Day Eleven

23/05/25 - Day Eleven

Biggest day in the saddle yet, 61 miles and 715m elevation gain. I woke at 7 and went inside to go to the toilet and brush my teeth. Annelie had a coffee waiting for me, when I returned downstairs and after some morning stretches, the two of us sat down to eat breakfast. We talked for over an hour and it flew by. With a twinge of sadness I looked at the clock and knew it was time to say goodbye - but not before sending me off with some pate, bread and a pepper! 

I cycled back to the Rhine through forest. I stopped for coffee at mile 15, and lunched at mile 30, taking some time to write my blog. I carried on to Koblenz, where the Moselle joins the Rhine. I fully entered tourist mode as I snapped some pictures and asked a passerby to take one of me and my mount. Koblenz proved a sleepy city, as I tried to find a beer at 5pm on a Friday night, but no where seemed very lively so I quickly gave up. Besides I had 460m to climb in the last 10 miles. My first real hill of the trip! 

It was gruelling and tough work. My legs were pumped, and my lungs burned, and just when I thought I must nearly be down there came another climb. My route then took me onto a dual carriageway. I cursed Komoot for endangering me but it looked like a short section so firmed it. After glancing back to see a car attempting to overtake the car overtaking me, I lost my nerve and hauled my bike over the barriers onto a side road. I plugged my hosts house into Google maps and found an alternative. This time it had me hike-a-biking through farmers fields and forest tracks, but safe from death by highway. I grew weary as I completed the final couple of miles the Martins house and promptly rang on his doorbell. 

He welcomed me in and introduced me to his wife Ellie, then offered me some food. My blood sugar levels must have been low as I began to feel shaky and peculiar. This combined with the sudden challenge of holding conversation made me feel slightly anxious. I asked for an Apple and retreated to have a shower to get a grip of myself. Note to self - rest after heavy exertion! After having an incredible shower and yamming down a banana, I felt much better. 

My food was now ready and we sat around and talked whilst I ate and sipped on local beer! Martin worked in IT at an insurance firm and Ellie in property management. They were avid hikers and travellers, who were planning a big cycle tour of their own. The quit-your-jobs-and-sell-your-house type of tour. Epic! I was also their first welcometomygarden guest as well! They had decided to open their home to me due to the hospitality they had received in the East: in places like Mongolia. They had drawn the same conclusions as me that we could do with a bit more of this culture in the West. And I was certainly grateful! After my meal came ice cream, and more good conversation. Then I grew tired, so excused myself to set up my tent, and hit the hay.

 

Stocked up courtesy of Annelie 


Chilly coffee stop hence the blanket 




War memorial overlooking the Rhine





Pesto and Annelies homemade rye bread 


Entering Koblenz 

How I imagine I look on Barbara

Nahhhh surely not



Sweating it out up the elevation gain

Some nice views as a reward


Made a pal



Need me a Lada Niva in my life


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So it begins...

Image
      13/05/2025 - Day One My life for the past 6 months has all been leading up to this moment, this day, D day. On the back of a tiring weekend I wasn’t sure I’d have the resources to set off on the 13th, but I made it happen (just about). I still had quite a lot to do this morning so when I finally set off it was around 3:30pm. Jack gave me a great haircut that is reminiscent of something out of Mongol or Mount and Blade : bald except a patch at the back like a horses main. Excellent. With the parents and Archie in tow, we set off down our lane and over the ford. It was a weird feeling cycling away from my house down familiar roads with the knowledge I wouldn’t be back for many months. These familiar sights are to be some of the last for a long time. It didn’t quite feel like I had gone away yet.  We had only got 4 miles when mums tyre went flat. Dad set about trying to locate the puncture as we all looked on with anticipation. Yet despite our best efforts i...
Read more

Day Four

Image
16/05/25 - Day Four I woke to my alarm at 6:30am, the ferry to the Netherlands was at 9am with check in closing 45mins before. After 5 mins of squirming around waking up I braved the chill and unzipped my bag and began packing away my things. I left at 7:20. I hope I get more efficient at breaking camp as I didn’t even cook breakfast, and that just seems like an awfully long time to be faffing around.  I cycled back into Harwich and grabbed a meal deal for the ferry, before rolling down to the port. It’s a bit of kick to cycle through places you would normally drive, like passport control and along the ramparts and onto the ferry. What was even more of a buzz was the euphoria of leaving port, the sense that the journey had only really just begun in earnest! I watched from the outside deck as we pull out of the estuary and into the sea. The journey itself was 8 hours of filling time and completely uneventful, except for being told off for lying down - how naughty of me! I was asked...
Read more

Day Seven

Image
    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 ...
Read more