This blog by Kevin Bolton outlines the cycling route he took to attend the IPRES 2024 conference in Flanders in mid-September 2024 with some practical tips about logistics, hotels and food/drink (fuelling!).
The plan
To cycle from London to Ghent to Rotterdam in order to attend the IPRES 2024 conference. I had cycled the Tour of Flanders sportive in 2023 but was keen to try some of the West Flanders roads and climbs.
The setup
This was my first time doing bike-packing. I cycled from London to Paris in 2021 but that was with a group and our luggage was transported.
My initial plan was to (rather stupidly) use my road bike but I was worried about its tubeless setup and losing tyre pressure. A gravel bike would be more stable and give me greater flexibility – allowing me to go on gravel lanes and canal paths without worrying about puncturing. I have two gravel bikes – a light Specialized Cruz which is quick but not built for comfort and a sturdier Marin DSX 2. After much thought, I went for the Crux sacrificing comfort for lightness/speed. I used a mixture of Restrap bike bags including a top tube bag, saddle bag, handlebar bag and a small rucksack. The Crux rather annoyingly does not have any pannier bag fixings.
Along with some clothes (including some smartish clothes and shoes for the conference), I also took some cycling tools, spare tubes, lights, a bicycle computer, a spare chain, locks, and a charging battery. The loaded bike weighed in at about 18-19 kg. I’m not one for camping or sleeping in a field so I relied on hotels which I pre-booked.
Day 1 London Euston to South East London
Logistics: I liked the idea of starting on the edge of South London. I decided on Bexleyheath as it had a Premier Inn hotel and was on my planned route. I live near Manchester so my initial plan was to get the train to London Euston, cycle to London Bridge and then get a train to Bexleyheath. However, it was a nice evening so I decided to cycle from London Euston.
Route: Once I had navigated the central London traffic the cycleway from Surrey Quays to Greenwich made this relatively easy. Although I had to work hard to get up the climbs in Greenwich Park and Shooters Hill. Shooters Hill is quite a busy road with no cycle lane and a little stressful.
Hotel: I stayed at the Premier Inn Bexleyheath. I like a Premier Inn because you know what you are going to get, and you can take bicycles into the room.
Fuelling: After checking in, I decided to eat at the hotel restaurant – purely for ease. Premier Inn food is average quality, but always reasonable portions!
Day 2 South London to Dunkirk
Logistics: I was booked on the Dover to Dunkirk 4 pm ferry. I was not sure how long it would take with my loaded bicycle and some climbing. So after a quick Premier Inn breakfast, I left at 730 am.
Route (part 1): I found a suggested route on the Internet using National Cycle Route 1 to Canterbury and then Regional Route 16 to Dover. To be honest I did not enjoy the route. The cycle paths on National Cycle Route 1, which run alongside motorways and A roads, were awful quality. There was glass on the road and I was nervous about puncturing. I also had to cycle on the busy A2 for a bit which was very unpleasant. However, after Sittingbourne the route was quieter and more pleasant – mainly using country lanes. I also enjoyed cycling through Rochester (prettier than expected) and stopping briefly in Canterbury to view the Cathedral and lanes. I arrived in Dover at about 2 pm with plenty of time to spare.
Route (part 2): Boarding the ferry at Dover was a little confusing as there was construction taking place and the signage for cyclists was poor. However, disembarking at Dunkirk was easy – I was the only cyclist and was let off before the cars. The ferry staff member was helpful and showed me the route off the ferry. There was a good quality cycle lane out of the ferry. I had done some research on the best route from the port to Dunkirk town. After customs, I had to cut across to make sure I was on the far left side of the road for a left turn on the roundabout onto Rte de la Maison Blanche. This was relatively easy as there were very few cars on the road. I then followed the back road through industrial Dunkirk into the town. It was starting to get dark now but there was very little traffic.
Fuelling: The Premier Inn breakfast set me up well and I then relied on energy gels and cereal bars. I probably should have stopped to eat in Canterbury but was keen to keep going. Shortly after this I started to struggle a little but luckily found a Scout village fair with sandwiches, coffee and cakes. Perfect! At Dover I stopped at Rebels Coffee Shop on the seafront for a coffee and then fish & chips on the ferry!
Hotel: I stayed at Dunkirk Mercure Gare. It was a great hotel for me as it had excellent bike storage in the basement and good Wi-Fi (I had an online business meeting in the morning so this was important). The hotel restaurant was shut on Sunday evening, but I went to 3 Brasseurs which was next door & is a chain restaurant specialising in craft beer. A little like a French Wetherspoons but with better food and beer! I ordered in my GCSE French, but of course, they spoke good English.
Day 3 Dunkirk to Deinze
Logistics: I had a business meeting in the morning which meant a late start (12:30ish). I was keen to get to my hotel in Deinze by 8pm before it got too dark.
Route: I followed the cycle lane alongside the D916 south of Dunkirk to Bergues. The quality of the cycle lane was mixed with all sorts of surfaces. From Bergues it was mainly quiet roads through the countryside to the Belgium border. I knew I was in Belgium because suddenly there was good cycling infrastructure! Near Poperinge I picked up the “hilly route” from the Visit Flanders website. This was the highlight of my trip – I was on the roads that feature in the Gent-Wevelgem race – narrow quiet lanes and iconic climbs including the steep cobbled Kemmelberg. I was very nervous about whether my heavy bike would make it up the steep east side of the Kemmelberg. But I found it relatively easy – so much so that I had to check I was on the right climb! I found the reverse climb (west side) slightly harder – it’s shorter but felt a little steeper. I then descended back down the eastern side (slowly). I also stopped at a couple of World War I cemeteries in the area.
