Day 6: 6th July 2025 - Maastricht - Venlo  60 miles

I’ve been reminded by one of my correspondents that I should not paint all Belgians with the same glum brush ! Which is true, because I do know some Belgians who are very chipper and personable. Mostly Flemish Belgians. So, I reduce my observation about glumness just to the Walloons. The French speaking ones, in that bit of Belgium. Okay ?!

Well, it didn’t rain at all last night, and I was lovely and dry this morning when I awoke at 6 am, to the sound of a marching band, which at 7 am paraded around the campsite. So, everybody must have been awake by 7 am. I think it was a practice run for something taking place later in the day, a marching bands congress from what I understand. Anyhow, it was diverting as I set off just after 7 am to make my way to Venlo, which is on the border with Germany. My family lived just over the border in Germany during the early 70s, and Venlo and Roermond were market trips for my parents to do some shopping. The weather was overcast, dry for the first hour or so, but true to the forecast by 9 am it was drizzling on and off and by midday it was raining, not too heavy, but enough for me to get out my waterproof. There was a stiff breeze as well, but it was with me and I was able to make good speed and time. It’s definitely not camping weather tonight, so I am in a Campanile Hotel, very simple, and enough for my needs.

99 % of today’s ride I was on dedicated cycle ways, set apart from the main carriageway, and with good surfaces. The cycling infrastructure here, as well as the cycling culture, is superb. I guess because so many people cycle as part of their everyday lives, and even on a miserable day like today there were huge numbers of people out on their bikes, going shopping, going to church, commuting around, racing around as well. Drivers take care, they stop at crossovers and roundabouts. Possibly because when they are not in their cars they are on their bikes and so instinctively understand how to behave and drive around cyclists. So, top marks the the Dutch for all of that, which makes being on my bike here a pleasure. My one gripe ? Dutch cyclists don't ring the bell to let you know they are passing you, especially the boy racers on the Dutch versions of a Halford's Special.

The Netherlands, as I said yesterday, is a very prosperous, tidy and well ordered country. I’ve seen no rubbish on the streets, no louts, no messy houses and gardens. Everything looks as though it is well cared for. I’m sure in some of the cities there will be more levelling down. The small towns and villages I have been through have been perfect. In the cities I’m led to expect things can be a bit less pristine. So, from what I have seen over these last few days, and from other trips, I’m very impressed with The Netherlands. To go back to the marching band. They were lads in their early 20’s, all out playing in the band, marching, having fun, enjoying themselves, at 7 am, and happy to be part of some local cultural event. I compare that to the loutish and ignorant behaviour I see so often in Birmingham from similar aged kids, who don’t know how to behave, and don’t seem to be able to enjoy themselves without indulging in huge amounts of alcohol or weed, and who would not even begin to understand or appreciate doing something like the Dutch lads were doing this morning. Seems to me as though the Dutch have got something right, and we have got things pretty wrong in so many ways. Or am I being unfair to the flower of British youth ?

Maastricht, by the way, is the place where The Maastricht Treaty was signed, of which the UK was a signatory, firming up the EU as a political and social union and not just an economic one. I cycled past the place where it all happened, and in the photos you will see a picture of the memorial plaque. I can see Brexiteers foaming at the mouth ! I’ll say no more.

The River Maas (which is the Meuse in France) is a huge river beginning in France then passing in to Belgium and then on in to The Netherlands, ending up at Rotterdam / The Hook of Holland where it flows out in to The North Sea. As I've come through Belgium and The Netherlands it has become a busier trading route, with lots of huge barges and vessels, mostly carrying bulk goods. In some places the river is canalised, but often the river itself is the thoroughfare, with huge locks / ecluse capable of handling the huge barges and river boats. We don't really have rivers in the UK which are as big and wide as European rivers like the Meuse, Rhine, Danube, and many more. The Thames is wide up through London, but that's about it. These European rivers are great for cycling along, and often have good infrastructure, such as I've been following this last week.

I’ll move on tomorrow, Monday, along the Maas and get to Den Bosch / ’s-Hertogenbosch, where I’ll stay in an AirBandB, because the weather doesn’t look camping weather over the next few days. As I’ve said, I’ll camp if it’s good weather, I’m not going to get drenched, and there are adequate facilities on hand to meet all my needs ! Then, on Tuesday, I will move on to The Hook of Holland, and get there so that I can take the night ferry at 10 pm from The Hook to Harwich. I’ve a cabin booked so that I can get some sleep on the overnight crossing. I couldn’t bear trying to get some rest in the bar area with the booze cruisers enjoying the cheap beer and wine. And, Wednesday, in the evening, I should be home by train, as long as the trains are working properly. That’s the plan. Then on Sunday I've to cater for 20 some singers who eat and drink voraciously everything they can lay their hands on. Plagues of locust comes to mind