Day 5 was a rest day in Bruges – more on that later – so we made up for the relaxation by having a long day of nonstop headwinds for 142km. We’re at a campsite in northeast France, close to the small town of Verchin. We are pretty tired! The highlight of the day was stopping for an afternoon beer (or two) at the Westvleteren Brewery, which was founded in 1838 at the Sint-Sixtus Abbey. It one of only six true Trappist breweries in the world and some say their dark beer is the best in the world! 

From there we found some rolling hills (finally some elevation!) in France and beautiful meadows and farmland.