Trips to the Ardennes

Trip Start Nov 14, 2008
1
5
Trip End Ongoing


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Where I stayed
Le roptai campground
(Spa hotels)

Flag of Belgium  , The Ardennes,
Thursday, October 9, 2008

I'm including two different trips to the Ardennes - what Belgium tries to pass for mountains- one of which was in the spring and one of which was in the fall. Two totally different trips- one for the sole purpose of mountain biking and one for the sole purpose of sitting in hot water and paying someone to touch my face.

The first shock after getting into the ardennes, finding our campground and getting out into the woods and hills on our bicycles was that it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! some of the spots looked like the foothills of the alps, it was so pretty. The biggest problme with the Ardennes is that they're way too crowded. People from Belgium  AND the netherlands go there - two totally overcrowded, flat countries where people are seeking some semblance of topography. So they flock to the Ardennes. The highways are crowded, as are the trains, hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, etc.

But the good news is that people in this part of the world are, by and large, incredibly lazy. We were mountain biking over a long weekend in May, equivalent to something like Memorial day weekend in the USA, a kind of kick off summer weekend, and the campground was packed (campgrounds in Europe usually have bars, restaurants, showers, cabins and general stores...) but as soon as we got on our bikes and got even 20 minutes into the hills and trees, we were all alone and it was stunning.  A mix of decidious and coniferous trees,  blue skies, puffy white clouds, lovely. If it were the same environment in an incredibly crowded area near san francisco we would have been riding all over other people, backing up on the bike trails, etc. As it happened, we had a lot of freedom to go at our own pace, which was great since  I haven't been mountain biking in years, there were lots of roots and other technical obstacles and MUD MUD MUD. We are in one of the rainiest countries out of the tropics. So I spent a lot of time off my bike. In the mud. Glad there was not a bunch of guys behind me on the trail sighing and secretly wishing girls just stuck to road biking.
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