Well,
here I am on my own - no navigator!! On my way to Belgium to watch
the Spring Classics cycle races.
Glyn
is, and always has been, a warm weather person (in spite of, or
because of, meter reading in sub-zero temperatures for 10 years), and
Belgium was just too cold for her at this time of year, when the
alternative was 20° + in our house in Southern Spain.
If
you are a cyclist, or just follow cycling - you must have heard of
the Tour of Flanders or Paris Roubaix. These are just 2 classics
amongst many. I will be in Belgium for 4 weeks, in which time I will
see 11 races, all classics in their own right.
The
one day races are divided to the West or the East of Brussels, with
hills ending in "berg", such as Kemmelberg, Paterberg,
Kruisberg, which separate the real contenders from the ones making up
the numbers. The climbs are short (often less than 1km), steep (the
majority are 10% +) and cobbled (very poorly). Professional riders
have been known to walk up the climbs, they are so severe.
So,
a quick dash up through Spain and France gets me to Harelbeke for the
first race on Wednesday 23/03/16 - lets see what the weather is
like!!
TOTAL TOUR STATISTICS
- Distance travelled 6337km
- Travelling time 117hr 22min
- Amount of fuel used 607.81 litres
- Cost of fuel used €611.02
- Average fuel consumption 9·59 l/100km (29·45mpg)
- Nights away 50
- Nights in free aires 22 at no cost
- Nights in paid aires 15 at a cost of €128
- Nights in campsites 8 at a cost of €177
- Nights wildcamping 2 at no cost
- Nights in France Passion 2 at no cost
- Nights in España Discovery 1 at no cost
- Number of cycle races seen 11
Wednesday 16/03/2016 Home to Peniscola
N40°22'45'' E000°23'18'' Campsite, €12, full services, electric.
390km in 5hr 15min
The
first time I have driven any distance without having my friend, wife
and ace navigator in the passenger seat - what an eye-opener! I now
HAVE to follow the sat-nav (instead of Glyn over-ruling it when
required - which is often) and follow where it takes me (although I
have ignored it on a couple of occasions). If you know the area you
are in you can ignore its feeble attempts at shortcuts, and follow
your usual route. However, when you are in unknown territory, do you
know better than the sat-nav???
A
very strange sensation, having to make a split second decision on
whether to come off at a certain junction or not - what are the
consequences - not following it and finding yourself miles from where
you wanted to be, or following it and finding yourself miles from
where you wanted to be!
Finally
made it to Camping Los Pinos in the ACSI book, at €12 per night
including electric it was a safe haven on the first night on my own.
 |
| Motorhoming solo! |
We have a Remoska which I have just filled with potatoes, onions and garlic, and switched on to cook. The Dometic fridge we have is now throwing a wobbler, clicking away and reverting to a gas supply instead of the 230v mains it should be running on. I suspect that the amps here are not enough to run the 750W Remoska and the fridge at the same time. When the food is cooked and Remoska is switched off, it will be interesting to see if the fridge calms down and behaves itself on mains electric.
As
expected, when Remoska was unplugged, the fridge ran on 230v no
problem, so it looks like the electric amperage is the problem (I
hope!)
Rain
tonight, and the temperature seems to be dropping - time for another
blanket!
See today´s full photo gallery here
See today´s full photo gallery here
Thursday 17/03/2016 Peniscola to Girona
N41°56'22·3'' E002°50'21·0'' Free aire, full services, no electric.
355km in 4hr 26min
N41°56'22·3'' E002°50'21·0'' Free aire, full services, no electric.
355km in 4hr 26min
If
you like driving you will love today's route.
Fast
road all day with stunning scenery - even had some snow thrown in!
The fabulous N340 morphed into the 2 lane motorway A7 after crossing
the mighty River Ebro just before it emerges into the Mediterranean
through the Ebro Delta. Then the C15 motorway to Manresa and finally
the C25 motorway to Girona.
It
started sleeting with an outside temperature of 4° at one
point in the mountains, but nothing to stop you driving.
I
got undertaken as I approached an exit slip by a joker on a British
registered motorbike (how did he know I was not going to go up the
slip without signalling?) If that's his normal riding style, he
should be in hospital by now!
I have stopped for the night now in a municipal aire in Quart just outside Girona, free to stay in with full services and very nice - thank you Girona. I got here just in time when 1 van was already here and another 2 followed me in, to leave only 1 space free. (Update - now completely full at 5pm and they are parking in the normal carpark)
I'm
on a slight uphill slope so level with no ramps - ideal!
 |
| A nice free aire with no ramps |
The
sat-nav tried to send me under a 3m high bridge just before reaching
Quart, so I ignored it and got back on the road to the next junction
(where there was a motorhome sign!) You have to keep your wits about
you with these sat-navs!
Heavy rain at the moment, but nice and dry in here.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Heavy rain at the moment, but nice and dry in here.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Friday
18/03/2016 Girona to Le Teil
N44°33'04·5'' E004°41'23·7'' Free aire, full services, no electric.
455km
in 7hr 28min
An early start today after it rained loudly all night - it never let up once.
I
was on the road for 7:30am, along, it seemed, with everyone else on
the aire - we all seemed to set off in procession at the same time
(except for one stay-in-bed French van)
My
plan was to stay just west of Avignon at an aire I had researched,
depending on time.
As
it turned out I was at the aire by 1:30pm, so decided to push on for
another 100kms or so, which is why I am now at Le Teil aire on the
banks of the River Rhone.
 |
| Nice aire by the Rhone |
I
am right next to a very impressive suspension bridge which seems very
busy with traffic - I am sure it will calm down later.
I
was on a 1/2 tank of fuel, so prior to reaching France near
Perpignan, I filled up whilst still in Spain. €1·029 versus €1·119
in France - no wonder the border crossing was busy!
Roads
were mixed today - some fast and long, others with towns and
roundabouts every 3km. The weather was also split into 2 -
torrential, really heavy rain for the first 3 hours, but now, at 6pm,
the sun is shining and it's quite warm, full of midges in the
sunlight.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Saturday
19/03/2016 Le Teil to Dijon
N47°16'18·4'' E004°59'32·1'' Free aire, full services, no electric.
361km
in 6hr 28min
4° outside last night, but nice and warm in bed.
Another
early(ish) start today after emptying the grey and black water. I
followed the Rhone for at least 50kms today, and I never fail to be
impressed by it - it is massive.
A
long day of driving over some poor French roads, but also through
some interesting and impressive towns and villages.
It's
always a trade-off isn't it - drive on the N and D roads (time
permitting) through some nice countryside and places, but take an age
to get where you are going, or go on the motorway (and pay the tolls
if you are that way inclined) and see really nothing but the car in
front, but cover some huge distances. I guess it's horses for
courses, but it would be nice if there was a compromise,
halfway-house between the two.
As
well as taking a long time to get here today, I couldn't believe my
eyes when I was stopped by what I saw in the distance on the road up
ahead. I saw a tree fall across the road approximately 400m in front
of me, and immediately thought - emergency (no-one would do that on
purpose with no warning) Thoughts such as freeing a passenger in a
crashed car, or a lumberjack had had a blackout and lost control went
through my head.
Hazards
on to warn the cars doing 90kph behind me, I was at the head of the
queue when I got to 2 "fellers" with a tree blocking the
road, who were chain-sawing it into manageable pieces, presumably for
firewood.
I
don't know if they felled it deliberately or accidentally across the
road, but either way there were no warning signs on the road. Someone
going too fast (most of them!) and not paying attention could have
had a nasty accident here, or the tree could have landed on top of
them!
The
tree was duly sawn into pieces whilst everybody watched and waited,
and to their credit, no-one in the cars got out and berated the 2
fellers.
Eventually
the road was clear, we could carry on our journey, and the 2 fellers
would be warm for the next 2 months.
I
stayed tonight at an aire in Marsanny-la-Cote which was behind a
sports centre in the middle of a small village. Hard tarmac surface,
but the marked pitches were a bit narrow for motorhomes - if you
parked within them you'd never open the door! Luckily it was quite
quiet here tonight.
Sunday
20/03/2016 Dijon to Bellicourt
N49°57'05·7'' E003°14'06·5'' Free aire, full services, no electric.
396km
in 6hr 18min
Another 4° night, and still 4° when I set off at 7:30am for another early start.
The
first 50km were in thick mist. With visibility down to 250m and the
temperature down to 1° - freezing fog!
After
an hour or so I had driven through it into a nice sunny day, although
it has clouded over now.
The
aire here has 2 official motorhome spaces, although there is a big
car-park here as well. There are full facilities on-site.
 |
| Only 2 spaces here, but next to a big, empty car park |
Popular
with dog walkers and mountain bikers, it is a real outdoors area
here.
The
landscape changed as I drove through it today. Starting with built-up
urban, then to upland moors and woodland, which gave way to a wine
growing area. Following that was a Champagne growing area, then a
series of British and French war graves, followed by agricultural
land with massive fields growing cereals. As such the roads were
straight and fast with many roundabouts.
Luckily,
I found a 24hour self-service garage for some fuel, or I may not have
made it this far (I forgot that France is closed on Sundays)
Just
one van here with me at the moment (on ramps in the car park - there
is no flat land here), although 3 have been and gone already for some
reason - maybe just taking a break.
See today´s full picture gallery here.
See today´s full picture gallery here.
Monday
21/03/2016 Bellicourt to Kortrilk
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
125km
in 1hr 56min
I
have only 125km to go today to get to my aire in Kortrijk, so I
didn't get up until 9:30am - what decadence!
I
woke to rain, 4° and a biting East wind, so decided to use some of
my precious propane gas.
On
our last trip to Northern Spain we were away for 60 nights and had
electric hook-up only once. One full 13kg bottle of propane lasted us
19 days of fridge cooling, cooking and hot water for showers and
washing up.
I
am away on this trip for approx 50 nights in the bitter cold of
Belgium, so heating will also be a factor to further reduce the gas
bottle usage.
Our
2 Spanish gas bottles were just not going to cut it, and I didn't
really want to be getting a French/Belgian bottle with assorted
pigtails and associated cost, so when a neighbour at home offered me a
13kg propane bottle (she had just converted to mains gas), I jumped
at the chance. I carried the extra full bottle under the bench seat
with access from an outside locker, fully strapped in to one of the
floor joists, so no chance of any movement.
 |
| Safe and secure |
I've
had the heating on 3 times in 4 days already, so I hope I've done the
maths properly (My wife is joining me for the last 3 weeks, and will
NOT be impressed if we run out of gas!)
This
gas problem (only running on Spanish gas bottles) will be rectified
in the summer when we return to the UK for our daughter´s wedding. I
plan to call in at Gasit headquarters in North Wales and buy a
refillable 13kg bottle with assorted filler and supply pipes and a
filter, so then, as they say, "the world will be our oyster"
(why do they say that? - it doesn't really make any sense!)
The
traffic around Lille was very, very heavy and at times a little
dangerous, but I finally made it to this great aire.
Finally
in Belgium I am just across the road from the River Leie, which has a
cycle path next to it that seems to go on for miles. The aire is part
of a larger car park, but has it's own barriered entrance, so nothing
in this area but motorhomes. Currently 3 of us here, with space for
another 5. Full services here including electric hook-up for €10
per night.
 |
| An excellent aire |
I
don't speak or read Belgian, so had a bit of trouble getting in - on
the automated ticket machine by the entrance barrier was a button
with a phone symbol on it. Once pressed a very helpful Belgian gent
spoke to me in English and told me to take a ticket, then drive to
the motorhome barrier, use the ticket to get in and out, then pay to
validate the ticket as normal on the way out. Very helpful man - I
think I had pressed every button and put my credit card in prior to
that!
The
fresh water tap has something on it that I've never seen before. It
has a normal screw thread, but has an obstruction in front of it. You
can still thread a hose onto it, but you can't stuff the spout of a
toilet cassette over it - brilliant - every aire should have one!
 |
| Every aire should have a tap protector like this - brilliant |
I
am now on hook-up for 5 nights in the same place, so the parting
words my wife gave me as I left - "keep the van clean, eat
properly and don't forget to shower" will now be carried out!
