August 26, 2023
Hellevoetsluis to Biesbosch
Tobias decided to sleep in until 9am this morning, and combined with not really wanting to leave Herman and Patrice and their amazing hospitality we didn't get away until almost 12. We did have a very nice morning and Patrice spoilt Tobias by playing the ukelele for him (he asked for money to put in her case) and taking him for a ride in her "noisy little auto". He was talking about it all morning and it managed to get us 20km into the day before we had to stop for lunch.
During lunch I asked James if he thought it would rain, so if we needed to take the washing in. He very confidently said no way. Just as we were ready to go he checked the buienradar and said that there might be a few spots, but nothing we'd need our jackets on for. Within 10 minutes we'd stopped to put the cover on Tobias and get our own jackets on and by the time the downpour stopped half an hour later we were drenched. When Tobias got out later he said "raining. Foot" and showed James how white wrinkled up foot. The trailer has a drainage hole, but it seems to get him more wet than dry.
The road was a bit depressing, maybe due to the rain. But there is a big tunnel closed which I think is driving lots of traffic this way. We were on a separate cycle path so safe, but the noise was pretty relentless. Then we had to take a detour through s'gravendeel and it had lots of signage when you carried on straight but missed a few on the key turns. Its funny that we've been back for 5 days and expect quiet bike roads, not just separat bike paths, and good signage when we have to take a detour.
Despite having a relatively long day, we only had 15km to cover after Tobias woke up which is pretty doable these days. Especially when it includes a ferry which was also carrying a tractor and a trailer load of hay. We got a constant narration of what was going to happen with the tractor and it's load while we waited for the ferry.
Once into the Biesbosch it was only 3km to our campsite. The owner showed us to a beautiful site right on the water. The weather was still looking a bit dodgy so we rushed to get the tent up so it could dry out a bit since it was still drenched from 2 nights ago. Luckily there was a bit of a breeze to help us out and a sandpit within eyesight to keep Tobias occupied. We managed to get through dinner and then had a few spots of rain while we did the dishes inside, so it really wasn't a problem. From then the evening was clear and Tobias and I went for a really long bike ride while James unpacked. Since he was up so late he also wasn't ready for bed till much later so he noticed the sunset for the first time and commented on the orange lights in the sky.
Now we're sitting outside getting eaten alive by ten thousand mosquitoes and listening to the fish doing their best to eat them for us. We've never visited the Biesbosch, though we always intended to, so tomorrow we will make a small loop through before heading north to Utrecht. We have a few friends riding down to meet us, and more coming to meet us at our favourite brew pub once we get there. We have a small picture calendar for Tobias where we tick of the days so he can see when we will bike, or camp, and when we are going on the airplane. Its a bit surreal that this time next week will be our last night here before we fly back to New Zealand for good. Also a bit daunting because we have a lot of packing to do before then.
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Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 3,264 km (2,027 miles)
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