Day 28 September 20

 Day 28, September 20, 2012, Nijmegen to Hedel, 42 miles, total mileage: 870.7

What a great day of pedaling.  This fountain was in the center of one of the round abouts in Nijmegen.  Another great sight.  Our original plan was to go to 'S-Hertogenbosch and use the bike bike route on the GPS.  However, we decided to go to Hedel, just north of Gen Bosch and use the Knooppunts-bicycle route intersection points in the Netherlands.  It was a perfect idea.

The GPS bike route keeps you off of interstate, highway type roads.  But the Knooppunt routes take you through scenic, country, back road,barely car traveled paths.  This fellow was part of the scenery.  Although we have seen road signs warning of deer, the only deer that we have seen have been behind fences.

Even along the Maas River, people plant their campers where ever there is space. Today was quite cold this morning, about 40 degrees F.  The gloves and all of our layers came out.

 In Ravenstein we stopped for our morning break.  This small village was part of the fortifications along the Maas River.  And of course the cobblestone street made entering town an adventure.

When we were traveling through the far west of the USA, we would see the water tower or grain elevator of the next town far in the distance.  As we pedal through the countryside here in the Netherlands, it is a church steeple that tells us where the next village will be located.

 Each of the cities along this section of the Maas River have a new piece of sculpture.  A few years ago when the dikes were raised, each town commissioned a piece of art to commemorate the occasion. After all,  the dikes are now between 8 and 12 feet above sea level and most of the towns along this stretch of the river are at or below sea level.  Also, many places we have seen trees, poles, and sculptures wrapped in knitted scarves.

 As we entered the village of Megen, there was a stork nest atop this tower.  It was the first one we had seen.  Alas, no storks.

 This is the Kasteel Oijen.  Its original foot print dates back to the 14th century.  We ate lunch across the moat from this castle.  Quite a view.

This sculpture was along the dike as we were riding.  We met a man who told us that the seas was Holland's enemy and water was everywhere.  This piece of art certainly says the very same thing.

 As we passed through Lith, we were admiring this garden.  The owner came out and we complimented him. We had a lively conversation (that is how we learned about the commissioned art), then headed on our way.

 This ferry took us across the Maas River. It was a quick trip.  The ferry route was on part of the Knooppunt routes, #98 to be exact.  During our ride today, we passed 25 different intersections of this marvelous, country wide bicycle route system.

We have seen this evergreen type tree numerous times while cycling through Holland.  It is called apenboom.  It is very unusual and gets quite large.  After a great day of cycling, we made it to Hedel.  It is a small town rather than a large city.  I must say that we have gotten much better at our commuter/city lights starts and stops.  However, those quick 90 degree turns remain difficult.  That is when the tandem becomes a behemoth and we must get off and walk.  Some days, small is better.