W-w-w-w-warme chocolademelk/FINISH

The last day on the bike - and all the rain that I didn't get during the previous days was bundled into one big sufferfest. It was the first day of autumn-weather in the Netherlands and I spent the whole day in the rain - first driving rain for about two hours and then just enough water to make sure I stayed truly wet for the next two hours. Strong winds and a drop in the temperature added to the fun - although the wind was fortunately in my back or from the side, so I could ride at a decent tempo. The whole ride was along long open roads through polders - with loads of mud/cow shit on the road, and after one hour I was properly soaked through (my jacket is not good enough for sustained rain and my shoecovers also couldn't cope - the water just runs in once the top bit is soaked) and after two hours I was shivering with the cold. All I could think of was warme chocolademelk (hot chocolate) which is exactly what I had after two hours when I stopped for hot drinks and some food. I was trembling so bad I was afraid I was going to spill or drop my cup of chocolate when I took it from the counter to my seat. As it was the last day of the trip and I had a whole bag of fresh clothes waiting for me at my parents' place I decided to put my fleece top over my wet combination of sweatshirt/cycling shirt to keep my core temperature up - my hands and feet were cold, and my legs were also not very warm but that could not be remedied. Fortunately the rain let off a bit after the stop and I knew it was only 50 km to go so within two hours I would be under a hot shower...put my head down, and kept pedaling. And then, after 2658 km, and 107 hours on the bike, I was home! Rhe next few days I will focus on moving house once more - decorating my new apartment and then getting my stuff in. Thanks for following the blog so far - there will be more in the near future!

cold and wet feet - there's probably some cow dung mixed in the grime covering my shoecovers and legs.

Scotty has seen cleaner days too...