The HIVE Tour - Episode 51 - 3 countries in 1 day for the 3rd time in this trip!

I'm about to leave Le Mans behind after 3 weeks that flew by like the wind. This city marks a turning point in my trip. When I arrive here early July I was exactly 2 months on the road after 5500ish km, on a trip that is bound to last 4 months. Anything after it belongs to the second part of this journey. I totally luck out on the weather as the rain that was bound to fall today occurred last night so now it all looks much better than it could be. I "au revoir" my smiley hosts and their cat, and I hit the road on much better conditions than I expected:

Almost halfway between Paris and Le Mans I make a first fuel stop at this service station near Brou:

I fill with enough gas to make it to Belgium where fuel is more reasonably priced and then I park appropriately for a very short break as it's too early for a normal one:

I ride on with cloudy weather but as long as its dry its fine:

I told you about French fuel prices before so here's a chance to have a look at them at a next service station:

Weather get more indecisive about whether it's gonna rain or not but still dry:

I make it near Paris,

where even on the highway the traffic gets noticeably heavier:

I squeeze me my bike and my luggage between those countless trucks and after I leave Paris behind I make one stop at this station NE of Paris:

This time I also have a bite on some cereal bars I carry while I watch the stylish shed for the electric car charging spots:

As I get back on the road the first drops of rain land on my windscreen:

Almost an hour later I make one more stop but this time to do the thing a king does without escort, at this station near Remy:

Pretty convenient for such a job as you can see with all these trees around but it's so pathetic to see how people trash such places:

A boiler? Really? Makes the rest look casual thing:

Time to hit the road again:

Dark cloud gathering ahead:

No surprise it rains again soon:

It stops for a little while,

but as soon as I enter Belgium it goes on again,

and get heavier:

I skipped recording the real heavy rain later as there wasn't much to see anyway. I fill up my tank with the cheaper Belgian fuel (as in Netherlands it's even more expensive than France) which give me the chance for one more short but dry break:

Pity I can't approach these horses for a better picture:

After 6ish hours on the road I finally enter the Netherlands:

As soon as my tires step over Dutch tarmac the weather becomes instantly much better:

As if the weather's welcoming isn't enough, my next hosts bring it to another level with this local recipe:

And a nice casual beer:

Lovely, people, I took care of their house last year when they were away for holidays and we became good friends ever since. This year I am for the same reason so stay tuned for more Dutch stories.

Here's a video of the ride as usual with my music in 4K:

See you on the next one!