Extras. Autumn 2007 the missing link discovered: from Nieuweschans to Delfzijl.
Distance Cycled 41km. Average 20.4km/h.
This is the section that Karen cycled in Spring during the Easter Tour. As Damae and I were up in the area we decided it would be fun to do this last section of the NSCR in Holland six months or so after we did the rest.
The rather strange campsite at Nieuweschans, with several caravans of itinerent workers, and one retired couple, close to the border with Germany provided us with a good nights sleep. The evening before we went for a short ride to go 'oooooh' and 'aahhhh' at the tremendous light output of our SON and twin headlamp set up installed that day by M-gineering in Kiel-Windeweer. We made it into Germany on a very dark road where the lighting system made itself very useful.
We woke to find the half of the tent we had pitched under the tree was dry on the inside. The other half from which we had to exit from was literally dripping wet. There had been no wind the night before and the unsheltered half must have been significantly colder than the sheltered half. Something to remember the next time we go autumn camping.
We extricated ourselves in a light shower of dew and set about our normal morning activities. Damae packed up the sleeping gear whilst I enjoyed a surprisingly good shower in the building of the local football club. On my return Damae headed off to the showers whilst I dismantled the inner tent and folded it up. I then took the builders tarp (bought in Norway this summer), out of the tent and laid it on the sun drenched glistening grass. The Trangia Mini made its way quickly out of my handlebar bag and I put the kettle on.
Tea was brewing when Damae returned. In a fit of inspiration she had made sandwiches the night before for breakfast as well as lunch. This turned out to be a good plan, as we did not need to dirty any plates or utensils except for the teacups and a spoon to stir the powerdered milk in. We sat in the sun enjoying the peace and quiet, before starting with final packing up.
As we were packing up the campsite manager turned up. We ended up paying the princely sum of eight euro for the privilege of staying the night. We heard from him later that the campsite had not been successful commercially so now the football club exploited the site. We didn't mind it had been the perfect place to stay the night. He gave us clear directions as to how to join the NSCR which basically involved heading north round the town and then on towards Nieuwe Beerta.
We paused on leaving Nieuweschans. The road we had cycled along on the way in was to be our exit too, at least as far as the 'Y' fork in the road. This was a couple of boring kilometres later; boring was to be a feature of the day. Karen had said as much when she did the last section at Easter from Delfzijl. We were now to get the chance to enjoy the same scenery. Fortunately the sun was shining warming up the air nicely and the wind mostly favourable. With the smooth running Brompton tyres singing on the concrete path we were on a roll.