EBT Chapter 1 - To Paris

We planned to cover the Netherlands the first day, since it's flat, and We've seen a fair bit of it in the past 6 months. A friend in Antwerpen offered us a place to stay, and we wanted to see the Delta Works Barriers, so we took the coast route from Delft toward Vlissingen. The ride was pretty, since there's some nice green space in the south of the Netherlands, but the wind along the coast was fierce, especially over the barriers. After 117 km, we took a train from Middleburg to Antwerpen - we were spent.

The Oosterscheldt Barrier!

The next morning we went to get a map and contact our Couchsurfing reference in Mons, which took a lot of running around. Eventually we got out of town, but by the time we got to Brussels it was getting into late afternoon and we were still feeling the previous day, so we took the train to Mons. The Couchsurfing host there was a psychotherapist who uses board games in his work with children, and he had an Amazing collection, so we played some games :) He was definitely a Comicon kind of guy - all the games, plus he's a Pop Artist and an author and publisher of indie graphic novels.

Forest through which we cycled

Crossing the border!

From Mons we proceeded South toward Saint-Quentin. After about 80 km we decided to camp and found a farmhouse where they let us stay in some of their extra space and use their water. Our first night camping! There was an old dog there who immediately made friends with us.

Camping!

We cycled on to Soisson the next day, which was pretty nice, except for the last stretch. That part was along a pretty big road, and there were quite a few big trucks rolling by, which isn't much fun on a heavy bike, since the pressure and wind variations can push you in weird ways. We stayed with another CS host, and this guy took us to a Crepe place - yum!

On the road! Taking a quick break for food.

From Soisson we headed due west toward Campiégne. About half way there we broke south into the forest to get to Pierrefonds, which is down in a sort of valley. As we wound down into the valley, we swept around a corner to see a beautiful castle overlooking a lake - sweet :). We had lunch, toured the castle, and headed back out of the valley. Approaching Campiégne we found a beautiful forest cycling path. Near the city we stopped at the clearing where the WWI armistice was signed (there's an intense monument and the train car where the document was signed). Then we caught a train from Campiégne to Paris!

Castle at Pierrefonds

Armistice Memorial

In Paris we arrived at Gare du Nord and cycled to Marcio's friend's place near La Défence... at 5pm on a Friday... That was a wild ride, but it's mid-August, so much of the normal population of Paris is on Holiday, so it was actually quite reasonable. We passed the Arc de Triomph, Marcio's cycling dream for years. We met his friend, had dinner, then went out to a bar with her and a bunch of folks from Delft who happened to be in town the same weekend - wow!

The following day was a rest day, so we just hung out in Paris. Marcio got a replacement part for his cycling computer and an iPhone, which has been a real boon, since it gives us access to maps and CS without having to stop in a city for wifi. That evening we went to a Brasilian barbecue with some of our host's friends. It's just a constant flow of meat, beer, rice etc., and conversation. It was a pretty nice atmosphere.

The Arc