Cycling 2750km from Belgium to Spain (Ep. 15)

All Music by “Under the Skin”: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AvLxd0MOteC026aTgu8KX
Intro music by NRA lab, Audio File ID: 119647
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It’s pouring when we leave our cottage—a place without a reception desk, just codes we didn’t have and gates that didn’t care. Getting in yesterday felt like a reverse escape room, but we made it—just before the real downpour started. Today, the rain is back with a vengeance. Our plan? Avoid the worst of it and aim for the Pyrenees, where a brief weather window promises a shot at crossing into Spain.

But first: the gate. Again. The code doesn’t work, the badge we don’t have, and before we’ve even cycled a kilometer, we’re soaked to the core. Luckily, our escape instincts are sharper now. The route offers us a baptism of puddles, some cheeky climbs, and enough wet forest paths to keep Wim’s shoes hydrated.

Our camera wisely stays in its waterproof cocoon, while we entertain ourselves by singing weather-themed classics—though our audience (a terrified field mouse) doesn’t seem impressed. Somewhere in the silence that follows, I realize: days like these are nature’s way of asking how badly we want this. And the answer is clear.

By evening, we arrive at a cozy cottage, greeted by a warm host who dreams of a trip like ours. As he tosses our clothes in the wash, I see it in his eyes: a spark that reminds me—rain or shine, this journey is extraordinary.