LKR: Brussels to Antwerp: Unraveling the numbers

Leaving Brussels on Sunday morning worked brilliantly! There was very little traffic Sunday morning at 11 when we finally departed the hostel – all on our bikes for the first time. The empty streets lent themselves well to our group of 11 riders (Seth and Maria drove the van the first day) as we navigated through the city to the bike path that lead north. Laurie and Ryan did an excellent job of navigating, and as we continued we began to notice the numbers that marked intersections of various bike routes. We were later to find that these numbers were the key to unraveling Belgium’s wonderful network of bike paths and trails! And these numbers then meant that our group could split, allowing members to ride at their own pace, and find their way should they decide to deviate for a beer along the way! To discover the wonder of this network that a progressive Belgian politician put forth many years ago, check out: http://www.fietsnet.be/routeplanner/default.aspx


It didn’t take long for our group to fall into a groove that I can only assume is typical of bike touring groups. We rode primarily single file in more heavily trafficked areas, passing down our line the phrase to be communicated at the time of importance… “stopping” or “car back” or “car front” or “slowing” would get sung down from lead to rear, and hands might get flicked on the left or right to warn the biker behind of some pot-hole or other hazard. It was fun to watch our group from the back as we approached stop lights or intersections… like dominoes we would fall to the left or right of our bikes as each of us unclipped our preferred foot to lean at the stop – and though our group was large, there was also for me a sense of safety in our critical mass, for often, like it or not, traffic let us pass and for the most part allowed us to stay together.

We also met other friendly creatures along the way...

For lunch, we stopped in Mechelen – worth mentioning for the interesting fact that Mechelen “boasts the world’s most prestigious school of campanology (bell ringing) and is home to a cathedral topped by the country’s heaviest carillon.” True to form, everyone also ordered a new beer at lunch – never an opportunity to try a new one was to be wasted.

Settling for the evening in Antwerp included the prerequisite beer appetizer, and then the hunt for an eatery that served something different then omelets or ham and cheese on toast. We settled on a kabob shop… Seth, thanks again for the leftovers! And Ryan, thanks for enduring your standard late night fare once again for the sake of the group.

-Neat story about Antwerp: “Legend tells of Druon Antigoon, a giant, who lived at the bend of the Scheldt and forced passing shipmasters to pay a toll. Those who refused losta hand. Along came silvius Brabo, a Roman worrior, who killed the giant, chopped off his hand and chucked it in the river. Hand werpen (hand throwing) subsequently evolved into Antwerpen (Antwep).