Day 4: Groningen

I guess the world didn't end then....

Anyway, really good day today!

To be honest, I was kinda dreading it a bit. 80km yesterday and now the same again today. And when I woke up this morning, my legs were very tight. I set off anyway. Yesterday, I was grand for the first 60kms but struggled for the last 20 or so. Today, I was feeling tired after about 2 or 3km! I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but I always try to think positively. I gave myself no option, I had to do it. I put on some Regina and bopped my way along, daydreaming to take my mind off the cycle. It really is amazing what a difference positive thinking makes!

On my map, Sneek to Groningen is about 75km along the motorway, but obviously there isn't a cycle path that goes straight all the way, so I had to work my way from town to town. First Sneek to Joure, about 13km, no problem. Then Joure to Heerenveen, another 7km, no problem. But then, I couldn't find my way out of Heerenveen! My next stop was Drachten but I was literally cycling around the city for 45mins and the only exit for Drachten was a motorway! I found an ANWB office (a tourist info place, they're very good), and the lady told me to head for De Knipe and work my way through the countryside. And so began my day of zig-zagging through nowheresville!

I left Heerenveen (or should I say, civilization) at about 12:30 and finally resurfaced in Groningen just before 6. I pretty much spent my day going from signpost to signpost, village to village in the Dutch countryside, with the help of my map. It was probably a good thing though, spending most of the day not knowing where I was going. I was so focused on finding my way, that I didn't have time to concentrate on my tiredness. I also got to see some really lovely places off the beaten track.

I pretty much survived today on digestive biscuits, peach iced tea and a punnet of strawberries that I bought on the roadside. I don't know if it was because they were Dutch or because I was starving, but those strawberries were unreal! (also, punnet is a strange word.....)

As I said, yesterday when I arrived in Sneek, I pretty much crawled over the finish line, but for some reason, today I rocketed into Groningen! Even though, due to my detour I probably cycled over 95km, arriving in Groningen a full 9 hours after I left Sneek!

The hostel I'm staying in (the only one in the whole city) is......nice, but a bit all over the place. I had the most ridiculous shower ever earlier. In the shower room, there's a few little cubicles. In the cubicles, there's a little changing area and a shower area. In the changing area, there's a little red button on the wall that starts the water. There is no temperature control. Instead, the water starts off cold, then lukewarm, then hot and then back again and switches off. I guess their theory is, why choose one temperature when you can have them all! Also, while I was getting dried, I could hear a man pooing. I thought it was horrible to have toilets next to the shower cubicles, but when I left.....there were no toilets in the room! I don't want to know what he was actually doing. *shudder*

Oh, also, taking price and portions into account, I had one of the best dinners of my life tonight! My time is running low so I'll tell ye about it some other time.

It's my day off tomorrow so hopefully I'll do something super fun!

Thanks for the comments once again. They're hugely appreciated!

Peace out for now :)