Namur to Marche en Famenne 72km

It was a very cold start to the day at only 6 degrees, so I decided to wait until at least double digits before setting off. 

As with all cities, despite excellent advice on how to get through the city, I still managed to get myself misplaced several times. Unfortunately, being misplaced is a time waster as you can spend so much time just backtracking and retracing to see where you went wrong. 

Eventually I made it through Namur and had brilliant riverside riding, albeit with a brutal headwind at times, into Dinant. The views were picturesque with beautiful homes to gaze at on the other side of the river.

Then the rain started. I found the tourist information office as I was a bit confused where the Eurovelo 5 went in order to get me to Marche. Turns out I’d gone too far so had to backtrack and cross the river via a very sketchy metal ramp that was almost impossible to get the bike up and over, and there were two of them to navigate. The EV routes are not the shortest and the route to Marche from Dinant was 48km. On other navigation tools, it was only 28-35 kms. I asked about the other routes but was advised against them. 

It was uphill from here all the way to Marche, navigating through towns and getting misplaced again due to my own fault trying to find a shortcut and reduce the hills and kms. The rain was on and off for the remainder of the ride and the hills were challenging. Some of the road surfaces are quite bad with large potholes and lots of uneven surfaces, so you need to be constantly aware. 

I arrived at the campground and had difficulty locating the owner/manager. After some time we managed to connect by phone and I was able to pitch my tent around 6:30pm. Way too late for me and not something I want to repeat. Luckily I had enough food on board and didn’t need a supermarket. There was a massive storm that I managed to take shelter from but the rain continued into the night. It’s been freezing cold all day and I have all my layers on to stay warm. Looks like I’ll be packing a wet tent tomorrow. 

Rest day in Namur

I took an additional rest day today and was fortunate to be able to visit Waterloo including the 224 steps up to the monument, and I also took in some of the sights of Namur from the Citadel.

Brussels to Namur 68km

Thank goodness for Benedikt’s brilliant navigation skills, we made it out of Brussels. It was extremely busy and quite confusing with dedicated bike paths, shared paths, park shortcuts and disappearing bike infrastructure at crucial times on busy roads. The focus was to get to Wavre as step one and then focus on Namur as step two. Benedikt took responsibility for step one and me for step two. 

The ride was lovely although it was much hillier than expected and for day one on the loaded bike, it was a little challenging as I’m still getting used to the balance and the weight. Benedikt was so patient as I navigated my way with the bike and we had a fabulous day. 

Benedikt is travelling light! 

Finally found an EV5 sign! 

We arrived at a friend’s house around 3:30pm after almost 70km and 700m of elevation, with tired legs and hungry bellies. It wasn’t long before we were showered and in search of a supermarket for some much needed calories. We had a lovely evening chatting and sharing stories.

I’ve decided to take a rest day as I still have quite a bit of lingering fatigue and low grade headaches from the viral meningitis, combined with a big first day on the bike weighing roughly 35-40kg, I need some extra time to recover. 

Sightseeing in Brussels

 Some pictures of my adventures through Brussels.

The adventure begins

After a marathon journey of 30 ish hours, I made it to Brussels. I assembled the bike at the airport in a random spot as I couldn’t locate the bike station nor many staff to ask for assistance. 

It’s always a relief to see the bike arrive, albeit with the box a little worse for wear. Everything went together well except for attaching the handlebar bracket which I really struggled with. I managed to get it attached but it’s definitely not right and something I need to address today, along with a few other things, but nothing major. 

I rode into the city centre on some separated bike ways and road cycle routes. The route between tram tracks was too much for my tired brain to navigate the heavy bike safely, so I walked those sections. The hostel is in the city centre and I have a private room. Apparently I’m too old to stay in a dorm, not that I’d want to anyway. I’ve already managed to find a GF bakery, GF chips and GF beer. 

I’ll try to do a bit more on the bike today before heading out for some sightseeing. The weather is showery and cool but I’m on holidays so am not complaining, 

Only 14 days to go.....

It's hard to believe my last post was in 2025 after finally landing on my itinerary for this year. It's been a busy time since then with a birthday celebration, Christmas, a trip to the Tour Down Under with friends, lots of riding and a significant bout of illness. 

Unfortunately, I contracted viral meningitis recently and it's been a total reset for me. After a trip to hospital and the realisation that this was a significant illness meant a total halt to training, I've been completely focussed on recovery for the past few weeks. The impact of this virus has been so challenging both physically and emotionally. I am however extraordinarily grateful for my friends and the wonderful medical services we have access to in Australia.

Luckily, this illness has been far enough away from my departure, that I've managed to start to recover and get some strength back. Unfortunately, the headaches and fatigue can continue for up to three months but I'm confident that I'm in a good place to start my trip in 14 days, albeit at a little slower pace until I see how I go. 

I'm looking forward to sharing my adventure this year, 2000km +/- and seven countries. How lucky am I to be able to do this? I feel privileged with a passport that allows me to travel freely. 

Some pictures from the past few weeks, including questioning my life choices as I dehydrate dishwashing liquid. 😂

2026 - 7 Countries, 2000 +/- kms, 49 days

It's taken a little longer than normal for me to settle on my plans for 2026. 

I've been quite unwell since returning from Corsica and Portugal/Spain this year, so I decided to use the time wisely and plan for my big trip next year. I have a lot of options on my long list but settled on this trip to allow me to get back into full touring cycling mode after my road cycling and hiking adventures this year. 

I'll be taking seven weeks leave from work to travel to Brussels and then head south towards Switzerland, eventually heading east towards Hungary. I hope to pick up some of the Eurovelo routes and complete a portion of the Danube. My rough itinerary is linked in the tab at the top of this blog. I've started to do a rough map (subject to change) in Velo Planner, which I've snapped below. 

I hope to be able to catch up with friends along the way and explore some areas I've not seen before. There are some sections I have already travelled but not for many years, so I'm sure they will feel new again. 

Now to decide which bike to take???