Before I left the U.S., I sat at my work desk one day and thought to myself prior to this year of travel, I am probably going to have some really intense stories to tell that will stand out of the ordinary. Some of them crazy, while others just plain silly. I think yesterday qualified as a silly “mildly” crazy adventure. In my head it’s nowhere close to being terrible while others may thing it’s a nightmare.
Dinant is a gorgeous village that sits on two sides of the Meuse River in a valley surrounded by a gorgeous colorful landscape of farms. I stayed in an Airbnb 20 minutes by walk south of the town in a nice room in a house hosted by two of the most incredibly hospitable hosts I’ve ever had. I spend the first full day coming from Namur walking around town and enjoying views of the town from the hill top citadel. The city was also historical from WW1 where Germany destroyed the city and massacred many Belgians. I love history!
The next full day was the day of the insanity. My hosts allowed me to use their bike to ride around the area south with castles. I rode from the train station about 15 minutes into the small village where Castle the Veves is. It was closed as expected but I had a nice sandwich lunch there. From there I went hunting around for the Miranda Castle which seemed to be fenced in around the front. I told myself, I am in Belgium and I just rode uphill for 30 minutes, I am going in dammit. I found a place to hid my bike up a ridge and snuck my way in. I was very paranoid not to be caught but I did indeed find the castle. It was incredibly massive and really creepy. I walked in the front, down into the basement and up each floor, except fo the 4th which has collapsed.
The whole time i was creeped out and being as quiet as I could thinking a watchman is around the house. No, not really, it was just wind flinging around parts of the house such as doors, shutters, and former ceiling lamps. The decor is incredible as well as the interior design. It is such a shame a marvel like this from the 1860s in such terrible shape as it is. The voices I heard in the home was eventually three other urban explorers like myself whom I had the pleasure of speaking with, in English of course.
Everything after leaving that place was when all went down hill. I found my bike and attempted to make my way down that little ridge. I tried to go first and bring my bike down but instead slipped. I managed to catch myself on a stump but scrapped my leg and cut my finger. I wiped my pants clean but later realized I wiped my pants with blood. This is the second time in a week my pants get ruined my own blood. (First time i cut my finger in Namur trying to help prepare dinner for my hosts.) I managed to get my shit together and ride back down the hill towards the other castle. But instead of going back to the train station, I decide I want to take a longer bike route back to Dinant.
I don’t regret doing this as I saw some incredible serene country side on a bike seemingly alone with no one in sight. But the only problem, this was three times more uphill than the first time. Eventually I came at a point where I could go two ways. One way seemed more uphill, which I was trying to avoid. So I went left instead of right. I came at another crossroad, and chose right. This is where things get worse. I road off a road into a rocky downhill road and should have known better. I was listening to music on my phone as it flew off the bike as I was riding down. “Hey? Why’d the music stop?” Thank god for that amazing phone case for $15 right? The road eventually ended into a house. WTF? So I asked a guy in the house if there was a way to ride to Dinant from there. He pointed to where but said to be careful because of stairs and a long skinny path. I went, and yes there was some odd stairs and a long narrow path. I took the path under a national highway bridge and to another path.
But this path led to a gate. WTF? So I became a rebel and went around it, picked up the bike and everything. Further up I follow the instructions of google maps but realized that the way to connect myself and the main road, was literally to jump off the mountain. WTF again? And the road leads to a camp where it ends at the top of the road. Shit. So i go back to the gate, pick up the bike, go around and continue the path on the other side which brings me to a parking lot. (A highway rest stop). I’m thinking, there is probably no bike outlet here. So I ask someone in a car who speaks no English how to get to the other side and tells me to cross the bridge on the national highway. Mind you this really is no pedestrian bridge. This may not be legal…..so I went anyway and found myself in a small gap between a guardrail and bridge wall. I bend over to put my gopro in my backpack so it doesn’t fall and look behind me and I see the Belgian Police sitting on the side of the road with the lights on. Yep, this is totally not legal.
At that moment I could have been shitting bricks, but for one I am a foreigner, two I am lost, and all factors combined really shouldn’t land me in jail, right. Mmm not sure. So I go back to them and speak to them completely respectfully. They inform me that it is not a pedestrian bridge and is only for cars. Yep, I should have known that shit. lol. I apologize and explain to them my reason, hand over my passport. Eventually he explained that someone called them, thinking I was committing suicide, damn that unfortunately makes sense. He said he could charge me 10 Euro for the fine but let me off and told me to go back the way I could.
So they drove off and I walked back under the bridge, back through that shit trail, up the stairs and up that long uphill gravel road. I finally went down the road I should have gone in the first place and made my way down to the road along the river. The last thing that happened, was my phone fell again, this time in the road with traffic behind me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone eject off of a bike and do a 180 dragging it with them as I did. The driver behind me understood and we flagged each other down. I was glad at that point, that I was along the river with dead technology, so I can finally get my silly ass home and laugh it off with my hosts and of course have large bottom of local beer to myself. Travel baby, you gotta love it. 🙂
