Gravinnebos

After a quiet night in the hotel watching the "Ladies of Horn play Bingo" ( if there ever was a euphemism...) I had a leisurely start as I'd dropped my bike off for a service down at Heel. Great service- walk in, courtesy bike, perfect English and lots of enthusiasm from Jort and his colleagues. After a 6 k ride I was fairly happy to get back onto my own bike! Some nice wee riverside villages and lots of pleasant suburbia that looks so British but at the same time doesn't... A castle at Kessel. Crossed the Maas for the last time and soon after waved it goodbye. The Meuse/Maas has been my constant companion for more than 3 days and , in general, it's been a great way to make northerly progress and cut through the Ardennes whilst avoiding the busier industrial Rhine. Need to start heading east now otherwise I'm going to end up in a dyke! I nipped into Germany for 20k or so before popping back into the Netherlands for a hill (!!) and dropping down through Nijmegen and Arnhem- finally crossing the Rhine. The German border was unnoticeable and I spent some time today, as I did yesterday, wondering how to tell which country I was in. Decided best guide was number plates on parked cars. I was dry all today -apart from one Ninja downpour which had me soaked through in 2 minutes. Oh well! Fantastic Warmshowers host , Marcus , Carla and family looked after me royally.Read more