Tuesday 3 September 2013

5.15...Tuesday 3rd September 2013.

Alright then, let's have some Noel Tidybeard to wing us back to 1973. No Pete, not that guitar please?

Another day, another country...

Under starter's orders from Venlo and it is the same story as yesterday: continual traffic management which is obviously safe but so effing frustrating for what I want to be doing...ah diddums!

Only twinned with the mythical Fenland!

A rare unfettered stretch of cycle path. It'll last for a mile, tops.
I was just keen to press on as much as I could to get through Cologne and then into the last 30 miles which would be a tad uphill. We'll come to that in a minute or so...

More 'mills!

You don't need a weatherman, etc.!
Following my bike GPS's instructions (see, it's always someone/thing else's fault) I routed onto the B58 and ignored what may look like a 'no cycling' sign to some people. It was in German, mind...
Anyway, even by my standards it was a tad fast so I wasn't too distraught when a traffic police detail waved me across and told me that the war for you Tommy is over...
.
The bloke was sound and said that he strongly recommended that I take a detour...like I was going to argue, especially when he said that he had just nicked some bell-end doing 275kph on the same stretch. Evening all!

Die Traffiken Sweeney.

All this malarkey makes for a good laugh but it doesn't help the time-keeping: cutting through Cologne was pretty full-on too...no casualties thankfully! Didn't see too much tourist-wise...

Gonna topple, surely?

Way better advertising than SpecSavers!

Slow progress until the final 30 miles when I could largely wave gudbuy to traffic management and start slogging up some hills towards Westerburg and my lovely hotel. Wish I was staying for another night!

The trog home consisted of either this or,

...this. Switchbacks, how I've missed thee!

Lovely wee place.

One last bit of nonsense that I only thought happened in ropey Robin Askwith 70's films: I checked in and was "Sir'd" to death and given my room key. Only thing was there was a mildly startled 60 year old German bloke lying on his bed watching telly when I burst the door open and threw my stuff on the floor.
Difficult to say who was more surprised...

Right, now I know that at least two of you are keen to read my daily stats and guffaw...well, with five miles or so to go my Garmin gave up. Was I out there for that long? Anyway, Strava has salvaged the bulk of it, so...

CLICK HERE for slightly truncated stats!


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