{"id":161402,"date":"2017-09-29T09:24:18","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T09:24:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=161402"},"modified":"2017-09-29T09:25:19","modified_gmt":"2017-09-29T09:25:19","slug":"travelling-world-hera-van-willick-never-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2017\/09\/29\/travelling-world-hera-van-willick-never-left\/","title":{"rendered":"Travelling the World with Hera van Willick: As If I Never Left"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s only been two weeks since I got on my new bicycle in Tilburg to head south. First into Belgium, then France, England and Wales. By now I\u2019ve arrived to Fishguard, my last stop before getting on the ferry to Ireland. Only two weeks and I\u2019ve seen and experienced so much and met so many people. How did I do that, putting two weeks of bike travel into one blog?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start at the beginning. On September 13 I woke up in Tilburg while the wind was blowing fiercely around the house. Rain came and went but it was mainly the strong winds that made it unpleasant to go out. Nonetheless I packed my new Ortliebs on the bike and put on my bike shorts hoping that would tempt the sun to come out and play.
\nMy mum and me got on our bikes, heads into the wind.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BZEw2TuABiP\/?hl=cs&taken-by=heravanwillick<\/p>\n

We reached the town square in Turnhout, our traditional place to say goodbyes, at 33km after almost 3 hours of riding. I had planned to visit the company that provided me with extensive new clothing by Sportful and deliver some cake and then carry on to a friend of mine in Mechelen to spend the evening and night. It re-appeared to me that bike travel and ambitious tight planning don\u2019t go very well together, specially not when there are gusts of 75km\/h predicted. I gave in and decided to hop on a train to cover a part of the route that day so I could still make the visits as planned.<\/p>\n

Not a great way to start an ambitious bicycle trip.<\/p>\n

That feeling disappeared quickly when I arrived at my friend’s house and we sat down on some comfy Indian pillows, still pretty tired from fighting the storm, sharing a great meal and getting beaten at a game of chess. I refreshed my memory about how great a shower feels after an intense bikeride that leaves you cold and sweaty with your jacket sticking to your skin.<\/p>\n

A wonderful way to start a beautiful bicycle trip.<\/p>\n