Day 4 - Europe Cycling Holiday

My journey stated in Manchester and from there I headed to the P&O Ferry Terminal in Hull to catch the overnight ferry to Rotterdam.  Of course it rained and I was soaking wet .by the time I boarded the Maid of Rotterdam.  A small cabin, but it's only a bed for the night!

The next day I cycled across the Netherlands to reach Antwerp, in Belgium.  Great cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands' and it's obviously a popular recreation.  Most people were riding eBike.

Belgium was slightly boring until I reached Namur and cycled beside the River Meuse to reach Dinant.  The camping ground was full and I was forced to pay for a tiny room on the 5th floor with no lift.  After a day of cycling carrying all the gear to the room was a challenge..

Dinant is a lovely town which I could imagine myself visiting by boat mooring in the town centre,

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Leaving Dinant on Day 3 I headed East into the Ardennes Region This is rolling countryside.  A mixture of forest and farmland.  Whilst I enjoyed coasting down the hills, going up was another matter.  By the end of the day I was stuffed.

The camping ground was some distance from the town and .  It didn't have a restaurant or cooking facilities and I decided to reheat the sachet of emergency soup I'd purchased in the Netherlands.  That's when I discovered the gas canisters I'd bought in the UK didn't fit my Jet boil stove.  They were bayonet fittings and my Jet boil takes screw on cartridges.  cold soup for dinner.

It rained during the night and into the morning.  I faced a decision.  Stay dry in the tent; with no food!  Or cycle in the rain.  I chose the latter.  Consequentially there are no photos from today's ride.

I did a slight detour to reach the town of Bastogne, famous for being the location where the American 101st Airborne Division held off a major Nazi attacking during WW2.  The Nazi commander offered the Americans the chance to surrender as they were surrounded.  Their commander (McAufille) famously replied "Nuts"!

Tomorrow will probably be a long day as there are almost no camping grounds between Bastogne and the 700km point.  hopefully it will be dry.  Moreover I should almost be out of the Ardennes and back on flat land.