Whilst in Holland we needed to be aware that the river we were following is called the Waal. Along the course of the river we might have expected to be riding on the dykes but often this was not possible due to the side waterways which aften had crossing points further away from the main river. There might be a bridge or sometimes a ferry for which there is a small charge.
We arrived at the address in Lent, part of the city of Nijmegen but located to the north of the Waal and found ourselves in a community settlement of tall houses with gardens on their roofs. We were shown to a room at the top of the house and once again slept soundly after a day of cycling. Our accommodation is booked on a day to day basis, usually no more than a day ahead, and we try to plan this so we are riding no more than about fifty kilometres a day. This distance is a challenge for us but is manageable providing we take plenty of rest stops along the way. Using a bench located beside the path to sit on and eat our snacks, small amounts of food we carry with us, is fine but sitting outside can be cool in the wind and the rain did not always hold off for us. The weather so far on our trip has been quite windy and cool with showers popping up at any time. We long for slightly warmer weather but dread it becoming too hot too. We had already come a long way south from Scotland and expected it to be warmer as the Summer came in.
After leaving Lent we crossed a significant boundary.
For the first time we were riding in Germany where the river we are following is called the Rhine (Rhein in German). We missed the actual crossing point because we were riding along a cycle path at the time where the expense of such important signage is considered unnecessary. What we did notice almost immediately however was the condition of the cycle paths. No longer could we rely upon smooth red tarmac that hardly shakes our wheels. Suddenly we were being bumped and bounced by the lumps and the loose stones underneath us. And when the path had to cross a side road the signage was often unclear as to who had priority. The cycle paths still existed but the priority given to their maintenance has changed. And worse was to come.
It was on one of the roughest sections of track that my bike suddenly started making horrible grinding noises and I lost all traction when the chain came off. Replacing it gave me oily fingers but the noises continued and it was clear that the rear sprockets were loose and wobbling from side to side.
We urgently needed to find a bike repair shop so as were approaching the town of Wesel, searching the Internet came up with the E-Bike Center Wesel located just five kilometres from where we were. By this time the bike had become unrideable so had to be pushed for much of the way but when we arrived, a kind man immediately took the bike into his workshop and searched for the part needed for a repair - a seven gear set of sprockets. Several hours later it was all fixed, new sprockets and chain immaculately fitted, and we were able to ride on to our next destination in Duisberg. We cannot express enough gratitude to the remarkable man, whose name is Salih, who helped us at a busy time and gave us the opportunity to ride on safely.
At the end of the day we had another pause planned, two nights in a B&B Hotel, but getting to the hotel was far from straightforward. Duisberg is a large sprawling city and our hotel was right at the centre, close to the main train station. The routing directions took us here and there, forever crossing roads which had few of the clear painted markings we had become accustomed to in Holland. Here we faced decisions at every turn, made guesses on the priority of cars over bikes, bounced along cobbled streets and crashed over kerbs which nearly threw us off. Then, as if this wasn't enough, we came to a waterway crossing where the bridge was closed for repair. The detour added another ten kilometres to our already long ride but even after this another road closure meant even more riding. It was after eight pm when we finally wheeled our bikes inside our hotel to a place of safety.
Sadly this first experience of cycling in Germany has forced us to rethink what we are doing. Aside from the wonders of the rapid cycle repair, German cycling infrastructure clearly lags far behind that of Holland and this has made us think seriously about how we should continue our cycling adventure and where we go next. We got out our maps and started some serious planning. We also looked at the weather for the days ahead and could see that there was a severe heatwave coming to this part of Europe. Predicted temperatures in the coming week were to rise to thirty degrees or more with clear skies and almost no wind. This could seriously limit our cycling distance each day and when combined with the condition of the German cycle paths it might all become too much.
We later spoke with another cyclist who had ridden on the cycle path up the Rhein and he confirmed that in the main the paths are uneven and poorly maintained compared with those in Holland.
This was the view as we crossed the Rhine river and waved it farewell. We were now cycling towards the Maas, a river that rises in France, where it is called the Meuse. A day of cycling westwards took us out of Germany and across the border again into Holland, to the town of Venlo.
The heatwave had now arrived. Each day we had to ensure we had enough water with us and we tried to find shade when we needed to stop for a rest. Each subsequent day seemed to get hotter still, particularly towards the end of the day, so that by the time we arrived at our accommodation we were exhausted and overheated. But this did not stop us. The next day we rode across Holland (there is a narrow bit of the country that protrudes to the south with Maastricht at its tip) and followed the Maas river to spend the next night in Thorn, close to the Belgian border. This involved crossing by yet another massive bridge - this time it was trains sharing it with the cyclists.
The next day we crossed the border into Belgium although once again there was no sign to indicate this. In fact the only sure way to tell was the letter 'B' on the number plates of parked cars. The heat was very demanding so two nights in a B&B in the Belgian town of Beringen seemed sensible. Could we wait out the worst of the hot weather before moving on?
The approach to Beringen took us through a vast forest and we were riding on a path reserved exclusively for cyclists made from smooth concrete slabs which twisted and turned us around the tree trunks towering above us. It was almost completely level and good steering was needed to avoid the oncoming groups of cyclists who were taking advantage of the local public holiday. Without a doubt this was probably the most exciting piece of riding we had encountered to date and the shade provided by all the trees was welcome.
The two days rest we had planned turned out to be far from restful, for me at least. Our room was comfortable but we could not escape the heat, despite our host providing us with a powerful fan. This provided a draft of air but nothing could prevent the heat from outside leaking in. By this time I was constantly sneezing and coughing, something brought on by the extreme heat and with no immediate end of the heatwave in sight we had some tough decisions to make about the next leg of our journey. The mornings were cooler and if there is a breeze then this blew into our loose fitting clothing, drying our sweaty bodies but by afternoon, unless we could escape the glare of the sun, it was uncomfortable riding. Belgium's cycle infrastructure is quite good, almost on a par with Holland in fact, but after much thought made a difficult decision. Given the effect the heat was having upon us, particularly on me, we decided that we must cut short our holiday and make our way back into Holland as soon as practicable.
The next leg of our journey looked interesting in that it followed the course of the Albert Canal across Belgium towards Antwerp.
In Britain we have canals which are narrow strips of water used today only by leisure craft of various sizes. The Albert Canal is rather different; it is a commercial waterway with industries all along the banks, these being served by large ships carrying all sorts of cargoes. We had to divert several times due to the path being blocked whilst a ship was unloaded and there was no tree cover to allow us to escape from the sun so we ended up resting in the shadow beneath one of the many bridges. Our allotted overnight accomodation this time was a luxury health resort in a wooded area, close enough to Antwerp where we would be taking a train the next day, all the way back to Amsterdam.
Just outside the window of our room was an enclosed outside space which was home to an enormous bath as well as a small flock of fluffy rabbits. This luxury (which we used) was consistent with the quality of all the fittings in our sizeable room, all located in an area of peace and quiet surrounded by woodland. This had an immediate effect on our wellbeing but we were still convinced that our decision to returned home earlier than planned was the right one, especially as there was another predicted heatwave due to arrive from the south in the coming days.
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