Day 287 2nd May
57miles (Weeze to Lievelde) Average speed 11.4 mph Top speed 23 mph
Another good day but a very wet one.
I was up at 7 after the church bells went crazy at 6.
I said goodbye to my camping buddy from Kaiserslautem and said I might meet him in Sweden. I found a radiator to dry my clothes and shoes, packed and had a lovely brekkie at Kev’s.
Breakfast at Kevin’s bar
I paid the bill and he let me off the two beers I hadn’t paid for last night. Then I got 2 miles down the road only to realise I had the key to the gate in my pocket. So back I went, but he’d gone out, so I left the key on the door and started out again in the rain.
It was a good ride on a reasonably good path, apart from the tree roots, but very wet.
I had lunch by a lake as the sun shone for 10 minutes. then it was a downpour which didn’t stop and still hasn’t. I went across the Rhone before getting to Rees on a very impressive bridge but the cycle path signs were not best.
Impressive bridge
Then I found my way back into Holland where things turned against me.
The road to Groenlo was closed and after going through a maze of industrial sites, I found myself heading in the wrong direction, but with no sin (Ermintrude ; I think that should say sun, but I liked that thought) it was hard to tell which way was north. Then the phone battery died and left me with no alternative but to calm down, relax and recharge the battery.
Cold and wet
Recharging the battery gave me time to calm down as I was quite frustrated by now and very cold, wet and hungry. Eventually I found a campsite and had a lovely hot shower and went to the Barbier pub for a drink of Grolsch; that helped. Across the road was the loco bar/restaurant where I fuelled up on spicy burger and fries before heading back to the pub for darts and watching billiards.
Spicy burger and fries beside a glowing fire – warm and comfortable
I ordered a beer to carry out and the very nice barman let me have that one on the house, after he’d shown me how the bar won all its trophies. A very nice man who, incredibly, apologised for his Queen’s English.
Camping Beusink 9€ but no change so I gave him 10
I’m the only one here with footy pitches, basketball,volleyball and all.