Met my Waterloo

Trip Start May 12, 2011

Trip End May 30, 2011

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Flag of Belgium Charleroi, Hainaut, Belgium
Saturday, May 14, 2011

Prior to making the trip I was advised of the importance of starting each day with a good breakfast containing lots of protein to see me through the whole ride. Carbohydrates, it was explained, were good too, but would be used up quickly and the body would then need something else to burn, or it would turn on itself and I would start losing weight pretty fast. Well the advice proved to be very accurate, as on those days where it simply was not possible to get a breakfast including anything but carbohydrates, by mid-morning I was beginning to struggle and had no alternative but to stop and eat. So wherever available it was eggs, eggs and more eggs!

Rose at 0640 on the promise of a nice early breakfast .... only to be informed by madame that her colleague had wrongly informed me: breakfast at the weekend commences at 0800 ... grrrh!
So hit the road later than planned and once again under-estimated the 117 km distance to my next stop in Charleroi, this time by 15 km

The awesome Butte du Lion

. But I had a friendly NE wind helping me along and when I spotted a horizontal wind sock was all the more grateful that it wasn't a head wind.

Saw a large number of club cyclists out in groups, some with 30 or more riders, and all keen to shout encouragement (at least, I think that's what they were shouting!) As I travelled further south the Flemish language gave way to French and with it, rather coincidentally, the flat terrain turned to hills.

Even with a map and GPS it remains dificult to navigate into and out of large towns and cities. This day was no exception and as I rode into the outskirts of Brussels I missed a junction and the GPS went crazy and steered me straight into the heart of the city centre, on a Saturday! The place was bedlam, with weekend shoppers joined by throngs of people attending a massive carnival and rock concert in front of city hall. Roads were closed and diversions mounted, which a poor old GPS and its poor old owner found a nightmare to circumnavigate. Should have taken photos but decided to focus on where I was going, particularly on the bad surfaces of the roads and cycle ways and with so many crazy drivers.

It was a great feeling of relief to emerge out of Brussels unscathed and I stopped at a service station for a snack before heading on to Braine-L'Alleud

The Butte du Lion

. As I rode up a hill out of the town I was suddenly confronted by the awesome sight of the Butte du Lion, a huge black lion statue sitting atop a man-made hill overlooking the Waterloo battlefield (which is actually much closer to Braine-L'Alleud than the town of Waterloo, but I guess the image makers of the day figured "The Battle of Waterloo" had a much nicer and more memorable ring to it than "The battle of Braine-L'Alleud". ;)

I took the opportunity to check out some of the famous scenes of the battle, particularly the English defence line, where the system of squares each containing about 600 men, withstood the repeated charges of the massed French cavalry and finally the renowned 'old guard'.

Although the weather was fine and the temperature 19c, the brisk wind made it feel a lot cooler so I pushed on and having decided the N5 was just too dangerous, headed for Nivelles, before turning for Charleroi. The roads in Charleroi were appalling (albeit there was a great deal of work underway to construct a new tramline) and it was all I could do to stay in the saddle. So I was pleased to reach the hotel, secure my bike in one of their meeting rooms, and dived into the bath, where I set about washing my cycle gear ... well, doesn't everyone? Later found another Italian restaurant, with very friendly staff, one of whom was new and kept the customers and other staff entertained all evening with his many errors and over-the-top apologies.

Charleroi hotels Slideshow