Belgium to Italy by Bike - 2

Flying By the Seat of our (many) Pants

​We left Ypres marina at 1 pm. The midday planned departure time eaten into with boat jobs to ensure there was no way the boat could fill with water while unsupervised.
 
Sea-cocks switched off, electrics shut down, fridge emptied (to a very happy harbour master and his wife) - lines checked, boat secured, decks cleared, panniers packed, and then we tried to mount the bike.
 
I wore four jumpers, a t-shirt, and a lined leather jacket with padding; long johns under my padded leather pants, thick woollen socks, boots, a scarf, leather gloves and, of course, the helmet. Walking was a problem, let alone hauling myself and my entire wardrobe onto the back of the bike.

All 'geared up' and ready to go. And a taster of where we end up - spectacular!

But we both stretched our legs up and over the bike, loaded the TomTom with “Italy” and Noel twisted the throttle so we could glide away from Ypres.
 
We tend not plan our trips too much. Seeking a hotel each night can be tricky, but the regimented system of pre-booking doesn’t suit us, it curbs the freedom. Flying by the seat-of-our-paints means plans can be changed - we are flexible, we can turn left when we thought that perhaps we'd be going right. And those plans paid off. But not immediately.
 
I hope you'll come along for the ride...
 
Next: Lifetime Holiday – Luxembourg Anyone?