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Tuesday
22/03/2016 Kortrijk
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
Now then - what I came here for - cycling!
Today
is a free day, so the bike was off the back and I was on it to first
get to Harelbeke, where the E3 Harelbeke starts on Friday, then on to
Waregem, where the Dwars door Vlaanderen passes through and finishes
tomorrow.
All
was good on the river cycle path until I got a text from Glynis (I've
had no internet access, thus no news since leaving home) telling me
about the terrible atrocity of the terrorist attack at Brussels
airport and Metro station yesterday, which killed and injured many
people.
This
puts the Spring Classic cycle races into the possibility of being
cancelled, from a point of view of official mourning, and also from
riders not attending who were going to fly into Brussels.
Glyn
is keeping me informed of developments.
I
was really struggling to find out where the E3 starts in Harelbeke -
there were no signs anywhere, and everyone I asked had no idea there
was a cycle race starting and finishing in their town on Friday!
I
finally found a business that had an estate car outside with multiple
cycle racks on the roof - they should know I thought, and they did.
On
the way there I got a rear wheel puncture from a nail - no problem I
thought, I have a spare tube and tools in a water bottle to do the
job. As I discovered, what I didn't have was a pump! What a plonker!!
The
valves on my bike are "presta" valves, the thin ones found
on racing bikes, otherwise I could have gone to a petrol station
where they cater for "schraeder" valves found on cars,
mountain bikes and commuting bikes.
I
was 5km from Cervantes, so my only option was to push the bike home.
 |
| Trying to get back to here |
There are cycle paths on every road I have been on so far, and Kortrijk is full of people on bikes - almost more bikes than cars (but 99% of them with the wrong valves (therefore pumps) for me)
I
thought that with all these bikes on the roads there must be a lot of
bike shops to sell and service them, but as yet I had not seen one.
My
luck changed when I saw a shop window full of bikes, but when I went
in it wasn't like a conventional bike shop - no counter, no prices,
no shelves of accessories, and all the bikes were either top end mega
expensive looking, or else vintage models - more like a private
collection or a museum! I went down a corridor to a very big, old
workshop stocked with old tools when an old gent appeared behind me.
I managed to get over what I wanted, and the gent was very helpful -
he even changed the tube for me and inflated it on an ancient
compressor. I asked if he had a pump I could buy, and he appeared
with a used one from the showroom and charged me €6 for everything!
He certainly got me out of a jam, and I would have been happy to pay
more than double for the help he gave me. I'm still not sure what the
set-up was there - maybe he just serviced and repaired exclusive
bikes for certain customers - he was certainly a very experienced
cycle mechanic.
Having
now got no spare tube, I decided to give Waregem a miss - too far to
push the bike back from, but I did eventually find the start of the
E3, so a little bit of progress.
Arriving
back in Kortrijk, I had an explore around the town - some great old
bits, and a tremendous amount of building going on - tower cranes
everywhere.
See today´s full picture gallery here.
See today´s full picture gallery here.
Wednesday
23/03/2016 Kortrijk
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
Well - out of the door at 9 this morning and back at 6 with 50km on the bike to see 2 passes and the finish of my first classic - the Dwars door Vlaanderen.
The
2 passes went through Waregem which is where the one day race also
finished. Waregem is only 17km from where I am staying in Kortrijk.
Every road around here has a cycle path taking up half of the
pavement, so I got there without touching a road - very user
friendly, and the motorists are so polite and considerate, truly a
refreshing change.
After
sussing out where all the viewing points and the finish were, I had
over 2 hours to kill, so obviously the bar, right opposite my first
viewing point was where I went.
I met some really interesting people today - the bar had a group of oldish men sat at a table going at it hammer and tongs. One of them came over later and apologised, saying they were talking anout the Brussels atrocity - I told him there was nothing to apologise for - they had every right to be angry and upset. We had a good chat (he spoke very good English) and a good laugh - a real nice guy.
I met some really interesting people today - the bar had a group of oldish men sat at a table going at it hammer and tongs. One of them came over later and apologised, saying they were talking anout the Brussels atrocity - I told him there was nothing to apologise for - they had every right to be angry and upset. We had a good chat (he spoke very good English) and a good laugh - a real nice guy.
I
was nearly asleep after trying the Chimay Blue trappist beer, but,
once outside, the wind and drizzle soon woke me up!
 |
| 2 hours to wait! |
 |
| Rubbish weather |
The
finish, where I stood next to a lovely Belgian couple who were full
of questions for me, was a bunch sprint with an unusual ending. Brian
Coquard (no really!) of the Direct Energie team thought he had won ,
so raised his arms in a victory salute just before he crossed the
finish line. What he didn't know was that Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal)
was coming up on his inside and still racing, so just took the win on
the line! I bet Mr Coquard felt a right **** for celebrating too
soon!
 |
| Difficult to see from here |
 |
| How to lose a sprint! |
On
the way back to the van I was overtaken by 20+ riders of a local
club, so not being one to miss a bit of slipstreaming, I jumped on
the back and got carried along at a great rate of knots.
One
of the young lads in the group - he looked about 15 or so, told me
Fabian Cancellara (a past winner at the Flanders Classics) was not
riding E3 Harelbeke because he couldn't get here from Switzerland.
This is his last season before he retires, so I hope he makes it for
one of the others.
The
young lad asked me if I was staying for the Tour of Flanders, to
which I replied yes. He then told me his father had won it twice,
once in 1989, and again in 1991! which would make him Edwig van Hooydonck. I asked him if he was going
to win it one day - he said no - I'll win the Tour de France!!
Nothing like ambition and aiming high! (Remember you read it here
first folks)
Results of Dwars door Vlaanderen
1st Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal)
2nd
Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie)
Thursday
24/03/2016 Kortrijk
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
A free day today to explore the town, do some shopping, do some cleaning, do some showering.........
I
had to turn back after 2 minutes to get another coat to combat the
biting wind - I must be going soft living in Spain!
There
is a massive funfair in the middle of Kortrijk for Easter, which
against the old adjacent buildings, looks slightly out of place.
 |
| The old and the new |
I
found a brilliant cafe for beer and lunch - all veggie and cooked
this morning, and the beer was superb. Also in the cafe was the
world's friendliest cat - so laid back it was horizontal - literally.
I
stocked up with provisions in Carrefour, then on to a church I'd
noticed as I walked in.
I
have never seen so many stained glass windows in one building - there
wasn't much of the walls left to hold the building up, although what
there were seemed to be 2 metres thick. A fantastic building,
obviously of some local merit, because a group of art students
followed me in and started sketching the interior.
 |
| So many windows |
When
I got back to Cervantes the aire was nearly full - only one space
left. I forgot this is Easter week, so holiday time - I assume they
have bank holidays in Belgium. They will be suprised by the building
work in progress on the plot next door - a mobile crane pile-driving
metal shuttering into the ground, I presume as a precursor to digging
a massive hole. They start regularly at 7:30am and finish at 6:00pm.
It has to be done I know, just unlucky it's when we're here.
Friday
25/03/2016 Kortrijk
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
The 2nd Classic today is E3 Harelbeke, starting and finishing in Harelbeke.
It
started raining heavily at 10:00pm last night, and was still as heavy
at 10:00am this morning, but I decided if I'd come this far I wasn't
going to let torrential rain stop me!
By
the time I was ready at 10:20am it was easing off a little, and had
almost stopped when I got to Harelbeke.
The
security at the start village was understandably very heightened, and
I was not allowed in because of my bike and my rucksack, so instead I
went to watch the teams warming up outside their buses.
 |
| Outside the "Death Star" battle bus |
After
the start, and meeting again the very nice couple I had met at the
finish yesterday, I had a couple of hours to kill, so once again it
was beer tasting time. The lady behind the bar was very interested in
what I was doing, and I think told everyone who came in afterwards. I
had 3 superb abbey beers, 2 toasted sandwiches and use of the WiFi
for 2 hours, on top of which she gave me a Quaremont glass when I
asked if I could buy one, and then charged me €11!! I felt like a
thief. I asked if the price was correct, and she said yes - we are
very cheap! What a superb place.
 |
| The unique Kwaremont beer glass |
I stood at the last bend before the finish line - a quite severe 90 deg bend only 600m from the finish which I thought would produce some good action photos, as at this point the riders would be at almost maximum speed and jostling for position. As it turned out there was not a bunch sprint, but instead an exciting 2 man sprint for the win between this year's Road Race World Champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) and last year's Road Race World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky)
 |
| The last bend |
the
winner eventually being Michal Kwiatkowski, with Ian Stannard (Sky)
coming in 3rd, so a first and third for Sky, and by this time the sun
had come out so everyone was happy. Peter Sagan has now been 2nd in
20 major professional road races in the last 18 months - he must be
really fed up! He has bags of talent - just been unlucky.
Results of E3 Harelbeke
1st Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky)
2nd
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
Saturday
26/03/2016 Kortrijk
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
A free day today so off to Aldi for some frozen food. As I drove in last Monday I could have sworn I saw a Lidl near the Aldi, but it seems to have disappeared - maybe I dreamt it !
On
my walk through Kortrijk I came across the Team Sky bus outside a 4*
hotel, and in the inner courtyard were all the cars and the
mechanic's trailer - still celebrating Mical Kwiatkowski's win
yesterday no doubt.
 |
| Celebrating the win |
The aire is now officially full - no spaces left.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Sunday
27/03/2016 Kortrijk to Wevelgem to Kortrijk.
N50°49'53·2'' E003°16'04·3'' Paid aire, €10, full services, electric.
25km
in 41mins
Today
is my 3rd race - Gent Wevelgem, a high profile race attracting the
world's best riders.
Because
the aire was full, I was in 2 minds whether to take the motorhome,
park on the course and go to town with the flags etc (and risk not
getting back on this aire), or just go on the bike and watch from the
pavement. I decided to go in the van - there are plenty of places to
wildcamp if needed.
The
day started overcast, threatning rain, with a very strong wind.
The race finished in Wevelgem on the main road (the N8), and I was
approaching on the N8 from Kortrijk, so the riders would be coming
towards me. The road was obviously closed at the finish line, so an
adventurous detour was taken through the mean (and narrow) streets of
Wevelgem - very entertaining.
I
eventually made it and parked in front of a bathroom showroom (closed
on Sundays), but was not 100% sure if I was on the route.
My
navigator was 2000km away, but thanks to telecommunications, she
informed me I was on the route and 4km from the finish. This was
confirmed when I went to the roundabout and looked at the race arrow
(now in the van!)
There
was lots of horn blowing in response to the flags, which were now
rigid in the gale force winds.
 |
| Flying the flag in Belgium |
I put the TV on in the hope that the race would be live on Belgian TV and - bingo -they showed the whole race - excellent.
The
women's race came trough first which elicited a big cheer from the
crowd (well me)
A
big groan went up when the winner of the Dwars door Vlaanderen 4 days
ago, Jens Debucherre, ended up in a drainage ditch at the side of the
road, and looked to be quite seriously injured.
An
impressive group of 4 riders broke away with 20km to go - Peter Sagan
(2nd on Friday), Fabian Cancellara (4th on Friday and in his last
season), Sep Vanmarcke (Belgian hardman) and the Russian Viacheslav Kuznetsov (who had led on his own for the last 20km)
They
stayed away until the end, with Peter Sagan winning the sprint - at
last a win!!! The curse of the rainbow jersey is broken. (They say if
you have the rainbow jersey as Road Race World Champion, you will not
win a race wearing it - many people have proved this correct over the
years, and are glad to get rid of it at the end of the year, so they
can start winning again)
The
aire was fine when I got back - 3 spaces left!
Result of Gent Wevelgem
1st Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
2nd
Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto NL - Jumbo)
Monday
28/03/2016 Kortrijk to Ronse
N50°44'37·8'' E003°35'19·1'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
132km
in 2hr 52min
A
free day today so I decided to go into Lille to explore the motorhome
parking situation - I am due to pick my brother up from the Eurostar
in Lille on Friday, so wanted to be 100% sure I could park somewhere.
