Saturday July 30, 2022, 70 km (43 miles) – Total so far: 2,238 km (1,391 miles)

We woke up really groggy in our hotel room in Germany this morning. The fire alarm kept blipping in our room from 2am until 3.30am when I finally got fed up and made Mike take it down. So we had a slow start to the morning.

We knew there was a big industrial section coming up on the Rhine route between Düsseldorf and Duisburg with very little camping or accommodation. We had decided the previous evening to only cycle 25 kms and spend the day looking around Düsseldorf. But when we woke up the day was stunning and the thought of spending it in a big city with crowds of people didn’t appeal.

So we decided to ditch the Rhine route altogether and head for Holland. But first, a feast of MacDonalds was required. It was almost lunchtime after all.

We felt so much better after our feed and Mike expertly navigated our way out of town avoiding Düsseldorf completely.

Some of the day was on nice cycle paths, some of it on bike paths next to main roads, but we never had to ride on the roads, which was great. For some reason I’ve felt more relaxed getting away from the Rhine. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but perhaps it was because it was so busy with all the bikes, boats, industry etc.

I noticed today that Mikes rear wheel was wobbling. We stopped and checked it out and tried spinning the rear wheel but it was catching on the brake. Mike didn’t seem too worried and we continued riding.

It was slow going today, probably because of the late start. I was struggling to get any speed out of my bike and wondered if my wheel was catching on the brakes too. Then I realised we were actually cycling up a very slight hill. The fact it didn’t even look like a hill made for frustrating riding.

It was 6pm by the time we got to the town of Venlo, but no time to look around as our camp was still another 7 kms away.

The campground is lovely though, quiet and surrounded by trees. They even have a common room for cyclists with a fridge, tables and power. Just as well as we’ll probably be here for a few days.

Turns out Mike has a broken spoke. It’s a Saturday and the bike shops don’t open until Tuesday. But the camp owner is going to ring around for us and see if he can get a mobile bike mechanic to come out. But we could do with a rest and this seems like a nice place to do that. And it’s only 15 euros a night.

You can follow our journey on YouTube here:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP03_iOV9QrtahRxRPBTVB9ZTNOmdizn