Day 72 Reeuwijk to Utrecht

Day 72. Reeuwijk to Utrecht. 54.44 kms cycled. 3.40 hours cycling. 28.2 km/h max speed. 14.84 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and warm.

It is hard to believe, but my solo Portugal to The Netherlands cycling adventure is now officially over.
And ‘adventure’ is certainly the best word I can think of to describe everything that I have done and seen over the past two months.
Right now I feel a mix of pride and sadness that I have finished. Pride for the fact that I successfully completed the journey and sadness that something that I had planned and worked so hard to achieve is now over.
As I said in a previous blog it was certainly the most mentally and physically demanding thing I have ever done, but also probably the most rewarding.
I feel very lucky to have been able to do the trip and know that it is something that very few people would ever achieve.
Anyway, part 2 of this great holiday is still to come with two weeks in Scotland to enjoy.
I will put up a few blogs for the remainder of the trip, but probably not on a daily basis as I have done up to now.
Thanks for reading and all your feedback, it has been terrific.

captions; Pic 1: Just love those Eten and Drinken signs. Pic 2,3,4, and 5: Various pics along the way.

Day 71 Rotterdam to Reeuwijk

Day 71. Rotterdam to Reeuwijk. 55.61 kms cycled. 3.42 hours cycling. 28.2 km/h max speed. 15.02 km/h average speed. Weather – overcast but warm mid 20s.

With just 50 or so kms to go tomorrow to Utrecht I will have finished my solo cycling adventure from the south of Portugal to The Netherlands.
And what an adventure it has been!! It has been without doubt the most physically challenging thing I have ever done, but also one of the most enjoyable.
I always knew I had chosen a tough route through Portugal and over the Pyrenees, but Portugal in particular turned out to be much tougher than I had ever envisaged.
But it was also my favourite country and is a place I will definitely return to in the future to explore more closely.
Actually the route I took over the much feared Pyrenees was relatively straight forward compared to the never ending hill climbs in combination with ferocious headwinds and freezing temperatures that I encountered in Portugal. It was, without doubt, a real test both physically and mentally. All I can say in hindsight is thank goodness I trained so hard in the lead-up to the trip as without such a good preparation there is no way I would have got through the first 10 days let alone the entire trip.
Overall the experience has been wonderful and I must say I am pretty pleased to have completed the entire trip (with still 50 or so kms to go) without any injuries or illness.
But more importantly I am delighted to have just finished in one piece and having survived France’s horrific traffic/roads. I have always mistakenly believed that France was a bike friendly country, I guess mainly because of the fame of the Tour de France. But nothing could be further from the truth, with French drivers in general by far the worst I encountered and their roads nothing short of deadly for cyclists.
Cyclists seem to be fair game, with drivers seemingly intent on seeing how close they can go without actually hitting you. And as for the roads, they are a disgrace. There is no such thing as cycle paths or even a verge on the side of the road and finding traffic free roads is near on impossible. The result is that you have to take your luck out in the middle of the amateur Grand Prix with as I found out almost deadly consequences.
But enough of all that. In the scheme of the overall trip that was just one small negative, in fact probably the only negative of the entire trip.
Travelling by a bicycle is the best way to explore a country, although you have to be content with seeing what you can from the road you have chosen. Often I would have loved to have deviated off my chosen route, but physically and time wise it is just not possible most of the time.
Another memorable aspect of the trip has been the large number of friendly and supportive people I have met along the way. I lost count of the number of people who helped with me with directions – most of the time without prompting from me – and those that just wanted to stop and have a chat. Often that chat was in two different languages, but was enjoyable nonetheless.
I also must say that I have enjoyed writing this blog immensely. It gave me a focus at the end of each day, even on the days that I was totally exhausted. Getting the feedback from everyone back at home was also fantastic and made me feel like I was not quite so alone at times.
The Netherlands has been the big revelation of the trip. It is a beautiful country and I am glad I have had the time to see a fair chunk of it. Where Portugal was wild and untamed beautiful, Holland is manicured beautiful. There is not one square kilometre of land that isn’t used in some way and everything is kept in such a groomed and perfect way.
Today’s riding was through Gouda, the home of the famous cheese and like every other medium size town I have visited here was just picture-perfect.
Anyway, it is off to Utrecht tomorrow and the next leg of this amazing holiday

Days 69 and 70 Tour de France in Rotterdam

Days 69 and 70. Tour de France in Rotterdam. Cycled 43 kms

I always knew the Tour de France was the world’s most prestigious cycle race and a big-time production, but I never had any idea just how big.

