Europe - Day Sixteen

Yesterday I started cursing when I realised that somehow I had changed the video mode setting on the 360 camera from dual to single lens.   I've been recording the ground!

Today was a rest day.  However I decided to use the Komoot navigation application and ride what Komoot described as a scenic 45km circuit around the local area.

It wasn't particularly scenic but I will do my best.

This part of Belgium contains what is known as the 'Trappist Circuit'.  This is a network of Trappist monasteries famous for brewing beer.   The majority of these monasteries are in the Wallonia region of northern Belgium.   In the north of Belgium they speak Walloon (Dutch) whilst in the south they speak French.

You can read about Trappist Beer <here>

The monastery I passed looked rather modern and didn't accept visitors.  Their beer could be purchased at the nearby café!

A section of the circuit was beside a canal which also happed to be a very popular cycling route.

There appeared to be a café at most of the canal road crossings.  However they were all closed.  It's a long holiday weekend in Belgium.

The route took me away from the canal through a small village.  It was here that I was reminded how common it is to see a small tower crane being used in the construction of a house.  I remember seeing them when I was in Germany in 1984.  Labour costs are high and to minimise the use of labour a significant amount of machinery is used.

The circuit took me though another small town with a slight detour to see an interesting building.

Throughout my cycling in Europe I've been surprised by the number of grey haired wrinkly people on e-bikes (OK…. they are probably younger than me).  I can see the logic in creating good cycling infrastructure and road rules to encourage people to ride rather than drive.  It reduces the vehicle traffic, improves population fitness and reduces demand on the national health budget.

I have to write that I did pass one pretty house that wasn't mentioned in the route guide.

Tomorrow I continue north into the Netherlands.