This morning we set off fully clothed in our rain gear expecting the worst. It was raining and fortunately not much wind. Today we would be riding along the IJSSEL River to the Rhine on the LF 3 route heading south. Shortly after we said goodbye to our wonderful hosts, Marijke and Marcel in historic Doesburg, the rain turned to drizzle and then let up. The temperature was about 21C and I got quite warm inside my rain gear which I decided to remove as the raindrops were rather sparse. The bike path was pretty quiet although we did pass a few cycle touring couples heading north. We made it to the ferry near Pannerden to cross the Rhine over to Millingen am de Rhin in good time, got to the grocery store to buy dinner (salad with shrimp and smoked mackerel, tonight) and on to our BnB. It started to pour rain less than 5 minutes after we checked in and continued for the next few hours! We just got back from our after dinner stroll on the Rhine River dike as the rain has let up once again.

From Katwijk on the North Sea coast to the German border at Millingen, you follow the Dutch section of the Limes - the northern border of the Roman Empire - which ran along the old River Rhine. In 2nd century AD - when the empire was at its greatest - the Limes ran from the North Sea at Katwijk along the rivers Rhine and Danube all the way to the Black Sea. Since Roman times the course of the Rhine downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede has changed, so the route follows the old course of the river and what is now called the 'Old Rhine' (Oude Rijn).

In Holland around twenty forts were built along the Rhine.