Brussels to Namur. The bell that tolled for me!

Brendan and I went out for moules frites, and more importantly, a debrief. Brendan being the first, and exactly the right person with whom I could reflect on all that had been said and done in the last few days/ weeks/ months/ years.

7:15 mass with the White Fathers over the road, breakfast and departure. Everyone tells me that Namur is oly 60km from Brussels so I am ready for another easy day, but the route that I have downloaded on to the Satmap takes me due east until directly north of Namur, and then turns at right angles. Some of the route seems designed to avoid hills, other sections positively seek hills out. At times I was on busy roads, and then I was fighting through brambles on narrow footpaths. A cyclists forum that I had consulted before heading off advised me to use the website, Bike Route Toaster, but to take some form of map as well, and to use my common sense. I now understood what was meant and vowed to seek alternatives when next the route advised diving into thickets.

However, the next time this happened, the said path seemed to be the only possible way across a vast stretch of farmland marked, "Farme Grande Royale". Firstly I had to get past a JCB busy tearing up about 50 yards of path. Next I had to wheel my bike up a mile or so of steep, roughly cobbled road. Once the path plateaued I could see that there were clearly plans for this route: a surface of sand had been laid and more of less scraped level in preparation for a tarmac surface. I could at least now mount my bike, but it was heavy going. After several painfully slow miles I came to more JCBs at work. At least now there was an alternative to the prescribed path, a road leading to a small picturesque village with a substantial church. I was just parking up in front of the church when I saw a sign, "Maison Benedictines". Moreover, I could hear a bell. This meant either midday prayer or lunch, and either way, it seemed to me a good moment at which to appear. I joined the elderly community of sisters at Bossut for midday prayer and they gave me a bowl of vegetable soup. It was a moment of connection after the lonely hour crossing the fields.

Eventually the route took me to RAVel 2 which runs North/ South from Hoergarten to Namur. This was a brilliant route, though the apprach to Namur, off this route reacquainted me with hills!