Bike Ride from Liège to Huy
(continuation)

Back down the base of Mur de Huy, I turned right and resumed my course on the N66, which was not a walk in the park, either. Like all the roads going perpendicular to the river, this one was also steeply uphill. The climb out of Huy went on for about three kilometers, quite steep at the bottom, then settled into a more comfortable 6-8% before flattening. Because the climb had been steep, I made slower progress than I had realized, and I turned left prematurely onto an unexpectedly gorgeous densely forested narrow road that I assumed was headed for Outrelouxhe, but turned out to be a steep lane back down to Tihange, and eventually, to Huy again! I caught my mistake before I went too far down.

(Above: Serendipitously discovered Tihange woods)

The lane I was looking for turned out to be a couple of kilometers further up the road. This, too, eventually went through the same wooded area as the one before, winding its way down a dark and lush forest of oak and elm then re-emerging to meet the N90 between Huy and Amay. I got reacquainted with the bane of my existence, the fast riverside highway that I thought I left behind in Seraing many miles ago. But ride it I must, if I wanted to cross over to the other side of the river Meuse and check out the Côte de Amay, another Flèche Wallonne climb.

(Above and Below: On the way to Amay outside Outrelouxhe)

The Côte de Amay is a 4-kilometer climb right out of, you guessed it, the town of Amay. The climb, through a nondescript residential neighborhood, is not a particularly pretty one. The first half is quite steep (over 10%), but the second half to Jehay barely noticeably uphill. I turned back around as soon as the road flattened. In the 1999 Flèche Wallonne, the pros continued up the N614 before turning left to Bodegnee (where I had earlier come down on my way to Huy).

The Côte de Amay:

(Above: The start of the climb)

(Below: The steeper sections of Côte de Amay)