Day 4: July 34th 2025 - Fourmies - Yvoir 60 miles

I thought that today was going to be a short ride, but for whatever reason I still did 100 kms / 60 miles. As a consequence, I took a leisurely start and wasn’t really on the road until 9 pm. Anyhow, most of the route was benign through France and then in to Belgium, mostly following repurposed train lines and then the River Meuse / Maas which I joined south of Dinant. I’m very impressed with the Belgium bicycle infrastructure. They have long distance repurposed railway lines which are just straight and level and well surfaced, so I can bowl along. As for Belgium in general, I sense it is a bit of strange country, not really a country, bits and pieces cobbled together after the Congress of Vienna and the defeat of Napoleon. Somehow it seems to survive. The Belgians are not as chic as the French, much more agricultural looking and sturdy. Mind you, you see that sort of thing in Northern France as well.

Tonight I am camping again at a Belgium camp site, which has all the facilities I need, and the Belgian kids who seem to run it speak English. Very good English. If you ask them if they speak English, the answer is “Of course” ! The problem is that this place is up and over a range of limestone hills and down into another valley separate from the Meuse valley, so the last hour was a difficult climb to get here. I’ve worked out over the years as I cycle about, that at the end of a long day of cycling, one of two things will happen. Either it will rain and so you end up reaching your destination wet, even though it has been dry all day. Or the last few miles will be a long, exhausting climb, just to squeeze out the last vestiges of energy that you have left after a long day. I guess it is the buggeration of life.

Along the way I took an interest in one or two things. A place which had some train wagons parked up as a memorial to about 1500 Canadian soldiers who had been captured after the Dieppe Raid in 1942, and were held in these wagons in the heat of August with predictable consequences. They were a long way from Dieppe, so presumably being taken in to Germany as POWs. And then I passed a go-kart track where there was racing, very fast, furious, and pretty dangerous looking to me. I couldn’t work out if they were kids or adults. I wouldn’t get in to one of those things and race around. And, in one small town there was a market, with a live bird sale with every kind of chicken, cockerel duck, whatever you wanted. I guess people buy them and take them home and they end up in the pot.

The weather has cooled down considerably, and it is pleasant during the day, although it gets a bit chilly at night. I don’t mind, as long as it doesn’t rain, and the forecast isn’t predicting any rain for the next few days. So, maybe I will get lucky.

I’m expecting things to get busier over the next few days, because I believe the schools in France, Belgium and The Netherlands begin to break up for the summer, so all those families will be heading off on holiday. I will need to do some planning ahead so that I can get places to stay. I hope to be in Maastricht tomorrow night, place of the eponymous treaty that drew us closer in to the EU and upset lots of people because of surrendering sovereignty etc. Load of Little Britain twaddle. I'm hoping that Starmer will take us back in to closer relationship with Europe. If he survives, that is. I think little Sir Sadiq (whose father was a bus driver, essential back story for an Asian politician) and Thunderbirds Are Go Andy Burnham are looking to get back in to Parliament so that they can mount a challenge. Interesting times.

By the way, I’m enjoying my camping ! My criteria are pretty strict however. The weather needs to be fine. The camp site needs to have facilities, hot showers etc. There needs to be somewhere to eat on site, a brasserie, or a decent cafe. I need to be able to get a beer or a glass of wine. If that is all there, then I am happy to camp. In France camping sites can be very good. Seems that way in Belgium also. If all those boxes are not ticked, then I will stay in an hotel. So, please, do not feel sorry for me that I am camping ! Although, I have had to move to a two man tent with a bit more space to get in and out, because I found my Big Agnes one man tent a bit of a challenge at my age.

Tonight I've had Belgium meatballs, fries, and a waffle. Very nice, but not exactly haute cuisine. Mind you, it is a campsite brasserie. I think frites and waffles are Belgian staples