Lucy’s New Adventures_2018

Utrecht  Thursday 14th - Saturday 16th June A change of  plan My original plan was to try and cycle in all 12 of the Dutch Provinces.  So from Arnhem I planned to go South to visit the National Cycle Museum at Nijmegen and then spend the next few days in the Provinces of Nord Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland. But as I wanted to be home by the 22nd it looked as if it would be far too rushed and I would miss things. Lucy reminded me that this year’s trip is called, ‘Lucy Goes Back To .....’ and she suggested that we return in the Autumn to do it properly. So I changed my plan, looked at the map and headed west into the Province of Utrecht, the smallest of the 12 Provinces. I cycled  through the Nationaal Park Utrechtse Heuvelrug and stopped in this clearing for a mid-morning break before heading off towards the city of Utrecht.  I stayed in Veenendaal, one of the biggest cities within the Dutch Bible Belt. It was originally a small peat colony, Veen means peat and Daa...

Gelderland Wednesday 13th - Friday 15 June 2018 Gelderland is the largest province in the Netherlands and dates from Roman times when they conquered and torched Nijmegen. It is in a strategic position geographically as it borders Germany and the River Rhine flows through it, so the Province has had a varied and sometimes troubled history. And it is surprisingly hilly.  The first hill that I encountered was only 5%, and as you can see Lucy sailed up it with heavy panniers laughing at the racing cyclists. It was about a kilometre long and while I cycled up I must have been passed by about 30 ‘racing cyclists’ powering up and down. Out of the saddle for the ascent and leaning low over their tri-bars as they descended. When they raced past me I wanted to shout, “Call this a hill, you need to climb a proper one”. Later I met a lot more short, steep hills on the trails through the forest.  Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe I spent a couple of days following the Knooppunten on trails, up...