I
had provisionally suggested a meeting place which looked OK on Google
streetview, but in reality it had been barriered off with bollards -
so no waiting there!
I
drove up to Gare Lille Euro and found there was a big parking area on
the approach road - supposed to be for buses and taxis, but loads of
cars there today. I will be staying with Cervantes, so can go round
again if anyone starts complaining. I also found a parking street
just one street away from the station, so that is the backup.
Lille
is mega busy, even today on a bank holiday - goodness knows what a
working day is like.
In
case I couldn't find anywhere I had a safety net of the CCI aire by the Citadel, but this has been obliterated by some new building
work - so if you were planning on going there, don't - it's shut!
Talking
to Glyn, she gave me the shocking news that a rider was killed in the
Gent Wevelgem cycle race yesterday. Apparently Antoine Demoitié from the
Belgian team Wanty, was involved in a crash, and whilst he was on the
ground, one of the following motorbikes ran him over - he later died
in hospital. What a tragedy. Maybe now there will be a
review of
1,
the number of motorbikes that follow a race, and
2,
the competence of the motorbike riders.
As
has been demonstrated in the past when a Shimano neutral service car
swerved and ran Jonny Hoogerland into a barbed wire fence
in the 2011 Tour de France, the standard of driving/riding is pretty poor in some cases.
 |
| ....and he finished the Tour de France!! |
in the 2011 Tour de France, the standard of driving/riding is pretty poor in some cases.
The
wind today has been gale force all day - the rain this morning was
horizontal - I thought it would never stop. It's certainly giving the
water-tightness of Cervantes a good test - passed so far!
The
CCI aire in Oudenaarde is also closed, again due to building and
landscaping work, but vans were parked in the ordinary car park on a
patch of hardstanding near the river.
I
was let into the free aire in Ronse (when I eventually found it!) by
a nice Belgian gent who already had the keycode to get in - I think
he must have used the adjacent intercom to get the code. The aire is
on tarmac hardstanding, with room for 6 motorhomes, and is just
behind the covered swimming pool and hidden from the main road (no
services). It's very handy for Lidl, Aldi etc - just 50m away.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Tuesday
29/03/2016 Ronse to Ronse
N50°44'37·8'' E003°35'19·1'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
47km
in 1hr 19 min
Today
is the 4th race - this time a 3 day race called Driedaagse de Panne, (3 days of de Panne).
It
starts on the coast near the border with France, then day 1 runs
South to Oudenaarde, through the bergs, then overnights in Zottegem.
Day 2 is almost the reverse, back to the coast, then day 3 is split
into 2 with a shorter road race in the morning, and a time trial in
the afternoon. All the usual suspects are riding, so today is my
chance to see them up a hill.
After
studying the route I decided that Berendries was a good place to see
it, as it passed through there 3 times.
I
drove to the top of Berendriesberg, but there was nowhere to park and
it was extremely narrow. With an awful lot of manouevering I
managed to get back down again and parked at the bottom with a line
of motorhomes, and watched it from there.
The
weather was foul - it was hailing at one point, and turned really
cold and was a struggle to see.
 |
| Hailing and very cold |
Lots
of nice chatty Belgians were able to give me the timings and
positions of the riders.
I
strapped the flagpole to the rear cycle carrier of Cervantes, and got
lots of questions about who I really was!
 |
| At least it's stopped hailing! |
The sun actually came out in late evening, warming the inside of the van up considerably.
Time
to make some food now - I think pasta and tuna tonight.
Result of Day 1, 3 days of de Panne
1st Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
2nd Alexey Lutsenco (Astana)
Wednesday
30/03/2016 Ronse to Kemmel
N50°47'07·2'' E002°49'11·0'' Campsite, €17, full services, electric.
95km
in 1hr 36min
Today
I decided it was about time I went up some hills myself, so looking
at the route for today I spotted the race was going up the famous
Kemmelberg, at 2.5km long, an average of 4.4%, with the
steepest at 23% and cobbled, it is a formidable challenge.
I
drove to Kemmel and seeing that the sat-nav was trying to send me up
a narrow unpaved road, I pulled over to decide for myself how to get
to the Kemmelberg. As I zoomed out of the sat-nav I saw an ACSI site
on the screen in Kemmel - perfect I thought. My original idea had
been to see the race, then go back to Kortrijk for the night, but
this campsite meant I could park Cervantes safely and securely, get
the bike out and ride up the Kemmelberg.
It
was extremely steep, and due to torrential rain it was extremely
slippy on the cobbles. I lost traction at one point - the rear wheel
was just spinning, so I had to re-start.
Once
at the top I got a commemorative photo
 |
| That´s some steep hill! |
and
met a really nice couple from the Midlands who were doing something
similar to me, but not for the whole month.
The
riders cruised up the Kemmelberg with what seemed like no effort at
all - these guys are super fit!
 |
| Breezing up the Kemmelberg |
Then it was back to the campsite to collect my washing. Glynis was most insistent that I wash the sheets - I don't know why. Anyway, when I booked into Camping Ypra (inspected by ACSI, but not in the book), I enquired about washing machines, and the nice lady on reception said no problem - they are in a room off the bar.
I
went to collect the top and bottom sheets, pillow cases and some
towels, then off to the bar. The nice lady gave me some washing
powder and set the washer going for me. She said she would put them
in the dryer for me after they had finished washing, so I was free to
ride the Kemmelberg and watch the race - what a nice lady, and all
for just €6.
When
I collected them later it was, of course, only polite to have a beer
- the added bonus being the free WiFi in the bar so I could catch up
with comedy, drama and documentaries on BBC iplayer.
It's
not raining and it's not windy - am I still in Belgium?
Results of Day 2, 3 days of de Panne
1st Elia Viviani (Sky)
2nd Marcel Kittel (Etixx - Quick Step)
3rd Alexander Kristiff (Katusha)
Overall
result, 3 days of de Panne
1st Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
2nd Alexey Lutsenco (Astana)
3rd Lieuwe Westra (Astana)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Thursday
31/03/2016 Kemmel to Harelbeke
N50°50'45·5'' E003°18'39·2'' Paid aire, €5, full services, electric.
48km
in 1hr 02min
After
a very quiet night in Camping Ypra, and with clean sheets for my
brother, I had to decide where to park tonight to have easy access to
Lille tomorrow.
I
considered going to De Panne to watch the last stage, but with
unknown roads between there and Lille, I didn't want to risk it. I
thought the aire at Kortrijk would be perfect - I've been to Lille
from there and it's motorway all the way, so off I headed. When I got
there the aire was closed off - possibly something to do with the
upcoming Tour of Flanders, although what I can't imagine - the route
goes nowhere near Kortrijk.
So,
another plan was needed. A search on the sat-nav soon produced an
aire in Harelbeke, next to a sports centre, so off I went to find it
(only 5km away)
 |
| The fantastic aire in Harelbeke |
What a great place - €5 for 24hrs, hardstanding for 8 motorhomes, water, waste, dustbins, electric, security and free WiFi - what a bargain! There were 3 other vans here when I arrived, and now 3 hours later there is just 1 place left, so proving to be very popular.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Friday
01/04/2016 Harelbeke to Ronse
N50°44'37·8'' E003°35'19·1'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
92km
in 2hr 01min
I
spent the day in Harelbeke aire preparing for Peter coming - change
the bedding, get some supplies, fill the fresh water and empty the
waste.
I
was concerned about getting to Lille on time on some decent roads,
and not being too early that I had to park illegally for a long
period. There is a bus and taxi rank just before the pick-up and
drop-off zone at Euro Lille station, which is where I intended to
park, but when I got there - disaster - no spaces! However, I got up
onto a bit of spare pavement, out of all the coaches way, and was
fine for the 1 1/2 hours I had to wait. (I stayed in the van all the
time, so could move at any time).
The
sat-nav sent me down an interesting road to get here. I had checked
the route on the sat-nav prior to setting off and all seemed fine.
However, a road that looked perfectly normal on the sat-nav (and on
Maps.Me) turned out to be a central road which, when it came to a
crossroads, swooped down into an underpass under the crossroad, then
up the other side. There was a height restriction of 2.6m on this
road, so obviously this was not for me. I had to run parallel to it
on a single lane road and endure the delights of double parking,
delivery trucks, overhanging trees and some building work that
narrowed the road to within 10cm of the van's width - great fun!!
Eurostar
was on time and we were soon on the motorway. The debate was whether
to stay in Oudenaarde or Ronse. They are both near plenty of climbs,
but I knew Oudenaarde would be mega busy - it was the start and
finish of the 3 Sportive cycle rides (you pay a fee and ride the
course in one of three distances the day before the race) on Saturday
with 16,000 entrants, and the race itself passed through Oudenaarde
twice and finished there on Sunday.
I
was a bit worried we would get trapped in there with all the closed
roads, and struggle to get to Euro Lille station on Monday morning.
We
plumped for Ronse, and got on the aire no problem (same keycode!)
 |
| Belgian beer - so strong |
Belgian beer and Cordon Bleu tuna and potatoes sent us to sleep before 11pm
See today´s full picture gallery here
Saturday
02/04/2016 Ronse
N50°44'37·8'' E003°35'19·1'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
77km
in 3hr 46min (on a bike!)
We were too late to enter the sportive when we decided to come here - all 16,000 places had been taken, so we thought we would just climb some bergs instead.
It
turned out you could ride the same bergs as the sportive riders -
there were no checks and the roads were open - I thought it would be
more strictly controlled than it was!
We had a provisional route, and more or less stuck to it, which saw us on
1 Kanaireberg 1000m Av 7.7% Max 14%
 |
| Ready for the off |
We had a provisional route, and more or less stuck to it, which saw us on
1 Kanaireberg 1000m Av 7.7% Max 14%
2
Owde Kwaremont 2200m Av 4% Max 11.6%
3
Paterberg 360m Av 12.9% Max 20.3%
4 Kattenberg 1000m Av 5% Max 10%
4 Kattenberg 1000m Av 5% Max 10%
5
Wolvenberg 645m Av 7.9% Max 17.3%
6
Taaienberg 530m Av 6.6% Max 15.8%
a
total of 77km in 3hr 46min
The
bergs ranged from quite easy to almost unrideable, the very, very
steep and cobbled Paterberg being the most brutal.
However,
we got up them all - no walking, and were happy to be back at
Cervantes at 5:30pm.
 |
| Peter cresting the Paterberg |
 |
| The top - at last |
Showered and changed, we went out on the town in Ronse in search of food and drink. An upmarket-looking Pizza restaurant got our business, and I must say the food was excellent, but the service left something to be desired. It was nice when it happened, but goodness, you had to wait a long time - they were woefully understaffed. 3 hours plus for 2 pizzas and 2 sweets is stretching it a bit!
See today´s full photo gallery here
Sunday
03/04/2016 Ronse
N50°44'37·8'' E003°35'19·1'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
The day of my 5th race - the Tour of Flanders (the 100th edition). 250km up some of the hardest cobbled climbs in Belgium - the question was, where to watch it?
We
decided on the tented village at the top of Owde Kwaremont, which
they would climb 3 times, and the rest of the race we could see on
the big screens.
When
we got there the policy was no rucksacks, so I emptied mine - put my
camera round my neck, stuffed tubes etc. into my cycling jersey
pockets, and wore my bum-bag with all my important documents and
cards in it, then walked through security carrying an empty rucksack.
We are definitely entering a more security-concious age, and are the
better and safer for it.
The
place was heaving with various fan clubs and lots of British from
cycling clubs and universities.
After
the obligatory frites and mayonnaise with a glass of beer,
we got some great close-up photos of some very tired riders, and saw the race unfold on the big screen.
 |
| Frites - only €5 |
we got some great close-up photos of some very tired riders, and saw the race unfold on the big screen.
A
great solo win by Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) reinforced his right to wear
the rainbow jersey, and proved what a great tactician and rider he
is.
 |
| Ride in the gutter and avoid the cobbles |
 |
| Some great racing today - and it´s not raining! |
Back
to Cervantes for shower, food and film before an early start
tomorrow.
