I had breakfast at the hotel today, as there didn’t seem to be many options in the first hour or so of the ride. It was raining steadily outside, and I’d had a terrible sleep in what felt like a sauna - the air conditioning was very ineffective! My body felt off, and I realised I hadn’t truly had a day off the bike since Speyer. On my last two "rest days," I had to retrace 70 km and 28 km, respectively, due to issues with broken spokes.

I thought about extending my stay in Düsseldorf for an extra day, but instead, I went back to my room after breakfast and slept for another two hours. Fortunately, check-out times here are a very courteous noon!

By 10:30 a.m., I was on the road to Duisburg, just 32 km away - the shortest leg of the trip. As I cycled out of the city, I noticed a lone tent pitched in a huge park, probably illegally, but with a beautiful view and the Rhine right outside the front door!

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Today is Rhine Clean Up Day, which seems similar to Clean Up Australia Day back home. Citizens take to the streets to pick up rubbish, and there seemed to be quite a few people out helping!

Just 7 km later, the skies opened up, and the heaviest rain I’ve seen on this trip started pouring down. Luckily, I was only two hundred metres from a highway overpass, so I took shelter there, soon joined by about a dozen other day riders.

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The rain wasn’t letting up, so I headed back out ... and of course, it stopped just a few minutes later. I think I’m still ahead on points with the weather gods.

As I entered Duisburg, it was clear that this was an industrial town, located at the junction of the Rhine and Ruhr, and full of steel factories. I quickly decided to move on, but not before stopping at a bike shop to check on my squeaky rear brake. Micha and Luke, two of the nicest guys ever, opened their shop six years ago as a hobby! They fixed my problem and wouldn’t accept any payment, so I left some Euros in their tip jar.

After crossing a couple of bridges, I was out of town and heading north. The weather ahead looked ominous - black clouds and thunderstorms were predicted after noon. I’ve been following Mike Wells’ book on the Rhine River route, and while he doesn’t always stick to the official EuroVelo route, today was definitely a day for taking the more direct path!

Generally, the bike paths today were good, though on a couple of rough sections, I almost needed a kidney belt. At one point, I pulled off the path and rode along the main road for about 3 km instead. There wasn’t much traffic since it was Saturday, and the shoulder of the roadway was wide and smooth.

By now, I’d decided to head to Orsoy, a small village that had a few guest houses and a couple of hotels. The catch was that most of these guest houses and hotels don’t have many rooms, it was a Saturday, and I hadn’t booked anything. Talk about rolling the dice.

Of course, 10 km from my destination, the weather gods unleashed their fury. I’d heard thunder before on this trip, but this was the first time with lightning as well. There I was, a tall guy on a mostly steel bike, riding on top of a dike much higher than the surrounding farmlands. Not a great situation!

I pulled under the only cover I could find - a big oak tree. Not the best option but I had no other. An older man in a car pulled up and, despite the language barrier (he spoke no English, and I spoke no German), he understood that I was looking for nearby accommodation. I was ready to stop for the day. He directed me to a building with plenty of cars in the car park, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a restaurant with no accommodation. The server there kindly gave me directions to a hotel about 5 km away, although it was in the opposite direction from where I was headed. To her credit, it was also away from the looming black cloud, thunder, and lightning!

I decided to press on toward Orsoy, hoping to find accommodation with a vacancy. The thunder and lightning stopped, and the rain slowed to a sprinkle. I eventually stumbled across the Hotel-Restaurant Orsoyer Hof - an absolute gem. The bar attendant, who also doubled as the receptionist, miraculously found me the last room, courtesy of a late cancellation.

The meals were generous and surprisingly cheap, and the room was fantastic at just €58 - an absolute bargain. And the pillow! Finally, a real pillow instead of a head doona!

I went to bed knowing I’d get a great night’s sleep ... until I heard loud music blaring outside. Looking out the window, I saw a sideshow alley in the park across from my room. Apparently, Orsoy was having a festival this weekend. At least they weren’t blasting Roy Orbison’s Penny Arcade ... "Step up and play, each machine seems to say ..."