Solo Cycling Europe | EP4 The Windy Opal Coast

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Episode 4 of my 2,200km solo bicycle tour across Europe begins on the coastline bordering Belgium and France – a windy and challenging terrain.

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📍 ROUTE: London → Netherlands → Belgium → France → Germany → Switzerland → Italy

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Greetings from the other side. I am in Austin and I’ve decided to set off the next leg of my journey starting from the beach. bridge is closed. But look, it’s revolving. It’s moving. Is it going to open? So, first thing I discovered in the coastline Austin was a fort. It’s like Napoleon Dynamite. Fort Napoleon. And it looks like unlike the last fort, there is no school trip going on this time. So, I’m going to walk right on in. Another thing I didn’t notice when I Funny thing, the fort was converted into a rooftop bar. Strange. But these statues were the most interesting thing I found. We found him. There he is. Napoleon himself. And I went on to have a little seaside fun. And my favorite thing to do was to weave around people on these boardwalks. I’m actually riding from Belgium into France. So, let’s go and see what the road has in store for us. Yeah. Some areas were nice and some were just plain unmaintained. Yeah, I’m going back. And this is where things get tricky. Along these coastal trails, you’ll find these sand pits, almost like jungle pitfalls. And of course, my tires can’t push through them, so I’m walking my bike. Overall though, riding these trails was really fun and eventually I made it into France. successfully ordered a croissant and some other pastry. I don’t even know what it is from a French bakery. So, it’s pretty cool. So, of course, we’ve got to work off those pastries. Only one way to do that. Kicking things off with those leg raises, baby. Pulling up on some ladders for the lats. Back problems will never be an issue here. It’s pretty elaborate for an outdoor gym. And if you ride around locally, you might find one of these in your own neighborhood. It was pretty common to find myself riding on sidewalks or on the road with cars. Hang on, I’ll just get off the middle of the road. I really had to uh just use a uh a little bit of the French that I knew and Google translator to ask this nice family in their home for a water. So, I got it and they were happy to oblige. So, um, you know, people really come through for each other, and I appreciated it. My route says go that way. And there is a sign for bicycles. So, I’m going to throw my helmet on and just keep a look backwards and just pray that people pay attention to who’s on the road. This one kind of makes sense. I do feel separate from the highway traffic. And this is the coast. Kellas, France is a pretty beautiful place. I’m just sitting next to a beautiful canal boat. Looks like a ships flying here. Uh water boat. You can hear those seagulls now. Look at these birds flying in place and then they attack. Attack. Oh, they’re tearing up that pack of French fries. That’s what it is. Today I am in route. I’m going from Calala France to Bula Nuso and that is hugging the North Sea coastline but traveling all throughout the countryside. So get ready for lots of countryside and a lot of fun. Let’s go on this journey. Yeah. Yeah. Whoa. It doesn’t get better than this. And believe it or not, it did. The beautiful North Sea. Got a gatekeeper. Is that dog nice? It’s got a collar on. It turns out the attack dog was the least of my problems. So, that’s what that squeaking noise was I heard way back was whatever blew out with the rear rack. Turns out it was a screw and it was the one that secures it to my bike frame. Well, where is it? That looks better. Right. So, it turns out the bike’s stock screws um this black one there actually fit um and I had an extra one in a bag somewhere. After a little digging, I found one. So, that’s not going anywhere. And then I did flatten that piece at the back. So, even if it does, it’s not going to um drop and smash into my tire anymore. So, I would call that a good fix for now. definitely going to get to a bike shop cuz right now I’ve used um one, two, three of the spare stock screws that came with the the bike frame. So, I don’t want to run out of these and have another thing break down. So, I am now on the right route. Uh thanks to that gentleman that stopped um on the side of the road and told me that the road ended because it did. And um I’m now going the right direction. But this place is really windy. Uh it’s windy. It’s really hilly. It’s super super windy. I’m thinking it’s probably like at least 18 mph winds right now pushing me backwards. So I don’t expect to get where I’m going for another 2 hours. But that’s what I signed up for and I am reaping the rewards. Those fun downhill sections are way more fun and well worth the heavy climbs. So, off I go to carry on on this journey. And where we’re going, we don’t need roads. Getting there. See it now. Let’s see. Just uh about six or so more miles and I’m in town. Oh, what’s that? Looks like I just made it into town. Just a note for if you’re ever riding alongside the coast to be prepared cuz it will be windy and it looks like there’s a rescue going on. They’re rescuing a a child actually. Yeah, that’s that’s a man. Yeah, it looks like what actually is going on is not a rescue, but an exercise. So, they’re training for rescues. And uh this is uh perfect condition for their training. Uh very brutal wind and high waves. So that finally concludes my very difficult journey along the Opal Coast. It was full of challenging climbs and rewarding views, and it also taught me the importance of accounting for the wind when bicycle touring. Be sure to like and subscribe if you enjoy the video, so you don’t miss the next one, and I’ll see you again.