17/10/24
The night at camping Rustdam was noisy and bright. A full moon penetrated the tent for most of the night and there were many animals and cars we could hear. The bells of the church were most annoying, every hour, 15 minutes, half hour, 45 minutes all night!
We weren’t at our best but felt much better and had a lazy start. We had some random bag of keto banana porridge with a banana chopped into it. It had rained during the night so the tent was slightly damp. The Big Agnes UL 3 Bikecamp was a spacious beast and all of the panniers could be crammed into the vestibules. Its main two faults so far are that:
- the poles are odd as they have a 4 way connector and are quite hefty as short poles.
- for some reason when folding the tent and ground sheet a huge amount of air gets trapped making it difficult to manage
However, the massive gear pocket above your feet redeems it a fair bit.
We were slightly off route but it doesn’t matter in the Netherlands because literally everywhere is a fietspar (a bike path). It was a really beautiful peaceful route around some woods and lakes. And the sun came out which was an unexpected bonus.
I guess we were in rural areas, but there are people everywhere. We were surrounded by flower nurseries and at one point a mini train of carriages full of flowers passed us.
We were passing through many towns on the river, nothing remarkable but very pleasant. We stopped for lunch to have a block of tofu, some bread and salad. Our carried spices (salt, pepper, paprika and chilli powder) were much appreciated.
Later we were on a lovely single track through the countryside, the most remote path we’d been on. There were still several people, walking or biking. We chatted to a man interested in our route who wore a “cycling for climate” shirt which was nice to see. A beautiful castle rose out of the trees. Classic turrets made a lovely rest stop backdrop.
As we got closer to Utrecht the paths got very busy. It was nearing rush hour and you could really tell, the paths were like motorways. So many cyclists sporting various kinds of bikes, electric, city, road. Most were barely paying attention to the road ahead, not dangerously but more in a very second nature kind of way. Most teenagers were on their phones and riding no hands effortlessly, usually with a crate on the front. We witnessed an accident when a girl rode across the path of a boy. It was brushed off quickly – clearly a common occurrence.
Utrecht was manic, bikes streamed out of every possible direction, merging both smoothly and abruptly. It was hard to know where to look. Making eye contact seemed to be the key to understanding the next movements.
We organised a camping spot at a site outside the city. It was about 10km away. Leaving the bustle was relieving and we sauntered out on quiet but well travelled roads and paths. As the time ticked on it became apparent that it was going to be close whether we arrived before sunset+30, when it actually gets dark. We pressed hard to make good time. The route taking us a longer than direct way, we realised later.
Just as dusk settled we pulled into greet Maewis (that’s probably not how it’s spelt). He said his name had something to do with Bartholomew but couldn’t understand what he meant! He let us store our bikes in his barn and gave us access to a lovely room to eat and rest.
A warm shower, but not really hot enough, was still a welcome blessing. Dinner was a can of baked beans with bread and radishes. Dessert was a nice mix of chocolate almonds and chocolate dipped in tea.
It was far easier to get comfortable in the tent tonight. A purposeful slope meant the head was definitely higher than the heart! It’s going to rain in the morning…
Surly They Won't Make It 