To Veurne

August 31, 2024

We have a longer ride than usual today but conditions are ideal for it. Flat of course, and generally going southwest with a robust tailwind the whole way. Once we make it out of Bruges we barely stop the whole way, arriving in Veurne in only a little over three hours. It’s likely the best rolling average we’ve maintained for the entire tour.

Like the Sirens singing to Ulysses, Bruges tosses a few more irresistible enticements our way as we circle the ring road on the way out of town, tempting us to stay longer and reminding us that we really should come back again and join the eight million other tourists some year. We’ll have to see about that.

Video soundtrack: Joy Spring, by Clifford Brown

Once we’re out of town though it’s nearly nonstop for the next thirty miles. The first five are particularly pleasant, through the large beech/oak forest that Rachael hiked in yesterday. As we bike she keeps pointing out one spot after another that she recognizes until we finally reach new ground. Beyond that it’s mostly agricultural the rest of the way, largely planted in eight foot tall stands of corn that rustle and rattle in the wind as we race past them. We stop briefly for a few quick stops but mostly we just race on, our minds set on arriving in Veurne in time for lunch.

Not quite typical of the ride; corn fields would be more representative.

Diksmuide is included in the UNESCO citation for the belfries of Belgium and France, for its tower on the right.

I might as well include a map for the locations of the 36 cited belfries. We saw the ones in Antwerp and in Amiens on earlier tours and we’ll pick up four or five others this time through. If we ever come back though I could make a quest of it and try to see them all.

An Eastern Orthodox Church, another surprising sight worth stopping for.

Video sound track: Cast Your Fate to the Wind-Quincy Jones

We arrive at our lodging, Hotel Amaryllis, at 1:30. We know from our prior inquiry that they serve lunch until 2 but the place is empty when we walk in except for a couple at a table that look like they work here. When they see we’re here for the night and want to eat though they show us to an outdoor table and serve us up a fine meal. While we’re eating the lady of the house checks us in, gives us our orientation and keys to the room, and then disappears for the day.

Our street, about a block off the central square. Veurne is a tidy place, with its homes primarily built of whitish brick.

After a couple of hours I head out with the camera to check out the market square that we only got a sideways glimpse of when we arrived. Rachael decides to just hang out in the room, hoping to protect her health - because in a worrying development we haven’t mentioned before she may be getting sick. She’s developed a cough that’s huskier today than yesterday, and we’re playing things day by day looking at public transportation options in case she feels too ill to ride. Today with its warm conditions and robust tailwind is as good as we can hope for, but we’ll have to wait and see in the coming days.

I’m instantly attracted to the square when I enter it. It has just the right scale for us, especially after Bruges, and there’s enough to see to make an ideal overnight stop. Two would have worked well too, I imagine.

Entering market square, the Grote Markt. That’s the tower of Saint Nicolas Church ahead.

On the opposite corner of the square is town hall and the belfry. Behind it is Sint-Valburga Church.

She’s standing in what looks like best position for the belfry so I walk over and take a shot from there myself.

So we chat a bit, once we realize we can communicate. She’s Tam, an Inuit from Alaska who runs a B&B in Canterbury.

We chat for about fifteen minutes, but as we do the sky starts darkening and looks like a thunder storm could be coming. When we hear the first distant rumbling I encourage her to start moving. She hopes to make Dunkirque tonight, still thirty miles to the west. It doesn’t look good.

The weather is really changing fast. I spend another five minutes taking a few more quick shots but when the first drops fall I find a covered table on the square. It’s barely sufficient, and most others that were outside quickly pick up their drinks and plates and relocate inside.

It’s a pretty wild scene for about a half hour, with the few people out rushing to get to their cars or hurriedly sheltering their bikes and themselves while bold flashes of lightning and deep rumbling crashes fill the air. It’s really pouring, and soon I’m isolated on a tiny island with rivers running down the bricks on either side of the table. I’m basically dry, but there’s enough blowing in under the umbrella that my tomato soup gets cooled down by a bit of rain and my wine glass clouds over from the mist.

And then it stops briefly. With rain expected off and on for the next hour and a half I take my break and head back to the hotel. On my way there I’m chagrined to remember that we left our bikes out in the open, uncovered. There’s nothing to be done about that now, but at least I can pour the water out of our helmets and take them up to the room to dry out.

Xxx

Compare this look to the one when I first entered the square just a half hour earlier.

The Veurne Belfry, from the portal to the Sint-Valburga Church.

The drug store, somewhat more interesting than your neighborhood CVS.

Time to head for shelter. The square empties quickly, and the first flashes of lightning appear soon. I hope Tam is in a good place by now.

I take refuge at a cafe on the square, order up a bowl of soup and a glass of white wine and settle in for the show.

It’s an exciting show but I’m trapped here under an umbrella at my small table for about a half hour. It’s reasonably dry if I don’t move to either side, but wind blows a light mist in. It’s raining too hard to relocate though. Better to stay put.

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Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 3,639 miles (5,856 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	9

Steve Miller/GrampiesWhat a rainstorm! Good thing poor Rachael was warm and dry. Hope she feels better soon.
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2 months ago

Suzanne GibsonGet well soon, Rachael!
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2 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThanks. I did fine on our ride today!
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2 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonI did fine on the ride today and took some cough syrup I bought this morning at the pharmacy when we got to the hotel. It seems to have helped.
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2 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Rachael AndersonNurse Dodie says hot tea with honey, lemon and fresh finely sliced ginger is good for a sore throat and can help ease other cold symptoms. Hope the next health report about you is a happy one.
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2 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThanks for the suggestion unfortunately the ingredients are hard to come by. I have some throat lozenges and I just got some cough syrup. I had a long ride today and did fine although I did take a nap this afternoon which also helped.
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2 months ago

Jon AylingAh Veurne - I remember passing through on my way from Dunkirque 14 odd years ago! Looked like a really attractive place but sadly I didn't tarry. I was surprised all the historical buildings had survived WW1 so intact given how close the Western front and the battles of Yser and Ypres were - I wondered if they'd been reconstructed, but reading up on it seems Veurne remained a Belgian headquarters and was spared a lot of the damage.
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2 months ago

Bob KoreisThe little boy at the beginning of the first video gave me a chuckle. Did you wave first? Any chance he noticed your goPro? Or should I stick with Ocham's Razor and guess that he was just being friendly?
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2 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Bob KoreisScore one for the Razor. Spontaneous, unprompted, delightful.
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2 months ago