Tip of the month: emergency repair job for a snapped quick release skewer
We never thought that this would happen, but it did. The quick release skewer snapped and we were stuck nearly ten kilometres from a decent sized town with a bike shop. We had to get to that bike shop, but how?

Well, a spoke will do the job for the interim. It's strong enough to withstand the pressure and if you bend it (see arrow) close to the sides of the hub, the wobble is kept to a minimum. You may need to adjust the brake blocks if they are really in the way. We cycled ourselves, slowly but successfully, to the nearest repair shop.

Frankfurt am Main (Germany) - Londerzeel (Belgium)
Kilometres: 804 km and 240 m
Riding days: 12 days of almost flat
Alti meters: 1643 meters only :-)
Weather: relatively sunny and dry
Best accommodation: back at mum's...

Special thanks to:
Norbert, the German farmer who let us camp on his property • Theo Harmsen for the accommodation and really cosy 'catch up time' • Kees at De Gelderlander for the great newspaper spread • Everyone who made the effort to come to the SnookerCentre Zevenaar and celebrate our return • Frank and Maggie for a delicious dinner and just being the wonderful people they are. And thanks for 'het lopend buffet'! • Jacqueline at Rabobank Arnhem for sorting out the money issues • Masha and Joost for all the laughs, the cheese overdose, the music pressie but most of all for not having changed one little bit • Haakon Kuit for fitting me in for a free periodontal checkup • Suzette and her two gorgeous boys for a really lovely lunch • Everyone who came to the Metropole on Tuesday: Paul, Jeanne, Helga, Truzanne and Huub • Adriaan, Kunny, Lennart and Stijn for being such a beautiful family • Bob and Janet for catching up with us and the relaxed lunch at their house • Sonya's Mum and Dad for shipping her new camera to her from Oz and dealing with all her other requests • Reina for everything you would normally thank your Mother for, but also for her gift of paying the import tax on the camera • Elizabeth from the Leeuwarder Courant for our nicest newspaper interview yet • Harmke, Ronald, Rinske & Pascal for coming around for snacks, drinks and a homely chat • Autobedrijf Kochheim for the secondhand quick release • Maaike, one of De Wereldfietser's editors for organising for us to collect our prize from her home on the way to Amsterdam • Stan and his really lovely family in Amsterdam for their hospitality • Arjen and Jan for a warm welcome and once again an inspiring time; also for all the 'get-together' organisation • Imagomagie for the delicious Chinese dinner in Utrecht • Bert and Maria for taking the time out to visit us • Veronique and Ylonka for also visiting • Evert en Willie for the chance to meet up with them again and the seriously best vegetarian Chinese dinner we have ever had in our lives • Hayley, Frans and Lorca the big black sweetheart dog for everything: the dinners; bed; outings; great conversations and just an enjoyable time all round • Friedel and Andrew from TravellingTwo for the gloriously delicious veggie picnic; the rounds of Leffe Blond and the terrific podcast interview about us • Victor and Marlene for their great companionship • Amanda and Chris for the party night in The Hague • Marnix for the space; great internet connection; welding Son's bike back to sturdiness; and the very, very late nights • Heiner for the great meal and company • Gineke for being Gineke: such a wonderful lady • James for being James and making the gallant effort in "training-it" to Belgium for our 4 years on the road celebration.
More thanks:
Rainer at Tubus for the new logo back rack • Andrea at Ortlieb for the replacement map cases and clips • Tim at Kool Stop USA for an almost life long supply of cantilever brake blocks • Kamil at Crosso (Poland) for the two back panniers • Richard at Ergon for new ergo-grips • Victor at Free Spirits for the Rohner socks • Petra at VDO for our MC1.0+ bike computers • Bente at Helsport for yet again supplying us with new tent poles • Hille at Falke for the amazing wardrobe of ergonomic sports wear when all I asked for was a couple of pairs of socks • Aaron at Sea to Summit for their generous additions to our kit: New dry sacks; compression bags; a kitchen sink and waterproof map holder.

Breakdowns:
01: flat tyre (Ali)
16: rear wheel quick release snaps due to hub seizing (Ali)
16: new back wheel (Ali)