My cycle ride this morning was a nice 40 km loop through the rolling hills of South Limburg, west of Heerlen.

Although we had heavy overnight rain again, it was warm and sunny when I set off, with occasional clouds.

My route today was almost entirely on familiar roads but near to Oud Valkenburg I could not resist the temptation to deviate from the planned route.

The gravel track soon deteriorated into a mass of wet sticky mud as result of the recent rainfall.

I managed to avoid the worst of the mud for most of the deviation, until I came to a fresh mud-slide right across the track.

The mud was deep, deeper than my tyres, I dare not stop because dabbing feet down would almost certainly result in me and the bike sliding over completely.

Taking it slowly for 20 metres or so, back wheel spinning and sliding with every pedal stroke, I managed to get past the obstruction.

The bike is about 1 kg heavier now, with mud clinging everywhere….it certainly needs a good wash!

Today’s featured image is from the muddy track near Oud Valkenburg.


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