Jim & Lisa’s 2019 Tour

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Traveler Jim & Lisa’s 2019 Tour
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- Jun 23, 2019
- ⛅ 23 °C
- Altitude: 388 m
- Belgium Wallonia Arlon Birel 49.673733, 5.82784349°40’25” N 5°49’40” E
Day 29
Arlon, Belgium
June 23, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
A relaxing morning in Luxembourg City. We left the hotel at 11:00 AM. We at breakfast in the hotel room and enjoyed sleeping in. We casually toured around the city center and eventually found an event with free food, beverages, and a fun band that was hosted by the Luxembourg government / military. At 4:00 PM we headed to Arlon, Belgium. Our host Seb took us to a local street stand for traditional Belgian fries with gravy and cheese. I also had a deep fried sausage thing and Lisa had a veggie burger. After dinner Lisa and I took a short walk and we returned to Seb’s for a taste off Maitrank (a traditional drink made from bad white wine, oranges, sugar, and a special leaf only found in May. Only three days of riding left, and the weather forecast is for heat! 22.5 miles /1090 ft / 1487 total miles.Read more
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- Jun 25, 2019
- ⛅ 27 °C
- Altitude: 366 m
- Belgium Wallonia Vielsalm 50.28511, 5.91437850°17’6” N 5°54’52” E
Day 31
Viesalm, Belgium
June 25, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Vielsalm: It is hard to explain how every day of cycling seems to have the same structure, but so much diversity that it makes it “the best day ever.” Does this sound fun? We woke up in a stranger’s House, Proceeded to how to make coffee and ate some day-old bread before riding nearly 70 miles in 90° heat. We had a climbs that were over 15% gradient, and and sandwiches and old potato chips for lunch. Later we tried to find our host house, and went to the wrong house and could not communicate with the resident as they only spoke French. This may not sound the best, but it is the best part of bicycle touting... Routine, uncomfortableness, diversity, adventure...and lots of laughs! In the morning we had picturesque views along the Belgian-Luxembourg border. The weather was getting hot when we reached Bastogne, were we would join the race route of the 2019 Liège-Bastogne-Liège race route. Only two major climbs today and nine tomorrow! Our day ended in Viesalm with a rest st a gazebo on the lake and then dinner and an evening walk with our host Violette and her family. We had a fun time without the family and a great night of sleep!Read more
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- Jun 25, 2019
- ⛅ 30 °C
- Altitude: 155 m
- Belgium Wallonia Liège Province Sainte-Marguerite 50.650146, 5.57910850°39’1” N 5°34’45” E
Day 31
Liège, Belgium
June 25, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
We rode the last 60 miles of the 2019 Liège-Bastogne-Liège race route which included nine grueling climbs in over 90° heat. I think it was our hardest day of the tour! 60 miles with over 6000 ft of climbing. We made it to our Hotel in Liège near 4pm. The hotel was nicely located in the city center, but didn’t have A/c. After cleaning up we took a hot stroll through the center and stopped for a few drinks and snacks. Our host Violette from the previous night came with here boyfriend Coco to have dinner and give us another evening walking tour of Liège. For dinner I had a traditional meatball with brown sweet gravy on frites. It was delicious. Our evening walk included the 374-step staircase of Montagne de Bueren for a beautiful view over Liège. Tomorrow is an easier day and we return to Mol to pack the bikes. 🙁Read more
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- Jun 26, 2019
- ⛅ 22 °C
- Altitude: 24 m
- Belgium Flanders Mol Gompel 51.187351, 5.15522251°11’14” N 5°9’19” E
Day 32
Mol, Belgium
June 26, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Last day of riding! 🙁 We got a casual start in the morning with breakfast in the hotel room while listening to the garbage collection and street cleaning of the city center. 😬 We proceeded to Tongeren, BE, the oldest city in Belgium (54 BCE.) posing be the statue of the bravest Belgian in history, Ambiorix, who defeated the occupation of the Romans. Later near Hasselt, BE, we stared riding into the wind along the canal. The winds and detours along the canal made for a tougher day than we hoped for. We stopped about 10 miles from Mol for a final pit stop, and reached Mol around 5 PM. Peter and Kristein treated us to a fabulous dinner at Piccolo and we had a relaxing evening at the B&B.Read more
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- Jun 27, 2019, 1:17 PM
- ☀️ 22 °C
- Altitude: 22 m
- Belgium Flanders Steenokkerzeel Melsbroek Brussels Airport 50.893562, 4.46128850°53’37” N 4°27’41” E
Day 33
Brussels Airport, Belgium
June 27, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
A short tour of Mol in the morning after breakfast at Molmento B&B. We visited Jos at his shoe shop and had some Belgian Fries at the sidewalk sales festival. A lot of logistics to get to the airport hotel, and now packing the bicycle boxes which will definitely be over the weight limit. Tomorrow we fly to Chicago and Doug will drive us to Iowa City. It’s always hard to leave Mol!Read more
Ulrich Wolff Hi, Jim and Lisa! Glad you had a great trip and hope, you had a safe flight back home to Iowa. Hope to be in the US again for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_…, if not earlier. See you then! Ulrich and Heidi
6/28/19Reply
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Traveler Jim & Lisa’s 2019 Tour
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- Jun 28, 2019, 2:54 AM
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 35 m
- Belgium Flanders Steenokkerzeel Melsbroek Brussels Airport 50.903084, 4.48483150°54’11” N 4°29’5” E
Day 34
HOME (Some Final Thoughts)
June 28, 2019 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
1. People are really nice if you give them the chance.
2. Pet owners in Europe are much more responsible, and the dogs are so well behaved.
3. European drivers are much kinder to cyclists!
4. Wine, beer, cheese, chocolate, pastries, bread, homemade items, yogurt, cherries, sausages, fries 🍟, ice creams, etc.
5. 1,700 miles / 2,700 km / 28 days cycling / 1 rest day
6. 7 countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
/ 4 hotels / 4 CouchSurfing / 19 Warmshowers / 1 other.
7. 0 complete days of rain / 1 puncture / 1 broken pump / 1 donated pump (thanks Ulrich) / 0 crashes / 0 items lost
8. National Day in Luxembourg City was a blast with great fireworks
9.European people we were around were very proud of there homemade goods and gardens
10. Toughest day: Vielsalm, BE to Liège, BE (hot and hilly) or Silvretta Pass in Austria (cold and hilly)Read more
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Jim & Lisa’s 2019 Tour

Arlon, Belgium

Viesalm, Belgium

Liège, Belgium

Mol, Belgium

Brussels Airport, Belgium

HOME (Some Final Thoughts)