To Viljen

August 19, 2021

For the third day running we’ve gone to bed anticipating a day with rain and woke up the next morning to find the forecast improved. We like this pattern! Today’s forecast now looks much like yesterday and the day before - cool, grey, a west wind, but unlikely to rain. We head down for breakfast at 6:30 when service starts and are on the road a few hours later.

Stepping out the door of our room we’re faced with this stark look. First thing in the morning it’s a shock, nearly as good as a first cup of coffee.

Leaving the bike room at our hotel in Hasselt. There are 14 other bikes still in there when we leave.

Looking over the website for last summer’s street art festival I saw a few other interesting works we missed yesterday. Their locations were indicated in the catalog so I plot out a short route around town to check them out before we leave.

The quality of the ride east from Hasselt is similar to what we’ve experienced so far as we navigate a series of minor marked cycle routes through the neighborhoods east of town and then transition into the familiar mix of woodlands and small farms. Riding is easy, almost effortless as we are pushed along a totally flat route by a 10 mph tailwind. As we bike we regularly pass other cyclists. We’ve never biked anywhere else where the density of bike traffic is as heavy as we’ve seen in this past week.

After about fifteen miles we come to our old friend the Albert Canal and follow it east, this time on a road up on top of the dike that gives us nice views. By now it’s getting on toward noon so when we come upon a bench with a nice view of the canal and a convenient secluded path back into the trees we stop for lunch: trail mix for myself, and some bread and sliced meat that Rachael slipped into the rucksack at breakfast this morning.

Move on, guys! We’re taking over the neighborhood now.

This looks like a newer bridge over the canal, and higher than the others we saw earlier. This must be part of the long term project to increase clearance for the barges.

After lunch we continue biking east along the canal, cross over a slender thread of land, and come to the Meuse River. Almost immediately after this we cross into the Netherlands. We follow the Meuse for another mile or so until we arrive at Maastricht, where I have the first flat tire of the tour. It happens just as we’re entering the busy city center, and I’m lucky to find a large space off the street to take care of it. This one came from a thin brad or nail, the end of which is still barely protruding from the tire with just enough exposure that I can pull it out with needle nosed pliers.

A lock on a smaller channel that splinters off the Albert Canal.

Below the lock a great cormorant dries its wings.

Houseboats line the banks of a small canal on the outskirts of Maastricht.

One. At this rate we’ll have nine flats before this tour completes. Let’s see if we can’t improve our average.

Maastricht is a larger city, the largest since leaving Antwerp. It obviously merits more than a passing glance, but it doesn’t get one from us today. We used up our allotment of looking-around time fixing the flat, and Rachael has gotten chilled standing around while we fix it so we just buzz through, trying to keep calm as bikes come at us from all directions.

Like everywhere else we’ve seen in Belgium though, Maastricht is an easy place to make your way on a bike. Soon enough we’re out of it and facing an unfamiliar obstacle - a hill. After a week of absolutely flat riding we’re finally coming to some terrain. It’s not much, but our climbing muscles have been in hibernation and need to be nudged awake again.

This was a delightful path. So narrow! And with two way bike traffic too. You can see in the video that it has intermittent short wider patches where you can pull off to let others pass. Sort of like a Scottish single track road.

Another Egyptian goose, one of a flock of about a dozen.

Nearing the high point of the day. Way up here at about 600’ above sea level the views are vast. This must be about the highest ground in the Netherlands. The Dutch Alps, I think these are called.

Video sound track: The Circle Game, by Joni Mitchell

We originally planned to stay tonight in Aachen, Germany but changed our minds when Germany changed its travel restrictions. Now, you have to register with them in advance and upload your vaccination information before entering the country if you’ve been in a high-risk country for the last ten days. It’s been nine days since we left America, so by staying tonight on this side of the border we can avoid the requirement and any complications that might ensue.

We’re staying in Viljen, a tiny village just this side of the border. We’re staying at a Michelin rated restaurant that has a few rooms to let also, so of course we feel obligated to have dinner here. The room is fine, the meal better, and we really like the server and his sly sense of humor. The fennel and smoked trout soup was especially good, and one of the best soups I can remember - I’d rank it up there with my other all time favorites, that white gaspzoacho in Córdoba and the apple-parsnip purée in Oban.

As nice as all this is though, we couldn’t recommend this place for bike travelers. There is no provision at all for bike storage - not even an overhang anywhere - so the only choice was to lock them toge ther by the woodpile and hope that it doesn’t rain tonight.

The first course: fennel soup with smoked trout.

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Ride stats today: 41 miles, 1,300’; for the tour: 307 miles, 4,700’

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 307 miles (494 km)

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Zelda MekLove the feeling of being surrounded by other cyclists. The series of imperceptible adjustments that everyone makes to keep the flow going is remarkable.

Leaving the Netherlands so soon? You won’t be puzzling over the Dutch bike route numbering!
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3 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Zelda MekIf you like that, you should try cycling in Taiwan. It’s the same, except with motor scooters. Very stimulating, but you have to go with the flow. I think of it as invoking my fish brain.
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3 years ago

Tricia GrahamWhen we were in Copenhagen the bike tracks felt as if we were on Auckland’s Southern Motorway at rush hour!
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3 years ago