Day 2 0n the Elodie - Vianen

We set sail at 7am today.  After breakfast and packing our lunches for the day, we headed out on the bikes for a 35-ish mile ride.  Several miles in, our fellow rider Shirley collided with a car.  Thankfully, she only suffered a skinned knee, but there was a significant (?) scrape on the Audi and the driver was not pleased.  We didn't witness the accident but apparently Shirley hit him.  The roads we are riding on are as wide as a driveway.  It seems crazy to us, but Nico said this is the first time it has happened.  The Politie showed up and about an hour later we were on our way.  Shirley was shaken up but was a trooper and was able to rally again.  We travelled through lovely countryside and saw beautiful homes and castles.  I seemed to be lagging behind, not sure if the problem was jetlag, etc.  There were extremely strong headwinds but shifting either up or down didn't seem to help.  At one stop, about 25 miles in,  I had a meltdown.  So angry that I hadn't trained or prepared better...I had never cycled so poorly!  Doug commented that I looked odd on the bike.  Nico checked it out and discovered my back brakes were locked.  I didn't even feel or hear it.   I rode 25 miles into the wind with my brakes on.  Thank goodness!  I couldn't believe how out of shape I was.  I mean, I definitely am, but still!  Once the bike was repaired, it was smooth (?) sailing the next 10 miles back to the barge.   Once aboard, we showered and immediately headed for the bar.  Chef Sander prepared a wonderful salmon dinner, topping it off with the best Tiramisu ever!  Doug, Brenda and I took a stroll into the quiet town of Vianen for a Heineken and now we are back on the barge at 10:00 pm.  There is a similar length ride planned for tomorrow.   Not sure if I will do the entire thing as a previous hiking knee injury flared up today.  After all of this, of course Doug had a grand time, challenging Nico to a race or two.  Here are some pics of the day...