  Over the past two days I have jostled with the best part of a million people for the best vantage points to get a fleeting glimpse of the riders. And it was worth every minute of it just to be a small part of the Tour de France and to witness the great atmosphere the race bought to this bicycle crazy country.

  Saturday was the time trial and Joel and Linda, the Americans I stayed with in Germany, met up with me to watch the action.

  They had been visiting friends in Belgium for a few days and specially travelled the extra few hundred kms north to Holland to see me, so we all made sure to make the most of the day.

  Basically I don’t think I have ever seen a crowd like it, it was HUGE. Unfortunately we underestimated the size of the crowd and left it a bit late to get a position on the front row to watch the early action, but I still managed to get plenty of good piccies.

  With the best riders – including Lance Armstrong and Aussie Cadel Evans – going last, we somehow muscled our way to the front elsewhere on the circuit, so had a front row position for the best of the best.

  While afternoon showers slowed the pace somewhat, the speed they went around the circuit was incredible and inspiring to see.

  Then on Sunday it was the start of the race. With Joel and Linda heading home to Germany I made sure I got to the circuit in plenty of time and snapped up a great position to see the riders as they went past. Once again the crowd was massive, but this time the sun was shining as the riders headed off to Brussels in Belgium.

After four nights in Rotterdam – my longest stop anywhere on the trip – I head off tomorrow for Utrecht via Gouda, the home of the worldwide famous cheese of the same name.

  All going to plan I should be in Utrecht on July 6 and will check out the city for a couple of days.

  Rotterdam is a nice city, but compared to some of the other big cities I have seen on this trip, nothing spectacular. Because the city had to be totally rebuilt after being destroyed in the war, there is plenty of boring 50 and 60s architecture, which to me is very uninspiring.

  But like everywhere else I have been in Holland everyone I have met has been incredibly friendly and accommodating. As you can tell I have really been impressed with The Netherlands.  

Captions: Pic 1: the campground quickly filling up with cycle fans. Pic 2: Last year's winner Contador flashes by. Pic 3: Look who made a guest appearance!!!!!!!!! Pic 4: Joel Linda and Gary Pic 5: Soon after the start of the race Pic 6: This guy broke down even before the race started Pic 7: After the start you could watch the progress on a big screen. Pic 8: On the harbour adjacent to the start line

 

Day 68 Sightseeing in Rotterdam

Day 68. Sightseeing in Rotterdam. 24.37 kms cycled.

What a fantastic day to be in Rotterdam. Not only is the city buzzing with the lead-up to the start of the Tour de France, but Holland played Brazil in the World Cup football – and won 2-1.
I can honestly say I have never see a crowd go so crazy after winning a football match, with chaotic scenes afterwards throughout the city.
I watched the match in the nightclub district where there were large television screens outside all of the bars. There was a huge crowd there and from well before the game they were in party mode. After the game they were delirious, such is the passion here for their national side’s efforts.
There is a huge water fountain on one of the main traffic roundabouts in the city and with the temperature hovering around the high 30s, it was full of people celebrating after the game.
In fact it was so hot here today that the locals didn’t know what to do with themselves. Virtually no public building has air-conditioning, so employees and shoppers etc had no relief at all. I went to the library to update my blog and it was like a sauna in there … I couldn’t get out quickly enough.
With more high temperatures forecast for tomorrow for the start of the Tour de France it will be interesting to see how the huge crowds handle the heat – not well I suspect.
Over the course of the day I saw three of the teams out training, quite a sight indeed. I have always known the Tour de France is big in Europe, but didn’t really have a grasp on the magnitude of its popularity. They are expecting 1 million people to be out watching the race on each of the first two days … unbelievable. It should be quite a spectacle indeed!!!!!

captions: Pics 1&2 Dutch football supporters going crazy after defeatung Brazil. Pic 3: The waterfountain in the centre of the city was full of fans both celebrating and cooling off. Pic 4; A huge billboard for the Tour de France. Pic 5: The old city harbour

Day 67 Stellendam to Rotterdam

Day 67. Stellendam to Rotterdam. 64.35 kms cycled. 3.45 hours cycling. 31.32 km/h max speed. 16.71 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and hot.

