The forecast said it’d be a hot day, so we decided to leave early and asked our host Louis to have breakfast at 7. Louis comes from a family of farmers and was a construction worker since he was 16, so getting up early wasn’t an issue for him.
After a nice breakfast and more stories from Louis (he did a lot of solo hikes), we finally left at 8:40 AM for Gorinchem, with lunch packed. It was already 25°C then, but under the trees and along the winding river, it was totally manageable.
Popping by a vending machine for strawberries in Hoogstraten. How amazing can freshly picked strawberries be? We snacked on some and I kept the rest for later in my handlebar bag.
Around noon we got to Breda and really needed some caffeine, so we stopped at Cafe Boerke Verschuren for a quick coffee. After getting a boost from the coffee, Leen suggested we turn our coffee break into a full lunch. The sandwiches we made this morning would then become dinner. So we did. To blend in quickly into the Dutch culture, Leen ordered a tosti and I got two Breughelian croquettes on dark bread (to make it seem more healthy).
Guess who ordered what 😁.
When we hit the road again, it was already 28 degrees. Breda’s a cool city, but it’s pretty spread out. So it felt way hotter than what the thermometer said. After Breda, there were some trees along the way, but not nearly as many as we wanted.
Alright, break time! Perfect for some dessert and finishing off those delicious strawberries. But, if you’re paying attention, you might’ve guessed the strawberries were already a bit mushy. So, as a wise person once said: “Never put your strawberries in a handlebar bag.”
I won’t bore you with too many details for the rest of the trip, except for one small near-death experience.
It was the hottest part of the day, and we were still an hour away from our destination, so we took a road that ran alongside the A27 highway. It was pretty quiet, with just a few cars and lots of bikes. You can imagine getting into a bit of a trance on a road like that, and the highway noise was deafening sometimes. So, you forget to check your mirror for traffic, which I usually do.
A bus whizzed by us at 50 km/h, mere centimeters away, on a sandy road. Not the best experience to say the least! It was too hot to stop, so we cycled to the nearest shade (a bridge, of course). We paused to cool down, especially Leen, who was cursing like a sailor the whole way and who was quite upset. I had to use all my convincing powers to calm her so we could continue. A frightening moment, but thankfully, nothing happened. 🚌💨
We got to our place in Gorinchem (or Gorcum, as they call it here) at 05:00. We were here last October too, so it was nice to see everyone again.
We took a quick shower, even tried washing our clothes in it like those pro bike packers do. Then we walked to the nearest Albert Heijn. After that, it was time to eat our sandwiches and chill out.
I know two people who are gonna sleep like babies tonight.
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