I was having breakfast at the hotel today as there didn't seem a lot of choices in the first hour or so of the ride. It was steadily raining outside, I'd had a terrible sleep inside a sauna of a room (the air-conditioning was very ineffective!), and my body just felt off. I realised that I hadn't really had a day off the bike altogether since Basel. On my last 2 'rest days' I had to retrace 70 kms and 28 kms respectively that were lost through spoke issues.
I did think about extending my stay by a day in Dusseldorf, however, I just headed up to my room after breakfast and slept for another 2 hours. Check-out times here are a very courteous noon!
By 10.30am I was on the road to Duisburg some 32 km away - the shortest leg of the trip. As I ride out of the city I see one lonely tent set up in a huge park (probably illegally) however with a beautiful backdrop and the Rhine out of the front door!
Today is Rhine Clean Up Day, which seems similar to Clean Up Australia Day that we have in my homeland. Citizens take to the streets to pick up rubbish. There do seem quite a few people out helping!
A mere 7 km later the skies opened up and the heaviest rain I've seen on my trip so far began to descend. Fortunately, I'm only 200 metres from a highway overpass and take relief from the weather. I'm soon joined by about a dozen other day riders.
The rain has caused me to pack the phone away so not too many photos today. Apologies.
The rain didn't seem to be relenting so I headed off ... the rain stopped a few minutes later. I think I'm still ahead on points against the weather gods.
As I entered Duisburg you can see that it is an industrial town at the junction of the Rhine and the Ruhr, and full of steel factories. I decide quickly to move on, but not before I visit a bike shop to check my squeaky rear brake. Micha and Luke were two of the nicest guys ever - they opened their shop 6 years ago as a hobby! They fixed my problem and wouldn't take any payment. 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 of me started to take on a black look .... not pretty as thunderstorms were predicted afternoon. I've been following Mike Wells's book about the Rhine River route. He doesn't always stick to the official Eurovelo route but rather takes you off it from time to time, so you experience some other aspects of the Rhine regions. This can mean sometimes doing a circuitous route rather than the more direct EV15 route. On days like today, look to do the more direct ride!!
Generally, the bike paths today have been good although you almost needed to wear a kidney belt on a couple. On one, I actually pulled off to ride along the main road for about 3 km rather than stay on the path. The road didn't have much traffic being a Saturday, and the shoulder of the roadway was very wide ... and smooth!
By now I had decided to get to Orsoy today - a small village that seemed to have a few guest houses if no hotel. The problem was that most of these guest houses don't have a lot of rooms, it was a Saturday, and I hadn't booked. Talk about rolling the dice.
Of course, 10 km from my destination the weather gods unleashed their fury. I had heard thunder in my time on the trip so far, but never accompanied by lightning ... until now. A tall guy, on a mainly steel bike, riding on top of a dike much higher than the surrounding farmlands. Not pretty.
As I pulled in under the only cover I could find ... a big oak tree ... an old man in a car pulled up. He spoke no English and I no German, however, he understood I was looking for some nearby accommodation. I was ready to call it a day. He directed me to a nearby building that seemed to have plenty of cars in the car park. Unfortunately, it was a restaurant with no accommodation. The waitress gave me directions to a hotel about 5 km away however it was in the opposite direction to where I was travelling. In her defence, it was away from the ominous black cloud, thunder and lightning!
I decided to continue riding towards Orsoy and hopefully a guest house with a vacancy! The thunder and lightning stopped, and the rain slowed to a sprinkle. I stumbled across the Hotel - Restaurant Orsoyer Hof. An absolute gem. The bar attendant, who doubled as the receptionist, miraculously found me the last room courtesy of a late cancellation.
The meals were generous and surprisingly cheap, as was a fantastic room at 58 euros! Bargain. And my pillow! Finally a pillow rather than a head doona!
I head to bed knowing that I'll get a great night's sleep ... until I hear music blaring outside ... I look out my window and see a sideshow alley in the park across from my room. Orsoy has a festival this weekend. At least it's not blaring Roy Orbison's Penny Arcade ... 'step up and play each machine seems to say ...'
Thanks for reading.
I'm
doing this ride to raise funds for Blue Dragon Children's Foundation.
I'm self-supported so all donations go directly to Blue Dragon. If you
can give please do at ...
https://au-bluedragon.givecloud.co/fundraisers/pedalling-for-a-purpose.
Alternatively, go to Blue Dragon's website at bluedragon.org
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