UK, France and now Belgium

As the title says, I’m about to exit Belgium and if I don’t get rain the first 20 or so kilometers tomorrow I can officially say I rode from Lille through Bruges, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp into the Netherlands without feeling a drop of Belgian rain. That itself may be an achievement.

So I have my first little niggle. Little bit of pain in my knee just under the kneecap. Had a consultation with my doctor, Google, and it appears I may have a touch of tendinitis. Not to worry though, I adjusted my saddle, rubbed in Voltaren gel, popped a few Nurofen and the pain is almost gone.

I will be honest, I didn’t come to Belgium with great expectations but I ride away quite impressed. Cycling through Belgium is so pleasant, designated bike lanes everywhere and it is so flat I would consider getting up on the sidewalk a hill.

The train station in Antwerp is by far the highlight. It is so impressive I walked back to have another wander around. Ghent was my favourite city, although I had the nicest few days of my trip so far in Brussels (no credit to the city).

This time it was Pierre from Actions Birmanie who put a roof over my head. He looked after me wonderfully, chocolate biscuits, juice, dinner and the best cereal in the world. I think Pierre described the cereal best when he said eating it on Sunday morning is like having a party! Thank you Pierre.

Sandra, if I so much as sneeze when I’m not supposed to I will be breathing fire. I hope your cold does not fully develop and thank you for the relaxing evening, it was exactly what I needed to give me a nice fresh energy boost.

As I leave Belgium I will leave you with some chocolate.

Actually, as I’m (semi) abstaining from that other wonderful Belgian product I will leave you with some more chocolate…..