Upon arriving in Rotterdam we looked at the weather forecast for Monday. Annoyingly the whole day was predicted to be heavy rain and storms so we made the decision to stay a day in the city and wait for the weather to pass. This meant that we had free licence to go and sample lots of beers. The evening went to plan and the city was nice and lively, for a Sunday evening.
On waking up the next morning and feeling really rough, I had a look at the weather and miraculously all the predicted rain had disappeared. This created a dilemma and a hard decision, as to whether to change plans again, and plow on with a hangover, or stay and explore the city.
I was feeling quite anxious about keeping moving and not having too many days without progress. Joel was keen to stay and see more of the city, as we'd planned the night before, so I felt a bit guilty when we did set off.
We started out just hoping to reach Belgium which was about 40 miles away. We set off very late after being very indecisive about what to do. The forecast also predicted rain later in the day nearer to Antwerp. All this led to it being very unlikely we'd do a lot of miles, and get as far as Antwerp.
The riding started slowly and we had to wait about 40 minutes for a small ferry to help us cross the Muse (unsure of spelling). Then the heavens opened and it was a painful, slow and grey start to the day. Everything in the Netherlands also seems to be closed on Sundays and Mondays so we struggled to find any cafes or places to eat almost all day until after about 4pm.
As we progressed we found more energy and the sun started to poke through occasionally.
We crossed into Belgium without noticing any border signs or any clues we'd hit a new country.
Joel, who is a lot fitter than me was keen to push through all the way to Antwerp which I thought would be a difficult finish. I'm glad we did carry on though because in the end it was a great finish. We both found more energy and the last 25 miles flew by with relative ease.
Finished the day on 66.5 miles arriving in Antwerp at about 7pm
We've vowed not to get drunk tonight and actually get up as early as possible to reach Bruges by a decent time tomorrow.
On waking up the next morning and feeling really rough, I had a look at the weather and miraculously all the predicted rain had disappeared. This created a dilemma and a hard decision, as to whether to change plans again, and plow on with a hangover, or stay and explore the city.
I was feeling quite anxious about keeping moving and not having too many days without progress. Joel was keen to stay and see more of the city, as we'd planned the night before, so I felt a bit guilty when we did set off.
We started out just hoping to reach Belgium which was about 40 miles away. We set off very late after being very indecisive about what to do. The forecast also predicted rain later in the day nearer to Antwerp. All this led to it being very unlikely we'd do a lot of miles, and get as far as Antwerp.
The riding started slowly and we had to wait about 40 minutes for a small ferry to help us cross the Muse (unsure of spelling). Then the heavens opened and it was a painful, slow and grey start to the day. Everything in the Netherlands also seems to be closed on Sundays and Mondays so we struggled to find any cafes or places to eat almost all day until after about 4pm.
As we progressed we found more energy and the sun started to poke through occasionally.
We crossed into Belgium without noticing any border signs or any clues we'd hit a new country.
Joel, who is a lot fitter than me was keen to push through all the way to Antwerp which I thought would be a difficult finish. I'm glad we did carry on though because in the end it was a great finish. We both found more energy and the last 25 miles flew by with relative ease.
Finished the day on 66.5 miles arriving in Antwerp at about 7pm
We've vowed not to get drunk tonight and actually get up as early as possible to reach Bruges by a decent time tomorrow.
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