Euro Tour 2013

Replaced defective coathanger

During the Euro Tour the coathanger of my velomobile broke in two places. On day 9 I discovered that it broke on the side and on day 13 the top was broken. This afternoon I went to Anton L. to replace the part. It's a two-man-job and Anton is a genius when it comes to bikes. As a 'compensation' I helped him setup his iPad and iPod Touch so he could synchronize his e-mail, contacts et cetera on both devices.

Euro Tour 2013 (photos and movies)

Below you will find my photos and a couple of movies of the Euro Tour 2013. Enjoy!

Going home

The last time I slept in a tent, well... for the next few months anyway. Matthias already left at 5:13 AM. He took his bus which was parked in Leer, loaded the bike and left. I myself got up at 7 AM and prepared myself for the final journey home. John would join me until Groningen. He planned to stay on the city campground and then continue to Dronten. When I was almost finished packing it started to rain lightly, but it wasn't that bad. John had some more packing to do.

Day 13: Almelo-Leer

Woke up relaxed without having to worry about making breakfast and packing my tent. I left at 8 AM for Lingen some 55 kilometers away where I was supposed to meet up with the rest at the group at an agreed point. One hour before the agreed time I received a text message from Matthias if I could meet him at the nearby bakeshop. He had to get some things for his Flevobike. The road to Lingen was, for the Dutch part anyway, largely next to a beautiful small canal. In Germany I cycled next to the Bundesstraße (main road), which was also fine.

Day 12: Xanten-Almelo

Since the five start campground had no decent internet connection it wasn't possible to post this and following messages online, but here they are.

After we all enjoyed a big dish with sandwiches it was time to leave. The next stop would be a camp ground near Bad Bentheim. For the rest of the group that is. I phoned a friend in Almelo where I stayed on my way to Wuppertal and stayed there for the night. That gave me the chance to a. sleep in a normal bed and b. clean all my stuff and get them dry. But it wasn't that time yet. First some cycling had to be done.

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.

Day 10: Nehren-Cologne

The plan was to leave at 8 AM, but everybody was ready a half hour earlier. After some 30 minutes of cycling we arrived in Cochem and at Germania we had the 10,50 euro all-you-can-eat buffet. You don't have to tell a bunch of hungry bikers twice.

Day 9: Igel-Nehren

After enjoying a wonderful meal yesterday (Jagersteak with fries) and enough (alcohol-free) drinks it was time for a goodnight sleep. The alarm clock only went of at 7 AM and just before 8 AM we took off. Together with Josef we went to Trier to get some breakfast. At one of the many bakeries we enjoyed the qualities of the German bakers. After that it was time to go the the Viehmarkt (Cattle market) for a press photo and a story. In total there were 11 velomobiles and 1 open recumbent for the pictures.

To the start of the Euro Tour

Yesterday me and Josef cycled from Bonn to Igel next to the Moezel to join the rest of the Euro Tour group. There was a forecast for thunder, but it didn't show up. We only had a lot of rain for the second pard of the ride.

BBQ'ing in Bonn

This morning it was time to pack up my stuff and leave Wuppertal behind and head to Bonn. Getting up, breakfast and packing my stuff took only one and a half hour which left me plenty of time to help my brother Ewout pack up his caravan. After saying goodbye to everyone I jumped into my bike at 11:30 AM for the 82 kilometer ride south.