Travel-Ilse: February 2009

The project End January 2009, I am on holiday in Italy. I am reading a book: “Tre uomini in bicicletta” (3 men on a bycicle) where Francesco Altan (58, cartoonist), Emilio Rigatti (47, professor) en Paolo Rumiz (53, journalist) describe their adventures during their cycling tour “Trieste – Istanbul” And I wonder: why 3 men? Why no women? Some ideas come up of doing something similar: Serskamp – Paris by bike. But immediately the questions arise: how far is it? How much km do I need to bike daily? What do I need except of the bike? Once back in Belgium I do some research and ask my Belgian and Italian biker friends. All off them have something interesting to advise me.

Advice from my friends
Silvio

Even without work out you can do 70 km in a day.
Remember one thing: do not save on a good pair of gloves and general thermal clothing for biking. “Too cold” doesn’t exist, only “not well equipped” exists...
As long as it isn’t raining, you will not have any problem, but rain and wind are the biggest enemies of the cyclist (and the cars of course).

Floriano

If you have trained a bit, you can make 80 km in a day.
Do you carry your stuff in bike bags? These are ok, but don’t take a back pack: that will stress your shoulders too much. Just take care you can fix them well on your bike and you devide the weight equally on both backs. What do you think of a bag in the front? I have a kind of carrier there... That is ok, but don’t carry too much weight there, it will make hard to turn the handlebars. It is better to put the weight at the back. And of course limit to the strickt necessary stuff.
Something else: I immagine there will be wind in that region at that time of the year. Keep in mind that cycling agains the wind is like cycling uphill :( . Unnecessary to tell you you need a good rain jacket.
I don’t know if there is more… in any case, avoid streets with much traffic, but I suppose you already knew.

Ready
Good preparation, bike ok and good advice and I am ready for the adventure. But I need to change my plan: it will be Paris – Serskamp because of overnight problems in Paris.

And so I leave on Febrary 11th with the Thalys to Paris, only 1:20 h. from Brussels to Gare du Nord, more than 300 km. Ik could take my bike with me as I took of the front wheel and put everything in a big bag.

In Paris...
... Silvio and his doughter Galatea are waiting for me. Xenia is not here yet, she will join us the next day. Seeing back my friends is nice and the hospitality of Silvio makes that I can visit Paris. My plan was to stay only 1 night in Paris and to start cycling on Friday. But on Friday morning it is snowing. I decide to delay with one day, so I have an extra day in Paris.

The “Sainte Chapelle”, a double church

La “conciergeri”, this building was a royal palace, than changed into a prison and courthouse.

Notre Dame de Paris

Montmartre

Musée d'Orsay

The museum Rodin

On saturday morning I am ready for "the trip".

I have everything: bicycle, helmet, maps with the road and directions, bags, warm gloves and long, warm winter cycling pants.

I leave Paris by the channel "Ourq", through which the "site scientifique" lies.
The scenery is beautiful but only after some hours of cycling I realise that the direction is not correct and I need to cycle around the airport of Charles de Gaulle to get back in the right direction. When I stop in the evening, I am at the point where I should have started more than 24 hours ago... and I am exhausted.

The next morning I leave with new courage but it is very cold (0°C). And besides the cold, I have another problem: I have not taken anything to eat, as I believe that there would be bars or restaurants along the road to keep up my energy levels. None of it: beautiful landscape with a house now and then but no bar or restaurant.

It's almost 2 o'clock when I arrive in Grèvecoeur, a village in full carnival mood. I'm exhausted and extremely hungry. And even after a hearty meal, I have no strength to continue forward. I decide to look for a place to stay and enjoy the French way of live with some cheese and a good bottle of wine.

The next morning I leave with renewed strength and ... with a supply of food. The landscape is beautiful, occasionally I stop to enjoy it en to take pictures
However, because of the cold, I decide to put me and my bike on the train and to continu by train till Amiens, the city with its beautiful cathedral.

I like the combination bike-train. At the end, nobody can force me to do everything by bike and the trip should stay a pleasure, not a battle. So the next morning a will a travel a part by train.

I am completely relaxed when I reach the Flemish French city Lille/Rijssel ...

Next morning I head to my native city Kortrijk. It rains, but the road is flat and it is only 30km to my aunt's house. She waits for me and has prepared my favourite dish: red cabbage with sausage.
We chat at the fire place and when the sun breaks out in the afternoon I can go on.

I feel at home in this "plat pays” with it roads along the water ways and the Flemish cobble stones.

I reach my friends Piet & Veronique where I need to tell about my adventures of the last days/weeks/months. And of course I can stay there overnight.

Next day I make a detour to see some other friends. I follow as much as possible the roads along the rivers as they are very beautiful.
At sunset I arrive in Wingene at An & Didier's place.
Didier is one of the Flemish cycling friends who has given me practical advise and logistic help to undertake this trip. Of course I need to tell them about my adventures.
Because of the same passion for food and the country, we end up in an Italian restaurant...

The next morning I have a short stop at Geert, as Sabine is not at home. Than I put my bike on the train direction Serskamp.
It has been nice, wonderful experience. But I have some reflections.
My first intention was to cycle from Paris to Serskamp and take the train only in case of emergency. Finally I am glad that I "shortened" the trip with this train-parts. Due to the cold on the first days, I was not enjoying my trip but suffering it. I realised I was not on a contest against nobody, especially not against myself, so it was correct to listen to my body. Once I had taken the decision to take a train I felt much more relaxed and could enjoy the trip. Silvio and Floriano were right: cold is the worst ennemie. Especially my buttock soffered...
Making this trip during winter was not easy. But notwhitstanding the suffering, I would do it again... mayb in warmer times.

The next challange??? I already have some idea...