Around the Adriatic Sea
The challenge: cycling round the Adriatic Sea. Will I manage it before the weather in the Balkans gets too rough? I’m curious to find out myself….
The sun is out and I cycle to the starting point of my #cyclingforTibet bike ride at the Aldi next to Deurne airport. Guido, Maria and Ushi were there to wave me off and Patricia As usual, also had a small taikodrum at to add some ambiance.
Suddenly, an elderly man walked up to us. He wanted to buy a loaf of bread at the Aldi and had driven into the car park. The bar was open, but when he noticed that the Aldi was closed and wanted to leave the car park again, the bar had closed behind him. The whole car park was fenced off, so he could not get out, nor could the police help him because that car park is private property.
We tried to find a way out with him and found that the pedestrian entrance, edged left and right with coping stones, would probably be just wide enough for his car. It was indeed inches wide. Very carefully we guided him through, and via the grassy square in front of Aldi he was able to reach the roadway again. This aid raised a small donation for Tibet, a good start.
With Guido, I cycled on to the Droomgaard in Broechem, To lunch and Earthwalker Henry Mentink to greet him, who with a wheelbarrow of earth was in transit from Varik in the Netherlands to Paris requesting the Earth on UNESCO's world heritage list get.
The vegan packed lunch, which included a delicious soup, a quiche, a pot of salad with a delicious sauce, and a thickly spread home baked sandwich and to finish, a carrot cake with peanut cream had been prepared by the Nina, the daughter of Theo Geuens, an employee of HV Mock Valley. How small the world is! Definitely recommended if you also want to organise a party with eco-friendly packed lunches (nina_geuens@hotmail.com).
Around three o'clock I drove on towards Baarle-Nassau. From Oostmalle, it was a very nice route along rural roads, but from Ranst to Oostmalle, Komoot sent me along the main road.
And as I wrote yesterday, I got to camp for free at Mini camping De Wielewaal, a very comfortable and clean campsite with all the trimmings. The first day is over.
Free stay at Camping Wielewaal
Around 12 o'clock I left at minicamping The Golden Oriole towards Utrecht. I would see how far I would get and start looking for a campsite from 5-6pm.
First, I had to Baarle-Nassau (NL) and Baarle-Hertog (BE) traverse. I have no idea how many times I crossed a land border there.
At one point I stopped at a corner to take a picture of the church of Baarle Hertog a little way down the road. In the little street leading to the church was a bakery where I went to buy an apple pie. This turned out to be in Baarle-Nassau. The Dutch shop assistant told me she has to cross a national border eight times to cycle from home to the bakery.
Read more about the 30 enclaves in Baarle-Hertog below:
Nothing else remarkable on the remainder of my trip. I rode until Tilburg about the Bels line, an old rail link between Turnhout and Tilburg.
In Waalwijk, I passed a megalomaniac establishment of Bolcom and then continued across bridges and dykes to Veen, a village on the Meuse where I spent the night in campsite De Kaaie Paole, a micro campsite of just seven spots on the banks of the Meuse. Unfortunately with very ramshackle sanitary facilities.
I was happy to be there. This is already the second day with free strong headwind..
Camping Kaaie Paole in Veen
Camping de Kaaie Paole was another one of the old stamp. Only about five pitches right on the banks of the Meuse, which was nice. Only the sanitary facilities were very rudimentary. Only one toilet and one shower. The sink in the shower also served as a sink for dishes. There was a tub for that, but there was nowhere to let the dishes drain. No problem for a tent camper with one-pot meals, but perhaps a little more difficult for caravans and campers with more elaborate cooking.
The beginning of the route today was beautiful. On the canal road from the campsite to the ferry, I passed a still working windmill. I then followed the Meuse route for quite a while and then crossed via a number of dykes and along ponds until the village of Brakel on the River Waal.
There I read on an information panel that the village was in the years 1860 was almost completely destroyed by a flood. King William III then visited the stricken population and had a complete street rebuilt at his expense. That became the current 'King Street‘.
There used to be ribbon development on either side of the embankment, but due to the high flood risk, in 1970 the outer dike houses demolished. Good idea, methinks.
Then came Leerdam turn. I know that town for its Leerdammer cheese, but apparently it is known for its glassworks. In front of the church was a statue of a glassblower.
I did not pass the Leerdam cheese factory until the next village, Schoonrewoerd, a few kilometres past Leerdam.
Threatening clouds had come drifting in and without sunshine, it was getting a jacket chilly. Fortunately for me - but not for nature - rain stayed out.
