Pedal for Charity's Blog
Andy: 9 July
Today we reached Holland. Hooray! We were initially unaware that we had reached the Mecca for cycling and in fact we ended up staying about 100 meters in to Holland, but it was good to be in a new country all the same. The days cycling was good despite more strong winds blowing at us in all the wrong directions, my knee is beginning to give me trouble but hopefully tonight I can sleep off whatever I've done to it. We are staying on a carrot / flower farm which is a lot of fun, the lads from the farm bought us dinner...traditional Dutch takeaway which involved a sausage split in two and filled with various sauces, some sliced nondescript meat in more sauce, and fries in yet more sauce, all very tasty. Had a good talk with our hosts about football which we all enjoyed except for Jonny who grimaced at the choice of conversation topic, instead wanting to talk about his desires to see fields of flowers as soon as possible! We were shown the guys' go cart, which was essentially a cart with a large gas cylinder strapped to it which they would knock the seal off of and be dragged along as the cylinder sped off. It was a health and safety nightmare and we declined a go, having been shown several sizable dents made by the vehicle.
We passed through Antwerp, which was nice although again not quite on a par with Bruge, but with a spectacular statue in the town square. We are eagerly anticipating our next days in the cyclists haven we find ourselves in.
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Jonny: 8th July
Lift off from Hombeek towards Antwerp. Joined the LF2 cycle paths after small town cycling. Arrived in Antwerp in good time, toured the city a little, admiring the buildings and the streets and everything really. Continued on the cycle path, ending up actually just in Holland, staying at a tulip and carrot farm, where a good bunch of lads gave us some food (Frites and mayonnaise and these nice sausage things). 469.5 km
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Andy: 8 July
Day 7 was meant to be an entirely pleasant venture. We were expecting the wind behind us as we rolled through more pleasant cycle paths on easy Belgian terrain. How wrong we were. Instead we faced yet more hills, with a strong wind either attempting to blow us into traffic or hinder our progress. The creator of the LF6, another cycle path, needs to be punished somehow since clearly he/she/it just drew the route over a map of Belgium with a spirograph because getting to Brussels on this path proved anything but efficient and straightforward. We snaked around considerable amounts of poorly sign-posted rural areas which became increasingly frustrating as the unnecessary distance for the day grew. Slightly demoralized by our morning of zigzags, we had a brief tour around Brussels once we finally arrived. Brussels has a very impressive main square, and we enjoyed a warm Belgian Waffle each, but it was slightly disappointing as a capital and was very much the inferior sibling of Bruge in our opinion. The novelty of a boy urinating seemed to draw crowds of tourists, and whilst the statue was novel, I could not fathom why everyone was so excited by it...who knows what they would do should they venture into some of England's less pleasant areas where they could be treated to a similar display in the flesh by local inhabitants on a regular basis. After our standard carb/dairy based meal of the day, we headed north. We ended up staying with a very nice couple, Greg and Isobella and their two jack russells. We had an enjoyable evening chatting with them over more Belgian beers and nibbles, trying both Duvel and MAES and felling quite merry after only a couple. Isobella made us a wonderful breakfast including croque-monsieurs, pastries and some more conversation...it set us up for the day nicely and we set off quite contented. A big thank you to Greg and Isobella for taking us off the streets and looking after us so well.
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Jonny: 7th July
Long day cycling, reaching a good distance and reaching Brussels. The trip to Brussels was pretty gruesome on the LF6 cycling path, which is basically a path made by a particularly annoying person trying to make cyclists very angry for going through little towns up in the only mountains of Belgium, which donīt have anything interesting in them at all really.
Anyway, with rain beating down on us and not particularly inspiring cafes, Brussels turned out to be a little bit of a disappointment, apart from the appetizing waffle and the little rude boy peeing in the middle of a crossroad. Ended, up spending a night in the garden of Greg and Isabella, particularly nice people who also gave us some breakfast the next morning, readying us for Antwerp (thank you). As a note, I would like to say that Belgians donīt seem too keen on Dutch beers. 369.5 km
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Andy: July 6 & 7th
What does 144km in day feel like? It feels sore. Everywhere. I feel like I have been riding a vibrating pyramid all day...cushions are a prerequisite for sitting for the time being...but it was all worth it in the end!
The cycling became better the closer to Belgium we go and once we reached the order it was fantastic: flat , smooth and entirely separate from crazy continental drivers. phew. We had to stop at one point to help push a car of our beloved cycle path because the woman driving, and i mention that it was a woman only incidentally and to add detail to my tale, was trying to drive it in neutral. After gestures from nearby villagers that this was the village fruit cake we departed for Tournai and left the lady in question to continue wondering why the engine was roaring but the car was not moving.
