It's the end of September, and my buddy Seb and I decided we needed one last thing to savor before winter hit. It's unusually warm for the time of year, but the forecast is a bit blurry. We could run into some rain.
A cruiser and a scrambler.
Because this was a pretty impulsive two-day plan, we had no time to think carefully about our gear or direction. I just booked a basic campsite, and we'd see on the day how we got there. I decided to leave my Sportster chopper at home, as it needed some new brake pads, and borrowed my father's Royal Enfield Super Meteor. I packed up my camera gear and coffee stuff and hit the road on Saturday morning.
I met Seb with his custom Triumph Street Scrambler at a gas station in Antwerp, and we took the highway for a bit to cover some distance fast. I hung my favorite cap on my luggage with a carabiner to cover my awful helmet hair whenever we needed to stop for some gas station snacks. Unfortunately, it decided to helicopter away at 130 km/h on the highway, never to be seen again.
Twisties and coffee.
We ended up leaving the highway around Marche-en-Famenne and found some nice twisties in the woods. We "missed" a sign that said "no entry" and headed down a gravel path in search of a good spot to take a break. When the path went from rocky and rooted to running along the edge of a cliff, we parked our bikes and took in the scenery.
We'd had some coffee at a coffee bar after leaving the highway, but while it definitely classified as coffee, it wasn't much more than that. Feeling a bit tired, we decided to pull out the stove and brew a couple of cups using my AeroPress. Using an old kettle I had lying around and a cheap camping stove that was almost empty, I realized I should've thought my kit through a bit more. But hey, we got there in the end!
Getting in the zone.
Feeling recharged, we decided to take the fun route to our campsite. It's amazing how different the roads, scenery and vibe are just 1.5 hours south of the busy urban jungle surrounding Belgium's capital. Barely any cars, lush green forests and smooth, rolling hills made us forget all our day-to-day stress. Mission already accomplished.
When we arrived at our campsite, we set up our tents and bought some firewood to make a campfire. We soon realized that we'd completely forgotten to buy any food, and the campground was a 30-minute ride from the nearest town. So we ripped into town, hoping to find a shop where we could buy something to cook over the fire. Finding only a night shop, we had to make do with instant noodles, snacks and a bottle of whisky. We made it back to our campsite in pitch-black darkness, made our fire and had dinner. We drank some booze, had some classic campfire conversations and went to bed.
Moto-camping learnings.
I woke up after having "slept" on a broken inflatable mattress in a sleeping bag totally unfit for the temperature. Figured I'd think twice about packing for a motocamping trip next time. I made the perfect antidote: a classic brew with my moka pot. We had some pains au chocolat that we got from the campsite and packed up. We rode some more beautiful roads and visited Bois Jacques and its famous foxholes. If you've seen Band of Brothers, you know what I'm talking about.
After that, we got hit by some pretty gnarly rain, and when it got a little too much, we decided to wait it out in a tavern and have some lunch. Reflecting on our trip so far, we realized that although we could've made some better choices and done some more research, we'd gotten exactly what we came for: an escape to a place where nature still reigns supreme.
Reflection.
We had so much fun riding these roads and appreciated a hot cup of black gold a lot more after riding through the rain and being deliberate about how we made that coffee.
After coming home and editing the videos and pictures we shot on the trip, I'm more convinced than ever that you absolutely do not need to follow the classic moto-adventure guidebook. You don't need an expensive modern ADV bike to enjoy the twisties. You don't need to go on a 30-day expedition through the Nordics to appreciate nature.
You just need to pack your stuff, ride your bike and enjoy everything that might happen along the way.
