August 10, 2023
To Antwerp
The sun shone and the first part was very easy
The leaves were barely stirring and there was not a cloud in the sky when we awoke. it promised to be a great days cycling. When we left The Bastion it was first through a big park and then on small roads through little towns. The dog walkers were very much in evidence with both the owners and dogs enjoying such good weather.
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It wasn’t very long before everything looked a little different and we noticed that the numbers on the cars started with a B. We were in Belgium. We were in the town of Essen. There was lots of cycle signs but now that we were in Belgium they had all turned to blue. Best of all we saw one labelled F14 Essen to Antwerp. This is an amazing long distance cycle way that takes you all the way from Essen to Antwerp. It is exceptionally well used not just by ordinary cyclists like us but also the speedy training cyclists who whizz passed you. The cycle way follows the train line so you have that on one side of you all the way. It certainly gives you an idea of now frequent and well used the trains are. There were train stations serving the towns along the route and these all had well filled cycle parks. Going in a straight line beside a railway line might seem as if it gets a bit monotonous and I suppose it is but compared with a cycle way beside a busy motorway it is wonderful.
The farmers must be welcoming this weather and they were making the most of it. I felt they must be fairly confident that it will last as they were out cutting hay.
Getting into the city we crossed the canal and the pace of life appeared much more hectic. I had my GPS set on The Park Inn by Radisson and it was dutifully guiding me there. However there were people everywhere especially around the station and it was hard to avoid them. On we went and when we were nearly there so saw a place to stop for lunch and somewhat calm my nerves. The final push and we were presented with a mass of steps. Certainly no way you could get up those with bikes . It wasn’t to hard to find a way around and we had arrived. In I went and oh no it was the wrong Park Inn by Radison.The man was very nice he took me outside and pointed out the way probably less than 3 kilometres he said. It wasn’t nearly as busy around the station on the way back
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9 months ago
Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 578 km (359 miles)
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