Started our ride a little after 9:00 this morning as we were waiting for yet another map that would not be delivered to the bookstore until then.  Unfortunately, the map would do us no good.  We navigated out of the city without a problem, but then found ourselves between a cornfield and the autobahn, neither a good bicycle option.  Having that perplexed look on our faces, Joe came along and insisted on taking us down the road to connect to a straight road and our  intended bike path.   A couple miles down the road, as we passed his home, he invited us in for a beer…….at bit early for us and we really needed to make forward progress.  Joe on the other hand, was 82 years old and had all the time in the world.  After five miles we bid our farewells and continued on.

With no real detail in a map, we headed west as best we could and picked up bike signs when available.  Our course led us through a very nice retirement community and several small towns, again with neat yards and flowering gardens.So while Jerry watched his shadow to maintain direction, I enjoyed the scenery,which of course, included horses.There was a border crossing into the Netherlands, somewhere before noon, but with open borders, it’s tough to tell exactly where.

By 2:00, we reached the town of Emmen, in the middle of a street fair (go figure).Our intention was to go further than 45 miles, but without a good map or internet, we felt a bit vulnerable.  So we went in search of a map that could show us the route all the way to Amsterdam; we did not want to have to engage in this hunt, everyday.  A couple of hours later we were in business, but now it was too late to go further.  Luckily, we found a hotel in town and called it a day.

As you may have guessed, we are on the last (tired) legs of our journey and will soon be heading back to the states.