Day 7: Ede – Vreden, Germany

Today I, Riel McGuire, joined one of the cycling pods, which consisted of a group of four riders, Sabrina Dominquez, Gala Milne, George Rahi, and Erin Lee in their 95km ride from Ede to Vreden. It was the first long ride of the trip, and it would take us from Holland to Germany. My aim for the day was to get some solid shots of the riders as they made their way through the countryside. We decided that it would be best for me to join a group that was planning on riding at a slower pace so that I would be able to change camera setups as necessary.

Mark Masongsong, a rider from Victoria, had volunteered to drive in the car with Maryam and take a day off riding to lend me his bike. The only problem being that his bike was too small, his seat was broken, and he rode with clip-in style pedals. After raising the seat as high as we could and firmly duct-taping it into position we were on our way. The others in my pod recommended that I swap out the pedals as soon as possible, so we made it part of our plan to stop in the next town – Arnhem.

I only had three hours of battery for the whole day, so I decided to set up the camera at lunch and spend the afternoon shooting. The morning would be dedicated to getting used to riding Mark’s bike and finding a bike shop. We were the last pod to leave Ede – departing at 8:45am after a breakfast of Mueslix and yogurt. We made very good time on our way to Arnhem, quickly covering the 20km. Once in Arnhem we spent a lot of time navigating the city. The bike shop we planned to stop in was found pretty easily in a main shopping district in the town’s centre. I purchased some regular, flat pedals and tried to get the seat fixed, but I was quickly informed that the seat was beyond repair (a lot of duct tape was then used to secure the seat in place, with mixed results).

The pod split up, some went to find washrooms, others went to find food. Sabrina shared croquettes and some raisin buns with the group (being a vegetarian I passed on the croquettes). We rode through a series of small towns, stopping periodically to find our path. After almost a week of driving, often through densely packed cities, I was grateful for the opportunity to get some exercise and to be out in the sun.

We stopped for lunch in a gorgeous church courtyard in Zelhem, and after eating I set up the camera for riding. I decided to use my HDV camcorder to start, but the results were mediocre, so I switched over to the 5D Mark II. Most of the cycling paths and lanes were paved, and we were able to get some really beautiful shots. We stopped periodically to snag photos of the riders, at an old windmill, and at the border. Our group was taking its time to say the least, our average speed being about 12km/hr.

We finally arrived in Vreden, after exactly 100km, at 7:30pm! Our accommodations for the evening consisted of camping out at a soccer clubhouse. The host had provided the group with a 24 case of beer, but they were all gone by the time our pod had arrived, as some of the riders arrived three hours before us. Our car wasn’t there so I collapsed in the grass and read an ebook on my iPhone. Maryam was anxiously waiting for Mark and Gene Gisin to return with our car from their trip to get groceries for dinner. They had left while she was at the swimming pool, and had been gone for over an hour, and the grocery store was only 5km away. Her main concern was the fact that the car wasn’t hers, so she felt bad not being there, but also that the HV40 camera, and all our tapes were in the car, including her laptop bag, with the driver. You see, she normally carries these things with her 24/7; so the farther the distance and the longer she was separated from these incredibly important items, the more anxious she got as she started to imagine the worst.

They did make it back, and everything was in place. They set to work making veggie burritos for the group. I was thoroughly exhausted from the eleven hours of sun and riding; after eating I crashed hard!