Monday 20 July 2009

Up nice and early and arrive at the airport in plenty of time for my 6am flight. Am amazed to be given an extra legroom seat without having to ask for it.

Flight goes well and we start to descend to Amsterdam as soon as we get to cruising height. We land as far away from the terminal as possible and it's 20 minutes of taxiing to get there. From the terminal it's a very short walk to the train station but here problems arise as neither the automatic ticket machine nor the counter machine will accept any of my cards, so good old cash comes into its own.

The train itself is brilliant and runs well to time. An unexpected bonus is that the second stop is right outside Ajax's stadium. I arrive in Nijmegen less than two hours after landing and leave the station not really knowing where to go. I see two women who were on my flight and follow them, guessing they are going to the walk too. At a junction I catch them up and, yes, they know where to go, great.

The sun is baking the city and it's not fun carrying two bags in the heat. I check in and receive the all important cards for the walk. Then I hang around, soaking up the atmosphere, buy a bus pass and get on a bus heading for the suburb where I'm staying. I soon realise I do not have a clue where to get off or go. Fortunately a man asks the driver a question in Dutch and I recognise the name of the road where I'm going to be staying. My guide takes me to the street, he is staying at the house opposite mine. He informs me there are no buses to get me to the start point in the morning, oh my god.

Anyway I knock on the door and am let in my Heelen, who apologises for speaking only slightly less than perfect English. She shows me my room and tells me my German room-mate hasn't arrived yet. She makes a phone call and within 5 minutes she has secured a bike for me to use. So, there I am cycling 3km into town to sus out the route. I park the bike, no problems there as there are loads of bike parks in Holland and make my way back to the Vedren, the square where the event is based. I soak up the atmosphere, as they soak up the beer; can they really be walking in a few hours' time? For once I think, "What am I doing here?" I get something to eat and cycle back, getting lost in the process. I meet my room-mate, Mario, a German Customs official and five time veteran of the Vierdaagse. He tells me we'll get up at 02.30 in the morning and that I should leave by 03.20 for the 4am start :-O

So, it's an early night then! But I still end up with four hours' sleep for the second night running. At 2.30 the alarm goes...