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