Day 8 - Spa/Francorchamps

This entry should have been posted last night, but I managed to fall asleep before I had the chance to finish it. Yesterday I woke up a bit before 6.30 to a cool but dry and sunny morning. It did rain a little during the night, but not too heavily. Sleeping in the tent was nice, perhaps not as nice as a comfy couch or bed even, but still nice. The place we stayed at was actually a private, members only, caravan parking ground for the local tennis, rowing and sailing club. But they allowed us to put up our tents for one night and also let us use the toilets and showers. And it didn't even cost one cent!

Setting out a little after 9, we headed southwest in the direction of the Belgian border and the road to Malmédy. Going into the Eifel national park meant, what at least for me was, a lot of climbing. Thankfully it was a lot cooler than the previous days, with the temperature staying below 30 degrees. The steepest hill we encountered had an incline of 15% over almost 2 km. We ended up walking up most of that one, as it was way too much for me. The other ones, 7-9% over similar distances were hard but I managed to ride up them, taking brakes when I felt too exhausted to continue. The stunning scenery we've enjoyed throughout the day, together with the euphoria of flying down serpentine roads at speeds up to 60 kmh, made up for climbing all those hills.

Stopping in Monschau was a great idea. The old town has been beautifully restored to lure any and all tourists passing through this picturesque valley.

I don't think we're in Kansas.. erm, I mean Germany, anymore. Actually I know we're not, cause we're in Belgium! Somewhere between Francorchamps and Stavelot, 10 or so kilometers from the Spa/Francorchamps Formula 1 circuit. We didn't go to the track last night, but chose instead to look for, and find, a nice campsite. 8€ each bought us the right to pitch our tents right next to a stream and also to have a shower.

Soon after crossing the border, I noticed my rear wheel was untrue again. We stopped to have a look only to realise I had snapped yet another spoke. I adjusted the tension in the nearest ones so that I could continue, but we will have to get to a bike shop soon to get it fixed. Perhaps picking up a few extra spokes wouldn't be such a bad idea..

...

Today: 101,79 km, 5h42m57s, 17,81 kmh avg, 60,6 kmh max.
Tour total: 750,82 km.