Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1166690143
225km, 9h38, elevation gain 1894m. Trip rating: 90%
回到布拉格的第一天，一大早有親朋好友出來送我好運，為我加油。這當然感動了阿肚仔勇士。新買的蝶剎公路車立刻面對225公里的長途，也立即證明了為何存在。從比利時的老家往東邊遷移。頭一段走河邊的單車道，然後經過荷蘭比利時德國三個國家靠在一起的地點。最後從德國阿根東進德國，過了萊茵河。沿途都是逆風。晚上抵達了民宿。我吃了一頓好飯，跟朋友報告一下，然後上路。就這樣，第一天就順利了！
The eight days spent at home had already passed. The family party was nice, I was at home for my own birthday and I made use of the opportunity to visit the company's NL offices. I had even acquired a new bicycle, a disc brake road bike. The time to hit the road with it had now come. It was early in the morning on May 6th.
I was being sent off by my neighbors and my family. Tires were pump up, it was already passed seven am. Time to hit the the road, disc brake style!
Obviously the first part was extremely well-known terrain. This is the hill I always passed through on my way to school (aka Broederkesberg)
Alright, 1.5km in the pocket, only 998 to go haha!!
I looked back one last time before I left my hometown of Lummen
A combination of roads led me to Hasselt, where I connected to the Albert Channel. It runs east to the Netherlands.
It was already warm and I took off some clothes. Boy was I happy I left the heavy duty winter wear at home!!!
Compared to last time, this weather was downright fabulous!
In these circumstances, riding to Prague would be nothing short of a fairy tale
It did not take long for me to notice that I would be facing headwinds all day long. That was a minor mental blow.
Crossing a bridge on my way to Genk, one of the major cities in Limburg, closer to the Netherlands already.
Going back on another bike somehow felt wrong
The Albert Channel was taking me to the town of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
I was the only cyclist here on this beautiful day
The total distance from my doorstep to the Dutch border is about 50 km (2 hours of cycling)
I arrived at the end of the channel and was sent to the normal roads. The Netherlands were at the other side of this bridge.
Already finished one of the four nations on this trip.
On my way to the city center of Maastricht. Heerlen, where my company is located, is very close from here.
I needed to get another picture at this little bridge. I stood here two weeks ago completely soaked. Today I kinda got revenge for that.
A few people were walking by and we started to chat. When they heard this fellah was marching to Prague their eyes were filled with spontaneous disbelief. They did offer me plenty of morale and support.
Distant view over Maastricht. I spent a week here in December 2015 for work shadowing.
Other side of the same bridge
The Netherlands at their finest
No Dutch cliche would be complete without the windmills
From Maastricht, I went further east, in the direction of Aachen, Germany. It is one long straight line with a few minor hills. This segment was identical to my ride two weeks ago.
Zuid-Limburg in the Netherlands, the southernmost tip of our beloved kingdom.
The cycling lane is rather narrow but luckily the roads are not packed on this ordinary Friday
After almost 20km along that straight line east, I arrived in the border town of Vaals.
There is something interesting about this town: Here, three nations congregate in one point: Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
During my previous passage, I did not pay the three-nations dot a visit, but today the circumstances offered me no excuse. I climbed up the hill that went to 300 m elevation and visited the border mark.
There were more tourists here...
This is it, the mythical borderline between the Low Lands and the German Reich
No tourist attraction without some background info
I exited the are from the other side, which ironically led me back into Belgium, this time into Wallonia's province of Liege.
The elevation was fairly high for this part: 315m. A descent followed right after that.
The descent made me love my disc brakes right away
There were more cyclists here
Very swiftly, I once again left Belgium and entered the Netherlands.
It was some 4 km in the NL's Zuid-Limburg before I entered Germany
The passage through Germany would be a lengthy one, covering 700 km and 10K of elevation gain.
Already finished 2 out of 4 nations, so things were looking good
First landmark on German soil: Aachen
The first part of Germany would be flat, but unfortunately the head winds were making this section very harsh as well.
At least the weather is good
It was my first ride with disc brakes, so I had to check these out. First impressions were amazing
More control, more power, more safety. In fact, they already came in handy during the very first ride. In the city center of Duren, a car almost hit me because it turned without watching. I pushed the brakes to their limit and I managed to stop. Thank God!
There is a nice climb right after Aachen. Only too bad the road conditions are poor
Bartman gaining elevation in West-Germany
Low traffic made this part very enjoyable
Already more than a 100 km in the pocket, 10% of the total ride had already been covered
From Aachen, I went further east to the town of Duren. From there, Bonn was not far.
For a microsecond I felt back in Asia
Garmin provided me with many tranquil and safe field roads. The only downside here was that the head winds could seriously hammer me here, and they did!
Minor suffering meant nothing compared with the joy I was feeling here
The yellow fields started popping up. They will keep me company all the way to Prague
These yellow fields of flowers invite me to take numerous snapshots
It's a beautiful day!
Approaching the town of Duren. In this area, lots of the roads were a repetition from my previous ride.
The warm weather was making me noticeably more thirsty. Good thing there are many gas stations, where I can exchange my hard earned euros for precious life-saving fluids.
This chain of tiny towns was leading to Bonn, I remembered everything from two weeks earlier.
All this headwind cycling was draining my energy. When I saw a bakery that was open and where I could keep my bike in sight, I took my chances and stacked up on some sugared food.
No prejudices, but I will refrain from losing eye-contact with this bike.
I had arrived in the city of Bonn, one of the larger cities I would pass through. Get ready for defensive, anything-can-happen urban traffic!
The weather was good and many people on the streets. I stayed focused and made sure I got outta here alive.
The inevitable happened: I crossed over the Rhine.
With Bonn behind me, it was only a good 30 km to my finish of the day, Buchholz.
All things considered, this first day was going pretty smooth
I did not travel through this area previous time, this was all new territory
Beautiful sceneries here. I could sense I was entering the hilly stage of my ride. The plains were gone.
Today's ride already covered the entire Nortrhein Westfalen area. I entered the Bundesland of Rheinland Pfalz. From a progress point of view, that felt wonderful
Buchholz indicated on the road signs, me gusta!
Welcome in the hills of Germany, where I could hammer my well-trained body for the next few days.
Buchholz, I'm here! Now where's my room???
Today's stats: 9 hours 38 minutes, 225 km, elevation 1900. Good job! Now I need a good meal.
The Landgasthof was nice: I had a good meal and a nice night rest. I powered up nicely for stage 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment