Blog from Luxembourg, October 5, 2008

Philippe and Jamie on the road in Belgium!

A quick update from my hibernation period here in Luxembourg. I just had another magical and totally blessed expedition in Belgium but the engines are off and I’m officially in hibernation and recharge mode through Paris…

But, a quick blog entry is no sweat from here in a warm café as the rain and winds blow outside….

After my Brussels adventures with Freek and Fiona, it was time to take it to the roads of Belgium with my good friend Philippe. Philippe s a Belgian chap who I had not seen in over six years since our 5-day expedition in China in 2002. We both were looking forward to meeting up and turns out he has a year or more off work and was free to play!

Below are a few pics of our adventure in China in 2002….

Philippe and I on Day 2 of our China Adventures, 2002

Philippe loving the locals, China 2002

Philippe and I eating honey after running out of food in highlands of China, 2002

So I met Philippe and his girlfriend Katrien at their funky pad in Wevelgem where they cooked me an amazing meal and hosted me the night before our journey. Our plan was a 3-day cross country trip to Luxembourg and the first day was about a 115km journey. Philippe had made a trip to the library and had detailed maps of the entire route including side roads, cycling roads and all sorts of options. The weather was foul as ever when we woke up, but by the time we were out pedaling it was clearing with a strong tail wind!

Philippe 6 years later at his pad, preparing lunch for the ride east

The first day of cycling was bliss—long chats along car free canals, through charming Belgian villages, stopping in the enchanting Tournai for lunch and off to Mons for sunset. The sun came out, the winds were mostly behind us and the scenery stunning. The same day we departed a big article came out in a major paper and all day I was getting thankful and positive SMS messages from friendly Belgians wishing us luck. It was a magical day.

The rain clears and we celebrate in a fountain in Tournai

The cycling lanes disappeared at the end of the first day and more industrial, larger cities were on the horizon so we decided to hit the hills, smaller roads and the famous monastery of Orval to the south east of Belgium. We hopped a train to move us forward a bit and out of the madness and arrived in the small town of Libramont and pedaled south in the pouring rain, cold and wind towards Orval. Unlike the day before, the weather was downright nasty. We had cold feet, freezing hands and the rain made it hard to see the stunning scenery we came down to see.

Philippe praying to Mary and Jesus for a break in the rain

Just as we climbed yet another massive hill there was a statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus where we decided to rest. Philippe and I both said a prayer to stop the crazy rain and wind and just as we did the rain stopped. Not only did it stop, but the sun came out almost completely! We continued our mission to Orval in total sunshine but it was still very, very cold.

When we arrived at Orval our mission was to have the Monks host us at the monastery and to try some of their famous monk brewed beer. We were blessed to meet Pere Bernard (Father Bernard) who loved the Peace Pedalers idea and invited us to eat with the nuns, fathers and other retreat attendees in total silence. The meal was divine—with fresh couscous, monk-made cheese and yes, even a yummy Orval beer! We were in heaven. After dinner they gave us our own room in the Monastery and where we slept like babies full of gratitude!

The Orval Monastery was stunning...


Father Bernard bids us farwell as we pedal towards Luxembourg

The last day of cycling was yet another magical one with. We set off into cloudy but rain-free skies where we did a beautiful filming session just before the skies opened up and started raining. We had an 80km ride to Luxembourg planned and it was all going great until I noticed that the chain kept skipping in the higher gears and we were almost unable to ride. Upon further investigation this bike needed some serious attention and we were in a tiny Belgian village.

I needed a few tools to do an operation on my hub so I knocked on 6 doors, soaking wet, full of grease on my hands, looking a bit dodgy indeed. All 6 houses either were not there or the housewife refused to let me in to search their husbands tools for a big wrench and 5mm allen key. But the 7th house a man answered and directed me to his garage where, of all things, a foldable tandem bike! When I told Patrick about my trip his eyes lit up and he told me has not just one but TWO TANDEMS in his garage! We were both quite amazed.

Phillipe and I so so grateful for our ride to Luxembourg after a nasty bike breakdown

But it gets better and the Peace Pedalers rainbow came out in full affect here. The bad news is that we were unable to fix the hub and it would need some serious help to get rolling again. Patrick was just about ready to bid me farewell and told me how to get to the train station when I invited him down to see my tandem for himself. He put on his raincoat and joined me to come meet Philippe and check the tandem. When he and Philippe started talking together in Flemish they both started laughing and smiling and were getting along so so well. Turns out that Patrick is from a town just 5km from where Philippe lives and Philippe even knows his brother! Crazy stuff, eh?

Patrick was not going to let us ride to the train station 15km away with a bum hub so offered to drive us in his station wagon. But by the time he arrived he was having so much fun in this process that he offered to take us all the way to Luxembourg! Go rainbow go!

Patrick so happy to take us all the way to Luxembourg!

Philippe and I treated ourselves to a hotel room, showered up and hit town after a nice party at a friend of Freek’s named Eva and her crew from Slovakia and all over Europe. Our last evening was full of great times, dancing and cool people. Philippe left yesterday and when he left I realized just how tired I really was. I decided to hit hibernation mode, a suggestion made by my Dutch friend Karen and an intuitive feeling I’ve had for several weeks, so I’m doing that now…Got a few more days left and off to hit the tent in a campground now…

Cheers from Philippe and Jamie in Luxembourg!

Over n out from Luxembourg I’m not going to be bringing you much from here so come see it for yourself. It’s pretty darn cool as well!

Live Big. Give Big. Love Big.

Binks