Results of the 100th Tour of Flanders
1st Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
2nd Fabian Cancellara (Trek - Segafredo)
3rd Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto NL Jumbo)
See today´s full picture gallery here
3rd Sep Vanmarcke (Lotto NL Jumbo)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Monday
04/04/2016 Ronse to Harelbeke
N50°50'45·5'' E003°18'39·2'' Paid aire, €5, full services, electric.
96km
in 1hr 47min
Peter's Eurostar train was leaving from Lille at 8:36am, so to make absolutely sure of getting him there on time, we set off from Ronse at 6:00am for the 45km trip.
All
was well until 5km from the French border, when we hit a queue. No
problem, I thought. It's probably just the French doing their usual 3
lanes into 1 routine, then sending you off the motorway into a huge
car park where you go through a "border post" which
consists of 2 oil drums painted red and white, and a bored border
guard sat in a Renault Clio having a fag.
However,
this seemed to be a little different - we were not moving - not
creeping forward at all.
In
fact we sat for 3 1/2 hours in the queue and moved approx 50m. There
was no information, no police, no emergency services, no-one to ask
what was going on, and crucially, no-one to respond to any emergency,
medical or otherwise, that any of the motorists may have had. It was
an absolute disgrace!
We
were discussing the possible causes of a total hold-up on the
motorway, and what ours might be - multiple fatalities after a
multi-vehicle crash? - another terrorist atrocity? - a catastrophic
natural event such as a bridge collapse or a massive sinkhole?
The
3 1/2 hours ticked by and we soon knew Peter had missed his train.
Texts to family members told us that this was a protest by lorry
drivers, objecting about the new changes on Belgian motorways from
April 1st, where anything over 3.5 tonnes would have to pay a toll,
whereas before they could travel for free.
The
lorry drivers thought they would protest by blocking the motorway -
did they really think they would advance their cause, elicit some
sympathy, and get people on their side by making people miss flights,
ferries and trains, making people late for work (surgeons -
operations cancelled, doctors - diagnoses missed), causing great loss
of earnings for the self-employed, and holding up the goods due into
shops and businesses to enable them to continue to trade profitably?
I
can tell you there was not much sympathy for them in a certain
motorhome on the E429, nor from the rest of the people round us if
their expressions and body language were anything to go by.
The
police, eventually, cleared a path through the offending lorries and
I got Peter to Lille by 11:10am, where he re-booked on the 11:36am
Eurostar, but our misguided lorry drivers had cost him an extra €223
to change trains.
Sympathy
for them - none at all. Get on with your job like everyone else. I
hope the police have the organisers in court very soon (although
looking at the pathetic police presence and response, I doubt it)
Tuesday
05/04/2016 Harelbeke to Gierle
N51°15'41·8'' E004°49'34·2'' Free overnight parking, no services, no electric.
129km
in 1hr 50min
The next race is East of Antwerp, so, after filling and emptying in Harekbeke, it was onto the E17 motorway to head North.
Lanes
one and two of the three lane motorway were nose to tail with HGVs,
most of them container lorries heading for the docks in Antwerp.
No
problem really, just slot yourself in and go at the same speed as
them, 90 to 95kph, and it was fine.
Searching
for somewhere to stay on the sat-nav, Campercontacts showed a parking
place in a very small village called Gierle, near to where I want to be tomorrow,
and the sat-nav led me to it.
When
I got there it was a disused flower-growing business, but luckily
there was a workman there doing some building repair work.
I
asked if it was OK to stay the night, and he immediately rang the
boss who drove straight over and said yes - no problem, and showed me
a safe place to park.
 |
| All alone here (now not listed on Campercontacts) |
Inside
one of the buildings I could see 3 motorhomes, so he must be an
enthusiast who just opened his car park for motorhome parking. A very
nice man and very helpful - he even offered me water if I needed any.
I'm
on the edge of a forest here, and so far it seems really quiet -
excellent place.
See today´s full photo gallery here
See today´s full photo gallery here
Wednesday
06/04/2016 Gierle to Harelbeke
N50°50'45·5'' E003°18'39·2'' Paid aire, €5, full services, electric.
162km
in 2hr 48min
No
hills today - it's basically a 200km flat-out sprint, although it is
blowing a gale, so I've no doubt that will be a factor.
I
decided to see today's race at the 100km feed zone. This is where the
team car drivers give out musettes (small canvas shoulder bags)
full of water and energy bottles, bars, gels, and small filled rolls.
The
riders, riding at 50kph take these from the stationery soigners who
hold them out at arms length - a bit like how the old Royal Mail
trains collected letter sacks without stopping.
The
riders (if they manage to get one) have a root through and usually
chuck 90% of it away - it makes a good spectacle though and a great
photo opportunity.
I'm
right opposite the Sky car, so should get some good pics of the
riders collecting their musettes.
As
predicted, on this straight, flat, fast road the riders were through
in a heartbeat, chasing the 5 breakaway riders who were 3
minutes in front.
I
did however have a nice chat with the Sky lads (who were Dutch) and
got some good pics of the musette handover.
 |
| It´s not always successful |
No
crashes thank goodness, which are usually caused at feed stations by
a touch of wheels due to riders diving to the side of the road,
trying to find their own musettes. Another common cause of crashes
happens when they've taken everything they want out of the bag, then
throw it to the side of the road. Occasionally they miss and the bag
ends up in someone's wheel and brings them off.
I'd
like to be on the Paris Roubaix course in France tomorrow, so I'm
splitting the distance and staying in Harelbeke tonight. This aire
really does have everything - it's great.
Results of Sheldeprijs
 |
| I´ve never seen this before - a motorhome with 2 habitation doors - why? |
Results of Sheldeprijs
1st Marcel Kittel (Etixx - Quick Step)
2nd Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data)
3rd André Greipel (Lotto Soudal)
See today´s full photo gallery here
Thursday
07/04/2016 Harelbeke to Arenberg
N50°22'51·2'' E003°25'50·2'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
107km
in 1hr 51min
Getting ready today for the big one - Paris Roubaix
I
had my choice of where to watch this iconic race - through the
countryside, the finish at the famous Roubaix outdoor velodrome, or
on the infamous Arenberg trench running through the Arenberg forest.
Of
course the cobbled, narrow, dangerous Arenberg trench won, so I was
in Arenberg by 1:30pm. I had seen a large car park full of motorhomes
at the start of the trench many times on TV and remember thinking -
I'll be there one day!, but there was no sign of it.
Back
at a car park about 1km before, I parked up and asked some Flemish
motorhomers if it was OK to park here for the duration. "Only
until Friday at 6:00pm" he said. "This is a temporary car
park until they open the proper one near the mine" He told me
they move the stones blocking the entrance, then you can drive
through.
So
here until Friday at 6:00pm, then we move to the large car park - I
don't know if it's actually on the cobbled part, or just before - we
shall see.
 |
| In a temporary car park until the official one opens tomorrow |
Whilst filling and emptying in Harelbeke prior to coming here, I met a British couple touring and race-watching, who said there is now no parking anywhere on the cobbled sections.
They
were there to watch Paris Roubaix last year and were parked on a lane
at right angles to the cobbles, but were woken at 2:00am on the day
and told to move on by the police. Looking out of his window he saw a
line of motorhomes all making their way off the cobbles! Sometimes
they enforce the rules, sometimes they don't - there doesn't seem to
be any consistency.
No
services here, but I won't need any for at least 7 days (providing
the van stays on it's wheels in this gale force wind!)
See today´s full photo gallery here
See today´s full photo gallery here
Friday
08/04/2016 Arenberg
N50°23'04·5'' E003°25'37·5'' Wildcamping, no services, no electric.
A quiet night - the church clock opposite was silent overnight thank goodness, and awoke to more rain at 8:00am.
I
was keeping an eye on my Flemish friends with the intention of
following them when they went. The tension got too much, and I
finally went to ask them when the official car park opened. 3:00pm
they said, so I asked if I could follow them down when they went.
They said they were watching it from a friend's private house, so not
going to the car park - good job I asked!!
I
decided to drive down anyway and see if I could park a bit nearer - I
could always come back here if not. No problem - I am here with about
30 other vans parked on the street right outside the gate, blocked at
the moment with some stones and a big JCB digger.
 |
| Queuing to go in |
 |
| The entrance is blocked |
The old mine superstructure is still here - the winding gear and buildings, put to good use now as a cinema and cultural centre.
I've
just had a walk down to where they want us to park - it's in a grass
field!! I don't think I'll be taking them up on their offer - there
is parking outside the mine complex, so that is where I will be
parking, only 50m away - on tarmac. It wasn't far from here where we
had to get towed out of the muddy field!
I
intended to walk along the trench to see the race anyway, so it isn't
important where I park.
Saturday
09/04/2016 Arenberg
N50°23'04·5'' E003°25'37·5'' Wildcamping, no services, no electric.
Well they've only been here 12 hours and it's breaking up already.
 |
| Good luck getting out of here |
There
will be fun and games here on Monday when they all try to get out!
Seeing
as I'm here I thought I might try my hand at the Arenberg trench -
2.4km of uneven cobbles held together with mud and grass.
I
can honestly say that it was the most dangerous 2.4km I have ever
ridden. It wasn't just the uneveness, it was the big lumps sticking
up as well, along with having no grip on the mud. If you ride with a
firm grip you are off the bike. The trick is to let the bike find
it's own way and steer itself, but be ready to correct it when it
turns too far.
Forward
momentum is good, really the faster the better, but one mistake at
speed on this surface and you are heading for hospital. I can't
afford to do that on my own, in a foreign country, so I went slow and
(not so) sure.
I
made it to the end, but a lot of people didn't - there was a Paris
Roubaix sportive on today - they didn't look happy!
I
really take my hat off to the pro peleton for riding this at race
speed - their bike handling skills are phenomenal, and their courage
- well, I'm speechless.
Luckily
I found a nice little patisserie on the road back home, so energy
levels are now back to normal.
 |
| Much better parked here |
It has been raining heavily and continuously since 7pm, and it's now midnight. The cobbles will be treacherous if this carries on (not to mention the field!)
See today´s full photo gallery here
Sunday
10/04/2016 Arenberg to Bayay
N50°18'00·5'' E003°47'44·0'' Free aire, full services, electric.
40km
in 44min
Bright
and sunny this morning thank goodness. I plan to walk about 500m
along the cobbles and see what action pictures I can get, then watch
the finish on TV - it's on France 3 all day.
The
trench was getting full when I got there at 12 noon, and filled up
steadily until, when the race came through at 2:30pm, it was
absolutely rammed.
The
flags were flying, and seemed to be a meeting place for Brits - a
party of 20 from Dover in 5 cars who were seeing it here, then
driving to Roubaix for the finish. Nice people with lots of good
stories.
The race was led by 4 riders who had 3 minutes on the peleton, who came charging through but unfortunately a faller brought down many riders 20m after they had passed me.
I
have no idea of the cause, but the effect was devastating
The Orica Greenedge rider Mitchell Docker was receiving urgent medical care for a severe
head wound - blood everywhere, and Viviani from Sky was wandering
around in a daze - I don't think he knew where he was after being run over by a motorbike.
There is some on the spot video footage taken by Guy Wolstencroft here - many thanks for that Guy.
The dangers of professional bike riding are many, and this crash proves that beyond doubt. Tom Boonen, one of today's favourites, was in a coma in October 2015 after a spectacular crash which took him to intensive care. It takes a certain mentality to get back on your bike and ride Paris Roubaix after that!
There is some on the spot video footage taken by Guy Wolstencroft here - many thanks for that Guy.
The dangers of professional bike riding are many, and this crash proves that beyond doubt. Tom Boonen, one of today's favourites, was in a coma in October 2015 after a spectacular crash which took him to intensive care. It takes a certain mentality to get back on your bike and ride Paris Roubaix after that!
