In which I visited a bust of Joseph Beuys and the pilgrimage place of Kevelaer. The route took me through many different towns and landscapes. There was a wedding in Orsoy, and a kermis in Goch. Psychedelic striped sidewalks in Moers. The stretch between Birten and Kevelaer is breathtaking, crossing the lower Rhine hill ridge.
This time I did not plan the roads carefully, looking to be surprised. Across the border I was presented with a plethora of German cycling infrastructure. Some great, some terrible, especially in built-up areas, where uneven brick paths are the norm. 😖😫 I decided to stay on the main road in towns unless there was lots of traffic—this only happened in two or three towns. Most road cyclists I saw used the main road outside of towns. But there were not so many.
Luckily all these choices happened in the first 160km of my ride. The second 136km I spent appreciating our Dutch infrastructure. 🚲😁
The A73 east of Roermond. Crossing the border. Just outside of Amern. Having a break on a nice quiet road between Anrath und Willich. The Osterather Windmühle, now used as a house. German clarity, and no directions for a bypass. Rerouting... Looking towards the Rhine on the edge of Meerbusch. A beautiful view on the Niederlöricker Straße. My first destination: a bust of the great Joseph Beuys by his apprentice Anatol Herzfeld. The eyes are looking across the Rhine... ... where they see the river and the Merkür Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf. Leaving Zeist and the sun is setting. Another 24km to go! On the Rhine dyke. Off in the distance: the Rheinturm in Düsseldorf. The water tower of Lank-Latum. The derelict rye and barley mill of Roters und Buddenberg in the Krefeld harbour. Along the Düsseldorfer Straße in Duisburg Kaldenhausen. The Funkturm Moers and the Halde (=stockpile) Rheinpreußen, just outside of Moers Meerbeck. In the distance the power plant of Walsum across the Rhine. Across the fields: industry in Ossenberg. I sense a motif. Looking towards the Sonsbecker Schweiz: part of the Rhine hill ridge or the Niederrheinischer Höhenzug. Somewhere in the 19th century it became popular to name hilly and mountainous areas in Germany after Switzerland. The Kerzenkapelle in Kevelaer. The wall behind the candles is deep black. The Kapellenplatz with the Marienbasilika. Kermis in Goch. I had a late lunch just outside of Kessel on a bench next to the river Niers. Looking to the Reichswald, just across the Dutch-German border: a large forest between Kleve and Nijmegen. The St. Antonius Abt church in Mook. We are in the most northern point of the province of Limburg. The Maasbandijk in Overasselt. Standing still reminded me how much cooler it is when cycling. Two women’s heads by artist Elisabet Stienstra just outside of Alverna. This one is looking to Wijchen, the other to Nijmegen. Another closed road, but this time with signs showing a bypass. The Waalbandijk near Dodewaard. Glad to visit a toilet on the Opheusden railway station. € 0,50 for a chance to refill my bottles and freshen up. These kind of toilets are large enough to take your bike inside. Looking across the Opheusder Meer which is in open connection to the Nederrijn. The bridge across the Nederrijn in Rhenen.
