Europe Day 22: 55 Miles

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg to Bastogne, Belgium

Today was a slow ride due to all the ups and downs involved in traversing the landscape. There was never a long flat section to get my speed up and no rhythm or consistency to my riding. I spent most of the day on bike paths through wooded areas which was nice, but I was exhausted by the end of the day.

I got an earlier start than normal this morning, partially by plan and partially due to the 2 very inconsiderate people who were in the hostel room with me. When I got back to the room last night after dinner, I found the floor flooded from the separate shower room all the way into the bunk room. I’m not sure how they managed to do that. My towel that had been hanging up to dry was thrown in a corner and there were oversized suitcases and personal items strewn across the room. I was woken around 2:00 AM to a slamming door and again around 6:00 AM by loud conversation. I got out of bed around 7:00 and got the free breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. Somehow even though these two idiots had gone to sleep before me and woken up early to talk, they were still in bed when I left around 8:15.

I started today’s ride by walking my bike from the hostel to the center of the city. Luxembourg City is much hillier than I expected and there was no way I could pedal my loaded bike up the giant cobblestone hill. I stopped at a grocery store to pick up lunch and then headed west out of the city and into the suburbs. After 6 or 7 miles the suburbs started to turn into farmland and around mile 12, I spotted a gas station and decided to pick up some cold drinks to take with me the rest of the way. This was the first time I’ve found a good use for all my small coins paying €3.66 in exact change.

I then found myself on some nicely paved bike paths that twisted through the forest area. It was a nice change from my usual scenery but also made for difficult riding. I wasn’t gaining any elevation overall but had lots of ups and downs which tend to tire me out more than a long steady uphill would.

At one point I spotted a rather large hill ahead of me and was not looking forward to climbing it. While looking up the hill for the switchbacks I knew were to come, I instead arrived at a small tunnel which went straight through the hill. I entered the tunnel and the temperature easily dropped 20 degrees. The tunnel was almost 0.75 miles long which meant I couldn’t see the other side and had to rely on the creepy lighting to get through. The tunnel trended uphill, but it was much nicer than having to climb several hundred feet of elevation.

Once on the other side I did have some climbing to do going from about 900 feet to 1,800 feet over the course of 8 miles. I didn’t really mind this climb because it was at least consistent. I much prefer and easy grade for a long stretch than harder grades for short stretches with downhills in between. Part way through the climb I spotted a bench and sat down for lunch. It was exactly the break I needed to rehydrate and get some food in me before finishing out the day.

Somewhere around mile 38 I crossed into Belgium, the penultimate country for this trip. I was put back onto bike path through the woods, except this time the path was not paved. It started as nice crushed grave, turned into a dirt track, and finally become just a grass track. The last 10 miles of the day were extremely difficult because as I was dealing with tough terrain, I was also climbing a few hundred feet of elevation. I will have to look at tomorrow’s route. If it is like the end of today’s ride I may come up with a new plan. I could stick it out for 10 miles, but an entire day of something like that would be torture.

With 2 miles to go I finally made it to paved road again and entered the town of Bastogne. I got an Airbnb for tonight which was pricey at $86, but it is close enough that I could walk to the Bastogne War Museum. It also puts me right in the center of Bastogne and has a washer so I could do some laundry.

By the time I was settled in at the Airbnb and showered it was 4:00. I knew the museum was open until 6:00, so I didn’t think I would have any problems. I arrived around 4:20 and was told they weren’t letting anyone else in. The museum is set up as a 2 hour audio and video experience. There are 3 theaters each with 15 to 20 minute movies. You are walked between the theaters and through exhibits via an audio headset that times it perfectly, so you arrive at the next theater just before the next showing starts. I asked if I could just walk around without using the audio headset and did a self-guided tour of the museum instead. I definitely missed out on a cool experience. I was able to see 2 of the theaters and they were not the standard couple of benches and a projector like most museums I’ve been to. The video was built into what could have passed as a Broadway set. I was in one of the theaters which was set up like a café in Bastogne during the war and suddenly, the entire set lifted into the ceiling revealing a second set underneath. While this was happening, the movie was playing on multiple screens that fit seamlessly into the set pieces. I’m not a real WWII buff, so it would have been great to be fully immersed and learn more about Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge.

After my self-guided museum tour, I headed to the American Liberators Memorial right across the street from the museum. It is a really nice memorial to commemorate those Americans who fought during the Battle of the Bulge and pays tribute to all 50 states.

On my way back from the museum I stopped at a grocery store and picked up breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. It will be nice to have that out of the way so I can just start riding in the morning. I got back to the Airbnb, put the food away and then went and grabbed a quick dinner. Tomorrow I will continue to head west further into Belgium.

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Musings

• Today was a special ride paying tribute to my grandpa, Murray Satnick. Pop always referred to me as “The Professor” so he would not have been surprised that I did some research on him. I was able to find a document that outlined his army division and their timeline and actions during WWII (http://mahoney-8th-infantry.com/assets/eighth-infantry-division-a-combat-history-by-regiments-and-speci.pdf). I even found his old army photo in there. What interested me most was the hand drawn map that showed the route his division took from France into Belgium and Germany. Today’s ride was the one day where I knew I would intersect those hand drawn map lines. I can’t say for sure whether Pop’s time in the war coincided with the map I was referencing, but I know he would have loved that I was trying to connect my bike trip to his army days. I would have loved to tell him all about it.