Well, I finally made it to Rotterdam after getting seriously lost in the docklands area. I am told it is one of the largest container ports in Europe and I have no reason to dispute that fact, it is huge. And it is extremely hard to find your way out when you have absolutely no idea where you are on the map!!!

  But that was where the bad news finished. Once in the city I was quickly able to track down the tourist office and got directions to the city’s campground – or as it is quickly becoming known - Tour de France central.

  As the only campground in the city, cycling enthusiasts from all over the world are converging to stay so they can watch the first two days of the race starting on Saturday.

  The people running the campground expect the tent area – which is the size of a large cricket ground – to be jam packed with campers by Friday night.

  It has been terrific talking to different people about the race and cycle touring in general, in many ways I liken it to the build-up to Wimbledon, the Aussie Rules grand final or a large open air rock concert – everyone is hyped.

  I am writing this on Friday morning and am about to go to check out the two courses for the race – the time trial circuit on Saturday and official race start on Sunday.

  At this stage I hope to get a position somewhere near the start/finish line for the time trial and basically anywhere along the course for the race start.

  The largest city in Holland, Rotterdam from what I have seen so far has plenty to see and do. While cycling to the campground yesterday I went past a colourful parade by African Dutch people and also had a quick look at the old city area which looks fantastic.

  One local who I was talking to in the campground last night said they refer to Rotterdam as ‘the city with no heart’ because the Germans bombed the central old city into extinction in World War Two. But it was rebuilt and from what I could see it looks authentically old.

 

  On the way to Rotterdam I had a look at one of the huge Dutch dykes on the North Sea coastline. I can now see why they are so famous worldwide, because they are a massive engineering feat.

  Unfortunately because I didn’t get to Zeeland – after changing my route due to a lack of a suitable ferry onto the island – I didn’t get to see the longest of the dykes, but the one I did see was definitely worth the effort to get there. Basically the pictures should show the sheer scale and size of the dykes.

captions: Pic 1 & 2 The dyke floodgates Pic 3: The African/Dutch parade in Rotterdam

 

Day 66. Willemstad to Stellendam. 87.27 kms cycled. 5.09 hours cycling. 29.45 km/h max speed. 16.89 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and hot with a stiff westerly head wind.

One thing I have discovered while on this trip is that you can never plan too far ahead – or even a day ahead for that matter.
When I set out this morning I had high hopes of reaching the North Sea and, hopefully, one of the much talked about Dutch dykes.
But as things worked out that didn’t happen. The western part of The Netherlands is an endless number of islands of all sizes. My plan was to cycle across one of the big islands, catch a ferry to another of the big islands and then cycle to the sea.
So into a very stiff westerly wind I cycled over the first island for about 30 kms, all the while pleased with how my progress was going. But on arrival at the point on the map where the ferry was supposed to cross the straight, there wasn’t a ferry of any size in sight.
After a fruitless search for the ferry – or a possible crossing point – I went into a nearby bar and asked where it departed from. It was, I was told, a seasonal ferry and it only operated from July 1 to August 31. Can you believe it, I was a day early!!!!
Anyway, there was no choice but to backtrack, but first there was a review of my route for the day. Not keen to retrace all of the 30 or so kms I had just cycled I decided to go via another island. And just to put a little bit of extra pressure on myself I knew I needed to keep moving if I had any hope of being in Rotterdam on Saturday to see the Tour de France criterium.
So the upshot of all of that is that I ended up cycling 87 kms for the day, way more than I thought I would be doing at this stage of the trip. And much of that 87 kms was into a westerly head wind, so it was a tough day indeed.
But the opportunity to see the Tour de France live is too good to miss though, and to make the day even better Joel and Linda who I stayed with for a couple of days in Germany are planned to meet up with me for the day.
So all in all Saturday in Rotterdam is shaping up to be a great day, I just hope there is room for me in the campsite outside of town with so many people sure to be in town for the race.

captions: Pic 1: A beautiful scene in a village along the way. Pic 2: I don't know what they are selling, but I think I will have one!! Pic 3: To get over this old lock I had work out how to get it to operate ... not an easy task. Pic 4: Boats lining up to get through a lock. Pic 5: Wind mills everywhere and which way are they facing, the way I am going of course.

