Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 74.7km
Average speed / 平均速度: 13.4km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 5h 34m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 466.96km (plus 428.5km)
Total cycling distance to date / 今まで自転車で走った距離: 11,800km
I jumped on the train back to Koln and was out of the city by about 8am. It took most of the morning to find my rhythym after the two days rest, but as the day went on I felt stronger.
By 2pm I had found myself rather lost in a massive area comprised mostly of open cast coal mines. The area is called Tagebau Garzweiler, and services the many powerstations in the area.
The nearby powerstaions were billowing steam high up into the sky, manmade clouds drifting off into the distant blue sky.
Now, usually this is not an area that the general public are allowed into. However it wasn’t entirely clear that I wasn’t allowed to be on the road that led me to the open-cast mine. I thought that it would connect me with Grevenbroich, but the mine worker who discovered me skateboarding along the private road, after getting over the initial shock, filled me in on my situation. He thought it rather amusing that a New Zealander had found his way into the mine area, and gave me a lift back out to the main road.
In the end I made it to Viersen, where I found an old barn with nice soft hay to sleep on. A great night’s sleep.
