Day 11: Cologne-Xanten

Today the trip started just before Cologne and the idea was to get breakfast near the Dome. You could see the city from far away.

Once at the Dome in Cologne it took a while for everyone to arrive. Fortunately it gave the tourists plenty of time to take some pictures.

We decided not to have breakfast in Cologne, but in a little town some 30 kilometers ahead. My stomach was making noises. So I ate a Knoppers-cookie. Eventually we arrived in Zons where, after some nagging, we managed to get some breakfast from the local restaurant. While we were waiting for the food to get ready I oiled my chain. Lacking my own decent 'keep-the-back-wheel-of-the-groud' thing I thought of another creative solution.

On our way there we also encountered two racing bikes who were up for a little bit of racing against some velomobiles (with holiday luggage). Eventually we got up to 40 km/h, but the managed to hold on to that for a while. Well done, gentlemen!

Other things we encountered were a lot of traffic lights. And almost all of them were red. Pulling up and breaking every time in the city wasn't much fun. We were a pretty big group (some 10+ riders) with different styles of cycling. I, as a front rider, decided not to stop every time if there was a hole in the group. Onder the motto 'immer gerade aus' (keep going straight) I cycled on and some half hour later at the next exit I waited for the rest. But nobody came. We (myself, the Flevobike-rider and two 'day guests' with their Evo K) waited for some 20 to 25 minutes, but still nobody. I cycled on. Later it turned out that Poul (one of the Danish guys) with his Milan had been hit by a (small) truck on purpose. Nobody was injured, but the bike was damaged. Together with a number of witnesses (the fellow riders) they wen to the police station to report it. The driver who caused it drove off, but they managed to het the license plate.

Just like all other days I arrived first at the camp ground. This time however it was only me, because Josef (which whom I cycled the last two days with) went home after breakfast in Zons. Once I put up the tent, took a shower and placed my chargeables in the nearby caravan I wrote something on my blog. A hour later the next Euro Tour rider arrived. The Dane Søren with his orange Strada. Another hour later the rest of the riders arrived.

Today I did a total of 122 kilometers. Another two days and we will arrive in Leer where we will be received by the mayor.

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