Day 65 Woudrichen to Willemstad

Day 65. Woudrichen to Willemstad. 72.84 kms cycled. 4.22 hours cycling. 26.14 km/h max speed. 16.64 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and hot.

With the temperature hovering around the 30 degree mark today the locals were doing it tough. After a couple of hot days they are starting to wilt as they are definitely not used to the heat.

  On the other hand, I have been in my element and love the warmer weather after such cold weather through Portugal, Spain, France and part of Germany.

  And really it isn’t that hot, but try telling that to the Dutch people, they think the heat is exceptional and don’t know what has struck them.

 

As I make my way towards the North Sea there are more and more lakes and rivers everywhere – it certainly is a country of water.

  Anyway, on one of the many ferry crossings that are necessary along the way, I got talking to a couple of elderly ladies about their electric bikes that are apparently new on the market.

  The bikes - which look like any normal bike - are powered by a very small electric motor about 2 cm thick that is incorporated into the back pannier rack. You can have full, part or no electric power and can ride for a distance of about 70km before needing to recharge the battery.

  But what really stunned me was the earpiece that one of the ladies was wearing. The earpiece monitors the cyclist’s heart rate and when it reaches a certain rate automatically switches on or increases the power from the electric motor. Amazing. I am sure these bikes aren’t in a Australia yet, it would be a good opportunity for a smart operator (with a lot of capital) to import and distribute them!!

  One of the ladies had a chronic knee problem and said the bike had allowed her to get out and about on a bike for the first time in years. I am sure there would be many people like her out riding in Australia if they had a similar bike.

 

It is early morning as I write this and am about to head off for the day. Hopefully I will make it to the North Sea where I can see the famous Dutch dykes that everyone says I MUST see.

  After that I am heading towards Rotterdam where the Tour de France starts on Saturday. That ties in perfectly with my schedule, so it will be a unique opportunity to see a stage of the tour live. How good is that!!!!!!!!!!

captions: Pics 1,2 and 3: Different shots` from around Willemstad, it was a beautiful village. Pic 4: The numbered signs I have been so faithfully following

Day 64 Heerewaarden to Woudrichem

Day 64. Heerewaarden to Woudrichem. 52.15 kms cycled. 3.06 hours cycling. 29.45 km/h max speed. 16.78 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and hot.

When in Holland do what the Dutch do, plan your whole day around supporting your team in the World Cup football match between Holland and Slovenika.
The build up to the game over the past few days has been huge, so I planned the day’s cycling to make sure I was in a town with a campground so I could watch the game.
Complete with my orange shirt I joined a big crowd of fanatical Dutch supporters in a large hall adjacent to the campground.
With everyone in the crowd wearing the national colour orange, I blended in perfectly … so much so that I was even offered beer and food. The fact that I couldn’t speak a word of Dutch didn’t seem to worry anyone. I was barracking for their team and that was all that mattered.
With Holland winning 2-1 everyone was suitably impressed, with high fives and much shouting all around.
As for the day’s cycling, it was much of a repeat of the previous day as I wandered from village to village along the River Waal.
Now that I am getting closer to Rotterdam the towns are getting much closer together and bigger, so the next couple of days of cycling promise to be interesting as I navigate my way through the maze.
Actually my destination before I go to Rotterdam central is to see some of the dykes on the North Sea Coast. Even the locals say they are a must see, so it should be quite interesting.
As I see it at this stage I am right on schedule to be in Amsterdam on July 9 as planned.


captions: pic 1: I love the Dutch windmills Pic 2: Am also fascinated by the traditional Dutch homes with their thatched roofs. Pic 3:A Dutch castle I visited along the way Pic 4: Another river crossing this time on a small boat.

