Day 172: Bruges - Oostende - Ramsgate (England) (80km) Distance travelled so far 10,669km "Andrew the Ukranian Saviour"
Early morning coffee in Bruges
Knowing we had to catch a ferry across to England we headed from the city of Bruges very casually.
Leaving Bruges
Famous church in Bruges
Crossing one of the many bridges in the city
We had to cover an easy 24kms to the port town of Ostende. Leaving Bruges we got very mixed up with some of the road signs and lost alot of time. We finally got on the right track, but there was a horrible gail wind blowing in our faces and slowing us down considerably. We were beginning to think we would not make the ferry!!!
We finally arrived in Ostende 15 mins before the departure of the ferry. Oh, but another shock was to come our way!! While investigating into the price of the ticket for the ferry, we were informed that the ship only carried vehicles- no bikes!!!!!!
With 5 mins to departure, we quickly came up with a plan to hitch a ride onto the ferry. We came across a Ukranian man with a big empty van who had no problem with throwing our bikes in the back and giving us a lift. Thank you so much, Andrew......
Mike in the back of Andrews van
We all agree that Belgium was a fabulous country. Being so close to home we swear we will be back......
On English soil- Ramsgate
Our first English pub
We put down a nice 40km when we got of the ferry. The English roads are incredible difficult to cycle on. No such thing as cycling lanes or hard shoulders for bikes.
Went out for a couple of pints in a small town to celebrate our move closer top home.
Our campspot
Tomorrow- London, and a couple of rest days.....thanks be to Jaesus!!!
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