It was about time I left Groningen. I’d been here 3 nights and thoroughly enjoyed the place.
Unfortunately, it was a bit overcast and humid this morning, so the tent etc. was wet for packup. I was underway at about 9am (happy with that) and had nearly 100kms to get to Zwolle (NOT happy with that) and visit some old friends (happy again !). The day got warmer and the clouds gradually disappeared and it turned out to be the easiest 100km I’ve ever done.
The first part was nice – through a park and some farms and then I was on a bike path beside a road and canal for most of the way. Sounds boring, but it wasn’t. There were plenty of villages and people out and about to make it interesting. Add to that all of the boat traffic on the canal with small bridges opening all the time, and there was something happening all day – even if sometimes the excitement was only a big pack of motorcyclists near Assen.
But … it was deathly flat. The steepest hill of the day was a speed bump in the supermarket car park where I grabbed food for lunch. About 12kms out of Zwolle, the road ran beside the freeway and I needed a pick-me-up, so I stopped at the freeway services got a cold drink and sat in the blazing sun to drink it. Yes, blazing sun and Holland – two things that are rarely related.
Then it was onto the excellent cycle paths of Zwolle and to Maddy and Jack’s place. It’s been more than 15years since I’ve seen them, and it was so nice to be there and catch up.
