Day 66/67, Friday 24 July to Saturday 25 July

Distance: 330 km (in 26 hours)
Weather: It started out OK with a fresh SW wind, mostly from the side. It poured at the border crossing (we still had those!) from 19:30 - 21:00, but after that dry all night long. When I came to De Bilt (which is where the Dutch meteorological service has its headquarters) a welcome shower (organised by the weather service themselves) which lasted all the way home.

A pleasant day and night to ride a bike and to break records. When I had a meal of nasi with saté in Venlo, I heard it was the final day of the "Avond Vierdaagse" so I decided to keep going to Nijmegen to join the festivities there. I arrived there at about 1 am and stayed till 2:30, and then decided to keep going. The final hours were pretty hard (I remember this part very well: I almost had to walk up the Grebbeberg, but after crossing the Dolomites, the Alps and the Pyrenees without ever having to get off my bike, it was below me to have to walk in the Netherlands! The picture below shows the sign that indicates: steep climb.) After I arrived in Loosdrecht, I found that three more spokes had broken and all the other ones were loose. (When I took the tyre off a couple of days later, I found that the rim of the front wheel had separated into two parts; no wonder the riding had felt like my wheels were not round anymore.)

By and large not a very colourful day.