Tournai is an undiscovered gem: amazing medieval architecture, a great Cathedral and all against the backdrop of a beautiful canal. A haven from the mainstream tourist influx in Belgium, it would be well worth a visit should anyone find themselves in Belgium any time soon.
We found our way to ravel 1: one of the great cycle paths that link all the major cities in Belgium and Holland for cyclists. Contrary to our gut reaction to meander along the lovely riverside path enjoying the landscape, our pace doubled, and as we sped along, framed on either side by rows of trees, we covered a great distance. By 7 we were really quite tired, having been cycling since 8am, and by 8 we were exhausted. We did not reach our destination until 10pm so you can perhaps imagine how far out of our comfort zone we were when we very slowly rolled up to our stop for the night...the Riverside Guesthouse. The food we were given, especially the morning omelets, would easily rival Hugh's riverside cottage, and the whole place was warm and very friendly. The final hours of cycling to the guesthouse were tough with an evening downpour soaking us to the bone, a wrong turn or two and several sections of path that must have been either for mountain bikes, or as some sort of sick joke aimed at road bikes...but we finally arrived and Jan and Harriet were exceptional hosts. We were fed, showered and Belgian beered and were treated to a a warm bed each for the night. Jan and Harriet were so kind to us that once again, with very little persuasion indeed we decided to stay an extra night.
Our excuse was to see Bruge but it was as much to enjoy the RC Guesthouse alongside Jan and Harriet's company, which was particularly animated during the final stages of the final at Wimbledon (!) Bruge was beautiful, reminding a fair amount of Cambridge and Durham with much of its medieval architecture intact and a feeling that the city had somehow avoided being spoilt too much by the influx of commercial ventures. We stopped for some more local Belgian beers, during which time we were recommended a visit to the Belgian city of Gent for the "easy girls," but somehow we rationed that even the easy girls of Gent would be unimpressed by Casa del Pedalfor Charity, i.e. our tent....and in any case we didn't have that sort of thing on the mind...yet! Walking 10 minutes out of Bruge allowed us to find much cheaper set menus for a late lunch. We found a place offering 3 courses for 14 and were pretty impressed with the food, although it was no rival to our hosts cuisine back at the B&B. I enjoyed Flemmish Stew whilst the Mace (surprise surprise) ordered pasta.
We had a wonderful stay at the River Cottage Guesthouse and could not recommend it highly enough to anyone wishing to take a relaxing break. It is set in beautiful belgian countryside, and only a short drive from Brussels, Bruge, France, Holland and the easy girls of Gent. The place is warm, friendly and homely, Harriet and Jan are wonderful hosts, and the food is quite simply spectacular. We have included a link to the website and would thoroughly recommend the place for anyone wishing to unwind for a short break or take a relaxing holiday in Belgium...an ideal way to try and ship the parents off for a bit !
Once again a huge thank you to Jan and Harriet for our wonderful few days with them.
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Jonny - 6th July
Walked around Bruges for the day, taking the train from Audenarde. Very nice and clean city, quite medieval, kept a little bit like a theme park city with the tourist boats going through the canals, but incredible architecture. Enjoyed a local beer at a small local pub, where a local man told us to go to Gent city for girls. Sound advice as Bruges seemed pretty devoid of female life. Stayed at the bed n breakfast one more night, ready for a big day towards Brussels and Antwerp tomorrow. Thank you very much again for the stay. 269.5 km
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Jonny - 5th July
Absolutely destroyed the record (although we havenīt been going very long) with 144 km done this day, reaching all the way to Meilegem, close to Audenarde in Belgium, staying in this amazing bed and breakfast with Harriet and Jan, with brilliant dogs. Passing through Tournai, just out of France on the way, which quite frankly was very nice for a small town. Loads of rain during the day made the arrival at the bed n breakfast even better. 269.5km
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Andy: 5 July
Really tough day today, endless hill climbs have left my body weary and fed up. I feel like a giant vessel of lactic acid, aches and pains. Was bitten all over last night by bastard mosquitos but the novelty of sleeping in a forest and the beauty of the place has saved last night's camping spot from being a total write-off.
I struggled today, partly since Jonny takes it all in his stride and expresses no emotions that elude to his feeling any kind of strain or exertion ad partly because the downhills are inevitably short-lived whilst the uphills are becoming ever more the epic physical endeavors for me to face repeatedly without a foreseeable end in sight.
