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Some of my trips around Belgium and the north of France

First proper bivouac !

On all my previous bike trips, I always stayed in a tent, either through CampSpace, which is an awesome way to meet people and camp without spending too much, or at local campsites.

This time, I decided to try my very first bivouac in the Saint-Amand Forest! The weather was fairly cool, but still pleasant. I rode 60 km to get there, spent the night in the forest, and then rode another 60 km back.

I have to admit, it was a bit stressful at first! I had almost no phone signal, so it took me a while to let everyone know that I had arrived safely. But once everything settled down, it turned into an amazing experience. Being completely alone in the middle of the forest was incredibly peaceful.

I did have one little scare when I spotted an animal moving in the distance, but everything turned out just fine! It was such a memorable experience, and it’s definitely something I’ll do again!

Lille - Charleville-Mézières

The trip from Lille to Charleville-Mézières was quite ambitious. On the first day, I rode 123 km, which was a lot for me ! I was also coming back from a minor knee injury, which made the second day very difficult. I had to shorten the GPS route a bit, and skip Namur.

In the end, over two and a half days, I still covered a very long distance for me, and I’m quite proud of it !

Lille - Hardelot

Lille - Hardelot had been on my bucket list for a long time, but when registration opened, I honestly didn’t believe I was capable of riding 166 km, especially with the huge amount of climbing on this year route (2026). So I decided not to sign up.

Then, about a week before the event, my friend François Blas told me he was doing it and needed a place to stay in Lille for the night before. I bought a second hand bib from someone who could not atttend the race, and I lined up at the start with François. Once again, he pulled me through the ride and helped me reach the finish line. Without him, I’m not sure I would have made it !!

For the first time, I experienced that feeling of being completely sick of eating anything sweet at the end of a long ride, even though I knew I still had to keep fueling. That was a new lesson!

Crossing the finish line made me incredibly proud. Finishing such a long ride gave me even more motivation to get into ultracycling. It was an amazing experience, and the finish-line photos are definitely worth it !

Lille - Saint Quentin

This trip through the Avesnois region in northern France came after my Lille–Charleville-Mézières ride and my first bivouac. Those experiences gave me a lot more confidence, and I enjoyed this trip much more because of them.

This time, I started the ride injury-free and feeling much more relaxed. The weather was perfect, the campsites were great, and everything went smoothly… almost! Komoot sent me on a bit of an adventure through the forest, and I ended up taking an unexpected detour. I escaped with nothing more than a few scratches from some brambles, but I was very happy to finally reach the campspace !

Overall, it was a fantastic trip. The Avesnois is a wonderful part of northern France that I’d highly recommend to anyone who enjoys cycling. The roads are quiet, there’s very little traffic, and the scenery is beautiful.