Eurovelo 15 - Day 21 - Orsoy to Arnhem

So what I thought was a kid's sideshow alley was just a precursor for the main event ... a techno music festival ... just 50 metres from my room. I thought about joining the crowd, who seemed to be enjoying the spectacle (probably the musicians' parents), however, techno isn't real music, and their repertoire of 3 songs, played over and over, spoiled the magic.

11.34pm, 11.35pm, 11.36pm ...

12.02am - where is the rain, thunder and lightning now?

12.25am - surely someone has called the Mayor of Orsoy!

12.45am - hold my beer!

Finally, all went quiet around 1.02am and I got to use my pillow!

My body clock woke me around 6.30am and I'd arranged breakfast for 8.00am. The hotel didn't normally serve breakfast until 9.00am on a Sunday, however, they made an exception just for me! At 8.00am breakfast was served ... it was a feast ... I actually thought another half dozen people were joining me.  I felt so guilty not being able to put a dent into all the offerings ... then the chef brought out a specially made omelette! 

Begging forgiveness I hit the road.

The conditions for riding today were superb. The rain disappeared for the next 24 hours, it was heavily foggy and cool, and the bike paths turned out to be near perfect.

 

 

Much of the first part of the trip today is through nature reserves, and the paths lined with cobblestone pavers. I'm not the only one out early - I pass a lagoon that a sign describes as a water bird's paradise, and several photographers and bird watchers seem to agree. Unfortunately, there was so much fog this morning that the photographers were just having coffee. 

I move into another nature reserve that's recommended in Mike Wells's book and off the official Eurovelo 15 trail. Again, very quiet with only a few walkers and some people with dogs. This section alternates between very new bitumen paths on the dikes themselves or paving on older paths below the dikes. I pass an arched wall that looks very very very old - it must have been a massive construction in its day ... for what use I don't know. 

 

 

Shortly after I was confronted by two sheep who are protecting a pathway that I need to take ... it's a Mexican German standoff! Finally, I passed after declaring I'd become a Vegan!

 

 

I arrive in Xanten, apparently the only town in Germany starting with the letter X! It's a beautiful place, and if it wasn't so early at 10.30am, I'd consider staying here for tonight. However, I do call in for morning tea and to pursue some of the town's fortifications.

 

 

I spot a great playground with an amazing kids' dragony climby thingy. I tried to get a photograph but a kid was climbing on it ... some parents need to learn to control their children!

 

 

Even more surprising is the bike path out of town.  It follows the foreshore of a large lake and it's absolutely beautiful. I judge towns by how friendly the people are - harsh I know.  However, while riding, I say hello to everyone! Some people get in before me, some respond as I pass, some look surprised, and some offer no acknowledgement whatsoever. In Xanten, everyone responded, with most getting in first! Ok, so not an exact science on community happiness but you get the concept. 

As I stop for a quick drink beside a road, I watch a crow pick up a seed pod, and fly up high to drop it onto the road hoping to crack it open and release the food inside.  As I watch for a while I notice that when they can't crack it, they'll position it on the road for a car to run over. Now our crows in Australia do the same thing ... nature or nurture? How could this be a learned behaviour by the same species of bird half a world away? So is it an innate behaviour? Enough philosophising for one blog!

I've heard about the strong Westerly winds that hit you on the Eurovelo, however, once again the weather gods smile upon me. I see half a dozen wind turbines all ground to a halt.  No wind for them means easier riding for me. The dikes that I'm riding on today have almost perfect pathways. They are fairly new after significant flooding created an injection of infrastructure improvements a few years ago.

I pass Wunderland Kalkar, a theme park built inside a nuclear power station ... I kid you not! It cost 3.5 billion Euros to build the nuclear plant however being plagued by operational issues during construction, and a growing green movement in Germany that had political strength, caused commissioning to be put on hold. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster was its death knell. A Dutch billionaire bought it for a reported 3 million Euro, and the amusement park was borne. The photo shows people on a ride in and above the large cooling tower ... really! One man's nuclear plant is another man's  ...

 

 

I arrive in Grieth on the Rhine and decide to stop for lunch and determine my end point for today. I ride down a suburban street and see a van set up for pizzas beside a stall with ice cream, all attached to someone's house! I can only imagine what the neighbours think. The owner is an older gentleman who I imagine just got bored in retirement. While waiting for my hand-crafted, custom-made, margarita pizza to arrive, I assess my travel plans for the afternoon. I'm feeling good - I've just travelled 43 km so far today ... another 43 will have me in Arnhem. Deal done!

Before long I'm in my last country of the tour, the Netherlands. The border crossing was quite unremarkable. I saw no sign of leaving Germany and entering a new country ... maybe I just missed it! The Rhine splits up into several branches ... from here I'll be following the Nieuwe Masse and Nieuwe Waterweg to the Hook of Holland and the North Sea, and where the Rhine officially ends. 

For now, I catch two ferries on my approach to Arnhem. It's a fairly straight ride into town ... one thing that I do notice is that Dutch drivers (in my experience of 2 hours in the country) seem to be the most aggressive of all the countries I've been through on the ride. They move fast, not slowing down for cyclists ... very much reminding me of home, Australia. 

A real rest day tomorrow before heading west to the North Sea!

 

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