A Cycling Odyssey: Part III
I accidently got my front wheel trapped into one of the tram lines, whilst my back wheel, with all the weight of my panniers, veered sideways behind me. Clipped into the pedals, I was certain that I would topple sideways in a painful heap.
Day 5 ~ Brussels to Ghent
It was another enjoyable, and this time uneventful, 60km ride from Brussels to Ghent. The most memorable moment came as we approached our hostel (hostel Uppelink). Aware only that our hostel was advertised as ‘close’ to the city centre, and with no idea what Ghent looked like, our expectations were modest. However, the view from the doorstep of the hostel was breath-taking. One second I was bumping along cobbled streets, my panniers rattling irritably behind me, then the next, I turned the corner into the road of the hostel and the historic centre of Ghent was laid out before my eyes across a bridge. The city bristled with ornate spires atop elegantly tall, thin towers. It was practically bleeding history. I had never seen such a tightly packed line up of historic buildings in my life. Our budget hostel sat at the foot of the bridge, and in keeping with the view across the bridge, it was itself a grand old stone building with a solid oak door. I was very impressed.
Ghent offers a remarkably compact and well preserved historic city centre. In this sense it was more akin to Antwerp than Brussels. Yet, it felt more vibrant than Antwerp. It certainly had more than enough on offer for our pitifully brief visit. People relaxed by the banks of the Leie River, along the Graslei, drinking and dining in the sun. There’s the Gravensteen castle, Saint Bravo’s Cathedral, Saint Nicholas’ Church, Saint Michael’s Church, the city museum.
But my priority was to climb up the Belfry tower. It is the tallest in the country, standing 300 ft. (91 metres) tall, and has stood since the 14th century. The climb up is tiring but not arduous. There are several hundred steps and the passage up is often cramped, steep and windy. For me, it was an exciting adventure. If that’s not your opinion of excitement, then take the elevator instead. Half way up, we stumbled upon an exhibition room. Inside, one of old bells which had been replaced was on display, along with the mechanism to chime the bell. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Harry quipped ‘’When in Rome’’, which meant we had to do it. Phil chimed the bell, which I don’t think any of us expected to ring as loudly as it did, before we all scurried away up the tower before we could be caught.
Nearing the top, Iain opened a thick wooden door, which swung inwards. Bright light pierced the gloomy dark interior of the stairwell. We had stumbled out into a narrow walkway that circles the tower a little earlier than you were supposed to.
It is a rich reward for reaching the top, offering 360⁰ views of the city. The walkway acts as a funnel for the wind, so we were buffeted up there. It was here I slightly lost my mind and risked all my photography of the trip, my GoPro camera, by holding it out over the edge of the tower. My hand was literally shaking as I held the camera and Iain told me off for being reckless. They say that GoPro cameras are indestructible, however I don’t think their quality control test was dropping it 300 ft. onto a cobbled stone street. Thankfully, the GoPro survived its dance with death.
We also learnt in the Belfry that atop the tower sits a golden dragon. It’s an immediately amenable dragon because it’s famous as the namesake of a local lager, the Gulden Draak. You really should pay your respects by tasting a pint whilst in town. In fact, if you liked the brand as much as I did, you might even find yourself getting a little carried away. Except it wasn’t so much me, but a branded pint glass and place mat that got carried away. I use that glass and mat every day at home; I’m a very proud owner. I mentioned earlier that the Delirium Café had a collage of branded beer mats. I thought they make excellent cheap* souvenirs, so why not start your collection on your next trip?
As the evening settled in, we wandered around a little more, stumbling upon a long alleyway completely covered in artistic graffiti, which is worth strolling through. You’ll find it somewhere in between the Belfry and the castle. We decided that we would spend the evening relaxing along the river bank, so we went in search of a shop for some alcohol. We found one near by the Gravensteen castle and tourist information centre. It’s easy to spot; a little store in the plaza with three display windows stocked top to bottom, left to right with obscure beer bottles. We bought a wide, interesting selection.
