The longest day of the trip but it needed to be.itโs now Saturday morning and I still have around 60km of cycling today: 30km from central Rotterdam to the Hook of Holland and then, back up and down the Rhine to the end of one of the other fingers of land to the ferry. Check-in closes at 7pm tonight so I have plenty of time to complete those 60km but if I had stopped yesterday east of Rotterdam that might not have been the case.ย
Today has been a real joy. Everything came together in a celestial meeting of cycle touring, travelling, people, places, weatherโฆ I loved it. Even the trains joined the party after an initial reluctance to play ball at Cologne station this morning. With only 48 hours of this continental odyssey remaining, I couldnโt wish to have spent a more enjoyable day in the saddle. Even that pesky wind which, for much of the past week, has been annoying me in a manner that usually only a tiresome Year 9 student can achieve came to the party and blew me along the banks of the Rhine willing me to get to Rotterdam on time. Fabulous. I only wish you could have been here.
Itโs now day 61 and itโs turning out to be a โfunโ morning. Iโm booked onto a train to Xanten from Cologne but in chaotic scenes very reminiscent of taking a train in the UK, there is some confusion regarding the train that arrived on platform 4 a few minutes ago, wouldnโt let passengers on and then scarpered. I need to change at Duisburgโฆ Iโm forcing myself into โzenโ mode. It might have been easier to keep cycling and take the train from a quieter station. The plan was to arrive in Xanten – famed for its Roman ruins I Iearnt last night – then cycle over the border into The Netherlands. Come back later today to find out if that ever happens or whether Iโm still here in Germany. Or indeed Cologneโฆ
Such a contrast after three tedious days of cycling. The Rhine has come back to me! It was an epic day in terms of length – 130km – but also in terms of the environment. Finally the steep-sided Rhine valley has materialised and those cliff-top castles have appeared. Today was up there with some of the best cycles of the entire summer 2022 โGrand Tourโ journey. Enjoy the pictures and the videos as I have little energy to add much to what you can seeโฆ
In the context of a two-month cycle around Europe I can put up with a few days here and there of uninspiring or troublesome cycling but I do feel for all those people who set their heart of cycling the Canal du Midi or, more pertinently to this week, from Basel to where I am now (about 20km south-west of Frankfurt). It really is keep-your-receipt stuff but unlike a pair of jeans from Marks & Spencers, you canโt take a cycling holiday back to the shop and ask for a refund.
The best thing about day 57 is that it wasnโt day 56. Thatโs not to say that day 57 will go down in history as being a great day of cycling but it wasnโt anywhere near as monotonous as yesterdayโs cycle. And in contrast (because itโs not all about the cyclingโฆ), yesterday evening was fun chatting with Dave from Seattle, the German chap and the French family with their very funny two boys. Tonight here in Phillipsburg itโs just me and the chap in the next tent who I saw for the first time about 30 seconds ago. Heโs wearing a dressing gown and a head torch. Itโs not a look that I have ever coveted on a campsite but who knows? Itโs only 9pm. The evening could yet turn out to be an entertaining oneโฆ
About 80% of today was deathly dull. Why did I end up cycling the Rhine-Rhรดne Canal again after having cycled it north to south in 2010 and been bored just as rigid back then? I suppose it was because I ended up on the French side of the Rhine last night. Tonightโs short video is a boring one reflecting the day quite wellโฆย
Baselโฆ You almost ruined my day. More later on that score. Basel aside, today was up there with one of the best days of cycling and Iโm so delighted that Iโve been able to sample at least some of the delights of the shore of the Bodensee. It was the stuff of cycling dreams; beautiful scenery, nice weather, great cycle paths, fascinating places to visit and a satisfying distance covered. Itโs one of those days when you are better off not reading this drivel and just watching the video.
