Just by posting my adventures everywhere, I unwittingly convinced several people to participate in RATN. This is how I met Delphine and how we went to Amerongen together. The journey is way more pleasant when you are not alone. And on top of that, I had two friends at the station, in Brussels. I was a thousand miles from the solo start the previous year. It was already very good for morale!
After a change in Rotterdam, we are in Utrecht. We have 35km left to go. We can do them by train but we have enough of it. We decide to ride. This will allow Delphine to check that what she hung on her bike during the train journey fits well on her luggage. Interesting note to keep in mind: there are inside doors to exit Utrecht station. So don’t throw your tickets in the first trash can you come across, otherwise you will have to explain to a security agent why you are stuck in the station…
We ride at our ease and take advantage of a bus stop to eat our lunch. As we were about to leave, we saw two guys arriving. Given their equipment and the direction they are heading to, we are going to the same place. We break the ice to discover that it is an Englishman and an American. We will lose them along the way but will see them again in Amerongen. Delphine and I arrive right on time for our bike check. As soon as I entered the gym, I was stopped by two people! One is Michael, the organizer, and the other is Julia, Dotwatcher editor. My bike check went without problem. I have the same number as in 2021! #cap8
After that, we have to kill time until the evening meal. It’s an opportunity to chat with each other, show each other our bikes and do our first shopping trip. When I going with Géraldine to her bike check, Michael asks me if I have advertised the event. No sir, I’m just posting pictures on social media. People are crazy enough to sign up. It’s not my fault.
Just before the meal, I meet Els and Marie Lou. My heroes since I dotwatched them on TCR! Hilde also joins us and that’s how our 100% female table will spend a good two hours discussing everything and nothing. It was a very convivial and pleasant moment outside of the ultra-fast time of the race against time that we were going to undertake the next day.
