Lelystad

We were keen to get moving this morning as the wind was expected to get up about 11.00 ,right on the nose. Hell ! We were ready by six but it was still dark!Bantebok. There was enough light to see by and anyway we were well lit up. It was spooky but really beautiful too. The street lights in Garredijk made the canal shine and outside town we could see the farmers milking their cows, their huge sheds all lit up like circus tents.Mildam. Getting lighter but now the fog was thickening7am7.10amNijelamer. That’s better. One and a half hours and we haven’t seen a car yet but it is Saturday morning At Kuinre we stopped at a cemetery that had a ‘Commonwealth graves’ sign on the gate. A very common sight in all of Holland sadly. The crew of a plane shot down on their way to Germany.Onions ,onions and more onions! As we approach Emmeloord, there are thousands of acres of market gardens. It’s harvesting time and we could see tractors and machinery in every direction. Too many to count !The motorway bridge is lifting for some sailing ships . We then come up and over the dike that circles the IJsselmeer to ride on the seaward side into Lelystad. It’s a huge sea surrounded by dykes and wind turbines as far as the eye can see.Hot !Here’s thé Batavia replica again. We came this way last year and went in to the museum then . This time we decide to ride out on to the Houtribdijk to see ‘Crouching man’ A 25 metre high sculpture .You can barely see Christine standing beside his big toe. When you walk under him you can see he’s made up of interconnecting geodesic domes. Absolutely brilliant !We rode a little way along the Houtribdijk just to feel its immense size. It’s 30 kms from Lelystad to Enkhuisen . Just 3 kms less than the mighty Afsluitdijk further north.The Apollo hotel. Right in the heart of Lelystad. We could see the market just closing down from our balcony. By the time we did our detours we had ridden over 100 kms today. I think my wife is asleep in the bath ! 💤