To Emmen

August 4, 2023

We get to theNetherlands without getting wet

After a very good breakfast we were once more off again around eight with the hope that we would get our ride during a fine window suggested by YR. It was once again into agriculture with lots of corn, potatoes and wheat. Ken is beginning to worry that if this weather doesn’t improve soon the farmers will not be able to harvest this wheat which certainly looks ripe. Once more of course the farmyards were immaculate. For a lot of the time we were riding on roads . They were tiny with hardly any traffic at all and what there was extremely respectful of cyclists. The rain was holding off but the head wind pretty fierce and was to remain like this all day. The wind generators looked as if they were doing a fine job, I am lucky I have an ebike and when the wind gets strong can just increase the power a little. Ken just had to battle on on a low gear

Coming from an Island Nation it always suprises me that you just ride along an ordinary road and then you are in another country. Gradually we began to notice small differences. Where in Germany there had seen a vast amount of corn this seemed to have been replaced by sugar beet although there was still corn and potatoes. The cycle signs have been changed from green to red, houses nearly all have net curtains and vases of flowers in their windows and if they are for sale the signs is Te Koop and the cycle ways are largely in red brick paving.

All along the way we were going through small hamlets. Often there were houses one deep on one side of the road and farm land on the other. When we came to the largish town of Ter Afel we stopped for a coffee. the sun was almost shining so we felt confident we might get to Essen dry and we did. We of course were far to early so had lunch then followed Komoot to where it said our hotel was. Oh no it has been moved to a new hotel and they failed to tell Komoot. Google maps however have been better informed and we are now sitting in comfort waiting for the check in time

Crossing the imaginary line from Germany to the Netherlands

The iconic ‘mushrooms’that help cyclists find their way in the Netherlands

We must be in the Netherlands with a bridge like this

Ken loves pigs these certainly have lots of mud

A fairly recent water cooled Eicher - all the Eichers I have seen in the past were aircooled

Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 235 km (146 miles)

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Elspeth JarmanGreat to see you two on the bikes again! We're currently cycling in Ecuador (finishing our South American journey that began before Covid stopped us). You two are an inspiration. People here keep asking us how old we are, as if it's amazing we're still able to cycle, and we're only 62!

All the best for the journey.

Elspeth and Martin
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9 months ago

Tricia GrahamSo glad you are able to finish your South America trip. I so enjoyed reading your journey of it at a time when we didn’t realise what an impact Covid would have. We have felt rather unsure of this trip as it may sound rather foolish at our ages (84 and 86) but as yet all is going well. We have chosen very easy routes. It is my walking that is the main problem as I need a crutch to walk however now we have replaced the one that I lost off the bike all is well again
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9 months ago