So finally we’re moving on. We weren’t certain until this morning of how we were going to get there though, because the weather has changed and rain is in store for today. We’re bound for Hasselt, almost 55 miles away - more than we’d really care to ride in the rain. I do a bit of research and see that we could bail out after 20 miles at Herentals or after 40 miles at Beringen and catch a train the rest of the way, so we decide that if we get any sort of dry window today we’ll start biking and see how it goes.
This morning the weather forecast has improved. It looks like with luck we could stay dry until 2, and the weather conditions otherwise are in our favor - we should have a fair tailwind the whole way. We’re down to breakfast at 6:30. And not long after eight we’re on the road biking out of Antwerp for the last time. It’s cool, about 55 degrees when we leave, and will remain cool the whole day.
Biking beside the Central Station, leaving Antwerp for the last time.
There is so much to discover in a complex, highly diversified city like this. I didn’t realize Antwerp had a Chinatown until we biked past it this morning.
A last look at Antwerp’s magnificent train station. I can’t believe that with all the time we spent here I never went back to tour its interior. When we arrived here we hardly looked around, focused on finding our way to our hotel.
Our ride to Hasselt is along the Albert Canal. After a few miles through Antwerp’s suburbs we reach the canal, and then follow it virtually the entire way to Hasselt. With the flat profile on a bike path that is generally smooth and easy riding and with a fair tailwind we make good time. It’s just the conditions we need for a longer ride with a shorter window in the weather.
It’s an interesting ride, but with generally the same character for over 40 miles as we bike past barges queued up along the edge of the canal or race ones in motion going our way. We get some variety when we cross over to the other bank, which we’ll do four times, either on bridges or across the top of one of the three locks we pass along the way. We get additional variety in stretches where the jaagpad (towpath) is either under construction or controlled by an industrial park of some sort, and maneuver a detour until returning to the jaagpad once more.
I could say more; but I’m behind, the weather is unexpectedly dry this morning, and it’s time to ride while we can. One additional point to remember: we arrived in Hasselt at about one thirty. It began lightly sprinkling just as we entered the outskirts of town. By the time we found finally found our hotel (after biking right past it and then recircling the neighborhood) it was raining in earnest and continued raining for the rest of the day. Well done, Team Anderson, well done!
The Albert Canal. We’ll be biking alongside it for most of today’s ride.
Waiting beside the Wijnigem Locks, the first of the six locks on the eighty mile long canal. We’re waiting because a barge is approaching from upstream and is about to enter.
The Guatemala approaches the Wijnigem Locks. It doesn’t take much luck to see a ship entering the locks because the barge traffic is so intense. We passed a barge moving up or downriver at least once per mile all day long.
It wasn’t until looking at this photo that it registered how little overhead clearance there is on the canal. According to the Wikipedia article the standard clearance is 22 feet, but the plan is to raise the bridges to give 30 feet of clearance so barges can carry an additional tier of containers.
Along the Albert Canal, racing toward the next bridge. I especially liked this quiet stretch, listening to the wind in the trees and watching the blades spin from our substantial tailwind.
Jeanna & Kerry SmithI think that is a brand new feature to Ride with GPS. It is something Kerry and I have wished for for a long time. It is imperfect, but they are working to improve its accuracy. We are glad to have that additional and important information.
As always, we're enjoying your journal very much. Reply to this comment 3 years ago
Scott AndersonTo Jeanna & Kerry SmithIt’s really helpful. It will save some eye strain staring at the satellite view and trying to guess at the road quality. I suspect we’ll ride some quieter roads that we’d have been afraid to take a chance on before. Reply to this comment 3 years ago
All along today’s ride we passed industrial and commercial sites with barges lining the bank in front of them. This one is unloading the barge of gypsum or some such material.
So this was somewhat unnerving. The bike path goes right past that super scooper that is continuously unloading giant scoops from the barge and dropping them on a mountain of sand. We watched and wondered for a few minutes until the operator paused the machine and beckoned us forward.
