I’ll only be riding one kilometer with Delphine that day, as she has to validate her CP in Bourtagne. I booked my hotel in the morning and was unpleasantly surprised to find that the one I had planned was full. So I have to add 20km to my initial schedule. That gives me 240 km to cover. Again a big day then. And I’m about to start on the north coast, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the wind stays as it is and doesn’t turn into hell.
The first stage of the day will be Groningen. But we’ll have to go through a large construction zone. I can imagine the dotwatchers panicking to see us leave the track. I’ll see later on Twitter that this was the case. Don’t panic, in this case it’s allowed.
The track to Groningen is not the same as in 2021. There will be two construction zones and a bridge, which will close in front of me of course. And only 3-4 kilometers a little bit pleasant. I’m not a fan of this new section. I’m going to bump into Willem, a rider from last year. We’ve been following each other on Facebook ever since, but I had no idea he was busy crossing the country from north to south. This totally unexpected encounter makes me smile. Groningen is an opportunity to buy milk, bread and bananas to try to calm the acid reflux I’ve had for the last 2 hours. I don’t often drink coffee and I had some in the morning to keep me awake, but my stomach doesn’t like it. Never test food during a race! Always before!
I find a shady spot to take a real break and not eat while lying on the bike. I’m going to try to ride for another hour with less bending in half, but it’s not that easy to do.
After another bridge closed in front of me, I’m on my way to Eemshaven. The famous first « left turn » of the route. In the middle of nowhere, I see a helicopter ambulance flying overhead, but I don’t pay any attention to it because there’s a Ferris wheel! I don’t remember that in 2021. In Appingedam, there seems to be some excitement. And with good reason: the helicopter has landed near the train station and there are two police cars. The children on site are overexcited. Just beyond the level crossing, there’s a horse riding arena. Emboldened by my experience the day before, I go and ask them if I can go to the toilet. They agree. Just as I’m about to set off again, the helicopter staff seem to want to leave. I tell myself I’m going to eat a banana as I watch it take off. But I finish my banana and nothing moves, so I get back on the road. To hear it take off 2 minutes later… pfff.
I pass by the Google Data Center in a light breeze, but nothing like last year! No need to make a detour to the North Cape this year, the track goes there! And then it’s the start of the route through the sheep. This will last for hundreds of kilometers. I take a break in Zoutkamp. Time’s running out and I’ve still got 53km to go. It’s starting to get long. I make a final stop at Anjum and head off into the sunset with the sheep, who are settling down on the road for the night. They don’t respond to the bike bell, so I end up having to bleat to get them to move a bit. At least it’s fun and passes the time. I arrive at the hotel at 9:15pm. The bike is safely stored in the hotel room. I knew there’d be a kitchenette, so I’d bought some soup for the evening. It feels really good to eat it. I’m really tired. More than I expected. I rode from sunrise to sunset. That’s a first.
