Le Randonneur: Hasselt

17 May 2015: Today was a beautiful day. Good for hiking: partly cloudy, with light breezes softening the heat of the sun. Our trail from the hotel on the edge of Lummen to a comfortable B&B in a residential area on the fringe of Hasselt passed mostly through forests and around lakes, with a brief passage beside the Albert Canal.

The idyllic calm of the forest was shattered at 10:00 am by the roar of motorcycle engines. We were walking around the Zolder Circuit, and today was a big race day. Initially, the sound of the engines was so loud that it seemed as if a pack of motorcycles was racing up our trail. We eventually walked away from the circuit, but we could still hear the motorcycles during our picnic lunch beside the Albert Canal around 1:00 pm.

Our B&B lies just off the GR5 – a rare treat – but there was still an hour of hiking beside a paved road at the end of the day to get there. The last few kilometers of the 22 that we hiked today were hard on our feet. We feel a bit worn out tonight.

A signpost showing where we've been and where we're going:

A family of geese:

Beside the Albert Canal:

This sign reminds cyclists, runners and walkers that the path should be shared by all – but walkers are well advised to walk along the edge of the path, as packs of cyclists whizz by.