The mayor of Zuyd Coot visits Derk wish him good luck on his Tour.

Lots of media attention in Dunkirk. It was aired the next day.

Oh yeah! This is the path of the Tour de France.

A break in Verton, close to coastal Berck.

In Dunkerque the press awaits us. Local television and several newspapers are on the spot. They’re very interested in the special bike and Derk has to answer a lot of questions.
Rather late, at 10.30 AM, Derk starts his 230 km trip. In the meantime we are solving some technical problems with our datalink via the GSM network.
We drive on to Pernes, the first meeting point. He’s going well, feels good and had enough food with him. At the local restaurant he orders two big plates of spaghetti Bolognese, which are consumed completely.
Because of the rather flat terrain, he decides to switch to his faired rowingbike and with another supply of water and energy drinks he moves on.

Next stop: Verton near Berck. At the old church we wait for Derk’s arrival. He looks energetic and says he loved the small country roads. Fortunately he had by accident followed a route parallel to ours, which was very busy.

We head on to Bologne-Sur-Mer and halt close to it at Terlincthun. We await his arrival, but no Derk. It starts to rain and it is getting dark. Finally he arrives at 20.45. It just proved to be a longer distance than anticipated. His trip terminates here, he’s not entering the city itself, because it’s just too busy.

After dinner we leave for the camping. Apart from his fatigue Derk feels good. He’s happy that his muscles don’t hurt at all. Nevertheless he’s going to sleep immediately after our arrival at the camp site.