Netherlands/Belgium Bike Tour Day 10: Brugge to Gent
Posted by Cassie, November 11th, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Belgium was not as bike-friendly as the Netherlands. There were very few bike paths, so we spent most of our time riding along roads. Unlike the drivers in the Netherlands, the Belgian drivers were not courteous to bikers at all. Almost everyone drove like maniacs, acting like they were race car drivers. They did not move over for bike riders at all. We pulled over to the side of the road when a car passed us. The drivers were even crazy on the quiet, country roads through the farms. We would be relaxed from riding along a quiet country lane when suddenly a car would come barreling down the road out of nowhere and refuse to slow down or move over for us. We had to quickly pull over to the side or get run over. In the Netherlands, most people would ride their bike to get around, so there were fewer cars on the roads. Belgium was designed more for car traffic, and we saw more big roads in Belgium than we did in all of the Netherlands.
We spent most of the day riding through cornfields, which was a little ridiculous considering that we came from Iowa. 🙂 We felt like we were on a European RAGBRAI.
Riding through cornfields in Belgium
We stopped for lunch along the only bike path of the day, and there were a bunch of goats and sheep grazing on the side of the bike path. Some of the goats would get up on their hind legs and balance themselves on the small, lower branches to eat the leaves of the trees. At one point, one goat was on its hinds legs eating from the tree, and two other goats put their front hooves on the back of the first goat so that they could also reach the leaves on the trees. It was hilarious to watch! It was like they were trying to do a cheerleading trick. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get my camera out in time to get a picture of it.
We spent most of the day following the canal that goes from Brugge to Gent, and we saw several big barges going along the canal.
Barge going down Brugge - Gent canal
The campground where we stayed in Gent was really nice. It was the first campground that had numbered campsites for tents. Every other campground was set up mostly for caravans, and they just had a field where you could put your tent anywhere. Our campsite was separated from the other campsites by a row of bushes, and we even had our own picnic table. The campground was in a hugh sports and recreation complex with indoor tennis courts, squash courts, indoor ski park, sports fields, and miniature golf. We arrived at the campsite early in the afternoon, so we had some fun and played a round of miniature golf. The miniature golf course was challenging. One of the holes had a little ramp, and you had to hit the ball across a little ravine. The holes used the same material that is used for outdoor tracks, so there was not much friction to stop the ball from rolling. This made the course even more challenging. There were several times where we barely hit the ball, and it bounced outside of the hole.
Campsite at Gent
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