Fortunately our, or specifically my, physical exertion paid off and we covered 85km which was a big morale boost since the Mace's cyclometer had been reading roughly half that for the day. We met a nutty 50-something divorcee who was kind enough to give us some lemonade whilst she grumbled about how much she hated life or more specifically her lack of one. She was unnervingly keen for us to stay in her garden, but we politely, and sensibly, declined and cycled on in order to put some distance between us and her before whatever she put in the lemonade kicked in (!)
Saw a very nice War Memorial in Omissy but JM was entirely unimpressed...tomorrow we shall hope for a big day on flat terrain!
p.s. have gotten phenomenal sun-burn today
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Andy - 4 July - 25km
Cycled for a few hours into the evening and pitched our tent in the middle of a forest just before a thunder storm pelted torrential rain our way.
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Jonny: 4th July
Late start for our first day, with everything wet. Managed to get in quite a good day of cycling, ending up on a parcours de sante pelouse. My bike speedometer isnīt set up properly, as the bike shop didnīt set it up properly, so the speed is wrong, the mileage is wrong but I have to leave it as such or the time cycled will reset back to zero. Using the maps I have to calculate the km covered, may be a little inaccurate but probably end up being less than we actually cover as we keep going in circles when we reach cities, as well s making wrong turns often. May put it at the right place sometime in the future. Baguette and Emmental for lunch, perfect combination, with some Haribo on the side, even better. 125.5 km
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Jonny: 3rd July
La Defense in the morning, which seems quite larger than you would think, up close. We finally got going in the afternoon, taking a train to Crepy-en-valois from Paris Nord, cheating a little but really didnīt want to cycle out of the Paris suburbs. The cycling begins with about three hours of cycling and just 25 km done and camping in the forest under a large thunderstorm. Good way to test the durability of the tent I suppose. 40 km
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Andy - 3rd July
Saw the sights today, with Notre Damme and Le Louvre acting as highlights, and of course...that tower... Had my first tumble despite not wearing cleated shoes today. My front tyre skidded along a section of low curb that should have been much lower and I fell on my face in as graceful a manner as possible which turned out to be very ungraceful indeed! Despite no actual damage to the bike or my person...the onlooking tourists were thoroughly amused at me and I have vowed to avoid further tumbles if at all possible. We had a fantastic meal at Chez Andre in the evening...one of Paris' best kept secrets, with phenomenal Parisian cuisine and no tourists whatsoever (except us).
I had a nice steak and some creme brule, whilst the Mace ate a whole wheel of cheese. Impressive.
Early night tonight...tomorrow our adventure really begins!
p.s. Mona LIsa is very much over-rated.
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Jonny: 2nd July
Grand tour of Paris by bike, passing by the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, some other churches, Notre-Dame and down les Champs-Elysees. Also passed by the Eiffel Tower, which is always very impressive. Le Louvres I found incredible, especially a couple of paintings, especially the Naufrage and the revolutionary woman with the French flag. Mona Lisa was ok, quite cool to see close up (although crowd was about 30 people thick around it). Nice meal at Chez Andre to finish off the day although steak tartar didnīt really agree with my stomach. 15km.
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Andy: 2 July
What a phenomenal start to a two-wheeled adventure. Whilst I remained apprehensive at leaving what looked to be the start of a glorious British Summer, with a swelteringly hot day in Cambridge, upon arrival to Paris it all seemed worth it (once the incompetency of the Eurostar luggage handlers had been dealt with that is).
We cycled through Paris to spend a night with Dianne - a fantastic hostess who not only took us out for a delicious meal, but let us loose on her very very nice selection of tipples. With no resistance whatsoever, we have been convinced to stay for an extra night by Dianne, so we will have a day sightseeing before departing on Thursday lunchtime (if we can drag ourselves from this wonderful flat/city).
The flat incidentally lies between the Arc de Triumph and The Eiffel Tower...the views are amazing, particularly tonight when the tower was lit a magnificent blue...whether I was able to capture this with my camera i do not know though.
Thank you to all the well-wishers, to Dianne of course for her generosity, and to those who have donated so far...the total is starting to look very promising.
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Jonny: 1st July
Arrival in Paris after the rather comfortable Eurostar. Then cycling through the streets to Diane's flat (my godmother) was interesting at about 11pm. Absolutely amazing flat. Thank you for letting us stay, it was incredible. 0km
