This morning I cycled to Boulogne first. I had once taken a ferry from there to the UK and remembered that some parts were quite nice. Well I was wrong. Or at least I did not find the nice parts.
The same goes for Calais. At least there is a lighthouse:
Both cities are industrial. And there is nothing much to see (or I did not find it).
At least up until Calais the surroundings where quite nice. You could see the english coast quite well from the top of the hills. And there were quite a few of them. When trying to climb the very last hill, my first first gear gave up and I had to push the bike all the way up.
Not a fun activity. But this is the last steep climb I had to do until I get home (I hope at least).
Most of the remaining journey is through completely flat territory.
The flat territory has different challenges. Starting with Gravelines up until Dunkirk progress was very slow cycling through the cities. Signposts were sometimes there, but most of the time missing. And many of the streets/cycling paths have fallen into disrepair.
Since this is not challenging enough, city planners come up with creative ideas:
You are supposed to slip your bike through the part on the left side. The right side is movable so pedestrians can pass one by one. The whole construction screams "Don't use this path", so I did not, even though a french guy offered to help me carry the bike accross.
Sometimes I really wonder if those people have lost their marbles.
Another highlight was the EV4 leading through a petting zoo full of parents with small children. I don't think mixing small children fixated on animals and randomly changing direction when they spot something new with travelling cyclists on a narrow path is a great idea.
Leaving Dunkirk the cycling path is again based on an old railway track. That works better, allthough there was a lot of cycling/foot traffic on the path.
After crossing the border to Belgium I stopped at the first available camp site.
Tomorrows first target is Brugge. Depending on how much time I spend there I will probably make it to Ghent as well. I'm now somewhat confident that I will make it home on my own three wheels.
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