Haybes to Givet

June 1, 2024

A good sleep and a very good breakfast at Le Clos Joli in Haybes helped to make up for our initial poor impression. We have a pet peeve with accomodation that has a check in time designated, yet no staff onsite. It was a very tiring day of riding in bad weather and we were in no mood to track down the owners. As we don’t have a phone plan, we were expected to ride 3.5 km up a steep hill to their other hotel in order to get the code for access. No way! We don’t understand why they don’t email us the info once we have confirmed. Luckily we found someone who could help us. We were also disappointed that our room was not what we had requested. Since the staff were unavailable, we made the best of it.

Omelettes made to order and lots of choices made breakfast special.

The woman who prepared our breakfast and was looking after things in the morning was very hospitable and kind. It seems to us that it is such a basic thing to have staff on hand as hotels are in the hospitality industry.

Roadies out for a ride on the EV 19/Meuse route which is situated directly on the river in front of our hotel.

It is so cold this morning and it is raining. We have had rain everyday for most of the past week and we are thinking we will make this a short day of riding…we need some rest. Temperatures are usually around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius if it is a good day. On the bright side…we aren’t camping!

The clouds are low and visibility is poor with the heavy mist, but it is quite pretty.

We think there may be a cycling event today as we are seeing groups of roadies riding on the route by the hotel, or maybe it’s because it is Sunday.

Beautiful scene…with the low visibility we feel like we are in our own paradise.

We were were excited to see this welcoming sign for a shelter for cyclists on the Voie Verte/Meuse route. It was incredible…it included a bathroom, all the tools a touring cyclist could need, an area to sit, electrical outlets for your devices, even a charging station for e-bikes. Wow…this is the first place like this we have seen on our tour so far. The timing was good as it is the kind of day when it is good to take refuge from the weather conditions.

We really appreciate this community providing such a warm welcome to cyclists.

It may look a bit like a bunker but it is quite cosy and provides lots of room for a group of cyclists to bring their bikes in.

An excellent pump…the tires on Seavo and our trailer are getting some TLC during our visit…

The Meuse River is a recreational place for boaters who are travelling through the area, as well as a commercial route for river cargo boats. The locks can be quite busy. Some days we see more boats and bicycles.

We appreciate this community for their hospitality to cyclists.

Such beauties…rural and village life seem to co-mingle, side by side in some of these river communities.

This is the first sign we have seen for keeping your dog on its leash. In France, dogs are welcome everywhere…shops, hotels etc and they are well trained and always on leash. We find that the culture here is so inclusive and welcoming to people with their dogs, cyclists and hikers.

We have been riding through a lush, forested area, with some hills when we catch a look through the trees and see this nuclear power plant. It is always jarring to ride alongside a nuclear plant like this as we cycle through a beautiful forest.

Barbed wire and electric fencing keeps the nuclear secure from visitors.

Thanks Bill for coming to our aid once again. This flower is, most likely, Geranium robertianum, commonly known as herb Robert.

Since the mid 1980’s, the largest source of electricity in France has been nuclear power. In 2018, the electrical power which was sourced from nuclear power was 72 % - the highest in the world. This nuclear plant is in the town of Chooz where around 1200 workers are employed.

The sign for the Nuclear Power Plant in Chooz.

And now for a change of topic….Canadian Geese and their growing families are everywhere and seemed to have taken over the Meuse River….that is, apart from the odd bemused looking Egyptian goose. We can imagine that they may not be popular, but don’t blame us, we didn’t bring them with us. Nonetheless, their young are fun to watch.

We are approaching Givet as we can tell by the landmark, the Fortress across the river. Givet is on the border of Belgium, so when we leave Givet, that will be end of our riding in France, for this trip.

When we leave Givet, the Voie Verte (France), also,known as Eurovélo 19, will become the Maas Fietsroute. The Meuse becomes known as the Maas River through Belgium and France.

The town of Givet is our destination for tonight.

This is the route marker that we will be following when we continue on to Belgium.

This happy cat lives at the hairdressing salon. It is very frisky and as we walked by it chased us and jumped from window to window, clearly wanting to play. As Barry would put his hand on the glass, the cat rubbed along the glass as if Barry was able to pet it.

We are very tired and both feel like we are fighting something. We like where we are staying and have decided to stay here a second night. So, a visit to the bakery and a walkabout were in order.

And I couldn’t resist the lemon tarte with meringue topping.

Friterie are a French version of a take out, featuring yummy fries etc.

Towns in France show the evidence of hard times in these older buildings.

Along the River Meuse in Givet. We are enjoying our time here.

This church is trying to raise money to create 18 new stain glass windows. They have have completed a couple of the windows in a more contemporary style.

Yes, it has been a wet, muddy day…everything needs to dry out.

Today's ride: 32 km (20 miles)
Total: 1,017 km (632 miles)

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