A Long Way For A Curry

22/05/25 - Day 10 A great day in the saddle today, covering 50 miles with no signs of any niggles! I woke late at 9am, clearly needing it, and had a relaxed breakfast of sauer kraut and hagel slag. Hell of a mixture I know. I stopped after 11 miles for my morning coffee and an oatcake.  My next stop was Cologne, where I checked out the awesome cathedral. I picked up some more camera film, bowing to take more pictures with my camera and got some baby wipes too. Some more Ahmed advice: to clean my ass every night to avoid saddle sores! The afternoon riding was tougher due to battling some winds but other than that, the legs felt goooood. I crunched out the remaining miles to Bonn, and here I was offered a place to stay by a lady on a bike whilst stopped at the lights! I had to politely decline, as I was Staying with Annelie in Rottgen (welcometomygarden), but I thanked her kindly. The last miles into Rottgen were uphill as we had left the course of the Rhine now.  Upon arrival ...

 21/05/25 - Day Nine A real game of two halves today. The good, the bad and the ugly. Started tremendously, rising at 6 to avoid being woken by dogs and their walkers. Unzipped my tent and my guess at the sunrise was spot on as I was hit by the deep orange light.  Ahmed's mistrust of aluminium quickly proved true as I discovered my rear rack had broken at a weld point. Putting one of his cable ties to immediate use! I hangboarded whilst I packed up my camp and rode the ferry back to Klemenplatz for cash and coffee. Having paid the ferry man, I rode a mile upstream and sat on the beach taking full advantage of my first proper rest day. I ate a punnet of strawberrys I bought at the farmers market and tried to work on my t shirt tan lines. I did some admin, finally publishing the first blog posts and making a shopping list for stuff I needed to get in Düsseldorf later on. A new STEEL rear rack being the number one priority!  Taking the cruise-y 5 miles in the sun, I went to...

20/05/25 - Day Eight Woke at 5:30 so not to be caught out the farmer whose field I slept in! Tough but necessary wake up, misty morning and very dewy so the tent would have to be dried out later on. I took some time after breaking camp to climb up on the abandoned bridge again and see the view in the morning light. I was rewarded with an even better sight than the evening before - the early bird really does catch the proverbial worm! Maybe it was to be a good omen for the day? My body felt otherwise. I cycled very slowly for a few miles trying to ease myself in.  I came across a small town so decided to ease myself in with some breakfast and a coffee. Egg sandwich munched down and the caffeine starting to hit, I set off on what felt like was going to be a long day. After a chill 8 miles stopped again to dry my tent as the sun had now appeared again and I was hungry too. I sat sunning myself, the tent and my solar panel out, when another cycle tourist suddenly appeared with a fully...

    19/05/25 - Day Seven I struggled to wake up this morning so snoozed till 8am. By the time I had broke camp, cooked and forced down my porridge it was 9:40, so I didn’t hang about. Just before reaching Arnhem, I stopped at the Arnhem and Oosterbeek War Cemetery, commemorating the fallen allied troops (mostly British and 79 Poles) who fought at the battle of Arnhem. This was part of the wider Operation Market Garden in the area, Band of Brothers watchers will remember this. It was a powerful moment as I had the place to myself, and, ever since applying for the marines these types of things have made me more emotional.  After a healthy hit of silent reflection, I mashed the pedals once more, and soon I was sipping coffee in a sunny Arnhem square. I asked the waitress if she knew anywhere I could buy some Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts), but tis not the season! I cracked on and crossed the river twice on ferries which will never not give me a kick. I then sat ...

18/05/25 - Day Six I said goodbye to Jacob first thing and wished him luck with his marathon. He had left some hagel slag (classic Dutch food of bread and butter with chocolate sprinkles) out for me for breakfast. I soon tucked into a couple of rounds of that and Bram made me a coffee. We chatted as we ate, but soon he had to leave as well. I was left to myself and was blown away by the hospitality they had showed me so thanks again fellas! In the West, this is not so commonplace, but maybe it just needs a medium (like 'welcometomygarden') to shine forth!  I cycled to Utrecht Centrum and enjoyed another coffee whilst I reflected on the day ahead. Whilst not feeling amazing, my knee was rideable and so the fun of leaving Utrecht unfolded. At 4 points I was redirected by the marathon, only to hit it again. Following some locals I cut behind a barrier and down the roadside where runners were going to opposite way. It was now a real life game of crossy road. The consequences of wh...