At Vianen I had to take another ferry, this time to reach the Leak to cross, but it was closed due to repair works. There were four cyclists resting. They managed to tell me that in 1813 Napoleon had crossed the Lek here. And also that here in winter, from mid-December to 8 January, the tallest Christmas tree in the world state. The cables of a tall transmission tower would then be hung full of lights all the way up. That would be an impressive sight.
The closed ferry gave me a diversion up to and a climb over the nearest bridge.
Budget campsite Utrecht is located in a quiet nature reserve 2 kilometres from the city centre. For a city campsite, however, it is a messy affair, which was more like a construction site as they are erecting numerous chalets there.
For campers, a small plot is provided by a lake. Very charming, but the numerous goose fronts you must then take for granted..... Not so cool for a tent camper who has to cook and eat on the ground...
In the morning, I cycled to the official launch moment that International Campaign for Tibet had organised in Utrecht for my fundraising trip.
Nothing like that has ever happened to me before! How grateful these people are. Read all about it below.
Would you like to practise your Tibetan? Then read the report by Tibetan Radio below. Those Tibetan characters are so beautiful! This beautiful language must not disappear.
Excerpt from Voice of Tibet radio report
After the official launch event in Utrecht, I cycled on to a campsite on the outside. Everywhere hung the flags at half-mast because today it is 'Remembrance Day' is. And tomorrow they will be fully hoisted with Liberation Day.
Eventually I ended up at a rather large campsite in Kamerik: Camping De Boerinn, a brand-new campsite started in response to the corona crisis. It also has a tavern where I hoped to sit inside in the evening to update social media. After all, the temperature drops very quickly after sunset. However, the café closed as early as five o'clock.
So it was again outside or in the tent to do. When I stopped working a little after eleven, the temperature had dropped to 5° and I was completely numb, even though I had put on almost all my clothes on top of each other.
To warm up a bit, I decided to take a hot shower before diving into my sleeping bag. I put on my nakie, turned the water knob in the beautiful new bathroom and got a powerful gush of cold water over me. Waiting for the hot water to come through was to no avail, it remained cold so there was not much else to do but to get dressed again without success. Eventually, all these actions warmed me up a bit. The lesson I learned: the appearance of the sanitary facilities does not guarantee hot water. The shower in the corny plumbing in Kaaie Paole campsite did have lovely hot water.
Tomorrow Thursday I will stay with Wijnand and Hélène in Delfgauw, the couple with whom I experienced severe flooding in the Pyrenees in 2013. I must be warmer there....
After a very cold night at camping Boerinn, the morning sunshine during my breakfast was pleasing.
The drive to Delfgauw went smoothly, there was little headwind today. Today is Liberation Day in the Netherlands and On many houses the Dutch flag flew full-staff.
There is not much variation on the landscapes in the green heart of the Netherlands: long straight roads through meadows with rows of pollard willows here and there and countless canals. It is very zen and soothing to cycle next to those canals and fun to see the numerous waterfowl out and about with their young chicks.
In Delfgauw, I was warmly welcomed by Wijnand and Hélène, the Dutch couple with whom I in 2013 a flood experienced at Camping Ixeia in the Pyrenees.
After the hot shower and tasty breakfast at Wijnand and Hélène's place, I cycled 6 km further to the Tibetstraat in Delft. At first glance, this is an ordinary street, were it not for a metal placard affixed to the pavement stating that the street was opened on 28 July 1989 was inaugurated in the presence of a group of Tibetan youths. And who then accompanied that group? International Campaign for Tibet Director Wangpo Tethong, who now asked me to revisit this street. He was then a young hunk of about 25.
Tibetstraat Delft
After the diversions along Tibetstraat in Delft had Wangpo Tethong me in the afternoon also invited to Leiden together with Tibetologist Yangdon Dhondup the Tibetan section of the Volkskunde Museum to visit. There were some very valuable religious objects on display. A pity, though, that Tibetan culture has to survive in museums, because in Tibet itself, this beautiful and peaceful culture is violently suppressed by China.
After this interesting cultural stop, I cycled a dozen kilometres further to a quiet campsite in the village of Hoogmade.
To Amsterdam I cycled to the Amsterdam forest next to - you never guessed it - a canal. The beautiful Amsterdam forest, adjacent to Schiphol Airport, was a relief after all those vast meadows. Again the chirping of forest birds instead of the hoarse croaking of ducks and geese. A delight to the ear....
And tomorrow starts week 2 of Cycling for Tibet Netherlands with a visit to the Tibetan school. I am looking forward to it.
The challenge: cycling round the Adriatic Sea. Will I manage it before the weather in the Balkans gets too rough? I’m curious to find out myself….
From 2026, Eva will be raising funds for the International Campaign for Tibet Europe, the world’s largest Tibetan advocacy organisation.
