Saturday 3rd September 2011 Vinkeveen to Leerdam via Utrecht 74 km

Most interesting but tiring ride. We followed one canal which must be Hollands millionaires row. There were several kilometers of incredibly expensive looking houses on both sides of the canal. Most of them were three or four storeys of absolute opulence, with each house on about 3 or 4 acres of park-like gardens. I would estimate that the average value in Australian terms would be around AU $ 20 million.

About half an hour after millionaires row we turned into another canal which had about 20 floating brothels tied up to the shore, with the girls all lined up in their bikinis touting for business. It was kind of bizarre.

We got lost twice in Utrecht, which had a nice historic centre, but very industrialised elsewhere.

Stayed at "Het Verzetje" in Leerdam. Very nice people and accomodation. It was 26 C and sunny. Ash recently discovered that he is allergic to sunscreen, so he has turned brown in the autumn sun.