20th June 2007 GR129

The weather forcast was almost right: up to 25 C. I went this time alone without Simone nor the dog. I drove to Kruishoutem in Belgium and parked the bike at the to the crossing of the GR with the N494 drove on to the crossing of the 128 and 129 near Aarsele and started in bright sunshine on concrete roads along numerous houses. The countryside had a quiet atmosphere but there was nothing spectacular to be seen.

I arrived after 13,3 km at Kruishoutem and decided to walk on to the place where the GR crosses the N459 just north-east of Oudenaarde. Since 95% of the path was paved I took the bike with me. The landscape changed and became slightly hilly and less built up. We passes a castle and an old dismembered mill. The sun shone relentless and the temperature rose to 29C. I started to run out of water. So I knocked at a door and a friendly person understood my request for the precious fluid. In the mean time I walked 30 km and drank 1 l of water and ate a big apple. I guess that this amount is insufficient. So, another lesson was learnt. Fortunatly after getting the extra supply of water I hit road N 459 and mounted the bike to speeded up to the starting point of my trip. The fierce wind helped me. In Opsele I could not withstand the attraction of a big sing advertising Leffe so I visited a local pub. The rest of the trip went fast and I felt very pleased to get to my car at 16.00.

Total distance on GR129: 29,3 km
Uphill: 230 m. Time needed: 6.30 hours.

Personal rating: *** . The stretch north of Kruishoutem: *