La Chouffe
Wait, wasn’t Belgium supposed to be flat? As soon as I leave Houffalize (where, by the way, you’d better bring some warm clothes if you’re spending the night) the route takes me through kilometres of forest after forest. From narrow paths to small tracks, I feel lost in the forests of Belgium. Although these days, with the route loaded on the GPS, getting lost is quite hard to do.
Although I knew I’d be passing La Chouffe today, coming across it was still a nice little surprise. Fond of beer as I am in general, it’s funny that my first visit to a brewery should be so far from home. I took the chance to look around the brewery grounds and, of course, the gift shop. And in case anyone’s wondering… far too many kilometres ahead to have one! There’ll be time for that later.
At this point I started to come across people running, wearing race numbers. Just my luck to run into a trail race, coming the opposite way, on such narrow paths! Fortunately our paths parted before anyone got hurt, and I headed straight for La Roche-en-Ardenne, where I once again gave in to the charms of Belgian fried food for lunch. I won’t deny it, it’s a real weakness!
In the end it was a bad plan. Straight after lunch I had to face the steepest ramp of the whole route. Even with a full stomach (and how full!) I had to pedal my heavily loaded bike, and then push it, all the way to the top.
Fortunately, from there on, a string of short ups and downs on single track would leave a very good taste in my mouth.
As I get closer to Saint-Hubert, very near my destination, the sun really starts to beat down. It’s striking how hot it can get around here. The sun hits like a flamethrower, and I haven’t seen any shade for quite a while.
My plan is to stay at a campsite near Saint-Hubert. When I get there I see that, fortunately, there’s plenty of good shade and lots of free pitches.
To my surprise, I see lots of cars that seem to be coming from inside the campsite. They pull up at the restaurant by the entrance, and even at the toilets. Puzzled, I ask about it and they tell me: This campsite covers 22 hectares! I take a stroll around the campsite and, sure enough, the pitches are huge and the distances endless. Nothing like the campsites I’m used to.