#CycleTour2025 – Day 28: Nostalgia trip
https://slidewielder.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/cycletour2025-day-28-nostalgia-trip/
#Cycletour2025
#CycleTour2025 – Days 21 & 22: Helios with a Mona Lisa Smile
https://slidewielder.wordpress.com/2025/05/30/cycletour2025-days-21-22-helios-with-a-mona-lisa-smile/
CycleTour2025 – Day 19: For the birds
Friends, this missive will be relatively brief. In summary: the morning was quite wet, the afternoon was dryer and almost warm, and fortunately we had the Blessed Tailwind, because it was a 63km day–the longest of this trip thus far.
Nor will there be many pictures. When you’re honking along at 22 km/h through the not-quite-drizzle-but-more-than-mist, the urge to stop and take pictures is strangely lacking, though more’s the pity because on a sunnier day, much of the morning, especially, would have been a truly lovely ride.
We stopped at a bird blind, but nobody was homeAfter about 18 km, we stopped for second breakfast in the town of Harderwijk’s lovely Vischmarkt Square, probably the oldest part of the city. For us, its key attraction was its walls, which sheltered us from the wind. We didn’t linger, however, since soon after stopping, the [insert precipitation type] began to intensify somewhat.
Wearing four layers in the VischmarktSo we pushed on through the atmospheric conditions, eventually succumbing to the obviousness of donning our full rain gear. Though wet, the day was good for birds (and not even just ducks). Over the course of the day, we saw multitudes of waterfowl (coots, scaups, grebes, various ducks), swans in the hundreds–even a pair of black swans–several species of geese, northern lapwings (with their wacky flight patterns), godwits, and our first hoopoe of the the trip (which was a thrill).
A rare but decorative use of wooden shoesWe stopped for lunch in Elberg, finding a cute and popular restaurant to warm ourselves up in and have a bite to eat. Many of the historic centres of these little towns are just delightful, and Elburg’s was no exception, though we took no pictures. As we emerged from lunch, the weather seemed to have taken a turn for the better, and for the last 20 kilometres or so to our Airbnb in Hattem, we were riding through air that didn’t appear to have any rain droplets in it.
The very steep stairs to our otherwise very comfortable AirbnbWe settled in, had a showers and a short rest before walking down the street to the Albert Heijn grocery store to pick up fixings for dinner. I suspect we will sleep well tonight
CycleTour2025 – Day 16: Centre of the universe
I write this from Utrecht, where we have found a comfortable business-style suite just a 13-minute bike ride from the historic centre. The desperately needed laundry proceedings are underway (someday, I want to talk to a washing machine engineer and get them to explain to me why a load of laundry in Europe takes soooo long… and why it’s almost impossible to wash in cold water…). We have made ourselves dinner and are settling in for an evening of doing basically nothing (writing this blog notwithstanding). Which is unlike us on vacation. But perhaps I forgot to mention it’s been raining steadily since about 3 p.m. It’s almost like the universe is telling us to take a little break.
We got up this morning on the grumpy side of the bed; our accommodations last night were easily the worst we’ve had on this trip. Nothing terrible, but we didn’t feel very welcome. We left fairly early, both because we were eager to see the back of it and because we wanted to make it to Utrecht before the rain began in the early afternoon. Though it was a gloomy, overcast morning, the wind had shifted to the southwest in the night, meaning we had the Blessed Tailwind today as we headed north.
Being somewhat out-of-sorts, we didn’t take many pictures, but, as is almost always the case, our spirits began to lift as we rode along. And objectively, the cycling was lovely, the route taking us along country roads and canals. But the lack of sunshine always takes the edge off our enjoyment.
The first picture of the day was as we crossed the huge bridge over the Lek River, just south of Nieuwegein, where the route became more urban, though still quite lovely, since we were mostly pedalling through parkland. We stopped at a bench for second breakfast at about 10:15, having made very good time in 90 minutes, but not long after, the first dots of rain started appearing. Nothing serious, but we didn’t linger over our tea and packed up quickly to move on.
Over the Lek we goMuch of the route today followed the Merwedekanaal, which runs from Gorinchem to Utrecht, and we were once again alongside it as we approached the city. We crossed it into Utrecht over a lovely pedestrian and bike bridge, and almost immediately, I sensed a change in the mood. There is something calm and calming about Utrecht. Perhaps it’s the drastically fewer number of cars (and thus lower ambient noise); perhaps its just something in the air. But before getting anywhere near the historic centre, we were both very much enjoying the vibe. In a country of where cycling is sovereign, Utrecht must be the royal seat. We’ve cycled in a lot of places with good cycling infrastructure, but Utrecht takes it to 11.
Over the Merwedekanaal into UtrechtFietsstraat – Auto te gast (Bike street – Cars are guests)A smallish bicycle underpass, easily two car lanes wideWe arrived at our hotel shortly before noon (after 33km) and dropped off our bags, then hopped back on the bikes and pedalled into town, where we parked our bikes at a “pop-up bicycle parking lot.” Did I mention that this was guarded and free? Yeah.
