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Nyborg -> Roskilde
Distance (km) : 75
Time on bike : 4h 11m
Brutto time: 09.30 – 15.15
Avg : 17.1 km/h
Max.speed: 31.0
Total (km) : 62.148
Altitude: 20 m
Difficulty: 2½

Middelfart -> Nyborg
Distance (km) : 75
Time on bike : 4h 35m
Brutto time: 11.50 – 19.05
Avg : 16.2 km/h
Max.speed: 30.1
Total (km) : 62.084
Altitude: 10 m
Difficulty: 3½

It’s been quite a while since I went out for dinner with my parents last time. More than 3 years. Vietnam seems sooo far away now.

Late in the evening there’s a knocking at the front door. Childhood friends, Jens (of earlier WT-fame) and Thomas surprisingly drop in for a happy chat and a cold beer. Wonderful and how I’ve missed just hanging out with good friends, speaking my native tongue, cracking jokes and sharing anecdotes together.

I wonder if he’s missed me as much as I’ve missed him?

Most of the day’s spent trying to get organized, re-packing my beloved bike bags for tomorrow’s take-off, leaving everything behind that I don’t absolutely need, and stocking up on off-bike clothes for my arrival (and first weeks/months?) in Copenhagen.

Being reunited with my old wardrobe anno April 2006 is a feat that cannot be overestimated - and is all part of my on-going process of becoming a “normal” (or less Lycra-clad, at least) citizen again.

WT-media-wise, the highlight of the day is Line, a journalist from the Danish newspaper Fyens Stiftstidende, who pays me a visit at home with her photographer Asbjørn for a longer interview (come back shortly for the article, in Danish only).

I had a few minutes to spare before the border crossing into Denmark, scheduled at 12PM. And I needed a little something to take care of those butterflies inside of me…

For now, you’ll have to imagine all the emotions that went through my head at this point, just 100 meters from the isolated Danish border post. Suffice it to say, it was a salty, strong moment for me. Unforgettable.

Happily back in Denmark.

For months I’d been waiting for this moment…and true friendship rarely disappoints.

When you have this…

…you usually get this…

Having been on the road for - what time-wise corresponds to - a whopping 200 consecutive charter holidays was worth a bit of celebration. And it made it easier to justify another ridiculously expensive night at a German gasthaus…

Number of times I fell off the bike on this stretch of icy roads: 3

Shooting in a German bäckerei (bakery)…

Day 1.395 – 02FEB2010: Oostrum -> Enschede
Distance (km) : 122
Time on bike : 5h 40m
Brutto time: 09.10 – 16.15
Avg : 21.6 km/h
Max.speed: 38.0
Total (km) : 61.481
Altitude: 70 m
Difficulty: 3

Dutch Word of the Day: Bromfiets (=scooter. (Fiets=bicycle, Brom=the sound of a scooter)

Day 1.394 – 01FEB2010: Zonhoven (B) -> Oostrum (NL)
Distance (km) : 102
Time on bike : 5h 34m
Brutto time: 10.10 – 17.30
Avg : 18.3 km/h
Max.speed: 32.9
Total (km) : 61.359
Altitude: 100 m
Difficulty: 3½

Text missing for now…

Text missing for now…

The Walk…

Though part of me is itching to get back to Denmark, to get this WT-thing over and done with, hanging out with Sofie here in Zonhoven (east of Hasselt, northeastern Belgium) - which will only be my second and last stop-over in tiny Belgium - has paused me for a moment, and, really, there’s no rush getting back.

With nigh on 1.400 days in the bag, what’s another few days?

Such a lovely dad (thank you so much, Papa Jan)…

Weird Belgian signposting…

At night Sofie and I go to the movies in neighboring Genk, then a quick kebab in Hasselt through the snowstorm (above). All good!

Indoor comforts are supremely on the agenda today. I don’t leave the house today at all. Don’t take pity on me. It’s exactly how I wanted it to be. Tennis semi-finals from Melbourne keep me glued to the TV set all morning.

I have a long chat with Sofie’s Papa Jan - a Jack of all trades, as Sofie said - about his seafaring youth on the Seven Seas e.g. Papa Jan even dismantles the Dannebrog on my bike and gives a good scrub and wash. Very kind.

The TLC makes the flag real red and alive as when Carolyne made it in Adelaide in 2007…

Chilling with Sofie (and her family), sharing stories about our love for (almost) everything Australia, watching a movie…it all eats away the afternoon. Feeling very good here.

Day 1.390 – 28JAN2010: Namur -> Zonhoven
Distance (km) : 111
Time on bike : 6h 04m
Brutto time: 09.45 – 17.30
Avg : 18.1 km/h
Max.speed: 35.3
Total (km) : 61.257
Altitude: 120 m
Difficulty: 4

Leaving Namur proper turns out to be more complicated than expected. In town I manage to find the bike route (Ravel) that Nicolas recommended last night. It’s snowcovered though, so I opt for the road running parallel to it, hoping things will stay parallel. Bad choice. Gradually, the main road veers off the bike track, up to a 150-200 m plateau north of Namur, leaving me in smalltown territory, with no map, and no way of navigating with the sun since the sky’s cloudy and lousy.

After 16 km cycling I suddenly recognize a shop sign that I passed 45 minutes earlier, just 3 km north of Namur, and realize that I’ve been cycling in circles (well, just one circle, but that was more than enough). Frustrating. Especially, since I have a rare appointment today and I’m already running late.

Sofie has invited me to come and stay with her and her family in Zonhoven. Halfway between Namur and Zonhoven we’re supposed to meet up in Landen at 1PM from where we’ll ride back to her house. I hate being late, so for the next 3 hours solid I just kick the pedals hard (my knee luckily agrees to this plan) and focused, and make it just in time, with the biggest hole in my stomach.

I’ve now entered the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, and this province, Limburg, is literally plastered with fine-fine cycling paths. Sofie’s done her homework and we stay on mostly car-free bike tracks all the way home (ca. 55 km).

Sitting in In De Zwaan Restaurant near Hasselt (Belgium) just a few hours after we’ve met, it feels like I’ve known Sofie much longer. It’s great company, the atmosphere’s right, and the food’s super delicious (and plentiful - Hungry Wolf likes). And did I mention the Westmalle?

In Zonhoven I get my own room, complete with TV, wifi, DVD, elevation bed (love it!), and it all feels wicked. Will stay some days here, I’m sure…

After a good, solid gnocchi lunch with Nicolas and Sophie in a Italian restaurant, I head off for a bit of sightseeing. Namur’s impressive citadel is on top of most tourists’ agenda in town, I guess. Rightly so…

My left knee was somewhat sore this morning so I turn to the trusty Ibuprofen again (the last dose this time around). I’m pretty careful walking up the stairs to the citadel and as long as I keep the grandpa speed, things are all right.

I hardly meet other people on the massive citadel, and the joy of sniffing around foreign towns is back, full-on.

Nicolas, Sophie, and Raja all know perfectly how to make you feel at home (less so, when Raja is in his warrior-must-destroy-all-mode). I really love it here and feel sad that the departure’s waiting at the other end of tonights’ sleep…