Distance: 35.28 miles

Time: 3:19:00

Average Speed: 10.6 mph

Elevation Gain: 225 feet

Having checked into the campsite, I quickly had a shower and pedalled into town, it was England versus the Netherlands this evening, so I’d find a quiet restaurant that was showing the football and watch on with interest. But Lelystad had other ideas: were there any restaurants, were there any shops, were there any people? It was like a Scottish new town, miles of cycle paths, and nowhere to go.

But then, I squirrelled out a bar, wildly raucous and filled with orange, I steeled myself to take a look inside. The visitor’s welcome was ready in this bustling, metropolis, it was cash only at the bar, and I hadn’t seen an ATM in weeks.

Eventually, I found a centre of sorts, buried deep amongst the apartment blocks and the roundabouts. Finding a spot, the empty beer terrace of the bar across from the – already full – place to be, grateful to be able to see part of the screen through their windows. I adopted my stoniest expression when – as full time beckoned – England scored, did they know I wasn’t English, did they think that I was?

It was another lovely day as I enjoyed the sheltered surroundings of the campsite, preparing the classic Dutch breakfast of Lidl packet noodles, using up my remaining food stores before the last camping night of the trip.

Striking out into the lawless environs of the Lelystad cycle paths, I remembered that there were some rules: mopeds were only allowed to go very fast, but number plated e-bike dirt bike users with passengers and no helmets were allowed to go extremely fast. The rest of the path’s inhabitants seemed to be ambling along on grinding rust-buckets, probably in use daily, and maintained, never.

I pressed on along the canal, before turning onto a long single track road through the fields, it offered a rare opportunity for interaction with motor traffic, causing me to clear off the road when a tractor came along the other way.

Soon I started on the long convoluted route around the houses of Almere – only some with their own jetties – before crossing the large Weerwater lake on a lovely new cycle-friendly bridge.

The bridge was designed using the green principles that the new city held dear, for users to cross under their own steam, to be constructed using recyclable materials, and to interconnect green spaces, promoting health and wellbeing.

Just across the bridge I was excited to see the, solar panel clad, University of Applied Sciences building: an institution focussed on keeping ever-expanding residential areas sustainable. Nearby, even McDonald’s had got in on the act, providing my Stroopwaffel McFlurry in a reusable cup…

The last port of call – as I navigated the complex waterways on my way to the outskirts of the Dutch capital of Amsterdam – was the pretty little town of Muiden, where its ‘Great Sea Lock’ complex, dating back to 1673, connected the river Vecht and the large IJmeer lake. I’d only just crossed the impressive swing bridge when it was pressed into service.

The campsite, further around the edge of the IJmeer, was compact and busy. The large tent camping area was sectioned up into small square pitches, there was a two-tiered facilities block, and, in the tiny kitchen space, 3 kettles. It was, undoubtedly, the busiest campsite I’d seen since T in the Park, 2011.

• cycle-touring