I
couldn't believe it when my camera ran out of battery power just as
the riders were coming! Disaster! - I've waited so long to see Paris
Roubaix and now no photos!
Luckily
I had my phone with me and was able to take some video and then
change the batteries soon after. What are the chances?
Rather
than stay here tonight I have decided to move on towards Charleroi.
There have been some unsettling characters walking past and staring
over the last couple of days, and the early morning hours seem to be
dominated by cars driven as if they've been stolen, with screeching
tyres, very loud music, and engines screaming to breaking point - so
not a good atmosphere.
I
don't know if this is normal, or if it's because so many people are
here, but either way - I'm out of here tonight.
Bavay
has an aire opposite the sports pitches, and I managed to catch the
electrifying finish of Paris Roubaix after I got here.
It was won by Matthew Hayman (Orica Greenedge) in a close sprint who was a well-deserved winner - although he did look a little shell-shocked as he crossed the line. A nice pay-back for the injuries sustained by his team-mate Mitchell Docker in the Arenberg forest.
 |
| Nice aire at Bavay |
It was won by Matthew Hayman (Orica Greenedge) in a close sprint who was a well-deserved winner - although he did look a little shell-shocked as he crossed the line. A nice pay-back for the injuries sustained by his team-mate Mitchell Docker in the Arenberg forest.
Results of the 2016 Paris Roubaix
1st Matthew Hayman (Orica Greenedge)
Monday
11/04/2016 Bayay to Aische-en-Refail
N50°36'04·8'' E004°50'47·1'' Campsite, €19, full services, electric.
173km
in 3hr 29min
Today was a day for looking for places to stay when Glynis flies into Charleroi airport next Monday night.
I
visited 5 "aires" in total, 2 were non-existent, and the
other 3 were public car parks in not very nice parts of the towns,
all from the Bipa website. So no joy at all there.
I
was on the lookout for somewhere quiet and safe to wildcamp, but
there was absolutely nowhere that looked suitable.
In
the end I turned to ACSI and found the only campsite in the south of
Belgium was only 20km from where I eventually ended up. It cost €19
(cash only - no cards) in the grounds of a magnificent-looking, if
slightly run down chateau.
All
on grass, but I had 2 exit points so was confident of getting off one
way or another. Just 2 other motorhomes here - the rest at the moment
are mobile homes and caravans, the majority of which are empty.
 |
| Just the 2 of us here |
I
bet it is a different story in summer when I should imagine this
place is buzzing.
I'm
about 50km from Charleroi airport, so this will have to be our first
night's stop - there is nothing nearer.
See today´s full photo gallery here
See today´s full photo gallery here
Tuesday
12/04/2016 Aische-en-Refail to Overijse
N50°45'29·8'' E004°31'45·8'' Wildcamping, no services, no electric.
133km
in 3hr 5min
Pitch black last night with a brilliant starscape and quite warm!
I
asked the receptionist/owner if it was OK to come back next Monday,
but it wouldn't be until 9pm - no problem she said (in French) - we
will see.
I
needed to go to Charleroi airport to see what the parking
arrangements were like there, so at 11am, off I trotted.
All
was well until 3km from the airport when I hit a queue. Very slowly
creeping forwards, it took 50min to get to the front. People were
understandably panicking and were running off up the road
dragging their suitcases behind them - I felt very sorry for them.
At
the head of the queue was a substantial army presence complete with
guns and troop carriers. They were checking the documents of every
person in every vehicle, which was obviously causing a large
tailback.
I
guess it had to be done after the atrocities in Brussels, but again,
it looked like no-one in the queue knew what was happening.
I
sorted the parking in P2 - plenty of room, no height restrictions,
and €3 per hour. Needless to say I will be there very early on
Monday! I walked to the arrivals hall so I knew where it was, to be
confronted with yet more armed soldiers blocking the entrance. No-one
is allowed into the arrivals building. The arrivals come out of the
building to meet you outside. That should be interesting in the cold,
dark and wet.
I'm
currently parked last in a line of 8 motorhomes (all Belgian) on a
raised-up bank just outside Overijse, in the feed zone again. The
riders come through here 4 times, so plenty of opportunity to see
them.
 |
| Ready for tomorrow |
Wednesday
13/04/2016 Overijse to Huy
N50°31'01·0'' E005°14'06·9'' Free aire, no services, no electric.
70km in 1hr 4min
The
race details I had from their website were frankly rubbish. The
timings were nowhere near those published - even the soigners giving
out the feed musettes were confused.
Anyway,
the flags are out and we're waiting for the riders. It should have
been 1:39pm, but it was nearer 3:30pm, but no problem - I've nothing
else to do.
The
feed zone was quite spectacular, with 90% of the riders ignoring it
altogether, whilst the other 10% were struggling to find their team,
then dropping the bag soon after.
Thankfully
no-one crashed, and I think the team cars must have fed the rest.
On
the 2nd pass through the soigners were giving out bottles, but I only
saw 3 successful handovers - the rest were ignored or were dropped on
the floor.
I moved on after watching the end of the race on TV. Great work by the Etixx man Julian Alaphillippe to set up the win for his team-mate Petr Vakoc.
My
destination was a "mixed parking" spot in Huy town centre,
which when I got there looked very public and not really suitable to
overnight in.
However,
just before I got here I spotted 2 motorhomes parked by the river,
which showed on the sat-nav as an overnight parking spot, so I
turned round to have a look at it. I managed to reverse into a space
by the river between 2 trees, giving me a brilliant outlook of the
river and bridge at sunset - very pretty.
 |
| A lovely setting by the River Meuse |
Another
one arrived soon after, so now we are 4.
The
river, called Le Meuse, is very busy with enormous barges full of
freight running up and down. The river starts to the south in France
near Dijon, and runs all the way north to enter the North Sea at
Rotterdam - it's a very impressive river!
I
think I need some shopping urgently tomorrow - nearly out of food!
Results of 2016 De Brabantse Pijl
1 Petr Vakoc (Etixx Quick Step)
2 Enrico Gasparroto (Wanty - Groupe Gobert)
3 Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Results of 2016 De Brabantse Pijl
1 Petr Vakoc (Etixx Quick Step)
2 Enrico Gasparroto (Wanty - Groupe Gobert)
3 Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Thursday
14/04/2016 Huy to Blegny
N50°41'07·7'' E005°43'23·5'' Free aire, full services, paid for electric.
112km
in 2hr 12min
It was 4° outside last night - may have had something to do with this huge river, but it sure was cold this morning. 7° in the van, so the heating was on full for 15min, after which it was a comfortable 14°
There
was a bit of talking, door-slamming and music last night, but nothing
to worry about. This morning there were a total of 5 vans here, so 2
arrived after dark.
Huy
looks like a nice town, and of course is home to the Mur de Huy,
featuring in the Fleche Wallone cycle race next week.
On
the quiet road out of Huy I spotted a branch of the local Belgian
supermarket chain called Delhaize with plenty of parking, so in I
went.
€120
later I had all I needed for the forseeable future.
 |
| Glyn´s on her way - "get some Belgian beer in" she said! |
I'm in no rush today and it's a good job after following a tractor and trailer full of hay bales for 10km.
I'm
checking out the aire at Hamoir today which turned out to be superb.
Right by the river, €8 per night and full services (no electric).
Workmen were refurbishing the tennis courts next door, but should be
finished by now.
This
part of Belgium is really pretty and there is lots to see and do
without the hassle of traffic and busy people.
My
ultimate destination was in Blegny, which turned out to be an area
for motorhomes with services (free, but you pay for electric if you
want it) in the general car park of the now disused mine - now a
world heritage site!
There
are trips galore to be had here, and the place was full of school
trips with 7 coaches in the car park.
It
all looked very professional - even the beer was themed!
 |
| And it doesn´t taste of coal |
There
is a maximum stay here of 24 hours, so I'll have to move on tomorrow.
The
sun has been shining all day today. So warm I got a chair out, put on
my shorts and sat in the sun - is this Belgium? I hear you ask. Yes
it is, because 10 mins later it was raining and I was running for
cover!
I
have bought a fillet of fresh white fish for tea, but I have no idea
what it is - I'll have to look it up when I get some internet - if
I'm not poisoned first!
Friday
15/04/2016 Blegny to Valkenberg
N50°51'38.3'' E005°49'52.5'' ACSI campsite, €38·50, full services, electric.
37km in 57 min
N50°51'38.3'' E005°49'52.5'' ACSI campsite, €38·50, full services, electric.
37km in 57 min
I set off this morning, after torrential rain all night, with the intention of coming back here to Blegny again tonight.
I
was just going to look at the finish and the Cauberg climb, and
explore where to see it from.
Blegny
village still had the main road through it closed for some sort of
repair, so another quite tortuous route to get on to a decent sized
road.
Finally
made it through Maastricht - I think they were digging the whole of it
up!, and on the road to Valkenberg.
The
finish line, grandstands, hospitality, press, etc were already
erected, so the road was closed. After a trip around a housing
estate, I finally approached Valkenberg by driving down the Cauberg
(just in time, because when I went for a walk later it was closed to
all but pedestrians and cyclists).
I
wanted to look at a campsite just out of town which turned out to be
up a steep, narrow road on a cliff top overlooking the town. A very
helpful guy there asked the length of the motorhome (6m) then said I
was in luck - they were fully booked but had had a cancellation that
morning.
He
took me to look at the pitch - it was on grass and sloping
considerably, with a road to the side of it. It was no good going
away to decide and coming back tomorrow - it would have gone. I said
yes - I reckoned I could reverse down the hill, be fairly level, then
reverse off the hill to the road at the side.
The charge for 2 nights, leaving on Sunday night, after the race was finished was €77·20. Not what I am used to paying, but this is a special one - I´m 3 minutes walk from the town centre, which is where the Cauberg starts.
 |
| Just enough space to roll downhill and miss that caravan |
The charge for 2 nights, leaving on Sunday night, after the race was finished was €77·20. Not what I am used to paying, but this is a special one - I´m 3 minutes walk from the town centre, which is where the Cauberg starts.
I paid and parked, then went to town to the Amstel Gold Experience building, which was full of themed merchandise from Amstel. I thought a cycling jersey was good value at €45, so I took an XXL, which I intend to wear tomorrow on my climb up the Cauberg - it´s 12% and 700m long and tarmac, so it is not especially steep - there are far worse in Yorkshire which I have been up many times.
When
I got back I found a caravan had slipped in behind me, but on full
lock I should be able to miss him as I roll down the hill
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Saturday
16/04/2016 Valkenberg
N50°51'38.3'' E005°49'52.5'' ACSI
campsite, €38·50, full services, electric.
Today was a consolidation day to do some jobs and get some essentials done - washing, cleaning, cooking, etc (I never thought I´d ever write that in a sentence!)
I
took a break at lunchtime to go up to the monument that dominates the
view from my windscreen. I tried to get to it yesterday, but the
further I walked up the road, the further away from it I seemed to
be.
I
asked at reception today and was told the entrance was from the
campsite, through a gate in the fence. At the base of the monument
was a bar/restaurant, and I finally figured out that you had to go
into the bar to access the stairs to the top (€2). It was a long,
long way up, but the view was spectacular - I could even see
Cervantes from up here.
 |
| Ready for take-off |
 |
| You can see our house from here |
I
was the only one up there, so felt quite safe - it´s only when other
people are there that I develop an overwhelming anxiety.
At
the bottom I thought I deserved a beer - the sun was out and I sat on
the terrace watching the brave people sit on flimsy-looking chairs to
be carried up and down the hill on the chairlift in front of me -
great entertainment.
The weather
here is “changeable” - one minute full
sun, the next torrential rain - I think all the Belgians must have
webbed feet!
It´s
been party time down in Valkenberg for the past 2 nights into the
early hours of the morning - pulsing beat from some massive speakers
- Oh to be 18 again!
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Sunday
17/04/2016 Valkenberg to Huy
N50°31'01·0'' E005°14'06·9'' Free
overnight parking, no services, no electric.
