September 22nd
We had a big breakfast feast with the whole family. Really fuelling up, as we seem to do more than actually calorie burning the last few days. Before saying goodbye and being driven to Houffalize to try two bike shops to see what they had in terms of very old style wheels. One was closed and the other didn’t have what we needed. The man reckoned the closed one had what we needed but, it’s the one time of the year he goes on holiday to Greece. So it would be a best part of a week if we were to wait.
We headed back to Champlon to pick up our trike from the house we left it. Louis spent 30 minutes to an hour trying to true the wheel out, as it had somehow got worse overnight without being ridden. Eventually he said he could be here all day so let’s just ride. It was pretty wonky, had a big wobble but, didn’t touch the frame. So we could actually get moving. We just de coupled the brakes on that wheel and set off.
We rejoined the EuroVelo 5 and headed towards Bastogne. Our latest set off at 12:33, but hey ho. It was hills towards Bastogne but on lovely quiet roads and we made great progress there. We stopped at a Fritture as Louis had yet to sample the Belgian speciality and it should be our last day here. Frittes & friekandel special and he said it was pretty bang on. After that, and loading up on some food in a Carrefour that was somehow open on a Sunday, a real rarity for Belgium, we pedalled towards Luxembourg. We cycled through a village fete just outside Bastogne, we were the main attraction briefly, before flying towards Martelange, on the border of Luxembourg.
Despite the wonky wheel, all was going well. We then missed a turn for the EuroVelo 5 and decided to carry on and meet up with it in a bit. This firstly meant we had to go up a pretty long hill, which was a tad annoying. To rejoin the bike path, we then attempted to go down an off-road track. We made it less than 100m before we broke a spoke on the already wonky wheel. This made it inoperable, with the wheel being so wonky it now hit the trike frame.
We pitched up, took the wheel off, tyre off and set to work. By that I mean Louis did. We were obviously the talk to the tiny village of Burnon. As soon after some kids cycled past us a man named Emanuel came by. He spoke English and asked us the problem and if we were okay. Unfotoneyoy he didn’t have any parts for us but did end up bringing us chips and drinks as it was Apero time. Within 1 week Louis has become a fan of the Belgian Apero culture and we actually had some olives and cheese specifically for this time too. So it was repairs and Apero time. Good vibes. Despite the situation and the rain.
Two hours later, the wheel had been diligently trued by Louis. Still one spoke missing but it was not hitting the frame any longer. We had maybe half an hour of daylight left and decisions to make about nursing her along some more or pitching up camp here. With progress being slow the last couple of days, we’re definitely tempted to keep plodding along tonight.
Before the tyre was back on the wheel, the on and off drizzle that had been happening during the repair, opened up to full blow rain.
We hastily erected our tarp by a hedge which, when it had stopped raining, was pretty funny to look at. Design upgrade is required for the next time we deploy that. As the rain eased, despite the dusk, we decided to set off. Get 30 mins of riding in and pitch up somewhere with a bit more cover. Rather than on top of an exposed hill where we currently were.
We set off in the dark, with our lights blazing and rolled away hoping the wheel would hold at least for a little bit.
We pedalled through the villages of Hotte and Strainchamps before being reunited with the EuroVelo 5 route. This section was a gravel path through farm area and then forest. We thought we had found an awesome spot to pitch up, short grass, great tree cover. But it turned out to be someone’s front garden with their house very nearby. Probably why it looked so good. A little further on we found an old side road that seemed not to have been used for a while. It was as good a spot as any, with some tree cover and cover from the path. With the rain starting again and it approaching 9pm, we pitched the tent, got the bike unloaded and locked and we were in.
Luckily with all the breakfast, fries, and apero, dinner wasn’t needed.
Despite again a late start from bike shop visits and issues, and a major mid ride mechanical, we knocked off over 50km with a fair bit of climbing. We’re a handful of KM from Luxembourg, shops will be open again and our luck may turn. Although the weather is meant to turn the other way…
Daily stats:
55 km. 557m elevation gain. 3 hr 43 moving time.
Cumulative stats:
602 KM. 5,383 m elevation gain. 36 hr 18 mins
September 23rd
We had a rain soaked night but as we woke up it was only drizzling. Louis set about further fine tuning the wheel that he rebuilt yesterday afternoon. We accepted the tent was never going to dry and hurriedly put it away as the rain started to get heavier. A cheese roll for breakfast, sticking the tyre and wheel back on, then we were away.
We set off along the gravel path towards Martelange, in our waterproofs and my gloves for the first time. We took it steady and eventually reached the border town. We stopped at a petrol station to top the tyres up and Louis called the same company he used before, to get some custom sized spokes sent to Germany. With that sorted we crossed into Luxembourg.
It was quiet. So quiet. In the first 2 hours we saw only 2 people. Most of the cycling was on dedicated cycle paths away from the roads but, even through some villages there was no one about. Weird. The cycle path was all completely paved and most meandered through forests. Pretty darn scenic. It was very much rolling hill territory. I had joked before that Luxembourg was the flattest country in Europe. It was anything but. We kept pushing on and made good progress. The EuroVelo 5 signs changed, as they do in every country, and were a trifle harder to spot. But not as bad as in France. And the path was good. Descents came after the climbs, the rain had eased, morale was high. The path even included an old, pretty long, tunnel. Just along the bike path, not a road.
On the outskirts of Steinfort, a high pressured air sound caused us to check all around the trike. It turned out to be a puncture in the rear left tyre. Ideally, this time it was an issue when we actually wanted to stop for food anyway. We slowly pedalled to the town centre and set up our workshop and canteen outside the town church. We bought a new tyre in Lille as we knew this one was going. We were actually going to change it tonight, but it didn’t even last that long. You could practically see through the tyre in some spots. We changed the tyre, changed the tube and put 2 new spokes in. Had our lunch and then set off out of the town, towards Luxembourg City.
We lost and re-joined the Euro 5 route a few times, it proved hard to follow here. But nonetheless the cycling was cruisey and we were soon into Luxembourg City, the big capital. We headed for a big bike shop just outside the centre. We were in search of some spare spokes for the left wheel as we’d finished all our spares today, and a free wheel tool. They came up trumps on the spokes and gave us some for free. But no tool. We then cycled towards the main train station and went past another shop. In there Louis managed to get a few spokes that should just about fit the wheel that’s given us all the issues. Incase we have anymore before the custom order arrives. But again, no tool. The guy in the shop told Louis that people don’t like to fix their own bikes here, so we don’t sell tools. Fair enough.
With 6pm approaching we had to cycle out of the city to be able to find a spot for the night. Despite nearly ending up on a dual carriageway, we were soon out and rejoined route 5. We were straight into fields and rolling hills. The route this time was on a road, so we took a turn off along a small forest road. A few hundred meters up we found a spot for the night. Set about cooking our pasta, and didn’t have a single person or car pass the entire time we cooked or ate. There was a noticeable temperature drop tonight, as we both huddled up in our coats before crashing in the cosy tent.
A great day despite the few issues, and good to be getting back into longer cycling and more KM’s ticked off. We have pretty much seen off the whole of Luxembourg in one day. The only downside is without the sun, our charging system is on it’s knees.
Daily stats
83 km. 896 m elevation gain. 5 hr 15 mins moving time
Cumulative trip stats:
685 Km. 6,279 m elevation gain. 41 hrs 33 mins moving time.
