Day 36: Biesbosch to Kerkdriel

September 14, 2024

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The first part of our route was back through the Biesbosch, partly along paths we had taken yesterday. Today was as glorious as yesterday, or maybe more so, with less wind and seemingly more birds.

Swans and geese were flying in formation everywhere.

Where there were not wetlands, or water, there were fields of crops.

In the crops we spotted a Buzzard. Somehow we always hope for a different raptor, but Buzzards are magnificent too.

Even without birds, the wetlands are interesting.

At various points we observed bee hives out in the fields. The photo below shows the biggest grouping we saw. Bees were flying by our heads as we shot this.

As we passed fields of potatoes I would quip "Oh good, they are preparing to make us fries". This of course was accurate, and at one farm gate we saw peeled and cut potatoes for sale.

It looks like the price is 3 euros per kg. For our US friends, that's $1.50/lb.

In the next field we came to a rare (for us) event, which was some Greyhound dog races. Seeing other spectators and people with cameras, it took us a while to figure out what was going on. The dogs were chasing a blue and white ribbon thing, but at the distance I never did see what was moving the target around the course.

It turned out we needed to cross the river (basically a branch of the Maas, but the rivers are blended here and their names are confusing), at the same place as yesterday. We had a plan to top up the skipper with the €.03 we had shortchanged yesterday, but today was a different man, so we kept the cash!

At this point we had reached or crossed the Maas and a sign assured us that we were on the Maasroute (also known as the Maasfietsroute or La Meuse a Velo, or Eurovelo 19). This is what we plan to follow for the next approximately 1000 km, to its origin at Langres, in France.

The picturesque crossing of ... whatever river.

Especially now on a weekend, there were lots of cyclists of all sorts on the trail. I noticed at least a dozen couples out on bikes who were "really old". I am measuring this by how white their hair was. There were also quite a few "grannies". I could guess that this reflects the fact that women live longer than men. These grannies were tough, too. There wasn't a one that I felt we could keep up with.

Here are some other riders. And there were lots of touring cyclists too.

We passed through or near a certain number of towns as well. At least on the way we were going, these places offered little or nothing in terms of food or services. But it was interesting looking at the houses. We made a little progress with the mystery of how the tall Dutch could fit into such apparently small and short houses. I noticed that most windows started perhaps a foot or a little more above the level of the ground (vs. 3 feet at home), giving the impression that the houses had been shoved down into the ground. Dodie felt this might actually be the case, and that the houses had significant below ground bits. Maybe.

In one town we ran into a small flock of domestic turkeys. But these were a variety new to us. We know the white and the bronze, but there are really a dozen or more types. We identified these as Rouge des Ardennes.

24224 Dindon Rouge des Ardennes (Red Turkey)

There is a bit of a dispute between Dodie and I about when we actually and unambiguously reached the Maas. But once we were truly on it, the scene was of the bike path going along a height of land (dike?) back from the river, with a broad swath of green bordering the water, and that green supporting many cows, but also geese and ducks.

Whether directly overlooking the water or not, we were cycling through a great agricultural area. Everything was so green. I was thinking that this place must surely rival or beat famous green places like in Ireland or England.

All along there were farm operations big and small. Lots of small livestock, and lots of big livestock.

Livestock, green, water, crops, everywhere!

This cute thatched house is not really typical - too fancy.

Roadside stands are not common, as they are at home, but there are some.

One of those towns with not much for us.

Here is a swan with some babies that must have been very late. I had to wait a long time for even this shot, because all four were spending most of their time picking their armpits.

Whatever they are growing or sheltering here, it seemed like an immense amount of work to arrange it.

This doesn't mean too much to us, except that there seemed to be a few more trailside benches than before.

This style of road works ok. Bikes have priority in the marked lanes, but cars can use them when no bikes are involved.

One more ferry crossing. These folks were from Czech. The Camino stickers on our handlebar bags confused them, as they thought we were going to Santiago.

Up on the dike opposite, a scene so typical of cycling here.

We are off again, into the intense green.

One more crossing of the Maas, but this time on a bridge. Ferries are fun, but they slow you down!

The shot below is really just from the outskirts on the far side of Kerkdriel. Something from the small commercial centre might have been more interesting. But I was rather frazzled from the very rare experience in Netherlands of contending with cars (and in this case, one tractor also). The town streets are narrow, and have parked cars and also deliberate constrictions. Drivers (including that one tractor driver) here seem impatient with bicycles in the way.

We reached our (sort of) hotel, the Sientjes, on the far outskirts of town. The owner was very welcoming and helped with carrying the bags.

Once again we had done far more kms than originally foreseen (based on crude Google Maps guesses). Tomorrow figures to be the same, because we are following rivers, and they are naturally wiggly. It will remain to be seen to what extent we stick faithfully to the rivers (such as the Maas, just now) or whether we start to cut any corners.

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 1,680 km (1,043 miles)

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John FlecknerLooking forward to your Maas/Meuse trip. We took route from Maastricht back to Amsterdam in 2019. At the last minute decided not to head down into France. Some day.
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3 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo John FlecknerWe too are looking forward to this ride. Glad you are coming along with us.
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3 months ago