We figured that our first day should be easy, only 25km or so, but that made the next day at least 40, and it was a difficult ride. The wind was out of the south, and we were riding south, so we were going into the wind much of the time. And we were getting far enough south that there were actually some hills. The net result was that we were pushing ourselves very hard by the end.
This ride was also along the Maas valley, with the river and many canals. The fields are ringed with drainage canals like this one.
On the other side of the path was a dike. I got curious and climbed up it to see what was on the other side, and saw this:
This wide waterway is over 10 feet higher than the path, and more like 20 feet higher than the drainage canal.
At one point, tired and thirsty, we stopped at this little place to have a rest and go to the bathroom.
We went inside and found a small barroom, maybe 15 feet square, with half a dozen people hanging out and gabbing. They spoke some English, and we had a fun little chat that refreshed our spirits as well as our bodies.
We did finally make it to Beek, with the last few kilometers the hardest, especially since we were going through the town - riding on cobblestones is a pain! But our hosts were wonderful, welcomed us with a glass of wine, and gave us a very nice room to sleep in.
This ride was also along the Maas valley, with the river and many canals. The fields are ringed with drainage canals like this one.
On the other side of the path was a dike. I got curious and climbed up it to see what was on the other side, and saw this:
At one point, tired and thirsty, we stopped at this little place to have a rest and go to the bathroom.
We went inside and found a small barroom, maybe 15 feet square, with half a dozen people hanging out and gabbing. They spoke some English, and we had a fun little chat that refreshed our spirits as well as our bodies.
We did finally make it to Beek, with the last few kilometers the hardest, especially since we were going through the town - riding on cobblestones is a pain! But our hosts were wonderful, welcomed us with a glass of wine, and gave us a very nice room to sleep in.
No comments:
Post a Comment