Thread by @xdamman

On our way to Duinrell (near The Hague) for family holidays.

Taking the train to Essen, the northernmost station in Belgium, then it’s a 105km bike ride.

First stop, Willemstad, 32km away. Then Rotterdam tomorrow where @leen_schelfhout and her boys will join us. #slowtravel

Mandatory stop at every playground along the way 🛝

After lunch, mandatory espresso stop for Daddy ☕️👌

It was warm and there wasn’t much shade (please plant trees along those ways! 🌳🌳🌳), but we made it at our own pace.

32.8km in 2h37 #slowtravel
strava.app.link/5iQb4BP3bsb

On the road again. #Day2 #slowtravel

Solarpunk girl.

Refueling

Not a bad spot to take a break. Totally unplanned. The joy of slow traveling also means that you can stop any time when you find a cool place. 😃

What a ride. We even got to experience a fietstunnel (tunnel for bikes) 🤩

And after 43km today, we made it to the @StayokayRTM hostel where @leen_schelfhout should arrive any minute now with her boys. What a great solarpunk adventure 😎

Finally all together ❤️
@leen_schelfhout and her boys biked 73km today. Well done everyone 🙌

You all deserved a full vegan menu at @CopperBranch 😋 (the kids who aren’t vegan loved it, a first!)

Tomorrow last leg to Duinrell 🚲 👠💪

Goodbye Rotterdam. Thanks for the memories. Time for the last leg of our journey to Duinrell. @leen_schelfhout and the boys will take a longer way via the beautiful town of Delft. #slowtravel

Happy girl on a bike. #slowtravel

Laura felt on a bike lane 🤕
It didn’t take long for people to stop and help. A neighbor came with a first aid kit. Someone offered a ride. A grandma Mieke offered to take a rest at her place. I helped her doing gardening. 2h later, back on the road. Community is immunity 🙏

After 108km in 3 days, we all arrived at destination 🎉

I’m super proud of my daughter. Her fall didn’t stop her but made her stronger 💪 and she pushed till the end despite some headwinds.

Now some rest! 😅

The reward is the journey but the amusement park is a nice well deserved treat for everyone.

Shower time.

Time to head back to Brussels. @leen_schelfhout and her oldest son Seppe will bike till Essen (102km) while I’ll take the rest of the crew (2 boys + my daughter) to The Hague where we will take the train (1h) to Roosendaal then bike to Essen. Then 1h train to Brussels. 🚲🚊☀️🌳

We left Duinrell a bit overloaded. Boys are charging ahead. Will they find the train station without any data plan? #slowtravel #adventure

Bike path in a forest. Water. Sun. Shade from the trees. Heaven.

Look who I found? The fable of The Tortoise and the Hare at play 😆

We made it to the train station in The Hague. Surprised they don’t have more space for bikes. We had to come up with our own way to store some extra bikes.

And we all arrived within 10mn to Essen station. What a coordination!

Big congrats to @leen_schelfhout and Seppe for biking a little over 100km today! Respect 🫡

Now we’ll all catch the train back to Brussels. #slowtravel #happytravel

1h train to Brussels. Resting time.

Last mile in a third world city. No elevator at the station, not even ramps for bikes (?!!), streets where unused immobile cars have priority over bicycles. Come on. This is not serious. Let’s fix this shall we? @SNCB @GeorgesGilkinet @elkevdbrandt @CecileJodogne

But we made it. Alive!

Sadly our fellow @citizen_garden is having a hard time with that heat 🥵

You can’t keep our street fresh and livable alone. You need more friends, more trees around you, a bike lane too.

One day people will understand and will finally act. One day.