From the Kemmelberg I picked up the lanes and cycle lanes down to the River Leie where there was a river cycle path to Deinze. I struggled a little on the river – it was pretty but just repetitive with a slight crosswind. At about 5pm the cycle path got busy with commuters and school children. This gave me some extra motivation and I was able to draft a little!
Fuelling: Turns out most restaurants, cafes and shops are closed in West Flanders on Mondays. I should have bought some proper food for lunch in Dunkirk but relied on more energy gels and cereal bars. I arrived at the pretty Kortrijk at 5 pm – just as the fritkot (chip van) was opening. I was so hungry the burger and chips tasted great. I was also able to top up on water there.
Hotel: I stayed at B&B ‘t Meesterhof which was wonderful. I arrived at about 7pm and was so pleased to discover there was an honesty bar. I drank a beer on the terrace as the sun went down and it felt great. There were also crisps! The hotel also had secure bicycle storage and the rooms were very luxurious.
Day 4 Deinze to Dunkirk
Logistics: I was attending a conference in Ghent and needed to be there at about 10 am. I made it on time and used the conference venue’s bike storage (this was full and the etiquette appeared to be one bike per rack but I decided to break the etiquette and squeeze my bike in).
Route: there is a cycle lane pretty much all the way from Deinze to Ghent which made things easy Unbelievable cycling infrastructure. Although retarmacking work on part of it meant a small diversion.
Hotel: I stayed at Hotel Astoria to the south of the town centre near the Velodrome in Ghent. The hotel website claimed to have bike storage, but it was not secure and had nothing to lock my bike onto. Luckily my room was in the annex on the ground floor so I just sneaked my bike into the room. The room was a little dark but the hotel breakfast was excellent.
Fuelling: the conference included lunch and a dinner. However, the conference food consisted of small portions – not great for a hungry cyclist! So I ended up in the frittur (chip shops) again having frites again and trying the Belgium battered sausages. For cycling fans I would also recommend going to Café De Karper for a drink. The café owner is Ronie Keisse, father of Iljo Keisse and it is full of cycling shirts, photographs and trophies. When I was there they had cycling on the television too.
Days 5 – full day at the conference. No cycling!
The conference was great – I might blog about that in the future!
Day 6 Ghent to Rotterdam
Logistics: My overnight ferry from Rotterdam to Hull was at 9 pm and they recommended boarding by 7 pm. So I left Ghent early to ensure I had enough time and did not have to stress. A quick breakfast at the hotel and a 7:15 am start.
I also had to get a bike/passenger bike ferry at 11:17 am from Brekens to Vlissingen. I’m glad I had reserved a spot in advance as the sun had brought everyone out and it was fully booked! If I had missed that ferry it would have put me back an hour.
Route: Getting out of Ghent was a little tricky – I probably could have picked a better route but it did consist of cycle lanes. I followed a long cycle lane north which was adjacent to the R4 motorway. Once I crossed the border into the Netherlands it was mainly quiet lanes and cycle lanes/ways to the Brekens ferry. Once off the ferry, I went through the middle of the first peninsula including the pretty Middelburg. I then picked up EuroVelo12 North Sea Cycle route – which generally followed the coast with some stunning views.
I chose this route because the prevailing wind is generally from the west. However, I had a horrible headwind which made the day quite slow – crossing the various bridges linking the islands/peninsulas was particularly horrible! The 9km long OosterscheldekeringIt was very tough – it felt like going up a mountain!
I thought the cycling infrastructure in Belgium was good but the Netherlands is on another level. It was a nice day, so it was busy. Dutch cyclists are tough too – I was getting overtaken by old ladies on their old town bikes (they are good to draft behind though)! Having people around enjoying the late summer sun made the ride easier – there was a nice atmosphere.
I was worried about getting to the ferry port as it looked like a jungle of main roads but of course, being Netherlands there was an amazing cycle lane to the ferry port entrance. To be fair to Hull ferry port, they have a half-decent cycle lane which takes you out of the port and about halfway to Hull town centre. From Hull, I picked up a TransPennine Express train to Manchester (I had pre-booked with a bike reservation).
Fuelling: I was fed up energy gels/cereal bars so switched to dates and nuts. There is a cycle hire shop at Brekens (Rent and Joy) near the ferry terminal which has a small cafe who did a good toasted sandwich and coffee. I then stopped in the tourist town of Renesse at the chip van called De Buren. The chip van man was friendly and asked where I was from – he then called me “Manchester”. Once on the ferry I went for the all-you-can-eat buffet for £26.99 – great value for a hungry cyclist – I was a little fed up with chips then so made the most of the salad cart.
Final thoughts
A wonderful trip and I was relieved the logistics went to plan and I had no mechanicals.
The Crux bike was brilliant – reliable, stable, quickish, and relatively comfortable. A dream to ride.
I am keen to go back to explore West Flanders more and maybe try the Gent-Wevelgem sportive. However if I was to do it again I would skip the London to Dover leg.
Fundraising
As part of this ride, I fundraised for Safe Passage who fight for a compassionate refugee system, where child refugees and their loved ones are safe and reunited.
When I arrived in Dover and turned my phone back on I saw the awful news that eight people had died overnight attempting to cross the Channel. I thought about my German Jewish grandmother arriving in Dover by ferry in 1936 and how we need safe routes for those fleeing war and persecution. This emphasised the importance of the work Safe Passage does. So if you can please donate using the link below.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/kevinjbolton