Day 63 Nijmegen to Heerewaarden

Day 63. Nijmegen to Heerewaarden. 76.31 kms cycled. 4.46 hours cycling. 32.5 km/h max speed. 15.95 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and warm perfect for cycling.

Well, after 63 days cycling it all finally came together today. Perfect weather without a cloud in the sky (an added bonus was a nice tailwind); fantastic scenery and village after village with so much to see.

  It was also Sunday, so everyone was out on the bike tracks enjoying the beautiful weather … it was great to see.

  One woman who stopped to talk to me when she saw my head buried in my map, claimed the weather was “exceptional” for Holland. She also asked me if I knew why the landscape was so green? Without giving me a chance to reply she finished her sentence with the answer, “because it normally &*^%&#@ rains so much”.

  So as you can imagine the locals were lapping up the mid to high 20s temperatures, as was I.

  There is something very enjoyable about starting a day’s ride with basically no idea where you are going to end up at the end of the day.

  Basically as I head over towards Rotterdam I am just going from town to town on a whim with no real purpose to where I am going – and love it.

  As I had once again lost track of the days and forgot to buy food yesterday to cater for Sunday (Holland is like every other country I have visited – absolutely nothing is open on a Sunday), I was scouring every village I went through looking for something to eat.

  Fortunately I finally found a café when I was starting to despair so enjoyed a nice lunch along with about another 10 or so other cyclists who looked as though they had the same problem.

  In the end I found a campground wedged between the Waal and Maas Rivers at the end of a great day’s cycling. Bring on tomorrow!!

captions: Pic 1: Don't you just love the Eten and Drinken sign. Pic 2: Nijmegen Pic 3: They have these great drink stations along the Waal track in Holland. Pic 4: All the cyclists getting onboard to cross the river.

Day 62 Afferden to Nijmegen

Day 61 Kessel to Afferden

Day 61. Kessel to Afferden. 67.58 kms cycled. 4.16 hours cycling. 29.81 km/h max speed. 15.77 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and warm, mid 20s perfect for cycling.

What a beautiful part of the world this part of The Netherlands is. While Portugal’s wild and unspoilt scenery is still at the top of my list, The Netherlands and Dutch people in general are very quickly catching up.

  The Dutch are very friendly and hospitable and in many ways remind me of most Australians … nothing is too much trouble, love a chat and are very proud of their country.

  Today’s cycling was like riding through a picture postcard. Cyclists everywhere on the country tracks; a change of beautiful scenery at every turn; beautifully manicured gardens and farms; cargo boats on the River Maas and an overwhelming ‘how good is this’ feeling.

  I am still to find out if this part of The Netherlands is typical of the whole country, but just let’s say I’m pretty impressed with what I have seen so far.

  Every small country village is fascinating to explore and people are keen to engage in a conversation … in English!!!!!!!!!!!

  And when they learn that I am Australian, they are even keener to find out more about where I have cycled from – to and about Australia in general.

  After cycling 50+ kms today I thought it was time to find a campsite for the night, so called into the tourist information office at Bergen. Next thing I know I am in the lounge room in the home of Klaus, the guys who runs the tourist office, enjoying a fine French wine and fielding all sorts of questions about Australia and cycle touring in general.

  A photographic artist, Klaus has travelled extensively throughout the world, but is yet to make it to Australia and was keen to find out as much as he could.

  Two hours and four wines later, I finally set off to the campground at Afferden that he recommended armed with all sorts of local ‘must do’ information.

  Then after arriving at the campground, I find myself invited to more drinks with local Dutch campers who also provided me with a chair and table next to my tent so that I could “feel at home”.

  The local history of the area is also fascinating. Normally the boundary between countries is a river or other defining boundary. But not here between Germany and The Netherlands. The boundary between the two countries is just on 7.2 km towards Germany from the River Maas. I did wonder why, but thanks to Klaus I now know the answer.

  When Napoleon was fighting the Prussians (Germans) along the River Maas his canons had a range of 7.2 kms, so the Prussians eventually and sensibly agreed to the boundary between the two countries being – you guessed it – 7.2 kms from the River Maas. And that is where the boundary remains to this day. Great story, eh??