87km
in 1hr 42min
This is it,
race No 9 is Amstel Gold, a relatively new race run from 1966
onwards, making this the 51st
running of the race. It attracts some of the top riders on a testing
course, some of which was used for the world championship in 2012.
I´m
on electric hook-up in this campsite, so this morning I cooked a
Remoska full of Patatas Cervantes - potatoes, onions, carrots and
garlic. Glyn doesn´t get into Charleroi airport until 9:30pm
tomorrow, so at least we can warm this up when we eventually get to
our campsite (and if they let us in)
There
were quite a few people in Valkenberg today, that being an
understatement. Copious amounts of beer were being drunk, and by the
time the race arrived for the first time at 11:36am, a few people
were beginning to tip over the edge.
The
race came through again at 2:19pm, 4:01pm and 4:28pm, to finally
finish 5km up the road at 4:34pm
 |
Some great racing up the Cauberg today
|
 |
| Pro bike racing at it,s best |
Many, many
hills today, and by the 4th
pass the riders were strung out over at least 10 mins.
 |
| Some tired legs today on the last climb of the Cauberg |
 |
| Movement personified |
I left straight after the race, headed for the riverside parking in Huy. The route I was following on the sat-nav suddenly piped up “motorway closed ahead, finding alternative route” Oh no I thought. I´m on the motorway so can´t stop to see where it´s sending me - probably down a narrow cobbled street somewhere, but I was amazed when it took me round a few main roads, then onto a different motorway with the minimum of fuss. I was suitably impressed, and will try not to shout at it so much from now on.
The
route out of Valkenberg was understandably not straightforward. The
diversions took me up the finishing straight until, with 600m to go,
they turned me right to bypass the finish itself. Their diversion
then took us through the middle of all the team buses - very bizzare.
The
parking at Huy was really busy. There were 8 vans here when I
arrived, and I just managed to squeeze our 6m long Cervantes between
2 of them. I think it is now officially full.
Results of 2016 Amstel Gold
1st Enrico Gasparroto (Wanty - Groupe Gobert)
2nd Michael Valgren (Tinkoff)
3rd Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani CSF)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Results of 2016 Amstel Gold
1st Enrico Gasparroto (Wanty - Groupe Gobert)
2nd Michael Valgren (Tinkoff)
3rd Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani CSF)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Monday
18/04/2016 Huy to Aiache-en-Refail
N50°36'04·8''
E004°50'47·1'' ACSI
campsite, €19, full services, electric.
171km
in 3hr 4min.
It
was a bitterly cold night in Huy by the river last night. I woke up
cold at 6:30am. It was 3° outside and 6° inside, so heating
straight on for 30min until 16° had been reached - that´s better
I
set off at 9:00am headed for the campsite at Aische-en-Refail to make
absolutely certain we could get in tonight between 10:30pm and
11:00pm.
She
started to look a bit doubtful, then suggested she took my ACSI card
and gave me a keycard for the barrier, so now we can get in anytime -
even if the flight is delayed, so a good result.
I
am presently in a car park in Fleurus doing some last minute cleaning
and polishing (ha ha) making sure I get top marks for keeping the van
clean and tidy. I am only about 5km away from the airport, but
bearing in mind it took me 50min to do the last 3km last time I was
here, I may leave a little earlier this time.
A
quick trip to the airport told me that the army were still checking
documents, but the queue was minimal, so I turned round and parked up
on some wasteland in sight of the entrance and potential queues, and
waited until an hour before the flight was due.
Parked
up in P2, I was soon stood with the rest of the cold people, freezing
in the north wind, waiting outside for the arrivals.
When
the first one appeared at the door there was a mass surge forward to
find the one you´d been waiting for - it made a mockery of the
“essential rule”, rigidly enforced up until then, that no-one
should approach within 10m of the building - a bit of a shambles
really.
We
arrived at the campsite at 10:10pm and were soon tucking into some
food and looking forward to a peaceful night.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Tuesday
19/04/2016 Aische-en-Refail to Huy
N50°31'26·0''
E005°14'33·7'' Free
town centre parking, no services, no electric.
25km
in 48min
We
set off early for Huy, but as I suspected, the parking places by the
river had all been taken.
I
decided to take another look at the town centre parking, and was
suprised to find the atmosphere was much better than the last time I
was here. There are 2 dedicated places for motorhome parking, one of
which was taken, so we slipped into the empty bay.
A
short walk to the town centre later, we had discovered several
streets of very nice shops, one of which was a Belgian chocolate shop
- just up Glynis´street. We then discovered that we are 300m from
the start of the Mur de Huy, which the race goes up 3 times, the last
time finishing at the top.
The
town of Huy was very pretty, with it´s fantastic old buildings and
cafe culture. The town hall square looked inviting, ringed with
cafes, one of which we stopped at to sample one of the seemingly
never-ending range of local beer - excellent.
They
were erecting some scaffolding to make a stage for the presentation
of the competitors in the women´s race later this afternoon, which
precedes the men´s race tomorrow by an hour on a shorter course.
We were still there when the presentation started - some of the women were actually young girls - some looked to be 15 or 16 years old.
See today´s full picture gallery here
 |
| It would be rude not to - wouldn´t it? |
We were still there when the presentation started - some of the women were actually young girls - some looked to be 15 or 16 years old.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Wednesday
20/04/2016 Huy to Hamoir
N50°25'23·3'' E005°32'03·1'' Aire,
€8, full services, no electric.
28km
in 46min
Today
is race No 10, Fleche Wallonne, which goes up the mighty Mur de
Huy. With an max gradient of 26%, and an average of 19% over its
1300m ascent, it is a hill to give the greatest respect to.
After
asking yesterday in the town hall if they had a tourist information
office, they directed us to it, next to the massive church
(unfortunately closed) where they gave us A4 sheets with full timings
of both the men´s and women´s races, and a booklet with detailed
route information - very impressive service!
Never
having seen the Mur de Huy, I took a walk up in the early morning -
already lots of people there. It is a fearsome hill, the hairpin
bends especially steep on the inside corners, and the straights
almost as steep. It was on tarmac though, not cobbled.
The women´s
race finished at the top inbetween the 1st
and 2nd
pass for the men, so there was some action approx every 30min -
plenty to see and do.
Eventually
won with a lung-bursting sprint by Alejandro Valverde to make it 2
wins in a row for him, this, I thought, was the best race I have seen
so far.
 |
| Steep, steep, steep! |
 |
| The final sprint for victory, won by Movistar´s Valverde |
The
domestiques who had been doing all the work at the front of the
peleton for most of the day to set up the win for their team leaders,
were understandably very tired and thus took it easy up the Mur -
their work finished. There were some very tired legs pumping the pedals up that
hill at the end.
 |
| Almost there - job done |
Leaving Huy, we went to the aire at Hamoir for €8 per night, and had a great pizza cooked in a proper wood-fired pizza oven on the main street in Hamoir, along with the obligatory Belgian beer. Then back to Cervantes by the river for peace and quiet and a very restful night, along with the 3 Dutch vans already here.
 |
| Brilliant setting for an aire |
They are just finishing off the tennis courts, but if you ever come here I am sure they will have finished by then.
Results of Fleche Wallone
1st Alejandro Valverde (Movistar)
2nd Julian Alaphillippe (Etixx Quick Step)
3rd Daniel Martin (Etixx Quick Step)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Thursday
21/04/2016 Hamoir
N50°25'23·3'' E005°32'03·1'' Aire,
€8, full services, no electric.
A thirsty night after all that pizza, but very quiet and peaceful.
This
morning we walked up the river bank to Sy - a small village 7km
upriver from Hamoir. There was lots of wildlife to see on the way,
mainly songbirds, water fowl and raptors, soaring on the thermals
from the ridge to our right.
 |
| A Belgian Chateau on the riverbank |
 |
| A monster logging tractor stacking tree trunks |
We decided to take the train back, after having the picnic we had taken, and having 40min to wait for the next train, decided to have a drink in one of the 5 bars we could see in Sy. After we found them all closed we concluded that perhaps this town was closed for the winter.
On
the train station platform we met a very interesting Englishwoman
who, she told us, had played football for England 25 years ago and
had been persuaded by a manager from a Liege club to come over and
play football for his team.
25
years later, her football days behind her, she was still here, living
in Sy and was very happy, with no intentions of going back to
Yorkshire, where she was born.
As
we were sat outside Cervantes in the unusual sunshine, a van with a
trailer full of kayaks pulled into the aire, and the kayaks were duly
unloaded. Next, approx 30 teenagers appeared and were kitted out with
life-vests and helmets. They then launched all the kayaks, which
drifted off downstream, to be picked up later by the van and trailer
which left soon after. A very entertaining 30min interlude from our
reading in the sun.
 |
| Fun in store for these teenagers |
There are now 5 motorhomes parked on the grass, away from the tennis courts (still being worked on!) and another quiet, restful night is in prospect.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Friday
22/04/2016 Hamoir to Bomal
N50°22'27·2'' E005°31'12·0'' ACSI
campsite, €15, full services, electric.
13km
in 21 min
This
morning we decided on a change of scenery, so we are headed
downstream beside the Ourthe river to Bomal-sur-Ourthe, an ACSI campsite. We set off
early and arrived early, so were here at 9:00am.
Reception
did not open until 10:00am, so we parked outside and had coffee and
toast.
There
was just one motorhome here when we arrived, so we had the pick of
the riverside pitches, and found one that was level for us without
ramps.
 |
| Nice and quiet with a great view - just how we like it |
After preparing a meal, we headed for the town to find a cafe and some WiFi to catch up on things - weather, friends and family.
 |
| Well you can´t just use the WiFi can you? |
Quite warm today, but with a cold wind and only a few drops of rain - the forecast is of worse to come.
When
we returned we had been joined by another 3 vans, so still very
quiet.
The
showers here are good and hot, with no stupid 10 second push buttons,
and so powerful they nearly have you off your feet - certainly wakes
you up!
Patatas
Pilar cooked in Duvel (no cava here unless you want to pay €24 per
bottle!!!) but it tasted just as good - hooray for Belgian beer.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Saturday
23/04/2016 Bomal to Aywaille
N50°28'49·8'' E005°42'30·3'' Free
wildcamping, no services, no electric.
21km
in 38min
An
early start this morning after a night of constant, heavy rain. Our
destination was Aywaille where the famous climb, the Cote de la
Redoute is situated. The race on Sunday goes up it, so we were hoping
to drive up it, before looking for somewhere to park.
We
had identified an ACSI campsite in Aywaille in which to stay, but on
our way to drive up the Redoute, we passed a field full of
motorhomes, with others parked on the roads around the field. The
Redoute proved too narrow to drive up, so we went back to the
motorhome field and found a space to park on the tarmac road
overlooking the field - a perfect place to stay and watch the race.
First
was some shopping, so we walked to the nearby Carrefour supermarket
where stocks were well and truly replenished. Also bought there was
this years aires book for France, plus a map with all the free
service points in France on - what a result!
I
wanted to see what the Cote de la Redoute was like, and we were
parked 100m from the start of it, so we set off up the hill. Quite
steep and narrow in places, it was a challenge due to it´s length
(1900m) and steepness (8·9% average, 20·0% maximum), so quite a
test for the riders.
At
the top we decided to carry on and do an 8km loop to bring us back
down to Aywaille where we could take a look at the campsite for
tomorrow night.
 |
| A very small, friendly horse |
On the way we discovered a parking place exclusively for motorhomes in a public car park, almost next door to the campsite. The cost was €8 for 24 hours, making it a quarter of the price of the campsite - we don´t need electric hook-up, so this was ideal for us.
The
plan is to stay where we are for tonight, then stay in the aire
tomorrow night, then move on sometime on Monday.
Lots
of motorhomes are here - most with “fleches” or arrows from
previous cycle races, although I think our collection is by far the
best!
 |
| Direction arrows from various races |
 |
| and again |
See today´s full picture gallery here
Sunday
24/04/2016 Aywaille to Aywaille
N50°28'33·0'' E005°40'42·7'' Aire,
€8 for 48hrs, full services, paid for electric.
