This morning, I really didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag—it was grey and chilly outside. After procrastinating for a while, I checked the weather forecast and saw that even if I waited another hour (or three), the sun wasn’t about to make an appearance. So I pulled myself out of the relative comfort of the tent, and about forty-five minutes later, I was on the road.
Aside from feeling a bit cold—something I dislike more and more with age—the ride today was fairly leisurely. No rush today: just one brewery to visit and a campsite to find. A manageable to-do list.
The brewery in question was Achel, in Belgium. It’s located in an old monastery and, until recently, had Trappist monks overseeing the brewing process, presumably with a divine precision. Now that they’ve retired, the beer is still being brewed, but it can no longer be officially called Trappist.
Right before the gates of the monastery, there’s a line marking the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. One pedal stroke later, and I was in Belgium. These days, it’s no surprise to cross borders without control points or even signs, but 35 years ago, it was a different story. I remember driving from Brussels back to what was then still the USSR, waiting for a Schlagbaum and a border guard to appear—in vain. At least there was a sign: “Entering Netherlands.” Heading eastward, border crossings got progressively more restrictive, and by the time I reached the motherland’s border, there was a long line of cars waiting to cross.
After finishing my beer tasting, I returned to the Netherlands as effortlessly as I had left it. While sipping my beer at the brewery, I found a campsite for the night. It was a bit out of the way but reasonably priced. By around 3 p.m., I had arrived—just in time for the sun to finally show itself.
Because I cycled farther than planned yesterday, and as a knock-on effect made good progress again today, tomorrow I’ll only need to cover around sixty kilometers. Yay! (My butt is sore.) Then—a day off!
Today in numbers:
83 km – distance cycled
1846 — monks at Achel Abbey built 2.5 km-long wall to isolate themselves from the outside world only to tear it down in 1870 to interact with the local community