First week on the road

Finally, the 13th of May.

After a week and a weekend of saying goodbye, I woke up with the road calling me. The dream that was made years ago was gonna happen today. At 9 o’clock I loaded up my steel horse with the panniers and turned out of the street where I lived for 3 years. All kinds of emotions took hold of me but happiness was the biggest one of them.

The plan for day one was to cycle towards Namur. I had found a host on warmshowers for the first night. It was a great experience having a warmshower host for the first time, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. I was blessed with the weather. It was ideal cycling weather, sun shining not too warm and a little breeze. The route on the other could be better. As I was getting closer to Namur, the road got busier with trucks and the cycle paths all of a sudden disappeared. Another lesson from the first day on the road: always add 10 to 15km to the estimated cycling distance, you always get lost somewhere.

The next was going to be a special day, I would be crossing my first border. In the afternoon I reached Martelange, the last Belgian town I would be in for a while. Crossing the border was a special moment and a strange moment. From now on I was really gone, looking one more time over my shoulder to the little country of Belgium. It was also a hard day, never underestimate the (h)Ardennes, especially when carrying a fully loaded touring bike. That night I was again welcomed by a lovely warmshower host, I could camp in the garden and we had a lovely dinner together. Crossing Luxemburg was easy, in just one day I rode from the ‘far west’ of Luxemburg to the eastern border with Germany.

By then a daily routine had already taken hold. Wake up around 7 o’clock, get some breakfast, start packing and be on the bike between 8u30 and 9. It’s like a normal job, except it isn’t. It is better, every day was already better. I cycled through forests, along busy roads and flat canals, saw a lot of sunshine but also 2 days of continuous rain showers. So it isn’t always picture perfect. On the 4th day I had a really bad day. It was the first time the loneliness really kicked in. Missing Eef, my family, the comfort of home and friends. On moments like these you realise how important these people are, and just one phone call can make a world of difference. Luckily this feeling only lasted for one day, the next I already felt better, but I’m looking forward to being on the road with someone else. To make it even a little better, on the way to Salzburg it stopped raining for a brief moment. In the far distance I could see the mountains between the clouds.

After one week, I’m already ahead of my schedule. I thought I would do 500km in a week, but my total distance is already at 1100km. The thing about travelling alone is that you go faster. Since you have nobody to share a conversation with on a midday break, you quickly get back on your bike and start riding until you can pitch your tent around 16 o’clock. With 2500kms to go to Istanbul I could be there in about 3 weeks, which is too early since Eef only arrives the 1st of July. So from now on, I will take it easy, more coffee breaks, slower pace and try to stop thinking about the destination. Because it isn’t the destination it is the road towards the destination that makes the journey.

After this first hard week of riding and 2 days of rain, I decided to take two days off the bike and let the legs rest. I stayed for 3 nights in Salzburg, the hills are alive with music here. The hostel actually plays the sound of music every evening. The remaining days were spent cleaning my bike, panniers and washing my clothes. On the second day, the sun was back and I went out to visit the city of Mozart.

cycling along the Saar river between Merzig and Saarguimmes

a change of weather was about to come, for the next two days it would be raining

Salzburg

Salzburg