Day Five – 161km

Industrial heartland.

Last night two British cyclists turned up at the campsite and we got chatting. We’re heading in opposite directions and they’re near the end of their ride. As I was drying my tent before putting it up one of them commented “oh don’t worry you’ll get quicker at putting it up and down.” So having woken at the same time as them this morning I took childish delight in packing up and getting off significantly before them.

Turns out I needed that time. I had arranged a couch surfing host in Cologne, which I thought was 130km away. Turns out it’s 160km. Might not sound like a lot but when you’ve mentally prepared for a distance, adding to it is painful.

Still, my host is a wonderfully laid back and generous chap who cooked me up some hearty pasta dinner, made a bed for me, allowed me used of the washing machine, and left me to my own devices.

In between, today’s ride took me through the industrial heartland of the Rhine – through Duisburg, Dusseldorf, past the massive chemical plant at Leverkusen, and into Cologne. It was interspersed with some farmland, woodland, and lovely river paths.