  Klaus was originally from Nijmegen, so that is where I am heading tomorrow. He has recommended a campsite to stay at and says the city has plenty for tourists to see and do. From what I can see it is about 30 km from where I am camped at Afferden, so it should provide another easy day’s riding tomorrow.

captions: Pic 1: They have these great bins along the cycle tracks ... you don't even have to get off the bike to get the rubbish in!! Pic 2: A watermill along the way. Pic 3: A particularly nice garden along the`way.

    

   

      

Day 60 Roermond to Kessel

Day 60. Roermond to Kessel. 32.26 kms cycled. 2.19 hours cycling. 35km/h max speed. 13.90 km/h average speed. Weather – sunny and warm.

Day 60, can you believe it, I certainly can’t. In many ways the past 2 months have flown by and in other ways I have crammed so much into that 60 days it’s incredible.
With my final destination of Amsterdam now in sight, it is great that I can kick back and take things easy for the final two weeks.
And that is exactly what I did today. After setting out from Roermond my target for the day was Broekhuizen a leisurely 40 km away along the River Maas.
After visiting the tourist office in Roermond and getting general directions I decided not to pay another 9.5 euro for a special bike track map. Big mistake. Venlo, the first stop along the way, was just 22 km away but by the time I had done 28km I was only halfway there, so decided to call it a day.
I took a wrong turn somewhere and got hopelessly lost without an adequate map, so Kessel it was for the night.
Kessel is a lovely little town with an historic 12th century medieval fortress that I took the time to tour. The fortress was bombed by the Germans in the Second World War and everything that had been built over the previous 200 years was destroyed. But not the original stone structure, it stayed put and it is now the foundation for a major reconstruction program that is due to start any time now.
Kessel, and the River Maas which it sits alongside, was the front line of the war in late 1944 with the Germans on one side of the river and the Allies on the other.
The big loser was the town itself, with just about everything flattened. Even today more than 60 years later they are rebuilding, with a lot of effort going into the planning of the reconstruction of the town’s medieval fortress.
With a new map now purchased hopefully I can get back on track tomorrow, but who knows where I will end up??

captions: Pic 1: My first windmill. Pic 2: The old fortress at Kessel.

Day 59 Erkelenz (Germany) to Roermond (The Netherlands)

Day 59. Erkelenz (Germany) to Roermond (The Netherlands). 35.97 kms cycled. 2.22 hours cycling. 33.70 max speed. 15.16 km/h average speed. Weather – not a cloud in the sky and about 25 degrees … perfect.

Well here I am in country number five, The Netherlands. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but every time I have crossed from one country to another the scenery has changed so dramatically. As I have said previously about the other countries, everything here is so Dutch!!

  It is only my first day, but The Netherlands really does look like a beautiful country. Mind you it does help that it is a perfect weather day, but Roermond where I have camped for the night really is a beautiful city.

  There is the traditional old city plus a modern new city complete with a huge outlet shopping precinct and a large business district.

  After arriving about noon after only 36kms of cycling I set up camp and then set about exploring the town. I have just about got this down to a fine art, riding through the streets on the bike first to get my bearings, and then setting out on foot to explore the small laneways, churches and shops of interest.

  Like many German and French towns, Roermond was extensively bombed in the war, a fact graphically illustrated in a series of pictures on display in the foyer of the town’s cathedral, but you would not know today.

  One of the first things I noticed after crossing the border was the fantastic network of bicycle tracks. They go in every direction and there are cyclists everywhere making use of them.

  The only problem is that you have to watch out for speeding bike riders. On a couple of occasions I nearly got cleaned up by bikes flying through intersections or coming around a corner too fast. Wouldn’t that be ironic … survive France’s roads and crash on a Dutch cycleway!!.

  Anyway, as you can imagine there are bikes everywhere, a great sight indeed.

 I will study the map closely tonight and work out my route for the next few days then. At the moment the plan is to follow the River Maas, but the lady at the tourist office suggested another route that would take me through all the main towns on the way to Amsterdam.

  Whatever the decision, now that I have got plenty of time I can really kick back and enjoy the ride.

captions: Pic 1: Finally made it to The Netherlands Pic 2: The bikes come in all colours schemes. Pic 3,4,5 and 6: Roermond.