Day 1,366
Mur de Hoy
We followed the river that flows through Namur, well wrapped up as it was yet another dry but very chilly day, the wind just seemed to love blowing fiercely in our faces. Still, we've got the layers of clothing just right, and even my fingers stayed warm, unlike our time in the north of Spain where I was just about crying with the pain. My trick? Midweight cycle gloves then a pair of close-knit wooly gloves on top. Result - warm fingers! The route was quite industrial, but we didn't mind. Tom had a destination firmly in his sights, the town of Huy, and its famous hill.
By mid-morning we reached the picturesque town of Huy, famous in the cycling world for the Mur de Huy. At 1.4 kms long, 136 vertical metres, with an average gradient of 9.7%. On one corner its steepest section is a whooping 26%, it gets steeper nearer the top at around 16%. It's used as part of the professional race, La Flèche Wallonne, and even as a stage finish on the Tour de France. So it's tough. Experienced riders on lightweight racing bikes struggle, but Tom being Tom wanted to give it a go on a fully-loaded tourer! I went for a coffee, still not fully over shingles was my excuse, and off he went. Two coffees later he was back, buzzing. Yep he'd done it, and even got a round of applause at the top.
We know hills don’t look steep in pictures, but this was steep!
The face of a man who has just achieved the ‘impossible’!
Then it was back to the river. Tom spotted some cooling towers, steaming away at a power plant so, standing high up on his bike pedals, he snapped a few photos and took some film footage. Then he spotted the sign saying no photography, ah! He popped the camera away and off we went, but very shortly afterwards we heard the sirens on a police car blaring away. Oh dear. Fortunately I'm not writing this from a prison in Belgium as the friendly officers were happy to accept Tom’s apologies and, photos deleted, we were on our way, phew! The reason for their sensitivity was that the power station was a nuclear facility, oops!
Shortly before being stopped by the Belgian police!
We celebrated our freedom and Tom’s climb with another Warmshowers host, Fanny. Her flat gave us a panoramic view of Lèige, and we slept very well, warm, and full of gorgeous home-made food!
From Lèige we picked up an old railway line, in super condition. It was fantastic easy riding and finally the weather was getting slightly warmer. We were now approaching the border between Belgium and Germany. At the end of the 19th century a defence belt of 12 forts was built to defend Belgium from attacks from Prussia and France. With the approach of WWI they added 4 more and by WWII they were upgraded yet again. We cycled past one of them, Fort Battice. In May 1940 it sustained a 12-day siege under heavy German artillery and aircraft fire. Over 700 men lived in the fort, many like moles in the warren of concrete passages beneath. Over 70 men died defending the it, including 26 in one tragic incident when a bomb pierced the concrete block where we stood.
On we went. The railway line ran into Germany, but the trackbed remains a slice of Belgium, perhaps one of the narrowest land masses owned by a country. We had another couple of nights with Warmshower hosts, first Kristyna and family, then Iris and Diedy. We were fed so well, Iris even made a childhood favourite dish of mine, we called it Pannaggi, or Panhagerty, based on potatoes and onions, but a variation is clearly eaten throughout Europe. The route was a mix of quiet roads, tracks through forests and awesome cycle paths. The small villages were full of ancient timbered buildings, churches, but as yet no castles. Soon though we would reach the Rhine, and a section that is so stunning, with dozens of castles on hill tops that it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we couldn't wait!
