Utrecht – Eindhoven – Maastricht: 188 km

And then… Then it’s Saturday the 14th of August. The day I’m leaving. Even as I’m getting on my bike, the butterflies don’t really return. Yes, I do realize that it’s actually happening, yet I’m leaving a street that I’ve left and returned to hundreds of times, a city that I know like the back of my hand, and in the first hour, no corner, house, park or sight is new to me. It feels familiar, common even. My two friends Marijn and Jan are riding with me the first couple of days so that too feels natural. For now, I’m excited for the excitement, and more often than not, it still doesn’t really feel real.

We get on our bikes, and what is immediately more than noticeable, is that my bike is insanely heavy. I haven’t ridden it fully packed before. I can’t even carry it down the stairs myself. We need all three of us. Luckily it’s stable, as we ride our first 100 kilometres to our first destination: Eindhoven. Marijn lives there and we’re staying over at his place. We’re having the best weather in an otherwise historically bad summer.

100 kilometres is far, but The Netherlands are flat. Halfway through or journey we decide to stop over at Marijn’s parent place, about 20 kilometres from Eindhoven. They’re at their neighbours’ and before we know it, we’re in the garden having drinks and get served our first free meal. A true Dutch staple; friet en kroketten (fries and croquettes).  

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We set out for Maastricht the next day. Marijns brother Jeroen joined us, and it’s probably the most protected from the wind I will find myself for the next year or so. Through the Brabant’s moorland it wasn’t long until we reached the Belgian border. The first border of my trip. Marijn and Jeroen had a hard time leaving, but eventually did somewhere along the Willemsvaart.

Now it’s just Jan and me. Hungry but good spirited we arrived at a camping in the shadows of Maastricht. With another 100 km in our legs, we ate the largest hamburger I’ve seen in a long time. My tent however proved quite small for two tall guys. Laying shoulder to shoulder, and consequently being way too warm, we decided to go head-feet style. The plastic-on-plastic noises when moving was something we needed to get used to, but we fell asleep contently, and elated of what tomorrow might bring.