Day 6 ~ Ghent to Bruges
It was an easy 45km cycle from Ghent to Bruges, which meant we could have most of the day and evening to explore famous Bruges. The ride started ominously as I somehow escaped from what seemed to be certain disaster. Just a few minutes into the ride, I accidently got my front wheel trapped into one of the tram lines, whilst my back wheel, with all the weight of my panniers, veered sideways behind me. Clipped into the pedals, I was certain that I would topple sideways in a painful heap. I had a few of the boys ahead of me and Harry not far behind. Miraculously, and I can only attribute this entirely to luck, I not only stayed upright, but even managed to wrestle my front wheel up and out of the tram line trap. As I continued on, full of relief, I shared an expression of amazement with Harry and tried my best to act casual once more.
The route along the canal here also gave us our greatest, spontaneous off-road adventure. For once, Luke’s maps had let us down, as it mapped a route along the canal, across a bridge, then following on along the other side of the canal. The only problem was, well, there was not a bridge any more. So as the path petered out on our side, we peered uneasily ahead as it became a very thin walking trail that disappeared into a heavily, tall, grassy field full of trees.
There wasn’t a lot we could do and the feeling within the group was that we had time on our side and could afford to take an off-road risk, whilst of course Harry complained loudly that ‘’this was a cycling holiday’’ and he would be damned if thick vegetation was to stop him. So we soldiered on bareback through the countryside fields, through grass that reached up to our shoulders on either side and along a bumpy narrow track that gave you no other option than to push on, hold on tight and not mind that you couldn’t see more than 10 feet ahead. It was a lot of fun. We must have been on that overgrown trail for 20 minutes before it offered our bedraggled group a branch off to a country road.
So, an easy uneventful ride had proved to be anything but, however we still arrived in Bruges in good time. Luke put on his Colin Farrell accent to declare ‘’we’re in feekin Bruges!’’. Bruges is picturesque, compact and embarrassing historic. Bruges is perhaps a little over-hyped and a little too touristy, but it is very nice, although it’s not so much nicer than other historic Belgian cities.
There are lots of nice spots in Bruges, and whilst I can recommend a few from our day trip, I’m sure there are plenty we never got round to experiencing. I personally very much enjoyed admiring the 2be Beer Wall, where hundreds of unique beer bottles and glasses are on display along an alleyway which leads onto a very nice bar. The bar offers a wide range of beers and has plenty of options on tap, all of which are served in their own unique branded glasses. One is even served in a chemistry style potions beaker with a wooden stand. There is a lovely outdoor terrace to enjoy your drink, situated beside the canal with beautiful views of historic buildings.
If beer isn’t your interest, then perhaps chocolate or tea is. There are so many wonderful chocolate shops in Bruges it’s almost pointless recommending one, you’ll have no trouble finding one. If you want to smell fragrant tea and even buy loose tea, then head to Javana tea and coffee shop, just off the Market Place. The real pleasure here is that each tea is heaped into a sliding box display so that you could slide open as many boxes as you pleas to smell the fragrant teas. I ended up buying some Earl Grey tea because that’s my favourite if I’m being pretentious. If you want to rest those weary feet, then hop on a canal boat cruise through the city or even pay your way onto a horse drawn carriage through the cobbled streets.
Day 7 ~ Bruges to Calais
This was to be a tougher, longer ride of 115km. We didn’t have any tourist objectives once we reached Calais, so we basically had the whole day to pace ourselves to get there. Early on, winding our way on cycle paths through low lying fields, the Belgian sheep tried to prohibit our escape. They crowded onto the path, seemingly unperturbed by the approaching peloton of cyclists. In the end, following a tense standoff, we managed to tiptoe our way through their blockade.
The rocky border region between Belgium and France had a desolate beauty to it, particularly in the bright sunshine. The lush green of grassy fields gave way to the ruddy brown of dirt tracks, although there were still plenty of trees. The long, empty winding roads were a perfect opportunity to speed up and blow off some steam for a little while. In time, we also reached the coast once more, passing through Dunkirk as we continued on towards Calais.
That evening, as we waited to return to England the next morning, we reminisced on what a success trip it had been. Nobody had got hurt, well not physically. Our bicycles had all survived admirably and we hadn’t needed to fix a single puncture between us, even with a few off-road adventures. We had covered 465 km in seven days. We had drunk a lot of good, strong, local beer. We had eaten lots of chocolate and it tasted better than it had anywhere else. We had appreciated oh so much history in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. We all agreed it wouldn’t be our last cycling holiday.
Au revoir! Auf Wiedersehen!
End of Part III