Pop-up bike parkingWe wandered around the Domplein, into the Domkerk, through the adjacent cloister gardens and the nearby Flora’s Hof, and then along the Oudegracht canal. Despite the on-again off-again light rain, the streets were crowded with tourists. We stopped at an excellent little bakery (quite popular based on the people lining up at the counter) for warm drinks and something to eat. By the time we left, it was approaching check-in time and also starting to rain in earnest, so we picked up our bikes, rode to a nearby grocery store for dinner fixings, and arrived back at the hotel quite bedraggled.
View of the Domkerke and its tower from the cloister gardensLooking down the Oudegracht from the StadhuisbrugWe wheeled our bikes into the lobby, everything dripping, and checked in. The clerk didn’t bat an eye at our wet bicycles in the lobby. To him, it was as natural as if we had come in from the rain with a baby stroller. And though there was no indoor bike parking, it was no problem to take the bikes into the room. Honestly, I’m not sure how many other places in the world this would be acceptable.
So here we are in what may be the centre of the universe for cycling. We may never leave.
#Cycletour2025 – Day 12: A first time for everything
https://slidewielder.wordpress.com/2025/05/20/cycletour2025-day-12-a-first-time-for-everything/
#Cycletour2025 – Day 11: Bucket-list day in Belgium
https://slidewielder.wordpress.com/2025/05/19/bucket-list-day-in-belgium/
CycleTour2025 – Day 11: Bucket-list day in Belgium
This morning, we managed to leave our Airbnb relatively early–around 9 a.m. I knew we had an interesting day ahead, and I wanted to make sure there would be time to savour it.
Initially, our route took us along the coast from Malo-les-bains and then jogged inland beside a dune system. It being a Monday morning, the bike path was relatively tranquil, and pretty much straight as an arrow, until we finally reached the Belgian border about an hour later. As always, though there’s absolutely no obvious indication that you’ve crossed the border, it just feels like a different country.
Riding along the dunesBorder selfieIn Belgium, our route turned south, and I started finding my happy place, rolling along farm roads, the deliciously complex smell of barnyard wafting on the breeze. We found a little fountain and benches in the town of Adinkerke for a snack (not really second breakfast) and a rest, before pushing on toward Veurne. With every kilometre, it became every clearer that we were in the land of canals, river barges, tortured trees, and wonderful cycling infrastructure (among other things).
You often see these dual track farm roads in BelgiumTortured treesWe stopped for a picnic lunch and tea ceremony on a bench outside the church in Pollinkhove, a sleepy town if there ever was one. And then, it was on to our destination of the day, the Saint Sixtus Abbey just south of the town of Westvleteren, home to one of Belgium’s most legendary beers–and in a country of legendary beers, that’s saying something.
Riding right by the abbey. Nothing to see hereSadly, the monks don’t allow tours of the brewery (even for other professional brewers, it would seem), and are quite strict about who can buy their beer and in what quantities. The idea (a noble one) is to prevent hoarding, speculation, and large markups by third-party sellers. You can only purchase it for personal consumption and in relatively small quantities, and their production is limited, so it’s always highly in demand.
Fortunately, for the informed cycle tourist, there is a way you can just show up and try the beer and even purchase a few bottles. The abbey has an agreement to supply beer to an adjacent gastro-pub called In de Vrede. And, to be honest, this was our real destination today. The Abbey itself is mostly hidden away anyway, so there’s not much to see. For the beer lover, the gastro-pub is where it’s at.
We arrived at about 1:45 and had a seat in the lovely exterior beer garden. Let me tell you, for a Monday afternoon at a restaurant literally in the middle of nowhere, the place was doing a pretty brisk business. We ordered some food and I ordered two of the three beers produced by the abbey, the blond and the 8, which I’d never tried before. Both very solid. We struck up a conversation with the man sitting at the next table, and it turns out he was the head brewer for Delerium Tremens (another legendary Belgian beer). He clearly had is R&D hat on.
Life could be worseAfter eating our food, and it still being fairly early (our hotel specified a 5 p.m. check in), I decided to throw caution to the wind and order a bottle of the famous Westvleteren 12 (thankfully not in fact 12% alcohol, but still a hefty quaff). And this was truly my bucket-list moment: drinking a “westy” within a stone’s throw of the brewery itself.
Behold the famous Westvleteren 12After savouring the beer for a good long while, it was finally time to backtrack up to the town of Westvleteren and our lovely hotel, where we received a warm welcome from the proprietor (we are in one of two rooms booked for tonight). All in all, a wonderful day–more like what we had been hoping for on this trip–and an item checked off my bucket list. Can’t ask for more than that.
#Cycletour2025 - Day 10: Hunkering down in Dunkirk
https://slidewielder.wordpress.com/2025/05/18/cycletour2025-day-10-hunkering-down-in-dunkirk/
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