53 to Aachen

🇬🇧 English version below 

Tour data: Distance 140.96 kilometers (cum. 4,343 kilometers), Ø 21.0 km/h, travel time 6:42 hours, total ascent 1,040 m

Weather: sunny and hot, wind mostly from the left or from the front, but moderate

To get to Aachen from Brussels, you have to drive through the Netherlands again. The border crossing was noticed primarily by the fact that the cycle paths became wider and more beautiful again. Yesterday, I didn't feel comfortable on the Belgian cycle paths. Most of the time, they are so narrow that overtaking or crossing is impossible. I have ridden over 4,000 kilometers in the past 8 weeks and have not had or seen an accident. However, today I saw 3 accidents on the Belgian cycle paths. In the first one, it seemed that a cyclist rode into the side of a car, in the second one, a woman with a child trailer was involved on the other side of the road, and in the third one, the motorist was already on the phone while the cyclist sat on the ground, slightly shocked, with a bruised knee. These 3 scenarios have made me think, and I suspect that these bike paths have contributed a lot to this. How glad and grateful I am that I have never had an incident so far.

How glad and grateful I am that I have never had an incident so far. It is simply important to look ahead and anticipate mistakes from others. It also requires a lot of luck and maybe sometimes a guardian angel.

Brussels, like most big cities, is chaotic and has a lot of traffic, especially in the morning. I didn't even notice when the city ended and the outskirts began. Everything is so interconnected and built up that there was no noticeable difference. In any case, I was happy when I finally got back into nature after well over an hour, leaving the noise, hustle and bustle, and smell behind.

I had a big tour planned for today. My destination was Aachen, the first place in Germany. However, since I didn't have anything booked, as usual, I wasn't under pressure and could have given up earlier at any time. But I'm an ambitious person and would only do that if it really wasn't possible anymore.

Overall, I was on the road for over 9 hours today, including breaks, shopping, and taking photos. However, photography was somewhat neglected because taking each photo also takes time, which I simply don't have on such a tour.

I would like to highlight two places. The first one is Sint-Truiden with the beautiful rest area and the fun hut floating in the air. And the second one is the Cathedral (Basilique Notre-Dame) in Tongeren, which I found particularly beautiful and where I had an ice cream.

The hotel I found today is unstaffed but very nice. The room is 35 m2 and equipped very well for my needs. In any case, I feel comfortable here.

https://www.komoot.de/tour/1153751142?ref=itd

E N G L I S H

Tour data: Distance 140.96 kilometers (cum. 4,343 kilometers), Ø 21.0 km/h, travel time 6:42 hours, total ascent 1,040 m

Weather: sunny and hot, wind mostly from the left or from the front, but moderate

To get from Brussels to Aachen, you have to drive through the Netherlands again. The border crossing was noticed above all by the fact that the cycle paths became wider and more beautiful again. Yesterday I didn't feel comfortable on the Belgian cycle paths. Mostly they are so narrow that overtaking or crossing is impossible. I myself have driven over 4,000 kilometers in the past 8 weeks and have neither had nor seen an accident. Today, however, I just saw 3 accidents on the Belgian cycle paths. At the first, it appeared that a cyclist drove into the side of a car, at the second, on the other side of the road, a woman with a child trailer was involved, and at the third, the motorist was already on the phone and the cyclist sat on the ground, a little shocked, with a bruised knee. These 3 scenarios have given me something to think about and I suspect that these bike paths have contributed a lot to that. How glad and thankful I am that I have never had an incident until now.

How happy and grateful I am that I have never had an incident before. It is simply important that you look ahead and expect mistakes from others. You also need a lot of luck and maybe sometimes a guardian angel.

Brussels, like probably most big cities, is chaotic and has a lot of traffic, especially in the morning hours. I didn't even notice when the city ended and the periphery began. It's all so tightly connected and overbuilt that you couldn't tell the difference. In any case, I was happy when, after well over an hour, I was finally outside in nature again and the noise combined with the hustle and bustle and stench was behind me.

I have a big tour planned for today. My destination was Aachen, the first place in Germany. But since I hadn't booked anything, as is usually the case, I wasn't under pressure and could have canceled earlier at any time. But I'm an ambitious person and would only do it if it really wasn't possible anymore.

Overall, I was out and about for over 9 hours today, including breaks, shopping and taking photos. Although the photography was rather neglected, because every photo costs time, which I simply don't have on such a tour.

I would like to highlight two places. The first is Sint-Truiden with the beautiful place to make a rest and the fun hut floating in the air. And the second is the Cathedral (Basilique Notre-Dame) in Tongeren, which I found particularly beautiful and where I ate an ice cream.

The hotel I found today, although unstaffed, is very nice. The room has 35 m2 and is very well equipped for my needs. In any case, I feel good here.