3km
in 8min
Today is
the 11th
and last race - Liege Bastogne Liege, the first 150km being
relatively flat, and the last 100km has 9 climbs in it - the Cote de
la Redoute being the 4th
last at 40km from the finish.
We
awoke to 2°, so the heating came straight on, before coffee and
toast. Grey, cold and overcast, it then started to snow 30min before
the race was due to pass us at 11:00am - what a miserable day.
However,
this is Belgium, and by 10:55am the sun was out and it was quite
warm! - very bizzare weather.
 |
| Very cold today |
It was still pouring down when I set off up La Cote de la Redoute, so I put on my big coat, complete with fleece and hood, and squelched up the hill. Thoroughly soaked when I got to where I wanted to be, I put up the big Union Jack flag - tied to a tree - and waited for the riders.
When
they came past in the snow and sleet, they had a cloud of steam over
them, similar to what a winter´s scrum looked like when I used to play rugby.
They all looked thoroughly fed up and ready for a hot bath (as I was). Back down the hill I saw the finish on TV in Cervantes, with a great win for Wouter Pouls from Sky - a very strong man.
We
were wildcamping outside a school, so couldn´t stay here tonight, so
we moved a small distance up the road to the aire we had seen
yesterday. Only €8 for 48hrs with full services and electric was
available at an extra charge. Nice hard-standing pitches, plenty wide
and long enough, and quiet at night, although outside a swimming pool
so lots of children around during the day.
Results of Liege Bastogne Liege
1st Wouter Poels (Sky)
2nd Michael Albasini (Orica Greenedge)
3rd Rui Costa (Lampre - Merida)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Results of Liege Bastogne Liege
1st Wouter Poels (Sky)
2nd Michael Albasini (Orica Greenedge)
3rd Rui Costa (Lampre - Merida)
See today´s full picture gallery here
Monday
25/04/2016 Aywaille to Heiderscheidergrund
N49°54'18·7''
E005°57'23·0'' Aire
on campsite, €11, full services, electric.
139km
in 2hr 44min
You
can only use the facilities here with a jeton available from the
swimming pool reception - they are behind a locked door in the
bourne. The only problem being that there is no-one on reception
until 12:30pm, so we just emptied the grey water and set off for
Luxembourg.
We
went the scenic way, passing through La Roche-en-Ardenne, where the
trees were covered in snow and the outside temperature was 2° -
picture postcard pretty though.
We
could not leave Belgium without Glyn having some frites and
mayonnaise, so the first friterie we saw we were in!
We
had 3 places in Luxembourg to look at. The first was parking for 3
motorhomes outside Camping Kaul in Wiltz. A good facility with full
services and free, but a limited outlook - just right for a quick
overnight stop. The second was 3 purpose-made quick camperstops just
inside the entrance of Camping Bisson in Heiderscheidgrund. Each
one had water, waste, electric and TV point, with a great view of the
river, on hard-standing and with free WiFi - all for €11 per night
- a proper bargain. The third was in Camping Fuussekaul in
Heiderscheid, which, as we found, was not actually in the campsite
but across the road in a purpose built aire to house 30+ motorhomes.
There were full facilities for €10 per night. There was a very
well stocked motorhome accessory shop next door who was also a
Burstner dealer, so we had a good look at the new Burstner Ixeo time
it 700, which is similar to ours but has an island bed at the rear
and is 1m longer.
The
second aire was by far the best, so after a look around the shop we
drove back to Camping Bisson and bagged the pitch nearest the river.
It´s still sleeting here, so we´ve got the electric fire on now
we have electric hook-up.
 |
| Great pitch, great view |
A very good pitch with everything to hand and a fabulous view to go with it - a great place and very relaxing. Lots of wildlife here, especially martins and swallows.
Tuesday
26/04/2016 Heiderscheidergrund to Dieue-en-Meuse
N49°04'13·9''
E005°25'35·2'' Free
aire, full services, no electric
142km
in 2hr 22min
Well,
after 24 hours of non-stop rain, sleet and snow, it´s finally
stopped! The downside is that the temperature overnight was 1°, so a
bit chilly.
The
tap on our pitch had a very strange internal thread which no amount
of bodging would resolve, so I gaffer-taped the hose to it and filled
up that way. Grey and black water disposal was just a reverse away,
so we were soon on our way.
Using
our new books we had bought we had identified a site on the Meuse
canal in Dieue-en-Meuse, between Verdun and Metz.
We
took the back roads in Luxembourg - they were the equivalent of the
Belgian motorways, and were a pleasure to drive on - smooth, wide,
well-signed, with considerate drivers.
When
we crossed again into Belgium the contrast was very marked - they
really do need to do something about their roads. We crossed into
France from Belgium with only a slight slowing down on the motorway
from 2 lanes to 1, but thankfully they omitted the trek through the
car park - you´d think the 2 countries were at war with one other.
We
came across a lorry loaded with straw bales on an N road who had
miscalculated his height, and was embarrassingly directing traffic
around his lorry and fallen straw bales - oh dear!
We had seen signs for a motorhome dealership for the last 20km, and we finally came across it, so decided to have a look round its accessory shop. To our delight it was also a Burstner dealership, and they had the 2016 version of our motorhome. After picking the “improvements” to bits, we were quite satisfied with what we have got, and to celebrate we bought a 2016 version of the “Le Monde du Camping Car” guide to Aires in France which is truly excellent (we have been using the 2013 version very successfully for the last 3 years). We also got a guide to the aires in Morocco for a future trip.
Great
driving roads in rural France today through never-ending agricultural
land to get to Dieue-en-Meuse, which was right on the canal bank in a
very pretty setting. Unfortunately for some the services were roped
off and out of action, but luckily we were OK.
3
motorhomes joined us in late afternoon, but strangely opted to park
on the grass instead of the hard-standing we were on. There was acres
of room - there was just one other car and a school bus on a space
that could fit 50+ cars in a sleepy village, so why they were on the
grass is a mystery.
 |
| A typical French aire - brilliant |
We took a walk around the small village, got a few supplies in the Intermarche on the main road, then settled down in Cervantes to watch canal life - excellent.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Wednesday
27/04/2016 Dieue-en-Meuse to Auxerre
N47°47'51·2''
E003°34'39·0'' Free
overnight parking, no services, no electric.
252km
in 4hr 12min
The
overnight temperature was 0·5° and we woke up to a covering of ice
on the skylights and windscreen - Cervantes has never been so cold!
It was 6° inside so the gas heating was soon in use, but all in all
a very quiet and peaceful night.
The
driving today was excellent on really good roads at almost motorway
speeds. Our destination today was Auxerre which apparently has some
very important old buildings.
The
sat-nav said a 4 hour drive, which was pretty much spot-on, but we
had to put a waypoint in to go the way we wanted.
After
a visit to Lidl we stopped for some lunch with about an hour to go,
then went straight to the car park in Auxerre, which is right on the
River Yonne with a fantastic view of the church, the cathedral and
the abbey on the opposite bank.
There
is plenty of room here, but no facilities - just parking. We found a
spot level for us, then walked over the river to look around the
cathedral.
No entrance charge, and the staff were really helpful. The height of the ceiling inside was impressive to say the least, and the 13th century stained glass windows were awesome - how did they do that 800 years ago? Overall, although the building was roughly the same size as, say, Burgos cathedral, the Spanish equivalent was much more ostentatious and opulent than its French counterpart, which was very plain and reserved in comparison.
Next stop was the abbey, which is now a museum containing artefacts from the surrounding settlements of eons past. Also in the building was a whole floor devoted to the start of the Civil War in Spain, and how France took in thousands of refugees fleeing from Franco - not much different to Syria today. It charted their persecution, their escape, then their role in the 2nd World War fighting for France - a fascinating and interesting exhibit, and very apt, having just read Dave Boling´s book "Guernica" about the persecution and escape of the Basque people during the Civil War.
There are many motorhomes here today in our car park, 25+ at the last count, and more coming in by the minute.
See today´s full picture gallery here
 |
| A busy car park which soon cleared when the workers went home |
No entrance charge, and the staff were really helpful. The height of the ceiling inside was impressive to say the least, and the 13th century stained glass windows were awesome - how did they do that 800 years ago? Overall, although the building was roughly the same size as, say, Burgos cathedral, the Spanish equivalent was much more ostentatious and opulent than its French counterpart, which was very plain and reserved in comparison.
 |
| The impressive cathedral - just over the river from us |
Next stop was the abbey, which is now a museum containing artefacts from the surrounding settlements of eons past. Also in the building was a whole floor devoted to the start of the Civil War in Spain, and how France took in thousands of refugees fleeing from Franco - not much different to Syria today. It charted their persecution, their escape, then their role in the 2nd World War fighting for France - a fascinating and interesting exhibit, and very apt, having just read Dave Boling´s book "Guernica" about the persecution and escape of the Basque people during the Civil War.
 |
| The equally impressive abbey - very interesting history displays |
There are many motorhomes here today in our car park, 25+ at the last count, and more coming in by the minute.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Thursday
28/04/2016 Auxerre to St. Pourcain-sur-Sioule
N46°18'48·4''
E003°15'50·1'' France
Passion, no services, no electric.
218km
in 3hr 10min
A
very early start this morning saw us on the road at 9:00am. We were
heading for somewhere just north of Clermont Ferrand and had looked
at 3 possible aires not far from our route. However, when we stopped
for coffee and porridge at 10:30am, I looked at the France Passion
book, and we decided a wine producer in St Pourcain-sur-Sioule would
be a good place to stay.
The
N7 motorway around Nevers was closed for resurfacing so we followed
the signed diversions (to the disgust of the sat-nav, which wanted us
to come off much sooner and follow its route).
We
made such good time that we were at the France Passion site by
12:30pm. The office opened again at 2:00pm, so we showered, had some
lunch, did some washing and wrote the blog until we could introduce
ourselves and buy some wine.
 |
| A quiet, peaceful spot to stay |
We tasted 8 different wines altogether and settled for 2 bottles each of our favourites. The local white grape is Tressalier, which we had not heard of before, but which proved to be excellent - dry, sharp but with a smooth, creamy finish - an excellent choice.
It´s
so quiet here, with a fantastic view over the hay fields - it´s what
France Passion is all about.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Friday
29/04/2016 St Pourcain-sur-Sioule to Marvejols
N44°33'14.3''
E003°17'13.8'' Free
aire, no services, no electric.
251km
in 3hr 30min
Another
early start this morning at 8:30am after a very quiet and dark night
in our France Passion site.
We
caught the early rush hour to work being so early, but it was nothing
excessive - nothing like the M60 around Manchester at 7:00am.
We
made excellent time on very good roads with great views of the Massif
Central, centred around Clermont Ferrand. There was snow on top of
the highest mountains in view, which we hoped we would miss, which
indeed we did.
However,
on our trip through the Massif Central we climbed up to 1100m and
stayed there for at least 65km, going up and down hill by 200m or so
on a regular basis, until finally, just before our destination for
today, we started descending to the valley floor.
Our
turn off the motorway saw us at our aire in Le Monastier-pin-Mories,
but we thought it a bit too near the road and the railway, so we
re-programmed the sat-nav to take us to Marvejols, where there was
another aire.
After
a bit of searching we finally found it, set in a sunken public car
park with room for many motorhomes, 4 of which were already here.
 |
| A popular aire in a nice town |
The town of Marvejols looked really interesting with its walled, arched entrance and very old housing stock, and a walk through its streets proved to be very entertaining - some fantastic old buildings and many original features.
However
there did seem to be an awful lot of shops and businesses for sale or
rent, and the boarded-up look for a town is not a good one.
The
church was a definite winner with its ornate ceiling and
chandaliers - now that´s a first!
Unbelievably
the sun was shining (obviously no guarantee of it staying) and it was
unusually warm, so a beer sat OUTSIDE seemed a good idea. Waiting for
the rain clouds, we were pleasantly suprised when none appeared.
 |
| A fine old town - well worth a visit |
We found a bread and cake shop and got enough for tomorrow, then went back to Cervantes, got the chairs out, and sat in the sun until 7:00pm - unbelievable!
