142 kilometers. Countries: Belgium and France

A key part of a cycle tourist’s day is using the breakfast buffet to create a jersey pocket lunchtime feast. Top marks awarded for packable, proteinous options that give you something to look forward to down the road. Together with the host positively pushing all manner of bars and snacks my way I’m pretty sure I’ve nailed it. Taking his advice, I’ll be taking the canal path back past Menin Gate, south to the border village of Comines before veering East towards Mons, the capital of Belgium’s Hainaut province.

As promised, and imagined back home, the first five kilometers are fabulous. A picturesque, smooth, segregated cycleway and the kilometers sail past easily. Before long however, the GPS indicates that I’m to turn off my lovely smooth surface and follow overgrown, bouldered single-track. Fun on a mountain bike, not so fun on an ancient, firm and repurposed roadie, which transmits every bump, root and pebble right through the frame. In my somewhat slapdash approach to navigational planning, I had assumed Google Maps would happily route me exclusively on tarmac until such a time as I reach the cross-European Eurovelo cycle paths in a few days’ time. As the coming pages will attest, it’ll get me there, but not quite in the manner I had hoped.

Before too long I’m back on the asphalt and heading towards Roubaix, a town baked into cycling folklore as the finish for the prestigious Paris – Roubaix classic – a race also known as ‘The Hell of the North’ due to the extended periods riding over “bone ratting cobbles”, or more innocuous sounding “pavé”. Next up, after lunch and an afternoon of Canalside cycle paths is Mons, with its stunning Grand Place, where I take the opportunity to caffeinate, FaceTime a few friends and find accommodation for the evening.

A cool 13 miles to cover. These turn out to be the most stunning thus far, passing the Strepy-Theiu boat lift (at a cool 240ft, and formally the tallest boat lift in the world) – a structure that appears taken directly from a James Bond novel

…And an altogether less glamorous dart into a roadside supermarket to resupply and find dinner (polished off ferally on the roadside – classy eh?)

Looking forward to the Ardennes tomorrow.