Finish

The final train travelday according to the plan started in Copenhagen. At 5 o’clock I am already awake, and pack my stuff. It is a ride of only 8 km to the central station. The city starts to awake when i am making my way to the railway station.

My train will leave a 8 o’clock, so I am more than an hour too early. Time for a proper station breakfast.

Initially, i was a bit worried about the place for bikes on the Danish trains. However, plenty of space a virtually nobody else who took a bike in the train.

Everything went super smooth. Till we are 15 km from Hamburg, where I had to do my last transfer. The train stops, due to a technical problem at a track change. The time starts to tick away. And when we finally arrived, my transfer time of 50 min is reduced to less than 1. And than the elevator appeared to be broken.

My train is gone and Hamburg station is super crowded. Luckily, there is in the evening another train to the Ruhr area with a free spot for a bike. I had to burn some hours , and went into the city to find a terrace and a pasta to keep me busy.

Late in the evening, i arrive in Düsseldorf, where i sleep in a budget hotel in the train station. My bike has to stay outside the hotel. The area around the train station is full of drunk, stoned and /or homeless people or men in too expensive cars. I park my bike between completely demolished bikes and hope for the best.

I find a Korean bar/restaurant which is still open after 23 o’clock and eat at the bar a super spicy meal.

In the morning i go to the station at 6 o’clock. Very happy that my bike seems to be untouched during the night. I took an early train to Venlo.

In Venlo I switch train in the direction of Eindhoven. This station is the closest to my parents home in Belgium. The plan is to cross the border by bike, a trip of 55 km through the woods of Limburg. While my wife and kids will drive from the Hague to my parents, to organize a finish moment and to celebrate the 70e anniversary of my father.

The race is on!

In Valkenswaard, the people are gathering for the yearly Bloemen-corso, a parade with self made cars decorated with flowers. A specific old-timer ensemble is kicking off the day at the market place.

And then I cross one of the 364 locations where a border-sign is placed on the Dutch-Belgian border. I am close to my most South point of my trip now.

Over the whole 55 km , i only have to climb 70 m which is really nothing compared with Norway. With a speed of 30 km I fly over the cycle track through the military area. When i leave the forest, i can see my kids and nephews waving with balloons and shouting. Jumping up and down. One small sprint for my Champs Elysee moment in Belgium.

We are all ready for a bottle of champagne!

Here my trip ends, below the map of train connections I took from Mo I Rana till Eindhoven.