Marvejols
is a lovely town, if a little bit in need of a business boost, but
what it does have, it displays to its best adavantage - well worth
a visit.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Saturday
30/04/2016 Marvejols to Saleilles
N42°40'01.3''
E002°57'25.1'' France
Passion, no services, no electric.
311km
in 4hr 31min
After
a really quiet night in this lovely town, we were again early birds,
setting off at 8:20am.
Soon
on the up and down motorway again we made good time going south,
hoping yesterday´s good weather would continue, but it was not to
be.
30km
from Millau it started getting dark, then it rained solidly and
heavily for 2 hours, thus our crossing on the Millau viaduct was a
bit of a dead duck viewing-wise. (€11·30 to cross the viaduct)
As
soon as we lost height (we were still at 800m) after Millau, the
temperature jumped from 4° to 17°, the sky brightened and the rain
stopped. We also stopped to have some coffee and brioche (bought
yesterday in Marvejols) after we had left the motorway.
A
good, fast road runs parallel to the A9 after Beziers and got us to
our France Passion site in Saleilles by 2:00pm.
There was nothing open until 4:00pm, so I decided to take a walk around the buildings to see where things were. There was activity in the tasting barn, so I went in and introduced myself, and asked if it was OK to come back at 4:00pm (when they re-opened) to taste and buy some wine. Yes, he said, but come back later , when we have a public tasting night with a live band - so that´s us sorted for tonight!
There was nothing open until 4:00pm, so I decided to take a walk around the buildings to see where things were. There was activity in the tasting barn, so I went in and introduced myself, and asked if it was OK to come back at 4:00pm (when they re-opened) to taste and buy some wine. Yes, he said, but come back later , when we have a public tasting night with a live band - so that´s us sorted for tonight!
We
went over at 4:30pm to buy some wine thinking it may be busy later
on, and got talking to one of the musicians in the band - he was
married to an English lady and spoke perfect English.
He
told us about the area and himself, and was enthusiastic that an
English butcher selling specialist sausages had opened nearby 2 days
ago - he had tried some and was impressed.
The
action starts at 5:00pm - wine tasting, wine buying, tombola and live
music. Cars are arriving every 5 minutes so it looks like being a fun
night. Well, at the end we counted 50 cars, and if each had 2 people
in them and spent as much as us (€45), the owner should have
covered his costs - what a fantastic way to advertise your product.
The man running this enterprise is one switched-on cookie.
 |
Quality wines at a bargain price
|
What
are the odds of us turning up at a specific France Passion site on a
specific day and hearing a live band playing my favourite music - we
were very lucky.
Another
motorhome has joined us here, unfortunately too late to enjoy the
band, but still nice to have some company.
The wind is ferocious here - it´s like being at sea with all the buffeting we´re getting. I hope it clears for tomorrow.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Sunday
01/05/2016 Saleilles to Canet
N42°40'33.0'' E003°01'46.2'' ACSI
campsite €19, full services, electric.
16km in 29min
For the first time in 6 weeks the inside of the windscreen was clear of condensation this morning – no more wet cloths hanging about.
The
pay-off for this is the gale force wind blowing – it started
yesterday afternoon and has been rocking the van ever since. Luckily
we´re not going far today, because I hate driving in the wind.
We
decided to go to an ACSI site situated between the sea on one side,
and a lake on the other – a great position. We had no trouble
finding it and got a great pitch facing east, so will get sun all day
(assuming the sun stays out). It has a tunnel under the road
connecting it to the beach, so is safe for children and nervous
adults.
It´s
still blowing a gale here, but hopefully will blow itself out today.
 |
| Great views over the lake - but so windy |
The beach proved to be a roller-coaster walk – the wind was whipping up the sand into a horizontal sandstorm, blowing sand into your eyes, nose, mouth, and any other open orifice. We lasted about 5 minutes before leaving the deserted beach and going back to the shelter of the van to get the sand out of everywhere.
It
was past 11 when we went to bed and the hurricane force wind was
still doing its worst – we will have to move tomorrow – I just
hope we have some luck with the weather.
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Monday
02/05/2016 Canet to Navercles
N41°45'24·1''
E001°54'29·2'' Free aire, full services, no electric.
225km in 3hr 17min
Oh
how I hate driving in wind, especially when the wind is from the
north, and we´re going west – a full-on broadside gale making us
rock all over the road.
I
was very near to giving up when until we started heading south, which
meant we had a gale-force tail wind – good for the mpg!
As we went
further south, past Girona, we were then in the lee of the Pyrenees,
and the wind suddenly abated, so we took the excellent C25 and
followed it up some very entertaining climbs and descents – you
could pay a lot of money at a funfair for this experience! Great road
surface, not much traffic, and very well signed – welcome back to
Spain!
The
temperature had shot up to 22° outside – ah, it´s great to be
back.
Our
destination today was a small aire in Navarcles, a small village just
before the town of Manresa. It was a bit tortuous through the town to
get here (but to be fair, that is pretty standard) but once here it
was really magical. Very small, a total of 8 vans maximum as long as
they were all parked properly. Very, very quiet, with river walks 2
minutes away.
 |
| A perfect aire |
We decided to go into town to get some WiFi and download some more BBC iPlayer programmes (both TV and radio) to watch and listen to at our leisure.
We
found the only open bar in Navarcles which luckily had very fast
WiFi, so we were downloading like crazy outside in the sun (obviously
whilst drinking their beer)
A lovely
walk by the river back to Cervantes ended in a surprise when we saw
we had been joined by 3 other vans – always nice to have the
company of a Dutch, Spanish and German motorhome – great fun this
motorhoming.
Chairs
out in the sun, drinks drunk, books read, and blog written, it was a
fantastic welcome back to sunny Spain.
See today´s full picture gallery here
We got here at 2:00pm, but the restaurant is not open ´till 3:00pm, so it´s time for blog writing, internet surfing (free WiFi), and sun worshipping until we visit the restaurant to negate our €8 charge for staying here tonight (€8 will get you an excellent bottle of wine in Spain)
Thomas is a naturopath, which involves holistic well-being of both mind and body. He walked us around the farm, showing us what he farmed, and what he co-opted out to other groups – one from France who come over and grow organic fruit and veg, one from Eastern Europe who did the same – with 7 hectares here and a full-time job, there are not enough hours in the day for him to do everything himself.
He has some ambitious projects for the future involving a water garden fed from the summer residence roof through a reedbed filter, and many, many more. With not enough time to do everything, he has to get help from co-operatives, then either share the profits or let them keep all the profits – his gain from this is that the land is used for what it should be, and someone who has no access to grow organic fruit and veg can now grow their own – everyone wins.
A very nice man who was volunteering at the farm saw us sitting in the sun, and sliced off an aloe vera leaf, trimmed it, then gave it to us to rub on our skin to prevent sunburn - what a star.
Finally home after nearly 7 weeks away, and it was a pleasure to be back. It´s nice to travel, and it´s certainly nice to get back home afterwards.
See today´s full picture gallery here
Tuesday
03/05/2016 Navercles to San Rafael del Rio
N40°34'31·8''
E000°23'35·6'' Aire, €8 (waived if you eat in the restaurant),
full services, paid for electric.
240km
in 3hr 21min
It
was so warm yesterday, I left the roof-light open when we went to
bed – mistake! - the overnight temperature was 6°, so it was a bit
nippy when the cold woke us up.
Still,
that´s what blown warm air heating is for, so we were soon warm
again, then the glorious Spanish sun made its daily appearance, and
we were soon too hot again (only joking)
Full
of water and empty of waste, we were soon on the excellent local
roads on our way to the coast road which would eventually take us to
our destination today – an aire in San Rafael del Rio with huge
pitches on a solid gravel base. You could get 20 motorhomes, all with
lots of lateral space, around the outside of the aire, then double
that again in the centre (although too far away from the electric
points), so a massive piece of land.
 |
| A huge site - big enough for the biggest motorhome |
We got here at 2:00pm, but the restaurant is not open ´till 3:00pm, so it´s time for blog writing, internet surfing (free WiFi), and sun worshipping until we visit the restaurant to negate our €8 charge for staying here tonight (€8 will get you an excellent bottle of wine in Spain)
We
do like having a motorhome – the freedom it gives you is priceless,
and the initial cost has probably been repaid by now if you work out
the equivalent travel and hotel costs of the places we have been. And
don´t forget, there are places we have stayed in in Cervantes where
you could not have stayed unless you had a motorhome – priceless!
And as for the events, sights and views it has let us stop overnight
and see – well, we´re converts – are you?
See today´s full picture gallery here
See today´s full picture gallery here
Wednesday
04/05/2016 San Rafael del Rio to Alicante
N38°19'28·7''
W000°32'55·5'' España Discovery site, water and electric
available.
343km
in 3hr 52min
After
an excellent meal in the next door restaurant we retired to a very
dark and quiet night indeed.
That
is, until 5:00am, when the next door farmer decided to spray his
oranges by towing a very noisy high-speed sprayer behind his tractor.
Up and down the rows of oranges on the other side of the fence from
us, until we had to give in and get up at 7:30am. Still, we have had
worse, and the farmer was only doing what he normally did – we are
the intruders. Not a major problem – just a one-off.
Motorway
practically all the way today to our España Discovery site just
outside Alicante. An organic farm with olive oil, honey from their
own bees, organic fruit and veg, and donkeys used as therapy for
young disadvantaged people.
It
was a bit of a difficult entry, but once in we settled down and
enjoyed the sun until the owner came back at 5:00pm to show us around the farm.
 |
| A difficult entry - but worth it |
Thomas is a naturopath, which involves holistic well-being of both mind and body. He walked us around the farm, showing us what he farmed, and what he co-opted out to other groups – one from France who come over and grow organic fruit and veg, one from Eastern Europe who did the same – with 7 hectares here and a full-time job, there are not enough hours in the day for him to do everything himself.
 |
| Around the farm with Thomas |
He has some ambitious projects for the future involving a water garden fed from the summer residence roof through a reedbed filter, and many, many more. With not enough time to do everything, he has to get help from co-operatives, then either share the profits or let them keep all the profits – his gain from this is that the land is used for what it should be, and someone who has no access to grow organic fruit and veg can now grow their own – everyone wins.
As
Thomas said, many years ago all the neighbouring farms helped each
other out in turn – you went to get the harvest in on one farm
(along with all the other neighbours), then they would all help with
your harvest the next week, and so on for every neighbour until
everyone was finished.
Nowadays,
for example El Pozo next door, - a major player in processed meats,
transport, politics etc, own all the land from here to the coast of
Alicante, and have no interest in helping anyone farm their land.
Thomas
is a really nice guy whose grandparents owned this land that was once
an almond farm, but left when the civil war started. His parents then
tried to make a go of it as an organic farm in the 90´s, but
unfortunately Spain was not yet ready for organic produce, so the
mantle fell to Thomas, who is slowly building up the business to a
more enlightened Spain (his mum and dad are also here to help him!)
We
have vowed to come back to help him harvest his olives in September
to make into his olive oil at the local Almanza, because he is always
short staffed at his busiest times.
We
bought some olive oil and herb infusions from him by way of a thank
you for his time and hospitality, and hope to see him again in the
future.
 |
| Our thanks to Thomas |
A very nice man who was volunteering at the farm saw us sitting in the sun, and sliced off an aloe vera leaf, trimmed it, then gave it to us to rub on our skin to prevent sunburn - what a star.
We ended
the day feeding the donkeys on grapes and apples – what brilliant
animals, very gentle, if a bit stroppy when they missed their turn –
we could have stayed with them all night!
See today´s full picture gallery here
You can see more videos on our youtube channel here
 |
| Donkeys - brilliant! |
You can see more videos on our youtube channel here
Thursday
05/05/2016 Alicante to Home
90km
in 1hr 28min
Finally home after nearly 7 weeks away, and it was a pleasure to be back. It´s nice to travel, and it´s certainly nice to get back home afterwards.
Get
that washing machine on!!
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