long and we worked to pack on the kilometers. Since we didn't know any better, we cycled the National Route 4, which is pretty much a highway, all the way to Namur. Our time in southern Belgium was not enjoyed, as I'm sure you can imagine. There were no bike lanes in sight, and often no shoulder on rt. 4, plus the hills made for a more challenging ride. 

So, we were excited to stop for a day or two. Thankfully and luckily the Tour De France gave us an opportunity to slow down our pace and watch the fast cyclists speed by! This was our first opportunity to see the tour and we are so lucky we did, since it was completely unplanned! The tour went quickly up the hill of the citadel, which is a dominant feature in the historic city of Namur. 

Our seats were obviously the best! We sat next to these other cycle tourists from Britain who were telling us all about the tour and their trip - they were following the tour. 

Martin and I waiting for the tour to come through. It was hours of waiting with just minutes of excitement, but totally with the wait and layover day! 

In the evening, we cooked dinner for our host and he took us around town to see the sights. He let me use his E-bike, which was so fun! 

One of the many statues in Namur. 

Namur, a view from the Citadel

Statue called "measuring the clouds" 

Our host told us a different way to leave the city and a nice bike path to Brussels. So, on July 8th we set out for Brussels. We figured it would be a short day, about 60km but, of course we ended up taking a really long route, and ended up off course. So we ended up cycling about 90km to Brussels. The city had bike paths and a lot more cyclists than Namur. We camped in this weird little campground right in the center of the city. Honestly, it felt like a homeless camp. But it had showers and toilets. 

City center in Brussels was magnificent. It was huge and obviously hard to take pictures because of all the tourists! 

We were ready to leave Brussels. Some of the streets were really confusing and we were ready to continue our way North. On July 9 we had a relaxing ride to Antwerp - bike lanes the whole way! Antwerp is actually a really fun city and it felt a lot more organized than Brussels. There were a lot more bicyclists going to and from work. Northern Belgium feels a lot more bicycle friendly. 

In Antwerp Martin and I were on a mission of beer and chocolate. We knew it would be our last full day in Belgium so we had to taste more Belgian chocolate and beer! Martin found this crazy little pub with hundreds of beers listed. The bar was very popular but with very few seats. I'm pretty sure the owner was a pack rat because there were boxes everywhere! 

Martin looking through the book of beers

At the quirky little pub

We left around 8:30 am on July 10 we started our loooong treck to Rotterdam in Holland. As soon as we got close to the border of Holland the bike lanes got wider, the bicycling became more enjoyable, and it was flat! We crossed the border and it was heaven. Bicycling in Holland so far is the best we've experienced. The bike lanes are separate from the roads and from sidewalks. We biked to just outside of Rotterdam, and decided to take a short detour to Kinderdijk, where there are picturesque windmills lining the canals. 

Kinderdijk 

We already had exceeded our record by the time we biked to the windmills, so by the time we got to our hosts house we had cycled 177km or about 109 miles! It was a long day but worth every kilometer.  It is good to be in Holland!